Saturday, November 20, 2010

About Us

Hoosier Headstone is run by a husband and wife team living in North East Indiana.  For the past ten years we have been traveling around NE Indiana cemetery hopping and looking for tree stump tombstones and other interesting memorials.

Tree stump tombstones have been found all over the United States.  Most of the stones were made by Modern Woodsmen of America which was one of the founders of "life insurance."  By paying dues you would have one of these stones made for you once you passed away. They are made for a single person, a couple, or a family group. These stones can range in size from less than a foot tall to over 10 feet tall.

These stones are very interesting because they tell a story. Many have unique additions such as hats hanging on a nail, broken limbs, and items scattered around the base.  These stones are not only beautiful but they have meaning. For many years grave stones have been small chunks of rock with little detail about the person.  Recently more information on the stone is more common but newer stones still do not compare to treestumps.

We are also interested in genealogy. Some of the family lines we have traced back to around 500 AD but we are currently trying to bulk up more recent lines to include sibling information and stories and photographs of our relatives.

Some of the surnames in our lineages include Day, Schramm, Semler, Mercer, Pennington, Jacquay, Maggard, Lewis, and Wells. Some of the regions include NE Indiana, Toledo OH, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, England, Ireland, Germany, Prussia, Poland, and France.

If you need any photographs of graves taken in Allen or Dekalb counties in Indiana please send us a message. We will try to help you out or try to find a photo for you. If you are having trouble finding a cemetery in Allen, Dekalb, Whitley, or Noble counties please contact us. We have been all over these counties and some cemeteries have been moved or destroyed but we could possibly find the records for you.