I first discussed my interest in epitaphs in October, a month I thought appropriate for such things, not only because of Halloween, but also because October 14 is the anniversary of the Female Stranger‘s death. I will be sharing other epitaphs over the coming months. I find them fascinating because they show a snippet of a person’s life. In theory, you’d think the epitaph writer would have chosen the most important parts. I find myself wanting to fill in the blanks and write a story about the deceased based on the tombstone’s words. Sometimes when I am in a cemetery collecting epitaphs, I just write them down in a notebook. Other times, like with these, I make notes. I try to copy the epitaph with the same word spacing and order as it appears on the stone.
The first two are from the large old cemetery in Alexandria. CSA, by the way, stands for Confederate States of America.
Captain Austin D. H, C.S.A.
63rd Regiment
Died October 6, 1890
Aged 46 years
A true soldier of the Cross and the (hard to read).
Notes: He was in his late teens during the Civil War, a young man and an officer. I wonder if he was enlisted or volunteered later in the war as fighting men of age were harder to come by?
In Memory of Julia S.
Beloved Wife of Harry (hard to read)
Born December 10, 1872
Died February 6, 1920
Farewell Dear Wife
Thou art at rest
And shall forever be,
You could not stay on
earth with me
But I can come to thee.
Notes: She died at 48. What an almost suicidal note at the end of the epitaph. Interestingly, I couldn’t find his grave in the near vicinity of this one. I found his brothers and sisters and some children, but not Harry. Did he re-marry and then, when he died, get buried elsewhere?
From Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
David W
Son of
Rev. John W. and Eliza Davis
Born November 7, 1876
at Southport, NC
Died Oct 21, 1908
at Wash D.C.
Aged 31 yrs. 11 mos.
Sleep on peaceful sleep
In the Kingdom of Our God
Still watching and waiting for Mother
In the Kingdom of Our God
By his Mother and Brother
Eliza H. Wicks and J.W. Davis
And also this one:
Jean Lynch
Born Feb 14, 1897
Died Jan 31, 1920
Angels get my mansions
ready for we are crossing the misty river one by one
And finally, on the rather large tomb of a great man who is just as dead now as all other men, great or not:
Sacred to the memory of
The right Reverend
William Pinkney
D.D. LL.D.
Born April 17, 1810
Died July 4, 1883
A guileless and fearless man of God,
brilliant in intellect, steadfast in trial,
tender and true in friendship,
he so adorned his life
with manly virtues and
Christian graces, that his
earthly career remains
an imperishable memento
of that apostolic spirit of
which he was both the
eloquent advocate and
beautiful example
Placuit deo, et translatus in paradisum
This last part is a verse in Latin from Ecclesiasticus 44:16 that refers to the Biblical character Enoch. In English it means: “He pleased God and was translated into paradise.
