Naomi Tanner

A few years ago, I began researching Naomi Tanner, who is buried in Vinland Cemetery in Vinland, Kansas. I was intrigued by the word 'waif' on her gravestone. If what I found was accurate, Naomi passed away in 1894 at only six-months old. There is no information on her cause of death or her parents. Based on Census information, a Tanner family was living in Vinland during the 1895 Kansas census, but not listed in the 1890 or 1900 census.

According to the census, Naomi's parents were U.S. and C.M. Tanner and she had two older sisters, Ethel and Stella. Naomi is buried in a plot owned by A.F. Allen who Naomi's mother was employed by. Albert Frederick Allen was farmer of 290 acres of land and ran a stock and feed store in Vinland.

The use of 'waif' on the gravestone is odd as a waif is generally used to describe an abandoned or neglected child which, by all accounts, Naomi was not.