Do You Know any Taphophiles? Posted on March 17, 2026

As I get older, I find that a lot of my friends who are interested in genealogy have become taphophiles. What could that possibly mean?

Does this mean that they like to munch on taffy? No, it means that they like to visit graveyards and cemeteries. Graveyards or burying grounds are associated with a church. Cemeteries are set up by other authorities such as towns or counties.

Such places are often overlooked as sources of genealogical information, but they can be extremely helpful when trying to find ancestors. Tombstones or memorials give the names of the deceased, the year of their birth and death, and often, if you are lucky, the names of their spouse(s) and even children.

Here is the tombstone for the Reverend John DeBow who served Hawfields Presbyterian Church during the Revolutionary War. He died of smallpox nursing American soldiers.

The Rev. DeBow was one of the first people buried in the second burying ground for this church; the original burying ground was located about 4 miles east. Although the congregation moved in the late 1770s, a number of families continued to use the first burying ground for some time afterwards.

Photo: the tombstone of the Rev. John DeBow, pastor of Hawfields Presbyterian Church. The inscription reads: R’d JOHN DEBOW, PASTOR OF HAWFIELDS CHURCH DIED SEPT. 8TH 1783 AGED 38