Texas Man Builds Fake Cemetery With Tombstones From Actual Dead People

A  Houston Texas man, tired of homeless people sleeping on his property, installed three grave sites complete with fake headstones.

Much to his surprise, it turned out that the headstones were  discarded from a local monument company and are inscribed with the names of actual deceased people.

The three tombstone markers are inscribed

Johnny Mack Chappell, Dee Brown Hancock 1922-1973, and Sandra Ruth Howen 1939-1986

Video & Details at:

Daily Mail Online: Texas man tired of homeless people sleeping on his property builds a fake GRAVEYARD complete with old tombstones - only to find out they were made for real dead people

ABC News: Phony Tombstones Used as Scarecrow for Vagrants

Old Tombstone Kills Young Boy in Utah

Parents and Grandparents - watch your children! Please be sure to teach them about the dangers of old tombstones. This is a very sad but true story of a young boy killed by an older tombstone when it fell on him.

Every year hundreds of people are injured and killed by older tombstones that have fallen into disrepair. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the responsibility of the cemetery to maintain these stones! It is up to the families of the deceased.

Don't let your children push or lean against tombstones. Don't let them play hide and seek. We've all done it but we need to think about it and try to prevent such tragedies from happening

I dont really like this Igrave and natural burial stuff.

For those of you who read yesterdays post about Igrave I have to say that while I find it interesting, as a genealogist I don't really like this Igrave and natural burial stuff.

For genealogists like myself big old fashioned tombstones are one of the most important sources of genealogical information available to us. In many cases a tombstone is all that remains to tell us about the people who have gone before. Paper and electronic records are just too easy to lose.

All the folks who are being buried in natural unmarked graves risk being lost forever. I myself (like the Kings of old) want the biggest monument I can get.

Who Was Marie Olsen?

Do you know Marie Olsen? Her gravestone was found recently in St. Paul, Minnesota. The only clue are the dates inscribed on the stone  1879-1932

See Geneanet's Genealogy Blog for more information.

The Broken Stone

The mystery of how a centuries-old tombstone from North Haven wound up in the basement of the former Clinton Police Department remains. But through modern-day communication and some old-fashioned research, the burial plot where the stone belongs has been identified.

Members of Clinton's highway department were working at 48 E. Main St. — the building that housed the police department from 1971 to 2005 — when they found the 214-year-old relic on Jan. 4. The headstone, which is in three pieces, is gray slate inscribed with "In Memory of Mrs. Ruth Sackitt wife of Mr. Solomon Sackitt who died March 27, 1796 in the 41st year of her age." And at the bottom: "Death is a debt to nature due that I have paid and so must you."

Sgt. Joe Flynn keeps track of property and evidence that comes through the police department, now at 170 E. Main St. He said he checked with Clinton's town clerk to determine whether Ruth Sackitt's name was listed in the town's records.


http://articles.courant.com/2011-01-12/community/hc-clinton-tombstone-0113-20110112_1_headstone-burial-plot-death

Not so odd for grave markers to go astray

Think the holiday discovery of a 123-year-old tombstone in the fireplace of an Ingersoll, Ont., home was a one-of-a-kind occurrence? Not at all.

Tombstones have been known to turn up in unlikely and unsettling places. Like in someone's yard. It happens from time to time, even right here in Brantford.

Read More

Grave marker mystery solved

The mystery of the forlorn tombstones in Mitchell has been solved.
The strange tale of the two granite markers, engraved with the names Blanche and Jody, dates back decades.

Read More

Discovery of tombstone has descendants 'thrilled to death'

A tombstone found by Ingersoll homeowners who were recently renovating their fireplace is that of a pioneer with connections to Brant and Oxford counties, who was also a veteran of the War of 1812.

The pristine limestone grave marker of Comfort Sage, who died on April 5, 1887, at the age of 90 years and 10 months, was found by Russell and Heidi Watson. The couple had turned over a large rectangular hearthstone in their home only to discover that it was actually a tombstone.



Read More

Old Tombstone Found in Fireplace Hearth

Imagine finding an old tombstone in your fireplace! It happened recently in Ontario Canada.

A tombstone found by Ingersoll homeowners who were recently renovating their fireplace is that of a pioneer with connections to Brant and Oxford counties, who was also a veteran of the War of 1812.

The pristine limestone grave marker of Comfort Sage, who died on April 5, 1887, at the age of 90 years and 10 months, was found by Russell and Heidi Watson. The couple had turned over a large rectangular hearthstone in their home only to discover that it was actually a tombstone

Source: The Expositor. "Discovery of Tombstone Has Descendants Thrilled to Death" by Heather Ibbotson

Continue reading this fascinating story and see a photo of Comfort Sage

Tombstone Tuesday - Hugh Archer

Well its Tombstone Tuesday again so today its the grave of Hugh Archer in THE PRESBYTERIAN CEMETERY WYEBRIDGE, SIMCOE COUNTY, ONTARIO.

ARCHER

HUGH ARCHER

Died

Sep 11 1889-Aged 52 Yrs

JANE ADAMS - His Wife

Died Mar 14 1905 Aged 57 yrs

Tombstone Tuesday, Metal Tombstones

Tombstone Tuesday. Well I was out taking some cemetery photos and this one caught my eye. At first glance one would not think that their is much different about this grave marker. From a distance it looks quite normal. But in fact the entire grave stone is metal. Metal grave markers of this type are rare in my area. And they are getting rarer all the time as they really don't stand up to the weather as well as granite and they are much more susceptible to damage by vandals. You can see cracks starting to form in this one and I would guess its days are numbered.

Geo Catlin

Died

Feby 16 1880

Aged 80 Years

At Rest

How Much For That Tombstone In The Window

How Much For That Tombstone In The Window. Over the years I have spent a lot of time in cemeteries. And while wandering about looking at all the grave markers I have often wondered about how much they must have cost. Many are quite large and beautiful and it must have been a fair burden for some of the families to pay for. Times were hard in The Good Old Days. People did not always have a lot of extra cash. But it was very important to them to have a nice memorial for their loved ones. So to that end I have done a little digging and one of the first things I found was a 1902 Sears and Roebuck catalogue. When I think of shopping at Sears tombstones are not the first thing I think of. But back then Sears sold just about everything you could think of.

The prices in 1902 would seem to start around $6 dollars for a small stone and go right up to almost $30 for a big 4ft tall stone. This would appear quite cheap to us. But when you think about how little people made back then. You realize just how costly they were and how hard it must have been to pay for. For example the 1901 Canadian Census tells us that back then a good wage for a man was about $1.50 to $1.75 per day. So you're looking at a week to a month's pay just for a tombstone. Not an easy burden. Then when you add the cost of the funeral and the fact that the person being buried was in many cases the main source of income for the family. One can really start to get a feeling of just how important it must have been to the family to have a nice marker.

OLD PROTESTANT CEMETERY IN ST.MARYS, PERTH COUNTY, ONTARIO

Well I missed Tombstone Tuesday as I was out taking pictures of tombstones. So how about Grave marker Wednesday this week. This week it is the grave marker of Wm Barron. William lived with his family in Blanchard Township in Perth County. He was buried in the OLD PROTESTANT CEMETERY IN ST.MARYS, PERTH COUNTY, ONTARIO in 1858.

http://www.ancestorsatrest.com/perth_county_ontario/old_st.marys_protestant_cemetery_good.shtml

Halloween Gallagher 1892~1953

Believe it or not, some children born on Oct. 31st are given the first name HALLOWEEN by their parents.

Found in the SSDI (Social Security Death Index) for Georgia:

Halloween Venable b. OCt 31, 1892 d Sept 1974

Halloween Kea 1916-1992

Haloween Russell 1921-1981.

But my personal fav is Halloween Gallagher born in Penetanguishene
Ontario 31 Oct 1892 to parents William and Agnes. Why is she my fav?
Because Penetang (as it's called) is not far from where I live!

Halloween went on to marry John Thomas Codnere from Toronto. In 1951
Halloween Codnere is found in the Border Crossing Records going from
Canada to Ashville North Carolina to join her husband, Dr. J. T. Codnere. She died in Sept. 1953 in Skyland, Buncombe North Carolina,
and her death certificate is online. I haven't found her tombstone but
I'd sure like to see a photo of it!

Tombstone Tuesday: Drummond Hill Cemetery, Niagara Falls Ontario

Well its Tombstone Tuesday again.  This week I have decided to feature a grave marker in Drummond Hill Cemetery, Niagara Falls Ontario. Drummond Hill Cemetery named in honour of General Drummond, is a nationally recognized heritage site. It's known as the battleground of the "Battle of Lundy’s Lane", as well as the burial site of Laura Secord.

In 1799 Christopher Buchner purchased 400 acres of land from his father-in-law, James Forsythe. Christopher used the top of the hill as a burial ground. It later became the site of a fierce battle between the British and the Americans in 1814.

The gravestone is for Rheumanah Muisiners [Misener] who died in 1836. This is an early tombstone for Ontario. Many of the early settlers did not have the luxury of a fancy grave marker.

Rheumanah (nee Lanton) was the wife of Peter Misener from New Jersey. He was a soldier in Butler's Rangers and a Loyalist.

Tombstone Tuesday John Bell 1825~1904

Well its Tombstone Tuesday again and I thought I would post the tombstone of John Bell. John is buried in Batteau Hill Cemetery near Duntroon in Simcoe County Ontario. He is buried with his wife Mary and his son Malcom and daughter Catharine. It is interesting that Catharine and Malcom never married.

You can see the rest of Batteau Hill Cemetery at
Ancestors At Rest

Tombstone Tuesday: Sisters die 4 days apart

This is a very sad tombstone for the little daughters of Thomas and Mary King in Arkell Ontario.

Little Catherine died first at the age of 5, on Dec. 9, 1870. Four days later her one year old sister Mary Ann died. Their mother had died previously in childbirth with Mary Ann.

"Mary Ann d. Dec 13, 1870 age 1 yr, 2 mos, 2 days


Catherine d. Dec. 9 1870 age 5 yrs, 7 mos, 16 days


Children of Thomas W. & Mary A. King"

A search for their death records shows that both little girls died of diptheria.

Tombstone Tuesday

For this weeks Tombstone Tuesday I have decided to feature the tombstone of Margaret Hogg. Poor Margaret died at the young age of 36 in 1884. I dont know any thing about Margaret but in my mind I see her as a sweet pretty young woman who died way too young. I can not even begin to emagen the pain her husband Samuel must of felt at her passing.

Gone but not forgotten
IN
MEMORY OF
MARGARET
Beloved Wife Of
SAMUEL HOGG
DIED
Dec 18. 1884
AGED
36 YEARS

Margaret is burried in
ALLENFORD CEMETERY IN ALLENFORD, BRUCE COUNTY, ONTARIO

Tombstone Tuesday, A Lost Ship And A Battlefield Far From Home

Well in honour of Tombstone Tuesday I will blog a little about a grave stone in my local cemetery. The grave stone is located in Lakeview Cemetery in Midland, Simcoe County Ontario. It always surprises me the connections to history I find in my cemetery photos. The tombstone in question is not really remarkable in its self. Its just a typical late 19th century grave marker. Just like millions of others in cemeteries all over North America. But the inscription on this stone is what caught my attention. For it brings us into contact with two events right out of the history books. A mysterious lost ship and a great WW1 battle.

The first event would be well known to anyone with an interest in Great Lakes history. The mysterious disappearance of the ship Bannockburn.

The Bannockburn was a 245 foot long, 1,620-ton steel steamer built in 1893 at Middlesborough, Scotland, by Sir Raylton Dix and Company. On November 21st, 1902, the Bannockburn left the Canadian Northern elevator at Port Arthur bound for Midland Ontario on her last trip of the season. She was loaded to the gills with 85,000 bushels of wheat. The ship was sighted on the evening of the 21st steamer Algonquin. She was never seen again. The Bannockburn and her crew of 20 including George Stephens, had vanished.

The second event recorded on this stone is the death of Richard Stephens at the Battle of Cambrai in Oct 1918. Between 26 September and 11 October, Canadian troops advanced twenty-three miles through the heart of the German defences in some of the worst fighting of WW1.

See More Graves In Lakeview Cemetery in Midland

'Vandal pinned down by Jesus tombstone Down Under'

A man was pinned to the ground by a tombstone bearing an image of Jesus during an alleged vandalism attack on a Brisbane cemetery, a court has heard.
Read More