May 9, 1922 – James Baskerville passed away suddenly from a heart attack, after suffering from heart trouble for the previous two years. About 18 months before his death, he travelled to San Francisco to consult with a heart specialist who diagnosed his ailment as angina pectoris and “told him he could hope for no permanent relief.”
Born in Devonshire, England in 1848, James was the son of Thomas and Isabelle Baskerville and had twelve brothers and sisters. He immigrated to the United States with his two older brothers, Peter and John, in 1870. They first settled in Cleveland, Ohio, but in 1876 they moved to Mendocino where they worked as woodsmen in the logging camps. None of these three brothers ever married, and they were described by the Beacon as, “a happy and contented bachelor family.”
Joe Nichols’ Poolroom in Mendocino, c. 1910. Between 1909 and 1918, Joseph H. Nichols operated a poolroom in the building located on the southwest corner of Ukiah and Lansing Streets. Pictured: 1 – John Chambers, 2 or 3 – Simon Fraser, 4 – Roy Doolittle, 5 – James Baskerville, 6 – Frank Bailey, 7 – Bill Emerick, 8 – Emil Seman, 9 – Leslie Flood, 10 – unidentified, 11- Vick Boos, 12 – Arthur Daniels, 13 – Joseph Nichols, and 14 – Sam Bever.
In 1885, the Baskerville brothers purchased land on the north side of Pine Street from the estate of Captain David F. Lansing, and J. D. Johnson built a home for the brothers there. In 1964, this house was moved easterly on its parcel by CalTrans to make way for the new Big River bridge approach. The Baskerville home still stands today on Pine Street, just east of Highway 1.
Peter died of heart failure in 1909, and John died after a long illness the following year. Soon after, James gave up logging due to his own poor health.
James gifted the Baskerville house to long-term renters Henry and Rosa Flood in 1920 but continued to live on the property. “He had no living relatives and had made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Flood for many years. He lived in a small house adjacent to the Flood home and on the morning of his death Mr. Flood had called him as usual. As he did not come over within the usual time, Mr. Flood went again to see what was detaining him and found him lying on the floor dead.”
Funeral services were held at the Flood home, and graveside services were conducted by the local order of Foresters, of which James was a member. He was buried next to his brothers in Evergreen Cemetery.
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