TEMECULA: Teen tackles headstone history

By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer
Eagle Scout project leads to the categorization of 1,400 graves | Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:44 AM PDT ∞

TEMECULA -- The names on the headstones in Temecula Public Cemetery read like a who's who of local pioneers. The Roripaughs, the Escalliers, Mahon Vail, the Liefers and Juan Machado are just some of the names that can be found carved into granite tombstones -- as well as emblazoned on city landmarks.

Unlike the namesake roadways and buildings, there was no map leading the curious to the final resting place of those who left their fingerprints on the creation of the city. But an Eagle Scout project completed by Andrew Sevy of Temecula has begun to allow residents to reconnect with those buried at the cemetery on C Street off Santiago Road in Temecula.

Sevy, 18, spent two months cataloging, photographing and charting the headstones at the 120-year-old graveyard behind St. Catherine's Church so the information could be used for further research. He said it was an idea he got from his cousin in Idaho, who completed a similar Eagle Scout project.

Along the way of cataloging roughly 1,400 headstones, Sevy gained a historical understanding of the area and became acquainted, after the fact, with some of those who settled Temecula.

"I got to know the cemetery pretty well," Sevy said. "If you go through Old Town, you start to see a lot of the same names."

Though he doesn't have a "favorite," he said he tends to find the older headstones most interesting. One in particular was a marker that simply read, "Six Gun," and is located among the plots of the Escalliers -- one of Temecula's most prominent early families.

Sevy said that although he never felt spooked while at the cemetery, he did have a startling moment when he and his crew came across the headstone of a family friend who had died years ago.

"We knew he was dead, but we didn't know where he'd been buried," Sevy said. "That was an interesting moment. We all had to stop and look at the grave marker."

Sevy said that discovering young people who died in accidents and were buried in the cemetery was also a bit jarring.

For the project, he collected information from the gravemarkers, including the name, date of birth and date of death. That data was then formatted on a spreadsheet and a hyperlink was added that shows a digital image of the headstones.

Sevy says the project took 131 hours of work and cost $15: $6 for pencils and paper, and $9 for a pack of 50 blank CDs to burn the information on to. He was quick to point out, though, that he only used about a dozen of those disks.

Sevy joined the Cub Scouts when he was 8 and, three years later, joined Boy Scout Troop 334. He is currently attending Palomar College.

The rank of Eagle is the highest rank in Scouting and the honor is bestowed on only about 5 percent of all Boy Scouts, according to organization's Web site. Each project must benefit the community and demonstrate the leadership skills that the teens have learned through Scouting.

Sevy used his management skills as he recruited the help of his fellow Boy Scouts, friends and family members to catalog and photograph the gravestones at the 7-acre cemetery.

His mother, Valerie Sevy, said that at times, the project seemed like it may never end.

"I remember one day when we thought we had finished with an entire section (of the cemetery) we came back to find a fresh grave," she said.

"This city does have an interesting history" she said. "When you see these names, you get a sense of the importance of this place."

Besides submitting his project to the Boy Scout council, Sevy also sent a copy to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Family History Library in Utah, which houses the largest genealogical collections in the world. Local family historians also benefited as Sevy presented the data to the Temecula Valley Genealogical Society, which now displays the information on its Web site.

"We were really interested when he contacted us and said he did the project," said Carol Anderson, president of the group. "He gave a presentation and we were really impressed."

The Temecula City Council has a common practice of honoring local Eagle Scouts with proclamations during its meetings. When Sevy received recognition for his project Tuesday, he also offered something back to city leaders: a copy of his work.

Assistant City Manager Bob Johnson said the city is planning to provide a link to the information from the city's Web site.

"I think his project is so fantastic. He's really given a gift to the community," Johnson said.

-- Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.

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