Category Archives: Uncategorized

Train Wreck

Posted on October 1, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

HUSBAND CHARLES A. HAGGERTY BORN AUG. 2, 1870 KILLED IN WOODS RUN WRECK APRIL 5, 1897 The small square-top tablet in the Union Dale Cemetery in Pittsburgh displays a bas-relief of a locomotive at the top of the gravestone—not just … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

TWO GIRLS MEET DEATH IN FILM FIRE

Posted on September 12, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

LOTTIE HAM BORN Dec. 12, 1898. DIED Oct. 16, 1915 A precious one from us has gone A voice we love Is stilled, Her place is vacant In our home That Never can be filled. The gray granite monument to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A Big Comfy Chair

Posted on September 5, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

Horace Francis Ebert 1853 – 1893 Mary Ellen Dennett Bachelder Ebert 1855 – 1905 Edith L. Ebert Mulno 1873 – 1899   The Ebert Family gravestone in the Lowell, Massachusetts City Cemetery, is a remarkable replica of a tufted chair … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Memorializing Victorian Children

Posted on August 9, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

The gravestones of children are the ones that are uniquely poignant.  It is not natural for  parents to have a child die before they do—children are the future.  The loss is devastating and leaves the parents bereft.  A hole is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Murder in the Courtroom!

Posted on June 14, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

  NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS AUGUST 21, 1868 JULY 27, 1909 “TRIED AND TRUE” GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS – – THAT HE LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIEND (CHILD) JOHN 15:13 MURDERED IN A COURT OF JUSTICE, … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Honoring Those Who Served

Posted on May 25, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

Not far outside Bloomington, Indiana, is a small country cemetery.  Like many of the cemeteries in Indiana, the stone carvers’ unique work can be found on the gravestones.  The Mt. Ebal Cemetery has two such stones marking the graves of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

COVID-19 Strikes

Posted on May 19, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

During a bad bout of cabin fever, I decided to drive the four hours to Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio, 317 landscaped acres of gravestones, mausoleums, and memorials.  The famous, such as Eddie Rickenbacker and James Thurber, as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Marble and Bronze

Posted on February 24, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

The same sculpture appears in three cemeteries very far apart—Greenwood Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona, Crest Lawn Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, and Kraft-Graceland Memorial Park in New Albany, Indiana.  They are all have the exact same statue of a man standing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Immortality Symbols

Posted on February 10, 2020 by gravelyspeaking

IN MEMORY OF LOUISA B. FYFFE WIFE OF JEHU WILKINSON BORN AUGUST 19, 1844 DIED MARCH 5, 1880   REST IN PEACE The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, produced what was billed as ‘white bronze’ cemetery markers from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Church Window

Posted on October 9, 2019 by gravelyspeaking

Generally, I write about older gravestones from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.  I usually find them to be more interesting with symbolism that is intriguing and sometimes forgotten or obscure.  Or I write about statuary found in graveyards that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment