Search The Surnames

Find Records Fast!

"The value of these records cannot be overemphasized"

The Virginia Genealogist, April-June 1983

Home

Books

Articles

Ordering

Shenandoah County,

Virginia Records

Preface for Book 9

TOMBSTONE INSCRIPTIONS Page County, Virginia

This compilation is being published for posterity, and as another tool for family researchers, genealogists, historians, and others, who have a sincere interest in their ancestors in the lower valley of Virginia, and a deep respect for the deceased and their final resting places, as it is all too common for individuals to forget their ancestors, and the memory dulls with each succeeding generation. It is hoped that errors of perception, transcription, and collation are minimal, as they are not intentional, however, they do represent the frailties of man. A tombstone inscription, per se, does not guarantee that the spelling of the name is correct, nor does it guarantee that the death dates, birth dates, and other inscribed data are correct, or 'the gospel'. Therefore, it is advisable that the inscribed data be verified from other sources, if there is a doubt as to their correctness. Often times, tombstone inscriptions are arranged for by estate administrators, executors, distant relatives, friends, neighbors, and others, and the data that they furnish to the stonemason or monument manufacturer, may, or may not, be correct. Newspaper funeral notices and obituaries, and mortuary records, are some sources that may be helpful. Those who may use the name index of this volume are cautioned to search for variants of any surname that they are interested in, as a great number of the listed surnames are of Germanic origin, and very early scribes recorded the names in all manner of ways, mostly phonetically, and thus corrupted many surnames, and the perpetuation of the incorrect orthography. If one cannot locate the name, or names of their ancestors and collateral kindred in this volume, it is very possible they they may appear in eight (8) previous volumes of tombstone inscriptions published by this researcher-compiler, which were transcribed primarily in Shenandoah County, Virginia, as follows: (1) "Tombstone Inscriptions, Toms Brook and vicinity, Shenandoah County, Virginia", 1981, 309 pages, soft cover, 17 cemeteries, and a 3,500 plus name index. (2) "Tombstone inscriptions, Strasburg and vicinity, Shenandoah County, Virginia", 1982, 370 pages, soft cover, 10 cemeteries, and a 5,600 name index. (3) "Tombstone Inscriptions, Woodstock and Fort Valley vicinities, Shenandoah County, Virginia", 1983, 4-60 Pages, soft cover, 248 cemeteries, mostly family private, and a 9,000 plus name index. (4) "Tombstone inscriptions, Woodstock and vicinity, Shenandoah County, Virginia", 1983, 456 pages, soft cover, 24 large church and community cemeteries, with a 12,114 plus name index. (5) "Tombstone inscriptions, Shenandoah and Page Counties, Virginia", 1984, 360 pages, soft cover, 141 cemeteries, 34 of which were transcribed in Page County, Virginia, and a 8,140 name index. (6) "Tombstone Inscriptions, New Market, Mt. Jackson, and Edinburg vicinities, Shenandoah County, Virginia", 1984, 493 pages, 13,000 name index, soft cover, 17 of the largest church and community cemeteries in the Southern half of Shenandoah County, Virginia. (7) "Tombstone inscriptions, Prospect Hill Cemetery, Front Royal, Virginia, and other Warren County vicinities", 1985, 495 pages, soft cover, 13,000 name index, 22 cemeteries. (8) "Tombstone Inscriptions, Shenandoah County, Virginia, and bordering counties, Frederick, Rockingham, Warren, Fauquier, Rappahannock, and Hardy County, West Virginia", 1986, 348 pages, soft cover, 123 cemeteries mostly family private, and 7,000 name index. This instant volume (No. 9) of 488 pages contains some 76 cemeteries, mostly family/private, as well as some very large cemeteries located in and around Luray, Page County, Virginia, as well as the large cemeteries located in towns along highway No. 340 which runs through Page County Northeast to Southwest, from Warren County, Virginia on the Northeast, and Rockingham County on the Southwest. This volume has a name index of some 12,000, more or less. Most 'name places' have been omitted from the name index. Volume No. 3, mentioned in the last paragraph of the previous page, also contains forty-two (42) cemeteries from Page County, Virginia. Volume No. 5, mentioned in the top paragraph, above, also contains 34 cemeteries from Page County, Virginia. Thus, it would appear that the 76 cemeteries listed in this volume No. 9, and the 42 cemeteries published in Volume No. 3 on the previous page, and the 34 cemeteries published in Volume No. 5, top paragraph above, represent only a very small percentage of an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 cemeteries located in Page County, Virginia, most of which are located on farms and early plantations of a much earlier day. Purchasers or readers of this volume are respectfully requested to furnish precise locations of family cemeteries known to them, to this researcher-compiler who will make a genuine effort to locate them and publish the inscriptions in a future volume. Also, purchasers or readers of this volume who find errors therein should report the errors to this researcher-compiler who would welcome them, and cause corrections to be published in reprints or subsequent volumes. The nine (9) volumes of tombstone inscriptions thus far published by this compiler-researcher, primarily located in Shenandoah County, Virginia, contain 3,779 pages, and list 678 cemeteries, and a combined index of 83,354 names. The 83,354 names is a pretty high figure, considering that Shenandoah County, Virginia does not have any large cities, and remains very rural. The County Seat of government located at Woodstock has a present population of some 2,600, more or less, which does not indicate very much growth since Shenandoah County was erected in 1772. Their courthouse erected in 1795 is still in service. Anne M. Hogg and Dennis A. Tosh, both on the staff of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Albemarle County, recently published "Virginia Cemeteries - A Guide to Resources", under the auspices of the University Press of Virginia, also at Charlottesville. They listed sources of published and unpublished records concerning the locations of cemeteries in Virginia. This guide does not list the names of those buried in the Virginia cemeteries, but merely lists the physical locations of the cemeteries in Virginia, by county, and by 'home rule' cities. As future editions of this guide are published, they without a doubt will become much more comprehensive, and will be much more valuable to researchers, genealogists, historians, and others. This guide may be ordered from The University Press of Virginia, Box 3606 University Station, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903. Explanatory remarks and comments by the researchers-compilers of this volume, usually appear in parenthesis, immediately following an inscription.

<--Back to Table of Contents

| | |
|