Rebecca Abraham was born Rebecca Hughes, August 1, 1860 in Pennsylvania to William and Margaret Hughes. William and Margaret immigrated from Wales and landed in Pennsylvania where they started their family. And according to the 1870 census they had 5 children. Rebeccas father was a miner and brought his family to the MT Diablo Coal fields in the 1870's. The hard life for families, miners' families any family hit hard for the Hughes family in 1876. Rebecca's mother Margaret passed away when she was 37 years old, May 11, 1876. And she was buried at the Somersville cemetery.

With sadness came joy in time. Rebecca married Daniel Abraham (last name might have been Abrams) in January 1878. Once Daniel and Rebecca were married, they made a home in the town of Nortonville.

Tragedy hit the newlyweds on October 30, 1878. While Rebecca was working in her kitchen Ironing at her Nortonville home, a horrible accident occurred. The oil lamp fell over and went ablaze on the floor. The fire splattering on her clothes. With instinct she tried to put the fire out, but seemed to make the spreading worse, and she was severely burned. Rebecca ran outside engulfed in flames, and neighbors ran out, wrapped her in a blanket to get the flames out. She lingered in pain for a day and a half, succumbing to her injuries on November 1, 1878.

Rebecca was laid to rest at the Somersville cemetery on November 3, 1878.

It was said to be the largest funeral attended at that time. She was only 18 years old.

There was a little controversy in an article from the Antioch Ledger regarding the type of oil that had been used in the lamp. It was suggested if they had spent a few more dollars on a higher-grade oil, Rebecca may still have been alive.

Rebeccas gravesite had a beautiful headstone and a wrought iron fence until the late 1960's when the headstone and the wrought iron disappeared.

Amazingly in 2015, a very kind gentleman contacted Black Diamond Mines because he found Rebecca's headstone in the Napa Valley area. No questions asked. The headstones was retrieved, cleaned up and placed back where it belonged.

Here at Rose Hill cemetery within East Bay Regional Park District where Rebecca grave remains.

by FOG contributor Misty Bruns 47417872)

Rebcca's siblings were Mary J b. 1863 Penn, Anna/Hannah b. 1865 Penn, Margaret b. 1867 Penn, Reese b. 1868 Penn, John b. 1869 Penn

July 28, 2015

Black Diamond Mines Naturalists - East Bay Regional Park District

Gravestone returned!

The stone of Rebecca Abraham (1860-1878), buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, had been missing since the early 1960s. A kind gentleman in Napa County contacted park staff to let us know he discovered the gravestone which belonged at Black Diamond.

With careful restoration efforts, we hope to return the stone to its rightful place in the cemetery. This is one of only a handful of headstones that have ever been returned to Black Diamond and we are so grateful!