Amy, the author of "We Tree," did an interesting post this morning called "Tombstone Tuesday: Between Censuses." In it, she featured the headstone of a child who was born and died during the 10 year span between U.S. federal censuses. Her purpose was that since these children are never recorded in the U.S. Census, records of their existence just seem to fall through the cracks.
I've been photographing cemeteries for several years, and it makes me so sad to see the graves of these forgotten, little children, particularly the ones with no family graves nearby. You just know that someone once loved them very much, and was devastated by the child's passing. But now that child is alone... no visitors, no flowers. It's possible that living relatives don't even know they ever existed.
So I would like to start a series called "Tuesday's Child" in which I'll feature photos of the graves of children. Hopefully somebody will see them and make a connection so these little angels will not be forgotten.
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Today's child is Homer C. Douglass.
Homer was the son of W.H. and M.B. Douglass. He died on September 17, 1896, at the age of 1 year, 2 mos., and is buried in the Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery, Lompoc, California.
Photo of Homer C. Douglass Headstone, Photographed by Elizabeth O’Neal, January 24, 2009. Privately held by Elizabeth O’Neal, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Santa Barbara Co., California. 2009.
Copyright © by Elizabeth O'Neal
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