First of all -- this is not directed to anyone in particular -- it's just a plea in an
attempt to prevent something that happened very recently to a gravestone in our family.
So please accept my apologies for being a little sensitive to the subject of gravestone
replacement.
My family has been recently "victimized" by some unthinking, selfish people who
-- without permission of family members or the township trustee (who was the legal
caretaker) -- removed a large gravestone from a cemetery that had an entire family's
information inscribed and decided to have it re-worked. This is NOT in Dubois Co, but in
a neighboring co.
This was a VERY large stone and was not broken. It had remained in its original location
for over 100 years and had aged appropriately -- meaning that the lettering was becoming a
little hard to read - but not impossible.
The stone was completely wiped clean of the original information, which was RAISED
lettering and then engraved with whatever was deemed "correct" by the
perpetrators. They might have gotten it right, or maybe they didn't. Who will ever
know? Furthermore, future generations may never realize that this stone has been altered
from the original. Regardless, they defaced an historic and original secondary source
that actually contained the only record of one person recorded on the stone and totally
disregarded the wishes of family members - even when the "do-gooders" were
contacted about it and asked to return the stone unharmed.
This spring, these same perpetrators have ADDED new and separate gravestones for the
people memorialized on the original stone. Why destroy the original stone?
Please, please ... if you are going to replace a stone, DO NOT remove and/or change the
original stone that still exists! My personal opinion is that it isn't wrong to ADD
newly engraved stones to a cemetery to help make the information readable to others, but
don't DESTROY the original stone!
Again, my apologies - not meant to offend anyone but only to maybe prevent another
heartbreaking incident. Thank you.
DCraig