Please feel free to share any Obituary notices, Vital records or other archival information with other Harley researchers. You may do this HERE

Dear Ancestor

Your tombstone stands among the rest;
Neglected and alone,
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist.
You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh, in blood, in bone.

Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved,
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot,
And come to visit you.

Author Unknown

Tombstones can be a valuable source of information. I recently was able to calculate the birthdates of both Jacob Harley and his wife, Mary Powell, because the date of death was visible, and gave their ages in years, months and days at the time of death. Old tombstones are fragile, and great care should be taken when attempting to clean them. Because they are made of stone, marble and other porous materials, they should never be sealed. The portion of the stone beneath the surface of the earth acts as a wick, soaking up water, minerals, and whatever else has penetrated the earth. For information on the care of old head stones, please visit Saving our graves.

Jacob F. Harley	Mary [Powell] Harley	Jacob Harley, Jr.	Rosanna Harley
GAR Resolution of Respect	Jacob Harley's Deposition, 1831