Find A Grave, especially when there is a photo of the tombstone, is a valuable source for genealogical research. While a high percentage of the dates on the tombstones may be accurate, there is always the possibility that the dates are not accurate.
- The individual that communicated the dates, especially the birth date, may have not had the accurate information.
- While the death date should be well established and less prone to error, especially if the tombstone is created close to when the death occurred, it can also be inaccurate.
In the case of my great-grandfather, James Michael Barley, the birth date does match other records, but there is a discrepancy with the death date – in particular the death year. Did he die in 1940 or 1941? What records will help resolve the discrepancy?
- Was a death certificate created?
- Was there an obit published in a local newspaper?
- Where there any funeral records maintained?
- Is there a family Bible that has the date?
Let’s start with the tombstone – below is an image of the tombstone that clearly has the death date as Feb. 27, 1940.
Does that match the other records?
From the certificate of death for J.M. Barley, we find a death date of Feb. 27, 1941. The birth date of Oct. 22, 1870 matches the tombstone date and the interment in Spence Cemetery aligns with the location of the tombstone in question. The identification of his wife as “Mamie” aligns with the known wife of James Michael Barley – thus we have evidence that this certificate of death aligns with the person who is buried at Spence Cemetery with this tombstone.
Funerals often have memory books that capture information about the service, friends that call, flowers received, etc. J.M. Barley had a funeral book that was in the possession of his daughters, my Great Aunts, Altha and Viola Barley. It was passed along to me with the death of Viola. This memory page, filled out at the time of his death has his death date as February 27, 1941, which matches the death certificate.
On March 6, 1941, page 3 of the “The Dayton Herald”, a local newspaper in Dayton, Tennessee the below “Card of Thanks” message appeared indicating that Jim Barley had recently died in 1941.
Finally, if J. M. Barley died in 1940, that would have been before the 1940 census was taken in April of 1940. Was he included? Research in the 1940 census indicated that James Barley was alive and well on April 25, 1940.
The evidence is clear, J.M. Barley did not die in 1940 as the tombstone shows but died in 1941. Was this an error by the person who engraved the tombstone or a typo on the information provided. We will never know – all we know is that it is not correct!
