Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 160, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1911 — GIAL HAS QUEER MONUMENT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GIAL HAS QUEER MONUMENT

Fantastic Conception la Memorial to Daughter, Who Was Her Father's Idol. tery known as Pleasant Ridge in Piatt county, Illinois, a short distance southeast of Bloomington, there stands a stately monument which is one of the most remarkable conceived by man. Perhaps in all the graveyards of the world, there is no more

fantastic conception as a memorial to loved ones who have passed to the other shore. The devotion that Hannibal Clark, a simple minded but wealthy farmer, displayed toward his daughter, Mary, stands out prominently with every blow wielded by the stone engraver. When she 1 died at the age of sixteen, he decided to perpetuate upon the family monument not only the dates showing the birth and death of each member, but also some verses of poetry appropriate, and also tai the case of the daughter, reproductions of animals and farm scenes. Everything that the girl loved in life was to be reproduced upon her monument after death, according to the directions of the sorrowing parent - Her entire existence was spent upon the farm and she knew but little of the wide world outside. She was passionately fond of the pursuits of agriculture and of domestic life as she experienced it upon her father’s farm. She was the apple of her father's eye and her untimely death broke his heart. He soon followed her to tiie grave, but not until he had left minute instructions concerning a monument commemorating the traits and affedtions of the daughter and also some epitaphs concerning his wife and himself. The daughter’s favorite expression was, “Now, ma, let’s go’to sleep,” and "Get ready, ma, now let us go,” and others similar. These were ordered carved upon the huge shaft of granite together with no less than fifty symbols showing objects on the farm, among them being the following:. Side saddle, pair of scissors, thimble, violin, copies of love letters, owl, fish, horse, cow, turkey, hen, rooster, dog, cat, grain cradle, plow, fence, house, bird, etc. It required months of patient labor upon the part of the monument maker to complete this strange monument. That the old man’s reverence toward his daughter was extreme, is indicated in the unique manner in which he has {sought to perpetuate her peculiarities. He doubtless believed in his simple way that this would please her. Relatives objected strenuously against the erection of such a remarkable monument, but the whim of the old man could not be disregarded and it stands conspicuously in the rural cemetery, an object of extraordinary interest.

A Unique Tombstone.