Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 October 1899 — A CURIOUS MONUMENT. [ARTICLE]

A CURIOUS MONUMENT.

Old Iron Anvil Will Mark the Grave el a Baltimore Man. One of the queerest tombstones ever designed to mark the grave of a man is now on exhibition at the ship hard* ware store of William H. Whiting & Co., on the northwest cornerof Pratt and South streets, says the Baltimore News. It is an old iron anvil, with a sledgehammer laid on top of it, and will mark the last resting place of John G. Angelo, an 84-year-old shipsmith of Pocomoke City, Md. Angelo wa9 bom at Woodbury, N. J., August 22, 1815, and began his apprenticeship as a blacksmith June 28, 1828. When he had served out his apprenticeship and reached the age of 21 years his employer presented him the anvil and hammer on which he had done his first work. He has used it continually ever since. • A few weeks ago he conceived the idea of using it as his tombstone, so he made an iron handle for the old hammer and fastened it with a metal peg to the top of the anvil. He also attached three links to the handle of the hammer, which is supposed to indicate that he is an odd fellow. He then sent the anvil and its attachment to the Whiting firm to galvanize, in order that it might not be rusted away by exposure to the weather while over his grave. It was a difficult task, and it had to be dipped into a mass of 70 tons of molten zinc before it was successfully accomplished. He wrote to the firm not to spare any expense to make a good job of it, but it will make no charge for the work, Angelo is still working every day for two shipyards at Pocomoke City, and is as hale and hearty as the. youngest of the men about the yards. He is a skillful workman, and, although bent with age, he wields a heavy sledge with power and dexterity.