This week I’m focusing on the final resting place of our ancestors, their epitaph and other inscriptions on their headstone. Why is the information to be found at the gravesite so useful?
What will you find on a headstone?
There are four main types of information on a headstone:
- Names – usually the first and last name are provided, sometimes middle names, and quite often you will find (usually in inverted commas) any nickname they were known by.
- Dates – these may be just the years of birth and death or the full birth and death dates.
- Other family members – there are two ways family members may be mentioned on the headstone. They may also be buried in the same plot and have their own inscription, or they may be listed as, for example, ‘beloved husband of [name of widow]’.
- Epitaphs – these are additional words inscribed on the headstone, chosen by the family. This may be an appropriate religious text or something personal about the deceased.
What’s special about the epitaph and memorial inscription?
The information on the headstone has generally come directly from the person paying for it. That is usually a family member. Therefore the information is personal. Please note that this doesn’t always mean it is 100% accurate. For example, sometimes the dates can be slightly off, or the middle names not quite right. The person giving the information was grieving at the time, so mistakes were made. Sometimes the mason would make a mistake when transcribing the requested information onto the stone. Therefore if you have several other sources for a birth year that disagree with the headstone do not presume the headstone outranks them in reliability.
The greatest value is in the information that may not be easily found in more formal documents. The details that make the name into a person. The words dedicated to them on the stone in their epitaph.
Even when the epitaph is a simple religious verse, it can give an insight into the personality or outlook on life of the deceased ancestor. Their family chose that verse for a reason. If the epitaph is a statement or poem about them it gives an even clearer insight into them and their relationship with their family. Often touching, sometimes humorous, they provide a glimpse of the real person behind the dates.
My personal experience – I never would have known…
I was lucky enough to have a family with a vault in their local church. The parents had many children, most of whom did not live to adulthood. In fact, they tended to die so early that they had not even appeared in the baptism registers. They certainly didn’t live long enough to appear in censuses. The only record of their existence was the inscriptions on the vault. Oh and their names in the burial register, but I’d never have known they were children of this family as only their names were recorded.
One child that did reach adulthood married and set off to America on the Mormon trail, dying of cholera along the way. This was recorded on the vault, even though he was not buried there, but in an unmarked grave somewhere on the way to Utah. How would I have ever known this if it weren’t for the inscription on the vault?
Do I have to go to the burial site to read the epitaph, it’s 1000 miles from here?
Ideally, if you get the chance to visit the burial place of your ancestor I would recommend it. There is a real feeling of connection to stand at the foot of their grave and read the headstone in person. You will often also find that there are other connected families buried nearby. It’s always a bit of an adventure walking around a churchyard or cemetery, seeing who else is interred in the vicinity. However, it may not be practical or possible to visit in person.
Do not fear, there are plenty of resources available which may be able to help you. If all else fails, you can hire a professional in that local area to go find them and take photos for you!
Some sources for epitaphs and memorial inscriptions
Global
BillionGraves.com and FindAGrave.com are the two most well-known sites for finding your ancestors’ graves. Each has global though incomplete coverage. Billion Graves is GPS linked with both photos and transcriptions of the headstones. Find A Grave sometimes has photos of the grave and sometimes has biographical information provided. It is worth checking both sites for your ancestor. FindAGrave is owned by Ancestry so a search on Ancestry will also show if there is a FindAGrave entry. FindMyPast searches will find if an ancestor is in the BillionGraves database. Both sites are also indexed on FamilySearch.
Local
Many cemeteries (especially the larger ones) have online search facilities available. these will provide the location of the grave and in many cases the information on the headstone. If you know the area that your ancestor died in, try looking at the local cemetery websites.
Family history societies and genealogical societies often produce transcriptions of local churchyards and cemeteries. If you have several ancestors (or one really tricky one!) in a certain locality, it is well worth considering being a member of the local family history society. They have so much good information that is yet to make its way into the wider world and often at a substantial discount for members. Most of them have a presence on the web these days, and you should be able to purchase downloads or CD’s containing relevant data. For those with ancestors in the UK, the National Burial Index (NBI) may help you find the burial place of your ancestor. Search the NBI via FindMyPast.
Worth a try – epitaph collections!
In the ‘good old days’, people were very entertained by clever epitaphs, especially if they were witty. Several volumes were published and are now mostly out of copyright. This means you have a good chance of finding them at sites such as the Internet Archive, FamilySearch Digital Library, or Geneanet. This is a ‘potluck’ method rather than a targeted search. However, if you don’t find an ancestor’s epitaph amongst the offerings, you will certainly be entertained!