James . Thankyou sincerely for replying . They were both Yoemen and wealthy landowners . John actually sat on the court`s bench . Also thankyou about the Hamstone Laurie ----- Original Message ----- From: James ~Pitman To: eng-somerset@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 6:41 AM Subject: Re: [ENG-SOM] Fw: Churchstanton Grave yard Laurie, You do not say what your ancestors occupation was? A labourer on 7 shillings a week did not have the luxury of a stone put on his grave, my grand father and great-grandfather are commemorated by horseshoe nails driven into the churchyard wall and bent double next to their graves. Probably 85-90 % of graves at that time were unmarked by a stone, if you find one that will be a bonus. You could also try the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society Memorial Inscription index because they could already have it transcribed several years ago. Very helpful if the stones have been laid down or removed. James Pitman. <snip> That apart, it's very possible that there are no headstones as they were an expensive item for most families. If there is it might have been hamstone which is a very soft stone so for people who were buried over 200 and 150 years ago respectively, they could easily be worn illegible by now. They might also have become unsafe and either laid flat (adding to the wearing process if face up, or impossible to read if face down) or completely removed. <snip> -------------------------------