No Marker – Died Sept 19, 1901
On a Thursday afternoon at about 2:00 o’clock, Ben, who had been sick two weeks, was lying in the sun on the west side of the Trembath Boarding House and appeared to be suffering untold agony with stomach complaint. Shortly after saying he did not want to be moved to his room, he was discovered to be missing and about an hour later was found in the outhouse where he had fallen head first into the vault. Ben, about 35 years old, had worked as a helper at the Kendrick-Gelder Smelter. Burial took place from the undertaker’s the next day.
CASTLE, HARRY W. – Killed in 1913 Snowslide Near Buffalo Boy Mine
No Marker – 1873 – Dec 5, 1913 – Age 40 Years
The first heavy snow of winter brought with it the fatal snowslide which swept Harry Castle to his death. It happened about three-fourths of a mile from the Buffalo Boy Mine.
Shortly after their noon meal, Harry, an old time resident of the county, and his partner, George Lugg, left the Buffalo Boy headed for town. Unexpectedly, a heavy snowslide came crashing down the mountain, passing by Lugg, about thirty feet behind Castle, but engulfing Harry, who was on Norwegian (long) skis. In an instant, he was swept to his death in the bottom of the gulch.
Lugg made a quick trip for help to the Garry Owen Tunnel and awakened the men of the night shift. True to the old Colorado spirit of bravery and loyalty when a fellow being was in danger, each one responded to the cry for help. At once the men faced the storm with its attendant hardships and dangers to rescue Harry, if still alive, or to recover his remains if death had claimed him.
All that afternoon they worked unceasingly until dark, when they were relieved by the men who had come off the day shift. Those men worked all night, but to no avail. The next morning the night shift resumed the search, and at about noon, Harry’s dead and frozen body was recovered near the bottom of the gulch. Coroner McLeod in Silverton was notified and he transported the body to town. A brother of the deceased who lived in Vermont was wired, and he asked that the body be held until he wired further instructions. It is not known if those instructions were ever received; Harry was finally buried at Hillside January 17, 1914.
On January 5, 1916, a little more than two years after Harry’s snowslide death, Dollie and Harvey Bennett were killed in a slide which ran in the same path as the slide which had killed Harry.
CANNON, LESLIE ROGER – Died 1945 –Fell from Shenandoah-Dives Mine Skip
Son of Leslie Arnold Cannon and Flossie Erma “Peggy” Malloy Cannon (Sturdevant)
Brother of Maxine Cannon Murray, Margie Cannon McFadden
May 21, 1928 – May 25, 1945 – Age 17 Years
An accident at the Shenandoah-Dives Mine saddened the entire community. Leslie, who had just turned seventeen, was riding the mine skip from the 400 level to the upper mine workings, and fell to his death. He suffered a cranial fracture and numerous other broken bones and injuries, including a punctured lung. When he fell, the boy was alone in the skip, an elevator-like device.
Born at Harmon, Oklahoma, Les moved to Montrose, Colorado with his parents when he was four and to Silverton in 1935. His father, Leslie Arnold Cannon, was born in El Paso, Texas; his mother, the former Flossie Erma “Peggy” Molloy, was born in Seiling, Oklahoma. After his parents divorced, the father moved to California, and in 1941 Peggy, Les’ mother, married Robert R. Sturdevant, a miner, in Silverton. At the time Les died, the family lived at 805 Empire. He was an earnest, hard working boy of high character, had many friends and was a favorite in the community.
Survivors were his mother, Mrs. Peggy Sturdevant, and sisters, Maxine and Marjorie Ann Cannon of Silverton; also his father, Leslie Arnold Cannon of Hydesville, California, who came to Silverton for his son’s funeral. Also coming from out of town was his aunt, Mrs. Cora Byrd from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The funeral was held at the Congregational Church, Rev. Dan Percell of Durango officiating. Pallbearers were Art Candelaria, Bill Burke, Clee Robinson, Robert Nelson, Joe Salazar and Howard Hill. Honorary pallbearers were Lynn Murray, Bill Maguire, Jr., Layton Melburg, Carl Peterson, Gerald Glanville, Lynn Hadden, Norman Klements, Clyde Todeschi, Richard Maes, Gerald Swanson, and James Drobnick, all young friends of Les. Burial was at Hillside where, 46 years later in 1991, his mother, Flossie Erma “Peggy” Malloy Cannon Sturdevant, was buried beside him.
FAY, ED – Died 1937 – Blood Poisoning
(1) – Mar 1867 – June 22, 1937 – Age 70 Years
His tombstone was donated in 1987 by Tom Savich
Ed died of blood poisoning which developed earlier in the year from a slightly injured finger. He was very well known in San Juan County and in his thirty plus years of residence had been employed as a cook by nearly all the larger mining operations. In 1917, when he was head cook at the Sunnyside, he trained his 14 pound tomcat to share his saucer of milk with mice! Ed’s reputation as a wonderful cook was so widespread that his services were always in demand. ¬One of his specialties was pie, any kind, and when he served you pie, you were supposed to eat the whole thing or he’d get mad.
The jail, not in use since 1921, was home to twelve to fifteen elderly men for several years. They were wards of the county and Ed Fay cooked for and looked after them. Among those wards was Al Phillips, known to everyone as “Buffalo Bill” because that was who he resembled. When the jail was closed to those county wards, “Buffalo Bill” was sent to the state asylum at Pueblo where he soon died. When Ed Fay was cooking for the county poor in the jail building, the town kids would hang around the place until he gave them a piece of pie, or sometimes a quarter! Ed usually wore no shirt and was covered with flour from head to foot.
Born at St. John, Quebec, Canada, Ed became a naturalized American citizen in 1926. He came to America through Detroit, Michigan in 1889, and before coming to Silverton in about 1904, he operated a restaurant in Durango where he was reported to have accumulated a small fortune by featuring a very cheap but wholesome and delicious meal. He located a mining claim on Boulder Mountain, near Silverton, and spent all available funds and a great deal of time in its development
Survivors were a sister in Canada and a brother in Germany who was a Catholic priest. Burial was at Hillside.
GIACHETTO, CAMILLIO – Died 1939 – Pneumonia, Influenza
Feb 23, 1884 – Jan 6, 1939 – Age 54 Years
His tombstone was donated in 1998 by Tom Savich
Camillio, a stone mason and miner, was found in his cabin on a cold Friday, suffering from the last stages of pneumonia and influenza. He was rushed to the hospital where Dr. Quinn treated him, but it was too late and Camillio died that evening. There was a serious outbreak of twelve cases of flu in town, and half those cases also developed pneumonia. On the day of Camillio’s death, a young mother, Marcia Orton, also died from the same deadly disease.
Born in Drusacco, Italy, he came to Silverton in 1900 and worked at mining and in the building and plastering business. He became an American citizen in 1915. At the time of his death Camillio was working a lease on the Mystery Gold Mining Company property near Silverton. His only known survivor was a sister in the land of his birth. His funeral was held at the Maguire Funeral Chapel and burial was at Hillside.
INGELLS, HENRY
No Marker – Died Apr 22, 1891 – Age 35 Years – Henry died while shoveling snow on the Silverton Railroad. Shovelers were paid $1.00 a day for their work. He had been working in the area about two weeks, was a widower and his two children were living with his father and step-mother in Calhoun County, Illinois. No other details were recorded.
KELLY, JOSEPH PATRICK “BOXCAR” – Died 1944 – Alcoholism
Aug 16, 1892 – Dec 25, 1944 – Age 52
Boxcar died of alcoholism at 1134 Blair Street. To be as well known as he was, very little was known of his life history. His interesting nickname came from one of his favorite modes of transportation, hopping boxcars. Born in Leadville, Colorado, his mother died when he was three months old and his father when he was five years old. His early training was in the Catholic school at Leadville, then he migrated to the San Juan in about 1919 and was considered one of the top miners. He was a friend to all, so had a host of friends in return, all of whom would miss him. He had no known living relatives, and was survived in Silverton by his female companion, Ollie Stout Helms. His funeral was held at the Maguire Funeral Chapel, George W. Conklin presiding. Pallbearers were Jack Gilheany, Johnny Jenkins, Joe Dresback, Sam Eccher, Earl Clifford and W.O. Lowe. Burial was at Hillside, where his long time friend, Ollie Helms, was later buried beside him.
MITCHELL, EVALINA MARIE – Died 1907
Daughter of Jack H. or R. and Sadie Gertrude Herferman (or Herfernan) Mitchell
Sister of John H., Jr. and Infant Boy Mitchell
Granddaughter of Albert and Mary Richardson Mitchell
(16) – May 13, 1907 – July 10, 1907 – Age 2 Months
Her marker, shared with her sister and brother, was donated in 2004 by Joanne B. Hendrick of Norman, Oklahoma.
This little girl, the second child of Jack and Sadie, had been plagued with digestive problems since her birth, and died at the family home, 213 13th Street. Her funeral service was held at the home, with burial taking place at Hillside. She was the second child of the Mitchells to die within a year; her older brother, John H. Mitchell, Jr., died August 30, 1906, at the age of eight months; her younger brother died a few days after the father’s death in 1910.
Evalina’s parents, Jack and Sadie Gertrude Herferman Mitchell, were married at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Silverton in March 1905, when Jack was twenty-seven years old and Sadie was twenty-one. Jack, Sadie and the three babies born to them were all destined to die in the next six years. Jack died in 1910, Sadie in 1911, and their babies died in 1906, 1907 and 1910.
MITCHELL, INFANT BOY – Died 1910
Son of Jack H. or R. and Sadie Gertrude Herferman Mitchell
Brother of John H., Jr. and Evalina Marie Mitchell
Grandson of Albert and Mary Richardson Mitchell
(16) – Died Sept 14, 1910 – Age 2 Hours
His marker, shared with his sister and brother, was donated in 2004 by Joanne B. Hendrick of Norman, Oklahoma.
This unnamed boy, third child of Jack and Sadie, lived only a couple of hours. He was born prematurely at seven months, and his mother’s illness from pneumonia contributed to his death. A brother of this child died in 1906, a sister in 1907. Just five days before this baby’s birth, his father also died, and eight months later his mother died after a long bout with tuberculosis. The entire family, with the exception of the mother, is buried at Hillside. Sadie, the mother, died and was buried in Brooklyn, New York.
MITCHELL, JOHN JR. – Died 1906 – Meningitis
Infant Son of Jack H. or R. and Sadie Gertrude Herferman Mitchell
Brother of Evalina Marie and Infant Boy Mitchell
Grandson of Albert and Mary Richardson Mitchell
(16) – Dec 12, 1905 – Aug 30, 1906 – Age 8 Months 18 Days
His marker, shared with his sister and brother, was donated in 2004 by Joanne B. Hendrick of Norman, Oklahoma.
Little John died in Eureka of meningitis, from which he suffered two weeks. He was the firstborn of Jack and Sadie and lived longer than their other two children, a boy and a girl who died in 1907 and 1910. Jack and Sadie, the parents of this ill-fated family, died in 1910 and 1911.
MITCHELL, JOHN H. (or R.) “JACK” – Died 1910
Husband of Sadie Gertrude Herferman
Father of John, Jr., Evalina Marie and Infant Boy Mitchell
Son of Albert and Mary Richardson Mitchell
(16) – June 15, 1879 – Sept 9, 1910 – Age 31 Years
Near the Gooch, Nelson (Nilson), Crane graves
His tombstone was donated in 2004 by Joanne B. Hendrick of Norman, Oklahoma
Jack’s time on earth ran out at Miners Union Hospital in Silverton, where Dr. A.L. Burnett noted he died of lobar pneumonia and delirium tremens. Jack’s wife, Sadie, was seven months pregnant, and prematurely gave birth to a little boy five days after her husband’s tragic death. The new baby lived less than three hours and was the third child of the couple to die within four years.
Jack had lived in the Silverton area seven years, and worked as tram man at the Black Prince Mine. Born in Alexander County in southern Illinois, near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, he was the son of Albert and Mary Richardson Mitchell. On Wednesday evening, March 1, 1905, Jack and Miss Sadie Gertrude Herferman were married at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Silverton. At the time of their marriage, both Jack and Sadie lived in Eureka where Jack was employed by the Sunnyside Mining Company. The newlyweds made their home in Eureka, where their first child, John, Jr., was born the following December 12th. The little boy died of meningitis when he was eight months old. Their second child, a little girl named Evalina Marie, was born May 5, 1907 and she died at their Silverton home, 213 13th Street, when she was two months old. Their third child, born prematurely five days after his father’s death, also died; all three children are buried in unmarked graves at Hillside.
Jack’s survivors included his wife, Sadie, in Silverton, and in Tamms, Illinois, his mother, three brothers and a sister. The funeral was held at Prosser’s Undertaking Parlor on a Sunday afternoon, and as the cortege slowly wended its way to Hillside Cemetery, the many friends of the parting man felt the sting of sorrow that death imparts to all.
With her entire family lying forever at Hillside Cemetery, Sadie Mitchell returned to Brooklyn, New York, where she was born. There, on May 11, 1911, at the age of twenty-seven years, she died of tuberculosis … just eight months after her husband’s death. Sad indeed was the story of her life. She was a very young woman when devastating hardships and misfortunes of life were heaped upon her. In addition to the pain, agony and desolation of losing three babies and her husband in less than six years, Sarah herself was very ill during most of her years in the Silverton area. Worry, despondency and illness hastened her own demise. Her many Silverton friends, grieved to learn of her death, prayed the young loving husband, wife and three babies, were reunited in the realm above.
O’KELLY, JAMES – Disappeared 1909
Brother of John O’Kelly
Died Aug 1909 (approximately)
James, proprietor of the American House Bar at Telluride, disappeared from there the night of August 14, 1909. Before leaving for the night he had placed a large sum of money in his pockets and told a friend he would be in late the next morning. The only other trace of him was at Placerville the following Monday. It was feared he was demented and wandering in the mountains. A jovial big-hearted Irishman, he had operated Kelly’s Place, a saloon in Silverton, until May of 1908. At that time he sold his saloon to his brother, John O’Kelly, and was talking of returning to County Carlow, Ireland.
About the middle of September 1909, soon after Jim’s disappearance, his wife, who lived in Telluride, drove to Silverton in a buggy. She reported the wagon road on the Silverton side in a most awful condition. Recent heavy rains had softened the road in places, cut great gullies in it, the grades had sloughed off, and it was indeed a perilous road to travel. She took care of her Silverton business affairs then returned to Telluride to again take up the search for her missing husband. She made an incessant search for him, never gave up and made many trips seeking possible clues.
More than two years later, in late October 1911, Jim’s remains were found on a Saturday morning in a gulch near High Bridge over Pleasant Valley Creek, between Dallas Divide and Ridgway. The body was found by John F. Lupper about 400 yards south of the old abandoned bridge. It was believed the body had been placed there long after death occurred. His bank book, keys, watch, chain and prayer book were found in his clothing, and identified him beyond any doubt. A search for money was fruitless.
Until the body was found, his wife had lived in constant hope he would be found alive and well. It was a most sorrowful and heart-rending scene when she saw her husband’s remains. Her grief was pitiful as she fully realized the terrible manner in which he met his death. It was believed James had suffered from a temporary aberration, became ill and was unable to make his way to where he could get help.
The funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Silverton on a Sunday, with Rev. Father Brunner officiating. The bier was a mass of flowers and the remains were followed to the cemetery by a large number of friends. His survivors included his faithful wife and three children. No other information was recorded.
OZELLO, PETER – Suicide – Shot in Head
No Marker – Died Mar 15, 1898 – Age 25 Years
Peter, an Italian miner, had been in America about three years and lived in a small cabin on lower 13th Street. He came down to Silverton from the Sunnyside Mine, where he worked, looking for a little rest and recreation. Following his usual pattern, he proceeded to drink very heavily for several days, then became despondent and remarked he was sick of life because of his weakness for drink. In the hills he was all right, but as soon as he came to town, the demon of thirst got the upper hand on him.
His friends tried to convince him to straighten up, but to no avail. He seemed bent on destruction, by drink or otherwise. On a cold Monday night in his cabin on 12th Street near the Animas River, Peter committed suicide by shooting himself through the head. The bullet passed clear through his head and into the headboard of the bed. His body was not found until Wednesday, sprawled across the bed, an ugly wound through both temples showing the course of the fatal bullet.
Survivors were a cousin in Durango, whose name was not given, and relatives in Italy. The funeral was held in Silverton and the unfortunate Peter was laid to rest eternally at Hillside.
PALMER, PAUL CLARK – Died 1918 – Flu
Son of William J. and Elizabeth Clark Palmer
Jan 8, 1899 – Oct 27, 1918 – Age 19 Years
On the day Paul died of flu, thirteen other victims also succumbed in Silverton. He was very ill three days, and died about 9:30 in the morning at his home on Cement Street. A negro or mulatto, he was an exemplary Christian young man, always ready to do what he could for anyone. He would be remembered for his quiet unassuming manner and sterling worth.
Born in Denver, he was the son of William J. Palmer and the former Elizabeth Clark, both born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father worked as a porter in Silverton, and Paul had been in the area about fourteen years and worked as a millman. Survivors were his parents, two sisters and a brother in Silverton and other relatives (not named) in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. His funeral was held at the family home and burial was at Hillside on October 30, 1918. Paul’s father, William J. Porter, died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in June 1934.
RAMBO, WILLIAM E. – Died 1886 – Blasting Accident – Civil War Veteran
Husband of Sarah; Brother of Benjamin Rambo
Died Aug 7, 1886 – Age 46 Years
Will was working with his brother, Ben, in their mine on Little Giant Mountain. When it was time to eat, Ben left to fix dinner while Will loaded and fired the shots. When the meal was ready and Will did not appear, Ben went to the tunnel and found his brother lying on his back ten feet from the face of the tunnel, horribly mutilated but still alive, a victim of the blasting. He soon died and his remains were taken to undertaker Horace Prosser who patched up the gaping wounds and placed Will in a neat casket. On a Monday afternoon in August, Will was laid to rest in the cemetery above Silverton.
Born in Pennsylvania, he had enlisted at Philadelphia for service in the Civil War. He had lived in the Silverton area about seven years, working in the mines and cooking. By his quiet steady habits and genial good nature, Will had made many warm friends.
In 1909, twenty-three years after Rambo’s death, G.A.R. Department Commander, John Wingate, with John Carver and William Cole, placed beautiful white tombstones over the graves of Civil War veterans William Rambo, C.C. Hafer and Michael Colgan. The stones were about three feet tall, two feet wide and twenty inches thick. The only inscriptions were the names of the dead soldier and the company and regiment in which he served. William’s was inscribed “Wm. Rambo, Company F, 106 Pennsylvania Infantry”.
RENSLER, ADAM
No Marker – Died July 19, 1898 – The county had been keeping Adam at Trembath’s boarding house because he’d been “light in the upper story”. Monday night he got away and was running up and down the alley in back of the newspaper office almost nude. The night watchman found him and placed him in safe keeping, and on Tuesday he died of delirium tremens at Trembath’s. It seemed quite probable that the poor old fellow, like thousands of others, started out in life with the best of intentions, but somehow fell by the wayside. Whiskey claimed him for its own and after a week’s horrors, put him permanently to sleep. He was kindly cared for during his last sickness and was buried from Prosser’s undertaking rooms the next afternoon.
SALFISBERG, HUBERT W. – Electrocuted 1933
Son of Frederick and Marie (Mary) Wielang Salfisberg
Brother of Fred Jr., Joseph Francis, Robert Samuel, Unnamed Infant Boy and Francis Wielang Salfisberg, Agatha Catherine Salfisberg Peterson and Alice Mae Salfisberg Kornafel
Mar 23, 1908 – Aug 10, 1933 – Age 25 Years
While attempting to correct a battery failure during a radio program at station KVOA in Tucson, Arizona, Hubert came in contact with a transformer. More than 4,000 volts of electricity passed through his body and death was almost instantaneous. He was the third Salfisberg brother to meet violent death in less than seven years; his parents also died during that period. Hubert’s brothers, twenty-two year old Robert and twenty-six year old Joe, were both killed near Silverton in 1927 … Robert in a snowslide and Joe in a tram accident. The father of the family died in December 1926 and the mother in January 1932.
Born in Silverton, Hubert was the sixth child born to Fred and Mary. He graduated from the local high school in 1927, along with Snarky Andreatta, valedictorian, and Amelia Dalla, Jeanette Gooch, Albert Gray, James Hook, John Matties, Charles “Corky” Scheer and Mechling Wyman. After graduation he went to New York City and trained for work as a radio technician. He served as chief engineer for station KFEL in Denver and established himself as a skilled technical expert in the business. He assisted in the construction and operation of station KFXJ at Grand Junction, Colorado, then went to work in Tucson; he was chief engineer of station KVOA when death claimed him for its own.
Hubert’s brother, Frank “Deacon” Salfisberg, of Silverton went to Tucson to make arrangements for the return of his brother’s remains to Silverton. The funeral was held at the Congregational Church, conducted by Rev. Saul Miller. Hubert’s high school friends served as his pallbearers and the church was filled to capacity, with many standing during the impressive service. Flowers covered the casket and overflowed to the pulpit and rostrum. Many cars bore grief-stricken relatives and friends to Hillside Cemetery where burial was in the Salfisberg family plot, beside his parents and brothers.
TANSTAD, HANS JOHAN JENSEN – Died 1942 – Killed in Car Accident
Uncle of Hans Tanstad Fioti
June 11, 1873 – May 23, 1942 – Age 69 Years
His tombstone was donated in 1986
Hans, the one-legged master carpenter, was instantly killed in a wreck at Ironton Park, between Silverton and Ouray. In company with his friends, Charley Bergenson, driver of the car, and Henry Adams, he was returning from Ouray when the car went out of control. Hans tried to jump from the moving auto and was caught by the car door, then the car rolled on top of him in the ditch. He ended up dead with a broken neck, crushed thorax, and other serious internal injuries. The two others were not seriously injured and the 1935 Packard was not too badly damaged.
Born in Aalesund, Norway, Hans boarded a ship in Southhampton, England and arrived in America on May 5, 1900. He became a naturalized American citizen on May 18, 1914, and had lived in Silverton over forty years. In January of 1902, while a mill employee at the Gold King Mine near Gladstone, he went up the logway near the tram line to bring in a post for the tunnel. Farther up the mountain other workmen were rolling logs, when one broke loose and swiftly and silently plummeted over the snow down the mountain toward Hans. With great force the log hit Hans’ leg and smashed it against another log, frightfully mangling him. He was prostrated senseless by the shock, brought to Silverton, and Drs. Colby and Ludlow amputated the mangled, crushed leg below the knee. Hans filed suit for $25,000 in damages against the Gold King Company. The trial was held in Federal Court at Pueblo in April 1904 and resulted in a verdict for the defendant (Gold King). The court had instructed the jury to find for the defense on account of contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff (Hans). An appeal was planned; the final outcome is unknown.
A large, physically strong man, Hans followed the trade of carpenter, and was one of the best to be found anywhere. His services were widely sought and he was known throughout southwestern Colorado as an A-1 workman, a jolly good fellow, and a friend to every resident. A hard working, hard drinking man, he would sometimes work all day, draw his pay, then invite all his friends to help him drink it up that night. As remembered by Silvertonians Joe Todeschi and Tom Savich, Hans had a very unusual horse named Frank. When Hans was a little (or a lot) drunk and the horse neighed, Hans would say, “See, he’s talking to me!” Frank, a very intelligent animal, took good care of his master. When Hans had imbibed a bit excessively, the horse could manage to get him home without any help.
Hans’ only known survivors were his many close friends. The funeral was held at the Maguire Funeral Chapel, Rev. C.B. Bryant officiating, and pallbearers were John Gilheany, Tom Olson, A.F. Andrean, Fenrick Sutherland, George Nelson and Milo Raickovich. Burial was at Hillside, near the Sleep, Brown, Olson, Grey family plots.
Hans’ friend and passenger in the car, Henry Adams (Americanized from his Swedish name, Hendrick Adamsson), died May 4, 1946, in a Durango hospital after undergoing an amputation; he is also buried at Hillside.
ZANEI, JOHN “STEAM SHOVEL JOHN” – Died 1927
Died of Miners Con
1868 – Jan 2, 1927 – Age 58 Years
His tombstone was donated in 1987.
After suffering more than six years with miners con,”Steam Shovel John” quietly passed away at the home of Miss Mary Dalla. For the last three years of his life, he had been completely without funds, but this fine Italian girl, reared in Silverton and born of noble spirit with a heart of gold, would not turn the unfortunate man away. His own mother could not have given him better care.
Born in Vigalzano, Tyrol, Italy, “Steam Shovel John” came to America 1901, and to Silverton in 1903. He loved his adopted country and became a United States citizen. A hard and willing worker as a miner, he earned the name “Steam Shovel John” from his fellow laborers. With his powerful arms and wrists, he could, indeed, work like a steam shovel. Due to his uprightness and honesty, he made many friends through the long years of his active life in Silverton. Survivors were his two brothers in Italy, whose names were not given. John was laid to rest at Hillside Cemetery with kind, loving words from his sorrowing friends.