“Then Henry Shaw had a marker put in with her name and the year and the word ‘oak’ on it,” said Flynn, referring to the tree variety that can be seen at the top of the marker.

Added Flynn, “Eliza’s father, James Hoole, was one of Shaw’s early investors, so she was probably a favorite cousin.”

It appears she remained popular with Shaw for some years after. His last will and testament in 1889 sets aside “two hundred pounds sterling” for Hoole.

Flynn said that Hoole’s tree eventually died or was removed — an article in 1965 in the Missouri Historical Society Bulletin states that the original tree had been gone for years — but the stone remained.

And Hoole’s piece of rock is not the only stone that Shaw installed to commemorate a tree being planted in the park, Flynn said. A stone marker placed by Shaw stands next to a mulberry tree in Flag Circle on Center Cross Drive to honor Shakespearean actress Adelaide Neilson.

Neilson was a popular English actress who became famous in the U.S. during an extensive stateside tour.