The Traughs had a heartbreaking run of bad luck. Their monument records a rapid series of four children who died in, or just barely out of, infancy. Graphics on the marker show Traugh himself was a member of the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America (P.O.S. of A.) and an Odd Fellow.
George W. Traugh, Sr.
1868 – 1950
Etta E. his wife
1869 – 1930
Conway, 1891 – 1892
Irvin, 1893 – 1899
Raymond, 1902 – 1905
Rhoda, 1905 – 1906
Our man is identified as “Sr.”, which almost certainly means that a George W. Traugh, Jr., was born and lived at least to 1930, which is perhaps the date when Traugh, Sr., put up this marker upon Etta’s death. It could also be that Traugh, Jr., put up this marker for his parents and deceased siblings at Sr.’s death.
As I have noted before, the grim demographic reality reflected by this marker is something we see far too frequently in the period before modern medicine and we do well to remember how tough those people could be.
