Fifth Stop: Evergreens Cemetery, Brooklyn - The Prinzes

Cemetery of the Evergreens, more commonly referred to as Evergreens Cemetery, is a beautiful cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. It is the resting place of my great-great-great grandparents, Johan Prinz (14 May 1826 - 22 May 1888, New York) and Franciscka "Frances" Pruess-Prinz (17 November 1830 - 29 November 1902); and it is stop number 5 on my marathon through cemeteries with Cousin Peter. 

The Prinzes are interred in the section called North Mead in grave # 4534. Almost every cemetery is laid out differently. They might call certain areas plots or lots or sections. You might get a combination of numbers and letters designating rows and graves. In Evergreens the sections are huge and the North Mead section has thousands of burials with simple grave numbers; for example # 4534. We had no idea what row that was in. Typically rows line up left to right, like we read. In this case though, numbering ran in aisles from the front of the section to the back. When the line hit the back of the section, numbering picked up in the next aisle at the front. I've never seen it quite like that. I wish we figure that out before we found my people. We wandered through this cemetery for a long time.

See these numbered stones in the retaining wall at the front of the section? They indicate the grave # at the front of that aisle. So strange to me.

In any case, that puts my people in the Bullwinkle aisle. There's a name that's hard to forget.

Peter and I hadn't figure that out though when we started looking. We wandered back and forth looking for any grave numbers etched into headstones. There were so few. 

But I found it!! 

It is so worn that it is practically impossible to make out the surname but it is there. Can you see it? P R I N Z

The Z is pretty clear.

Here it is from another angle.

What really should have given it away was this nearby footstone.

I am not sure that Grandpa sign is for my 3rd great grandpa, Johan Prinz, but it is very close by so maybe it's his. Nonetheless, I found them! I know the name engraved on the stone says Jan and not Johan but this spot makes sense to be grave # 4534. I'm sure it's them.

The stone includes some sort of lettering in a foreign language. It is too worn for me to identify. However, I know this couple was born in what is now the Czech Republic. I wish I knew what it said. But we have no time - on to the next. Last stop: St. Monica's Cemetery in Jamaica, Queens.