By Vicky Kaye

Pauline Weaver, "Prescott's First Citizen," died in 1867 while serving as a guide at Camp Verde (then Fort Lincoln), and was buried on the grounds at the fort. When the fort was decommissioned and the camp abandoned in 1891, arrangements were made to move Weaver's remains along with others to the National Cemetery in San Francisco. In the 1920s, there was a movement to bring his body back home to Prescott.

Alpheus H. Favour, a Prescott lawyer, Judge Edmund W. Wells, who worked as a youth at Fort Whipple where Weaver was stationed at the time, and Sharlot M. Hall, one-time state historian, were all persistent with efforts to return Weaver's body to Prescott. They provided the War Department with the needed affidavits to show that Pauline Weaver had no surviving relatives from whom additional permission would have to be obtained, and that the future grave would be adequately cared for. Judge Wells signed under oath on Feb. 10, 1928, that "Weaver at one time had a son by a Pima Indian woman and that the boy died without issue and that there are no descendants or relatives of Pauline Weaver living." It was this affidavit that resulted in permission being granted to remove the remains from the National Cemetery in San Francisco for return to Arizona.

On March 24, 1928, Favour was informed by C.B. Robbins, assistant secretary of war, "The necessary instructions to permit the disinterment have been forwarded to the Quartermaster Supply Officer, San Francisco General Depot, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California." The superintendent of the cemetery in San Francisco, Charles Church, wrote to Favour, "It appears that Weaver has been dead something over fifty years, and you must appreciate that there will be very little of his remains. However, if what we find is shipped as the remains of a dead body, it must be in a hermetically sealed package in order to be accepted by the transportation company, and the cost will be the price of two first-class tickets from San Francisco to Prescott." In addition, there would be the cost of reburial and a monument once the remains arrived in Prescott. It was estimated that the cost to return the remains would be $156 plus the cost of the first-class tickets.

Immediately, Favour asked Joseph Morgan, president of the Yavapai-Mohave Council of the Boy Scouts, to sponsor a program to raise the necessary expenses. It would be a community-oriented educational project. Favour sent a letter to Ed Honn, superintendent of Prescott schools, asking for his district's cooperation in the fundraiser. As a result, children responded with donations from "a penny to not more than ten cents."

Over the next year, donations came in from schools and organizations all over the county. Washington School in Prescott collected $12.71. Canon (Black Canyon City) sent what they referred to as a "mite."

Favour induced the Arizona Legislature to make an appropriation covering the cost of a suitable monument. The bronze plaque that would adorn a large granite boulder was delivered to Prescott on May 16, 1929, and displayed for all to see in the show window of the O.A. Hesla Company in downtown Prescott. The remains of Weaver had already arrived at the Lester Ruffner mortuary in March and the monument was now ready.

Then, one more obstacle to overcome: The permit of interment had not been obtained from the City of Prescott to bury the remains of Weaver on the grounds of the Old Governor's Mansion near where he had camped so often. It would be October before all conditions were met so the famous scout could finally be put to rest. In the meantime, the remains spent some time at the home of his old friend, Judge Wells, and eventually ended up in the front room of the Governor's Mansion where Sharlot Hall lived. She often spoke to Weaver, even wishing him a "good night, Paulino," while turning the lights off for the evening.

Finally, all was in order for the burial ceremony that had been planned so long before. It was Oct. 27, 1929. The remains had been returned to Ruffner's in preparation for the processional through downtown to the Old Governor's Mansion. Sheriff George Ruffner led the procession followed by the Boy Scouts carrying the casket. The high school band, veterans, pioneers and many school children completed the entourage.

Pauline Weaver, "Prescott's First Citizen," was finally honored with a permanent home. Sharlot Hall gave the principle address to more than 1,000 citizens of Prescott. The bronze and granite monument graces the museum grounds today near the Musuem's main entrance.

Sharlot Hall Museum/Courtesy photo

Sharlot Hall was instrumental in bringing the remains of Pauline Weaver home to Prescott in 1929, 62 years after his death. He is interred near the main gate on the north side of the Sharlot Hall Museum campus.