Tombstone Tuesday--East Hesperia

As you may guess, it has been a busy week, but a post will be forthcoming about Saturday's Genealogy conference.

But today, I am posting pictures of East Hesperia Cemetery. This is my hometown, and my parents and maternal grandparents rest here. There is also a West Hesperia Cemetery, across the main street of town, in the adjoining county. Fun time for finding records when the town is split between 2 counties.

There are a wide variety of stones and monuments. Like many of the area cemeteries, there are the "tree stump" memorials like this one that I like so much.

The name on this monument is Britton. There are many large and elaborate stones in this cemetery, as well as the more subdued ones.

This stone and marker lean against a much larger one. The worn marble slab beside the GAR marker are so close to the large monument, I am sure they must be the same family or person. But the slab is very worn and nothing is legible.

I don't believe I have ever seen a stone of this shape. The child died at the age of 7 months and 12 days. At least in the picture, there are not family stones nearby.

There are stones showing so much of the death symbols that are so prevalent on older stones. This stone for Jennie Eldridge shows the pall cloth draped over the stone and the tassels at each corner.

This stone, for Dora M Maynard who died in 1881 at the age of 21, shows the clasped hands. I am unable to tell if they are a man's and women's hand. Given her age, it is possible, as that would stand for the man saying farewell to his wife.

Again with the bushes! Someone has to tell people, don't plant shrubs in front of the stones. They do grow up you know. This stone has an open book on the top, probably symbolizing the Word of God, or book of knowledge. Without being able to see if there is a scripture verse on the top it is hard to tell.

As I mentioned I have parents and grandparents buried here. There is a couple of rather new areas, as well as the large older area. The stones are varied. One stone of a young farmer who died often has small toy tractors as a memory of the life he lived. Another more recent has a ornate monument that resembles the twin towers of the former Trade Center. They do help in locating other stones, as they are quite prominent.