Researched by June Shaputis and Dennis Conley walking the three cemeteries and documenting the existing tombstones and their information on July 17, 1999.   See below for more sources.

People buried or possibly buried at Cherry Creek in the newspapers from the White Pine News at Cherry Creek. (Courtesy Jerry Bowen)

Sept. 17, 1881 -- The funeral of the young child of Mr. And Mrs. Peter Litter
took place from the Star Tunnel last Sunday.

Dec. 3, 1881 -- Orlando Crowell died at Mrs. Brown's lodging house yesterday
morning, after a short illness. His funeral took place in the afternoon
under the auspices of the Miners Union

September 6, 1873 Died - We are pained to be informed of the death of
Michael Lagen, which occurred last week at his home in Egan Canyon. It will
be remembered that we published an item regarding an injury occurring to
deceased by which a leg was broken. Dr. Owen, who had been attending him
informs us that, after the broken leg was in a fair way of recovery, Lagen
caught cold, ending in pneumonia, which not being attended to in reason
caused his death.

Feb 12, 1881 - T. M. Sandies, a well known resident of Hamilton, but
recently of Cherry Creek, died Thursday afternoon at Mrs. Bate's lodging
house, after a surgical operation to relieve him of dropsy. He was an old
timer in the county.

May 21, 1881 - Died-Jimmy Kane, an old Nevada pioneer, whom for the past
eight or nine years has been living on a stock ranch about 14 miles west of
town, died at 1 o'clock Friday morning, of pneumonia. Jimmy was well and
favorably known by the traveling public, having kept a way station on the
Egan and Hamilton road.

July 2, 1881 - The funeral of Mrs. Barbara Cameron, who died rather suddenly
Sunday night, took place at six o'clock Monday afternoon and was largely
attended

Sept 3, 1881 - J. D. Campbell being sworn, deposes and says: Reside in
Cherry Creek; my occupation is a physician; I found the deceased, Wm. O'
Dell, at Mrs. Bates Lodging-House at 4:30 P. M. on the 27th day of August,
1881, and used all ordinary means of restoration, but deceased gave no signs
of life. I have no doubt he died from an overdose of laudanum, as he showed
all the symptoms. I presume took about six drachms of laudanum judging by
the vial found on the table in his room. (The newspaper article of O'Dell's
death follows)

LOVE, JEALOUSY AND SUICIDE--Wm. O'Dell Falls in Love with a Pretty Dancing
Girl--Becomes Jealous of Her and Drowns his Woes in a Cup of Cold Poison. --
About three weeks ago a young man, bearing all the outward appearances of a
cowboy, arrived in Cherry Creek. No one knew him. He seemed to be well
supplied with money and paid for everything he got. Shortly after his
arrival he made the acquaintance of the fair but frail habitués of the
dance-house, and with one in particular he seemed to have been smitten.
Minnie Sommers, the idol of his affections, is a recent importation from
Eureka, a well educated but by no means comely dame, of considerable marital
experience on the Base Range, where she has respectable relations, who will
hardly know who she is by the name here assumed. To her O'Dell made
proposals of marriage, and the sympathetic Minnie assented to the scheme,
while at the same time bestowing such loving favors on another young man as
to arouse the fierce ire of the green-eyed monster in the bosom of O'Dell.
He charged the adored one with duplicity Friday night, and told her he would
end his life if she proved false, at the same time producing the drug, which
a few hours later did its deadly work. He went to his room about 2 o'clock
Saturday morning, taking six drachms of laudanum--enough to kill two men--and
was found dead in his bed about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He was a man who
did not drink much, or seem to dissipate to any great extent; in fact his
greatest weakness seemed to be his ardent desire to effect a general
reformation among the "frail sisterhood," by having them all married off,
toward which he seemed anxious to do his share. As advisor to the frail ones
he is said to be pathetic to the extreme, rivaling the famous Moody and
Sankey exhortations to sinners to fly from the wrath to come.

What seems most strange about the whole affair is, though he was known to
have money, none was found among his effects after death. Nor even a scrap
of paper to be found to throw any light on his name or former antecedents.
We had a conversation with the young man a few days before his death, and
our impression of him was that he was a jovial young fellow who had come in
from some ranch to see the sights for a few days. His sad ending is no doubt
the result of bad company and a weak mind. A great moral lesson is given by
his rash act to some of the young men and boys in this town, if they will
only profit by it. It is not even certain that his name was O'Dell; some say
this name was only assumed, and that his real name was Hutton. Following is
the evidence taken before the Coroner's Jury, which body hold its verdict
until Dr. Hagar returns from Ward:
State of Nevada, County of White Pine--Before J. H. Lander, J. P. and acting
Coroner; in the matter of the inquisition upon the body of Wm. O'Dell.

W. C. Love, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Reside in Cherry Creek; my
occupation is that of lawyer; deceased came to my office between 11 and 12 o
'clock on the night of the 26th of August, 1881, and asked Dr. Hagar to give
him some laudanum; the doctor advised him not to take laudanum, but to allow
him to give a prescription; deceased told the doctor that he was accustomed
to the use of laudanum, and that he preferred taking it to anything else;
Hagar then told him to come to the drug store and he would give it to him.

Wm. Paul, being duly sworn, deposes and says; I have known deceased for
about ten days; have gambled with him considerably; was with the deceased
the evening before his death; He told me he came from San Francisco to Wells
and thence to Cherry Creek; he also said that he had been in Texas; he never
told me his name; saw deceased have a leather purse and take $20 from it on
the night of August 26th; saw him between 11 and 12 o'clock that night in A.
W. Gordon's drug store; saw Dr. Hagar give deceased something in a vial; saw
deceased two hours later--about 1 o'clock A. M. at the old Bates
lodging-house.

Minnie Sommers, being duly sworn, deposes and says; My age is 22; reside in
Cherry Creek, have known deceased about ten days--ever since I came to town;
met him the first night; he seemed to think a great deal of me, and agreed
to put my little girl to school, and to lift a mortgage of $200 on my
property, and I told him if he would do as agreed, I would marry him when we
got there; told him that in the last three months he had been at home he had
made about $1,000, but that he had spent most of it; that he had a
disagreement with his uncle and left him; that he had but $200 when he
arrived in Cherry Creek, but had written to his brother for $200 more, which
would be here in a few days, Deceased had previously said that if I went
back on him he would not live; the night before his death he left my house,
went to the hurdy-house, came back very much excited; said that I was
fooling him, and one of the girls told him I was laying up with another man
he seemed very much excited and showed me the bottle of laudanum shown to
the jury; it was then full; I snatched it away from him, and finally
succeeded in convincing him that I was not deceiving him, and he seemed
perfectly satisfied; he took the laudanum from me in a playful manner; he
cried hard part of the time, but finally left in apparently good spirits;
never saw him have a purse or anything about him, save $20 on the morning of
his death, and once saw him have about $100; if deceased had released the
mortgage on my property I was to give it to my mother, which would make her
cozy.

C. B. Morgan, being duly sworn, deposes and say; Deceased worked for me
hauling wood a few days; told me his name was Wm. O'Dell; that he was born
in Tennessee; his mother lives near Waco, Texas; has a brother in Colorado;
I do not think deceased a man of clear impressions, or one who could command
$20 by writing for it; told me he had had $115; this was about ten days ago.

Wm. Halter, being duly sworn, deposes and says; Have known deceased about
ten days; slept in same room with him; I go to bed about 7 A. M.; my
attention was attracted on the morning of the 27th by deceased's loud
snoring; his face looked purple and I thought he had been on a spree the
night before; I got up about 4:30 P. M.; saw deceased's face covered with
flies; shook him and found him dead; went out and informed Dr. Campbell and
W. D. Bassett.

W. L. Davis, being duly sworn, deposes and says; Am editor of the White Pine
News; was in room where deceased was found dead with Dr. Campbell, W. C.
Love, and Justice Lander when the effects of the deceased were examined; I
assisted with the examination; there was no money found on the person or
among the effects of the deceased, nor any letters or papers by which his
name, or former antecedents could be identified.

Coroner's Verdict -- Following is the verdict of the Coroner's Jury in the
case of Wm. O'Dell, who died two weeks ago, from an overdose of laudanum:

State of Nevada, County of White Pine:
In the matter of the inquisition Wm. O'dell, deceased.
We the undersigned jurors summoned to appear before J. H. Lander, J. P., and
ex-officio of the town of Cherry Creek White Pine County, at his office, on
the 28th day of August, 1881, to inquire into the cause of death of Wm. O'
Dell, found dead in a room at Mrs. Bates' lodging house, having been duly
sworn according to law, and having made such inquisition after inspecting
the body, and having the testimony addressed , upon our oaths, each and all
do say that we find the deceased was named Wm. O'Dell, and was a native of
Tennessee, aged about 28 years, and that he came to his death about the 27th
of August, 1881, in this town and county, by poison willfully administered
by his hand. All of which we duly certify by this inquisition in writing, by
us signed this 28th day of August, 1881. [Signed]; J. B. Williamson, O.
Crowell, G, F, Stockle, W. Carey, M. J. Fitzgerald, J. C. Campbell.

Sept. 10, 1881 - Died -- It is with deep regret that we announce the death of
Mrs. Henry Randall, which occurred here at 11 o'clock yesterday morning. The
lady has been in poor health for several years, and a few weeks ago was
attacked with gastric fever, which terminated fatal as above stated. The
deceased has been a resident of Eberhardt, in this county, since 1869, and
has ever since been highly esteemed by all who knew her. She leaves behind a
large family to mourn her loss, consisting of a husband, a married daughter
now living in Kansas, one grown daughter here, together with three younger
children, ranging from four to ten years. The afflicted family has the
sincere condolence of a large circle of friends in this county. The funeral
will take place from the family residence, opposite the Star mill, at 3 o'
clock this afternoon.

Dec. 3, 1881 - Orlando Crowell died at Mrs. Brown's lodging house yesterday
morning, after a short illness. His funeral took place in the afternoon
under the auspices of the Miners Union

SOURCES researched by June Shaputis:   Tombstones; White Pine County Recorders office, Old Book #1 Book 53, Deaths; LDS Church Records of tombstones researched by Mrs. Geo G. Johnston, May 1949; [In 1949 Johnston estimates there were 30 graves (14 marked) in the Old Upper Cemetery and about 111 graves (13 legible markers) in the Old Lower Cemetery]; LDS Church Records of tombstones researched by Iola R. O'Donnell,   23 May 1972; [In 1972 O'Donnell estimated there were approximately 133 graves in the (New Cherry Creek Cemetery, northeast of town); Around  Cherry Creek by Mathilde Collette (Ely Daily Times, Ely, NV 31 May 1988, page 3)  [Collette has 13 readable markers in the Old Upper Cemetery,  17 readable markers and many unreadable markers in the Old Middle Cemetery, and 82 readable and many unmarked or unreadable markers  in the Lower (New) Cherry Creek Cemetery.]; White Pine Lang Syne by Effie O. Read page 99-118; Cherry Creek Reminiscence, a manuscript   by Ralph Frank

Compiled by June Shaputis 1997
P. O. Box 552
Ruth, NV 89319
(702) 289-4075

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