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August 2018 - George and Lizzie Lynes

 
Before  5/7/2010                                                After 8/22/2018



The respective numbers for George and Lizzie Lynes are SJGC–0026 and SJGC–0027 (Ford Survey). 


Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018.  We then began to unearth the base of the George Lynes memorial to see what we were in for the next day.  It was sitting well beneath the ground at an odd angle.  


          
Base of Lizzie Lynes headstone excavated          Headstone base.

 



             

We then set our finish heights for the footings which the marble bases needed and poured them both.  I then began to think about how best to go about putting the headstone of George Lynes back together.  I used four 4” pins to join the two pieces.  None of the surfaces were planar.  They were very round and the only flush attachment point was in the center where I put two pins.  


 

Resetting the bases

The footings were setting up and the elevations were correct for the next day.  I also had taken measurements of both George and Lizzie Lynes headstones as closely as I could to determine where to cut for the new tenons.  Both headstones have very subtle curves on their sides and measuring from top to bottom proved to be challenging as the tops were a subtle radius.  After measuring and measuring I made a few tentative marks where I thought they should be cut before calling it a day.  One of my primary concern was to make sure that the makers mark was left on the stones.  It was very close on Lizzie Lynes headstone because of the way the stone had broken and a fracture that was visible.  I decided to trust the measurements we had so carefully taken and go ahead and make the initial cut to square the bottom of the footstone to the base.


                    
Lizzie Lynes, maker's mark (normally unseen)         Lizzie Lynes stone on ground, ready to reset


On Friday, August 24th, 2018 we brought another truck load of crushed granite to the site. We also checked and measured again where to cut out for the new tenons.  Due to surrounding neighbors target shooting I decided better to wait until the next day to make the cuts.


                             
New tenon cut on George Lynes headstone. Maker's Mark visible.     Base ready to receive headstone.

On Saturday, August 25th, 2018 I made the cuts on George Lynes headstone.  We carried the George Lynes headstone over to the base on a ¾ sheet of plywood which I had cut to size as a work table and also for mounting purposes.  I put as much historical mix in the bottom of the mortise as was required after lightly chiseling out the areas I could tell would impede it resting the way it should after cutting on the bottom of the stone.  The headstone went into the mortise snuggly.  We had to wiggle it down.  I had made my cut perhaps with a bit too much precision.  Now that I think about it, I’m glad that I did cut it as tight as possible because the bottom portion of the fractured stone is probably only 15 – 20 % of the complete stone and it bears the whole load.  Setting this stone was the most nerve racking work I have ever performed, without question. 



  
   

We used 2 x 6 pyramid supports to hold the stones in place over the weekend and both stones were grouted in place with historical mix.  We then reset the footstones of both George and Lizzie Lynes in crushed granite.













 
Resting in place, mortar setting


  
George, front                                                                  George, rear     



           
Lizzie Lynes, front

On Monday, August 26th, 2018 we returned to clean both memorials.  The stones stood proud and erect without the aid of any support.  


  



I decided to build a brace around the repaired fracture of the headstone of George Lynes out of hard maple off cuts to aid in strength and support and reduce stress on the stone and to help it last another 200 years. 




All work, narrative, and photos, by Joshua Samuel Hiller
August 2018


As a reminder, Here is 1989 after Hurricane Hugo, and again in August 2018:

    
  1989, photo by Wm. T. Lynes                                                                                        Restored. 8/2018


           
      Before 5/9/2010                                                  After 8/22/2018





We moved the headstone out of the way and took a look at what it was going to take to repair George Lynes memorial. 


 
We put the memorial of George Lynes up on a work table and lay the memorial of Lizzie Lynes back away from where we had to work to begin resetting the marble bases.  Getting the base of George Lynes out proved difficult; George Dangerfield helped pull it out with his tractor.  We worked pretty hard to get the original tenons out.


We clamped it as hard as we could and left it lying on the table for the next two days.  I used the same method of combining the historic mix and epoxy and joining it simultaneously as I did with Cathren Lynes' headstone.  I knew the back side of George Lynes headstone would require additional attention, but I wanted the stone to rest for a few days before trying to move it at all.  



 
Resetting the bases

On Thursday, August 23rd, 2018 we began by resetting the marble base of George Lynes.  We dug out a ramp and put down plywood and used the old metal pipes which had been for years supporting the two headstones to roll and slide the stone into position.  We then repeated the process in setting the marble base belonging to Lizzie Lynes.  







  
 Marking Lizzie's stone for recutting tenon   Footstones set, bases ready to receive headstones








           
Lizzie's stone, new tenon cut                                               Maker's mark on Lizzie's stone

I then made the cuts on Lizzie Lynes headstone and we repeated the process.  I did not try to cut this new tenon to a 16th of an inch like I did previously.  It went in beautifully and the mortar bed received the stone just right and I took a very deep breath.  

Rear of George Lynes headstone
  



The break is right in the last line of the inscription rendering it unreadable. 



  




 




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