My name on my tombstone 2

The noted hunter James T Whitehead killed 99 bears: 'We hope he has
gone to rest.'

Mordaunt humour may not always raise a laugh in a cemetery.

Some gravestones are very informative - all grist to the family historian's mill. This one even lists friends of the deceased and gives a brief biography.

Details of how the deceased met his end are sometimes supplied, including on this stone for Thomas Barrow, Master of the Sloop Two Brothers, 1752:

Gravestone, Bosham Church, Sussex. 'In memory of Thomas , son of Richard and Ann Barrow, master of the sloop Two Brothers who by the breaking of the horse fell into the sea and was drown'd October the 13th 1759 Aged 23 years'. Note that a 'horse' is a specific rope used in the rigging of sailing ships. (Photo Peter Cook on flickr.)


In the 18th c they often got down to the bare bones of the topic:







R I P