Aistrappe Robinson Hitchcock

This marble headstone on the North Ridge caught my eye partly because of the distinctive first name and partly because of the carved image.

The 1858-9 Albany city directory lists one A. Robinson Hitchcock as a machinist residing at 193 Green Street. I would assume, given the dates on the headstone, that this is the same person who also appears in the 1860 census.

And then there is the rod carved on the stone. To me, it resembles the batons used by conductors of music or even some sort of flute and not a tool of the machinist trade. Whatever it was, it was important enough to this man that it was included on his headstone.

As for the name Aistrappe, the only other example I've seen is in a parish directory from Lincolnshire, England.

Unfortunately, I've found no other biographical information on this man and have not been able to decipher the inscription on the lower portion of the stone yet.