BURIED TOGETHER
Partner Joel A. Cumback, buried together
Queer Places:
Columbia State Historic Park, 11255 Jackson St, Columbia, CA 95310, Stati Uniti
Joel A. Cumback (1827 - June 5, 1857) and Jacob R. Giddis (1833 - June
28, 1861) are buried in the public cemetery of the historical town of
Columbia, California, with matching headstones. Cumback died before
Giddis, and Giddis erected the first headstone for his friend; when Giddis
was murdered four years later, he was laid to rest near Cumback.[1]
Due to the historical importance of the headstones, they were included in
the Historic American Buildings Survey in the 1930s.[2]
Joel A. Cumback was born on 1827 in Chester Township, New Jersey, the
son of Abraham Cumback (d. 1832) and Phebe Horton (d. 1844). Before moving
to California with Giddis, Cumback was a dairyman and lived with his
sister, Lydia Ann Cumback (1822-1852) married to Nathaniel C. Horton.[3]
Jacob R. Giddis was born on 1833 in Randolph, New Jersey, the son of
Azariah Giddis (d. 1861), a farmer, and Sarah Giddis (d. 1853). He
attended school in Randolph in the 1850s.[4]
Cumback and Giddis were mining partners in Columbia, California.
Considering that Chester and Randolph are less than 20 miles apart, it's
likely that Cumback and Giddis moved together to California. Cumback died
on June 5, 1857, and his tombostone reads: "Joel A. Cumback, formerly of
Chester, Morris County, New Jersey, Died June 5, 1857, Aged 30 years.
Erected by his friend Jacob R. Giddis." After the death of Cumback, Giddis
abandoned the mining business and went to work for the Tuolumne County
Water Company. On June 28, 1861, he was murdered and his body was found at
the reservoir near Strawberry. His tombstone, next to Cumback, reads:
"Jacob R. Giddis, Aged 28 Y’s, Murdered on or about the 28 th day of June,
1861."[5]
My published books:
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_A._Cumback_and_Jacob_R._Giddis