Morris tribune., 1897-08-11
JOHN BROWNS GRAvEsToNE
A Topeka (Kan.) Druggist Cut the In
scription Upon 1t.


A TopeEs (Kan.) Druggist Cut the In
scription Upon 1t.
The inscription on the headstone
which marks the place where John
Browns body lies moldering in the
grave was cut by a Kansas man.
B. A. Barrett, for many years a
marble worker, but now druggist
of North Topeka, did it.
How we'll do remember dress
ing down the stone and cutting the
inscription, said Mr.. Barrett. 1T
was in January, 1850, about six
weeks after John Brown had been
hung. AT the time was running a
tombstone establishment at Wad-
hams Mills, Elba county, N. Y, 80
miles from the Brown homestead,
near North Eliza. Mrs. Brown en-
gagged me to do the work while she
was at our place on Christmas at
tending an abolition celebration
given in her honor. She told me
that she had suitable stone and
that / could come up there and do
the work
Two weeks later went there.
found resting against the side of the
little. farmhouse an old tombstone
bearing the name of John Brown.
It was not the John Brown of aboli-
ton fame, but his grandfather, an
old Revolutionary soldier. The slab
had been removed from the grave of
the grandfather to make room for
monument. and John Brown took it
home. He told his family that he
wanted it to mark his grave. The
stone was a soft, freestone slab
about 3 feet high, 20 inches wide
and 3 inches thick.
1.-The weather was intensely cold,
and l had to work in the kitchen. |
was just week at the job, and the
Brown family, what was left of it,
watched me work all the time
There was no verse or anything on,
the stone. Mrs Brown wanted to
put one on, but when we measured
up we found that it would take all
the space to give the names and
dates of birth and death of John
Brown and his four sons. Browns
name was placed at the top, and the
sons came next in the order of death.
81 tell you they fed me well that
week. Never had better eating in
my life, but will tell you confiden-
tally that the hospitality of the
Brown family was about the only
redeeming feature None of them
would ever be selected to participate
in a beauty show. AS a whole, !
never saw more ugly lot of wom-
en-, but they were kind in DISPOSE
ton, and that covered a multitude
of shortcomings. Mrs. Brown was
a very large, masculine woman,
with coarse features, but she did
know how to cook.
81 returned to my home after
completing the work. The stone was
not set during the winter, but | was
up to another abolition celebration
on July the same year and saw
the stone at the head of the grave
Brown is buried on his farm, not in
the North Elba cemetery
mo, I did not cut the inscription
on the big bowlder at the foot of the
grave. That was done by Andrew
j. Daniels, who learned his trade
under me. When l enlisted in the
army, he took charge of the shop.
In the spring of 1866 he went out to
the Brown farm and did the letter
ing on the bowlder. The rock is
about the size of an ordinary house,
and it stands at the foot of the grave,
or perhaps it would be better to say
that the grave stands at the foot of
it.
IT have read the various stories
written of John Brown and his
burial Some were true, but more
we're not. | never cared to rush into
print, however, about them. I do
know that Major Hudson's story of
the burial is correct. I had charge
of the hearse for the vicinity Of Wes-
port at the time, and they tried to
get me to take it and haul Browns
body to North Elba. The roads were
bad, and the country was the rough
est you ever saw They hauled the
corpse from Wesport to North Elba
in an old spring wagon. kansas
City Journal.
Startled the Company.
In 1.-THE Dungeons of Old Paris,