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| John and Anne Rampley tombstone, Buckeye Cemetery, Walker Township, Hancock County, Illinois. Photo (c) 2005, Michael John Neill. |
Does this tombstone provide evidence that Anne E. D. Rampley is buried in this cemetery?
Husbands and wives are typically buried in the same location and in the last hundred or so years, it has become common to "complete" as much of the stone as possible at one time. This usually means that everything is put on the stone except the surviving spouse's date of death.
Note the use of the word "evidence" instead of the word "proof." Genealogists generally reserve the word "proof" for that discussion that encompasses all the records that contain information (evidence) related to a specific event.
I'm not thinking that this provides evidence that Anne's buried here. Some things that provide evidence for her burial in this location would include the following (as long as they mention the burial location):
- death certificate
- obituary
- church records
- family letters, stories, etc. that mention Anne's burial in this location
Then all of the information (evidence) from those items could be organized and written up as "proof."
The stone suggests Anne is buried here and suggests that I perform some additional research.
The lack of a date of death could be for the simple reason that no one bothered to have the stone inscribed.
