Author: Melanie Heizer

Max Simon (Mark Symonds) – Plot D37

Not much is visible at all on this monument. The only part of the text I can pull of this stone is tentatively a June date. According to the database put together by Dr. Kool (date unknown), he was 16 years 3 months old at death. His birth date is listed not listed, though the year would have been approximately between late March and early April of 1871.

Max Simon – Plot D37. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Max Simon – Plot D37. Photogrammetry. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Max Simon – Plot D37. Photogrammetry. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Max Simon – Plot D37. Photogrammetry. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Max Simon – Plot D37. Base of monument kerbing. “Simon”. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Born: San Francisco, approximately 1871.

Died:  Vancouver BC, June 6th, 1888. Aged 17.

Historical Records: 

  1. The BC death index lists his death is as an accidental drowning.
  2. Ancestry.ca lists Max Simon as having been born in 1872, New York New York, and being 16 years and 3 months at death. The obituary confirming this has not been found, therefor this cannot be confirmed.

Monument: Marble, unreadable. Placed face up, possibly for preservation.

Notes: His parents are listed as parents are listed as Bernard I. Simon and Franny (nee Davis) Simon. Siblings are listed as Jacob, Louis, Harry, Isaac, Robert, William, Abe and Max D. Simon, Esther RAPHAEL and Amelia SIMON SANDLER. Max is also listed under the name Mark Symonds.

Jack and Sam Levy

This stone was chosen for photogrammetry due to the beginnings of vegetal growth on the stone. The reason to include it in the project, while for the most part legible, to add a record to the database before any additional damage or degradation can occur.

 

Inscription:

In Loving Memory of

Jack Levy       Sam Levy

Sons of Esther Levy

1848-1913       1845-1921

Birth Dates:

Jack Levy – February 28th, 1848, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Sam Levy – Unknown, 1845

Death Dates:

Jack Levy – April 29th, 1913, approximately 1 AM.

Sam Levy – Unknown, 1921.

Historical Sources:

  1. Jack Levy’s death certificate provides birth dates, place of birth, occupation, age at death, parents names, and medical information. Jack Levy was a single, retired Hotel keeper. He suffered from ‘double irreductible (?) hernia’, and died of ‘Ureamia’ after just over a month long stay at the Jubilee hospital. He was buried May 1st, 1913,  at approximately 3 PM.
  2. Sam Levy is listed through Ancestry.com as having been 76 years old at death. This listing states that the obituaty in the Daily Times confirms the his birth year, however this has yet to be confirmed. The JewGen database also has a listing for Sam Levy with the same basic information.

Assorted Photogrammetry – plot E23. Images by Melanie Heizer February, 2017.

Notes: 

Jack’s legal name is Jacob.

Brothers Jack and Sam Levy had two more siblings, Henry Emanuel, and Phoebe.

The siblings parents, Benjamin Levy and Esther Levy (nee Solomons) were from London, England and Dover, England respectively.

Wolf(f) Casp(e)(a)r – Plot D10

Wolff Caspar (or as we originally knew him as, Wolfe Casper) was one of the first individuals I researched and photographed with this project. Working along side two of my classmates, this burial was one of our first attempts at reflectance transformation imaging. My interest in this stone came from the differences in spelling between what was written on the monument, and what we had on file in the cemetery record. Coupled with being unable to find records under the assumed spelling, Wolff Caspar’s grave was an educational experience in research techniques and archives.

פ’נ

תנצכה

In memory

Of

WOLF CASPER

Died

Oct 29 1907

Aged 86 Years

Wolf Casper RTI – Plot D10. Image by Zoë Denault, Melanie Heizer and Kim Kuffner. June 2015.

Wolf Casper – Plot D10. Photogrammetry. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Wolf Casper – Plot D10. Photogrammetry. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Wolf Casper – Plot D10. RTI. Image by Zoë Denault, Melanie Heizer and Kim Kuffner. June 2015.

Born: Germany (or Poland),  August 17th, 1821.

Died: Age 86, October 29th, 1907.

Historical Records:

  1. In the 1901 Canadian census, Wolf Casper is listed as ‘Wolff Casper’. He is German, with German as his first language. He is listed as single, a tailor by trade, and as being Lutheran.
  2. Using FamilySearch led to a short notice of death in the Victoria Times newspaper from October 1907, stating that Wolff Caspar had died at 89 years and that a funeral service would occur the following day.

Monument: Marble monument, weathered, pollution deposits and broken into three sections from falling over. Placed face up. Surface normals of RTI from 2015 are abnormal. Photogrammetry performed in 2017.

Notes: The spelling of both ‘Wolf’ and ‘Casper’ varies through the historical records. The most results were found using the spelling ‘Wolff Caspar’ in the RBCM Genealogical archives, Family Search, JewishGen, and the Victoria Archives Death Registry.

James Cohen – Plot F37

The majority of the inscription on this stone is indecipherable.

The central motif on this burial monument indicates that James Cohen was a Mason (member of a masonic lodge), searching through historical records for reference to his activities as a member is still underway.

Inscription:

*Mason’s Symbol as central motif*

(Unknown text)

 June 18 1895

Aged 48 Years

(Unknown Hebrew Text)

Born: 1848, Holland.

Died: June 18th, 1895 at approximately 2:30 PM.

Historical Records:

  1. Ancestry.ca identifies James A. Cohen, giving various details of his life and the identity of his wife.
  2. From the 1891 Canadian census, we know that James Cohen was originally from Holland, and that his birth year was 1848
  3. The Daily Colonist published an article on June 19th, 1895, page 8, remembering James A. Cohen. The circumstances of his health are discussed; the cause of death was unsure and an autopsy was ordered. According to the article, Cohen had been ill and consuming laudanum for what he claimed to be stomach pains.

Photogrammetry – plot F37. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Photogrammetry – plot F37. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Photogrammetry – plot F37. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2017.

Note: Cohen’s Hebrew name was Yakov b. Moshe.

The Daily Colonist states that Cohen and his family belonged to the Order of the Frontiers, and that he was a member of ‘other secret societies.’ This may be a reference to Cohen being a Freemason.

Lena Adelson – Plot E16

This monument drew interest during the research aspect of the project. The inscription on the stone was unclear, and there were three separate records of death dates, the 16th, 17th and 18th of August. This turned out to be a tragic case of possible mental health issues and subsequent (suspected) suicide.

IN (LOVING MEMORY)

OF

LENA

BELOVED WIFE OF A. ADELSON

DIED

AUG 17 1903

AGED 44 YEARS

Birth: 1859, Russia.

Death: August 17th, 1903, suspected suicide by drowning. Aged 44.

Historical Sources:

  1. Family Search includes a clipping from the Victoria Times newspaper on August 18th, 1903. Lena Adelson was found drowned at Porter’s Warf in Victoria BC. This explains the three suggested dates of death. They also state that Lena suffered from ‘mental trouble’, and was institutionalized at one point. Her husband and several (unnamed, no number) children are reported to have survived her

Monument: Marble monument, placed face up after damage from falling over. Severe weathering, pollution deposits and beginning growth of moss and lichen.

 

Photogrammetry – plot E16. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2015.

Photogrammetry – plot E16. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2015.

Photogrammetry – plot E16. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2015.

Photogrammetry – plot E16. Image by Melanie Heizer. February 2015.

Note:

When the monument is wet from rain or sprinklers, the inscription can be seen differently from when dry. The date of death is clear on the monument under these conditions.

Rebecca Harris – Plot E44

*Hebrew Unknown*

Sacred

To The Memory

Of

Rebecca

Infant Daughter

Of

Samuel & J(ane) Harris

Died March (11th) 186(7)

Aged (6) Months

Rebecca Harris was 6 months old at the time of her death. The majority of the inscription has been recovered, the portions in brackets is confirmed by the Congregation Emanu-El burial register. Both RTI and photogrammetry were performed on this monument. Images one and three were taken and rendered in June of 2015.

Josh Albhouse – Plot E15

Josh Albhouse - Plot E15

*Several lines of Hebrew?*

In Memory

(Of?)

JOSH

(Beloved Son of?)

(S & B?) ALBHOUSE

Born (?)

April 30 1900

Died

July 4 1901

Stone with grey filter.
Stone with red-white filter.
Stone with red-blue-white filter.

This grave marker was placed to commemorate an infant. Josh Albhouse was 1 year, 2 months old at the time of death. The records I found did not state what the cause of death was, only that he was the beloved son of Samuel and Betty Albhouse.

This project was done using photogrammetry rather than RTI. While our cemetery records show the names and dates for the majority of the plots, I chose this stone because of its degredation, and because of the date. The stone would have been placed a year or so after the death of the individual, in this case, 1902 approximately. Josh Albhouse is noted on the 1901 Canadian census as aged 1 year old, though the age is crossed out – possibly indicating death?

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1901/Pages/item.aspx?itemid=14298

I suspect that weathering on the stone appears to be as bad as it is due to the material it was made with (marble), and the weather it has faced since being placed face up. Things like water, natural or through sprinklers, and wind can lead to sever weathering of marble monuments. Additionally, this monument appears to have fallen over at some point, and has since been placed face up, rather than standing on its own.

Samuel S Hyams – Plot E11

(In Loving Memory?)

(Of?)

Samuel S Hyams

(Resident of ?)

London (Eng.?)

Died

Oct 9 1894

Aged 53 Years

 

This stone has two individuals memorialized, Samuel S (Solomon) Hyams, and his son Solomon S (Samuel) Hyams. Parts of the inscription are not quite visible, though the two inscriptions being on the same monument indicate that they are likely very similar in lay out and wording. The differing in degredation between the two inscribed sides of the monument (East and South) is due to their positioning and the weathering.

Henry (Herman?) Morris

*Hebrew unkonwn*

HENRY (HERMAN?) MORRIS

——– ——- ——– ——-

           Aged 42 Years          

Died

——— 1887 5647

This project is now in progress! In the meantime, here are some examples of how the angle and distance of the wireless flash can change the lighting of the stone monument during the photographic process.

Henry Morris D39

Henry Morris D39

Henry Morris D39

Henry Morris D39

Henry Morris D39

Henry Morris D39

Henry Morris D39

Henry Morris D39