It was a gorgeous day today and I took advantage of the spring weather to visit Green-Wood Cemetery. While there I came across this headstone for one Mary M. Aitkin. When I got home I checked Ancestry and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle but found nothing on this veteran of the First World War. Aitkin’s headstone seems to be part of the plot for the Donnelly’s. Here below is a wider view. I searched for a Mary M. Donnelly as well but found nothing. I was struck by the sandy ground, which seems to have been recently tilled. This is not uncommon in Green-Wood which is still very much a working cemetery. Still, the bronze plaque protruding from the ground seemed striking.
if one looks closely at the Donnelly headstone one notes that there are names engraved for individuals who have not yet passed on. That leads one to believe this is very much a living cemetery plot, no pun intended. Coincidentally or not there is also a Mary on the larger headstone, for an individual born in 1956. Part of the power of visiting cemeteries is wondering about the lives of those one comes across. I would love to know the story here. It is interesting to note that Ms. Aitken died forty-six years ago this week. Also, she was older than most uniformed service persons who served in the Great War. Born on 8 November 1888, she turned thirty three days prior to the Armistice.
I could not figure out what the “Y2” indicates. I am guessing she was a Yeoman in the Naval Reserve but that is my speculation. If anyone knows, please enlighten me.
The Strawfoot 
Interesting challenge. The closest I can find is a Mary K. Aitkin, from Pennsylvania and just three weeks older, who served in the Army Nurse Corps at Camp Lee, Virginia, and Norfolk. Pretty sure that’s not the same person, though.
Andy, indeed. I was more than a little surprised that this has proved so difficult.
I hope all has been well in Texas. It’s the last week of the academic year up here. I began Ronald C. Whit’e American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant over the weekend. I’m hoping to wrap up the draft of my Theodore Roosevelt Sr. manuscript in the early part of the summer.
The bronze marker looks like a standard US Government marker issued by the National Cemetery Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Their website says that “Y2” is the abbreviation for Yeoman 2nd Class. https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/abbreviations.asp
Although the marker looks like the standard government marker, Mary M. Aitken isn’t listed on the Cemetery Administration’s Nationwide Gravesite Locator. In 1971, the national cemetery and headstone and marker programs were still administered by the U.S. Army and not all of the old records have been incorporated into the current database.
http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov
Bill, thanks for looking it up and the thoughtful reply. I had a feeling the Y2 might mean Yeoman Second Class but did not want to speculate. Indeed, one sees many of these government-issued headstones in Green-Wood and elsewhere. It’s such a worthwhile project. Our talking about Ms. Aitkin right now is due to the headstone, keeping her memory alive.