Category Archives: Symbolism

Chains, broken and unbroken

Posted on July 4, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

UNITED ABOVE OUR FATHER DANIEL HALLETT DIED April 3, 1856 AE. 61 Y’s. 2 M’s. Two gravestones from the same cemetery in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, display a chain in a circle. This symbolism is the combining of two symbols—the circle … Continue reading →

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Old Glory

Posted on June 22, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

WILLIAM DRIVER BORN IN SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS MARCH 17, 1803 DIED IN NASHVILLE TENNESSEE MARCH 3, 1886 William Driver is buried in the Nashville City Cemetery at Nashville, Tennessee. Driver was an adventurous sea captain. Of his exploits one is noted … Continue reading →

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The Butterfly

Posted on June 21, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

Sacred to the memory of NANCY MAYNOR born 17th of Novbr 1788 departed this life on the 28th of May 1836 This elaborate gravestone in the Nashville City Cemetery at Nashville, Tennessee, has a delicate butterfly on the face of the … Continue reading →

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Fighting Satan’s Hordes

Posted on June 13, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

St. Michael is featured in many cemetery sculptures. Only the Archangel Michael, one of three angels mentioned by name in the Bible, is clothed in armor.  The sword he carries represents a cross but also a weapon in his war … Continue reading →

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Crown and Open Gates

Posted on May 18, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

JOHN W. MEYERS 1865 – 1941   The gravestone pictured above displays an incised carving of open gate, a very common symbol found in American cemeteries. In this example, the open gates, which are central to the Last Judgment, have … Continue reading →

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LUX AETERNA

Posted on May 13, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

LUX AETERNA 1819 – PHILIP HOWES SEARS – 1898 1835 – SARAH PRATT SEARS – 1911 WITH THEE IS THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE IN THY LIGHT SHALL WE SEE LIGHT When we see a winged figure in a cemetery, we … Continue reading →

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Time Takes Flight

Posted on May 4, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

Thomas Earle White 1857 – 1916 There are several expressions in the American lexicon that express how fleeting our time on this Earth is, how this temporal life is short. The grand old soap opera, Days of Our Lives, has … Continue reading →

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The Chambered Nautilus

Posted on April 30, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

JULES MARCOU SALINS FRANCE 1824 – CAMBRIDGE MASS 1898 Tucked away in a shaded spot in the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the small tombstone of Jules Marcou, born in France on April 20, 1824, and died at … Continue reading →

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The Egyptian Revival

Posted on April 11, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

The Erhardt Family Monument in the Greenwood Cemetery at Phoenix, Arizona, is an example of the influence of the Egyptian revival found in American cemeteries in the 19th century and on into the 20th century. Egyptian ornamentation can be divided … Continue reading →

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Rose Blossom

Posted on March 27, 2014 by gravelyspeaking

The monument for the Beck family in the Greenwood Cemetery, at Phoenix, Arizona, has atop it a young female figure. Her head is bent forward, she is looking down in reflection and sorrow, while she is holding a rose bloom in … Continue reading →

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