This stone got me thinking about the use of the name “John Doe” in our culture to discuss someone whose identity is unknown (or in some cases, being obscured). From the little bit of research I’ve done, the use of John Doe or some variant as a placeholder/fictitious name dates back to the medieval period in English. I’m going to theorize that this John Doe actually used that name, since someone took the time to replace his tombstone almost 140 years after he died.
A Grave Concern 