Grave Rubbing

Have you EVER come across an old, worn headstone too weathered to read?

Try THIS!

Take a large sheet of paper (or several shorter ones taped together).

Tape the paper to the gravestone above where the engraving seems to be.

Use a large piece of a dark colored chalk, like blue or black (available in artistic supply stores.)

LIGHTLY brush over the stone. If you do it too hard, it will distort the image! You can repeat a number of times lightly to get your image better.

What you SHOULD see is an exact copy of the stone engravings, just easier to read!

While I'm at it, let me address some issues....

I felt uncomfortable about doing this my first time! I almost felt like I was doing something sacreligious....

BUT!!!!

First of all, it eventually provided me with the surnames of two of my ancestors.

It gave her nick-name: "Nonnie" (I know this sounds trivial, but it adds some clues to her personality. Stern/serious people DON'T usually have nick-names (KIND ones, at least!)

Caroline was given the nick-name "Nonnie," and, CLEARLY this was important enough to have been engraved on her headstone! If she wasn't such a nice person, well....

Her husband, my GGreat-grandfather, Michael, has no known headstone.

So, my grave-rubbing has done NO harm! Even if I happened to have gotten some chalk on the stone (which I didn't,) I wouldn't have done any permanent harm! Chalk washes off!

Although I can't speak for the deceased, I believe GGgrandma "Nonnie" would be happy that she and her family haven't been lost to time!

While I'm discussing it, grave yards are in the "highest" of respectable places in MY book! I don't like to walk over graves, but follow the rows in between. So I won't do ANYTHING to be disrespectful in a cemetery!

Grave-rubbings are something that does no harm and can provide so much information!

Why are tombstones erected? To provide information on the deceased so that they won't be forgotten!!! If no one was around, what value would there be in the stone?

Get over your guilt and fears!!!

Think of it as a sort of braille for the sighted that can make out details.

And I'm in possesion of information that the church who owns the cemetery doesn't even have on record now!!! I'm so elated that I did my grave rubbing when I did!!!

So grab your paper and chalk and preserve your family history! I'm sure your ancestors will approve!