MYSTERY of a HEADSTONE By Hugh Hoffman, coordinator Patricia Finnell, contributor Roger Morris, contributor In Lee Valley Cemetery, Hawkins Co., TN there is the badly eroded headstone of-- M. A. LEE, wife of T. _. LEE, died 1_ Nov 1_74. Who could this be? Surely, it is the grave of a female. But when did she die and whom did she marry? The eroded letter and numerals hold clues and their reconstruction could provide some answers. A visit to the ground of Lee Valley Cemetery for a physical examination of the headstone would add authenticity to any finding involving the headstone. This was done this year. Photos were taken and an on site assessment was made. The report reads as follows: "The stone appears to be some sort of conglomerate rock, the very top is weathered enough for individual grains to standout. Some appear to look like quartzite in a gray matrix or something similar. The edges of the stone are still sharp and it doesn't look to me that it has been there since 1774. It has no base, it is just an elongated stone with the bottom third or so embedded into the ground. I shook it a little and it moved somewhat, so it's not very deeply buried. In my opinion the date is 1874 & the name is T. C. Lee. The in-turn to make it a G would have been higher (about half way up the C) than where the chip is taken out on the C. The number in the year date is the same as the number in the day date which is either an 8 or a 2. Since the year can only be 1874 the day should be Nov. 18. This is confirmed by the days part of the age with is 27 days. The age 2 is very different from both the 8's in the date of death. The stone reads: IN MEMORY OF M. A. LEE Wife of T. C. LEE DIED NOV 18 1874 Agd 47 Years 9 M - & 27 Days " Two separate examinations of the photos were made with the same conclusions. This was the physical examination, now we needed to look at other relative data. Such documents were the Hawkins Co., TN Lee Valley Cemetery Books 1-4. In Volume 1 there is the coverage of the Lee Valley Cemetery and there is a transcription entry for M. A. LEE which reads: "M. A. LEE, wife of T. G. LEE, died 12 Nov 1774" While there are similarities, there are some rather significant differences from the physical examination of the headstone which need to be resolved. First was the middle initial of the husband which has now been asserted to be a G and a C. This could be resolve by other records once the date of death was established. So we looked for evidence of both a 1774 date and a 1874 date. The stone itself tells the story. If one closely examines the lettering and makes comparisons of the style of engraving on the stone, one will find that the second numeral in the year cannot be a 7 because the residual of the number reveals a curve in the lower right quadrant which extends up to the center of the space. As there are no other full visible figures on the stone which match this partial configuration one must think of the possibilities. 0, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9 come to mind. Only the 8 and 9 are within the historical possibilities as there is no evidence that the cemetery existed or the area occupied in the 1600s or before. A 1974 stone would not be as eroded as our subject stone, so we are left with an 8, or 1874. Next would be the day of death. The choices seem to be a 12 or 18. The top of the 2 and the 8 are similar thus the determination rest with the bottom half of these numbers. A careful examination show a rounded left lower quadrant rather than the angular line of a 2. This suggests that the number is an 8. It is noted that the residual of the number in the day is very similar to the second number in the year. The date of death on the tombstone then would read 18 Nov 1874. In Prentiss Price Collection - Lee Family Research - located at H. B. Stamps Memorial Library at Rogersville and East Tennessee Historical Society Library at Knoxville. Prentiss Price indicated among his research papers that the family record from the bible of Edward Lee, father of Thomas Cader Lee of Lee Valley, existed and was one of his sources. A death for Martha A. LEE on 18 Nov 1874 can be found. This would match exactly the now determined initial date 18 Nov 1874 on the stone. M. A. LEE, wife of T. C. LEE, died 18 Nov 1874 Once this determination was made other collateral evidence was sought. The most significant is the head stone next in line to M. A. LEE. It is of Mary L. PANGLE, wife of William PANGLE. She was the sister of Thomas C(ader) LEE who married Martha Ann PANGLE 5 May 1854. (Hawkins County, TN. Marriage Records 1789 - 1866.) We have now come full circle. The mystery of the M. A. LEE tombstone has been resolved and Martha Ann's resting place is properly known to all. ______________________ END __________________________ >>