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Headstone decryption

Comments

  • #2
    montgo
    Registered Users Posts: 565 ✭✭✭montgo


    "to his Pater ?
    and his beloved wife
    who died March ?6 1880"

    Maybe


  • #3
    P. Breathnach
    Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    "to his Parents"


  • #4
    KildareFan
    Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭KildareFan


    Erected
    By
    JOHN HOLLAND
    Belrose
    To his Parents
    And beloved wife
    who died March 30th 1880
    R.I.P.


  • #5
    lottpaul
    Registered Users Posts: 1,164 ✭✭✭lottpaul


    Not sure if I have a better suggestion but would his parents and wife all have died in the same month and year?
    Could the P,,,, word be another adjective in her praise?


  • #6
    P. Breathnach
    Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    lottpaul wrote: »
    Not sure if I have a better suggestion but would his parents and wife all have died in the same month and year?
    Could the P,,,, word be another adjective in her praise?
    I don't think so. I presume that the date refers to the wife only, and that the parents were probably buried there earlier.

    An interesting thing, the like of which is often to be seen on Irish headstones: John Holland's name is prominent, and the first names of his parents and his wife are not given.


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  • #7
    KildareFan
    Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭KildareFan


    lottpaul wrote: »
    Not sure if I have a better suggestion but would his parents and wife all have died in the same month and year?
    Could the P,,,, word be another adjective in her praise?

    It could have been 'patient', but there is an s at the end of the word.


  • #8
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,616 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    Thanks everyone - that's what I reckoned it said.
    I even thought it was possibly 1980 but the headstone looked too old.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #9
    maryb26
    Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭maryb26


    Pick a bunch of grass and rub it across the lettering on a headstone. Makes it much more legible.


  • #10
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,616 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    This headstone is in Cork - I'm in Dublin, I just found the image online (hurrah!)

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #11
    tabbey
    Registered Users Posts: 1,943 ✭✭✭tabbey


    Whenever possible, always view the actual stone. Bring a mirror, and something that removes the dirt, but not too abrasive. Autumn and spring are considered the best seasons, for illuminating the stone. Headstones generally face east ( the Holy Land and the rising sun), so be there before midday on a sunny day.


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  • #12
    Jellybaby1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,108 ✭✭✭Jellybaby1


    Also suggest you bring a spray bottle of water. It has been helpful to me once or twice. And yes, the time of the year is key, dull winter days are no help at all.


  • #13
    FURET
    Closed Accounts Posts: 685 ✭✭✭FURET


    I know the shaving foam method is not to be used because it damages the stone; but how about whipped cream, wiped with a window wiper so that excess cream sits in the groove and can be read?


  • #14
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,576 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Would cause massive fungal growth


  • #15
    FURET
    Closed Accounts Posts: 685 ✭✭✭FURET


    L1011 wrote: »
    Would cause massive fungal growth

    ...Washed off afterwards with a soft sponge.


  • #16
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,616 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    If I were taking the photo myself, I'd flip it to negative on my computer afterwards, that's very helpful, and is non-invasive.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #17
    pedroeibar1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭pedroeibar1


    FURET wrote: »
    ...Washed off afterwards with a soft sponge.

    Nope. Cream is fat, about 35%, and in whipped cream the fat globules are supported by air bubbles. Spoon it onto a tombstone and it will adhere/soak into the surface layer and cannot be removed by sponging, especially with cold water. Tombstones have enough to cope with without dessert!


  • #18
    Jellybaby1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,108 ✭✭✭Jellybaby1


    Even foodies are useful to genealogists! :)


  • #19
    Hermy
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,300 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    As per a previous post rubbing on newsprint or using a strong torch are excellent ways of aiding the reading of worn stones without leaving any undesirable damage or residue.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #20
    pedroeibar1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭pedroeibar1


    Also don't forget to search for local history books. One grave I looked at in Dundrum some time ago had a part beyond legibility. I recently was given the full inscription, because it had been transcribed in A History of the Parish of Taney written in 1895.:)


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