Thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier post regarding an inscription on one of my g-g-g-greatgrandmother's headstones. It is in the form of a circle with several letters surrounding the letters A.MRY. It was a real puzzle until I received the following message this morning........ Dear Clyde, This is a very special designation and rare, as far as we know. This is a designation that was given only to females of Mason members, popular during the mid-1800's (death dates of approximately 1863-1929), in southern states. The designation of FNDOZBTKC/AMRY, was a degree conferred in the US on wives, daughters, sisters, or mothers of Masons to secure them, by investing them in a peculiar mode of recognition, the aid and assistance of the fraternity, along with a secret sign of recognition. The mark was: AMRY encircled by FNDOZBTKC. As written in John 12:15 - Fear Not Daughter Of Zion Behold The King Cometh, (and AMRY being an anagram of Mary). More information can be found in Coil's "Masonic Encyclopedia". We are aware of only 12 such markers, all in southern states. We would be very interested in knowing the date of death and which state your grandmother is buried in. The person in AGS who is most familiar with this subject is going to be away for several weeks but would love to speak with you about this upon her return. May she contact you directly? Patricia Welch Administrator The Association for Gravestone Studies Greenfield Corporate Center 101 Munson Street - Suite 108 Greenfield, MA 01301 (413)772-0836

Please look at page http://www.wisecountytexas.info/cemeteries/hart-howard.htm This double circle with letters (picture on web page) is on the top of a crypt type grave that we found near Greenwood Texas. It's the grave of Nancy A. Baley, wife of Daniel J. Baley, Dec 25, 1842-Mar 16, 1866. These look like those same letters!! I have several more pictures of this grave that I can email to anyone that wants them. Sue ----- Original Message ----- From: "Clyde Edmonds" <edmonds01@bresnan.net> To: <txwise@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 12:13 PM Subject: [TXWISE] previous posting > Thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier post regarding an > inscription on one of my g-g-g-greatgrandmother's headstones. It is in > the form of a circle with several letters surrounding the letters > A.MRY. > It was a real puzzle until I received the following message this > morning........ > > Dear Clyde, > > > > This is a very special designation and rare, as far as we know. This is > a designation that was given only to females of Mason members, popular > during the mid-1800's (death dates of approximately 1863-1929), in > southern states. The designation of FNDOZBTKC/AMRY, was a degree > conferred in the US on wives, daughters, sisters, or mothers of Masons > to secure them, by investing them in a peculiar mode of recognition, the > aid and assistance of the fraternity, along with a secret sign of > recognition. The mark was: AMRY encircled by FNDOZBTKC. As written in > John 12:15 - Fear Not Daughter Of Zion Behold The King Cometh, (and AMRY > being an anagram of Mary). More information can be found in Coil's > "Masonic Encyclopedia". We are aware of only 12 such markers, all in > southern states. We would be very interested in knowing the date of > death and which state your grandmother is buried in. The person in AGS > who is most familiar with this subject is going to be away for several > weeks but would love to speak with you about this upon her return. May > she contact you directly? > > > > Patricia Welch > > Administrator > > The Association for Gravestone Studies > > Greenfield Corporate Center > > 101 Munson Street - Suite 108 > > Greenfield, MA 01301 > > (413)772-0836 > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TXWISE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Sue, I would imagine that the broken headstone with the letters "rn" was on a marker for Ernest Howard, the son of James Barton Howard and Suzanne "Polly" Helms Howard. I am related to James Arnold Howard (married Hazel Truitt) who both still live in Greenwood. They recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. James was the son of Knowles Howard. James is now 94 or 95 years old and still helps mow and tend the Greenwood Cemetery. I would love to find out any further info on James Barton Howards 10 children and their descendents. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. The Wise Co. Web site is my favorite and your crew does an outstanding job. This latest info on the Mason inscription was fascinating and I never would have guessed it involved one of my cousins. It is a constant wonder what turns up in our genealogy and a tribute to those of you who offer so much info for us. God Bless all of you. Thanks, Del Daniel in Southern California ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sue Tackel" <sue@wisecountytexas.info> To: <txwise@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 3:03 PM Subject: Re: [TXWISE] Mason designation on grave > Please look at page > http://www.wisecountytexas.info/cemeteries/hart-howard.htm > This double circle with letters (picture on web page) is on the top of > a > crypt type grave that we found near Greenwood Texas. It's the grave of > Nancy > A. Baley, wife of Daniel J. Baley, Dec 25, 1842-Mar 16, 1866. > These look like those same letters!! I have several more pictures of > this grave that I can email to anyone that wants them. > Sue