It has taken 10 years to solve the mystery surrounding the inscription on the headstone of Alexander Dun(n) Smith, buried in Toowoomba & Drayton Cemetery. HERE is the link to the original post about this mystery.
This is the original photo we had to work with and, as you can see, it is a low quality photo, and zooming in did not provide any discernable details.
Last week I was able to personally visit Toowoomba cemetery, and viewed the graves of Alexander Coutts, and Alexander Dun Smith. Here is the new photo.
There is no longer any mystery about the origins of Alexander Dun Smith, as I was able to see that his headstone, although severely weathered, says "Native of Wigton", (as is known from all records).
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| Close-up of relevant section of the headstone |
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| Enhanced digitally on the word |
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| Tracing over the lettering (digitally) to clarify what I'm seeing |
The inscription below is now nearly illegible, so while we may never know what that said, (I suspect a religious text), we can now discard any notion that the family was from Angus, and concentrate all our efforts in research on Wigtownshire.
I will also note that in the week since I saw it, the stone has been cleaned. I was hesitant about this, (fearing damage to the delicate sandstone) but, in fact, it has brought it up beautifully, and the main inscription is now very clear.
You can see this on FindAGrave Alexander D Smith (1823-1877) - Find a Grave Memorial
