A modern tombstone might have the year of birth and death but in the late 1800’s it was common to see the exact age of the person. For example, John Smith, age 39 yrs, 6 mo, 13 d.
Was this valuable info back then? Did they value the importance of each day of life that much?
I think you’ve answered your own question: yes, it was important enough for them to recognize, at least on a family or community level. The content of headstones varies tremendously, as a wikiwalk through something like Find-a-Grave will show you. From a simple last name to virtual short biographies and eulogies and everything in between.
When I was a teenager I unearthed a tombstone in our back yard. It was for a 10-year-old boy, of a family that was passing through, from the East to the West in the early 1800s. It had the boy’s full name, the full name of both parents, and the dates of his birth and death. Much more information than we’d see on most tombstones . . . especially by a family just passing through. But apparently this information was important to be remembered . . . possibly because there was so much more childhood mortality back then; each day mattered.
Oh, and according to the Historical Society, the rest of the family did make it to the west coast.
I have Googled the name, and the only result is a female college student from Kentucky. The father’s name is matched by an African-American high school student in Illinois. (I have no info on the original family’s ethnicity.)