Gathering Information from Tombstones
by Elaine Powell
Dating Tombstones:
One way to help find the era your ancestor was buried is to examine
the material from which the tombstone is made. If your ancestor has
a stone made of slate or common fieldstone (except wood used by pioneers),
chances are the stone dates from 1796-1830.
* If the stone is flat-topped hard marble, dates are about 1830-1849.
* If the "mystery" stone is round or pointed soft marble with cursive
inscriptions, look for a date of 1845-1868.
* Masonic four-sided stones began in 1850 and are still in use today.
* Pylons, columns and all exotic-style monuments are usually dated
1860-1900.
* Zinc monuments date from 1870-1900.
* Granite, now common, came into use about 1900. If the writing
is too faded to read, use a 75 watt black light bulb in any lamp that casts
light directly on the written message. The writing will miraculously
appear.
You can take photos of tombstones to record the information. Be careful not to take the photo with a flash and stand directly in front of the tombstone. It might cause a "flashback" and you will have a large white spot in the middle of your photo and you won't be able to read the information on the stone. The best condition to take the photo is with light behind you, using no flash. However, some older stones don't photograph well, so you might want to take some tombstone rubbings.
Tombstone Rubbings:
Supplies you will need:
Soft-bristle brush
Masking tape
Scissors
White paper - pellon or rice paper*
Rubbing wax or black crayon (a "fat" kindergarten type crayon will
work nicely)
*The paper can be white paper, rice paper or Pellon. You can get rice paper from art stores and Pellon from fabric shops. Pellon is strong and will not tear easily. Any white paper will do, however, and you can get large rolls of white paper from a craft store. First, clean the stone gently with a brush. Remove bird droppings, dirt, moss, etc. from the stone. This will insure a clear and sharp rubbing. Be careful not to brush the stone too much so as not to harm it.
Use the masking tape and tape the paper or Pellon squarely and securely so as to cover the entire area of carving on the tombstone. Tape all four sides, so the paper won't slide and create a blurred or double image on your rubbing. Then use the crayon on it's side and carefully rub it over the inscriptions on the stone. Remove the tape carefully.
In addition, be sure to note the placement of the tombstones in the cemetery. Record how the tombstones are laid out in relation to other relatives in the same plot. You might take a photo of the whole plot, showing all the graves within your family plot.
Some large cemeteries have offices where they have lists of everyone
buried in their cemetery. The information can be invaluable to your
genealogical research. Some of them have their information on computers
and they can quickly pull up information for you. You might ask for
a printout of all persons in that cemetery with the same surname you are
researching. Comparing that information with what you have can really advance
your information.
[written by Elaine Powell, Historian/Archivist of the Central Florida
Genealogical Society, Feb, 2000. Used with permission of the author]
Selected Genealogy Sites
Copyright (2001)