I hate to say I took it for granted, but I stopped on a whim, without my good camera. I left my car running, expecting to be done quickly. Then, one stone that faced away, against the edge of the tree-line caught my eye. I peered around it and was surprised to see a very interesting marker. It had hands on it similar to the typical skyward pointing ones that were often used. But... there were three hands and they were not pointing. I read the inscription and knew something was different, but I didn't quite piece it together...yet.
The Ears of the Deaf Shall Be
Unstopped. Isaiah 35, Chap. 51
Selected by his Teacher
ADELMOR
Son of Wm. & L. Doty
Died at Washington Heights
N.Y. City October 15, 1864
In the 19th Year of His Age
We loved him.
Later, when posting it on my Facebook site. Jen, a distant cousin who works in deaf education, saw the photo and quickly posted "Hey, that's fingerspelling. It says God!" Revelation! This was a deaf person buried here. It made perfect sense and was the answer to the riddle I was trying to solve while studying it. The three hands were SIGNING!
And it gets better.. "Hey, there used to be a School for the deaf in washington Heights!" and "The New York Institution For The Instruction Of The Deaf And Dumb"
Within minutes Jen had answered all the riddles. Adelmor was a deaf student at the school where he died. His mother, Lucretia, it turns out was also a "deaf mute." Very unique to find this respect in a small rural area, from a time when they were called "deaf and dumb."
So, another day, another surprise. I find the best things when I am not looking.
Here are some links I found about them:
http://www.deafbiographies.com/showsnippet.php?id=6723
http://www.deafbiographies.com/pictures/doty_adelmor.php
http://books.google.com/books?id=PLoVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=Adelmar+doty&source=bl&ots=ZvXxsSeBqK&sig=NKcHs-c5FNaR1NoRmz4dfzyclQc&hl=en&ei=XbYxTq-9N5PqgQeNkqmcDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Adelmar%20doty&f=false
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