Records kept by Stone Masons

[phuntly]

I have been researching my family history for some years now and it is only recently I wondered if stone masons who carved the inscription on a headstone kept records of their work. If an inscription has weathered and was not noted elsewhere it is possible a record may exist in the records of the original stone mason if they have survived.

Has anybody ever investigated this line of inquiry?

Peter Huntly

[Peter Goodey]

I would imagine that the number of extant stone mason's records can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

What is worth searching out is published MIs - some of these lists are surprisingly old and were collected when the stones were much more legible than they are today. For one of the parishes in my own tree, I came across some MIs which were collected about a century ago and contain much more useful data than could be found today.

[phuntly]

Thanks for the info. I have also used MI's quite extensively. I admit my suggestion was a bit of a shot in the dark but you never know!

Peter Huntly

[British Viking]

Pardon my ignorance but what is an "MI"?

(blushes in shame)

[Peter Goodey]

Monumental (or Memorial) Inscriptions