One such morning late in the winter of 1972 a friend and I started off from Berkeley around 5:00 AM in search of that perfect morning light.

This particular morning we headed out toward the old towns of Contra Costa County that lie along the Sacramento River delta. Early settlements often developed near navigable waterways since the waterway provided transportation for both people and good into and out of new territory. Since both old buildings and rivers make for some great subjects we had decided on this particular morning to explore for both.

Another thing that early settlements produce which I find of particular interest is graveyards. The graveyards of our western civilization provide an interesting window into the past. From the names, dates, and inscriptions on tombstones it is possible to learn who the early settlers in a particular area were, where they came from, whether they prospered and how difficult their lives were.

Burial is a religious custom so graveyards are often separate for people of different faiths. The towns along the Sacramento delta in Contra Costa County were settled by Italians, Welsh and English, Spanish or Mexican, Germans, the occasional Russian, and a scattering of many others, as the stones tell their tale. Some prospered and lived to ripe old age, but infant and child mortality took their toll in numbers that would shock our modern sensibilities.

That winter morning was cold and still dark as we neared the town of Martinez. On the outskirts of the town there are a couple of old graveyards which overlook the river below. It was there that we stopped just before sunrise in hopes of catching some interesting light on the graves or the river during sunrise.

We parked by the roadside and stepped out into the sharp morning air. We immediately zipped our warm parkas tighter against the cold. It took only a few minutes to unload camera bags and tripods. I took a few extra minutes to securely mount my Nikon on it's tripod and load fresh film before heading for the gate to the Protestant cemetery.

As my eyes picked a path through the unevenly spaced stones and monuments I could see mist rising from the river below. In the distance a bridge crosses the river and there were a few small boats scattered along the shore, either at small floating docks, or moored to buoys. I headed through the cemetery without much regard thinking that the river, bridge, boats and mist would be my first subjects that morning. The cemetery itself slopes gradually toward the river but stops well short of the waters edge. It was on the section of hillside below the graves that I finally stopped.

For a half hour as the first rays of sunlight crept into the sky I busied myself with camera set up, exposure readings, lens selection, focusing and picture taking. My companion had been doing the same a hundred or so feet to the east of where I was working, but had apparently decided to move since he was no nowhere in sight.

Satisfied with the results so far, I decided to move back up the hill to explore the cemetery and it's garden of headstones. I picked up the heavy camera bag and slung it over my left shoulder then folded the tripod legs and, leaving the camera still mounted, hoisted the tripod over my right and started up the hill.

The distance was probably less than a hundred yards but it was still not fully light. There was no trail and the ground was slightly uneven. Those things plus the early hour, or some other influence unrecognized at the time, caused me to walk head bent and eyes directed at the ground just in front of me, rather than my usual head up forward looking stance. The truth is, I was deep in thought about something, soon to be forgotten.

And so it was that as I just reached the crest of the steeper part of the hill that my eye fell upon this:

Click the image above to enlarge.

You've heard of "tunnel vision" that condition when a person focuses on only one thing, to the exclusion of everything else around them. The only thing I saw in that first several seconds was a gravestone with LUCKHAM in the center. I froze where I was standing and stared. Except in connection with myself, or members of my own immediate family I had never encountered the family name anywhere. And, I'd looked for it in phonebooks and such all my life. Now, here it was, uninvited, and on a gravestone!

Once my heart started beating again I dropped the camera bag and hollered for my friend to come see what I'd discovered. We read the inscription. Then read it again. And again, and again. Even after several reads I was not clear what it means. Here is what it says:

Alexander & Catherine

LUCKHAM,

of Studland, Dorset, England

killed by a fall from aloft

in the ship Benmore

25 March, 1881

Aged 16 years 6 months

There are several obvious questions. Two names are mentioned. Is this the grave of one, or both? How were they related? Husband and wife? Mother and child? Father and child? Brother and sister? Any of those combinations are possible. Marriage and parenthood was common at 16 in those years.The use of the term "Aged" rather than "Age" might suggest that one was 16 years old and the other 6 months. That would suggest either parent and child, or siblings.

Then there's the question about just where the deaths occurred. The year 1881 means that the ship Benmore was a sailing ship, probably a square rigger. But it also means that there was no refrigeration aboard to preserve the body of someone who died at sea. Sailing San Francisco Bay and the delta is tricky even today. In 1881 it would likely have meant a couple of days sailing from the bay entrance up to Martinez. Death at sea, and probably even in the large bay would probably have meant burial at sea, or in the bay. If that was the case then the gravestone may only be a memorial rather than an actual grave marker.

And what, exactly, does "killed in a fall from aloft" mean? The Benmore was a sailing ship so aloft would mean up in the sails and rigging. But, does it mean that some part of the sails or rigging fell on poor Alexander and Catherine killing them. Or, were they up in the rigging and fell to their deaths? Or, was Alexander a brash young sailorman showing off up in the rigging for his young wife when he slipped and fell upon her killing them both?

The answer, of course, is, I have no idea! Maybe a family member from the Dorset region would be able to track down more information.

After recovering from shock I took the photo seen here and a number of others just for fun.

The following week I trekked out to Martinez again. Martinez just happens to be the county seat and is where official records are kept. Unfortunately, there's a gap in the records during the period of interest. It seems there was a courthouse fire which destroyed records from 1881 and most prior years. When recording resumed the only entries referring to this period appear to have been those entered from memory by the official recorder of the period.

I also spent many hours researching newspapers from the area during that period looking for any reference to the deaths, or the ship, and found nothing.

So the mystery remains for some Luckham family member to uncover. Who were Alexander and Catherine Luckham? How did they meet their end on the ship Benmore? And, are they really buried in that Martinez, California, U.S.A. cemetery so far from Studland, Dorset, England?

If you think you have the answer, please let me in on it!

email:  Larry Luckham

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Some time after the above was posted on the web I received the following, which seems to be a pretty definitive answer.

Hello Larry.

I have been reading your history page and see that you have a memorial to Luckham . This in actual fact is to Harold George Edmund Luckham aged 16 yrs seaman he was born in 1864 in Studland Manor Farm. Studland Dorset England his father was Alexander Minty Luckham born 1830 in Broadway nr Weymouth Dorset England . Harold`s mother was Catherine Bossom Bennet born about 1830. They had 11 children but they were a Dorset Family. I cannot find any connection to the Devon Luckhams and can trace my ancestry back to about 1630 . I think that looking at your photo  I can see that the top of the memorial is missing. But would be interested if there is any information about his death. May be that the cemetery has records or the local papers about the accident . I am hope full. that you will find my information is of some use to . i will eagerly await you reply

Regards Bernie (B.J.Luckham)

I have been unable to locate any further records from the cemetery or other sources. But, thanks to Bernie, I think the mystery is solved!