Archive for February, 2008

Zinker Hunting

February 3rd, 2008


A term that I never heard before coming to the Find A Grave forums was "zinker". I saw it mentioned it a few times there and poked around until I found it explained. It was quite an interesting tidbit of information and I quickly became yet another of the many "zinker hunters".

Gravers, if they know what to look for, are always on the lookout for a "zinker". The term is slang for whitish headstones, advertised as "white bronze" in their day, which are made of pure zinc. What makes these particular markers unique is that they were only manufactured for a short duration of time by a singular company - and later its subsidiaries - in the United States.

The allure of zinkers never caught on due to their cheap cost and fragile appearance. The result is unfortunate because zinkers, as anyone can tell you, appear to stand the test of time far more diligently than their stone, iron, limestone, granite, and even marble counterparts. A zinker over one hundred years old will often look as if it was minted only the day before.

It was in Bridgeport, Connecticut that the Monumental Bronze Company first began the manufacture of "white bronze" headstones - a cheaper alternative to traditional monuments; while a large and ornate white bronze marker could go for up to $5,000.00, a small, simple name and date plate could sell for as low as $2.00. The term "white bronze" was used to make the product more palatable to the buying public, though the monuments were pure zinc.

The company experimented with a number of different materials before deciding on zinc as an alternative to traditional materials that deteriorated over time. It was, as we now know, an excellent choice.

For whatever reason, mainly the idea that white bronze headstones were "cheap alternatives", the infallible markers never gained in popularity, and the company, founded in the 1870s, had folded by the early 1900s. There are few, if any, zinkers to be found made after the year of 1912; which adds to the delight in stumbling across one in your graving travels.

The hollow markers also have a reputation for being contraband containers or nifty hiding places for local farmers and townsfolk.  Prohibitionists were known to hide their bootleg liquor in local zinkers, and outlaws made use of the markers for hiding stolen goods or tools of the trade.  Farmers that lived near cemeteries were said to have, sometimes, also used the vacant space inside the larger zinkers for safely housing tools and equipment, where they never had to worry about them being found and stolen.

Taking the time to browse a gallery of zinkers, one will find they have stood the test of time amazingly well - even after a century of exposure to the elements, most zinkers are still as clear and legible as the day they were placed atop a freshly dug grave.

How to tell if you've found one of these rare headstones? A zinker can be told apart from its popular counterparts by its whitish or bluish-toned tint (zinc carbonate develops a bluish gray hue when exposed to the air), its sharp and new-like appearance, and the telltale seam that runs along its edges. Zinkers were shipped in pieces and fitted together by the funeral home or cemetery workers before being placed, hence the infamous seams (see photo above) that will always determine the authenticity of a true zinker. Zinkers are, also, hollow; a light rap on the headstone can usually prove the emptiness inside.

The rarity of these unique monuments makes finding one a treat. Here are the links to some zinker galleries compiled by fellow gravers and zinker hunters. Enjoy:

Unexpected Finds

February 2nd, 2008

The most rewarding graving trips are those where I set out to find something in particular and end up finding more than I'd ever even hoped for.

A case in point is a visit I made to St. Charles Catholic Church Cemetery in Godeau, Louisiana. Far from being a random graving trip, I had made the seventy-plus mile trek to search for family graves in order to verify some genealogical records.

According to my data, and family recollection, my great-great grandparents, Ernest and Alice Beauvais, were buried here. Also interred in this small, local cemetery - where that part of my family had hailed from - were Telemark and Virginia Deaville; who I remember as Uncle Tilly and Aunt Virginia. Uncle Tilly was my great-grandfather's half brother and I have fond memories of searching for eggs in their chicken coop when we'd go to visit.

My great-grandmother, Alice Ortego, was born in Avoyelles Parish and as a young woman married a man by the name of Oge' Deaville. The union produced three children - Telemark, Victoria, and Aimee. It was after the untimely death of Oge' that Alice married my great-grandfather, Ernest Beauvais; an older gentleman who was able - and willing - to help an early-widowed woman with three young children. Ernest raised his three stepchildren with the same love and attention that was paid to his own six children with Alice - Horace, my great-grandfather, Salonie, Mildred, Ernest, Hazel, and Lillian.

I found - as I had hoped to - the graves of my great-grandparents, Ernest and Alice, as well as those of Telemark and his wife, Virginia. It was as I was walking through the graves, trying to snap as many as I could to record the cemetery for Find A Grave and others, that I stopped short at a familiar name...

Valentine is a name that stands out, regardless of the time or place. It especially stood out to me as I looked down upon it etched into cold, gray stone for Ernest had a sister with that very unusual name. In fact, some of the original paperwork in my genealogy records - typed up in 1940 - was noted as being "in some papers that Aunt Valentine had." The name that stared back at me on this day was "Valentine B. Lossoir". Could this be the same Valentine - my Valentine, my family? All signs pointed to a very possible yes - the middle initial of "B" most likely stood for her maiden name of Beauvais and here she was, if it was her, buried in the same cemetery as her brother (my great-great grandfather).

I snapped some clear photographs of her headstone and the one next to it belonging to Louis Lossoir, who it appeared was her husband, and went on to photograph as much of the remaining cemetery as possible before my dying camera decided to shutter its last.

One lucky find would have been enough to please me, so I certainly wasn't expecting another when I came upon the marker for Regina Beauvais Goudeau. There was no mistaking this lady's maiden name and, yes, Ernest had another sister that was, in fact, named Regina. Yet still - as most any genealogist worth his or her salt will tell you - nothing is certain until officially verified. I snapped my photographs just as my camera died out completely.

It wasn't until arriving home and cross-checking the dates on the photographed headstones with all of my paperwork that I could, as I'd hoped and guessed, say for sure that I had found the graves of my great-great grandfather's sisters, Valentine and Regina, and their husbands. I was absolutely delighted to have come back not only with what I'd gone to find, but with even more than I could've hoped for.

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