Gravely Speaking

ANNA

WIFE OF

JAMES CONOLY

BORN

JAN. 21, 1881.

DIED

JAN. 21, 1881.

FRANK E.

BORN

APR. 3, 1880

DIED

JAN. 26, 1881.

ROSA C.

BORN

APR. 9, 1878

DIED

JAN. 17, 1884.

GEORGE

BORN

JUNE 9, 1870

DIED

SEPT. 4, 1870.

CHILDREN OF J. & A. CONOLY

The limestone monument in the St. Ambrose Catholic Church Cemetery at Seymour, Indiana, for the wife and children of James Conoly, is carved to look like a country church.  On the front of the church above the doorway, is carved, “MY WIFE”.  Three of the gothic windows on one side of the church have the inscription for three Conoly children who died.  On the back of the building is a scroll that lists the name, birth, and death dates for Anna, along with an epitaph that is now obscured and unreadable because it is so weathered.

Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana

INFANT SON

 Nov. 27, 1900

BURIED WASHINGTON CO., IND

At the base of the angel monument erected for the Wilkins Family is a plain white marble marker in memory of the infant son of Thomas and Alice Wilkins who was born and died on the same day.  The marker does not have an epitaph, but Mary Kim Schreck, my friend and fellow cemetery enthusiast, shared a poem with me that seems appropriate, written by Elizabeth Gaskell, July 4^th, 1836.  The poem speaks to the loss of a grieving Mother at not only losing her child and what might have been but the untold thoughts she had of the child even during joyful times.  The visage of the little girl was never far from her Mother’s mind.  The Wilkins family had moved from Washington County, Indiana, where their infant son was buried, but next to their graves for eternity was a reminder of the infant son they lost 50 years before they died.

On Visiting the Grave of My Stillborn Little Girl
I made a vow within my soul, O Child,
When thou wert laid beside my weary heart,
With marks of death on every tender part
That, if in time a living infant smiled,
Winning my ear with gentle sounds of love
In sunshine of such joy, I still would save
A green rest for thy memory, O Dove!
And oft times visit thy small, nameless grave.
Thee have I not forgot, my firstborn, though
Whose eyes ne’er opened to my wistful gaze,
Whose sufferings stamped with pain thy little brow;
I think of thee in these far happier days,
And thou, my child, from thy bright heaven see
How well I keep my faithful vow to thee.

Nesting in the tree

As my son and I took the picture of the angel, Zain noticed that an expectant Mother Robin had nested between the wings of the angel.  Barley peaking out, he noticed the little Mother and asked to snap her picture.  The photograph captures the life cycle in its essense and ultimate irony…rebirth in the spring on the wings of death and the sadness of winter.

JOHNSON

ROBERT CLARENCE

1927-2006

A bewildered-looking angel is gingerly perched on top of the rounded top white marble tablet marking the grave of Robert Clarence Johnson in the Woodward Hill Cemetery at Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Cherubim are one of nine orders or choirs of angels which are organized into three spheres, with three choirs in each sphere. According to Christian tradition, the first sphere, which is made up of the Seraphim, Cherubim, and the Thrones, are considered the closet to Heaven. In Ezekiel 10:14, the Cherubim are described as having four likenesses or four faces, “And every one had four faces; the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.” Cherubim are most always depicted as chubby babies.

The Cherubim were to be guardian angels. In two places in the Bible, their role is described, first as guardians of the gates at the Garden of Eden and then of the Ark of the Covenant.

Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianpolis, Indiana

Corliss Randle Ruckle

Born Dec. 19, 1877

Died Dec. 4, 1889

One of the most sought out monuments in the sprawling Crown Hill Cemetery at Indianapolis, Indiana, is that which was carved for Corliss Randle Ruckle, who was born December 19, 1877, and died of diphtheria December 4, 1889, just shy of his 12^th birthday.  Corliss was the only son of Nicholas R. Ruckle, who had been a captain in the Civil War in Company E in the 11^th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to Colonel of the 148^th Rec’t Indiana Infantry.  His mother was Jennie Moore Ruckle.

Corliss Randle Ruckle is depicted in a white-collared shirt tied with a bow, wearing knee breeches, button-up shoes, while sitting on a spiral staircase, with an open book and a small bouquet of flowers.  His family memorialized young Corliss in a lifelike statue, customary in the Victorian Era.

Over the years, his monument discolored and became covered with biological growths.  The cemetery undertook a restoration of the monument which was estimated at costing $18,000 to remove the lichens, fill the pock marks, and the discoloration.

At a recent Indiana Association for Gravestone Studies Chapter meeting at Franklin, Indiana, Brad Manzenberger, a cemetery preservationist spoke about cleaning headstones.  Of course, no cleaning should be done without the permission of the cemetery management.  When starting out it is important to know what the marker is made of—marble, granite, sandstone, bronze, or zinc—each may be treated with different cleaning materials.  Before you begin, take before pictures of the marker to document the work.  Be sure to include the name on the marker, inscription, type of gravestone, condition, cemetery name, and the location within the cemetery.

During Brad’s PowerPoint Presentation, he stressed the need to understand why the marker is being cleaned: to improve readability, to remove soling, staining, or biological growth, or to remove graffiti.

When cleaning a marker it is important to consider the following questions:

Will cleaning accelerate deterioration?

Will cleaning cause loss of the original material?

What are the long-term effects of cleaning chemicals?

Plain water, non-ionic detergents, biocides, and some specialty masonry cleaners are acceptable.  Salt-based, bleaches, and acids should not be used to clean markers nor should sand blasting, high-pressure washing, wire brushes, or grinders.  They can do serious damage to marker.

In general, when cleaning a stone monument, soak the gravestone thoroughly with water before the cleaning treatment begins.  Apply the chemical treatment (biological or cleaning agent) and start from the bottom of the marker with a soft-bristle brush and move up using small circular motions.  Use lots of water and rinse thoroughly.  When cleaning bronze of zinc markers Ivory Dish soap, a nylon brush, and water work best.  Again, thoroughly rinse after the cleaning is done.

Keep these simple rules in mind to clean and protect gravestones.

Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois

Frances M. Pearce

Born June 29, 1835

Died 1854

Second wife of Horatio Odell Stone

Frances Pearce Stone

Born May 1854

Died September 1854

In the early 19^th Century the grim images of winged skulls, skeletons, snuffed candles, and gravedigger’s equipment which spoke, in part, to the fragility and brevity of life gave way to more sentimental images of willow trees, flowers of all kinds, and urns.  As the century progressed funerary sculpture and imagery became more ornate and more sentimental often memorializing deceased children in stone.

In the Rosehill Cemetery at Chicago, Illinois, a poignant reminder of the real risks of childbearing are all too clear in the monument that was carved for Frances M. Pearce Stone, the young wife of Horatio Odell Stone, and her infant daughter, Frances Pearce Stone, who died a scant four months after her mother.