As a genealogist I love meandering through cemeteries. On the web Mount Moriah Cemetery caught my eye, but is too far from Florida for me to visit. Historic Mount Moriah Cemetery began in 1878 in the lawless town of Deadwood located in the famous Black Hills of South Dakota. Deadwood, itself, is listed as entire city on the National Historic Register. What comes to my mind is the image of the wild west town with prospectors, outlaws, brothels, and gunfighters. Actually the town is known for its Victorian era construction also; very unique for a town that boomed with the 1876 Gold Rush! Miners discovered gold in a creek and a gulch of dead trees. Deadwood was born and prospectors, outlaws, preachers, unsavory merchants, and gunslingers soon came along with some just plain good folks. In 1879 a fire destroyed 300 buildings and left 2000 people homeless. The town was rebuilt. In 1883 a flood flattened most of the town. Again, it was rebuilt.
So, what is so special about Mount Moriah Cemetery? Its notable laid-to-rest Wild West citizens, including Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, are famous graves at Mt. Moriah.
Wild Bill Hickok a/k/a James Butler Hickok: He too came for gold, but also for poker. He was shot to death in the back of the head by Jack McCall while holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights, which is now the infamous Dead Man’s Hand. Hickok had been a driver for the Butterfield stage line, a tender for Pony Express, and a marshal. He was a legendary gunfighter. In the U.S. GenWeb Archives, I found this sentence that really sums up Wild Bill Hickok to me, “…the days when Wild Bill…Hickok, the master gunfighter of them all, who, single handed and alone, armed with a shotgun, several revolvers and a bowie knife, killed in quick succession and almost in unison all nine of Jake McCandles’ band of outlaws who attacked him.” Sounds larger than life, similar to our television heroes such as Oliver Queen in “Arrow” and Mr. Reese in “Person of Interest. Wow! Hickok was part of the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show for a year or so. He was originally buried at Whitewood Gulch cemetery, but later moved to Mt. Moriah.
Calamity Jane a/k/a Martha Cannary Burke: She rests next to Wild Bill. Calamity was a crack shot, a great horseman, tough as any man reputedly, and an army scout for General Custer. She drank like a fish, embellished her tales, and wore her first male clothing when a scout. She continued this fashion from then on. She and Wild Bill were fodder for dime store novels.
Seth Bullock: Seth was a friend of President Teddy Roosevelt and was the very first sheriff in Deadwood. Not an enviable position, I suspect, as the town craved for some law and order after Hickok was murdered. Website findagrave has a nice bio of the many accomplishments of Seth Bullock.
Potato Creek Johnny a/k/a John Perrett: At the time of the Great Depression, he found a large leg-shaped gold nugget. He was envied, no doubt. Johnny was a bit over four feet tall, sported a long straggly beard, and was known to be a colorful character and a fascinating storyteller.
Preacher Smith a/k/a Rev. Henry Weston Smith, and Charles Mason: Killed by Indians on the same day. Originally at Whitewood Gulch cemetery, but later moved to Mt. Moriah also. Some say that Preacher Smith was murdered by someone who did not appreciate his preaching.
Al Swearengen: The local pimp and owner of the Gem Variety Theatre (fancy brothel). He was one of the characters in the HBO television series named Deadwood. He was murdered by an unknown person or persons.
As a genealogist, I often utilize the site findagrave.com to locate many an ancestor and in this case, to satisfy my curiosity. Findagrave shows that there are 1118 internments at Mt. Moriah and eight are famous graves. Additionally internment.net has considerable information on Mount Moriah.
If you are lucky enough to be in or visit Deadwood, conjure up your imagination as you visit the graves of the famous folks at Mount Moriah Cemetery. And check out the ancestors of some of the people buried there. For example, Wild Bill’s genealogy is located on the wikitree site.
