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In a small pioneer cemetery in Oroville, California a headstone marks the grave of Annie M. Silvers. Etched with the dates of her birth in 1676 and death in 1906, she purportedly lived to 230 years, which when paired with her distinctive headstone and ambiguous iconography in an otherwise modest cemetery, has led some to believe that she was a witch in local folklore. This presentation will consider first how archival documents compare to the information inscribed on Annie’s headstone and larger cemetery context. This presentation will then illustrate how the members of the local community continue to engage with Annie Silvers’ headstone and the cemetery more broadly, with acts ranging from overt vandalism to care and offerings. Finally, we will consider how Annie Silvers can help to shed light on broader anthropological themes such as contestation in funerary spaces, and the continued ways in which the dead become entangled in concerns of the living, even post-mortem.
Trent Trombley is a Ph.D. Candidate in the UC Berkeley Anthropology department.
Air Date:
Wednesday, October 14th, 2020