Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, west gate. The plot of Don and Amy Bartholomew is just behind the gate's left pillar.

I was intrigued to find that some of my relatives have graves in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. It's not that I have any thrilling or funny stories to tell about these relatives--I don't. I was intrigued because Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is in the city I call home, San Diego, California. So I took a drive out to the cemetery to find the graves of Amy Consuelo Huss Bartholomew (1890-1984) and Robert Murray Schell (1930-1992).

Amy Consuelo Huss Bartholomew was my second cousin four times removed. Our common ancestors were her great-grandparents Noah Jacob Huss (1790-1843) and Mary Burkholder Huss (1789-1849), who are my five times great-grandparents.

On September 1, 1912, Amy Huss married Don Clio Bartholomew (1888-1959) in Lagrange County, Indiana, the county where they both were born. Don joined the US Army and rose to the rank of Major. They lived at different times in Fort Constitution, New Hampshire; Sable, Colorado; and in the Canal Zone of Panama, where their only child, a daughter, was born in 1923.

First side - Don Clio Bartholomew grave.

Reverse side - Amy Consuelo Huss Bartholomew grave.

When Don died in San Diego, California, in 1959, he was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, in plot T-134. Several months before Amy died in 1984, she moved from San Diego to Carmichael, California, to be near her daughter. After she died, her ashes were returned to San Diego where they are buried in the plot with her husband Don. Her name is recorded on the reverse of their gravestone.

Robert Murray Schell grave.

Robert Murray Schell was my fourth cousin twice removed. We had the same common ancestors with Amy Consuelo Huss Bartholomew, Noah and Mary Huss, as I mentioned above. They were Robert Schell’s great-great-great-grandparents through both his paternal and maternal lines.

The paternal line from Noah and Mary Huss to Robert Schell goes like this: Noah and Mary had a daughter Barbara Elizabeth Huss Rathbun (1816-1894). She had a son Chaplin Lorenzo Rathbun (1845-1921). He had a daughter Nina Edna Rathbun Schell (1879-1951). She had a son Harry Gaylord Schell (1904-1951). Harry's son was Robert Murray Schell.

The maternal line from Noah and Mary Huss to Robert Schell goes like this: Noah and Mary had a son Christian Huss (1815-1864). He had a son Chaplin Rathbun “Chap” Huss (1838-1913). He had a son Burton William Huss (1869-1929). He had a daughter Helen Marjory Huss Russell Schell (1899-1987). Helen's second husband was Harry Gaylord Schell, and their son was Robert Murray Schell

Robert Schell became a Staff Sergeant in the US Air Force. His term of service was August 10, 1947, to August 10, 1951, and he served in Korea. His ashes were interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on March 4, 1993, in plot CBA-2-112. As far as I know, his wife is still alive. She moved to Gassville, Arkansas, after Robert’s death.

Fort Rosecrans Registered Historical Landmark plaque.

Fort Rosecrans is a registered historical landmark as well as a US military cemetery. It’s worth visiting just for the views, even if you don’t have any interest in the graves. The cemetery straddles the ridge of Point Loma, which encompasses the north side of San Diego Bay and sticks out into the Pacific Ocean. The road divides the cemetery into an eastern side and a western side.

In the center of this photo, between the trees, lies the historic red-roofed Victorian resort hotel, the Hotel Del Coronado, on Coronado Island.

The graves of Robert Schell and the Bartholomews are on the western side of the cemetery.  The Bartholomews’ gravestone is just inside the western gate to the left of the entrance drive, the fourth row from the cemetery wall, the fifth stone in from the drive. Although they’re on the western side of Point Loma, the hill curves so that their stone actually faces east, toward North Island, the bay, and downtown San Diego.

Looking east from Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery toward North Island, San Diego Bay, and downtown San Diego.

Robert Schell’s grave is within the cemetery wall high on the western slope. It commands a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.

Looking west from Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery to the Pacific Ocean. I took all these photos on the same day, but the sky over San Diego to the east was mostly clear, while the sky over the Pacific was overcast.