Demographic Survey

       At least a few of those who died on the two islands, however, were buried by their relatives elsewhere than Angel Island.  John A. Martini's Fortress Alcatraz (Pacific Monograph, 1990) documents an 1891 murder/suicide of which neither the murderer or his victim are accounted for among the Angel Island graves while Army records declare that a  Lt. Charles Bailey (see the 1880 census) died while stationed on Angel Island but was evidently buried elsewhere.  Also, one burial, that of Private David Barrow, was removed from Angel Island graves in 1911 to an unknown destination.

      Despite these deaths whose presence is not attested to in the Golden Gate National Cemetery, the 143 burials that can be accounted for show that over the course of those 46 years (1864 - 1910)  the Angel Island Post Cemetery saw on average three burials per year.  When broken down (see Table 1 below), however, it can be seen that more interments occurred in some years rather than others.  There were eleven years (including 1863, the year the Angel Island post was founded) which saw no burials at all.  The deadliest years were 1867 and 1901, for which years ten burials occurred in each. One can only imagine the effect these frequent deaths had on the relatively small communities on Angel Island and Alcatraz.

      The graves break down into several categories (see Table 2 below).  The largest group, numbering 91 individuals (64%), are the burials of army personnel.  Disease and accident, it may be assumed, were their leading causes of death.  The next largest group of burials are those of 36 dependents (25%), the 7 wives and 28 children (+1 unknown) who died on the posts.  These deaths speak of the high rates of mortality for infants/children during the period as well as, in some cases, women in childbirth.  The remaining 16 graves (11%) break down into 6 civilian employees on the posts, 2 Native American prisoners, 1 drowning victim who washed up on Angel Island and 7 individuals whose roles are unknown to this writer.

      As would be expected from 19th-20th century military posts, the graves reflect a predominantly adult male population (99 adult males, 8 adult females, and 8 unknown age/gender).  Surprisingly, when the gender of the children is broken down (see Table 2 below) they also show a larger number of males than females.  One would have expected the population of children to be evenly divided by gender and for the mortality rates to have been about the same.  Over 75% of the children (18 of the 23 for whom death dates are known) in the cemetery died prior to 1882.  This implies either a better level of health among the children on the two posts or that there were fewer children on the posts from the 1880's onward.

     59 of the military personnel have states of origin listed.   Of these 14 were from New York, while California and Pennsylvania account for 8 each, 5 from Missouri, 4 from Massachusetts, 3 each from Kentucky and Ohio, 2 each from Alabama and Iowa and one each from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.  When compared against the state allegiances of the Civil War this shows that about 78% (46) of the deceased soldiers with known states of origin hailed from the North.  Approximately 8% (5) soldiers were from the former Confederate States, while just under 14% (8) came from the Border States that divided the two sides.  As two of the four Southern soldiers died around the turn of the 20th century (and in one case had certainly not even been born when the Civil War occurred), it is evident that the army units at Angel Island and Alcatraz in the decades following the war were made up largely of northerners and the foreign-born.

      The grave markers themselves are of several different styles.    Six markers (E303, E323, E346, E354, E364 & E385) are the “Civil War” type of headstone,  identifiable by the sunk federal shield and bas relief inscriptions.  These are examples of the first headstone design adopted for national cemeteries in 1873 and used at other military graveyards (such as that on Angel Island) from 1879 onward.   These six markers are probably original to Angel Island.  Government-issued headstones of this style were only made available for soldiers who died during the Civil War, and later, to veterans of the war.  Other military and civilian dead from the late 1800's would have had their graves marked with wooden headboards or privately purchased stones of non-uniform style.

      The bulk of the surviving AI grave markers in the GGNC conform to the “general” style adopted by the army following World War I.  This was the first military headstone to authorize religious emblems (either a cross or Star of David).  These  markers were probably made after the graves were moved to San Bruno.

      An additional eight markers (E293, E360, E373, E377, E416, E417, E418 & E419) have the sunk inscriptions and blackened lettering typical of modern post-WWII headstones and are most likely replacements of markers that were lost or badly damaged at some point after the graves were moved.. 

      The graves of the Alcatraz military prisoners are marked with headstones of the post-WWI “general” type except that they lack religious emblems.  This would have been done to indicate their dishonored status.

      The headstone of Mary Ann Ross (E366) is unique in that it lacks a religious emblem and has lettering of a different style than that used in the other headstones.  As her husband was a civilian lighthouse keeper (although almost certainly a Civil War veteran), her headstone was probably privately purchased and not government-issued.

1 Lieutenant Colonel
2 Majors
1 Commissary Sergeant
1 Principle Musician
4 Sergeants
3 Corporals
1 Musician
1 Bugler
54 Privates
10 Recruits
(includes 1 Lance Sergeant)
1 Laundress
1 "Discharged Soldier"
11 Army Prison Inmates
(9 Military Convicts, 2 General Prisoners)

7 Wives
28 Children
(17 Boys, 10 Girls, 1 Unknown gender)
1 Unknown

1 Quartermaster Crewman
1 Post Trader
1 Marine Hospital Service Employee
1 "Milk Ranch" Employee
1 Lighthouse Keeper
1 Teamster

2 Native Americans
1 Drowning Victim
7 Unknowns