Tombstones, markers, plaques, mausoleums, and other monuments have been
used over the millennia to mark the place of an individual's interment
or to act as commemorative memorial to a person. The study of these
markers over time provides a number of interesting insights into the
sociological and archaeological aspects and practices surrounding death
and memorialization. The common denominator across many centuries of
burial markers is the inclusion of vital information about the deceased.
Names, dates, and other information is carved, inscribed, or otherwise
written to communicate facts about the deceased's life.
What we must understand about these commemorative markers is that they
are not primary sources of genealogical information; they are
emphatically secondary sources. The following are some reasons and
examples of why tombstones are secondary sources.
--- Time of Placement.
Tombstones and other grave markers are very
frequently not placed until sometime after the death and burial of the
individual. In some cases, it may be months or even years before a
permanent marker is installed. During the Great Depression, many people
did not have the money for gravestones and therefore had to wait for
better financial times to allow them to order a marker and have it
installed.
--- Incorrect Names.
Individual's names on tombstones may possibly be
incorrect. As with death certificates, the accuracy of information on a
tombstone depends on the knowledge of the informant or the person who
actually ordered the stone. As a result, a tombstone may bear a nickname
rather than the true name of the individual. This is the case with my
Grandmother Morgan's stone. Her real name was Laura Augusta Wilson
Morgan, but her gravestone reads Minnie Wilson Morgan--a concession to
the nickname used throughout her life and to the physical size of the
stone.
In other cases, there may be errors on the marker. Occasionally, a
stonemason made an error in carving information. You might expect these
to be caught and a new stone created, but this did not always happen.
For example, in one old cemetery in downtown Tampa, Florida, there is a
tombstone on which there is a spelling error in the surname. Rather than
create a new stone, the stonemason carved a slash through the incorrect
letter on the stone and then carved the correct letter above the
incorrect one.
--- Incorrect Dates.
Vital dates can also be wrong. A death certificate
may be a primary source for death information, but it is certainly only
a secondary source where birth details are concerned. The accuracy of
this information again depends on the knowledge of the informant, and
any incorrect information provided may be perpetuated on a tombstone.
Another cause for an incorrect date on a tombstone may be the vanity of
the deceased person. Some people may try to conceal or even lie about
their age. This deception may literally be taken to the grave--to the
stone itself--in the form of incorrect dates.
--- Wrong Place.
Another problem with tombstones is that sometimes they
are placed in one location when the burial actually took place somewhere
else. It pays to study obituaries and to make note of the place of
interment, if included. One of my great-uncles has two tombstones in
different cemeteries. The first one was placed in his wife's family
plot and was pre-inscribed with his name, year of birth, and "19--" in
the space for year of death. For many years, a number of family members
thought he was buried there. It was not until I conducted some
additional obituary research that I found that he had married a second
time, and that he and his second wife purchased and were buried in
another cemetery on the other side of the town where they lived.
TRANSCRIPTION TYPOS
There are many conscientious people involved in projects to transcribe
tombstone inscriptions and make them available for others' research. I
applaud the efforts of these volunteers, many of whom are local
historians and members of genealogical and historical societies. Even
the most conscientious person, however, may make errors while working
through the cemetery. Some stones are eroded or covered with lichen,
moss, vines, and other growth that make them difficult to read and
decipher. Transcribers will give their best effort at reading them
correctly, but may still record incorrect information. In other cases,
it is easy to miscopy or misspell names and other data, and numeric
figures may be easily transposed.
And then there is the process of formally preparing the data for
publication. The errors made in the cemetery, and new ones created
during the process of typing or performing data entry, can be published
and are then perpetuated by researchers who may accept the data as fact.
For these reasons, it is important to use published cemetery
transcriptions only as finding aids to point you to the actual
tombstone. You will want to see the tombstone yourself or have someone
provide you with a high-quality, high-resolution photographic image for
your review.
SETTING IT IN STONE
Thus, there are a number of opportunities for incorrect information to
be perpetuated on tombstones. Families may make every effort to provide
a fitting and tasteful marker for their loved one, but surviving family
members may not have all the details or may make mistakes. In some
cases, the person who arranged for the marker may not have been a family
member at all. The fact is, unless you were directly involved with
ordering and placing a tombstone and knew the information inscribed on
it was 100 percent accurate, you really don't know for certain anything
about it. That means you don't know who ordered it, when it was ordered,
the accuracy of the name, dates, and other information inscribed, or
when it was placed. You will therefore need to verify the information
with other primary sources.
So, when you pay your visit to the cemetery this Halloween, take a look
at the tombstones and markers, and remember that you can't assume the
information set in stone" is correct. There is more research needed.
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