Daily AncestorRead one gravestone properly
Photograph or find a picture of one family gravestone and transcribe it exactly, line by line, then work out the birth date from the age at death.
Stones are often the only record of an exact age in years, months and days, and a careful transcription catches carver's shorthand that quick notes lose.
Your steps this week
- Copy every line as carved, keeping old spellings, abbreviations and line breaks.
- Mark anything you cannot read as [illegible] rather than guessing.
- If the stone gives an age in years, months and days, use the gravestone calculator to get the birth date.
- Look up any words such as relict or consort before you decide what they say about the family.
- Note where the stone stands and when you saw it, so others can find it again.