Author Topic: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?  (Read 1258 times)

Offline peakoverload

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Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« on: Sunday 29 December 13 22:29 GMT (UK) »
Today I managed to find several graves of some of my ancestors but the condition of some has meant they are very hard to read.

This one is of George Russell. The first photo is of the whole headstone. The second is of the section that is difficult to read.

So far I've been able to transcribe the following:

To
The Memory of
George
Son of John and Lucy
Russell
????? This Ar??

who died the 17th ??? 1845
Aged 1? years

There is also a footstone which is perfectly clear but this just has his initial and the year of death which is 1845.

Now just to confuse matters I found his baptism which says that he was baptised on 06/11/1825 which, assuming he was baptised soon after birth would mean he would have been 20 when he died. However the first number of his age is definitely a 1 and I think the second number looks more like an 8 than a 9 but it's difficult to tell and without knowing the month of his death I can't be sure.

He is buried next to his parents whose headstones use the phrase "Who Departed This Life" which I thought might appear under where it says Russell but the few letters that are clear don't seem to match. I've been trying all sorts of things in Photoshop to try and enhance the text and that has revealed some of what I've been able to transcribe but I've reached the limit of what I can decipher. Can anyone do read the missing text?
Johnson: London & Maidstone
Foster: Essex
Leach: London
Jennings, Camberwell, London
Gray: South London
Dashwood: London
Mason: Maidstone & London
Neville/Stiff: Hampshire & USA

Offline veeblevort

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Re: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« Reply #1 on: Sunday 29 December 13 22:48 GMT (UK) »
?? This Ar??   Perhaps 'of this parish'

vv.

Offline peakoverload

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Re: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 29 December 13 22:54 GMT (UK) »
?? This Ar??   Perhaps 'of this parish'

vv.

Ahh yes, I think you may be right! Excellent, thank you. If anyone else can decipher the month and his age that would be superb.
Johnson: London & Maidstone
Foster: Essex
Leach: London
Jennings, Camberwell, London
Gray: South London
Dashwood: London
Mason: Maidstone & London
Neville/Stiff: Hampshire & USA

Offline peakoverload

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Re: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 29 December 13 22:57 GMT (UK) »
Just found his death index and the month of death would be either April, May or June but can't say for sure I see either of these on the stone.
Johnson: London & Maidstone
Foster: Essex
Leach: London
Jennings, Camberwell, London
Gray: South London
Dashwood: London
Mason: Maidstone & London
Neville/Stiff: Hampshire & USA


Offline James1950

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Re: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 29 December 13 23:33 GMT (UK) »
You can often get a good image if you do a ' brass rubbing' on site.

A thin sheet of paper  placed over the words in issue and then rubbed over with a black wax crayon can produce good results.
Heyworth/  Harrison/ Broughton/Cook/Crooke/Duxbury ~  Pendle
Myerscough ~ Lancashire
Eastwood ~ Burnley
Chppendale ~ Bradford
Bulcock ~Pendle
Cropper/ Heap/Shackleton  ~ Bacup ~ Todmorden
Barry/Looney / Kennely ~ Tralee Kerry

Offline Alana81

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Re: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« Reply #5 on: Monday 30 December 13 03:41 GMT (UK) »
I thought the number may be 9 (as in 19).

I tried putting it into photoshop to get more contrast but it didnt give me anything.  :-\
Gobby, Lewis, Leckie, Llewellyn, Reeve, Pears, Ingles, Kerr, Beckley, Thomas

Offline Magiccat1978

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Re: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« Reply #6 on: Monday 30 December 13 23:06 GMT (UK) »
I cant work it out, Sorry  ???
I have come across this problem myself and I have found the best thing to do if you can is 1) take a rubbing as suggested above by James1950 and then 2) wet the stone with a bottle of tap water and photograph it from as many different angles as you can, I use a digital camera and take pics in all the different colour setting too. From this and the rubbings I have managed to piece together the wording and  read headstones I just couldn't read with the naked eye standing in front of them. Hope this helps.
Magiccat :)
Greenock-Williamson,Guthrie,McIlhagga,Morris,McPherson
Lanarkshire-Reid,Bennett/Bennard,Stewart, Miller,Brown,Jamieson,McGregor,Davidson, Paterson,Anderson,Allister,Renwick,Shearer.
Stirling-Guthrie,Coutts.
Montrose-Guthrie,Brown,
Arbroath-Smith,Adam,Garland,Esplin,Davdison, Fender,Moncur
AyrshireRankin,McDickens,Bennard/Bennett,Carrick,Russell.
Ireland-Williamson,Galbraith,McIlhagga,Adrain. Bennard.
Fife-Brown,Williamson
Whitburn-Brown,Smart,Martin
Staffordshire-Abbiss,Oakley,Morris,Southall

Offline berkeley

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Re: Can Anyone Read This Headstone?
« Reply #7 on: Monday 30 December 13 23:59 GMT (UK) »
  Hi, not sure if this is the info you seek. If it is the Kent area, then, Freereg has
                                   Kent
                                   Greenwich
                                   13 Nov 1845
                                    George
                                    Russell
                                    Age 19
                                    Abode Trafalger Road
                                    Died 7th Nov
      This will fill in a couple of gaps if it is the right person, Dave.