Tombstone of Corporal Samuel Brooks
I am a spirit medium; I hear voices of the dead, and often see these people in spirit as well. I was at the old burial grounds in rural New Jersey with my teenage son, taking photographs of some of the tombstones.
I noticed a tombstone of a young man who had died at 21 in 1869. I asked my son, "What exactly were the Civil War years anyway?", thinking the gravestone might have been that of a soldier. I couldn't remember the year the war started; I thought it ended at 1865, but now I wasn't sure. We walked on. My son couldn't recall that Civil war date either, and went off to take some photos of a nearby dilapidated barn.
I remained musing in the center of the cemetery. I heard a strong voice say "Samuel" in my left ear...I looked up and was drawn to a tombstone, about two rows of graves away, and was impressed to go nearer and read the inscription.
Upon close inspection, the name "Samuel" Brooks was engraved on the worn tombstone. An old grave marker with a metal star noted the Civil War years on it, 1861 to 1865...Samuel had told me what the years of the Civil War were. I was moved by this message, and took a picture of his tombstone to remember the moment.
I came home and did a little research on Corporal Samuel Brooks; the only information I could find on him was on the Find-A-Grave site. Someone had been kind enough to add a little information about his grave to the site, but there was no photo of his grave. I added my photo of his tombstone to his information page, knowing that he appreciated this sign of respect.
Thank you Corporal Brooks; perhaps we'll meet again.