Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on gravestones. The answers were pretty much all along the same line and confirmed what we had thought was a realistic reason for looking east. I now have to figure out why my mother (deceased), a devout High Anglican, who purchased her own plot some 60 years ago, and paid five dollars per month because that was all she could afford at the time, ended up with a plot that faced west. Her stone is on the east end of the plot as is her head! Same goes for a long string of neighbouring plots. So people can find it from the very nearby road, her sir name is engraved on the back of the stone as well. Perhaps The Lord will notice that? Thanks again. On to another search now for those lost souls we call relations. Sincerely, Phil

Phil.... Just to perhaps add another angle, which might help ease your mind about your mother's headstone. My folks are buried in a municipal cemetery in Washington State. I'd venture to say that all of the headstones in the cemetery, which has been in use for nearly 100 years, face west. If you think about it, in western Washington, the sun rises over the Cascade mountains, beautiful when clear, but most often obscured in cloud... And, the sun sets in the west, is more often visible, with some beautiful sunsets against mixed clouds over the Pacific. There is probably a bit of symbolism in the sun setting on completed lives as well... perhaps a bit of mysticism mixed with practicality and beauty. Perhaps your mother liked the sunsets? {:-) Dave Strong ============================================ ----- Original Message ----- From: "helnphil" <helnphil@telusplanet.net> To: <STRONG-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 6:57 PM Subject: [STRONG] Head Stones - The End > Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on gravestones. The answers were > pretty much all along the same line and confirmed what we had thought was a > realistic reason for looking east. > > I now have to figure out why my mother (deceased), a devout High Anglican, > who purchased her own plot some 60 years ago, and paid five dollars per > month because that was all she could afford at the time, ended up with a > plot that faced west. Her stone is on the east end of the plot as is her > head! Same goes for a long string of neighbouring plots. So people can > find it from the very nearby road, her sir name is engraved on the back of > the stone as well. Perhaps The Lord will notice that? > > Thanks again. On to another search now for those lost souls we call > relations. > > Sincerely, > > Phil > > > ==== STRONG Mailing List ==== > ======================================================== > STRONG FAMILY ASSOCIATON OF AMERICA (SFAA) web site: > http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/4715 > > Strong(e)s of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon Counties, England, > including ancestors of "Elder" John Strong; queries about > descendants of "Elder" John Strong answered by the SFAA > Historian, Robert Sheldon ("Bob") Strong, from his extensive > electronic database. > ========================================================== > >