As a volunteer of the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association in Phoenix, Arizona and member of the Board of Directors of the group, people often ask me if it is creepy wandering around that old cemetery all alone. Are there ghosts? Do you ever feel like someone is watching you? Having to rake and do clean up around the old tombstones, I can honestly answer you, yes! There are ghosts in the old Phoenix cemeteries. .jpg)
One of my favorite ghosts in the old cemetery is Amos G. Randal. Randal was born in 1825 and was a native of New York. He lived and worked for a period of time in the mines of South America—particularly Ecuador. He later lived in California where he enlisted and served Company A, 4th California Infantry Regiment (California Column) during the Civil War.
After the Civil War, Amos and his lovely wife, Clara, settled in Prescott, Arizona and he was employed for several years in the undertaking business. The Randal’s ended up in Phoenix where he became associated with Mr. Davis as Randal and Davis Undertakers.
One afternoon, Randal was preparing one of the dearly departed for burial. He was in the process of embalming a body of a gentleman who had been shot. Randal accidentally stabbed his finger with an embalming needle. From that single incident, he suffered a case of blood poisoning on and off for about three years. The result of the original blood poisoning weakened his heart. Randal had another bout with the illness in September 1897, but during the weeks following he felt in excellent health. He was in cheerful spirits the entire day before he met his demise.
I guess you might say that Amos G. Randal died at his post. On the afternoon of December 1, 1897 he was standing in the Confederate Soldier’s Cemetery, one of the many cemeteries that make up the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park. He had just finished overseeing the direction of a funeral. The body of G. A. Kirtley had been put in the ground, and the mourners were leaving the grave side.
Randal started walking slowly toward the horse drawn hearse. He had just untied the horse from his buggy when his knees suddenly gave way. He sank down on his knees, pitched forward, and fell on his face. Those that were near him ran to try and get him back up on his feet. Most everyone knew he was dying—or already dead.
The driver of the hearse, employed at Sturgis’s livery stable, jumped into his buggy and drove rapidly into the city and notified the junior member of the firm, W. A. Davis. The doctor was summoned, but needed only a cursory examination to confirm he was dead. His heart had instantly failed him. 
He left behind his dedicated wife, Clara, and four children Norena, Grant, Daisy and young Theodore. His funeral was held at the Presbyterian Church and he was buried in the Army Cemetery at the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park by the Grand Army Post. So when you drive past the group of old cemeteries after the midnight hour, keep your eyes peeled for the horse drawn hearse…and watch for the old undertaker in the top hat who may still be on the job digging graves and attending to the dead in the shadows of the moonlight!
And don’t forget—you can visit the grave of this unfortunate undertaker on October 25, 2009 when the MVD Ghostchasers host “A Historical Walk in Phoenix’s Early Cemeteries” in the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park.
Read more about the previous “Historical Walk in Phoenix’s Early Cemeteries” held March 2009
Want to Join the Pioneers' Cemetery Association and be a member of a team dedicated in preserving Arizona's cemeteries? Contact:
Pioneer & Military Memorial Park
14th Avenue and Jefferson Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-534-1262
For more info: www.mvdghostchasers.com
Debe Branning nazanaza@aol.com
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