As most of you know, Joel Hooks and I made a pilgrimage to the Frank Converse gravesite in Elmira, Ny last Thursday. He is buried in his in-laws plot, the Maxwell family. His wife Harriet's father was Thomas Maxwell, a Vice-President of the Erie railroad. He died in 1864 and left Harriet (and Frank) a considerable sum. Also, she had "pile of dough" from her first, short marriage.
So why is Frank's headstone so small and cheap? A clue might be found in the preface to…
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