Unpleasant crime in Park City, Utah

As reported in the Salt Lake Herald 24 May 1907.

Park City, Utah

"Last night, between 11 and 12, W A Gidley, city sexton of Park City, was robbed while on his way home and a sum of money taken from him amounting to $11. Mr Gidley had been in the cemetery until after 10 o'clock and coming home by way of town, stopped and talked with some friends until the time stated, then started home by way of the "China Stairs". According to Gidley he had gone but a short distance from Main Street when he was struck down and the next thing he knew he was lying on the ground with his pockets turned inside out and his money gone. [He was probably] told to throw up his hands, but the sexton is very hard of hearing, so [the assailant] struck him probably with a gun."

Grass Valley, California

W A Gidley was William Alexander Gidley, born in Grass Valley, Nevada, California, in 1855. He was the son of  William S Gidley, with the S almost certainly standing for Simmons, his mother's maiden name. Together with the mining background, that puts him on the Cornish Gidley tree. The California gold mines attracted hundreds of Cornish miners, who had the skills from the defunct tin mining industry at home to pump water out of the deep mine shafts in California. William S Gidley died in Grass Valley in 1865 and Jane, W A's mother, married again. By 1880 William A is living with his sister Mary Jane McDermott and her family in another mining town, Virginia City, Nevada, where he was a labourer.

Virginia City, Nevada

The silver Comstock Lode there was fully mined by 1898, and by 1900 William A had arrived in Park City, yet another silver mining town which developed from the 1870s. He was elected as the town sexton in January 1900. William Alexander fortunately recovered from the attack in 1907. The Salt Lake Herald records he was fit enough to take part in a 60 yard dash with another 55 year old in 1910. He continued in his role as custodian of the Park City Glenwood cemetery until at least 1920. He died there in 1924 and has a lovely and imposing memorial stone in his "own" cemetery. He and his wife, Annie Lindsay, had 7 children, and many descendants.

W A Gidley, Glenwood Cemetery