Finally Meeting Grandpa Ramon ( . . . maybe!)

Ramon Berenguer I. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Inside the cathedral of Barcelona are two velvet and brass-bound wooden coffins. There is nothing unusual about this as there are many who are interred within the confines of these holy buildings. These tombs are of interest to me, however, because they contain the remains of my ancestors, Ramon Berenguer I and his wife, Almodis.
 
Upon preparing a trip to Barcelona, I thought it would be fun to investigate whether any of my royal bloodline ran through this part of Spain. To my pleasant surprise I found a father, son and grandson, all of whom held the title of Count of Barcelona.
 
I was very intrigued to learn of Grandpa Ramon. Of course, over the generations the strain has thinned and there is scarcely a drop of blood we share in common. But, just the thought that we are directly connected adds an extra element of intrigue.
 

The tombs of Ramon Berenguer I and his wife, Almodis, in the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain.

Ramon Berenguer I became Count of Barcelona and Girona in the year 1035 at the young age of twelve upon the death of his father. During these early years he fell under the tutelage of his grandmother, Ermesenda. As he grew older he acquired other lands and became the first Catalonian count to gain territories on the north side of the Pyrenees (Carcassonne and Razés). Ramon lived in an era when the Moors occupied most of Spain. He led many campaigns to keep them at bay and even push them back. He imposed heavy tributes on Moorish cities which helped create the first wave of prosperity in Catalan history.
 
Ramon was married three times. While still married to his second wife, he became involved with Almodis de La Marche, the wife of the Count of Toulouse. The two were married and subsequently excommunicated by the Pope.
 

Ramon Berenguer I with emblem of the cross. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

In the year 1046, Ramon and his wife began construction of a Romanesque cathedral on the site of a former Visigoth church that had been destroyed by the Moors in 985. The cathedral was completed in 1058. Two centuries later a newer and bigger cathedral was built. Subsequent additions were added in the following centuries and today the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia is an icon of Barcelona.
 
The cathedral is located in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. As a tribute to the royal couple, the coffins of the two founders hang on the wall. A plaque reads: “Sepulchers of the Counts of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer I and his wife Almodis, founders of the second Romanesque Cathedral (1058).”
 

Cathedral of Saint Eulalia in Barcelona.

Just 65 miles northeast of Barcelona, nestled in the verdant hill-town of Girona, stands another majestic cathedral. This one overlooks the Onyar River. Inside this sacred building is interred another relative of mine, Ramon Berenguer II.
 
Like his father, he was also the count of Barcelona and Girona. He was co-ruler with his twin brother, Berenguer Ramon II (that's not going to confuse anyone!!!). Amid tension, jealousy and quarrels, the two siblings decided to divide their possessions against the will of their late father.
 

Sepulcher of Ramon Berenguer II in the Cathedral of Girona.

Tomb and sculpture of Ermesenda, grandmother to Ramon Berenguer I in the Cathedral of Girona.

Ramon Berenguer II was called “Cap de estopes,” or “Towhead.” This was due to the thickness and color of his hair. All the rulers seemed to have bynames back then. Ramon Berenguer I was given the title “the Old,” and his father was called “the Crooked.”
 
The death of Ramon Berenguer II comes with legend in Girona. On December 6, 1082, at the age of 27 or 28, the count was hunting in the area of Montnegre, where he disappeared. The next day they found his body, murdered by an unknown person. As the legend goes, the corpse was found by a farmer who heard the cry of the count's falcon. The bird was perched on the branch of a tree. When the body was placed in a wooden coffin and carried to Girona, the loyal falcon followed the procession the entire way. Upon arriving at the door of the cathedral, the falcon fell dead on his master's coffin. To commemorate this act, artisans created a replica of the falcon in wood. Centuries later it was replaced by a stone sculpture which is still located on an arch in the cathedral.
 

Skeleton of Ramon Berenguer II. (courtesy of Llegendes de Girona)

Funerary pillow of Ramon Berenguer II on display in Girona Cathedral.

As for the murderer, it was widely speculated that it was his own twin brother, who subsequently took control of the territory. For this reason, he was known as Berenguer Ramon II the Fratricide.
 
To this day, the stone sepulcher sits atop an archway in the nave of the Cathedral for all to see. A detailed carving of the count lies atop the sepulcher. For anyone who wonders if the royal bones still exist inside these ancient coffins, I attest to you they do. I watched a video where they removed a side-panel of the coffin and inside found the skeletal remains (see picture above).
 

Ramon Berenguer II with his trusty falcon. (drawing by Joaquim Pla i Dalmau)

For the third member of the Royal Family in my ancestry, we must return to Barcelona. On the edge of the Gothic Quarter, sandwiched between the old Roman walls and Via Laietana, is the bronze statue of a nobleman riding his horse. The life-sized monument was sculpted by Frederic Marès in 1950, and is a replica of an earlier statue created by Josep Llimona in 1888 for the Barcelona Universal Exposition. The statue is none other than Ramon Berenguer III the Great.
 

Statue of Ramon Berenguer III in Barcelona.

Like his father and grandfather, Ramon Berenguer III was Count of Barcelona. After the death of his father, he co-ruled with his uncle, Berenguer Ramon II until his uncle was forced into exile in 1097.
 
I suppose he was called “the Great” because of the territory he was able to claim for Catalunya. During his life he obtained land as far north as Provence in France from a strategic marriage and military campaigns. In response to threats of Muslim expansion he pushed them back in both Mallorca and Tarragona, the latter of which he captured and rebuilt.
 
During the latter years of his life he abdicated the throne to his son and became a Knights Templar, protecting pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem. He is not buried in Barcelona or Girona, but in a monastery in Ripoll, some 67 miles north of Barcelona. I wasn't able to see his grave on this trip, but my wife and I were in Ripoll twenty years ago and had no idea an ancestor was buried there.
 

Ramon Berenguer III posting the banner of Barcelona at the Castle of Fos. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

My Royal Lineage
 
Ramon Berenguer I the Old, Count of Barcelona, begat Ramon Berenguer II the Towhead, who begat Ramon Berenguer III the Great, who begat Alfonso II of Aragon, who begat Peter II the Catholic, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. He begat James I the Conqueror, who begat Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France, who begat Philip IV the Fair, King of France, who begat Isabella, who begat Edward III, King of England in 1312.
 
King Edward III begat John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who begat Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, who fathered an illegitimate daughter, Jane Beaufort. Jane begat Sir Henry Stradling, who begat Sir Thomas Stradling, who begat Jane Stradling, who begat John Griffith, who begat Eleanor Griffith, who begat Richard Bowen, the first immigrant from this line to come to America. He died in Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1675.
 
Richard begat Ruth Bowen, who begat Thomas Kendrick, who begat Mehitable Kendrick, who begat Sebelia Jerusha Tucker, who begat Captain John Woodbury, who begat Jeremiah Woodbury, who, with all his family, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1841.
 
Jeremiah begat Orin Nelson Woodbury, who begat Mary Margaret Woodbury, who begat Hyrum Nelson Leany, who begat Mary Erva Leany, who begat Toni Shumway, who begat John Lacy. ♠
 

[Postscript: There is a somber twist to this work. When I came to the end of my research, I learned of a controversy concerning the authenticity of our royal link. Some have argued that the connection between Eleanor Griffith (Bowen) and Richard Bowen is a fabrication created in the late 1800's and have listed the parents of Richard Bowen as “unknown.” If this were true it would throw out the entire notion that we are related to royalty through this line. 

My position on the issue is that it is nearly impossible to pass judgment on a “fraud” that happened 136 years ago, especially when it concerns the veracity of another event which occurred over 345 years ago! The truth is, we may never know for sure until we pass to the other side of the veil.]

Outlaws, Greeks and Bartenders in a Utah Cemetery

The Price City Cemetery is perhaps the most ethnically diverse burial ground in Utah. Along with early Mormon settlers are immigrants from Greece, Italy, Japan, Austria, and many other places. Sprinkle in some cowboys and a Masonic section, and you have a ripe combination for a fascinating graveyard.

The first settler, Caleb Rhoades, came to Price in 1877, where he built himself a cabin. He later brought his family and soon others followed, many from Utah County.

The railroad would be completed just a few years later, drastically changing the character of the town. Coal mines opened up and thousands of immigrants poured into the valley. Most of the new citizens were non-Mormon, making Price a unique town in Utah, one that is still noted today in its demographic and political makeup.

A walk through the cemetery clearly displays this cultural peculiarity. Large sections of headstones display writing in Greek, Japanese, or Italian. Many grave markers make use of the cross or the Virgin Mary (both which are not used in typical Mormon symbolism). Also, especially in the Greek section, there are several mausoleums, even one containing four different people. This is also a feature not common in Utah.

A quick perusal of the cemetery database shows men and women born in places from all around the world: Yugoslavia, Spain, Austria, New Zealand, Denmark, Scotland. Within the United States I found people from Oklahoma, Arkansas, South Dakota, Alabama, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, and probably about every state in the Union. Occasionally I found Nauvoo, Illinois, or Winter Quarters, Nebraska, which is a tale-tale sign of a Mormon pioneer. All of these people brought their religion and customs, creating quite the ingredient list for a hodge-podge soup.

Perhaps the most notorious person buried in the Price Cemetery is outlaw, Matt Warner, best know for his alliance with Butch Cassidy. Born in 1864 in Ephraim, Utah as Willard Erastus Christiansen, he was raised in a typical Mormon family. While living on a farm they ran cattle and had a neighboring existence with the Indians.

At age thirteen, while living further north in Levan, Willard got into a fight with the town bully over a girl. After beating the daylights out of the boy and thinking he was dead, Willard saddled up in the middle of the night, said goodbye to his parents, and fled in the veil of darkness through canyons, over a cattle trail, across the Indian inhabited Strawberry Valley, and into Wyoming.

Young Willard Christiansen then took on many aliases, one of them being Matt Warner. He began a career in cattle rustling, bank robbing, and train heisting, and eventually met up with the likes of Butch Cassidy, Elza Lay, and Tom McCarty.

Matt Warner first met Butch Cassidy (then known as Roy Parker) at a saloon in Telluride, Colorado. Of Butch he said: “. . . I noticed a neat-dressed cowboy hanging around the bar like he wanted to talk to me. I liked his looks and sidled over to him, and we began to buy drinks for each other.”

Matt had brought to town a race horse that he hoped to race against the fastest horse in Telluride. When Roy Parker told him he would lose, Matt bristled up and said, “The hell you say. How much you got to bet on that?” Roy didn't have much, but would bet everything he had.

When race day came and the victor proclaimed, Roy Parker handed over his chaps, gun, spurs, and saddle to Matt Warner.

The two men partnered up and went to horse races all over southwestern Colorado, winning lots of money, and spending nearly everything they won. Eventually, they couldn't get their horse paired up for another race, leaving them in need of cash. That's when they conjured up the idea of a little bank robbery in Telluride.

Seven years later in 1896, a gunfight left two men dead and Matt Warner in prison. After serving a four year sentence, Matt decided to turn his life around and begin a new life within the law. He moved to Carbon County where he lived a respectable life and was eventually voted in as Justice of the Peace. 

Matt Warner died in 1938 and was buried in Price.  His headstone is modest and says nothing of his notorious life as an outlaw.  Instead, their is a simple drawing of a horse, an animal that Matt loved his whole life.

The Castle Gate Mine disaster was one of the most tragic events in all of Utah. On March 8, 1924, three separate explosions burst through the quiet morning air, coming from mine no. 2. The blast was so big that it ripped the steel entrance door of the mine off its hinges and hurled it across the canyon and into the mountain side.

A total of 172 men died that day, including one rescuer.

Fifty of the miners were Greek and because there was not enough room in the (Greek Orthodox) Assumption Church, funeral services were held in a public hall. The Salt Lake Tribune reported on March 13, 1924: “The caskets were laid side by side across the center of the floor, and were completely covered with floral offerings evidencing the deep sympathy felt for the bereaved.”

The church bought burial plots for the deceased miners, but the responsibility of grave markers was put on the families, and not all could afford them. Twenty-nine of the miners never received a headstone.

In 2005—eighty-one years after the disaster—a memorial was finally erected for the fallen miners. Money was raised after a conscientious citizen, Andrew Hillas, discovered the social injustice and decided to take matters into his own hands. The memorial is located in the Greek section of the cemetery.

For me, the Price Cemetery is a special place because I have many family members buried there, including two sets of great grandparents. They, like many of the citizens of Carbon County, came from other parts of the country. Hailing from Kansas, Earl and Garnette Lacy spent a few years in Palisade, Colorado before moving to Wellington (just six miles south of Price) where Earl worked in the Columbia Coal Mine.

Earl was a former professional wrestler in the Mid-west, making the circuit at carnivals and once wrestling for the light heavyweight championship of the world. He had slickly combed blonde hair, and the physique of a body builder. Although very kind and lovable, he rightfully had the reputation of a tough man.

Garnette was the solid partner in the relationship. She was smart and knew how to manage money. Patience and hard work made her a good mother to their four children.

The family lived on a farm for a while, then moved into town in 1949 where they ran a tavern. The bar had tables and a dance floor. In a back room, their son, Claude, would deal poker at an oak table that they had cut in half. They also had a punch board where people could pay to push out a piece of paper from the back of the board and possibly win a prize. All the gambling was in the back room.

As could be expected at a place with lots of drinking, there were plenty of fights at Lacy's Tavern. My favorite story is one that shows the “charitable” side of my great grandpa Earl.

Orval Rich frequented the bar, never drinking a lot, but tending to nurse a drink for a long time. He liked to play the punch board and visit with people. Orval had no legs, having lost them both in a mining accident. One day, a large, husky man came into the bar on the fight and started harassing Orval. Earl was tending bar and told him to leave him alone. Then, the rabble-rousing man pushed Orval off the stool.

Earl was out from behind the bar like a bullet! Within seconds, a no-holds barred fist fight was in full swing.

Earl's young daughter, Alice, watched the fight in horror, knowing that her dad was in his fifties, and that this man was much younger and much bigger than her father. She ran to their adjacent apartment where she found her mother mending a pair of pants.

“Mom,” she yelled in a panic, “Dad's in a fight with a great big guy!”

Garnette seemed unconcerned and continued her task. “Your father can take care of himself.”

“He's going to get killed, Mom!”

“Your father can take care of himself.”

When Alice returned to the bar, she found her brothers, Claude and Earl Jr., watching the fight with arms folded. I think all these people knew a little more about Earl Lacy than did young Alice.

Earl was having to swing upward because the guy was so much taller than him. Somehow they tripped, and the guy ended up in Earl's lap, where Earl continued to pummel him. Claude and Earl Jr. eventually pulled Earl off because they were worried that their dad would really hurt the guy. When they did, the man who chose to pick on Orval Rich couldn't see out of his right eye.

When they pulled him off, he kept saying, “I need to talk to that guy (referring to Earl).”

Claude told him, “You don't want to talk to him. He's the wrong guy for you to talk to.”

The Lacy's had other ventures in the area, including a sawmill that they owned near Schofield. Earl was also the town Marshall in Hiawatha, and then in Wellington.

Hard times eventually drove them from Carbon County, first to Wendover, Nevada, and then to Dugway Proving Grounds, a military facility, where Garnette had found a small job. Earl was at the age when he could soon start drawing social security. After getting all the paper work squared away, he was excited about getting his first check.

After supper one evening, Earl said he was feeling bloated and was going on a walk. He never returned. Garnette went out to look for him, and after getting help from the landlord, they found Earl in the camp trailer, fallen back from the edge of the bed, dead of a heart attack.

His first social security check came within a week. They had to send it back.

Earl's body was returned to Carbon County, to the place they called their home. He was buried in the Price City Cemetery, where he would be joined nineteen years later by his beautiful wife. ♠

A private mausoleum in the Price City Cemetery.

A headstone in the Masonic Section.

The use of crosses and other Catholic symbolism is less common in Utah. 

Headstone with Greek letters.

Sources

Barker, Alice Lacy. Interview by John Lacy, March 30, 2009.

Gorrell, Mike. "Greek miners get their due 81 years after their deaths." The Salt Lake Tribune 6 March 2005.

Warner, Matt, updated by Joyce Warner, and Steve Lacy. Last of the Bandit Riders...Revisited. Salt Lake City, Utah: Big Moon Traders, 2000.