If it were any other stone, I would not
feel so compelled to decipher the engraving. This, however, is the
grave stone of John Harrigan who committed suicide by slitting his
throat (officially). Or did he? That is the question I have written
about in previous posts
(Suicide or Murder? What Do You Think?
and
Who Done It?).
Because of this uncertainty I would dearly love to know what is
engraved in the stone. Was his wife trying to tell him something
posthumously?
The stone itself is quite large (almost
2 x 3 ft.), especially considering that John's widow now had five
children, ages three to eighteen, to provide for. To me, this says
that Mary didn't want John to be forgotten. An oak leaf and acorn
are carved into the stone. These may represent endurance or
longevity. Another message, perhaps?
My mother has made many attempts to
read the inscription, but we only have part of it. Unfortunately,
the stone has fallen over and lies facing downhill. It is not very
steep, but it makes leaning over the stone a bit awkward. She tried
foiling, but didn't have much success. She also tried sprinkling
sugar in the inscription, but that only helped with a few words.
Damp napkins fit into the crevices well, but then there is the
problem of making the dried negative image readable. It doesn't help
that the script is small and fancy. Pouring water on the stone
definitely seems to help as I discovered when I was in town last
October. I probably have nearly fifty photos of the inscription from
various angles with different lighting, but I just can't make it out.
Here is an example showing the entire inscription.
Here is what we think we have so far:
God is good. ___ ___ trust him
Turn your ___ ___ ___ alone/about?
And? think through ___ a? trial
One thing ___ God is Lord?
A few of the above words may be
incorrect, but this is our working version.
At first we thought that the
inscription might be a Bible verse, but I have been unable to find
anything that seems to fit the words we have. My cousin suggested
that perhaps it was a family prayer, but pursuing this angle didn't
yield results either.
At least John's resting place is in a
beautiful part of Kalamazoo's Riverside cemetery, section B. Looking at the stone you can gaze west, shaded by the many tall oak trees while listening to the wind rustling through the leaves. It
is a peaceful place even if John's end was far from it. It is a good
place to ponder whether he came to his end by his own hand or was
helped to it.
Last line, missing word, "certain"?
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