It looks like he died on August 1 or 4, then next line is something, 2 months, and something days. So he was born in May, probably of the same year.

It looks like Eliza Ludwig or Ludovic?

Is it Ludovici, maybe? Because the father's name might be Hernando?

Are you working from a picture, or can you actually touch it? Can you do a charcoal rubbing, that sometimes makes it more visible.

My first impression is that the parents are Hernando and Eliza, and I'm with Hot Rod on Ludovici or close to that for the last name.

I thought I saw Hernando too, but that would be a longshot. This is a WASP community, especially back in those days. The names are overwhelmingly English in origin.

I took the photograph, and I can always go back to take another look, but it was hard to read in person too. We're told not to do rubbings; I guess they've found it can damage old stones.

As always, I'm struck by the differences in legibility depending on what kind of stone was used. Some raised letting on stones only a few decades old is wearing away. The stone must be very soft. Also, lichens, moss, and other growths seem to prefer certain kinds of stone. Conversely, I see some very old stones (often marble) with pristine lettering.

Thanks!

I see the first names as CHARLES

I think it's an SON on the end of the last name. What looks like a dotted I is probably a bit of dirt or stain. I'll have to go back and have another look. I found an Eliza in the cemetery records, born in 1818, which would be about right, but she's listed only under her maiden name (Lee). There are no listings for any name beginning with Lud and there are no Hernandos. Not even a Herman. :-)

Yes, the first name is definitely Charles.

What's the last line, in tiny letters?

Did you look at Hanna(h) Tyler Ames? It says she had a grandson, Charles, who died as an infant.

If you look at names in older cemeteries you will often find Spanish names especially at this time period. For what ever reason books especially novels used names from other countries to make the hero or more often the villain seem more exotic. While to me more Italian than Spanish the name Alonzo/Alonza showed up in the family tree about 1750 and I have a great that was born in 1801 who used that as a first name. I do not know how close to any body of water that could have had boats on it many sailors were from various nationalities.

If you look carefully at the bottom of the stone is written in memory of my parents which makes little sense unless it was a child who purchased stones long after the burial. I would look at the pictures of the surrounding stones to see if the parents are on any of them if there is a clearer picture.

All I can make out besides the Charles and Eliza is the 2m & 21d, but it looks like there could be a number of years at the beginning of that line, like: 1y. 2m. & 21d.

Hamilton and Eliza ?

What's the last line, in tiny letters?

I'll have to push the grass away to read the whole thing, but I'm seeing for me my parents. I think it might say Pray for me my parents. Maifleur, it doesn't say "in memory of my parents." I can see another visit to the cemetery is in order. I wasn't planning to take any more photos this year because it's getting too cold for my fingers. But my curious nature nags at me sometimes.

There's no Hamilton in the cemetery records, for whatever that's worth (not a lot).

Murraysmom, where did you find Hannah Tyler Ames? It sounds as though Charles could be her grandson. She's not buried in this cemetery, nor did I find her name on FindAGrave in all of Pennsylvania.

I don't think it's an H...I think it's a capital "I" and a lower case "L" ...the "L" seems to match the "L" in Eliza. Else it's a Ll as in Llewellyn...as the first character of his name seems to match the first character after Eliza...

I found it here. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18322506/hannah-ames

She's buried in a cemetery in Preston, Connecticut.

"Pray for me my parents" ... would be a sweet final line -- thanks.

I'm thinking the father's name might be Alexander. Family name Lud--son? Lad--son?

I think too it is alexander OK here is something else to mess with everybody's mind. what if Charles is the last name. I found a record of a Charles cemetery in Pemmsylvania

I was just about to say Alexander. I don’t see the first two uprights as belonging to the same letter as they’re not parallel. I’m wondering if that’s what Elizabeth meant to write, but then her first post has me thinking she’s just pulling our legs.

What is the cemetery name and location?

I don’t think the last name is Charles. The baby was almost 3 months old so would have had a name, possibly even been baptized. There is a cemetery nearby with infant tombstones, and when there is no first name given it is because the baby died at or shortly after birth. They are just labeled “infant”. Very sad. Often next to the mother, who died the same day or a few days thereafter, and usually under the age of 30.

Oooh, I'm liking Alexander for the father's first name! If it is, he must be buried somewhere else because there's no Alexander in this cemetery who fits the time frame.

Before the 2 m. (for 2 months) it reads AE, which means Age or Aged.

The cemetery is Canaan Corners in Wayne County, PA.

I keep seeing Lud too. Or maybe Jud . The name is too long to be Judson. Hudson is a popular name in that cemetery, but it looks longer than Hudson too.

I also saw the double L, but couldn't find anything that related to it.

I feel as though I should be able to see it because I'm so familiar with the names in the local cemeteries. There's a possibility that Hannah Tyler Ames is the key to unlock this. If Charles is her grandson, he has to be the son of her son, in which case he's an Ames, or the son of her daughter. Hannah had 14 children. Of the 14, only four were alive in 1842: Keziah, Rufus, Elijah, and Hannah. I was hoping to find a clear winner, but that bombed out. Some of her children are buried in Canaan Corners.

How about Anderson for the last name?

Anderson fits, I think.

Do not do rubbings on old stones. It is not recommended! This marker may be limestone which weathers and is not durable. Acid rain that has increased this century is eroding limestone markers. There are some things you can try that will not damage the stone.

1, Control the lighting: Its a light colored stone and will be difficult to photograph in direct sunlight. However, in some cases you can make use of the sun's position in the sky if the flat side of the stone faces north or south. At different times of the day (and seasons) the light will be shining across the stone and parts of the cuts will have a shadow side. This helps to enhance the lettering. if the stone faces east or west, good luck. But you can do more.

Use a large dark umbrella to shade the stone, then try highlighting across the stone with reflected light. Experiment with a sheet of aluminum as a reflector to side-light the lettering.

You can go at dusk and use a light source to sidelight. There is a tricky procedure you can do in very low light with a digital camera. it called light painting. Put the camera on a tripod and get the image in place in the viewfinder. Use the 'bulb' setting or whatever you camera calls it. Open the shutter and side-light 'paint' the stone with a flashlight, then close the shutter. This takes practice. Review the result, and try again. Take as many exposures as you need. The bad ones can be erased. A white light LED flashlight works well. [This is a fun technique to experiment with for nighttime photography.]

2. Dusting:

With a bellows, blow as much dirt off the stone as you can. You can skip this step if the stone is clean, but most of the time there will be dust. Flour is commonly used for white dust on a dark stone, but since this stone is light colored, you'll need a darker dust. Use a garden duster (a device for applying dust repellents to plants) to lightly blow dust across the stone, the object being to have dust collect on one side of the cuts. Sometimes, this will help. Always use a dust that will wash off with a watering can or rain.

3. Water:

Use a spray bottle to wet the stone. First, merely dampen the stone a little and increase as needed. This may help. If unsatisfactory, don't go away too soon. As the stone dries, an improved pattern may emerge.

If your on a computer tip the screen backwards some It creates different shadows in the writing and Ive been able to read a lot of stones that way

Thank you, Jem! MiMi, I never heard that, but I'll try it on my Chromebook. The monitors for my desktop, which I normally use for photos, are on a mount and can't be tilted. Thanks!

I woke up this morning thinking Hannah's child Keziah could have been a female who ended up being called Eliza. I had the whole thing solved before getting out of bed! But when I did, I discovered Keziah was 57 in 1841. Oh, well.