Friday, November 27, 2009

Dating Tombstones


One way to figure out the the year your ancestor was buried is to examine the material from which the tombstone was made.
If your ancestor has a stone made of slate or field stone (except wood used by pioneer) chances are the stone dates from 1796-1830.
If the stone is flat topped hard marble, dates are about 1830-1849.
If it is round or pointed soft marble with cursive inscriptions, look for a date of 1845-1868.
Pylons and column monuments are usually dated 1860-1900.
Zinc monuments date from 1870-1900.
Masonic four-sided stones began in 1850 and are still in use today.
Granite, now common, came into use about 1900.

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