The coolest Headstone I have in my family!

This grave stone really showed me how much a man loved his wife and partner who toiled, traveled and walked beside him over the 47 years that they were married.

Here is a true sign of deep love and commitment. It makes me happy everytime I look at it. This headstone was erected for Mary Ann Doyle, the beloved wife of Elias B Church. Mary Ann died first in 1899 and then her husband followed in 1904. Both are buried near this grave marker in the Dayton City Cemetery, Columbia, Washington.

Mary Ann

wife of
Elias Church
married Jan 1, 1848
at Ottowa, Il.
Born in Luzerne Co., PA
Dec 6, 1832
Moved to Kan. in 1866
and to Dayton in 1882
Died Nov 2, 1899
Aged 66 years 10 mos 28 days


I’ve never seen a headstone with so many details for any of my ancestors! This was really exciting to receive all this information about where Mary Ann and Elias lived. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all of our ancestors had such great details on their gravestone? There are also some unique marks on the headstone that I’m hoping will give me some more clues to the lives of the loved mother and father. Anyone know what the tassels like the one in this picture might mean?

All of my research has come from census documents prior to finding this grave stone. It was so exciting to have someone help me out by going to the grave and posting this picture on http://www.findagrave.com/! I hope that I can find other relatives from Mary Ann and Elias that will help me know more about her.

The information that I have obtained is as follows:

Mary Ann was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania on December 6, 1832. Her parents are John and Sarah Doyle and they were both born in Connecticut. I obtained this information from the 1865 Kansas State Census. My guess is that she lived with her parents during and after the Civil War. According to the 1890 Veterans Schedule, Mary Ann’s husband, Elias B Church, served for a period of three years from November 1861 to November 1864. He belonged to the 10th regiment from Kansas.
The family traveled across the United States and landed in the small town of Dayton, Washington. Elias was a farmer and they had five children:

· John Church born about 1853 somewhere in Illinois. I don’t know much about him and the last place I have record of him residing is in Lancaster, Atchison, Kansas living with his grandparents, John and Sarah Doyle in 1875.

· Ellis S Church born in Illinois September 1856. He died in 1909 and is buried in the Dayton City Cemetery. As far as I can tell, he never married.

· Julia Church born October 1860 in Kansas. She married Frank Paul Ehl in 1882 according to the 1900 Federal census. She died 11 February 1942 in Vancouver, Clark, Washington. The children were Peter Matt Ehl, Adam John Ehl and Julia Minnie Ehl.

· Ida B Church born 18 August 1865 in Kansas. She married Lon Cahill 12 April 1885 in Dayton, Washington. She died 19 July, 1955 in Couer d’Alene, Idaho. They had two daughters, Chatty B Cahill and Pearl A Cahill.

· Ard Justin Church born July 1870 in Kansas (assumption would be Lancaster, Kansas since this where the family was during the 1870 and 1875 census). He married Estella Moyer on 29 April 1900 in Grangeville, Idaho. He died 8 April 1916 in Salt Lake City, Utah and he was buried in Dayton City Cemetery on 15 April 1916.

One of my genealogy goals for the year is to learn more about this intriguing family and hopefully visit the town of Dayton, Washington. I am hopeful that there are some living relatives that can help me out and are willing to share more information and pictures so I can learn more about my roots.