Siltstone Tombstones in Erie County

While I enjoy researching the stories behind the people whose lives are represented in the grave markers in Erie County area cemeteries, I am still very much a beginner in the process of identifying the type of material from which tombstones were made. A few days ago, another blogger pointed out that I had recently taken a digital photo of a siltstone tombstone. The American Heritage Science Dictionary (c2002) gives this definition of siltstone:

A fine-grained sedimentary rock consisting primarily of compacted and hardened silt. Siltstones are similar to shale but without laminations.

My experience has been that many tombstones that were carved from siltstone are almost as legible today as they were over one hundred years ago.

In June and July, I found these three siltstone tombstones in Margaretta and Groton Township Cemeteries in Erie County, Ohio.



Johnathan Dunham died on May 4, 1837. He is buried in the Castalia Cemetery













Mary M. Runner died on October 3, 1848. Her tombstone is found in the Castalia Cemetery.















Andrew Baker died on the 6th of July, 1857. He is buried in the Deyo Cemetery in Groton Township.