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| Jollett tombstones in Harriston Methodist Church Cemetery Harriston, Augusta County, Virginia |
Did Eliza purchase the tombstones herself when James Franklin died? Did one of the children? Maybe “Step-Mother” would have been aesthetically unbalanced, crowded, or simply inappropriate. Or maybe it was just a standard design for tombstones and thus no more should be read into the wording.
Maybe the word “Mother” says something about how she was regarded by the Jolletts. She was “A” mother even if not “THE” mother. The Jollett grandchildren certainly remembered her as warm and loving, although not as affectionate as their grandfather. She was the only GRANDmother the Jollett grandchildren ever knew.
Wendy
© 2016, Wendy Mathias. All
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My mother's step father was always Grandpa to us even though her father was still living. In fact, when my parents were married my mother's step father walked her down the aisle rather than her father.
ReplyDeleteMy older daughter is a stepmother to 2 cute little girls. They write her the nicest little notes and always want her to come have lunch with them at school. Love wins every time.
DeleteSo where was the first wife buried? (didn't we read about her in your last blog post?) I like that they didn't make any distinction, labeled her as "mother", she probably was a wonderful one!
ReplyDeletebetty
I wish I knew where Lucy Ann is buried. I am guessing she is in Greene County somewhere, maybe in a family plot that has been lost to time or in a community cemetery without a headstone. Several people in Greene County have joined forces to document all the cemeteries and home plots, but so far Lucy's name has not been entered anywhere so I guess she had only a field stone or an unreadable tombstone.
DeleteI would think if there had been bitter feelings between her and the children, neither would have wanted "mother" on her headstone.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I think too.
DeleteWendy, it is nice that the old stone is still readable. The letters still look crisp & clear.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's disappointing when a tombstone is unreadable.
DeleteAnother one of those things that leave us wondering, but my guess is they'd have avoided it if they disliked her.
ReplyDelete