Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Real or Replica? Part I

Using the Mirror by midgefrazel
Using the Mirror, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.
As I ask myself, what is the oldest gravestone in my direct line, I scan my family tree, my personal photograph collection and the photographs taken by Fred Burdick of Stonington, CT

Some time back, I used this side-by-side photo to demonstrate how using a mirror to reflect the light onto the surface of the carved letters makes for a photograph that is not only more lovely to look at, but easier to transcribe and analyze.

This gravestone of Thomas Wheeler, is made of thick brownstone. Interestingly. Grace Denison Wheeler transcribed this stone in her book The Home of Our Ancestors in Stonington, CT published in 1903 on page 254 as:

Here lyeth the body of Mr. Thomas Wheeler, the pioneer, who died March 4, 1686, aged 84 years.

Do you see the words "the pioneer" anywhere on the stone? I don't.

So, what are we looking at, real or replica? Tomorrow's post may tell us...

Find a Grave has information about this grave. Is this correct?

1 comment:

RBrass189 said...

Interesting post. Thank you for pointing out the mirror technique in this post and your past posts. Maybe I'll start taking a tripod and a mirror to the cemetery with me in the future.