Written in Stone, Yet Wrong

When we say that something is written in stone, we mean that it cannot be changed, it is permanent and is absolute. Does this phrase possibly come from our knowledge of the Biblical Commandments or maybe the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi?

Today, family historians consider grave markers as unchangeable and definitive. We need to double-check the information gathered from these stones. Not everything written in stone is right.

Grave Marker

This stone¹Karrie Blees. Gentzkow/Smith Grave Marker at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Minneiska MN. Taken July 1991. reads:

Uncle Harry Gentzkow      Nephew Lawrence Smith
1876-1892                           1905-1924

Harry Gentzkow

Harry Gentzkow was the first-born child of Christina “Lena” Kohler and Georg Julius Diederich Ludwig “George” Gentzkow. He was born in Minneiska, Wabasha County, Minnesota October 15, 1877.²Wabasha County Minnesota Birth Record Book A, page 154. LDS film 004881554, image 646. Not 1876, as written on his stone.

• Births in the Town of Minneiska, County of Wabasha, MN
• For the Year ending December 31, 1877
• Line 23
• October 15, 1877
• Harry Gentzkow, male
• Son of George H. and Catherine [sic]
• Father born in Germany, mother born in Minnesota, Father a Saloon Keeper
• Registered January 1, 1878

Death notice from the Winona Daily Republican.³Died. Winona (MN) Daily Republican. April 25, 1893. page 3, column 6. Death notice for Harry Gentzkow.

Harry Gentzkow died on April 24, 1893. Not in 1892, as written on his stone.

Lawrence Smith

Lawrence Smith was the first-born grandson of Lena and George Gentzkow. Their daughter, Estella, was his mother. So, Harry Gentzkow was one of his maternal uncles.

Lawrence was born in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon on January 12, 1904.⁴Ancestry.com. Oregon, U.S., State Births, 1842-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018. Lawrence Sidney Smith. Not 1905, as written on his stone.

• Board of Health Portland, Oregon
• Lawrence Sidney Smith
• born January 12, 1904
• Father: Fred Charles Smith, shoe salesman residing in St. Paul MN
• Mother: Estella Gertrude Gentzkow Smith, residing in Portland OR
• Registered: January 16, 1904

The family legend is that Lawrence was picked up by California law enforcement and beaten to death. Oftentimes, family lore has a shred of truth; Lawrence was indeed a convicted felon.

His Michigan Death Certificate confirms that he was in custody at the Wayne County jail where he took his own life on April 14, 1927.⁵“Michigan Death Certificates, 1921-1952,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KF43-N5B : 13 March 2018), Lawrence Dunbar, 14 Apr 1927; citing Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing; FHL microfilm 1,972,983.

Death and burial notices for Lawrence Dunbar.⁶Death of Lawrence Dunbar. Winona (MN) Daily News. May 9, 1927, page. 11, column 7. ⁷Lawrence Dunbar Buried. Winona (MN) Daily News. May 13, 1927, page. 16, column 3. (His mother’s second husband was Dunbar.)

Lawrence Smith Dunbar died on April 14, 1927. Not in 1924, as written on his stone.

Lesson Learned

Just because birth and death dates are written in stone does not make them correct.

What to Research Next?

Are there incarceration records for Lawrence Dunbar?

SOURCES

• 1
  Karrie Blees. Gentzkow/Smith Grave Marker at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Minneiska MN. Taken July 1991.
• 2
  Wabasha County Minnesota Birth Record Book A, page 154. LDS film 004881554, image 646.
• 3
  Died. Winona (MN) Daily Republican. April 25, 1893. page 3, column 6. Death notice for Harry Gentzkow.
• 4
  Ancestry.com. Oregon, U.S., State Births, 1842-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018. Lawrence Sidney Smith.
• 5
  “Michigan Death Certificates, 1921-1952,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KF43-N5B : 13 March 2018), Lawrence Dunbar, 14 Apr 1927; citing Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing; FHL microfilm 1,972,983.
• 6
  Death of Lawrence Dunbar. Winona (MN) Daily News. May 9, 1927, page. 11, column 7.
• 7
  Lawrence Dunbar Buried. Winona (MN) Daily News. May 13, 1927, page. 16, column 3.