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CLOUDY Temp: 51 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, June 20, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend June 18, 2003 Rest in peace, Aggie Webber Through dedication and word of mouth, tombstone returned to Albany grave of child By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune With teary eyes, Anne Greene laid to rest Tuesday a mystery that’s haunted her 20-year career as a property clerk at the Jackson County sheriff’s office. Greene helped return a tombstone to its rightful place in an Albany cemetery instead of the evidence storage room where it had been since the 1970s. "It was like Cinderella and the glass slipper," Greene said. "When you set the headstone there, it was an exact fit." The pieces of the puzzle began falling into place after the Mail Tribune ran a story over Memorial Day weekend about the headstone and efforts by Greene and Detective Colin Fagan to find the gravesite. The story sparked the interest of a local historian and triggered a chain of events that led to Albany’s historic Riverside Cemetery. Advertisement The slim marble centerpiece of this mystery memorializes Aggie Webber, the daughter of J. and A. Webber who died in 1869 when she was 2 months old. How her headstone came to rest at the sheriff’s office remains unknown. A tattered tag deputies use to mark found property said the tombstone was collected July 21, 1971, for an unknown owner to "hold for proof of ownership and safekeeping." The case number on the tag referred to a traffic stop in which a deputy found drugs, but that report didn't mention a headstone. Through the years, Greene couldn’t get the baby’s tombstone out of her head. "For so many years, it was right by the door," Greene said. "There was never a time I didn’t see or think of her." She combed Jackson County death, probate and cemetery records, but came up with nothing. Last year, she asked Fagan to help and he started checking Web sites. "When she brought this to me with the passion for it in her eyes, it was like she was passing the Olympic torch," Fagan said. When Ashland historian Kay Atwood read of their quest, her interest was piqued. As a consultant who prepares applications to the National Register of Historic Places, she loves poring over dusty documents or searching the latest digital databases to dig up history, but the headstone tale struck a chord with her. "It wasn’t just my interest in history," Atwood said. "The article conveyed Detective Fagan’s interest in this tender little story in the midst of all the grim things he must deal with." Atwood tapped a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Web site to access the 1880 Census and found a Joseph and Annie Webber in Albany. The records showed the couple had eight children between 21 and 3. Atwood noted that the births had occurred every two to three years, except for a gap between 1866 and 1870 — a gap that fit when Aggie was born and died. Atwood sent the information to Fagan and suggested he continue his search at the Albany Public Library. Fagan said he got dozens of tips after the Mail Tribune story published, but Atwood’s detailed report sent him on his way. When Fagan called the Albany Public Library, he connected with library assistant Kimberly Kuhn, who has spent 19 years helping people track down local history questions in Linn County. Kuhn turned to old newspapers stored on microfilm and within days found a March 1869 death notice for "Agnes, infant daughter of Joseph and Mrs. Webber." She also checked an Albany city directory from 1878 to confirm the Webber’s identities and learned that Joseph was a barber and city councilman whose family lived in a prominent neighborhood near downtown Albany. Kuhn referred Fagan to the caretaker of Riverside Cemetery in that neighborhood. He called caretaker Pam Dodson, who confirmed that records showed a baby Agnes Webber buried in the cemetery. On her way to chaperone a school dance one Friday night, she stopped by the plot to verify that the site was missing its stone. It was. To close the case, though, Fagan wanted to surprise Greene with his discovery. He told her that evidence from a burglary had been recovered in Albany and she needed to go with him to collect and process the items on Tuesday. Instead of driving to the police station, however, he pulled into Riverside Cemetery. "I said, ‘I need to tell you something. We found Aggie,’ " he recounted. "I was in shock," Greene said. "I had just about decided we would never find her. "I’m more than satisfied to get it back to her. It means so much to me. It’s funny how something like that gets to you." Greene signed the property slip indicating the tombstone had been returned to its owner. Cemetery caretaker Dodson plans to re-affix the stone to its base with epoxy. After returning the stone, Fagan and Greene went to an Albany florist to buy a bright bouquet and a stuffed pink bunny for Aggie, whose grave sits near the edge of a nine-acre cemetery ringed with evergreen trees. "At least she knows she’s not forgotten," Greene said. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times