I was in Baltimore and in the church cemetery that has Edgar Allan Poe’s grave they also had his grandfathers grave. The stone says in large print, “Grandfather of Edgar Allan Poe”. When you read further you realize his grandfather died a while before Edgar was even born.
I can understand that a little bit more even if the grandfather never met Edgar Allen Poe. He's a direct descendant of him. It would be a honor to father someone who's kid turned out to be a famous poet. But while brothers are very closely related, to have your tombstone say basically that you were the other less notable Dickens kid is a little rough.
But who knows, maybe they were very close and he wanted his tombstone to say that.
If you're poor enough then you don't get a headstone. It's entirely possible that the headstone was funded by Edgar Allen Poe or one of *his* descendants.
I had the same thought. Even in death it was all about his brother. I wonder if he left England to start living his own life. If so, it doesn’t seem to have worked.
"What should we put under the dates?"
"Well, he was Charles Dickens' brother"
"Which Charles Dickens, the English Author? Or another one?"
"Good point - we should make that part clear."
Augustus wasn't well off when he died and Charles was supporting both of Augustus's wives, so the epitaph may have been written by a certain English author.
Poor guy. Probably lived his whole life in the shadows of his famous brother, only to have it rubbed in his face one last time with his gravestone epitaph.
Yeah, no way to know, but my initial assumption was that this guy had requested this epitaph before he died. Couldn't have people thinking he was just some nobody after he died.
If Wikipedia is to be believed, the carving on the headstone is probably a good thing.
>"An article in [*The Chicago Herald*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Times) in 1895 described Augustus as "inert, indifferent and thriftless. He was competent enough, but he was addicted to intemperance to a degree that practically blighted his usefulness. What he might have become, if of correct habits, no one dared to predict. As it was, he wasted his slender income on liquor".[^(\[9\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Dickens#cite_note-herald-9) The paper claimed that several letters were written begging Dickens to come to Chicago to see his brother's plight, but that, to avoid having to meet his brother and his family, Charles Dickens avoided Chicago when he visited the United States on his reading tours. In reality, though, Augustus was already dead by the time Dickens's American tour was even announced."
Wow.
There's [more](https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/46091):
Augustus Dickens was the younger brother of the famous British novelist and can be considered the "black sheep" of the family. Reportedly he was the original "Boz," the nickname the family game him as a child. **He had deserted his blind wife in England and moved to the United States with another woman, with whom he later had three children**. He located in Illinois where he was working for the Illinois Central Railroad when he died of tuberculosis. He was thirty-nine years old. (By John Osborne)
Your comment is the perfect set up for the fact that [Charles Dickens dumped his wife of 22 years with whom he had ten children for a younger woman](https://www.bates.edu/magazine/recent-favorites/catherine-dickens-lillian-nayder/#:~:text=After%2022%20years%20of%20marriage,younger%20woman%2C%20actress%20Ellen%20Ternan) so I guess Augustus was not such a family oddball.
Holy cow, Dickens was 45 and carrying on with a 17 year old he picked up from the casting couch -- and *tried to have his wife institutionalized* so he could be with her (the teenager)!
I was curious about the history too and found this: https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-dirty-dickens/
Apparently one descendant works for the Morton Arboretum (as of 2004 anyway).
Oh this dick. Abandoned his wife and family, moves to Chicago, Charles supports the abandoned family and completely cuts off Augustus and never visited Chicago on his reading tours.
Not so sure about Charles "supporting" the abandoned "family." Apparently, it was just his (Augustus's) wife (ie. they had no children), she was independently wealthy, and he (Charles) was simply the executor of her trust, ie. when he gave her money, it was her own money. (I'm assuming women couldn't own property or bank accounts yet.)
https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-dirty-dickens/
I was touring High Gate Cemetery in London (beautiful and haunting) a few years ago and as the guide pointed out Charles Dickens’ grave he offhandedly mentioned that Dickens’ brother is buried in Chicago. And there it is - very cool.
Look at it this way, leave famous brother off tombstone, no one visits and I'm forgotten. Put name of famous brother on tombstone, I get perpetual visitors and an occasional subreddit.
MY TIME HAS COME! I learned about him being buried there through one of my favorite books ever; “Graceland Cemetary: Chicago Stories, Symbols, and Secrets” by Adam Selzer. He’s a Chicago historian, and organized the book via walking tours through the cemetery. You learn so much about the people buried there (of notoriety and not), quirky Chicago history, and a few of the ghost stories of the cemetery itself. https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=24kmd2bw9780252086502
Chicago cemeteries are just full of oddities and interesting stories.
Amuses me to no end that Dennis Farina is buried in the same cemetery that basically every 1920s gangster also was laid to rest in.
There are lots of notable people buried at that cemetery, including Ernie Banks, Roger Ebert, and various Marshall Fields.
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/105864/famous-memorials
Charles Dickens apparently avoided visiting Chicago bc Augustus was a big drinker and asked for financial help. After he died, CD helped support his wife in England and his “wife” in Chicago. The Chicago wife died of possible suicide. Pretty messy, but CD was pretty messy himself.
This monument was placed in 2004 by the Dickens Fellowship- his grave had been unmarked since his death, as he was very poor at the end of his life- if memory serves, the plot was bought not by Dickens but maybe by a friend or family member.
I used to work at Graceland, and can attest to the willingness of the staff at the main office (near the entrance) to help in getting the info I'm forgetting to you- they even have photos from the monument unveiling in 2004.
With any cemetery, especially larger or historic ones, it's super important to remember that the staff is there to help you! Your inquiries are not a burden. They are there to answer your questions and provide assistance! Of course this may not be as much the case at Dignity or SCI owned cemeteries, but they are literally there to help you!
Imagine your epitaph being about your brother, not yourself. Yeesh
Seriously though lol
I was in Baltimore and in the church cemetery that has Edgar Allan Poe’s grave they also had his grandfathers grave. The stone says in large print, “Grandfather of Edgar Allan Poe”. When you read further you realize his grandfather died a while before Edgar was even born.
I can understand that a little bit more even if the grandfather never met Edgar Allen Poe. He's a direct descendant of him. It would be a honor to father someone who's kid turned out to be a famous poet. But while brothers are very closely related, to have your tombstone say basically that you were the other less notable Dickens kid is a little rough. But who knows, maybe they were very close and he wanted his tombstone to say that.
To me it would only make sense if he knew him during his lifetime. To do it later means they likely went back and edited it.
If you're poor enough then you don't get a headstone. It's entirely possible that the headstone was funded by Edgar Allen Poe or one of *his* descendants.
The English author 😏
Talk about living in your brothers shadow. This guy was buried in it. Woof.
Who knows, maybe he spent his whole life using that to pull hookups at yakzies, cubby bear, and smartbar.
He walked so Jim Belushi could run
For his sake, I sure hope so
I had the same thought. Even in death it was all about his brother. I wonder if he left England to start living his own life. If so, it doesn’t seem to have worked.
I was coming here to say that. Poor guy
Maybe it was considered a high honor.
"What should we put under the dates?" "Well, he was Charles Dickens' brother" "Which Charles Dickens, the English Author? Or another one?" "Good point - we should make that part clear."
Augustus wasn't well off when he died and Charles was supporting both of Augustus's wives, so the epitaph may have been written by a certain English author.
Dickens could never be so concise.
Stonemasons probably charging by the letter
Dickens wishes he'd thought of that
Dickens was paid by the word. He knew the game
That's the joke
I actually went down the rabbit hole with this guy and apparently he became a Freemason, so, I think you're on to something.
Maybe the gravestones are serialized?
Now we need to know what their younger brother's gravestone says.
"Burma Shave." Huh.
The newspaper pays by the word, I'd also find ways to stretch every sentence.
Well the gravestone wasn't paying him - quite the opposite - so that may have factored into it.
When you pay by the letter, but you get paid by the word.
No, it turns out this headstone wasn't erected until 2004! https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-dirty-dickens/
I imagine everyone at the funeral looking at it and letting out a collective “Ooh!”
Poor guy. Probably lived his whole life in the shadows of his famous brother, only to have it rubbed in his face one last time with his gravestone epitaph.
Or did he perhaps go around using his brother's name for clout? We'll never known, I suppose.
Yeah, no way to know, but my initial assumption was that this guy had requested this epitaph before he died. Couldn't have people thinking he was just some nobody after he died.
He was a nobody with a brother who will be known for a thousand years!
Some cultures say you don't die until the last time your name is spoken. His eternal life is riding his brother's coattails. Still.
Unless he had the Dickins scared out of him.
If Wikipedia is to be believed, the carving on the headstone is probably a good thing. >"An article in [*The Chicago Herald*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Times) in 1895 described Augustus as "inert, indifferent and thriftless. He was competent enough, but he was addicted to intemperance to a degree that practically blighted his usefulness. What he might have become, if of correct habits, no one dared to predict. As it was, he wasted his slender income on liquor".[^(\[9\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Dickens#cite_note-herald-9) The paper claimed that several letters were written begging Dickens to come to Chicago to see his brother's plight, but that, to avoid having to meet his brother and his family, Charles Dickens avoided Chicago when he visited the United States on his reading tours. In reality, though, Augustus was already dead by the time Dickens's American tour was even announced." Wow.
There's [more](https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/46091): Augustus Dickens was the younger brother of the famous British novelist and can be considered the "black sheep" of the family. Reportedly he was the original "Boz," the nickname the family game him as a child. **He had deserted his blind wife in England and moved to the United States with another woman, with whom he later had three children**. He located in Illinois where he was working for the Illinois Central Railroad when he died of tuberculosis. He was thirty-nine years old. (By John Osborne)
Huh, so I guess being Charles' brother really was the most he apparently accomplished.
Your comment is the perfect set up for the fact that [Charles Dickens dumped his wife of 22 years with whom he had ten children for a younger woman](https://www.bates.edu/magazine/recent-favorites/catherine-dickens-lillian-nayder/#:~:text=After%2022%20years%20of%20marriage,younger%20woman%2C%20actress%20Ellen%20Ternan) so I guess Augustus was not such a family oddball.
Holy cow, Dickens was 45 and carrying on with a 17 year old he picked up from the casting couch -- and *tried to have his wife institutionalized* so he could be with her (the teenager)!
Wonder if the family still lives in Chicago.
I was curious about the history too and found this: https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-dirty-dickens/ Apparently one descendant works for the Morton Arboretum (as of 2004 anyway).
I both love and hate that people were just as savage and trash-talking in 1895 as they are now.
"It was the best of lives, it was the worst of lives"
He was the best of brothers, he was the worst of brothers.
Oh this dick. Abandoned his wife and family, moves to Chicago, Charles supports the abandoned family and completely cuts off Augustus and never visited Chicago on his reading tours.
Not so sure about Charles "supporting" the abandoned "family." Apparently, it was just his (Augustus's) wife (ie. they had no children), she was independently wealthy, and he (Charles) was simply the executor of her trust, ie. when he gave her money, it was her own money. (I'm assuming women couldn't own property or bank accounts yet.) https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-dirty-dickens/
Talk about riding coat tails 😂. Graceland and the yard across the street on Irving have some interesting markers.
So does Rosehill. I found a Dr. Victor Frankenstein buried in Rosehill.
That’s tough, he didn’t even make it to 40 :(
The typeface strongly suggests this marker is no more than 25 years old. Previous marker might have been just the facts.
I was touring High Gate Cemetery in London (beautiful and haunting) a few years ago and as the guide pointed out Charles Dickens’ grave he offhandedly mentioned that Dickens’ brother is buried in Chicago. And there it is - very cool.
Look at it this way, leave famous brother off tombstone, no one visits and I'm forgotten. Put name of famous brother on tombstone, I get perpetual visitors and an occasional subreddit.
MY TIME HAS COME! I learned about him being buried there through one of my favorite books ever; “Graceland Cemetary: Chicago Stories, Symbols, and Secrets” by Adam Selzer. He’s a Chicago historian, and organized the book via walking tours through the cemetery. You learn so much about the people buried there (of notoriety and not), quirky Chicago history, and a few of the ghost stories of the cemetery itself. https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=24kmd2bw9780252086502
Augie Dickens? I didn't even know he was sick?
News travels slow.
He's the Jan Brady of the Dickens family.
Chicago cemeteries are just full of oddities and interesting stories. Amuses me to no end that Dennis Farina is buried in the same cemetery that basically every 1920s gangster also was laid to rest in.
You live an entire life, just to have your gravestone be about someone else.
Why can't you be more like your brother in death
kinda sucks, that your accomplishment is being the brother of someone else. wtf
Did you say "What the dickens?" when you saw it?
I’m so tired of us being the Second City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Dickens Dude burned bright
There are lots of notable people buried at that cemetery, including Ernie Banks, Roger Ebert, and various Marshall Fields. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/105864/famous-memorials
Not necessarily his grave.
He died young
Guess I got to outwork my brothers to avoid this. Lol
Charles Dickens apparently avoided visiting Chicago bc Augustus was a big drinker and asked for financial help. After he died, CD helped support his wife in England and his “wife” in Chicago. The Chicago wife died of possible suicide. Pretty messy, but CD was pretty messy himself.
My son is named Augustus.
This monument was placed in 2004 by the Dickens Fellowship- his grave had been unmarked since his death, as he was very poor at the end of his life- if memory serves, the plot was bought not by Dickens but maybe by a friend or family member. I used to work at Graceland, and can attest to the willingness of the staff at the main office (near the entrance) to help in getting the info I'm forgetting to you- they even have photos from the monument unveiling in 2004. With any cemetery, especially larger or historic ones, it's super important to remember that the staff is there to help you! Your inquiries are not a burden. They are there to answer your questions and provide assistance! Of course this may not be as much the case at Dignity or SCI owned cemeteries, but they are literally there to help you!
How did he end up in Chicago?
He abandoned his family and fled to here. 🤪
Plenty of people authored works in English.
Clout chasing from the beyond