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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: tinkerbell5 on Thursday 01 December 16 15:14 GMT (UK)
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I wondered if anyone would be able to help me. I can't figure out what it says on the Headstone with regards to date of birth etc.
I don't know what it says below it but I'm assuming it's a rest in peace type message.
Thanks in advance! :)
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Is this a photo you took yourself? If so it may be worth revisiting the cemetery & taking a picture with oblique light - eg early morning or late afternoon. Alternatively you could make a rubbing with a wax crayon & large piece of paper. Both these ploys make a headstone easier to read.
If it is a picture you have been given or found online, why don't you tell us what you can actually read & I'm sure we can all contribute a bit towards the rest. For instance as he is a rellie, you probably know the year of death & parents.
Josey
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Yes this is a picture I found online, I'm unable to visit the place as I have no means of transport.
All I can make out is 'Thomas Barber, son of Henry and Mary Barber who departed this life'
'in the'
'of his age'.
I would only like to know what the top of the gravestone says and I'm sure there is a date there and possibly an age, but I really cannot read it. I honestly wouldn't ask for help if I was able to.
Thank you for your help :)
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No worries - I wasn't being 'sharp' ;).
I have tried adjusting brightness/contrast & other tricks & will see what I can see. :)
Year of death looks like 1834 or 1831, month Nov ? in the twenty xxx [I suspect fifth] year of his age
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I'm seeing Decr 11th 18x1 (or 18x4) - 1 & 4 are often hard to tell apart, and I'm nowhere near 100% sure on 11th. Then I think it's "in the forty fifth year of his age".
I know it's a bit of a cop-out, but can you tell us where this headstone is? That way we might be able to look for other photos of it, or perhaps check against register entries etc.
Arthur
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Hi everyone,
Thank you for your help! :) The gravestone is in Swarkestone in Derbyshire, St James' Church Cemetery I believe.
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It looks like it came from this website
http://gravestonephotos.com/public/gravedetails.php?grave=363568&scrwidth=1200
It looks identical to the one that tinkerbell has put on.
You can request a higher quality larger version of the photo. Press the relevant button on the page which is - Request a free image of this monument.
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I can see:
Son of Henry and Mary Barber
who departed this life Dec (r) 14 (th) 1854
in the forty fifth year of his age
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No Thomas Barber death in 1854 in Derbyshire in indexes .....
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I can see:
Son of Henry and Mary Barber
who departed this life Dec (r) 14 (th) 1854
in the forty fifth year of his age
The details on the link that Girl Guide posted say buried 1831 age 44.
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The Church seems to have a Facebook page. Why not message them and ask?
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The year on the headstone could read 1834 and not 1854 as I first thought.
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A can of shaving foam & a plastic scraper should do the trick. Fill the letters & use the scraper then wash the inscription clean with water.
Skoosh.
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I have tried to highlight the relevant section but did not have much success. I think it reads Dec 11th but the year is very unclear, it could be 1871/1874 or 1841/1844 or something else. ::)
The message after is taken from Revelations 114:13, King James version... Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours............ etc. etc.
edit: sorry not very clear, it looked better on my computer than on here. ??? :-[
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I have tried to highlight the relevant section but did not have much success. I think it reads Dec 11th but the year is very unclear, it could be 1871/1874 or 1841/1844 or something else. ::)
The message after is taken from Revelations 114:13, King James version... Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours............ etc. etc.
I don't think that's all of it though; I tried to read the stuff at the bottom.
.. promised full and ...
... of earth born bliss ...
... that looks beyond time ...
to realms where purer love are found
the faith alone can peace impart
to the survivors broken heart
............
..........
Google doesn't give me anything for those phrases
BugBear
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Bingo!
Epitaphs, collected from the cemeteries of London, Edinburgh &c. by J.B. Robinson
Joseph Barlow Robinson
1859
Swarkestone church yard
Lay up in heaven thy treasur'd store,
And trust to time's vain hopes no more,
Whose blighted blossoms wither here,
Water'd by sorrow's bitter tear.
Yet once they promised full and fair,
The fruit of earth-born bliss to bear,
But faith that looks beyond time's bound,
To realms where purer joys are found;
This faith alone can peace impart,
To the survivor's broken heart,
Which worn by griefs corroding rust
Craves rest together in the dust.
(google link (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XmACAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA76&dq=%22faith+alone+can+peace+impart%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjP347ig-DQAhXBJMAKHe9sAeUQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=%22faith%20alone%20can%20peace%20impart%22&f=false))
BugBear
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Swarkestone is in Derbyshire - this old book may be a transcript of this particular marker!
Edit; the gravestone photo site says "Thomas Barber grave monument in St James , Swarkestone, Derbyshire, England"
:) :) :)
BugBear
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https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KBXH-WTL
Name Thomas Barber
Event Type Burial
Event Date 15 Dec 1831
Event Place Swarkestone, Swarkestone, Derbyshire, England
Gender Male
Age 42
Birth Year (Estimated) 1789
BugBear
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Definitely December, and I see 1830-something. Could be 31, 32 or 34.
It could be December 11 - but I wonder if it might instead be roman numerals for the date in December.
Definitely the forty fifth year of his age.
(Sorry, late to the party and I didn't spot the definitive message immediately prior to this!)
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This thread is an interesting echo of an epitaph I was trying to trace for MY tree:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=754942.msg6043408#msg6043408
This too was a piece of poetry ONLY seen on grave markers, not copied from the bible or "normal" poetry.
And from a similar period.
BugBear
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any better?
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Looks like 1871 or 4 I'm leaning towards 1874
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This is a little clearer.