These visits are important ways to remember friends and relatives, and provide us with an opportunity to pass along some family history and tradition to our children. The most prevalent of all memorial types are stone markers or headstones. Some epitaphs tell the story of death, others of how life was lived, and still others provide a warning or a lesson. Four slugs from a forty-four. While not a poetic masterpiece, it does tell about the circumstances surrounding Lester Moore's death, and even offers a hint of humor on this grave occasion.
Gravestones offer a unique resource for historians, archeologists and genealogists.
Although they are not considered primary evidence, gravestones are vital records. The hand-carved markers of the 17th and 18th centuries often provide information, available nowhere else, about birth, marriage, death, religious affiliation and family relationships. Valuable genealogical clues can be found on tombstones, and sometimes this is the only place you can learn the exact old country origins of your ancestors. On this Memorial Day, perhaps we should not only ponder thoughts of the past, but maybe we should consider what kind of legacy we want to leave behind. Well, that's probably enough doom and gloom, for it is time for you to make plans for your Memorial Day outing.