Chas. M. Liles - Sturdivant Cemetery - Mineral Wells, TX, USA - Doves of peace on Waymarking.com

The Woodmen of the World are known today as WoodmenLife, a fraternal society that provides insurance to its members. Visitors to older cemeteries can frequently spot the tree trunk monuments that they placed at the graves of their members, although not every tree trunk monument out there was placed by the Woodmen of the World: It was common in the late 19th century to use a log to note that a person had died young, and many infants have such grave markers. Eventually, those tree trunk monuments became too expensive to produce, and many varieties of headstones would be marked with a Woodmen of the World emblem of some kind. Earlier ones, like this one, featured a dove of peace with an olive branch in its beak, flying over a fallen log where the tools of the woodmen's trade -- hatchet, mallet, and wedge -- can be seen. Later ones would show a simple tree stump instead.

This marble monument is one of the very early ones, and while 1899 can't necessarily be established as the year that the monument was placed, it is very uncommon to see a nineteenth century year. Additionally, in this part of Texas it is very rare to see any kind of "Erected by the Woodmen of the World" reference in lieu of an epitaph. The Woodmen of the World emblem is on the plinth, and the inscription scroll reads:

Chas. M. Liles

Born
Feb. 10, 1866

Died
Apr. 1, 1899

Erected by the
Woodmen of the
World.

Kind of dove: Dove with olive branch Used material for the dove: Other (explanation in the long description) Address: Sturdivant Cemetery 463 E Sturdivant Rd Mineral Wells, TX USA 76067

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