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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Tombstone Tuesday: Edgar Colquitt Miller - Woodmen of the World Memorial

I've always been curious about my great grandfather's tombstone pictured to the right.

Google is amazing!! The Woodmen of the World was described as a fraternal benefit society -- huh?  Is that a fancy name for insurance company?  

Yep!!  Today, it's an insurance/financial services company.

One of the benefits of WOW, upon a member's death, was to provide $100 to the member's widow along with a headstone to be inscribed with the WOW insignia.  (Was this an early marketing tool??)  The Latin phrase "Dum Tacet Clamat" means "though silent he speaks".  They discontinued their headstone program in the 1920's. 

 
Edgar Colquitt Miller
Born:  February 26, 1874
Died:  April 10, 1920

"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal"

Location:  New Hope Methodist Church Cemetery, New Hope, Washington County, Florida

2 comments:

  1. Too cool, Tanya! I've always wondered about that "fancy" tombstone too.

    I love this blog! Keep up the great work.

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  2. In the early 1900,s the Woodmen of the World were a fraternal organization similar to the Free Masons. In Washington County there was a bitter rivalry between two men, one Mason and the other a Woodmen. One of the men was killed by the other. Some speculate that it was the "fratenal" differences.(I don't know)

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