google-site-verification: google65e716d80989ba07.html Tombstone Tuesday- My Eldest Ancestor meets My Youngest | The Armchair Genealogist

Tombstone Tuesday- My Eldest Ancestor meets My Youngest


Today is Tombstone Tuesday. For a genealogist tombstones are like badges of honour. They reflect our honour and privelege of finding the grave of an ancestor long ago forgotten and being able to place them in your family tree. A very fulfilling experience for many family historians.

Today's picture is the tombstone of My Great-Great-Great-Great grandmother. I found her grave in the Catholic cemetery in Chepstow, Ontario. Susana Whittaker was a Northern Irish Protestant immigrant who married John Phelan an Irish Catholic. They received special permission to be married in Ireland in 1808, since penal laws at the time did not allow such mixed marriages. They came to Canada with their children in 1823 looking to offer their family greater opportunities and to remove themselves from the prejudices that existed in their homeland.

The young girl standing beside Susana's tombstone is my daughter and Susana's Great-Great-Great-Great -Great granddaughter. Never under estimate your children's interest in genealogy. This picture still amazes and moves me!