News Scrapbook 1981-1982

Digging around in San Diego's history

A vi it to o ne of an Diego's fasci- nating archaeological exe.tv.itions can be a rewardi ng experie nce wheth- e r you are a newcomer to the area, o r getting reacquai nted with o ur hi tori- ca l he ritage, or just bowing out-of- town visitor aro und America's Finest ity. With a rich pano rama o f Indian, Spanish, and Anglo-American cul- tures, archaeologists are unlikel y to run out of exciting find . Many of the excavati ons in the count y are o f sho rt duration and are ofte n on private property, well re- moved from the be-,Hen path . Other excavatio ns have been o ngoing fo r several years, continue o n a regular b.1s1s, and are open to visitors. The fo llowing excavatio ns are regularly scheduled, although since particular hours o f operation m.iy change be- e.tu e o f we.ither, it is wise to call ahead. Add itional info rmation about mher archaeo logica l programs can be obtained b y contacting Su an Bern- stein of the San Diego Museum o f Mw at 239-2001, or by writing the San Diego County Archaeological ociety at Box A-81106, San Diego, CA 92138. T ocated just e.ist of the Inte rstate 8 L and Inte r tate 5 junction (use the Tay lo r Street exit from 1-8), Presidio Hill and the Se rra Museum loom above bu tling Mission Valley traffic. IJere, among tangles of co.istal age .ind sunbaked earth. panish settle rs establis hed Califo rnia's fir t mis ion in 1769 .incl the first presidia (fo re) in 177 •. Abandoned in 1835, the ettle- me nt fell into dis repair d uring the Anglo-Ame ri can pe ri o d . The n , largely th rough the effo rts o f Geo rge W. Marston, the hill and its se re ne surroundings were purchased and donated a a city park in 1930 . In mo re recent years, Presidio Hill has been the subject of extensive ar- chaeological exe.tvations. Since 1965 hundreds of students have acquired unique .ind valuable training .ind pro- vided historians with insights to early panish life in San Diego. Besides the miniature cannon found by Gay Brown, carefull y exe.tvated pits have yielded Spanish-period c rucifixes, Mexie.tn coins, and brass buttons made in England.

elf- guided tours o f Presidio Park and the excavation should start at an Diego Historical ociety's erra Muse- um high atop the hill. Often mistaken for a missio n, the museum w.is built in 1929 and houses archives and his- to rical collections. The museum and gift sho p are open every day o f the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and ew Year's Day. Hours o f opera- tion are Monday through aturday, 9 to 4:45, and Sunday, 12 tO 4:45. pc- cial tours can be arranged by pho ning 297-3258. Th roughout the summer and the fall emesters, Mesa College students and volunteers under the d irectio n o f Dennis Quillen will be excavating be- twee n the hours of 9 and 4 o n Sa tur- days . An affa b le yo ung man with equally amiab le and info rmative stu- dents, Quillen will gladl y answer questions and is sure to he igh te n your histo rical inte rest. Take a picn ic -baske t lunc h and e nj oy an af- ternoon in h istoric Presi<;iio Park . D own the hill and around the cor- ner from Presidio Park, Old Town Hiscorical Park on an Diego Avenue continues to be the site of ar- chaeological excavations. While there may be some break: in tl1e work due to timing demands at o ther digs, the ice w ill be the scene of activity through most of the late summer and fall months. According to Peter Schultz of the Sacramento office: of tatc: Parks and Recreation, archaeologists will be working near the Machado-Sil v.is adobe and on the plaza. Here, archaeo- logists will be attempting to unearth found.ttions o f 1840s-era buildings and probing trash mounds made when Old Town was still young. For specific info rmation : 237-6770. T caving Old Town and heading east L o n 1-8 through what used to be ric h farmland, you can visit the Mis- sion San Diego de Alcala. Take either the Missio n Gorge Road e xit north to Mission Road and travel west to the mission, or get off I-8 onto Interstate 15, head no rth to the Friars Road exit e.ist, and go south on Mission Road . Built five years after the founding of the mission on Presidio Hill , Mission San Diego was the religious center of

earl y San Diego and a prosper us chapel where hundreds o f Joe.ti Ku- meyaay Indians were conve n ed , no t alway willing ly, b y zealo us Spanish priescs. Dr. James Moriarty and studencs from the Uni versity of San Diego have been wo rking thL~ site 5ince I 966. Be- ides finding the graves of some of Cal ifomia's first settlers, archaeologisLS have uncovered remnants of the o rigi- nal adobe mL5sio n structure (parts o f whi h can be viewed LOday) built af- ter the first tule -brush mission was to rc hed and destroyed by Kumeya.iy Jamie Moriarty, US/J student /11 a /Jlsl,,ric preservation masters' prog ra,n, I.Ja.s W(Jrkc:d

villagers o n No vember 5, 177 5. elf-guided tape tours of the mis- sio n ground.5 are o ffe red M nday thro ugh aturday, 9 to 5, and Sunday, I to 5. Admissio n to the muse um is $1, and renta l of the tape with ca se tte (suitable fo r gro ups of up LO 10 ) is an additio nal $ 1. Dr. Mo riarty w ill have fi eld classes at the site on Th ursdays from 9 Ul'\til 12 through ut the fa ll se- meste r, bu t the re is always an attend- am in the gift shop know ledgeabl e about mu e um histo ry. Furthe r infor- matio n can be o btained by aili ng the visito r center at 281 -8449. • f"r y ears a /1mg.,ide Jatber, n~ James Mnr/- arly, a l Mlssion Sa n DieKO digs

young woma n has made contact wi th tht: past a past that lies buried be- neath our feet waiting to be discovered. It's hardly an iso lated inc ident of discovery. Gay Brown is a member of one of st:vcral major archaeo logical programs being conducted regu larl y at si tes th r

BY RICI IARD I.. C IUUCO O n :1 hill ahov<: M1ss1on Vallc.:y, Cay Brown pains t:1king ly scrarx:s at thl' ;1dc he soil under her F111ally, the coarst: din lst:ns :111d -rumhks ht: neath tl1c me tal blade of her smal l trowel. Moments later, th · lx:gl nn1 ng archaeology MLH.lent shri ·ks wi1h joy Il er c:1rdu l prohing has revt ,1k·d :1 sm:dl , clay toy cannon .tnd two clav t,11111011 ha lls the of young p<.;:ls: In the sp:1ct: of a few m<>111cnts of excavation, but aftt:r \H-cks of oftln fruit less effort , this \/111 t' /I, Jin; t r,·,torat/011 /11 the / 'JJ/1,,. 1//s ,1011 \t111 JJ11·~0 tie /l l1alt1 hm /}(X'll th1• sit,• of

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JL I.Y 1 1 )Hl

!'I.\'\ t>ll.00 110 \.11- GARDE'\ JUL 198a

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Mission Valley Murder Solved Sleuth Withholds Name ofCulprit By H. WATSON LOCKWOOD SANDIEGODAILY TRANSCRIPTSW/ Wnttr "The game's afoot, Watson," Sherlock Holmes often observed to his medical friend as they sped t hrough foggy Loni:lon streets in a hansom cab headed for adventure . And it was indeed afoot when t he case involved the king of the 1890's London underworld, the insidious and evil Dr. Moriarty, Holmes' principal ant agonist in many a caper. However, there's nothing evil or even insidiou about Dr. J ames Moriarity III, professor of h istory / anthropology at the University of San Diego. who shares with Sherlock Holmes a penchant for solving crimes. He believes he has solved a murder that took place in Mission Valley 128ye ago. His Watson in the search for the murderer was graduate student Joseph Uphoff "On Feb. 8, 1856, a murder was committed in Mission Valley. The victim was a soldier from the San Diego Mission fort, and the crime was never solved. Forensic examination of the evidence taken from the keletal remains, sup- ported by documentation, strongly suggests that the murderer was a soldier from Company F, Third Artillery, then stationed at the mission," Dr. Moriarity observed. A program initiated by USD's Dr. Ray Brandes resulted in the discovery of a U.S. Army cemetery at the mission. There are 23 bodies of soldiers buried there. Most died of natural causes; however, two were hanged for shooting an officer, while another who insulted his com- manding officer was punished so severely that he died, "It must have been a fun post," said Dr. Moriarity. Then. one was murdered; this is the one he's interested in. The old nussion was occupied by the Army from 1850 to 18.59. During the Civil War. in a document signed by Abraham Lincoln. which can be seen at the mission, title passed back (Continued on Page 4A)

4A SAN DIEGO DAILY TRANSCRIPT 'T'H"UC>AY, .,) " '- Y 8 , l"I S.2. Old Murder Solved- (Continued from Page lAJ to the Cath~lic Church, the original owner. Back to the scene of the crime. hi: the early spring of 1979, the

In 18.51, an earlier post com- J, Bankhead Magruder, had put out a blistering order on the subject of stealing. In the order he wrote "it is the duty of . any enlisted man to report promptly any case of theft or robbery which may come to his knowledge directly or indirectly, else he is to be con- sidered and treated as a participator in the crime itself." Magruder, by the way, ended up as a major general in the Con- federate army. In a character analysis, Moriarity dismisses the idea that the crime was motivated by gambling, a woman or drinking, since the victim w a.<1 known ~ceful and quiet man." "We are left with the murderer, who killed in a spontaneous act of anger, wanting to stop or silence O'Sullivan. Logically, it may be further iwumed that O'Sullivan had observed the murderer do something that would frighten him into committing such an act. Ad- ditionally, it was something that had happened only a short time before, probably that morning," the sleuth wrote. O'Sullivan had to pick up the shotgun in the officer's quarters, so he had to go there before he left for Old Town to buy shot. He obtained the gun, then saddled up and headed for town. "Sometime, O'Sullivan observed someone commit a crime and threatened the culprit with possible exposure. The logical assumption is that this crime was a theft. It is unlikely that a theft in the enlisted men's barracks would have generated anger and fear of punish- ment. A theft from an officer, however, and the threat of exposure would have been more than enough to bring about ttte act." So, the culprit left the post some time after his victim did to plead with him to forget the incident. But a soldier does not just walk off a post. He mu.~t either be excused or his job allowed him to leave the post without being involved in the incessant drills and formations that a soldier of that period was burdened with. The historian thinb that the only enl.isted man who would have the freedom to leave at will would be an officer's orderly, who does not stand drill and whose job gives him plenty of freedom. mander, Lt. Col.

"O'Sullivan must have received permission to leave the post to go bird or rabbit hunting in the valley. We know he was armed with a fowling piece. This would have been a muzzle-loading, double-barreled shotgun with outside hammers that projected above the base of the receiver. "This weapon is not a military piece, and it is very unlikely that any private soldier could have afforded such a weapon. Additionally, military regulations were clear about prohibiting non-regulation fire8I'lI18 in the possession of enlisted men," the historian wrote. Since the soldier w~ a "peaceful and quiet man," it is assumed he was well-liked and had been given permission to shoot some critters for the officers' mess, He would probably have received a small payment for his efforts. O'Sullivan was in Old Town at 8 a.m. We iwume he rode there on a horse belonging to the post to buy shot for his shotgun. Then it is assumed he left town, went back into the valley and started hunting. The hunting area appears to be roughly where Cabrillo Freeway (163) crosses Mission Valley east of Fashion Valley Shopping Center. ~atever he was hunting, rabbits or doves, he would have hunted on foot. Some time during the morning, he was approached by the murderer , who must have been someone he knew. "This period in San Diego County history was one of civil disquiet, with raids across the border by Mexican bandits and rumored Indian troubles. Thus only someonE O'Sullivan knew and felt presented no danger to him could have. ap- proached close enough to get hold of the shotgun," Dr. Moriarity wrote. "We can be sure that a heated argument took place and, as a consequence, the murderer lost control, snatched up the shotgun and smashed it down across the back of O'Sullivan's head. Analysis of the wound shows the depression made by the magazine chamber of the receiver and the two holes punched through the skull by the outside hammers." The historian h1111 photos of O'Sullivan's skull showing the depression and the two holes. So, this appears to be how it happened, but wh did it hap~n?

The post commander, Capt. H.S. Burton, rated a "dogrobber," as the soldiers called officers' servants, but no other officers did. So Sherlock Moriarity and Watson Uphoff believe the murderer was Capt. Burton's personal servant. Dr. Moriarity has his name and knows a bit about him, but is not inclined to identify the culprit. After all, he may have a great-great grandson or daughter living today who would not care to be known as the descendent of a killer. So, Private O'Sullivan rests today in Grave 16 at the old mission. His killer has undoubtedly been gone for generations himself, but it is unlikely that he and his victim ever met postmortem; they undoubtedly went to different places. And Dr. Moriarity probably wrapped up the case and turned to his associate with an "Elementary, my dear Uphoff."

remains of Pvt. Jeremiah O'Sullivan were discovered in the cemetery. At the time of his enlistment, Dec. 17, 18.51, he was described as 25 years old, with blue eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion_ A native of County Kerry in Ireland, he was a farmer by occupation. He was transported by ship to San Diego, where he was entered as a private in Co. F of the Third Ar- t illery. He died Feb. 8, 1856, and the following remarks are appended to his record: "Found dead in the valley bet- ween the Mission and San Diego· a Private," ' Here's the report from the community's only newspaper, the San Diego Herald: " A soldier named Jerry O'Sullivan, belonging to Co. F, 3rd Art'y, stationed at the Mission, was found dead in Mission Valley, about two miles from town, with his head horribly mutilated. "The deceased st~ from town about eight o'clock with a fowling piece, which was found by his side broken into several pieces. He was discovered about eleven o'clock by a person piwing by, with his brains stove in and quite dead, although his body was yet warm. "He was about 30 years of age and is said to have been a peaceable and quiet man. An inquest was held by ~roner Hoffman, on Saturday morning, and on the testimony produced the jury rendered the following verdict: The deceased J eremiah O'Sullivan came to his death by foul means and by the hands of some person or persons unknown. Search has been made but no clue obtained of the perpetrators (sic) of the deed.'" The story went on to report the posting of $300 reward by County Judge D.B. Kurtz and Capt. H.S. Burton, post commander. Dr. Moriarity believes the following reconstruction of the victim's morning is accurate: At parade and morning roll call, special orders for the day would have been issued.

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