Question of the Week: What is the most interesting tombstone you have found? [closed]

Question

What interesting tombstone or grave marker have you come across? Please tell us about it in an answer below! You can also answer on Facebook, or share the question image anywhere on social media to get your friends and family talking. 

Answer 1

 Mary Brooks Smith, Findagrave 188872688, in the Wilson County Memorial Park in Lebanon TN, east of Nashville. 12 Aug 1938 - 4 Sep 1953. She died of poliomyelitis. Over 600 people attended the funeral, with the solos sung by a singer people remembered. (A year or two later Pat Boone got famous.) 

Mary was a shape note singer, in the Church of Christ, which prohibits musical instruments in worship. At that time that church still taught music using shape notes. The notes form the ascending F major triad in the treble clef, and the descending chord in the bass clef. In Aikin seven-note shapes, still used in gospel shape note music (a.k.a. "Stamps-Baxter" or "convention" music). - I'm a singer in a very different shape-note tradition, akin to Sacred Harp. I learned Mary's story from the newspaper account, augmented by the elderly Church of Christ librarian who found it for me.

Photo taken in 2000, with the low resolution digital camera available at the time. Sometime before 2013 the photo was extensively defaced, possibly by an inadvertent lawnmower.

Answer 2

This is the headstone of my great-aunt Hannah Jones Ward and her husband John Ralph Ward and one of their daughters, Frances. Hannah is the daughter of my great-great grandparents Amos Jones and Rebecca Hebron Jones. My grandfather, Frank Hebron Jones was given her maiden name as his middle name. I love the inscription, "Home to lie with their people."                                                   

Answer 3

When my husband and I were walking to our wedding, we went through Cops Hill Cemetery in Boston. I had decided to take his name, and there in the cemetery was the marker with the skull and wings above a person with the exact same name and spelling of what I was to become later that day. Elizabeth Blake. I wish I had a photo, but it was 44 years ago. I took his name anyway, and so far, not bad luck.

Answer 4

This is the headstone of my great-aunt, Hannah Jones Ward, her husband, John Ralph Ward and one of their daughters, Frances. Hannah was the daughter of my great-great grandparents Amos Jones (1820-1905) and Rebecca Hebron (1824-1897). My paternal grandfather, Frank Hebron Jones, was given her maiden name as his middle name. I love the inscription, "Home to lie with their People."

Answer 5

A grave in Shrewsbury MA describes a 9 year old boy who passed away in 1818 after falling on “a dung fork” (pitch fork) that penetrated his brain.

gravestone image

Answer 6

Self explanitory

Answer 7

I was visiting my great grandparents' grave in a small churchyard in Columbiana County, Ohio. I took a picture of my sister standing by their monument, and when I turned around, I saw this tombstone.

Answer 8

This one kinda caught me off guard:

Comments

David, I can certainly see where this stone would catch you off guard. Maybe another reason that your wife doesn’t want to go to cemeteries with you.

Answer 9

My 6th GG was a civil war soldier and grandfather to President Polk. But he also was an outspoken figure with ideas and beliefs downright radical for the time, including being a proud atheist.

EPITAPH - Colonel Ezekiel Polk, grandfather of James K Polk, 
President of the United States of America.

Here lies the dust of old E.P.,
One instance of mortality.
Pennsylvania born, Carolina bred,
In Tennessee died upon his bed.
His youthful days were spent in pleasure,
His later days in gathering treasure.
From superstition lived quite free,
And practiced strict morality.
To holy cheats was never willing
To give one solitary shilling.
He can forsee--and forseeing
He equals most men in being--
That Church and State will join their power,
And misery on their country shower;
The Methodist, with their camp-brawlings,
Will be the cause of this downfalling;
An error not desined to see,
He waits for poor posterity.
First fruits and tenths are odious things,
And so are bishops, tithes and kings.

Answer 10

In my family line, this is the most informative one I have ever seen. This is the grave of my 7th great grandfather, Jacob Franks. Given the condition of the grave, I'm guessing it was not created at the same time as Jacob's death. It's also a good lesson in not trusting histories without verifying facts. If anyone can prove any of teh facts in this epitaph, I'd love to know about it! Jacob Franks Grave

BORN CIRCA 1721 GERMAN STATES. FLED TO AMERICA TO ESCAPE THE WAR OF AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION 1740-1748. FUR TRAPPER FOR FRENCH AND BRITISH GOVERNMENTS. VETERAN OF FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR AND AMERICAN REVOLUTION. MARRIED MARY ANN ASHLEY DESCENDANT OF JOHN ASHLEY, FOUNDER OF JAMESTOWN 1607. CHARTER MEMBER OLD BAPTIST CHURCH ON THE DRY RIDGE, 1791. FOUNDER OF MT ZION KY. DIED CIRCA 1794. 

Answer 11

I recall seeing this Tombstone many years ago. Cannot remember where it was but I have never forgotten the text.

REMEMBER ME AS YOU PASS BY

FOR AS YOU ARE NOW SO ONCE WAS I

AS I AM NOW YOU MUST BE

PREPARE YOURSELVE TO FOLLOW ME.

Answer 12

The most interesting tombstone is located in a tiny village of Richard’, Saskatchewan, Canada .  It says: Heres’ to the things I love the most beautiful horses and lovely ladies while I live may I always have the pleasure to ride beautiful horses and to dance with lovely ladies when I die made my skin be tanned and made into a lady saddle so that I may always be between the things I love the most beautiful horses and lovely ladies.

Headstone of Donavan George Nov11,1912- April 30, 1992

Answer 13

I saw a tombstone over 35 years ago that stuck in my mind.  I didn't have a camera then; it was in Kentucky, one of the many private family cemeteries in the Land Between The Lakes area; this one was near the Turkey Bay off-road vehicle area along The Trace highway, back in the woods.  I don't have the person's name, but the headstone reads like this:

Remember friends as you pass by, as you are now so once was I.  As I am now, so you must be.  Prepare for death and follow me.

What was that person going through at that time? We'll never know.  Perhaps it's not even a unique engraving.  But I imagine countless people have been impacted by reading it!

Answer 14

The grave of https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Miller-37788. It is not in a cemetery, but in what is known of as "pygmy forest" in Albion, California. I discovered it back in about 1970, when I was 11. The head and foot stones are made of old growth redwood slabs. It is hard to read the headstone anymore. It says, "William D. Miller, Born in Maine, Died Aug. 14. 1890, Aged 59 years"

I am having trouble with adding the image, but go to his profile, and there are images there. Having trouble making the link work, also... Okay, that works!

Answer 15

While I've seen some very odd tombstones, I thought this would be an opportune time to remind new genealogists that, although the information on tombstones and death certificates (DCs) is primary source information, it isn't alway correct.  Remember, the deceased is not around to supply the information for the carving (unless he had it made before his death) and can't supply information for the DC.  I've seen many DC's and tombstones with erroneous information.  If the information can be proven wrong, leave a notation of such in your researchers notes in the profile.

Also, for the beginners, a findagrave memorial without a picture of a gravestone, or other data such as an appended obituary or DC, isn't really a valid source of genealogical evidence.  Descendants often create such memorials and enter unsupported claims.  So, try to find some valid sources before starting a profile based solely on such a memorial.

Happy hunting people.  Neat question BTW.

Answer 16

When I was a child and would visit my grandparents who had moved into town but still owned a farm, my grandfather would saddle the old horse and let me ride "the loop" which simpy meant that all the left turns would lead me back to the farm.  "Riding the loop led" me to a very old and very, very overgrown cemetery where I would dismount and take the less overgrown paths through the cemetery.  I was always curious about one headstone where I could not see the inscription because such a large tree had grown direction in front of it.  I was finally able to see a name when I was much older but did not know if this was a man or woman by the name.  The stone was finally added on FAG when I was much older and recently, the tree died and we can see the complete stone.  Be sure to click the link below the photos to see additional photos of before the tree came down and after.  Hancy and her family were some of the original settlers to Texas!  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45063108/hancy-gilley  and her son died in the Civil War.  See more about the settlingin Texas in 1835  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16083704/john-j-gilley.  My Great Grandfather and Great Great Grandfather are buried in the same cemetery and were my start into the family genealogy.

Answer 17

I know I've mentioned this in Discord, but I found a "Sexy" family in one of the cemeteries with a number of my relatives buried there. So, naturally, I had to do some more research... and create a WikiTree profile.

Answer 18

I can't vouch for the accuracy of this humorous inscription but it was attributed to "an old English churchyard":

Beneath the grass and near the trees

lies the shell of Ezra Pease

Pease isn't here only his pod

Pease shelled out and went home to God

Answer 19

A 2nd cousin with last name of Lawrence.  Died about 1915.  His tombstone was just 2-3 shovel fulls of concrete dropped onto the ground at the head of the grave.   In the concrete was scratched his name, date of death, and words "died down by RR tracks".  Darke County, Ohio.

Answer 20

I came across a Todd cemetery in a field by my woodland.  My American Rev. ancestor's  name carved in a stone about a foot and a half tall with his birth and death dates.  Other stones there so I must explore more.  Maybe my Michael Todd of the freshwater will be found there!