This very unassuming stone belongs to Janet Williams Gould. If you walk past it at the cemetery it is just one of many graves, row after row. Under the ground rest a lady that is one of us. A historian, a researcher, and a genealogist.
Janet Gould was known as the “Duchess” in Corona. She came from an old eastern family who were prominent in Missouri’s history. She continued the history when she came to Corona as Mrs. Walter Dean in 1910. Mr. Dean died in the flu epidemic in 1918. Janet remarried to Chester Gould.
The Duchess did many years of research into the history of the area which is now Corona, CA. She studied the Luiseno Indians who first inhabitated the land. She marked historical events and drew attention to the landmarks. She spoke at many groups in Southern California. She wrote plays and articles for newspapers. When she passed away she donated her many years of work to the Corona Public Library. It is called The Janet Williams Gould Early California Collection. The scope of the collection is amazing.
She joined the Daughters of the American Revolution on January 6, 1903 in Missouri and continued her activity in the Aurantia Chapter when she moved to Corona.
On January 6, 2010 the Aurantia Chapter of the DAR will be marking her grave at 2:00 in the afternoon at Sunnyslope Cemetery. All members will be dressed in Colonial clothes to proudly honor this remarkable woman.