Graveyard Art IV

Time for part IV of our Graveyard Art series.  This is Debbi here, and I wanted to thank all of you and especially Claudia for the interest and comments!  Its been such a fun series, and I have enjoyed sharing with all of you! And now for a question directly to Claudia.  Your pictures have come from some very old and historically interesting cemeteries.  Can you share some information about them?

Whippany Burying Yard, Whippany, NJ.  Oldest established cemetery in New Jersey, dates back to 1718.  Features burials going back to the French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, Civil War and was added to the Historic Register in 2009.  Here is a link that shows some of the inscriptions 20121228-059found on the stones. *click the link*

Greenwood Cemetery, Boonton, NJ.  Active open cemetery, created as a “park-style” cemetery during the 1800s.  Notable burials include several New Jersey politicians serving during the Civil War years and a silent movie era screenwriter. There must be quite a German population here, because I saw several headstones with very typical German names and also this one here with an inscription in German. Fascinating!

 First Presbyterian Churchyard, Morristown, NJ. First burial of record in 1731.  Excellent example of burial grounds directly adjacent to a church.  Church established 1733, was used as a Revolutionary War hospital.

Saint Marys Cemetery, Whippany, NJ.  Catholic cemetery, established 1860, still active. Example of park-style cemetery and has Catholic iconography on stones.

Recommended Reading (all links are to Amazon.com – excellent starting point with book reviews):

Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Inconography. Keister. *click the link*

Beautiful Death: The Art of the Cemetery. Penguin Books. *click the link*

Your Guide to Cemetery Research. Carmack. *click the link*

And this book is of particular interest for the history behind burials, customs, etc.  A very intensive book but well worth the read.  The Hour of Our Death: The Classic History of Western Attitudes Toward Death over the Last One Thousand Years.  Aries. *click the link*

A search by state on Amazon will bring up many books that cover cemeteries in your own localities.

Google Links for cemetery symbolism (these are excellent!):

Grave Addiction

Vintage Views

The Cemetery Club

AND NOW A WORD ABOUT SAFETY

While many cemeteries are safe, it is never a good idea to venture into any cemetery without knowing something about the area, and never after dark unless you are with a tour group or someone in an official capacity.  For example, cemeteries in New Orleans are notorious for their danger and you are advised not to go alone or if you are alone try to stay near a tour group or in plain site of one.  Wear comfortable walking shoes and be aware of the weather as you will be exposed to the elements for a period of time.  Do not try to open or enter any tombs or mausoleums.   And always always trust your inner intuition.  If it does not feel right, leave immediately.  Cemeteries in any city can harbor more that just the ghost of its inhabitants!

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20130105-02120130105-042Just a few more questions, Debbi 🙂

What are these two? The one on the left I have never seen before.  I cannot make out what it is supposed to be.  Very unusual and interesting.  Perhaps something was in those spaces and now gone?  The right stone features lotus blossoms and you will notice one stem appears broken.  Lotus represents creation and rebirth, but the broken stem evokes a life cut short.  I see no dates on this one so I cannot say for sure that this person died young.  It also looks as if the stone has sunk into the earth as the lower inscription is partially obscured by earth.

 

 Interpreting graveyard symbols:

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Ivy:  friendship and also immortality as the ivy is an evergreen plant.

Clover:  possible reference to Irish ancestry.20121231-021

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Sun (stylized):  Depends on the style.  General suns that look like actual suns means ascension into heaven.  If there are other details, they could be Masonic symbols, or references to a member of the police force.

Angel (skull):  reference to mortality, soul guardians, soul keepers or guides

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Monograms: depends on the actual monogram or letters represented.  Most are Christian-based symbols usually Catholic in nature and there are numerous types out there.  And, there are stones that have the actual monogram for the deceased on them.

Common simple i.e. non-symbolic ornaments?  I have not run across many of those.  There are stones that have pretty floral or geometric carvings on them that at first glance seem to be simply decorative.  I would venture to say, however, that these are placed on the particular stone for definite reasons and research would probably bear out some reference to a symbolic meaning.  As an aside, there are such things like pictures of the deceased that can be inserted into the stones.  Some stones have a niche that might look like something is missing, but these niches were for placing vases of flowers or candles during visitation with the dead.  There are stones in the shapes of cars, musical instruments, etc. that are representative of the actual interests of the persons buried with that stone.

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7 thoughts on “Graveyard Art IV”

  1. A long-ago art class taught me the craft of tombstone rubbing. Hold heavy rice paper over a historic tombstone. Rub gently with a wide black crayon. I still have the beautiful rubbings, hung from dowels like a scroll.

    Reply
  2. Thanks Cindy and Kim! I used to also do those rubbings and used to own two that cam e from England showing a knight and lady in full relief. These were sarcophagus tombs that had figures on the tops of them.

    In the I.S. now it is frowned upon to to these kinds of rubbings because of all the acid rain that has caused the stone to be so brittle and also the possibility of a stone toppling over!

    Reply
  3. Great series….Thanks for bringing up the issue of safety. I used to help out part -time at a funceral home (in the office) and the funderal director always told me ithat “It was the living that will hurt you, not the dead”

    Reply
  4. I really, really, really enjoyed this series! The photos, again, were beautiful and the information excellent. Any possibility of making it a monthly feature?

    And thank you both for all the amazing links! I cannot wait to check out these book titles and the cemetery symbolism links on Google. I’m huge on symbolism. I think it’s something we need to keep alive, because a great deal of knowledge seems to get lost every year.

    Reply

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