As Halloween approaches I thought it would be fun to change up the blog a bit and write about something spooky. I am currently doing some research that just might fit the bill. I have always had a fascination with ghosts, cemeteries and history. What are ghosts if not the impression of souls who have passed on to become a part of history?. History is a collection of stories marking events that occurred before this moment. Our knowledge of these incidents stem from the recollections and perceptions of the historian's account of that particular event. I am sure that the Indians at Wounded Knee have a different version of the horrific events of that day than the one that we hear from those leading the massacre. What I've recently learned about Christopher Columbus is in stark contrast to what I was taught about the explorer as a child. It is all a matter of an individuals observation. Are there really ghosts haunting particular sites? Are we surrounded by the spirit energy of those who have gone before us? There are so many opinions on this matter. Everyone is entitled to their own personal beliefs. I respect the beliefs of most everyone. I have to draw the line on hate groups and religious fanatics who use religion to perpetuate even more hate. I can't respect hate and openly admit it. I do believe in ghosts. I believe in a lot of things that aren't readily visible to everyone. As a believer I do enjoy good ghost stories whether they have merit or not. It is fun to delve into a story though and see if there are any actual facts that could explain how a haunting came about. Sifting through records and piecing together clues is my own way of reliving those Nancy Drew books that I devoured as a kid.
I love learning the stories of others. I am truly interested in where people have come from and where their paths are leading. Our journeys are as different as the paths we choose to get there. I believe many stories and legends came about to teach lessons or to warn wayward children away from dangerous paths. Is this the case of the Lady in Red who was mentioned to me in passing last week? If the Lady in Red really haunts the Underwood Cemetery why am I just hearing about her now as a middle aged woman? I have visited that cemetery for years and had never heard mention of her. I have put the word out to people who live in that area, historians and paranormal groups asking for more information. One Facebook Friend on my alumni account cautioned that the Lady in Red should not be trifled with. I answered that I don't want to trifle with her, I want to know her story. If she is haunting a cemetery there must be a reason. It would seem to me that the whole objective of the haunting would be to get someones attention so that they would know the reason. Is the Lady in Red the product of a story perpetuated by children living near the cemetery to scare their friends? Who didn't like to tell spooky stories when they were young? Okay, maybe not everyone but I know that I did. We would tell all kinds of dark tales as we walked down Slaughterhouse Road to peer at the old Dot house. I think Dot is what they called it? Maybe it was Dock. Someone said that it had something to do with Dock Grade. It could be that my young ears heard Dot so that is what it became to me. The house was an abandoned farmhouse that was falling into total ruin. We would dare one another to go in. Of course by the time we got there we had ourselves so completely freaked out that no one was brave enough to cross the threshold. We did get up the nerve to enter the old Slaughterhouse though. It was a bit more open and not as rundown. I swear it still held the smell of blood though. Even though that was the blood of animals it still sent chills down my spine. I have always been empathetic to suffering and those animals had to have suffered something even if they were slaughtered in what was considered a humane way. The slaughterhouse made me more sad than scared. Of course I try not to really think too hard about where my food comes from. I definitely should be a Vegetarian by now.
Back to The Lady in Red. Chris-Zada Cemetery in Underwood has always been a favorite place. I love cemeteries. I feel oddly serene when walking among the gravestones and reading the names of those past. I wonder about their lives and find it sad when they died young. The cemetery is named after two little girls who died in 1901. Christina Dark and Zada Larsen were lost to illness in a flu epidemic. They were 5 and 7. I was taken there in 2009 as part of my first ever ghost hunt. I was working on a novel and wanted to do some research. Local paranormal investigators felt that it was an active spot and chose it as one of the locations we visited that night. I was able to hear my first EVP there and lost some of my previous skepticism. Earlier this year I learned of a publication that was put out by a local resident about the cemetery. It is a copulation of all of the known obituaries of the occupants of the graves in the Underwood Cemetery. There is an early plot map and the names of those known to be interred there whose markers have been lost.
In the days that have passed since the Lady in Red was mentioned to me I have gone through the cemetery publication. It is very interesting. I tried to decide who I thought the Lady in Red might be if she is indeed one of those who has taken up permanent residence there. Granted, I have not read each and every obituary in the book yet. I also have not heard any explanation from anyone about this Lady in Red Story. The closest I have come is a classmate who says that she remembers her high school boyfriend telling her about the lady years ago. He was an Underwood resident so he very well may be one of those few who know the origins of the story. Believe me there will be a second blog written as soon as I have more information. With nothing to go on though I made up my own theory along with my friend Sarah who is as intrigued as I am. She is encouraging me to make the Lady in Red a character in a future novel. I might.
In the publication mentioned that was written by a resident named Ralph Brown and published this past April I found a woman named Gwenllian Price Jones Quin. To imagine this woman in life is a fete on its own. I would love to see pictures of her and hear more about her amazing life. It seems she was born in Waleson February 5,1863. In the publication Brown has included a small article and obituary that appeared in the Mt. Adams Sun newspaper on November 23, 1952 shortly after her death. I will share it with you now. I am typing it exactly as it appeared so any run on sentences and such are those of the unnamed newspaper writer:
GWENLLIAN "HARRIET" PRICE JONES QUIN
Gwenllian Price married Mordecai Jones (1865-1913) in Ireland in 1893. Mordecai, a multi-millionaire had been in the Pacific NW beginning in 1883 on multiple hunting trips; they immigrated 1896, establishing a large estate near Husum and planted a successful orchard, which began the apple orchard boom in the White Salmon area. Mordecai also built Hunter Hill Lodge and hosted many hunting parties for gentlemen from England. He inherited a significant amount of land and mines in Wales and Ireland and returned many times to manage his inheritance; however he died in Ireland from Malaria in 1913. Gwenllian remained to settle the estate and had a significant amount of furnishings sent to the Hunter's Hill Lodge and returned in 1921 with her new husband Noel Quin.
Gwenllian Quin
Harriet Gwenllian Quin, 89, was born in Wales Feb, 5 1963, and was one of 19 children, five of whom survive. She was educated at Christ College and London University. in 1896, she and her husband and three sons came to America. Four four years prior to moving to the present ranch known as Hunter's Hill in 1900, the family lived at the old "Brown Place" between Husum and BZ Corners. In 1907 she took her sons to England to be educated. While there she purchased the beautiful estate of the Earl of Darnley. She did a great deal of travelling through Europe at this time. In 1911 she went on a big game safari to Kenya, East Africa with her husband. During the nine months she was gone she killed many lions, leopards, buffalo and rhinoceros. The hides and heads of these were taken to England. During the First World War when her sons were overseas Mrs. Quin was made a lifetime member of the British Red Cross for her great services. In 1922 she jointed her son at Hunters Hill where she lived until a few months ago. She was taken ill in November of 1951, and after a prolonged illness passed away October 1 at Medical Lake. She is survived by her three sons; Ion, Felix and Guy Jones, five grandchildren, one great grandchild and five sisters. Funeral services were held Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Gardener Funeral Home, with Rev. George officiating. Interment was in the Chris-Zada cemetery at Underwood.
What an accomplished woman for the day and age! It is hard to believe she was part of our little community. I have so many questions about her. I also want to know where Hunter's Hill is--what about the old "Brown Place". Did her sons stay in the area? Luckily for me and any other history buff the answer to many of these questions might be found at the West Klickitat County Historical Society Museum in Bingen. I know that I've been wanting to go there. My problem is that once I enter the museum and see the archives they have stored in their basement I may not come up for air for several days. I haven't had time to carve several days into my schedule yet. It will be on my "to do" list in 2014.
Why would I come to the conclusion that Gwenllian Quin could be the mysterious Lady in Red? Because despite her wealth and standing in the community, her grave is unmarked. I don't see how this is possible. Her grave sits next to that of her second husband, Noel Quin. He preceded her in death by almost twenty years, dying in October of 1933. Gwellian provided a very nice headstone for him which appears in the picture to be a pedestal with a stone cross coming out of the top. It is probably two or three feet tall (I am going by the picture). The educated world traveler has nothing at all marking her grave. Could she be hanging out waiting for one of her descendants to fork over some of that inheritance money for a decent grave stone? Shouldn't one of her sons have commissioned something fitting for the matriarch of their estates? If by any chance Gwenllian told the boys not to go to the expense or fuss over her, she didn't really mean it.
This matter will need further research. Who knows when time will allow for me to frivolously while away the hours scrutinizing the details left behind by a family of immigrants who happened upon the area well over 100 years ago. Maybe my friends at the historical society will have a few answers for me. Tonight at their meeting they will raise the question regarding the Lady in Red. Did Gwenllian ever wear red? If not Gwenllian then who is she supposed to be? I will have to read more of the obituaries to see if there are other candidates. Chances are she is probably the figment of an overactive imagination. If you are visiting the Chris-Zada cemetery in Underwood and happen to see her, please let me know.
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