The German people have always been meticulous record keepers. Records are still found in old Germany of the people who lived there in the early days of the Reformation and many still exist of our ancestors who moved to Berks County. They kept the birth records, christening or baptism records, marriage records and death records. Often the records were recorded in the history of the church they attended. Other times they were kept by the minister who administered to the needs of his people. Today, these records are indeed vital to the tracing of our ancestors.
Burial records were also considered very important. Once again, it was often the minister who kept the record of the burial, but if the burial was in a church cemetery the record may be there. Often the only record is the tombstone itself.
Tombstones demonstrated a bit of knowledge about the family of the deceased. Some were small with little more information than the name. Others contained the name, birth and death years. Others were more elaborate with name, birth date and a little history. For instance the tombstone might record birth dates, death dates, name of wife or husband (often the case) and some included the maiden name of the wife. Still others added the number of children. At the end one might find the age at death: 60 years, 2 months, 3 days. These people may not have had calendars such as we do, but they certainly valued their lives and the time their Lord had given to them.
Finally at the bottom of the tombstone you will find a Bible verse or the text from the burial ceremony. Others contain a poem or expression --Gone but not forgotten is quite popular.
I hope to be able to include tombstones of all kinds, not just for the record, but also to illustrate how important this resting place was to the living who placed the tombstone. But keep in mind that not all people could afford even the simple stone. Some carved their own in a stone; others used slate which disintegrated from the acid rain; many were destroyed by vandalism; and still other souls could not afford to place one at all. Not finding a stone is not evidence that the ancestor was not buried there. That is where the cemetery record is indispensable.
If you have any examples of the headstones of people in Berks County you would like to share, please send them to me. I would like to be able to share them with others.
The photo of the headstone is from Hill Church Cemetery, Pike Township, Berks County. The headstone is for Jonadan/Jonathan Schoch. Jonathan, who was born and died in Washington Township, Berks County, was a son of my great-great grandfather Benneville Schoch and his wife Hannah Clouser.
(We are grateful to Betty Burdan for this submission of her great-grandfather's son's tombstone.)
This is a good example of an old headstone commemorating the life of a military officer. This headstone is in the Fritz Cemetery in Douglass Township, Berks County. Admire the curvature of the design, obviously created for someone loved by his family and missed by his passing. The new addition to the Gresh headstone is a bronze plaque that was placed there by the Manatawny Chapter of the DAR, Pottstown, PA to commemorate Johann George's service in the Revolutionary War. You can view the history of the cemetery and the other burials at Fritz Cemetery.
Information concerning a land grant pertaining to this family can be found in the USGenWeb Archives.
Contributed by: Bill.
If you have an interesting photo or picture that you would like to contribute, please contact Nancy.
Last Modified