Marry Mason

Fred *1868, ? †. Anna*1870, 1927†.

Seemingly, Fred outlived his spouse. Fred is not 143 years old. One could check records.

It is possible, he left the area and is buried elsewhere. It is possible he had no one to take care of the detail to mark the date. Such occurrences are not rare. Was this one?

We see they were a masonic couple. On Fred's side is the common masonic symbol. The star pentagon on Anna's side is the emblem of the Order of the Eastern Star, a sister organisation open to Masons and, more so, their female relatives. It was created by Rob Morris, a masonic poet and teacher.

Now, it must be agreed that, the masons have an interest in things funereal and morbid. About the star is the word 'FATAL'. It is maintained that it is an anagram for 'Fairest Among Ten-thousand Altogether Lovely', which is supposedly derived from two lines in Scripture:

What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. — Song of Solomon v. 9-10. (KJV)

That is a clumsy derivation. Rob Morris*1818, 1888†, who if not for his extensive masonic activities would be virtually unknown today, created the OES and wrote their rituals.