After a person becomes deceased, that person can no longer tell anyone about the important events that he or she experienced in life. Genealogists realize this truth when their research leads them down a “dead end”, or when they cannot locate a much needed vital record. Tombstones, however, can give you a glimpse into a person’s life.
Death is a somber and grief filled event for the family of the deceased. Despite this, there are tombstones that have sayings carved into them that can make people smile, or even laugh out loud. Often, these funny saying or poems reveal clues about what that person’s life was like.
Mel Blanc was the man who did the voices for many of the Warner Brothers’ cartoon characters. His work includes the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam and more.
One of the more remembered voices he did was that of Porky Pig, (who had a stutter). At the end of many Warner Brothers cartoons Porky Pig would try and say “That’s all, folks!” Of course, the unfortunate cartoon pig stuttered, so it provided a memorable effect.
Mel Blanc’s tombstone reads:
“That’s All Folks”
MEL BLANC
Man of 1000 Voices
Beloved Husband and Father
1908 – 1989
Anyone who reads his gravestone will immediately remember the voices he did for all those Warner Brothers cartoons. You can also easily figure out that he was married, and that he had a child.
Some older tombstones have stories about a person’s life carved into them. These poetically written stories are sometimes amusing, and they give clues about what that person did in his or her life.
James B. McCoy, who died in 1899, and was buried in Salida, Colorado, has a tombstone that says the following: “Member Co. D 17th Iowa Inf. which mustered in 1165 men and mustered out 42. Participated in 19 battles and 3 sieges. Never Applied For A Pension.” This message was his way of declaring his Independence from the United States Government.
From this, a genealogist can learn that James B. McCoy was had a military career. You can see exactly what infantry he served in, and from what state that infantry originated from. This will make it much easier for a genealogist to locate his military records.
He emphatically states that he never applied for a pension, which is a very helpful thing to know. This means that a genealogist won’t need to waste time searching for James B. McCoy in any archive of pension records.
The grave of Rebecca Freeland is in a cemetery in New Jersey. She died in 1741. Her tombstone reads:
She drank good ale,
good punch and wine
And lived to the age of 99.
This makes it very easy for a genealogist to figure out what year Ms. Rebecca Freeland was born. Knowing the year of her birth could help you determine if this woman was your ancestor, or if this is the grave of someone whom you are not related to. The dates either match your research, or they don’t.
Image by Felix O on Flickr