JOHN SMITH
Died May 17, 1851
Aged 69 Years.

John Smith was a veteran of the War of 1812; his tombstone is in a simple version of what old Pa Pitt calls the Poster Style, because it is very similar to printed posters of the same era.

The bronze marker tells us that Private Smith served a little less than four months and was discharged before the war was over. Perhaps he was injured, but if so he got over it, married, and lived another 37 years after his discharge. His wife is buried beside him:

MARGARET
Wife of
JOHN SMITH
Died July 15, 183?
Aged — Years.

The date of death is not quite legible. The year appears to be in the 1830s, though the tombstone is in the style of the 1850s and matches John’s. If the stone was put up years after Margaret’s death, then the age may have been left blank out of uncertainty and never filled in.