Sometimes, a footstone is far easier to read than a headstone. It usually contains just the first and last names. These small stones are in addition to the headstones. Most times, when I roam a cemetery, I tend to run all around looking at the large stones. Two of the photos show perfectly engraved footstones. Not that the headstones were damaged, they were just in the shade, so my camera shot didn't capture what was written. I do know that their headstones could be read, because a quick peak at Find-A-Grave showed great pictures taken by somebody else. That being said, many times old headstones are in very bad shape, either broken, inscription worn due to weather or completely missing.
Often if you just take a photo head on, to get the inscription, you might not even be aware that there is a footstone. Always look behind the headstone, about 5' or so to see if there is a footstone.
Early New England cemeteries have a lot of footstones, so we are quite lucky. These footstone illustrations are located at Cambridge, MA, across the street from Harvard University.
The photo below give you an idea of what a headstone and footstone look like taken together. It was posted on Tuesday, for my Steven Daniel. There is a separate photo of the footstone, but I was wondering if everybody knew what it was. (The headstone is in the front middle, and the small footstone is behind.) And a perfect example of a headstone that was damaged.
