A few graves in particular are of special interest. In his 1956 book, Ocracoke, Carl Goerch includes a chapter entitled “Died Before He Was Born.” He refers to the gravestone of Warren Wahab, son of Eliza and Job Wahab. According to Goerch, the inscription states that Warren was born in 1855 and died in 1842.
Sure enough, if you walk up to the fence and peer into the cemetery, you will see Warren’s marker, seemingly stating that he died thirteen years before he was born. This is how Goerch surmises what happened:
“Relatives of Warren Wahab placed an order for the tombstone and had it made in Washington, New Bern or some other town along the coast. The man who cut the stone either was careless with his figures or else they hadn’t been written very distinctly. When the stone arrived at Ocracoke, the probabilities are that the error was discovered immediately. But it would have taken such a long time to get another stone that the family decided to put up this one and have it altered at a later and more convenient date……Weeks passed into months, months passed into years and eventually—-well what’s the use of bothering about it at this late date?”
If you look along the front row you will notice that Warren was one of three of Eliza and Job’s children who all died within seven days in September of 1842. Job died on September 4. He was seven years old, having been born in 1835. Jonathan and Warren died on September 11. A glance at the tombstones will show that both Job and Warren appear to have been born in 1855. Careful inspection reveals, however, that Job was actually born in 1835, and Warren was born in 1833.
Over time the 3s have weathered to look like 5s. The difference is most noticeable on Job’s marker.
No stonecutter made any mistake. Several years ago I had the opportunity to peruse the Wahab family Bible. Sure enough Warren’s birth date was listed as 1833, and Job’s was 1835. But Goerch’s story is still bandied about by folks even today. I suppose it does make an entertaining story.
This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of Ocracoke Lodge No. 194, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. You can read the Newsletter here: https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/island-inn-lodge-no-194-independent-order-odd-fellows/.
Any idea why three of their children died within a week? That's heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteThere was no doctor on Ocracoke in those days. I am not sure what the Wahab children died of, but diseases such as pneumonia, whooping cough, measles, scarlet fever, etc. took many lives, especially children's lives. Eight of my great-grandparents' twelve children died in childhood.
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