Caroline Field Hitch

  Notes:

From "A Hitch Orchard": Caroline Hitch was a beautiful girl residing in New Orleans at the time she married Dr. Takamine, the noted scientist. After her second marriage, she went to live on a ranch in the west. Arizona Certificate of Death transcription: Caroline T. Beach, female, white, married, was born August 5, 1866, in Massachusetts. Father: Ebenezer Vose Hitch, born Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Mother: Mary B. Fields, birthplace unknown. She lived 30 years in Arizona. Usual Residence: Rancho del Ocotillos, Vail, Pima County, Arizona. At the time of her death, 6:25 A.M., November 26, 1954, she was age 88 years. Cause of Death: arterio sclerotic heart disease 15 years; acute pulmonary edema 4 days. She died at 600 East Speedway, Tucson. Informant for Certificate: [illegible] Beach. Removal of remains November 29, 1954 to Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City, New York.

From: Bill Shurtleff [mailto:BillShurtleff@comcast.net] Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 1:08 PM To: Hitch, Michael G. (WFF-8020) Subject: Hitch: Mike: Look at this big discovery on the subject of what happened to Caroline Hitch Takamine after her husband, Jokichi, died in 1922?
Arizona Daily Star. 2006. June 20. "Vail congregants to worship in roomier surroundings.Catholics in the exploding community of Vail southeast of Tucson are at long last getting a reprieve from overcrowding that has plagued their church for the past decade." The original St. Rita's sanctuary, which continues to draw tourists from around the world, will continue to be used for weekday Masses. Tourists also are often drawn to the history of the shrine, which was dedicated in 1935 to Japanese chemist Jokichi Takamine - a Buddhist who converted to Catholicism - by his widow, Caroline Takamine Beach. Takamine Beach moved to Arizona from New York City to marry Vail rancher Charles P. Beach after her first husband died in 1922. The altar and tabernacle are made from stone from the nearby Santa Rita Mountains. The altar weighs 5 tons. Stations of the Cross made of Mexican tile in the church are from the original 1935 construction. "The church was able to acquire extra land for its new building with more than $200,000 left in a trust by the Beach and Takamine families, for use only if St. Rita's was still attracting worshippers. Parameters set out by the families forbade any alterations to the chapel. But no one in 1935 could have predicted the surge in Vail's population. The church was originally built for what was then a large population of migrant Mexicans who worked on ranches and for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Note: Charles Beach was born in 1865." [Bill Shurtleff Soyinfo Center P.O. Box 234 Lafayette, CA 94549-0234 www.soyinfocenter.com <http://www.soyinfocenter.com Phone: 925-283-2991 For UPS or Express Mail: 1021 Dolores Dr., Lafayette, CA 94549]

Caroline married Jokichi Takamine I, son of Sei-Ichi Takamine and Yuki Tsuda, on 10 Aug 1887 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, LA.¹ (Jokichi Takamine I was born on 09 Nov 1854 in Kanazawa, Kaga, Japan ¹ and died on 22 Jul 1922 in New York City, NY ¹.)

  Notes:

Story is told in "Where the Wings Grow" by Agnes De Mille published by Doubleday, NY, 1978.

Caroline next married Charles Pablo Beach in 1926.¹ (Charles Pablo Beach was born on 14 Sep 1889 in KS and died on 25 Nov 1967 in Pima Co., AZ.)