George? Oh George. Wherefore art thou George?

My fifth great grandfather George Cork first showed up in records in 1792 when a Reverend Young recorded George’s marriage to Susan Freshour. George was about 22 years old. Nothing is known of George prior to that and nothing is known of his parents, despite diligent research by Cork cousins for more than 50 years.

When I started building my family tree about 5 years ago, I was determined to solve the George mystery. I thought if I dissected every single piece of information and every word in every document, I would find where George came from and who his parents were. I thought I’d start with something “easy” like his name.

On Ancestry.com I found numerous family trees that recorded George’s name as George Winter Cork. But no one cites a source for the middle name Winter. I have yet to find a George record with the middle name of Winter. I haven’t found a George record with a middle initial either. Every George record that I have found only records his first and last name.

But then there is his gravestone.  

George was buried in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. There is a memorial on Findagrave.com with a picture of the grave marker. It is a large stone with crudely carved words that are somewhat difficult to read. According to the inscription section of the Findagrave memorial, the inscription reads: “G.W.Cork AG 66.”

I had an opportunity to visit the cemetery recently while on a trip to see my son, et al. for Thanksgiving. I had hoped that if I went to see the stone myself, I would be able to determine if there really is a W.  But I was sad to see that the surface of the stone is almost completely smooth now after almost 200 years out in nature.

The picture on Findagrave.com was posted to the memorial in 2009. Look at the difference 10 years made. The picture above is one that I took in November 2018.

One of my Cork cousins corresponded with a woman between 1989-1995, who had visited the cemetery and took this picture, some 15-20 years earlier than the picture on Findagrave. She smeared shaving cream on the stone, perhaps in an attempt to bring out the words more clearly.

What do you think? Do you see a W?

Proving George’s middle initial may not help at all to find his parents.  But I’d still like to record his name accurately.

The moral of this story? Take good pictures of gravestones while you have the chance!