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Surnames: Plunkett
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/WQB.2ACE/364.1.1.1.1
Message Board Post:
I have not been able to find out how it came about that both he and his mother died on the
same day. I would very much like to know. I know the following from a family history
that was written about his youngest brother, T.C.:
"On November 3, 1863, Joseph R. Plunkett took a seat in the Constitutional Convention
of Washoe Territory, as a representative from Storey County, and was active in the
discussions there until he fell ill on November 16th. T.C.(his youngest brother) went to
Carson to assist his brother who was able to attend a few more sessions before returning
to Virginia City on the 21st. He was absent from the Convention until November 30. On
May 29, 1865, his mother passed away and Joseph died suddenly on the same day."
And also this from the May 1865 Virginia Union:
"Col. J.R. Plunkett- This old and well known citizen of Virginia [City] died quite
suddenly at his residence night before last. ...............An honorable, upright man; a
conscientious gentleman- dying thus suddenly, in the prime of his life, he has left behind
him a wide circle of friends who sincerely mourn him. Yesterday, his remains-and those of
his aged mother who died at nearly the same time, were escorted to the grave by the Emmett
Guard(of which Co. he was Captain) and National Guard, accompanied by a number of friends.
He leaves a brother in this city."
And this from the Territorial Enterprise:
”Night before last Capt. J. R. Plunkett died very suddenly at his residence in this city.
He was an old and much respected citizen, and his death caused a general gloom among his
many friends and acquaintances. What makes the case a particulary sad one, and the blow
much heavier to the surviving members of the family, is the fact that his mother died but
a few hours before. The remains of both were escorted to their last resting place
yesterday afternoon by the Emmet Guards, followed by the National Guard, and a great
number of citizens on foot, on horseback and in carriages. At the time of his death, Mr.
Plunkett was the Captain of the Emmet Guards, and in 1860 he took an active part in the
war against the Piutes. He was a talented and kind-hearted man., and was well known and
much esteemed, both here and in California, as a military and newspaper man. It was a
sad sight to see the remains of mother and son borne together to the grave, and tears
stood in the !
eyes of many a rugged man, as the solemn music of the bands fell on their ears as the
mournful procession slowly passed through our streets.”
He is not my direct ancestor, but rather my great-great grandmother's brother. Her
name was Sarah Jane Plunkett Bliven.She followed him out to Virginia City with her 5
children after her husband died from disease obtained during service in the Civil War.