Monthly Archives: February 2012

War Mothers

Posted on February 29, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

During World War I also called the Great War and the War to End All Wars two American organizations were founded by mothers of soldiers–The American War Mothers and The Gold Star Mothers.  The American War Mothers was founded September 29, … Continue reading →

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Candle Snuffing

Posted on February 27, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

The gravestone of Boston shopkeeper, Joseph Tapping, who died in 1678 at the age of 23, is one of the most famous in the city.  Just inside the gates fo the King’s Chapel Cemetery is his elaborate carved tombstone.   … Continue reading →

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Candle

Posted on February 26, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

On the 1745 gravestone of Rebecca Sanders at the King’s Chapel Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts, a skeleton and Father Time circle around a candle, with the figure of death, the skeleton, ready to snuff out the flame.  The symbolism is clear, the candle represents the … Continue reading →

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Pay no attention to the bird poop!

Posted on February 25, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

This strafed gravestone is the obvious target of a large Kamikaze bird with some gastrointestinal problems.  Unfortunately for me, and you the viewer, I was not equiped on my visit to the King’s Chapel Cemetery in Boston to wipe it … Continue reading →

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Country Gates

Posted on February 20, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

Marking the portal to many country cemeteries are simple gates made of metal letters stretched between two metal poles.  In this case the date of the first burial is commemorated above the cemetery name along with cut-out crosses and upright crosses.  

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Rutherford B. Hayes

Posted on February 18, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

 Lucy Webb Hayes served as hostess.  What she did not serve, however, was wine.  Lucy, a Methodist and teetotaler, became known as “Lemonade Lucy.”  One wag remarked after one festive event at the Executive Mansion, that the “water flowed like wine!”  The … Continue reading →

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Broken Chain

Posted on February 15, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

  In the cemetery, much of the iconography represents a life ended—the winged death’s head, the hanging bud, the broken wheel, the incomplete circle, the column that is broken. The broken link of a chain, too, represents the life that … Continue reading →

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The Human Heart

Posted on February 14, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

Our deepest emotions are felt in our hearts.  The heart shape, which, by the way, looks nothing like the real human heart, is a symbol of many emotions including joy, courage, and sorrow, but most especially love.  Millions of cards are … Continue reading →

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Bellflower

Posted on February 12, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

The delicate bellflower is a funerary symbol that represents gratitude.  The family name, Campanulaceae, is Latin meaning small bell.

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Open Gates

Posted on February 12, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

The gravestone pictured above displays an open gate carved from limestone.  In this example, the open gates, which are central to the Last Judgment, are opened to a starred sky with a banner above that reads “AT REST”.  The gates … Continue reading →

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