Thursday, July 15, 2010

Timeless Treasures

A few days ago I was driving on Water Tower Rd. in Bentonville when I happened accross a historic cemetery called Maxwell/Mt. Eden Cem. It is nestled under the trees behind College Place Subdivision and would go unnoticed if you were not looking for it. While walking this particular cemetery I noticed the way family names used to be done on monuments and wanted to share that style with you.

Looking at this stone you will notice that it is what we refer to as a "polish 3". Polish 3 means that the front, back, and very top of the stone are polished (i.e. smooth and shiny) while the sides are rough and rocky. This particular family apparently decided to take advantage of this polish 3 monument by have raised letters engraved for their family name, "Alfrey".

Although this style is not as common in modern days as it was years ago, it certainly may still be done today. If you would like this done to your monument just ask for a polish 3 straight top monument with raised letters on the top. This style may also be done on an oval top and a slightly slanted top for increased visibility.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

On Geneology

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a genealogy project that has you stumped? Many of my customers have found themselves in such a predicament and come to me with hopes that I can help. While I am not a genealogy expert (I am doing good to even begin my own genealogy projects!), I do have company records that date back to 1926 that can help.

Throughout the decades the owners of Emerson have been careful to record details of each and every sell from who purchased it the stone to where the stone was placed. These records have been cautiously preserved and are available to our customers who find themselves in a "genealogy predicament". In fact, I love getting to sit down with folks and thumb through our sales records from the 1920's- our business is reseponsible for a little slice of history and we are proud of that!

Next time you need help locating the grave of a loved one/descendant/relative, give us a call with the approximate date of purchase as well as the name of the person whom you think may have purchased the stone and we will do our best to help you out!

*Note: Our records are exclusive to the customers we serve. If we did not make the monument then we will not have records and suggest you locate the company who did make the monument. If that information is unavailable we recommend you try any online genealogy website to help with your project.