CEMETERY DOCUMENTATION by SHERRY S. JOHNSTON Years ago, when I first started this journey of researching, documenting and writing about cemeteries, I started off…
These epitaphs for wives reveal the state of the marriage Here lies the body of James Robinson and Ruth, his wife; Their warfare is accomplished.…
BELLS LANDING by Sherry S. Johnston Several weeks ago, I took a tour of Vredenburg, Hybart, Franklin, Bells Landing communities in Monroe County, AL.…
TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Epitaph of a gossip Here is an epitaph about a woman who in life was evidently a great gossip: 'Tread softly, reader, lest…
These epitaphs on tombstones reveal that the husband must have died last since he had the last word. Within this grave do lie Back…
TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Stinging epigrams on tombstones Epigrams which originally were inscriptions on tombs were invented by the Roman poet Martial. Poignancy and sting was…
MONDAY MUSINGS: Don't go alone when transcribing cemeteries!!! This is a reason why Be careful when you start looking for cemeteries in the deep…
Epitaphs in cemeteries are sometimes funny like this one obviously written on the tombstone of a miser His heirs, that he might safely rest, Have…
These old epitaphs reveal much about how the victim died This death appears to have occurred by a tragic accident Smith ran to catch…
Some old epitaphs reflect the hard life of women and childbirth in olden days 70 years a maiden 1 year a wife 2 months…
Humorous Tombstones England “When the great judgment day arrives and Joshua Fenton Newton does not emerge from this hole, you will know that someone…
A Curious Vermont Epitaph "Sacred to the memory of three twins" WHERE DO I START? Hints and Tips for Beginning Genealogists with On-line…
Some people believe in engraving their trades on their tombstones in the past. Epitaph to blind woodsawyer in Georgia: "While none ever saw him…
COLBERTIANS By R. L. James SECTION III OBITUARIES AND CEMETERY RECORDS To the Readers of the Alabama Historical Quarterly: (The Alabama Historical Quarterly, Vol.…
TOMBSTONE TUESDAY - For I have another wife...funny tombstone More funny tombstones Epitaph over wife in Sunbury Churchyard, England: “Oh! Do not weep, my…
From a cemetery near Cincinnati, Ohio: Here lies ------ Who came to this city and died for the benefit of his health. From Belturbet…
During my genealogy research, the size of families always amazes me. Evidently, the number of children was also noticed in the past as evidenced…
Epitaph of a resigned and submissive husband on his second wife: Here lies wife second of old Wing Rogers She's safe from care and…
From Solyhull Churchyard, Warwickshire, England The following Epitaph was written by a certain Rev. Dr. Greenwood on his wife, who died in childbirth. One…
The following warning and advisory lines are on the tombstone of a quack doctor: I was a quack and there are men who say…
From Thetford Churchyard, England: My grandfather was buried here, My cousin Jane, and two uncles dear; My father perished with inflammation in the thighs,…
In Lydford Churchyard, near Dartmoor, England: Here lies, in horizontal position, the outside Case of George Routle1gh, Watchmaker; Integrity was the Mainspring, and prudence the…
Elihu Yale, the founder of Yale College, New Haven, Conn., was buried at Wrexham, Wales. His monument bears this inscription: Under this tomb lyes…
The following Epitaph, from the Churchyard at North Shields, England, has been the subject of much laughter on account of its absurdity: In memory of James Bell,…
Fairfax, Vt., over the remains of a young man accidentally shot: O fatal gun, why was it him That you should kill so dead?…
On a tombstone in England: This disease, you ne'er heard tell on — I died of eating too much mellon; Be careful, then all you…
Beneath this stone lies Katharine Gray, Chang'd from a busy life to lifeless clay: By earth and clay she got her pelf, And now…
This man evidently loved food according to his epitaph: On a tombstone from 1690, are these lines: "Here lies the bones Of Joseph Jones,…
This man must have been difficult to be friends with. On a tombstone in Ohio, are these lines: Here the old man lies, No…
In a cemetery near Paris, in France, a small lamp was at one time kept burning under an urn over a grave, and the…
