Sarah Elizabeth Orton

While on the melancholy subject of the recently deceased, I received this picture of my Great Grandmother's tombstone from Historian Jim Stockley of South Africa. This is new to me since I was under the impression my relatives were all buried at the home site and circus winter quarters in Ortonville. The following is from his source of information, an unknown cousin of mine. "My great grandfather, Hiram, died in 1884. My great grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth, died in 1890 at Ortonville, Iowa. Mary Ann Cooke, her daughter-in-law for just a few years, was very close to my great grandmother who was buried in a private cemetary called Miller Cemetary about two miles east of Adel, Iowa. Sometime after 1890, Mary Ann bought and placed a very expensive and beautiful seven foot tall headstone. It has at it's base, Mary Ann's name as it's donor." I might add that Mary Ann Cooke was previously married to circus owner W.W. Cole. My mother's name was Sarah Elizabeth as well but being the youngest of the family was always called "Babe".