RootsChat.Com
Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Topic started by: Charlie J on Sunday 12 April 20 23:02 BST (UK)
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I'm trying to learn a bit about roadside memorial marker stones. In the process of finding out about my Gx3 grandfather I learned through a newspaper article that he was thrown from his horse and cart and died while on his way home from his birth town. This was in 1858. It was while trying to find the location of the house he lived in someone on here PMed me a message of a story he had been told of a very similar incident and that there was a memorial stone on the side of the road. There is so much anecdotal evidence that the stone is for my ancestor but I accept it will not be possible to prove 100%. I only just got to visit the location recently and there is only a cross on the stone. What is the history of roadside memorial stones.
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Seems to be quite a bit online about more recent memorials but I'm not finding anything older ones perhaps someone from this http://www.kildare.ie/ehistory/index.php/international-symposium-on-roadside-memorials-24th-june-2010/ could help, if you can find how to contact them.
Are people sure that is a memorial and not a marker of some type?
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I can not be certain it's a memorial stone but to add to my interest is that on the ground there were bunches of Daffodils and Snowdrops growing. This was a long straight stretch of road with no other flowers growing. Daffodils and Snowdrops have been prominent in all the homes of my direct ancestors. I accept it's not conclusive by any means.
The little bit of research i have done memorial stones at this time were usually for someone who died fighting for Irish freedom or some other noteworthy cause. I'm curious how often they were erected for someone who died through accident.
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Nowadays there are quite a number of roadside memorials to people who died in traffic accidents.