|
Many tombstones contain vital information that will not be found anywhere else. During certain times, vital records abroad and at home were lost or destroyed by one means or another. Finding an ancestor's tombstone is always an asset.
If your ancestors lived in America before 1800, you probably will be able to find valuable information from their tombstones. And, even if the tombstone is no longer legible, many times the church recorded all the data from the inscriptions.
There are many ways of recovering the information from a tombstone:
1) Transcribing: Copy the words, symbols and markings exactly the way they appear. Do not change the spelling, date, etc.
2) Pictures: If you are going to photograph the tombstone, you must prepare the stone so the picture will be of the best quality. Try to clean the stone with a soft bristle brush. Be sure not to use any type of abrasive or steel brush on any stone. Do not use any type of cleanser. And always ask permission before cleaning a stone. You can sometimes do severe damage. Be careful of the lighting or you will end up with a photo of nothing.
3) Rubbing: Use the proper type of paper, sketching paper or rice paper, and you will also need colored wax cakes, you will also need a means of securing the paper to the stone (masking tape works well, the blue type because it does not adhere itself like other tapes), and a blueprint or mailing tube or tubes to store your finished rubbing. Always check with the cemetery officials before you attempt a rubbing. There are many books available on the proper methods of rubbing. The easiest method though is to use tracing paper or rice paper and some colored wax cakes. Big crayons will work also. Carefully secure your rice or tracing paper to the stone and then very gently rub the wax cake or crayon over the paper transferring the inscription to the paper.
You can expect to find some or all of the following information on a tombstone: Year of death, month and day, hour of death, birth date, parents names, spouses name, spouses year of birth and death, parents year of birth death, and sometimes information pertaining to a former spouse. And sometimes only, a partial inscription will be found:
HEEAR Earl Baldwin
..........T. E 18 Jan 1802 22 Oct 1880
. . . . .OF MILES Husband of Mary Conners Baldwin
E. . . .IN AGED 15 Feb 1810 02 Oct 1880 YEARS DIED Children
OF APRIL Earl, Mary, Conway, Lucy
1697
With an inscription as the above you will have to attempt filling in the blanks from your other research. And perhaps the cemetery records will do that for you or another tombstone nearby will give light to the blanks on the other stone. Depending on the age and type of stone, it could be very easy to obtain information or very difficult.
Tombstones may also give information as to the social and financial status of your ancestors. Size of stone, location of stone, number of other stones for the same family grouping. The caretaker's records are also of valuable information. These records will give you the location of the tombstone, date of burial, purchaser of the lot or lots, sometimes their relationship to the deceased, date and place of birth, names of parents, spouse, survivors, etc.
Wills, estate records, probate records, letters of appointment of estates, etc., can shed light on many gaps in your family tree. These documents tell of the contents of an individual's personal belongings, and financial status. These documents also give names of children, spouse, parents, other relatives, and close friends of the family. A will sometimes will make mention of certain pieces of property or land and its location. These clues can help you close many gaps in your family history.
Be careful interpreting words such as--elder, younger, junior, senior, eldest, cousin, brother, in-law, sister, these terms can refer to father and son, two brothers, two sisters, neighbors, etc. If a particular village had two or three John Doblins, one could refer to one as John the elder, the other John the younger, and the other John the brother. Children by previous marriages are treated as natural children of the same parents, neighbors or relatives children that are in a certain person's care can also be considered as cousins, brothers, and sisters. So many times information from a will can be misleading. Be sure to thoroughly research it. Always be careful to keep in mind that not only does a will or document of estate bring you welcome genealogical information, it may also bring you some unwelcome news. You may find one or more of your ancestors to have been indentured to another person and they died still in debt. Or they may have stumbled upon bad luck and died in prison. On the other hand, you may find that you are heir to a fortune or, the descendant of royalty.
Sometimes an ancestor may have died with no will. In this case, the person's estate is bound over to a court, and this person tries to locate any living relatives and divide the estate evenly amongst them. Sometimes it will be worth the extra effort to draft a letter to the post office of a major city near the place your relatives lived. You may inquire as to any mail that has been left in the dead letter office. Many times letters of importance are kept for years and years awaiting some one to claim them.
Other records consist of guardianships, bonds, indenturements, etc. These records may have complete listings of all properties, owned by the deceased. These records are sometimes quite detailed such as the following will:
Will of Richard Miles
From an abstract of the Will of Richard Miles the elder of Much Munden, co. Herts., yeoman, dated 4 Feb. 1627 [1627/8]:
"As I do not consider that the third part of my freehold property will be sufficient to maintain Alice my beloved wife if she survives me, I devise to her all that my parlour, being part of the mansion house wherein I dwell, at the north end. Also, I leave to her my little garner orchard on the north side of the said mansion, with liberty of ingress, egress & regress during her widowhood. If she marries again, this bequest shall be void. To the said Alice my wife, my close called Nastie Croft, a close of land and pasture called Marshes of about 3 acres, 2 acres of arable land lying in Nastie field, abutting on my orchard to the east & on Sowles field to the west, 1 acre of arable land in Nastie field between the land of Richard Baker & Richard Cannon, and pieces of arable land in Sowles field purchased by me of John Sell, of 6 acres. The said Alice my wife shall hold such properties for the term of her life on condition that she does not claim any other dower. To the said Alice my wife, 8 yearly during her widowhood, payable by my son Richard Miles & his heirs & representatives in quarterly payments, and my said son Richard shall enjoy the said close called Nastie Croft, the close called Marshes, lands in Nastie field & Sowles' field at the death of my said wife. To Alice my said wife, my best cow, all wethers, ewes, lambs and other sheep. To my son Richard, the householdástuff in the hall of my mansion house except the chair in which I usually sit which I give to Alice my wife. To the said Alice my wife, all the rest of the household stuff, and I request her to give some to my kinswoman Ann Shipp who now dwells with me. My wife shall have the use of the chimney in the said hall & fire there as there is no chimney in the said parlour, she paying no allowance for the same. To Richard my son & his heirs for ever, all the rest of my lands, tenements & hereditaments, immediately after my death, also the rest of my goods & chattels, and I make my said son Richard my sole executor" (American 136-37).
This document was signed by, Rychard Miles. Witnessed by, William Benn, John Johnson, _____ Johnson. It was proved, 22 April 1629, by Richard Miles, ______ a executor named [Archdeaconry Court of Huntingdon, within Registry, Original Will].
From the above will a person can glean a wealth of information. Rychard Miles was a wealthy person, he held much land, and this will tells of that land and who it was purchased from as well as telling who the heirs were and their relationship to Rychard Miles. This information can be helpful when comparing the inscription from a tombstone of the same person.
Following is a list of places where you can find information on Tombstones, wills and Inscriptions of your ancestors:
The Guildhall Library in London could be an excellent source for local records in England. Also, the Probate registry offices in England and Wales may offer valuable information.
The Times Tercentenary Handlist of English and Welsh Newspapers, Magazines and Reviews 1620-1920.
The London Directories 1677-1855.
Wills and Their Whereabouts.
County Courts: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Judge's Courts: Alaska and Florida.
District Courts: Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Vermont.
Probate Courts: Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
For other states, contact the Clerk of court of each individual county.
Most Americans should be able to obtain cemetery records for a few of their ancestors, some will obtain a lot of records; others may find very little. Remember you must beware of inaccuracies pertaining to dates. Many cemeteries were in churchyards and cemetery caretakers can provide valuable information. Birth records before 1752 and some death records after 1752 may be inaccurate due to the eleven-day calendar change of 1752 and wills and other documents can contain one or more generations of names; place of residency; status; and sometimes other surprises.
|
| |
