The Mercer Family zinc headstone stands out prominently in this part of Lake View Cemetery. Thomas Mercer was one of the first founders of Seattle. Mercer Island is named after him, along with Mercer Avenue and a few other sites and locations in and around Seattle. You can read more about Mercer's life on
Wikipedia. The
Seattle PI online newspaper wrote a 150 anniversary
article about Mercer.
This zinc headstone of the Mercer family includes the names of Thomas Mercer, his first wife Nancy Brigham Mercer, who died in the Cascades along the Oregon Trail in Oregon in 1852, and his second wife Hester Louretta Mercer.
The first of four panels reads:
THOMAS MERCER
Born March 11, 1813,
At Short Creek,
Harrison County, Ohio.
----
With His Family Crossed
"The Plains"
To Oregon Territory
In 1852.
He Was One Of The
Founders Of Seattle.
Died In Seattle,
May 25, 1898.
The second panel reads:
PIONEERS
Were They Of Ohio,
Illinois, Oregon And
Washington - Always
On The Frontier Of
The West, From The
Great Lakes To The
Pacific Ocean.
The third panel reads:
NANCY BRIGHAM,
First Wife Of
Thomas Mercer,
And The First Mother Of His Children.
Born June 6, 1818,
In Fitz William, Cheshire County, N.H.
Married Jan'y 25, 1838,
In Princeton, Bureau County, Illinios.
Died Sept. 21, 1852,
At The Cascades Of The
Columbia, Oregon Territory.
-----
Thomas Dickerson Mercer,
Their Infant Son,
Died At Princeton, Ill., Nov. 10, 1846.
The fourth panel reads:
HESTER LOURETTA,
Wife Of Thomas Mercer,
Born Near Hartford, Ohio County, Kentucky,
Dec. 25, 1822,
Went To Arkansas In 1844,
And To Oregon Territory in 1853.
Married Sept. 14, 1859,
Coming Then To Seattle.
Died Here Nov. 12, 1897.
A fifth panel reads:
WEEP NOT, THEY ARE AT REST.