Jayne,
Ordinarily the footstones that mark the foot of the grave will face the
inscription on the headstone. Ordinarily, at least in our California
experience and I believe it applies generally, the headstone itself will
always be east facing. The foot of the grave is to the east and the head to
the west, facing east. That is because the east is where Christ will
resurrect and when he does, all will rise to greet him and to obtain their
everlasting life.
In California we have found that just as some headstones were slotted into
larger base, so were some of the footstones. Below the footstones you may
find a few sunken bases. We generally attempt to probe, following a slight
angle beginning a few inches from the upright stone to detect any hidden or
covered bases.
Sue Silver
El Dorado County, CA
----- Original Message -----
From: Jayne Hoffman <jhoffmn(a)pressenter.com>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 5:11 PM
Subject: [INPCRP] tombstone help
Greetings,
I am new to the list and glad to find other who share in the interest of
preserving cemmeteries.
I am curently involved in trying to document and preserve a small pioneer
cemetery. One question my students and I have is, we are finding a number
of small tombstones with initials only (approx 5 inches wide). Many
initials seem to correspond with the tombstones with inscriptions. Could
someone enlighten me as to what these
tombstones are? Most are loose and laying scattered around. Any help or
advice is appreciated. Thanks.
Jayne
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