The gates of two of Glendale’s historic cemeteries were open recently for tours highlighting figures from the past. 

Members of The Glendale Historical Society led ticket holders on tours of Grand View cemetery, founded in the mid 1880s for Civil War veterans, and of the Brand family graveyard.

Eileen Wallis organized the event, which began at Grand View. As the only burial ground in this area until 1906, it provided space for veterans from both sides of the conflict. One of the first stops was at a small headstone provided by the federal government marking the grave of Virginian Moses Blake. He had volunteered for the Union Army, then segregated by race, and served as a private in Company A of the 52nd U.S. Colored Infantry. 

After the war, Blake made his way to California working for another former Virginian, Cameron Erskine Thom, who had served as a captain in the Confederate Army. Thom also headed west after the war, purchasing a significant acreage from the Verdugo family. Blake worked on Thom’s fruit ranch in what is now known as Rossmoyne for some 20 years. He also helped found the Glendale Post of the Grand Army of the Republic and, according to Wallis’ research, was likely the only Black member.

Tour goers also learned of the enormous death toll from the flu epidemic of 1918-20, and of other epidemic diseases, including tuberculosis, while stopping at various gravestones including that of Allan Bryant, the third medical doctor to live and work in what is now known the Doctors House. Originally located on Wilson Avenue, the Queen Anne-Eastlake style house was rescued, moved to Brand Park and renovated by the newly formed historical society in the early 1980s. 

The tour continued at a small cemetery in the hills above Brand Library where L.C. Brand his wife Mary Louise and other family members are buried. Brand died in 1925 and a pyramid-shaped monument was later erected there. Burial is limited to Brand relatives and family members; to date 34 burials have taken place, the most recent in 2023.

Provided by Katherine YAMADA