Follow Friday- Olive Tree Genealogy Blog

In keeping with the unexpected theme of gravestones this week, I thought I would mention November's Genealogy Challenge at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog. The challenge is a spill over from October's challenge, which is to spend 15 minutes photographing tombstones at a local cemetery, then post them. Finding a photo of an ancestor's tombstone can give you valuable information for your research, such as death dates, birth dates, and if you are lucky names of other relatives.

There are a couple of cemeteries that I want to photograph. I'd like to do this challenge, but I'm not sure I'll make the November deadline. Next week is Thanksgiving week and my kids are out of school the whole time. We have quite a few things scheduled for the week. On an up note the boys don't mind looking around a cemetery and causing general havoc, so it might be a good opportunity for an outing. We'll see how the weather holds up.

Tombstone Tuesday-William O'Neil Perkins

I was wandering around the Old City Cemetery near Downtown Franklin one evening, when I came across this gravestone. I don't know who William O'Neil Perkins was, but I thought this was one of the coolest gravestones I've ever seen.

It also has a wonderful inscription. One that any family historian or genealogist would love to come across. Not only are the usual dates of birth and death indicated, but the place of birth and death are listed (both Franklin, TN), and his parent's names.

I found the details on this gravestone fascinating, and became very curious about William Perkins. This was not an inexpensive stone to create. Possibly William was wealthy. I also wondered why a standing tree without limbs? Was William a craftsman, farmer, or logger? Would these occupations generate enough money to commission a gravestone like this?

So I decided to do a quick look up of the census from Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee. The 1870 census states his occupation as "Speaker of the House of Rep[resentatives]." Wow. Okay, so I looked up the 1880 census and William's occupation is listed as "Magistrate."

It seems William O'Neil Perkins did very well for himself and was a man of some clout during his time. So that at least answered the question about his income/wealth. However, it still doesn't answer why a gravestone sculpted into a tree. For that I will probably have to do more digging.

Meanwhile, I thought you might get a kick out of a pretty neat gravestone!