Mysterious Headstone Found in a House in Poughkeepsie, NY

Isn't it funny how you can live in a house for a while and feel you know every inch of it until a mystery is uncovered in your basement? This pretty much sums up what happened to Lisa Maine and her family when they had some renovation work done at their house this spring.

I saw Lisa's post on Facebook this week and had to reach out. Her post included a picture of a headstone with the name Richard I Aldrich on it in clear lettering. The stone also reads that Richard was a Staff Sergeant in the Ordinance Department and served in World War II. According to the stone, Richard would have been just shy of his 25th birthday when he died in January 1944.

Headstone Discovered Inside Poughkeepsie, NY House

So before we get into the purpose of Lisa's post, let me explain how the headstone was discovered. According to information Lisa shared with me when I reached out to her, they were doing work in her house. They were removing an old oil tank because they are switching over to gas and when the tank was removed, the headstone was discovered behind it.

I asked Lisa if there was a chance it belonged to the family who lived in the house before her but she couldn't confirm that, so now she is looking for answers too. Lisa is hoping by sharing the picture of the headstone she might be able to track down Richard's family. She would like to return it and possibly discover how the stone ended up in the house behind the oil tank.

Do You Know Anything About This Headstone Found in Poughkeepsie, NY?

If you think you might know something about this stone please reach out or comment below. Lisa lives in Poughkeepsie but this stone could have traveled to the Hudson Valley from anywhere.

Famous People Buried at West Point Cemetery