John R. Cobb's gravemarker proclaims to all who see it that he was "True and faithful to all duties." John died slightly 7 months short of his 33rd birthday, still a young man. There is no information available to confirm that John was either single or married at the time of his death.
In 1900, according to the U. S. Census recorded that year, John was 15 years old and lived with his parents, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Cobb. He was the oldest of five children, with siblings named Mattie, Alma, Joseph, and Earnest. Mary McLean, his 77-year old South Carolina-born grandmother, perhaps already a widow, also lived in the household with her daughter, son-in-law and their children.
The inscription on John's gravestone likely had a purpose and recognized his early demise. Did he die of an accident, perhaps while he was working on the farm or in the dense woods near where he lived? Or did he die of natural causes, or an illness or of some contagious disease common at the time?
Whatever the reason was for John's death, he died at an early age, even for 1917.
In 1900, according to the U. S. Census recorded that year, John was 15 years old and lived with his parents, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Cobb. He was the oldest of five children, with siblings named Mattie, Alma, Joseph, and Earnest. Mary McLean, his 77-year old South Carolina-born grandmother, perhaps already a widow, also lived in the household with her daughter, son-in-law and their children.
The inscription on John's gravestone likely had a purpose and recognized his early demise. Did he die of an accident, perhaps while he was working on the farm or in the dense woods near where he lived? Or did he die of natural causes, or an illness or of some contagious disease common at the time?
Whatever the reason was for John's death, he died at an early age, even for 1917.
JANICE, Oh, that these markers could talk --- behind each one there is a story worth telling. I do hope you discover more about John R. Cobb, True and Faithful.
ReplyDeleteTerry Thornton
Fulton, Mississippi USA