Author Archives: gravelyspeaking

Double Headstones

Posted on June 10, 2019

In the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts, there are two gravestones, each memorializing a man and a wife’s life on the same gray slate gravestone.  Both gravestones are of similar design, with the willow and urn motif displayed in … Continue reading →

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The Beginning of the Romantic Era

Posted on June 5, 2019

Sacred to the memory of MRS. POLLY MANTOR Wife of Capt. Jeremiah Mantor Who died Oct. 19, 1817 Aged 31 years 8 mos & 3 days My friend and colleague, Tom, vacations on Martha’s Vineyard and during one of his … Continue reading →

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Mail Order Markers

Posted on May 27, 2019

The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, produced cast zinc cemetery markers billed as “white bronze.”  The company set up their first subsidiary in Detroit, Michigan. Others followed in Philadelphia, New Orleans, St. Thomas, Ontario, Des Moines, and Chicago. The Chicago subsidiary … Continue reading →

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The Tuscan Order

Posted on May 25, 2019

David D. Pursglove Born April 3, 1881 England Died December 19, 1921 The gray granite mausoleum in the Saint Clairsville, Ohio, Union Cemetery is an example of Neo-classic design in the Tuscan order characterized, in part, by the plain Doric … Continue reading →

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Man of Sorrows

Posted on May 22, 2019

Charles Hutchinson October 3, 1828 August 9, 1893 Emily Smith Hutchinson February 25, 1833 January 30, 1911 The Hutchinson monument in the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, displays a stylized bronze bas-relief of Christ surrounded by four attendants.  The title … Continue reading →

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In Stone and Iron

Posted on May 15, 2019

The A. C. Peck mausoleum and the Lynes-Peters mausoleum in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, both display the winged hourglass symbol prominently. The Peck mausoleum displays the symbol on the iron gate that guards the entrance to the tomb.  … Continue reading →

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The Cross and the Crown

Posted on May 11, 2019

The stained-glass window in a mausoleum in the Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, displays a radiant cross and crown. The crown is a symbol of glory and victory over death.  The reward awaits in Heaven where the victor will receive … Continue reading →

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