and used the techniques suggested by fellow Genea-bloggers. I also used water, a soft brush and a rag, removing some of the years of grime and yuck from the stone. I only removed enough to read the pertinent information. No harsh cleaning agents were used, and no stiff brushes. I felt this stone had survived for over 100 years and I didn’t want to be the one who hastened it’s demise!
As soon as I uncovered enough to rub the dates, I stopped cleaning (thankfully ~ that was hard work!) and started in on my main mission. The death date was the cincher, and my “Elizabeth A.” died in 1826; the headstone’s “Elizabeth A.” died in 1888! Not my Elizabeth, nutz!
Elizabeth Somebody Else, not Elizabeth Auxer Kleiss
. . . but all was not in vain! First of all, when I was leaving the aisle that Elizabeth Somebody Else is buried in, I saw this beautiful hawk sitting on a headstone. . . .in the middle of the City! He sat there oblivious to my presence, in my car, and waited for me to take his picture! As I started moving again, he noticed me and flew off!
Cemetery Pet?
But back to the subject, I found headstones! Headstones belonging to George Kleiss, Jr., next to his sister, Anna Maria Weigand! I also found Walter F. Albright and his wife, Barbara’s headstones, in a nice border lined cemetery plot. Anna Maria’s must have been beautiful. . . before it was vandalized! Sad.
Vandalized headstone of Anna Maria Kleiss Weigand
Now for the gross part. I wore flip flops since it was a bit warm, never thinking my feet would get dirty. Now why wouldn’t they? I walked one quarter of the largest cemetery in Lancaster, and I expected my feet to remain lily white? (with pink toenails, of course) When I got home at looked down at my feet, I was shocked! I immediately found the darkest wash cloth in the house (black) and washed my feet! Yuck!
Yucky, Dirty Feet!
Thank you all for the suggestions! You helped me eliminate a wrong headstone and helped me find headstones in the future.
Now to hop in the shower. . . . . .
