Two Paternal Grandfather gravestones.

Out of eight paternal great grandfathers buried in the United States I have a photo of only one gravestone. That is the gravestone for Thomas Munson, my 8th great grandfather. His gravestone was in a church basement for years and is now well cared for in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut. He is considered a pioneer settler in New Haven. He and his grandchildren were donors of a substantial part of the land for the establishment of Yale University.

I am doing better in the paternal grandfather department. I have two paternal grandfathers. They were brothers and the younger gave his first son, my father, up for adoption, by his older brother at an early age.

This is the gravestone for my natural paternal grandfather, James Mart Munson. He is buried in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. This is just south of Covington, where my father was born.

This is the gravestone for my adopted paternal grandfather, Charles Morton Monson. He is buried in Alden, Kansas. This is where my father was raised. My father spent the rest of his life in California.

Notice that Charles Morton believed his name was MONSON not MUNSON. That is why my name is Monson as my father was legally adopted by Charles Morton. My father had a younger brother (my uncle Frank) who was raised by my grandfather James Mart as a Munson. These two families, my father's and my uncle's, lived in Pomona , California when I was growing up. Each family had many children. My cousins were Munson, we were Monson. Much good natured bantering over the proper spelling of our last name went on.

So there you go.