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!
>