CEMETERY SUNDAY
Gravestone Symbols
Gravestone Symbols
Why do some gravestones look like tree trunks? Does a beehive on a headstone mean the deceased was an apiarist? Why are so many tombstones decorated with lilies?
As we walk through cemeteries looking for the graves of our ancestors, these and many other questions come to mind. Fortunately, there are websites available to help genealogists of today understand symbols carved on grave markers of the past.
Grave Addiction at http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html has an alphabetical list of common symbols illustrated with photographs—a nice touch if you don’t know what an acanthus leaf looks like!
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has emblems for headstones and markers published on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs_emblems_for_headstones_and_markers.
The Cemetery Club has an online article, “Gravestone Symbolism,” which is very helpful at
http://www.thecemeteryclub.com/symbols.html.
And you can download a free pdf, “Tombstones and Their Stories,” at the Washtenaw County Historical Society website: http://washtenawhistory.org/images/tombstone_symbols_v8.pdf.
RESEARCH TIP: Cell phone cameras have made photography so pervasive that beginning genealogists may not realize one must get permission to photograph gravestones in a cemetery. Always ask about cemetery policy at the office before you begin taking pictures. Judy G. Russell’s blog, The Legal Genealogist, has an excellent article, “Cemetery Photos: permission required?” at
http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/10/22/cemetery-photos-permission-required/.
Read it carefully, and follow Judy’s advice.
photo: Janis Franco ©2006
As we walk through cemeteries looking for the graves of our ancestors, these and many other questions come to mind. Fortunately, there are websites available to help genealogists of today understand symbols carved on grave markers of the past.
Grave Addiction at http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html has an alphabetical list of common symbols illustrated with photographs—a nice touch if you don’t know what an acanthus leaf looks like!
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has emblems for headstones and markers published on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs_emblems_for_headstones_and_markers.
The Cemetery Club has an online article, “Gravestone Symbolism,” which is very helpful at
http://www.thecemeteryclub.com/symbols.html.
And you can download a free pdf, “Tombstones and Their Stories,” at the Washtenaw County Historical Society website: http://washtenawhistory.org/images/tombstone_symbols_v8.pdf.
RESEARCH TIP: Cell phone cameras have made photography so pervasive that beginning genealogists may not realize one must get permission to photograph gravestones in a cemetery. Always ask about cemetery policy at the office before you begin taking pictures. Judy G. Russell’s blog, The Legal Genealogist, has an excellent article, “Cemetery Photos: permission required?” at
http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/10/22/cemetery-photos-permission-required/.
Read it carefully, and follow Judy’s advice.
No comments:
Post a Comment