Forgotten Names

by Joan

As writers we hope our work will remain on others’ shelves and minds long after we’re gone. We wish to connect with readers, touch hard-to-reach hearts or bring humor to those who crave it. We’d love our name to be familiar to someone other than our relatives. Especially after we die. Surely non-writers feel the same.

Last week on a trip home to Maryland, I visited friends and family, celebrated three more high school graduations, and took my niece to Solomon’s Island and St. Mary’s College in Southern Maryland where she’ll attend next fall. I also made my way to a cemetery I’ve long wanted to visit.

On a sunny, happy day, my son and I roamed through Mt. Olivet Cemetery in historic Frederick, Maryland. It was easily close to two miles long and probably half a mile wide. I expected he’d humor me and patiently wait while I wandered for a bit, maybe long enough to see Francis Scott Key’s monument and cross a field or two of aging tombstones.

But to my surprise and delight, he seemed just as fascinated as I was, enamored with stones and epitaphs and history. As we stepped over the past, we discussed life and death and legacy. Who will recognize our names?

Many names we spotted that day were unfamiliar and we wondered if they weren’t made up. There were plenty of duplicates, even some whose match lay clear on the opposite side of the cemetery. By the time we’d climbed through each section and were headed back to the car, we ventured there were thousands of graves there.

I wrote down some of the more unusual names we saw, as well as some I’d like to use for characters in a future book. One name was so steeped in history, I contemplated stepping out of my comfort zone and setting a book during the civil war. What do you think of Amos Thigpen?




We couldn’t help but wonder if we could figure out their professions:
Fearhake - Accountant
Gittinger - Bootlegger
Deterding - Jailer
Devilbliss - Mortician
Stonebraker - Architect
Kefayver - Locksmith
Haberkorn - Bootsmith
Kottmyer - Physician
Hamrick - Butcher
Peomroy – Dog groomer
Tobery - Teacher
Hahn Crum – German spy
Boleler - Musician
Dudrow - Cowboy
Petrotth - Scientist
Lebhertz – Telegraph operator
Wickless - Thief




And we came upon a tree, whose trunk formed the image of a woman about to give birth. I'd name her Bessie Brightwell. What are some of the most unusual names you've come across?