I posted this story the other day on Tales of Almonte on Facebook and I got a tag on the posting.
Linda Mills — Linda, can you tell me the year this happened. The young man in the article was my Father in Law and I’ve heard this story more than once. The toe is buried at St. Michaels cemetery in Corkery. I then checked everywhere and could not find another burial of a toe. So this is one in the Odd Stories in History.
As you might gather from all the other answers, “Headstones” are far more common than are “footstones” At least they use to be. In some cemeteries they still are. And in many rural and small-town cemeteries, the graves are laid out with the feet all to the East, with the symbolism that all will be facing the rising sun on resurrection day. More modern cemeteries are not so picky, and lay out the graves so as to most efficiently use the available space.
Before embalming came into practice, the deceased were bathed, dressed, and were buried the same day or the morning after. Often times a family member would place a wooden cross, or something along that line, marking the grave. Footstones were placed at the end of the grave, with the initials of the deceased engraved at the top. When a headstone was ready to be placed, months and even years later, the footstones were sometimes the only record of burial. The metal funeral home markers we see today are basically evolved footstones. But again, do webury toes?
read-Dr. Metcalfe Guthrie Evoy
Outstanding Men — Dr. Metcalfe of Almonte
Dr. Archibald Albert “Archie” Metcalfe — The Man with the Red Toupee – John Morrow
| Name: | John Germanus Scott |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Death Age: | 86 |
| Birth Date: | abt 1914 |
| Death Date: | 8 Aug 2000 |
| Burial Place: | Corkery, Ontario |
| Obituary Date: | 10 Aug 2000 |
| Obituary Place: | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Newspaper Title: | The Ottawa Citizen |
| Spouse: | Phyllis Whaley |
| Child: | MeivinHaymondEd WardRobertAudreyDouglas |
| Siblings: | Kathleen GilmetteMary MeehanTheresa StackRose FarrellRita ScottWalterMatthew |
Related reading
The Tragic Tale of the Accidental Axe — Warning: Not All History has Good Memories
lindaseccaspina 