Verifying What is Written in Stone II - Edward (Eddie) Tucker

This is part two of verifying the information on this fabulous headstone from Donald's family. Chronologically, the second burial in this plot, as recorded on the stone is Edward (Eddie) Tucker, the son of John Tucker and Annie Coughlin.

Eddie's death date is recorded on the stone as July 25, 1882 and says also that he was 5 months, 7 days old. The death index entry found on FamilySearch (certificate to be ordered in the future) matches, it says that Eddie died on July 25th and was buried at Calvary Cemetery the following day.

Using the date calculator linked on FamilySearch, because calculations done in my head are not reliable, tells us that Edward would have been born on February 18, 1882 if he were 5 months and 7 days old at the time of his death. Unfortunately, the baptismal record found in Find My Past's catholic church records collection, does not match. The entry in the register says that he was baptized on March 22, 1882 and born on March 18th. Four days old seems a bit early to me for a baptism, but that could be my own experience clouding my judgement. Most of my families waited about three months, but they lived completely different lives. It is also possible that Eddie was sick from birth, motivating his parents to have him baptized as quickly as possible.

So which is correct? At this time I cannot say. Searches of multiple sites did not produce a civil birth record. and even this record was produced close to the event, it could still be wrong. I will add this to the list of things to keep checking for periodically, but for a baby who died in New York City in 1882, we do have a lot of information that we would not have been able to find not that long ago. It isn't vital to know if Eddie was 5 or 4 months old when he passed, just that he was obviously loved and missed and that he will be remembered here, buried with his parents and other family.