{"id":6407,"date":"2020-01-09T14:55:17","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T19:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/?p=6407"},"modified":"2025-10-14T14:06:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T18:06:38","slug":"preserving-the-past-cemetery-mystery-solved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/2020\/01\/preserving-the-past-cemetery-mystery-solved\/","title":{"rendered":"Preserving the Past: Cemetery Mystery Solved!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planners use high tech tools to bring a historic headstone\u2019s inscription back to life<\/em><\/p>\n

By Brian Crane, PhD and Kacy Rohn<\/p>\n

\"Crabb

Crabb Family Cemetery, Derwood<\/p><\/div>\n

In the Planning Department, we talk a lot about the future. But much of our work is rooted in the past. We learn from history and we also help preserve it. Our county\u2019s cemeteries are a treasure trove of information. Genealogists and history buffs love cemeteries for all the family history they contain, but time and nature pose challenges. Some historic gravestones have become so weathered, it\u2019s almost impossible to read them.<\/p>\n

New technologies have come to the rescue, offering ways to recover those lost inscriptions without damaging the stone. In November, someone contacted the county for help deciphering the inscription of a nineteenth-century headstone in the Crabb Family Cemetery<\/a>, a Montgomery County Master Plan Historic Site.\u00a0Planning staff visited the cemetery and found the stone in question. \u201cIn Memory of Walter, Son of\u2026\u201d was easy to read, but the death year could be read as either 1839 or 1859, and the names of Walter\u2019s parents were illegible.<\/p>\n

\"Headstone

The headstone for infant Walter is worn beyond legibility.<\/p><\/div>\n

The stone deteriorated because of the material used to make it. Some gravestones are carved in highly durable stone like granite or locally produced Seneca sandstone. But in the 1800s, marble was a popular choice. People assumed that the beautiful smooth white stone would last forever, but marble is made from carbonate minerals highly vulnerable to weathering, especially by acid rain.<\/p>\n

There are a number of imaging techniques that can help archaeologists, preservationists, and conservators recover faint or worn inscriptions. One of these, photogrammetry, involves combining a series of overlapping digital photographs taken systematically from different angles. Computer software aligns the images and produces a detailed 3D model. Filters are then applied to boost clarity.<\/p>\n

A 3D photogrammetry model of Walter\u2019s headstone<\/a> revealed much more detail of the remaining inscription than what had been visible to the naked eye, including the parents\u2019 first names: Walter and Emma. A close look also suggested that the last name was short and began with a rounded letter, possibly an \u2018O.\u2019 Montgomery County\u2019s cemeteries include many family names that were potential matches, from Oaks to Oyers. We know the names of many people buried in historic cemeteries across the county due to the work of genealogists and local historians who have meticulously documented headstone inscriptions. This information is compiled in works such as The Genealogical Companion to Rural Montgomery County Cemeteries <\/em>and is often posted online<\/a>.<\/p>\n