Samuel and Amelia Armstrong must have come from very strong stock. Both of these now residents of Mt Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto lived to a good age of 68 and 72 respectively.
But as you walk around to the other side of this headstone,
you see the evidence of some of the pain this family endured.
Only one child, their firstborn, lived past one year of age and it would be almost ten years
after the death of their third child before another was born.
Neither of the next two children lived beyond six months,
including their only son who had the shortest life.
Amelia would have been 43 years of age when her last child was born.
It is interesting (but not unexpected) to note that all died in the winter months.
For other grave lives head over to Julie's Taphophile Tragics
Hah, I wondered what you were on about, Sanna, saying this couple came from strong stock and lived to a good age ... until I walked around to the other side of the grave marker.
ReplyDeleteHow sobering. How very sobering. To lose them all, and so young. The son named for the father. But look at all those gorgeous girl names: Elma May, Edna Lillian, Hazel Irene, Helen Aileen. It is not surprising that someone by the name Amelia Jane should have those names for her offspring. I particularly like Hazel Irene and Helen Aileen.
This is one of the comforting things about being a taphophile. We can breath metaphorical life into cold headstones, and acknowledge lives lived with forebearance, and lives hardly lived at all.
A really good find.
Thank you for contribuiting it to Taphophile Tragics. I hope others get as much fron your post today as I have done.
It is so wonderful to be able to bring to life other lives that have struggled and appreciate what we have right now! This is a very touching post!
ReplyDeleteI am contemplating a stone for my mother and father and the words on these stones inspire me to engrave something special. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe nineteenth century was the age before antibiotics, and any century prior to the mid-twentieth was prone as well to epidemics of influenza, yellow and scarlet fever, to name just a few. Germ theory was nonexistent, children were born everywhere but in a sterile place.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's a wonder anyone survived.
I mention this because it's often noted how 'life expectancy' has increased over the years. I think a better term might be 'childhood survivability'.
The older pioneer cemeteries have a sad sad tale to tell.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting observation about them all dying in the winter - I guess they had to endure bitterly cold conditions which are almost unknown in our climate.
ReplyDeleteI imagine a Toronto winter without much heating would be pretty devastating.
ReplyDeleteI think what is mentioned about the non availability of anitbiotics and the survival of childhood back then is true. We don't know how blessed we are now. Or maybe we do. We no longer die of influenza or the complications of the measles. We are lucky people indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou not only learn about individuals but I've always thought that cemeterys (and city dumps) gave you a history of place.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. We often forget what hardships the early settlers had to endure and what stoic bravery they had.
ReplyDeleteI found it kind of creepy. And suspicious. That would surely raise eyebrows in the police community today.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the parents shared a gene that when combined gave the kids no chance.
We don't know what the weather was like for those winter months - or where these people lived. Just getting through our winters today can be a struggle for some people but with no heating, no hot running water and outdoor toilets these tiny babies may not have had much of a chance against any infection.
ReplyDeleteMy great grandparents lost their first two children as young children but the rest lived on many into their 90s. Even so those first two must have been a terrible loss ,,, just as the loss of this family must have been..
ReplyDeleteThat gravestone certainly tells a story. The loss of one is bad enough...I can't imagine how one could withstand the loss of so many.
ReplyDeleteHello, my friend.
Old cemeteries are filled with the graves of children and young people who died early. Modern medicine keeps the rest of us further from the scourges of death.
ReplyDeleteAmelia... what she went through. I have trouble with cemeteries--the old ones. They make me cry. I think it's because I went a few times with a woman who did rubbings in very old cemeteries in New England. And so often we saw a tale like this on the stones.
ReplyDeleteWe take for granted the ability to withstand our winters. Our antibiotics.
There is something beautiful in that marker...
I was just looking back through, and especially like the old graves. I'm a fan of old cemeteries - there is something so serene and a little mysterious about them.
ReplyDeleteSo short a time they had with their children. But here they are united for eternity.
ReplyDeleteOld cemeteries tell like it really was back in the good ole days.
ReplyDeleteBack then, many children died horribly young. Hot weather brought diarrhea and dehydration, plus all the usual infections, and cold weather must have been a struggle for the very young. No antibiotics, and probably very little real medical help - what chance did the poor little mites have?
ReplyDeleteThere are so many sad stories to be found in our churchyards and cemeteries. But I have to say that is one of the nicest headstones I have seen!