Immanuel Cemetery, St. Charles, Missouri

Cradle gravestones frame the plot and look much like a cradle without the legs, which is how they get their name.  The marble gravestone above features a sea shell with a sleeping baby nestled inside.  One end is larger and more prominent, like a headboard and the other end smaller, resembling more of a footboard.

The two cradle gravestones pictured below have a slightly blue-gray cast to them.  They are made of an alloy that includes zinc which was called white bronze by the company that manufactured them.  They are cast metal and resistant to erosion and decay.

Cradle gravestones were not reserved for children.  Though the gravestone pictured above is the marker for 3-year old Adelheid Viola Becker, the two below mark the graves of adults.  The monument below found in the Truelove Community Cemetery actually marks the grave of a young, 20-year woman named Viola Truleove, no doubt from the family for whom the cemetery is named.  Viola died December 5, 1895.  Her epitaph read: “The heart’s keen anguish only those can tell, Who’ve bid the dearest and best farewell.”  The interior of the cradle gravestone often has flowers planted inside, as demonstrated by the cradle marker below that has a plastic flower bouquet.

Truelove Community Cemetery, Indiana

The marker pictured below marks the grave of Anton Schneider.  Schneider was a member of Company I of the 49th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers.  He died April 25, 1898 and was aged 53 years, 10 months, and 25 days.  His epitaph says, “A Husband of Barbara Miller.”

St. Joseph's Cemetery, Jasper, Indiana