Wednesday's Child - Haylee Jane Boniface

"Our Baby"

Haylee Jane Boniface

Daughter of

Paul & Atash

Boniface, Jr.

Dec. 17, 2003

This stone is located in Darlington Cemetery, MD.

Sadly, this small cemetery has more than its fair share

of "Wednesday's Child" headstones.

Tombstone Tuesday - "RC" Reeves

REEVES

Robert Claude

"RC"

March 21, 1932

Nov. 21, 1987

Jean Marie

Mays

March 21, 1938

Married

Sept. 21, 1957

This headstone is located in Darlington Cemetery, MD.  They are not my family members. 

The scene depicted on this headstone leads me to believe that "RC" was a farmer, perhaps even an apple farmer.  The town is well known in the area for its annual event, the Darlington Apple Festival. 

The 21st was a big day for this couple:  RC and his wife Jean Marie shared the same birthday, March 21.  He was six years older than she.  I'm sure having that shared event to celebrate annually was a source of great fun throughout the years.  Their other "21" was their anniversary; they were married on the 21st of September, 1957. 

This headstone is engraved with the maiden name of RC's wife.  My walk through this cemetery revealed quite a few stones that include this information, along with marriage date, which is also here.  That's important information for ancestors, so it's great to see it shared here. 

I have to be sure to include that detail in my wishes.  I guess you can never be too early in planning those details, but you can sometimes be too late.  

Abundant Genealogy - Darlington Cemetery

Main Gate at Darlington Cemetery

Harford County, MD

This week's Abundant Genealogy topic is Cemeteries.  Like many family historians, I too, have had emotional experiences in cemetery after cemetery.  Everything from standing in the rain crying, to hugging a kind (and quite surprised) funeral director who guided me during a lull in the day, to wandering and wondering only to leave "empty-handed."  On occasion, seredipity prevails and I immediately find the stone I seek.  Or even better, I find an important connection on a stone I did not seek!

One of my most pleasant, emotional and eye-opening cemetery visits was to little Darlington Cemetery.  Situated on the top of a hill in Harford County, MD, the cemetery was founded and incorporated by the wealthy of the area in 1882. 

The new part of the cemetery is still active today.  I was there back in the fall, on a crisp, sunny day, and there were many visitors.  One dear woman rode through on her scooter, her adult grandson by her side.  They realized I was not a familiar face and spoke to me, and before long, I knew a lot about "the other side" of my Jordan and Jourdan ancestors, who hail from this small farming community.  This blog post explains much more about that day, and why Darlington Cemetery is so dear to my heart.

Wednesday's Child - Adams

Shelby Lynn Adams

 June 1, 2000

 October 20, 2000

Shine Brightly Wherever You Go...

A beautiful black marble stone with engraved roses, 

urns filled with flowers on either side.  

In the center, an etching of a hauntingly sweet face of a lovely little girl.

This tombstone is in Darlington Cemetery in Maryland. 

She is not my family member.

Wednesday's Child - Mary Lois

Mary Lois

1959 - 1967

Asleep in Jesus

Tombstone Tuesday - Larger than Life

DiCasagrande

"Larger than Life"

This is another eye-catching stone from Darlington Cemetery in Maryland.  They are not my family members.

Nicolo A.

Born

Genova, Italy

April 24, 1912

Oct. 8, 2008

Emanuele

(Capt. "Lorenzo")

Born

Genova, Italy

Nov. 16, 1940

May 21, 2010

Mirella L.

(Nee Pasini)

Born

Cartosio, Italy

July 4, 1942

Appropriately oversized, to go with the name, this stone marks the final resting place for several members of the DiCasagrande family: Nicolo, Emanuele and Mirella.  On the stone there even seems to be space for another member, if need be. 

Under Emanuele's name is (Capt. "Lorenzo").  Whether he was a sea captain by profession or "Captain" was a nickname, I do not know.  But with a lighthouse and an anchor etched into the marble, it seems clear that the sea played an important part in his and indeed all their lives.

This stone kind of took my breath away, for a number of reasons.  First, it's just so big.  It also has the little photos of the two men; these always catch my eye.  There are beautiful shapely urns on each side.  When I was there, they were filled with bright, fresh silk flowers.  It's interesting the way the stone is elevated on a pedestal, you don't always see that.

What really attracted me to this stone, besides its size, is the highly polished surface.  It's almost like a mirror.  In the first photo above, you can see the cemetery grounds and several other stones reflected in it.  It was not until I got home and double-checked my photos that I noticed the my own reflection in the three individual shots of each name.

Darlington Cemetery is old; it was founded in the late 1800s.  Like any cemetery from this era, there is a very old section.  There is also a new section.  This stone is in the new section.  But Darlington itself is a small town, much of it a farming community.  So I found it interesting to find such a modern, beautiful headstone here, where I would usually expect a much more traditional stone.  But I'm so glad that I did.  As Ivy of Tracing the Ivy said in her genea-fun creation, "You can't judge a cemetery until you walk it."

Wednesday's Child

Alfred Dale

McMillion

Dec. 22, 1969

Jan. 1, 1970

On our recent trip to Darlington Cemetery, I saw this stone and it brought tears to my eyes. 

What an adorable little stone. 

And I know this little boy was many, many, many more times precious.  

Even looking at this photo, it still makes me want to cry. 

Wednesday's Child

__________  Silver

Daughter of

Francis & Sarah E

Silver

March 20, 1926

March 22, 1935

Suffer little children

to come unto me

This grave stone is not that old, but it has seen more than its share of weather wear.  The engraving was difficult to read.  The first name may be Elizabeth, or some abbreviation for it, but I wasn't quite sure. 

This stone is in Darlington Cemetery here in Maryland.  The Silver family was a prominent family in the area.  They probably still are.  They may even be dear friends or many-times-removed relatives of my Harford County family; I have at least one great-great-uncle with the middle name Silver. 

Update:  Leslie Brinkley Lawson said...

Perhaps you could review the 1930 census for the parents household to see if this child was listed? Just a thought!

Thanks, Leslie!  I didn't think to do that, so here it is...

The 1930 Census, enumerated on April 29 of that year 1930, has this family living in the Darlington area.  In the first column, for street/road, is listed "Conowingo Dam in Darlington." 

Francis, age 32

Sarah P, age 33  (I thought it was an "E" on the stone)

Bette, age 5

Millicent, age 4

Williams, age 3

Nancy C., age 1.5

So there is our Wednesday's Child, known as Bette, at age 5.  Her father is a canner in a canning factory.  In this post, I mention my Jordan ancestors and the other side of their family, the "Jourdans."  The Jourdan family owned and operated canning factories.   So while this doesn't confirm that the Wednesday's Child family is a certainly a relative of mine, at least I know I'm in looking along the right lines.

Thanks again, Leslie, for the suggestion.

Tombstone Tuesday - Darlington Cemetery

In Memory

This most unusual marker is in Darlington Cemetery, in northern Maryland.  The plaque reads:

In Memory

Maude W. Bedford

Killed

In Performance of Her

duties at

Edgewood Arsenal, Md.

May 25, 1945

Presented by

Her Fellow Workers

Mrs. Bedford and 11 co-workers where killed when two of the military base's grenade assembly buildings exploded.   Edgewood Arsenal is part of a government facility now known as Aberdeen Proving Ground.  More information is available about Mrs. Bedford here. 

They are war heroes of a different type, but as just as important to our freedom.

Military Monday - More On "Two Sides of a Tombstone"

Recently, Valerie Craft at Begin with 'Craft' told us of her experiences, and why you always read both sides of a tombstone.


John Walker Sams is not my family member.  But while loading my photos of a recent visit to Darlington Cemetery, I saw this and thought, another perfect example. 
 

John Walker Sams
SGT US Army
Vietnam
Apr 26 1944 - Apr 8 2006
Bronze Star Medal



Last week as I walked through the cemetery, I was attracted to the dark granite, high polish, and organic shape of this stone.  I walked over for a closer look and snapped a photo or two. 

Having learned my lesson on looking at both sides, I did so and was taken by surprise.  This person is much loved, and I think there must be a genealogist in the family, because the stone has been designed to tell the story of their lives.     





 SAMS

John Walker

Apr 26 1944

Apr 8 2006

Beloved Husband, Father

Devoted Christian, Soldier

Kathy Lynn

Aug. 12 1947



And here's the "other" side of the story:

Engravings include a brief epitaph for John, his wife's name and birth date, plus an eagle for his Airborne Division, a cross entwined with flowers, on his wife's side is the winged rod and serpents that form the RN cross (sometimes associated with the Army Medical Corps), wedding rings with anniversary date and "Till We Meet Again" engraved, and, nestled sleeping in the upper left corner, a kitten. 

John Walker Sams: a devoted husband, father and Christian who also served his country and loved cats...sounds like a nice man to know.

Close-ups of the SAMS engravings.
My photo, 11/2011.