Category Archives: Epitaphs

ROBERT SON OF  & E. BURRES BORN FEB. 19, 1836 DIED JUNE 25, 1865. HE WAS IN CO. D. 80 REG. IND. VOL. THEN CONQUER WE MUST FOR OUR CAUSE IT IS JUST AND THIS BE OUR MOTTO IN GOD … Continue reading →

DARLING MAGGIE DIED FEB. 10, 1879 AGED 2 Y’RS. 6 MO. SCHOLLER. The most poignant and tender gravestones are those for children.  In the 1850s, the mortality rates for children under one year, were estimated at over 200 deaths per … Continue reading →

JOHN LEGATE, DIED MAY 4, 1857; AGED 26 Yrs. 11 Mo. & 4Ds. A little time on earth he spent, Till God for him his angel sent; And then on time he closed his eyes To wake to glory in … Continue reading →

The epitaph on the Silas May gravestone in the Waterbury Cemetery in Waterbury, Vermont, uses the age-old metaphor of crossing the river.  Since ancient times, the imagery of the soul crossing a river was created to explain how the soul went from one … Continue reading →

  The epitaph on the ornamented-top tablet of Margaret Shaw was meant to comfort.  The epitaph tells those who walk by that they need not fear death.   Death is merely the call to go Home, and when one gets there, God … Continue reading →

The Old Dutch Church Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is one of the oldest graveyards in America.  Though it was established in 1685, some say that the first burials were much earlier than that.  The cemetery has many … Continue reading →

The red sandstone gravestone of William Tompkins and Sally Tompkins in the Old Dutch Burying Ground at Sleepy Hollow, New York, has an epitaph that is a stern message and a strong warning for those who are still alive: Go home dear … Continue reading →

Nothing is as final as death.  The quote, “Dead men tell no lies” reminds us of the silence of the grave.  However, the dead can speak one last time in wills, diaries, letters, and epitaphs.  Though many epitaphs are chosen … Continue reading →