What is the earliest grave marker with your ancestor’s name?

Question

Which of your ancestors has the earliest grave marker that has their name on it?  Do you have a photo of that marker on their profile in WikiTree?

Thanks and sincerely,

Answer 1

Last month I went to a cemetery to check out my oldest Ungerecht immigrant to the U.S.  An extended family immigrated together and Johannes died just weeks after arriving in 1864, he was the grandfather. I took a picture, but the stone is almost unreadable now. Luckily a better picture is on Find-a-Grave, taken 14 years ago, although they misread it as 1861 on FaG.

I haven't been to this cemetery, but the oldest on my maternal grandmother's side is William Broadwell, in New Providence, New Jersey who died in 1746.  He is reported to be the first grave in the cemetery.  Oddly, Find-a-Grave lists him in 3 different cemeteries, all with pictures of the same gravestone, but I believe this one to be accurate.

Comments

On the Neff side, it only goes back to my grandparents.  They were German-from-Russia immigrants, and during Stalin's time the Germans remaining in Russia were starved, then exiled to Siberia or Kazakhstan. There are reports of the gravestones being taken out of German cemeteries and re-used as paving stones.

Answer 2

Although there may be other ancestors who have grave photos on WikiTree, I took the picture and the closeup that corrects her age at death for my ggg grandmother Mary Rood born abt 1799 died 1822. I also found the deed for the burial ground to her husband (and son-in-law and others).

So I now need to add to my todo list to add pictures for her daughter and son-in-law, in the same cemetery.

Answer 3

So far, I think the oldest readable grave stone I have found is for my 2x great grandmother Joanna Pye Fears. She died in 1839 at the young age of 24 or 25 years old. She is buried in the Fears Cemetery just outside Monticello, Jasper County, Georgia. The photo is on FindAGrave but I also took photos a few years ago. It is a large flat stone that covers the grave and also has that her husband (who had remarried) died in Arkansas in 1869.

Answer 4

The earliest grave that has a marker is for William Obediah Wood   (he died in 1845)   HOWEVER it's not an original marker.

The earliest grave with the original marker is for Thomas Jefferson Hamilton  he died in 1879.

Both have photos of their markers on their WikiTree profiles.

Answer 5

Probably my third GG Robert Colville https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Colville-435 if you are talking about directo ancestors. 1807 death date.  There is a photo.  I may have 3 cousins 4 x removed with older ones.

Answer 6

Last month, I took a photo of the grave of Reinold Marvin, a direct ancestor who died in 1676, and I posted the photo on his profile.  On the stone, his name is recorded as Levet Renold Marvin (Levet was an abbreviation for Lieutenant).

Comments

Amazing...... I knew the New Englanders would have the earliest.....   Good Picture.

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I was assuming there would be older stones reported from Europe, like the one that Erik Oosterwal describes below.

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Thank you Ellen for taking and posting the photo. My mother’s maiden name was Marvin, and I saw that he is my first cousin seven times removed.

Answer 7

Derck Hazelhof, d. 10 December 1650.  His second wife, Magdaleena Saxenhuisen is also mentioned.

Comments

Thanks.  Are you able to add a photo of their grave marker to their profile?

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There are quite a few images of their gravestone online; I'll look around to see if any of them are without copyright.  Otherwise I'll have to see if anyone from the Dutch Roots Project is willing to take a roadtrip to Groningen.

Answer 8

I took photos with a very old camera. I don't even know where they are, but I'm going to look around. I saw the headstone, only partially legible, for Sarah (Gardner) Balch, 1627-1686. We had a book that told us the location of the headstone and it was right where it was supposed to be. She was buried in Beverly, Massachusetts (New England again).

Comments

I do have some 4th great-grandparents who both died in 1849. They have super-cool metal grave markers that are clearly legible. They are both buried locally in Huntington, NY. However, they are both brick walls! They were from County Tyrone, Ireland.

Answer 9

http://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Tucker-11319-1

My 7th Great Grandfather James Walless (Wallace). Born 1674, died 1762

Answer 10

As best I can find, John Cary (Cary-1262) is my oldest. He was from Windham, CT. Born Jan 1694 , died 11 Jan 1776. He is my 5th great grandfather. If we could be sure of the connection across the pond to England, that would connect us to the Cary Castle in Somerset. ( and about 17th great grandfathers) . The headstone is not on the John Cary page. It is almost unreadable. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cary-1262

Answer 11

I don't know if this is the oldest gravestone for a family member, but it is one of the most exciting stones for me regarding my personal research.  It is the ONLY piece of evidence that my 4th great grandfather lived and died in England that I have found.  It gives me his full death date, his wife's name (up until finding this we only knew her as "Miss Wright"!), along with her death date and that they had more children than just my 3rd great grandfather.  So thankful to have found it!

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194929355/john-arres

Answer 12

The earliest direct ancestor with a gravestone photo here is Alexander Tapley

Answer 13

Searching really quickly, the earliest I have found so far is for Col. Jacob Klock. Born in 1701 and died in 1798.

It is his military headstone.

Answer 14

I believe that would be my 8th great-grandfather, Deacon Josiah Converse (~1618-1690). I took the gravestone photo for his WikiTree profile, which coincidentally also happens to be the oldest gravestone still standing in that cemetery. I have since found a total of 9 ancestors who are buried there. That has prompted me to start a cemetery project to document everyone in the cemetery: First Burial Ground, Woburn, Massachusetts. It could take a while 

Answer 15

My wife's 6th great-grandfather was Elijah Houghton. A veteran of the War of 1812, he died in Virginia in 1830.

Answer 16

1689 in Culpeper, Virginia. I can post a photo, but don't know how.

Answer 17

Nathaniel Woods, 1667-1738, in Groton, MA...from a confusing line of Isaacs, Thomases and a Nehemiah. Haven't found his wife's yet (my several times great grandmother); he was apparently married 4 times, early mortality being common.

Answer 18

I have Bernard and Hannah Widdowson. 

https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Widdowson-44

Died 1794 and 1778.

Answer 19

Great prompt!  I found the gravestone for Edward Thurston  (abt 1617 - 1707) when I was in Rhode Island last year but haven't posted the photo.  It was great being able to find it.   FAG also has a photo:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23403268/edward-thurston