Hi All,

I would agree with the illiteracy thesis.  

Rich Veit

Richard Veit, Ph.D., R.P.A.
Professor and Chair
Department of History and Anthropology
400 Cedar Ave.
Monmouth University
West Long Branch, NJ 07764-1898
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732-263-5699

-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Linda Derry
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2017 1:53 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Backward Lettering on Gravestone

Pete,

I'd put my money on illiteracy, but  here is another idea you could research since Maryland was an entry point for many Germans.  Part of my family came into America through Maryland and settled in Virginia and moved west through Pa., Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and so forth.  Some  of my early ancestors practiced German folk magic or medicine.  Something often called "Pow-wow."  There are many old Pow-Wow practice books reprinted and available today (even some in English) so you could look there for something on backward writing.

This, of course is a long shot, because O'Neal is not a very German sounding name, but you never know who might have married into the family!



Linda Derry
Site Director, Old Cahawba Archaeological Park Alabama Historical Commission
9518 Cahaba Road, Orrville, AL 36767
park:  334/ 875-2529
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On Fri, Feb 24, 2017 at 6:12 AM, Pete Regan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Does anyone out there have information on the potential meaning of 
> backward characters on gravestones? I have a crudely carved gravestone 
> in a nineteenth century, family plot that was part of a central 
> Maryland farm, with all of the D's, N's, J's, and 1's carved backward. 
> Plenty of folks have suggested dyslexia or partial illiteracy as 
> potential explanations, but I have a few archaeologist/historian 
> colleagues who seem to recall that backward orthography can have 
> specific meanings on gravestones. For what it's worth, here's the text 
> as it appears on the stone (again, picture the aforementioned letters backward):
>
> WM ONEAL
> DIED.JAN
> THE.1.1893
> AGE.72.
>
> The stone appears as the final photo in the larger site's state 
> registration form, located here: https://mht.maryland.gov/ 
> secure/medusa/PDF/Howard/HO-1109.pdf
>
> For some physical context, two adjacent stones (1906 and 1917) are 
> professionally carved marble markers without any "incorrect" writing. 
> The remainder of the graveyard consists of partial lines of 
> unmodified, vertical slabs of fieldstones located west of the carved 
> stones, presumably as markers for the graves of servants, the enslaved, or the poor.
>
> Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
>