A man has been watching his back ever since he discovered a tombstone in his garden with his birthday etched into it.
He explained how he was digging up his garden to put in a pond when he made the creepy discovery, making him question his house’s history.
Sharing his discovery on Reddit, he said: “Found a tombstone while digging out a pond in my backyard. I should also add that he died on my birthday (of a different year, obviously).” The gravestone belongs to John Cunningham, who was born January 26, 1800 in Maryland, and died on June 29, 1866 in Springettsbury.
In response to his post, one user set about tracking down John and came to learn he was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery on June 30, 1866.
After searching through his records, the user said: “He has quite a few living relatives today who, I’m sure, would be very interested in this relic.”
Commenting on his find, another user added: “What a fascinating discovery! Do inform your local historical society! They will probably be very interested! He was most likely buried on what was private property owned by the family at that time. Anyone with expertise on this issue, should he be reinterred elsewhere or left where he is?
“If it is a lost church graveyard, there may be others undiscovered, especially if they were African American. It was commonplace to disregard such cemeteries back in the day. Just a theory.” A third user said: “Make sure you register this on find a grave or some genealogy site. It might mean something to someone.” One more user added: “Well you just hit a jackpot on a Halloween decoration…”
While another user, who claims to have two gravestones in his garden, added: “I’ve two stacked in my backyard as well between a bunch of other stones. They are old and spots in a graveyard are limited so the spots are often re-used when nobody pays or cares for a spot anymore. Stones are also expensive too so it’s likely someone thought to keep them around for use in the future.
