Feel free to use my headstone photos for any non-profit genealogical purposes, no need to ask.
No need to credit.

ALL FLOWERS ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATED. ** HAPPY TO TRANSFER MEMORIALS.

I don't have any intention to offend or upset anyone, just want to help others as I have been helped in this Genealogical Quest to connect with family history.

When your correspondence requests a response, please insure that your message board is turned on.
Emails will not be initiated.

While it is rare, at times a family member may not wish to have a loved one's memorial and/or photo's online. If at any time someone runs across a memorial or photo that I have added but does not wish it to be there, please let me know and I will remove it.

Sometimes additional information can be found in the photographs caption. Just click on the photo.

Any information that is shared comes from A) The headstone which a photo has been provided, B) newspaper obituaries, printed and/or online, C) basic research on Ancestry.com, including Social Security and State death indexes, Census reports and public records. I do not take information from family trees for memorials. It is at your discretion what to do with the provided information.

Have you ever had the occasion to see headstones that have coins/stones left on them? Here are some interesting reasons for the 'tokens' being left behind
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Paying Respects:
Soldiers used it as a way to communicate with their fallen comrade's families without having to say a word. Each coin on a soldier's grave tells a different story.

• Leaving a penny indicates that the person who left it knew them from military service.
• A nickel on the grave, means they trained in boot camp together.
• If you see a dime on a soldier's grave, it signifies that the person who left it served in the same company as the deceased.
• The most meaningful of all the denominations is the quarter. The quarter left on a grave means they were with the soldier when they died.
• Additionally, sometimes coins are left as a "down-payment" to purchase a beer or play a hand of poker when he is eventually re-united with his deceased buddy.
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Mythology:
Charon, the ferryman of Hades, requires payment of one coin to ferry your loved ones soul across the River Styx that separates the living from the dead. People who can't pay the fee are said to be doomed to wander the shores of the river for 100 years. Coins are therefore left to pay the ferryman.
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Superstition:
Visitors believe that a dead loved one will grant a wish or garner them good luck when they leave a penny on their headstone.
**********
The Jewish tradition of leaving stones on a grave is an ancient tradition. It is a custom or tradition, rather than a commandment, and over time many interpretations have been offered for this practice. By placing the stone, we show that we have been there, and that the individual's memory continues to live on in and through us.

*********
No matter what the original intention of the coin/stone-leaver may be, it seems clear that a coin/stone left on a headstone is a symbol of remembrance and respect.

Whatever your motivation might be, the next time you leave a coin/stone at a graveside, remember you're taking part in a tradition going back a few thousand years. Religion not included or required. By placing a coin/stone on a grave, it is an opportunity for you to create your own ritual, or do things in a way that feels most meaningful to you.

Feel free to use my headstone photos for any non-profit genealogical purposes, no need to ask.
No need to credit.

ALL FLOWERS ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATED. ** HAPPY TO TRANSFER MEMORIALS.

I don't have any intention to offend or upset anyone, just want to help others as I have been helped in this Genealogical Quest to connect with family history.

When your correspondence requests a response, please insure that your message board is turned on.
Emails will not be initiated.

While it is rare, at times a family member may not wish to have a loved one's memorial and/or photo's online. If at any time someone runs across a memorial or photo that I have added but does not wish it to be there, please let me know and I will remove it.

Sometimes additional information can be found in the photographs caption. Just click on the photo.

Any information that is shared comes from A) The headstone which a photo has been provided, B) newspaper obituaries, printed and/or online, C) basic research on Ancestry.com, including Social Security and State death indexes, Census reports and public records. I do not take information from family trees for memorials. It is at your discretion what to do with the provided information.

Have you ever had the occasion to see headstones that have coins/stones left on them? Here are some interesting reasons for the 'tokens' being left behind
**********
Paying Respects:
Soldiers used it as a way to communicate with their fallen comrade's families without having to say a word. Each coin on a soldier's grave tells a different story.

• Leaving a penny indicates that the person who left it knew them from military service.
• A nickel on the grave, means they trained in boot camp together.
• If you see a dime on a soldier's grave, it signifies that the person who left it served in the same company as the deceased.
• The most meaningful of all the denominations is the quarter. The quarter left on a grave means they were with the soldier when they died.
• Additionally, sometimes coins are left as a "down-payment" to purchase a beer or play a hand of poker when he is eventually re-united with his deceased buddy.
**********
Mythology:
Charon, the ferryman of Hades, requires payment of one coin to ferry your loved ones soul across the River Styx that separates the living from the dead. People who can't pay the fee are said to be doomed to wander the shores of the river for 100 years. Coins are therefore left to pay the ferryman.
*********
Superstition:
Visitors believe that a dead loved one will grant a wish or garner them good luck when they leave a penny on their headstone.
**********
The Jewish tradition of leaving stones on a grave is an ancient tradition. It is a custom or tradition, rather than a commandment, and over time many interpretations have been offered for this practice. By placing the stone, we show that we have been there, and that the individual's memory continues to live on in and through us.

*********
No matter what the original intention of the coin/stone-leaver may be, it seems clear that a coin/stone left on a headstone is a symbol of remembrance and respect.

Whatever your motivation might be, the next time you leave a coin/stone at a graveside, remember you're taking part in a tradition going back a few thousand years. Religion not included or required. By placing a coin/stone on a grave, it is an opportunity for you to create your own ritual, or do things in a way that feels most meaningful to you.