Years ago when I was heavy into my family’s genealogical research, I came to recognize a special type of tombstone, or rather tombstones that were made of a special material, zinc. I viewed an online presentation that said zinc monuments started a bout 1870 and dwindled in popularity in the early 1900s. I’ve seen online postings that seem to suggest that headstones made of zinc are fragile, but I haven’t seen evidence of this. What I have seen is that zinc headstones have extra sharp detail. At first I thought these gravestones were poured concrete, but found that it was zinc. I’m not sure of the process, but it does appear to have been a poured process. *The molten zinc was poured into molds (wax/sand) and therefore are hollow. The above stone appears to have a front and a back that was either glued together or put in a mold and the seam between the two halves (front & back) is obvious. If you are walking about an old cemetery, the color of the zinc headstones is readily apparent. They are a lighter gray color than marble gray stones.
Zoom in and note the crispness of the embossed lettering & icons, and that there are also debossed items all on the same face.
The Ellis, McIntyre and Morse grave markers are in Mount Lebanon Chapel Cemetery next to Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Bill Gibson, II 