"FULKERSON
FAMILY OUTNUMBERED ONLY BY THE HUGE FAUGT CLAN"
EDITOR: The story in Sunday's P.D.
about Sally and Richard Fulkerson turns out to be a story of one of his
daughters and her descendants.
It was
Sally and Richard Fulkerson who started and built the first 2nd St. "Chinatown," later
inherited by his son Steven
Trible Fulkerson known to all as "Trib", and later by his children. It was
Richard Fulkerson with his 5 Kentucky race horses who started the now Santa
Rosa race track. In conjunction with his brother Theodore S. Fulkerson (who
gave the land for old Rincon School and it is now reverting to his heirs) he
organized the Masonic lodge here. I know of a great, great granddaughter who
was accepted in the Job's Daughters as a direct descendant. The brothers were
32nd degree Masons.
I remember
the late Bud Parks (for years leader of the municipal band) telling me of
"fiddling" at my great grandparents' golden wedding. They were dead long before
I was born. During World War I their vault was stripped of the heavy copper
from the door and bars.
Probably
the most widely known branch of Sally and Richard Fulkersons' children are the
children of "Trib" Fulkerson. Trib married Amanda Cockrill. The Cockrill family
is a far reaching one--Mrs. Frank Grace, Mrs. O. H. Hoag and Mrs. Coulter were
a few of the Cockrill class. Nine children were born to Trib and Amanda
Fulkerson. Today's descendants and still Santa Rosa or Sonoma County residents
are the Badgers, Leggetts, Wendts, Fechters, Cummings and Griders.
Well-known
Jack Barham is another great grandson, his father being Sally and Richard's son
John descendant.
I remember
at Trib and Amanda Fulkerson's golden wedding anniversary all the Chinese and
the few Japanese who now were their tenants did as they had done for Sally and
Richard. Among their gifts were their services, asking the privilege of cooking
and serving of the huge banquet for hundreds of relatives and still more
friends.
Trib
carried on much of his father's way of life--horse racing, his house always
full of guests, music and dancing and those huge banquets.
As a child
it seemed there was always a wedding or a funeral in their house, their dead
always lying in state with a "wake" for the lost one.
In Sonoma
County today, only the Faught family outnumber the Fulkerson
clan.
In the
recent cemetery raid many were the great grandchildren who rushed to see if
"their" cemetery was desecrated by the vandals. Of course I admit it would have
been well had we stopped long enough to clean it off of weeds.
But weeds
or no weeds, they would be our dead. In my own family there are 5 generations
laying side by side. My granddaughter loves browsing among the graves today
asking who is this, and what relative.
It is an
eye-sore to many, but with all the well-kept graves there are few who remember
to take along an extra bouquet come May 30 for a great grandparent. Yet there
are among us some who always remember to place flowers at the door of their
vault on that day.
| |
JUST
ANOTHER GREAT
GRANDDAUGHTER,
Santa Rosa. |
