WALKING A CEMETERY

When Jerry and I moved to Istanbul in 1991, I had to leave my own genealogy research behind. Little did I know, however, that I would find in Istanbul a project that would take close to five years to complete but then continue via the internet to this day. That it impacted my life and my research is an understatement.

We arrived in Istanbul in June, and in September I was at a meeting where the American Consul General gave a talk in which he mentioned what he called "the American Cemetery." My genealogical antennae stood straight up, and I later found out from him that it really was the "Protestant" cemetery that in 1857 had been given by the Sultan to the 7 existing protestant powers - Prussia, Great Britain, the US, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Hanseatic Cities. Each of these nations had a section of the cemetery. Upon going to see the American Section of this cemetery and finding absolutely amazing information written on many of the stones, I decided that while I couldn't do my own research, I surely could copy all the information from these tombstones and put it in some kind of form where it wouldn't be lost.

That form ended up being a book, shown above, which I donated to various major repositories that genealogical researchers might look in, as well as posting it on the Internet. In the years since that time, I've been contacted by many people who have discovered their ancestors in that cemetery. And still, I probably receive one request every two months for additional information.

When I made known to the American community in Istanbul what I would be doing, all the long-term residents asked me to keep my eye out for information on the American Hippy who was killed in a shoot-out with the Turkish police. I did not find a tombstone for this fellow, but eventually I found an entry in the Record book at the Union Church (Dutch Chapel) that told a story and started me off on a fascinating discovery. I think it will take me two days worth of blogs to tell this most interesting story.

First, from the Record book:

BOULDIN, GARY RALPH
“b 1935, California. Buried 3 Jan 1969. An alleged “gangster” and smuggler who was being questioned about a stolen car in which he and his girl companion were driving. Dope and LSD were found in their possession. Gary decided to break away and in doing so shot and killed two policemen and two civilians. He was then gunned down after a chase. Brief ceremony of committal was held Friday, 3 Jan 1969 at Protestant Cemetery, Feriköy, Istanbul. Dr. Perry Avery presided and four consular officials from the American Consulate were present.”

Next, gathered from the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, December 29, 1968.

The article in Turkish newspaper reports that on the day previous (Dec. 28), Bouldin was arrested near Taksim driving a car with Milan, Italy license plates. With him was his girlfriend, Patricia Ann Seeds. He was taken to the police station in Karaköy next to the Liman Lokantasi (Restaurant) to be interrogated. Since it was a Saturday, a full complement of police officers was not on duty. Bouldin drew a gun and shot two policemen. He then ran into a lavatory, locked the door behind him and jumped through the window, landing on the terrace of the restaurant. He entered the kitchen, and after confronting an employee, shot him. In the meantime, the injured policeman were taken to the hospital. Other police were called in and they surrounded the restaurant. The newspaper reported that 1,000 policemen were on site. Upon learning that one of the injured policemen had died, they swore to capture Bouldin. The ensuing shoot-out in the restaurant ended with five dead, including Bouldin, policemen and restaurant patrons. Three were injured.

Immediately after the shoot-out ended, anger ran so high that the police determined to lynch the girlfriend. However, after acknowledging that she had no part in the shooting, they desisted. Officials from the American Consul were called in, along with some American detectives who had been on Bouldin’s trail. It was learned that Bouldin was from Los Angeles, California and had an ex-wife and two sons living there. The body was unclaimed and it was buried at the Protestant Cemetery.

TO BE CONTINUED