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George Washington Casner

Birth
Iowa, USA
Death
13 Jun 1884 (aged 31–32)
Winnemucca, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA
Burial
Winnemucca, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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George Casner was the youngest of two sons of John L. Casner and Mary 'Polly' Freel. His parents had joined a wagon train to Oregon in 1852. His mother died when he was only twelve days old.

George was raised by his grandmother, Jincy Jane Casner, and her only daughter, Nancy Jane Casner. George went to school in Oregon. In 1875 his grandmother and father moved to Arizona. George went to CA where he married Margaret 'Maggie' Ellen Grover circa June 1875 in Inyo, Inyo Co., Ca. To this union were born four children one of whom died in infancy.

George learned the sheep business while growing up in Oregon. He was working on the sheep ranches in NV when he was killed when a horse reared and fell on him. It is believed he was buried in the Winnemucca, NV cemetery.
Maggie remarried and eventually moved back to Bishop, CA. She remarried a total of four times. Four of her five husbands died tragic deaths.

(June 13, 1884, Page 3, Column 2, Silver State Newspaper)
George Casner while riding a spirited horse met with a serious accident. It seems that the horse fell to the ground with him and he was struck in the head. He has a wife and three children and the family are in destitute circumstances. Later it was learned Casner died this morning.

(June 16, 1884, Page 3, Column 3, Silver State Newspaper)
The persons who were around collecting aid for the widow of George Casner who died were quite successful and Mrs. Casner is very grateful for the relief that has been afforded her.

A search of the Winnemucca, NV cemetery and cemetery records in March 2004 failed to identify a grave for George Casner. In 1884 when George died, burials were in the Pioneer Cemetery on the hill near the railroad depot. The cemetery was regarded as ugly and disgusting as it was very unkept. Only those with families still in the area cared for the graves of their loved ones and not many could afford the wrought iron fences to encircle individual family plots. The cemetery had no fence around its entirety. As time passed, graves sank and created pits in the earth. Horses and cattle roamed free around the edge of town at the time and many found themselves stuck in the grave pits. Headstones and markers were knocked over and damaged by the animals unless the grave was protected and maintained by a family member. In the 1890's only a half a dozen headstones remained in the Pioneer Cemetery. Between vandals, the big 1916 earthquake, numerous wildfires, and animals, most headstones didn't stand a chance in the Pioneer Cemetery without family to do the repairs.

Circa 1909 the railroad decided it would not sell any land to the cemetery for expansion. The idea to build a new cemetery at the other end of town was started. Family members could request their loved ones remains be dug up and moved to the new cemetery. About 35-40 graves were relocated. The rest kept falling into disarray. Over time, all of the public graves were relocated either to the new cemetery or to a common burial ground somewhere near the hillside (location unknown). In a later newspaper article (circa 1930) a reference to the common grave burial site was made. The commissioners wanted to utilize the gravel pit but were afraid moving the gravel would loosen the ground around the common grave burial site and many coffins would begin emerging. Discussion was made to move the coffins again to a site in the cemetery. It is believed all the graves were moved. Those without headstones to identify them are marked in the books as unknown. The relocated graves with headstones still have their stones and do appear in the books. The small part of the Pioneer Cemetery that remains is the Oddfellows Section which is fenced.
George Casner was the youngest of two sons of John L. Casner and Mary 'Polly' Freel. His parents had joined a wagon train to Oregon in 1852. His mother died when he was only twelve days old.

George was raised by his grandmother, Jincy Jane Casner, and her only daughter, Nancy Jane Casner. George went to school in Oregon. In 1875 his grandmother and father moved to Arizona. George went to CA where he married Margaret 'Maggie' Ellen Grover circa June 1875 in Inyo, Inyo Co., Ca. To this union were born four children one of whom died in infancy.

George learned the sheep business while growing up in Oregon. He was working on the sheep ranches in NV when he was killed when a horse reared and fell on him. It is believed he was buried in the Winnemucca, NV cemetery.
Maggie remarried and eventually moved back to Bishop, CA. She remarried a total of four times. Four of her five husbands died tragic deaths.

(June 13, 1884, Page 3, Column 2, Silver State Newspaper)
George Casner while riding a spirited horse met with a serious accident. It seems that the horse fell to the ground with him and he was struck in the head. He has a wife and three children and the family are in destitute circumstances. Later it was learned Casner died this morning.

(June 16, 1884, Page 3, Column 3, Silver State Newspaper)
The persons who were around collecting aid for the widow of George Casner who died were quite successful and Mrs. Casner is very grateful for the relief that has been afforded her.

A search of the Winnemucca, NV cemetery and cemetery records in March 2004 failed to identify a grave for George Casner. In 1884 when George died, burials were in the Pioneer Cemetery on the hill near the railroad depot. The cemetery was regarded as ugly and disgusting as it was very unkept. Only those with families still in the area cared for the graves of their loved ones and not many could afford the wrought iron fences to encircle individual family plots. The cemetery had no fence around its entirety. As time passed, graves sank and created pits in the earth. Horses and cattle roamed free around the edge of town at the time and many found themselves stuck in the grave pits. Headstones and markers were knocked over and damaged by the animals unless the grave was protected and maintained by a family member. In the 1890's only a half a dozen headstones remained in the Pioneer Cemetery. Between vandals, the big 1916 earthquake, numerous wildfires, and animals, most headstones didn't stand a chance in the Pioneer Cemetery without family to do the repairs.

Circa 1909 the railroad decided it would not sell any land to the cemetery for expansion. The idea to build a new cemetery at the other end of town was started. Family members could request their loved ones remains be dug up and moved to the new cemetery. About 35-40 graves were relocated. The rest kept falling into disarray. Over time, all of the public graves were relocated either to the new cemetery or to a common burial ground somewhere near the hillside (location unknown). In a later newspaper article (circa 1930) a reference to the common grave burial site was made. The commissioners wanted to utilize the gravel pit but were afraid moving the gravel would loosen the ground around the common grave burial site and many coffins would begin emerging. Discussion was made to move the coffins again to a site in the cemetery. It is believed all the graves were moved. Those without headstones to identify them are marked in the books as unknown. The relocated graves with headstones still have their stones and do appear in the books. The small part of the Pioneer Cemetery that remains is the Oddfellows Section which is fenced.


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