Category Archives: Saving Graces

Idealized Beauty

Posted on June 21, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

DOMENICO CAFFERATA FATHER 1870 – 1968 MARIA T. CAFFERATA MOTHER 1878 – 1952 The white marble gravestone for the Cafferata Family in the New St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, depicts a mourning figure draped across the top of the … Continue reading →

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The Coded Messages of Flowers

Posted on June 7, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

NATHANIEL MERION. 1814 – 1877. — HIS WIFE MADELINE MERION, 1823 – 1883. The gravestone for Nathaniel and Madeline Merion can be found in the Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.  Atop the base is the statue of a mourning … Continue reading →

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Poet Laureate

Posted on March 19, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

1857 1827 FRANK LEBBY STANTON THIS OLD WORLD WE’RE LIVIN’IN IS MIGHTY HARD TO BEAT, YOU GET A THORN WITH EVERY ROSE BUT AIN’T THE ROSES SWEET! The monument marking the grave of Frank Lebby Stanton is a massive rough-cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Famous graves, Saving Graces | 1 Comment

Flatware and Bronze Doors

Posted on July 8, 2019 by gravelyspeaking

The doors to mausoleums are often imbued with symbolism.  In fact, the door itself represents a portal.  Portals come in many forms—a door, a window, even your eyes and your mouth are considered portals.  Many superstitions about death concern portals, … Continue reading →

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Escorts on the journey ahead

Posted on June 21, 2019 by gravelyspeaking

The modest mausoleum in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx was built for Charles Waite Waller (March 20, 1870-January 19, 1927) and his wife, Rose Ann Hutchcroft Waller.  Charles was born in the tiny coastal village of Anderby, England, with … Continue reading →

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James Cash Penny, Jr.

Posted on June 13, 2019 by gravelyspeaking

The light gray granite mausoleum belongs to J. C. Penny (September 16, 1875 – February 12, 1971) the American businessman and department chain founder that bears his name. The mausoleum is relatively plain, except for the elaborate repeating pattern surrounding … Continue reading →

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The Gates Mausoleum

Posted on June 11, 2019 by gravelyspeaking

  The Gates Mausoleum (not Bill Gates, who is very much alive) in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx is a massive display of wealth.  Robert “Bet-a-Million” Warne Gates, who made a fortune manufacturing and selling barbed wire and founding … Continue reading →

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Mourning Figure

Posted on January 1, 2019 by gravelyspeaking

MORAN Mary to her Savior’s tomb Hasted at the early dawn Spice she brought and rich perfume. KATHERINE A.         LINUS JAMES J. The Design Hints for Memorial Craftsmen was an industry publication for stone cutters and monuments … Continue reading →

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Victorian Weepers

Posted on December 28, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

  In David Robinson’s book, Saving Graces, mourning figures from some of the most famous cemeteries in Europe depict sculptures of beautiful, young, and voluptuous women often wearing revealing clothing as they mourn the dead. Often these sepulchral figures are … Continue reading →

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Neo-classical mourning figure

Posted on October 31, 2017 by gravelyspeaking

IN LOVING MEMORY OF JOHN SPENCER BORN 1811 – DIED 1854 CATHERINE SPENCER BORN 1811 – DIED 1874 MARY ANN SPENCER BORN 1840 – DIED 1919   Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was a noted … Continue reading →

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