The Foundation for SLO County Public Libraries has started a GoFundMe campaign to purchase a gravestone for the city of SLO’s first librarian, Frances Margaret Milne, who currently lies in an unmarked grave at the San Luis Cemetery.
“We don’t know why she doesn’t have a headstone,” Sharon Coronado, the library adult services coordinator, said in a press release. “Milne made a name for herself in this community as the city librarian and in the literary world, as a poet and writer.”
Milne became SLO’s first librarian after immigrating to the U.S. from Ireland in the mid-1800s. She held the post for 11 years. Among her published works, her book of poetry, For to-day, remains the most notable.
The GoFundMe campaign has a fundraising goal of $1,500 to cover the gravestone, installation, and flowers for a dedication ceremony to honor Milne. The foundation hopes to hold the ceremony in April, the anniversary month of Milne’s death, or June, the month of her birth.
“Part of our job [as librarians] is to preserve the past for future generations,” Coronado said. “We are fundraising for Milne’s gravestone in order to contribute to preserving her legacy.”
Visit the Library Foundation’s GoFundMe page to donate or learn more. Δ
This article appears in Weddings 2019.