“The Most Curious Tombstone in Canada: Mystery Solved After Over 100 Years!”
In the quiet Rushes Cemetery in Wellesley, Ontario, there lies a tombstone that has baffled visitors for more than a century. It is the shared headstone of Henrietta and Susanna Bean, and it is engraved with what appears to be a crossword-style code that left many stumped for decades.
For years, curious onlookers took grave rubbings, tried to decipher the mysterious message, and speculated about the cryptic symbols. Yet, no one could figure out the meaning, leaving the stone and its message shrouded in mystery. What was known, however, was the tragic backstory behind the inscription.
In 1867, a man named Dr. Samuel Bean, a local physician, had the stone secretly erected for his two wives—Henrietta, his first wife, and Susanna, his second. Both women had passed away within just a few years of one another, and Dr. Bean arranged for them to be buried side by side beneath the enigmatic headstone. However, before he could explain the meaning of the engraving, tragedy struck. Dr. Bean drowned after falling overboard from a sailboat, and the secret of the inscription was lost with him.
The Mystery Solved After Decades
For over 100 years, the puzzle of the tombstone’s code remained unsolved. That is, until a breakthrough came in the 1970s when a 94-year-old woman living in a nearby retirement home cracked the code. The woman, whose sharp memory and keen eye led her to the answer, was able to read the inscription by following a specific pattern.
The secret of the mysterious code was that, when reading from the seventh character of the seventh row in a spiral (or sometimes diagonal) direction, the hidden message reads:
“In memoriam Henrietta, 1st wife of S. Bean, M.D., who died 27th Sep. 1865, aged 23 years, 2 months and 17 days, and Susanna his 2nd wife who died 27th April, 1867, aged 26 years, 10 months and 15 days, 2 better wives 1 man never had, they were gifts from God but are now in Heaven. May God help me, S.B., to meet them there.”
The Meaning Behind the Puzzle
While we may never know exactly what inspired Dr. Samuel Bean to create such a perplexing and personal puzzle, the mystery has finally been solved. It is a heartfelt tribute to his two wives, expressing his grief and deep love for them, and his hope to reunite with them in the afterlife.
The discovery of this secret inscription in the 1970s not only brought closure to a century-old puzzle but also revealed a touching piece of history that would otherwise have remained lost forever. The epitaph serves as a reminder of the powerful bond Dr. Bean had with his wives and the enduring mystery that captivated the imaginations of so many for over a hundred years.
