When analyzing information on a tombstone, one thing to consider is when it was likely inscribed compared to when the person died. The longer it had been between the death date and the probable inscription date, the higher the potential for error. Just because it was thirty or forty years from the date of death to the probable inscription date does not mean the date is wrong, just that the potential for error is greater.
Categories:
Tags:
3 Responses
I’ve appreciated your information on these type of errors. Now I know reasons for issues, thou not necessarily errors as late in placing or cleaned stone & found a difference in date or spelling of name. Thank u.
I have found some stones/markers that not only had the husband & wife listed but also children & even grandchildren on it. These were mainly in Canada. Is this mainly from there and was this normal or only happening for a certain time period? thank you for your help.
The earliest Catholic Cemetery in the Tacoma area was closed down between 1910 and 1920, when my great grandmother Ellen died. Three of her children and her mother had already died and been buried in that old cemetery. When Ellen died, her remaining children established a family plot in the new Calvary Cemetery, and moved the 4 older gravestones to that plot. The earlier stones were basic low-budget stones, with inconsistent and inaccurate information. The children’s stones simply state their first names. No dates. Question: when graves are moved from one location to another burial ground, do cemetery workers only move the stone or monument? Or do they actually dig up the old caskets (if they haven’t disintegrated) and re-bury them? Maybe practices vary according to one’s religion?