Be careful when using tombstone information in lew of vital records.

I'm sure most of my readers are aware that tombstones can contain erroneous information from time-to-time. Personally I prefer a vital record (aka death certificate) if it is available as a primary record for someone's death event. But in many cases as we go back in time that will not be possible. But you should use tombstone information with a grain of salt. Case in point below is the tombstone of Joe Rob Redus.

Joe Rob Redus was the son of John Clement Redus Sr. and Hazel Ann Slater. According to the tombstone picture posted to his Find-A-Grave memorial # 28257374. He was born 14 Apr 1929 in Medina County, Texas and according to his tombstone died 12 July 1929. But that is not the entire story. The Texas death certificate tells us something different.

The death certificate  above shows that Joe Rob died at 10:15 pm 10 Jul 1929 and was buried the next day 11 Jul 1929. Bottom line the death certificate should be the primary document used in any lineage and the tombstone should be documented with the exceptions noted above.

Old New Garden Cemetery - Limestone County AL

Photo courtesy of Evelyn Maples and Find A Grave.

From Patrick R. Thomson via the Redus Family newsgroup.

"My name is Linda Nelson and I am the Vice President of the Limestone County Historical Society in Alabama. We have taken on the Old New Garden Cemetery (in Elkmont) where William Penn Redus and a number of his family members are buried as our project. We want to save this cemetery. Where do you think would be a good website to post a request for help to save this very old and historic cemetery?"

Thanks,
Linda Nelson


Photo of New Garden courtesy of the Limestone County Historical Society website.

The Limestone County Historical Society website is at
http://www.limestonecountyhistoricalsociety.org/

And from cousin Dennis Simpson:

"I am a life member of the Limestone County Historical Society. Unfortunately, every single tombstone has been ran over by uncuth people driving their motor vehicle inside the ungated old cemetery. These people who are destroying these cemeteries, don't give a damn about people's final resting place. The Society has already started working on this project. It is a time consuming job they are doing and fixing these graves in the heat of summer makes the work unbearable. This is one project we as descendants should stand behind and help any possible way we can."

Dennis