Mt. Olivet San Rafael

“In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Seal of the Archdiocese of San Francisco this the sixth day of March in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty (1880).” —Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany

With this act and in his own hand, Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany accepted a gift of land from John and Maria Lucas dedicated exclusively for use as a Catholic Cemetery for the people of Marin County. Mount Olivet Cemetery continues to serve the Catholic community of the North Bay, providing a final resting place for over 14,000 persons.

This land, consisting of roughly twenty acres of hilltop property, was located within the Luca’s Terra Linda Rancho. These holdings had come to John Lucas with the passing of his uncle, Timothy Murphy, in 1853.

Don Timoteo Murphy was born in 1800 in County Wexford, Ireland. As a young man of 28 years he arrived in California by way of Lima, Peru. By 1839 Mr. Murphy had become a naturalized citizen of Mexico and was serving the government as the Administrator of Mission San Rafael Archangel. A brief time later he became the first anglo to be named Alacade (Mayor) of the village of San Rafael. This appointment and generous gifting of land was granted by General Mariano Vallejo on behalf of the Mexican government. Timothy Murphy’s original holdings included the ranchos of Santa Margarita, Las Galinas and San Pedro.