Sea Captain's Lambs

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

Recording the Lost Sheep of Infancy

Even the smallest gravestone can bring significant information to the study of a family.

Little Nathan and Sarah Hall, children of  Capt. Palmer  Hall and his first wife Mary Ann DUNBAR are adorned with the tiny lamb on the top which is a classic gravestone for the period. When you approach these baby gravestones, you must remember the heartache of the loss by the parents. Many do not have as much information on them as these do. I am writing a presentation called "Comfortable Silence" about cemetery research and stones like these will be part of that talk. 

Their dated birth and death places can tell us where a family was living at that moment in time. As Capt. Palmer Hall may have been at sea for these events of birth and death, it is important to remember the place little children have in a family.

These siblings are very close in age. Calculating from the dates of death and years/months attained, he was born in February of 1850 and she in December of 1850. The 1850 census record list a very large household for this family (not a surprise from looking at the house itself) and as it was 1 July 1850, Nathan (as 5/12 months) is listed but Sarah is not. With closer examination, I discovered that grandmother, Phebe (Palmer) Hall, wife of Lyman is living with them as a widow. 

I love the 1850 census with all the people listed. This one makes me want to dig more into this family!