Gravestone Pics - George William Shawver & Elizabeth Matilda Legg

My great great grandfather moved to Iowa and later Nebraska in the late 1800's.  He likely wasn't there when his parents both died in 1900.  When he visited West Virginia in 1930, he took this photo of his parent's gravestone and it is in a photo album of photos taken during that trip back to West Virginia.

Neither one of these photos is all that cheerful.  I suspect that no one likes to see a picture of a gravestone unless you are interested in genealogy.  However, if you are interested in genealogy, there are two things missing as far as I am concerned.  Those two things are the maiden name of the woman and full dates on the gravestone.  Doesn't seem that important to most...but sometimes it is very difficult to figure out what the maiden name is for a particular ancestor.  Perhaps there wasn't a marriage record available, or no one had a Bible record.  It makes it so much easier to have the maiden name already on the stone.  This caused quite a discussion for my mother and I many years ago.  We decided that women should always have their maiden name on their gravestones because it not only acknowledges the family they were born into but also their own family history.  Plus it would make it so much easier on later generations.  So, when my mother passed away - her maiden name was on her gravestone.

This couple would be my 3rd great grandparents.  The handwriting on the photo is from my great grandmother, Florence Shawver Gage.  The typewritten description also comes from her.  She decided to redo some of her photo albums once upon a time, taught herself to type and typed up the descriptions.  You might call her an early "scrapbooker!"

George William Shawver was born 15 Nov 1824 at Mill Creek Mountain, Greenbrier Co., WV (It was still VA when he was born) and he died 9 Mar 1900 in Prosperity, Raleigh Co., WV.  He was married to Elizabeth Matilda Legg on 02 Nov 1848 in Fayette Co., WV (VA).  She was born 16 May 1830 in Leander, Fayette Co., VA (WV) and she died just a few weeks before her husband on 12 Feb 1900 in Prosperity, Raleigh Co., WV.  He was the son of Robert Shawver and Mary Jane Callison and she was the daughter of Thomas Henderson Legg and Elizabeth Nutter.

I don't know when the photo was taken, but I suspect it was around 1890 or so.  My younger relations have commented that he looks friendly enough but she looks rather sour.  Have to remind the younger generations that she probably didn't have many teeth left...and they probably had to sit there for a few minutes to take a photo.  She couldn't really hide behind the beard!