A curious tombstone stands in the Hebrew Cemetery in Corsicana, Texas. Or it once stood; now it reclines instead. The name on the stone reads Rope Walker, although that isn’t a real name, but rather an occupation. The story goes that when an elderly one-legged tightrope artist died during a stunt in Corsicana, no one knew his name, so they did the best they could with the tombstone. Find-a-grave has the short version of the story.
"In the late 1890s a one-legged tight-wire walker was performing his act in downtown Corsicana as a promotion to bring people to town. He would walk a rope stretched across Beaton street from the tops of two buildings. The rope walker carried a cast iron stove on his back to add to the trick. On July 28, 1898, the 69 year old man, who claimed to have been born in Princeton, New Jersey on February 6, 1829, was performing his tight rope performance when the rope sagged excessively and he fell while halfway across Beaton Street. Mortally injured, the man called for a rabbi. There were none to be found but a Jewish merchant prayed with him in Hebrew. The dying man stated his date and place of birth but no cone could remember if he have his name and he was never identified. He was buried in the Hebrew Cemetery in Corsicana. His headstone simply reads "ROPE WALKER"
Find-a-grave also has a longer version of the tale, which seems like a standard Texas tall tale, because it is. The true identity of Rope Walker was known at the time of his death, although it may have been forgotten by the time the stone was ordered. The legend was untangled a few years ago, and you can read about it at the Corsicana Daily Sun. -Thanks, WTM!