Where the Trail Turned: An Adventure to Yosemite, a Trip to the Big House

James Carner and James O'Donnell (San Quentin Prison Records) 

In the fall of 1893, two youths had a wild idea: they were going to head off on an adventure to Yosemite. With the stories of Billy the Kid and Jesse James still lingering in the minds of young people at that time, it isn't too far-fetched to think that these boys might have envisioned the life of an outlaw as an exciting one. Unfortunately, the decisions made beyond this point would lead them down a precarious path, one that is not often reversed. 

In early November, young James E. Carner—born Elmer Carner—was living with his mother on her ranch in Coalinga when he and his best friend, James O’Donnell, decided it was time to set off on an adventure of their own. 

According to the newspaper “The Expositor,” dated November 17, 1893, the boys had stolen a horse earlier in Kings County. They then returned toward the ranch at Los Gatos Creek, where they stole another horse, along with a set of harnesses and a wagon from the Kreyenhagen ranch and headed toward Fresno. 

By dawn, the boys reached Fresno and noticed J.W. Kennedy hitching his team of horses in front of Kutner’s store. Once Kennedy was in the store, the boys took the opportunity to steal Mr. Kennedy’s team and rig and set forth north, leaving a trail of dust behind them, each boy with his own horse-drawn wagon. 

They didn’t go far, only about five miles or so, where they set up camp for the night. Later, they moved up the San Joaquin Valley and stopped at a house where they stole “provisions.” They loaded everything they could into one of the wagons, hitched the four horses they had stolen to it, and left the other wagon behind. 

As their adventure continued, two of the horses broke away from the rig and ran off. The boys had to make do with the two they had left, eventually stopping for the evening at an abandoned cabin 12 miles above Fine Gold. In fact, by the time the boys were preparing their supper, Constable Sturtevant and one of his officers were hot on their trail.

They would never reach their destination of Yosemite after this evening. 

Choosing a guide who knew the area well, the constable and his officer continued their pursuit of the two outlaws and caught up with them that evening. At first, the boys considered holding up in the cabin with the guns they had stolen. Both were armed, one with a Winchester rifle and the other with a .44 revolver, and they contemplated not going without a fight. 

Carner

Ultimately, though, they surrendered peacefully and were taken to Kings County for the first horse theft; but because they faced multiple charges in other counties, they were eventually brought back to Fresno County to be held there for trial. Just before Thanksgiving, the two had their day in court and pleaded guilty to grand larceny. On November 28, 1893, in Department 3 of the Superior Court, Judge Webb sentenced both Carner and O’Donnell to five years at San Quentin Prison. 

On December 5, 1893, both Carner and O’Donnell were brought to San Quentin, where they were processed, had their mug shots taken, and entered the general population of prisoners alongside hard-core adult criminals. These boys, although they had committed serious crimes, were not as hardened as the other inmates at the prison, and I can only imagine how overwhelming it must have felt to enter the prison at only 16 years old, surrounded by grown men. 

O'Donnell

At the same time these boys were serving hard time at the pen, plans for opening The Preston School of Industry, a newly established reform school, were well on their way to coming to fruition. The Humanitarian Society had chosen seven boys to be the first wards of the new school, which was meant to be an alternative to being sent to San Quentin or Folsom Prison. 

Carner and O’Donnell were put on the list of boys being sent to Ione, to start a new path towards a better life. They entered Preston in June of 1894, when the school first opened, and both only remained a few years. 

Ward # 1, James Elmer Carner 

After his release from Preston—the exact discharge date has not been confirmed—Carner appears to have made the deliberate decision to leave behind his past. Records indicate that he enlisted in the 6^th Regiment, California Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American War of 1898, and here something telling emerges from the records: his military index card lists him as John Elmer Carner, not James, with a cross-reference note to “James Elmer Carner.” He had quietly swapped his first name, keeping his middle name, Elmer, and virtually stepped into a new identity.

On December 15, 1898, John Elmer Carner received an honorable discharge from the United States Army, a positive distinction that followed him for the rest of his life. 

As the years went by, records indicate that he returned to the occupation his family had begun with: farming. Early newspaper accounts of his shenanigans mentioned his mother running a ranch in Coalinga, California, while later records show both Carner as a farmer in Tulare County and his brother Theodore as a farmer in Clovis. James—or John, as he later referred to himself—married, raised a family, and appeared in the census records of 1910, 1920, and 1930, the last listing his residence as Oakland, California. 

On November 15, 1936, John Elmer Carner died in San Francisco County at approximately 60 years of age. He was laid to rest at the San Francisco National Cemetery. 

The boy who stole a team of horses at sixteen and had his mug shot taken at San Quentin prison died a veteran, buried with the honors that are bestowed on those who served this country.

Ward # 5, James O’Donnell 

James’ time at Preston started in June of 1894 and came to an end in May of 1897, according to newspaper accounts in the San Diego Union dated May 17, 1897. What happened to O’Donnell after that is frustratingly difficult to trace. The name James O’Donnell was very common during that period. The historical records contain dozens of men by that name in the same general age range. By 1910, I located two men with that name, both of approximately the right age, appearing in San Francisco records. One was a married clerk with a family, while the other was a sexton working at a Catholic cemetery and living alone as a boarder. 

Either listing could be him. The sexton working at a cemetery is an interesting possibility, as that would have been a position one might gravitate toward if living with a complicated past and seeking a job that was quiet and solitary. Unfortunately, without more documentation, it is not possible for me to say with certainty which, if either, was the same James O’Donnell we’re talking about. His story, for now, remains open, and if I locate any further records in the future, I will surely add them to this blog post. 

In the end, the impulsive and reckless acts committed back in 1893 seem to have been done without the boys realizing the consequences that would befall them once they were caught. I believe that fanciful ideas about being on the run as outlaws in the Old West could have inspired these boys to make some very poor choices, which ultimately led them down a terrible path that included spending several months in a hard-core prison surrounded by dangerous criminals. Still, I can only hope that the time they spent at Preston may have steered them both in the right direction. I didn’t find any further prison records for either boy after their time at Preston, so it appears to me that the school did its job.

 

© J'aime Rubio  |  prestoncastlehistory.blogspot.com  |  www.jaimerubiowriter.com
 All research is the intellectual property of J'aime Rubio.

When Someone Famous Steals Your Research: My Preston Castle Story

 

I want to start by telling you a story.......

I was driving in my car when I first heard it — a podcast episode about Preston Castle. Specifically about the deaths that occurred there. And then, somewhere in the middle of it, I heard my name, "Historian J'aime Rubio," she said. I remember smiling. It always means a lot when someone acknowledges your work, especially in the paranormal and history world where so many people take information without giving any credit at all.

I even sent her an email. Something simple — a thank you for the mention. I never got a response. I didn't think much of it at the time. People are busy. Inboxes get full. I let it go.

But a few weeks later, I sat down and listened to the entire episode from beginning to end. And as I listened, something started to feel off. There was a familiarity to it that I couldn't quite place at first — a strange déjà vu. And then it hit me.

I was hearing her speak, and I felt it was all too familiar — because it was my own words.

The Research Behind "Deaths at Preston Castle"

I want to give you some context before I show you the evidence, because it matters.

In December of 2019, I published a blog post titled "Deaths at Preston Castle" right here on this blog. That post was not something I threw together in an afternoon. It was the result of years of primary source research — death records, California State Archives, county newspapers, the Preston School of Industry's official Biennial Reports, and more. I tracked down documents that most people don't even know exist. I dug into cases where the records conflicted with each other and I found the truth buried in documents no one had ever bothered to look at.

I do this work because I believe these people deserve to be remembered accurately. Every ward, every employee, every soul who passed through those doors — they are real people. They are not props for ghost stories. And it is my mission to be a voice for the voiceless and to honor the forgotten ones so they will be forgotten no more.

That blog post — the original, the documented, the cited one — is still right here on this blog where I published it in 2019.

A Famous Name in the Paranormal World

I am not going to name this person in this post. That is an intentional choice, and I want to be clear about why: this post is about the evidence, not about creating a spectacle.

But I do want you to understand who we are talking about, because it matters to the story. This is not a small or unknown content creator. This is a well-known, nationally recognized paranormal celebrity with a very large and dedicated following. She has appeared on television and has had her own paranormal television series. Her name carries significant weight in the paranormal community. She has a platform that most independent historians and researchers could only dream of.

And she used that platform to present my research as her own.

The one time she did credit me — specifically when she mentioned that "historian J'aime Rubio dug further" and found a conflicting death record for Grant Walker — proved that she knew exactly where her information was coming from. She acknowledged me once, for one finding, and then went on to use the rest of my research without a single additional credit. That single mention is not a courtesy. In context, it is evidence.

The Evidence — My Words vs. Her Podcast

Below is a comparison of my original blog text (published December 30, 2019) alongside excerpts from her 2021 podcast transcript. I will let you read it and draw your own conclusions.

 

Case	My Blog — December 2019	Her Podcast — 2021
Grant Walker	"you will notice he is listed as one of the boys who died from illness...typhoid fever. However, the 1896 Biennial report lists two deaths that year and one of the deaths was from accidental burns, intestinal ulceration. It is as if he ingested something toxic which burned his insides."	"At first, it seems like he may have died from typhoid fever. However, historian Jamie Rubio dug further and found a conflicting death register that suggests Walker may have died from severe internal burns after ingesting something toxic."  Note: This is the one case where she credited me.
Herman Huber & John Kirrane — Escape & Shooting	"Herman and another friend, John Kirrane, attempted to escape the school...The night watchman J.D. French went after them. Although French claimed he only meant to shoot a warning shot...another ward claimed that he watched French shoot Herman in cold blood."	"Herman Hubert and fellow Ward and friend John Karaine made an escape just as the dinner bell rang...night guard J. D. French pursued the two escapees and fired his weapon...French claimed he tried to fire a warning shot, but Karaine maintained that French shot Herman in cold blood."
Tahema Vann — Drowning	"Tehama claimed that he could swim 'dog fashion'...Two boys, Robert Rains and Albert Rubidoux tried to dive in after him, to no avail. It wasn't until the next morning that they were able to retrieve his lifeless body that had sunk to the bottom of the pond. He is buried at the Preston Cemetery."	"Tahama Van, confident about his doggy paddle, dove in...Robert Raines and Albert Rubideaux tried to save Van...It wasn't until the next morning that they were able to retrieve his lifeless body that had sunk to the bottom of the pond. He is buried at the Preston Cemetery."  The final two sentences are nearly word-for-word identical.
Frank Cardarella — Epilepsy & Suicide	"Frank was found in his cell...He had ripped his sleeping shirt into pieces, fashioning for himself a makeshift noose...the day before, he had been suffering from seizures due to epilepsy. Instead of the staff sending him to the infirmary...they took him back to his cell and left him there." (my original post had his date of death listed as Valentine's Day, February 14th, however this was a typo.)	"Frank Cardarella had epilepsy and experienced seizures because of it. Instead of receiving treatment, Frank was kept in his cell...Frank died by suicide after making a noose from his shredded night shirt." She also repeated the typo I had made on my blog, as Frank did not actually die on Valentine's day as she stated. I later corrected my mistake to reflect the correct date, but since she didn't actually research the story, she repeated the error.
Sam Goins — Fatal Escape	"J.E. Kelly, who had gone after Sam, shot aiming at Sam's leg to stop him...he tripped. As he fell, the bullet hit him in the back and this wound proved to be fatal...He was twenty years old and only two months away from being released."	"John Kelly of Preston Guard accidentally shot Samuel in the back. Samuel died from the wound. He was twenty years old and only two months from being released from Preston."
Edgar Hough & Leland Price — Football Fight	"During the middle of a Saturday night football game at Preston, a fight between wards Edgar Hough and Leland Price broke out. As a punishment the two were locked in the basement alone...Price was knocked down...fracturing his skull on the concrete floor. He fell into a coma from which he never recovered. He died the following morning."	"Wards Edgar Howe and Leland Price got into a fight during a Saturday night football game...they were locked together in Preston's basement...Price's skull was fractured after hitting the ground and he fell into a coma. Leland Price died the next morning."
William Reppert & Henry Herstein — Buried Alive	"While digging a sewer ditch on the school property, six boys were buried alive when the trench...caved in. Four of the boys were saved, but both William and Henry perished in the ground."	"nine wards were digging a ditch on the property for sewage...the ditch caved in and trapped six boys. Four were extracted, but two remained buried. William Reppert and Henry Herstein both died after being buried alive."
Cemetery Closing Detail	"In total, there are 18 boys buried in the Preston Cemetery."	"There are eighteen boys buried in a small cemetery on the property."

 

Every single one of the cases above — the names, the dates, the specific details, the narrative structure — came from my original research that took years to compile. There is no way this podcaster miraculously came up with the same exact, nearly word-for-word chronological list of deaths.  

Why I'm Writing This

I have a responsibility — to myself, to my readers, and to the people whose stories I have spent years protecting. The wards of Preston Castle were voiceless in life. They deserve to have their stories told truthfully and with credit given where it is due. It isn't right when people go around taking the research of others to profit off of it and don't bother to cite their sources, nor is it right to blatantly read another person's work verbatim.

My research belongs to me. It is documented. It is dated. And if you are going to share it with the world — which I genuinely encourage — please do so with a link, a name, and an acknowledgment that someone spent years making it possible for you to tell that story. 

These are not ghost stories. These are real people. And their histories deserve to be handled with care, and respect given to the keeper of the histories, the ones who actually do the research to honor these forgotten souls.  --

Copyright © J'aime Rubio 2026  |  www.jaimerubiowriter.com

 

© J'aime Rubio  |  prestoncastlehistory.blogspot.com  |  www.jaimerubiowriter.com
 Original blog post: "Deaths at Preston Castle" — Published December 30, 2019
 All research is the intellectual property of J'aime Rubio.

The Short, Violent Life of Walter Kavanaugh: One of Preston’s First Wards

Walter Kavanaugh, San Quentin Prison, 1893

When the Preston School of Industry opened its doors in 1894, the institution promised to reform wayward boys through discipline, education, and structure. One of the earliest youths committed there was Walter Kavanaugh, a boy whose life would later be reduced to a few sensational headlines in the San Francisco papers. Still, behind those headlines was a young man shaped by the same forces that defined so many early Preston wards: poverty, instability, and a world that offered little mercy to boys who slipped through its cracks.

Walter Kavanaugh was born between 1875-1877, and it appears that his family hailed from Ireland. Census records at the time show two different families living in the area he was from with different spellings: Kavanah and Cavanaugh. I believe his family were Kavanah, as he had an older sister, Mary who comes into the story later on.

The newspaper claimed that Walter "caused the police of three counties considerable trouble during his brief career. His picture graces the rogues' gallery, he having been committed to the Reform School at Whittier when he was but 16 years of age. After serving his time there, Kavanaugh fell into the hands of the Alameda authorities and was sent to San Quentin to serve a term of ten years for picking a woman's pocket in Oakland. Kavanaugh donned his stripes on May 5, 1893, but on January 13*, 1894, he was transferred to the Preston School of Industry at the request of the Humanitarian Society." -- August 2, 1899, San Francisco Call.

*He was actually transferred to Preston on JUNE 13, 1894.

Walter is circled in red -- June 13, 1894 
Preston School of Industry - first 7 wards

After being released from Preston, Walter found employment in Nevada City at the Union Hotel working as the night clerk, but that didn't last. At around 3 a.m. one early morning, Walter decided to empty his revolver into the walls of the hotel office, which startled the hotel guests awake. Needless to say, after that event he was no longer an employee of the hotel. He eventually drifted back down to the Bay Area where his family had been living. The papers described him as “well known” in the Tenderloin district, a phrase that in 1899 was shorthand for a young man surviving on the margins.

According to the San Francisco Call and the San Diego Union and Daily Bee, the trouble began earlier that evening at the residence where Walter’s sister lived at Latham Place. "As nearly as can be ascertained, Cavanaugh had been living off the profits of his sister's degradation." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read between the lines -- Walter was pimping his older sister out. So what was the quarrel between Jack Wilson and Walter about?

Mary, Walter's sister, was involved with Jack romantically and perhaps he was trying to convince her that she didn't have to continue to live that way. No one knows exactly what was said, but it was mentioned in the newspaper that the relationship between Mary and Jack was "interfering as it did with the money supply." The original fight ensued inside the residence and warning shots were fired. Who exactly fired the shots is still unknown. Jack took off out the backway to the saloon at the corner, while Mary kicked her brother out of her apartment through the front door.

Shortly after midnight, Walter walked into C.G. Borgfeldt's saloon at southwest the corner of Mason and Ellis Streets, just around the corner of Mary's apartment. Jack was already there. When Walter entered the saloon he shoved his fist through the door and asked Jack if he had a gun. Jack replied that he was "not looking for any trouble." Eye witness, Frank Connolly stated that he tried to push Walter away from the door which only made Walter more mad. He broke away and immediately fired upon Jack, missing him. Jack subsequently pulled out his gun and fired back in self-defense, shooting a total of three rounds killing Walter instantly in the entrance doorway of the saloon.

S.F. Call (August 2, 1899) 

Both eye witnesses, Frank Connolly and the bartender that night, S.J. Bailey corroborated the details of the events that transpired that evening. In my search for more information on what happened with Jack, my trail went cold. Besides Jack's arraignment I couldn't find any record of him having been convicted or sentenced to any time in prison, leading me to the belief that he was released and charges were more than likely dropped on account of self-defense. If I find any further newspapers going into Jack's charges I will certainly update this post.

In ending, Walter Kavanaugh’s story is not just a crime report. It is a window into the life of one of earliest wards at the Preston School of Industry. His death was the final act that showed that he had repeatedly refused to apply the self-discipline he was taught at Preston by making his own choice not to change his bad habits no matter what chances he had been given. Unfortunately, learning crime at an early age he decided to keep on that path regardless of the opportunities he had in front of him. Walter's death was no one's fault but his own. He made that choice to run with the wrong crowd early on, long before his time at Preston. That path led further and further into a dark place eventually leading him to his own demise.

(Copyright 2026- J'aime Rubio www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Sources

• San Francisco Call, August 1, 1899

• San Francisco Call, August 2, 1899

• San Diego Union and Daily Bee, August 1, 1899

• 1880 Census, California, Alameda County

“The North Wind Watches: Guardian Vault of the Administration Building”

 

Taken in 2012, J'aime Rubio

One of the many things you may notice while visiting Preston Castle is the ornate vault door when you first enter the Administration Building, in the front room off to the right. Looking up at the door frame, you may notice an ornate face. This is often referred to as “The North Wind Face,” sometimes associated with Boreas, or the Spirit of the North Wind, a motif popular in the Victorian era.

Many years ago, I had inquired about the meaning of the ornate face on the vault door and a good friend of mine, Myke Ellis, who has been working with antiques from that era most of his career, identified it for me. That left me curious about the history of the vault itself.

The “North Wind Face” was a symbol of protection, mythic authority, strength, and endurance. It was frequently used on architectural hardware, knockers, and doors during this period.

There were few widely known companies that manufactured these types of ornate vault doors: Mosler Safe Company and Herring & Co., also Hall’s Safe & Lock. Subsequently, in 1892, five companies merged, forming Herring-Hall-Marvin.

Based on the visible features of the door frame itself—such as the rectangular door with a heavy frame, decorative ornament at the top, and interior cabinetry within the vault—this design suggests it was intended specifically for an administrative or bank vault, rather than the industrial-style vaults manufactured later.

Given these features, and the time when this design was most popular, it appears to match the type of design known from a Herring and Hall’s Safe & Lock vault, as opposed to Mosler vaults. Another reason it resembles a Herring or Hall's vault is that vault placement during the 19^th century followed consistent patterns for visibility, ease of access, and security. The specific placement of the vault in the front and to the right inside the Administration Building is, as an expert would say, “textbook Herring/Hall’s placement.”**

The Superintendent could easily access payroll, petty cash, financial records, and important contracts or paperwork that required secure storage. Money could be quickly secured, vendors paid efficiently, and staff wages handled discreetly. This was not just something found at Preston, but also commonplace at State Hospitals, County offices, Industrial Schools, Correctional facilities, and Orphanages as well.

Symbolism in the Victorian era appeared in cemeteries, furniture, architecture, and even vaults. The ornament above the vault door represented moral guardianship, strength, authority, and protection, something that would have been imperative at a school such as Preston. Acting as a symbolic protective force, the “North Wind Face” fits the ethos of the reform school itself.

I hope that this little peek into the past—by way of documenting a piece of the school’s history (the vault)—gives you some insight into the symbolism of the piece itself, as well as an appreciation for Victorian-era design used at the time Preston was constructed. Although most people may look at the door as they pass through the building, and they may notice the ornament above it, they might not actually know its meaning, why it was specifically chosen, or why it was placed in that particular spot in the building—let alone the meaning of the symbol itself.

Next time you visit, or if you are planning your first visit to Preston soon, please stop and peek at this vault door—and remember where you learned its history!

**UPDATE: Thanks to one of my Facebook followers who was able to take a photo of the front of the vault door on one of her visits, I was able to confirm it is in fact a Hall's Safe & Lock Co. Vault. Thank you Nancy Sanchez for your additional information! **

(Copyright 2026, J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Sources:

Ellis, Myke. Victorian Era Interior Design Expert

American Numismatic Society. Herring‑Hall‑Marvin Safe Co., 1920–1933: Administrative Records. ANS Archives.

Adams County Museum. Herring‑Hall‑Marvin Safe Co. Safe: Company History and Overview.

Smithsonian Institution. Trade Catalogs from Herring‑Hall‑Marvin Safe Co. Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection.

Joseph Howe - The Ward Who Slipped Through The Cracks

 

Nearing the eve of the anniversary of Joseph Howe's passing at the Preston School of Industry, I decided I wanted to know more about this young man in order to remember him this year.

You see, when I first wrote my initial book and blogs on Preston's history, there weren't a lot of records readily available for searching online. Joseph's Preston record was not accessible to me at the time either, as I couldn't find it at the State Archives when I went there to search, and his official death record literally just stated that he died at Preston of "Tuberculosis" on December 11, 1913.

Not much more was known about Joseph up until that point. So, when I included his name in my chapter of the boys who are buried at the cemetery at Preston, I only had his name, his date of birth and date of death. No photos, no information about his life. Nothing. I wanted to change that, so I decided to reinvestigate his story with fresh eyes.

Today, we will take a trip back in time to go over the life of Joseph Howe and I will show you how it appears the odds were stacked against him from the start. I want us to remember Joseph, not just as two dates and a dash on a weather beaten wooden headstone in a forgotten cemetery, but as a young man, flesh and blood who lived and breathed and walked those hallways at Preston Castle, if even for just a short time in his brief life.

Joseph Howe was actually born on October 20, 1895, not 1897, as his marker reads. According to the 1900 Census, which was taken in June, it states he was only 4 years old, which would be the right age, as he would turn 5 in October of that same year. At the time, Joseph is living with his mother, Ada Stella Wilkin Howe, his uncle, and his four sisters at his maternal grandmother's home in Red Bluff, Tehama County, California. 

I am not sure where his father, Washington Lincoln Howe was at the time but it appears the couple reunited shortly thereafter, as Ada would have four more children with her husband, making their brood a grand total of nine children. The 1910 census for Phoenix, Jackson County, Oregon, showed the entire family together with Washington as the head of household, working "odd jobs."

Unfortunately, the family appears to have been very poor, and I believe they moved back to California sometime after the 1910 census, or at least the kids and Alma did. Joseph appears to have been born with some sort of mental disability, as he was sent around July of 1911, to the "Home for the Care and Training of Feeble Minded Children."  This hospital or facility was meant to help children with mental disabilities. It was best known as the Sonoma State Hospital and later the Sonoma Developmental Center. Sadly, this place wasn't a very good hospital. This location was known for their "Eugenics" program in the early 1900's and between 1909 and 1952, a total of 5,530 males and females were involuntarily put through sterilization procedures, which according to records was more than any other state hospital in the nation.

It doesn't appear that Joseph stayed there too long, but what happened during the time he was at that facility is unknown. One can only imagine!

According to the Chico Record, the hospital in Sonoma didn't have a lot of room for their patients so they eventually released him back to his family in Chico. It was during this time period that his mother passed away, on January 16, 1912.

Ada Howe, Joseph's mother, had been ill for sometime, and according to the death notice in the local newspaper she was suffering from an incurable illness, which caused an abscess on the knee which "weakened her condition" and "made it impossible to long survive." I did a little research on this subject, and I have come to the conclusion that Ada more than likely had been suffering from Pulmonary Tuberculosis, and she developed a secondary infection, called a "cold abscess" which can develop when the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria travels through the bloodstream into the extremities. 

I believe that Joseph contracted Tuberculosis from contact in the household, as two of his other sisters ended up with the same disease and died from it as well. His older sister, Alma passed away from the illness in March of 1913, and another sister, Irma passed away in 1917 from the same disease. During this time period, Tuberculosis was a widespread health crisis, and one in seven deaths were the result of this infection, especially in poor households.  

The December 18, 1912 edition of the Chico Record stated that Joseph, who was then 16 years old, was caught with 14 year old, Ival Scalf, stealing a horse and buggy from J.L. Crawford at the corner of Salem and Second Street in Chico. This location was only one block over and four blocks northwest from where Joseph had been living at 220 W. 6th Street.

Judge John C. Gray, presiding over the juvenile court committed the boys to Preston on December 17th, just the day prior to the article's release.Constable McEldowney and probation officer J.A. Glenn brought the boys to Preston. The problem was, where was the record of his committment at Preston? 

I searched my ward index that I had compiled back in 2014, of all wards committed from the time the school opened in 1894 to 1914. I could find no trace of Joseph. I began to feel uneasy and perplexed. How could someone who we know was sent to Preston, especially since he passed away on the property and was buried in its own cemetery, just simply have no record of having been there on the juvenile record list?

I went back to the California Youth Authority records via the State Archives and again, no Joseph Howe was listed. How could this young man simply just slip through the cracks at Preston? 

Well, after diligent research and cross referencing I think I may have found the answer. I decided to double check his accomplice's committment records at Preston, Ivan Scalf, and sure enough, he was in my index under ward # 1986, sent to Preston in 1912. Just underneath his name is Joseph Herve, ward # 1987, sent to Preston the same time in 1912. It is my belief that the people who entered the records into the CYA database misspelled Joseph's last name to Herve instead of Howe. This has to be the answer for his missing record at the school.

Sadly, Joseph would only spend one year at the school before succumbing to the same Tuberculosis that took the life of his mother and sister before him. I cannot even imagine what he must have been feeling or thinking, laying there in a sick bed, suffering from such a horrific illness such as that, and knowing that he was not going to get better; That he would never be able to get up and walk out of that building and live life, a life he never had a chance to even know. Instead, he passed away from his illness there at Preston, surrounded by strangers. It is heartbreaking to imagine.

Due to the fact that his mother was gone, and I believe his father just wasn't around, Joseph's remains were buried at the Preston Cemetery out back on the property. You see, back then the cemetery wasn't originally meant to be a permanent place, but instead a spot for the unclaimed boys in the event their parents did not have the money to take them to be buried elsewhere, or to keep them safe until the families were able to disenter and reinter them some other place. In this case, Joseph Howe would remain there in that spot at the Preston cemetery with it's castle looming over the horizon into the near distance.

Although there are no photographs of Joseph in existence that I know of, I tried my best to use modern computer technology to provide a possible idea of what Joseph may have looked like, based on the likeness of his brother, whom I was able to obtain a photo of. 

First computer AI speculative sibling image based on a photograph of Joseph's brother. 

2nd AI speculative sibling image (created more as a painting rather than a photograph)
based on a photo of Joseph's brother, as a possible sibling likeness.

By using this AI program using "speculative sibling imagery" this enables us to try to imagine what he may have looked like, if he did in fact look like his brother (who shared the same mother and father). 

As you can see the two images I came up with look a little different, so we may never fully know what Joseph looked like unless someone, somewhere has a photograph of him. Until then, we must leave it up to our imaginations I suppose. I just wanted so badly to give a face to his name, so that we can remember him and so that we can honor his memory. 

This week will be 112 years since Joseph left this earth. I didn't want his story to remain untold any longer. English writer Amelia B. Edwards once wrote:

“We all die twice.... The first time is when we simply cease to be; the second, when we are forgotten.” -- Amelia B. Edwards (1863)

With that in mind, let us honor Joseph's memory by learning his story and retelling it for years to come, so that he is never forgotten again. After all, everyone deserves to have their life remembered, large or small, rich or poor. In the end, we all end up in the same place, but that doesn't mean that our story should end there.

(Copyright 2025- jaimerubiowriter.com)