A Tombstone for Little Dora
A crudely painted tombstone standing in the old Dade City cemetery represents more than just the marker for a child who died more than 100 years ago.
“It (the tombstone) is one of the most interesting examples of Florida folk art and certainly the oldest in this area,” according to Dade City Lawyer and local historian Bill Dayton. The homemade tombstone, marking the grave of Little Dora Thrasher, appears to have been made by family members after the death of the 17-month-old girl.
“It’s obvious that the family sat down and did it themselves,” Dayton said. An inscription and drawing of a bird were traced into wet concrete, probably with a twig, he said.
The drawing is thought to be that of a “great speckled bird,” Dayton said. It alludes to an old hymn with the line: “I’ll be joyfully carried to meet him on the wings of the great speckled bird,” he said. Originally the bird was holding a scroll in its mouth, he said.
The inscription on the tombstone reads: “To the memory of Dora, daughter of W.G. and D.P. Thrasher. Borned Feb. 10, 1885. Died July 22nd 1886. With a farewell to her heart-broken parents. Her little soul flew in the arms of Jesus.” The lettering is crude, Dayton said. And by the end of the phrase, space was running out and “sus” is squeezed into the corner following the “je.”
Years of weathering have made it hard to determine the child’s name positively, Dayton said. The name is thought to be “Little Dora Thrasher.” However, it may have read “Lunie Dora Thrasher,” he said.
The original paint of the tombstone lasted nearly 100 years. But Dayton and a group of Boy Scouts touched up the paint several years ago. Dayton said the new paint didn’t even last five years. Dayton said he felt justified in touching up the tombstone because it wasn’t uncommon in pioneer days for family members to repaint the markers.
The old style grave consists of a bricked square topped with the concrete tombstone carrying the inscription. It was not uncommon to have the graves squared off with bricks or fenced in, Dayton said. “In those days, cattle wandered into the cemeteries and people didn’t want cows walking on grandma’s grave,” he said.
In the late 1880s, stonecutters weren’t available in this area, Dayton said, and many of the pioneer graves were made apparently from a kit. They were basically alike with the inscription “Sacred to the memory of,” followed by the name of the deceased.
Dayton believes the tombstones were manufactured locally, probably by one of the pioneer mercantiles that offered everything from clothing to undertaking services.
Other pioneer graves were marked with wooden tombstones. Many of those were replaced with marble markers in later years. Others remain unmarked, Dayton said.
In the 1890s, metal gravestones could be ordered though catalogs, he said.
In pioneer days, the Dade City cemetery was called the Oak Grove cemetery, named after the Oak Grove Baptist log church that stood amid the graves. The church was moved into Dade City in the 1890s and became the First Baptist church.
Usually, churchyards contained cemeteries, but a family’s plantation often provided burial space. The oldest cemetery in Pasco County is the Tucker Cemetery in Richland There, marked graves date back to the 1850s. But Tucker family members believe unmarked graves in the cemetery date from the 1780s. In the 1890s, cemeteries started being separate from churchyards.
Municipal cemeteries, their grounds owned and maintained by cities, came into existence in the 1900s. And in recent years cemeteries took a commercial twist and are now often operated as businesses.
