All should remember that a headstone is "hearsay" in its most classical
form; you don't know who provided the facts, who carved the headstone, when
it was carved, when it was placed there, and not even who paid for it.
Still though, just because we attach that label - hearsay - to such markers,
shall we ignore the information found there?  Of course not!!  Even the
location of the grave, what structures may have been there, and who else is
buried nearby might be very valuable evidence.  So, we note everything
written there and learn something about that cemetery.  Then we use what we
determine to be accurate, and we keep our notes as to what else we learned.


By the way, just as a headstone is classical hearsay, the information we
gain from what else we find in that cemetery is circumstantial evidence in
its most classical form.  Again, do we discard what we found because someone
has labeled such information with that legal term?  The answer is the same,
NO! Always look past those goofy labels and realize that virtually every
scrap of evidence may honestly be branded with more than one of those terms.
So, sort all that you find, ignore how others have branded such bits, and
place all of those somewhere on an imaginary continuum revealing reliability
somewhere between "totally useless" and "conclusive without doubt". 

Paul

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