Clover Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg, Indiana
Clover Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg, Indiana
It is estimated that there are 38 million commercial fishermen worldwide and millions more who are recreational. The sentiment, “Gone Fishin” is most likely an accurate vision of Heaven for many of them.
Clover Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg, Indiana
Clover Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg, Indiana
The squirrel is not a commonly seen symbol in the cemetery, even though, the live ones are regular inhabitants. This intricately carved limestone marker has three squirrels, one on top of the main stone, perched on its haunches, the other two on the base with a stash of acorns. The symbolism behind the squirrel is a bit confusing. Some sources say that if the squirrel is holding a nut, it is a sign of religious meditation and spirtual striving. Other sources say that the squirrel is an animal devoted to the devil, noted by its red color; red–the color of Satan. These squirrels don’t at all look sinister and are most likely in contemplation. The squirrel in the center, arched back, with its head raised as if looking toward Heaven.
The James Whitcomb Riley Monument, Crown Hill Cemetery
Like bell-bottom pants, pet rocks, New Coke, and 8 Track tapes, Riley’s poetry has not stood the test of time. Many critics think of his poetry as saccharine and cliched. Today, in the pantheon of American poetry, James Whitcomb Riley is considered a minor poet. With his star faded, and fewer visiting his grave, a movement has begun to remove his remains to his birthplace of Greenfiled, Indiana, to a grave he purchased next to his parents.
On the Website, jameswhitcombriley.com, the Webmaster writes, “Recently the fame of this great writer has dimmed. His humanism and glorification of things Hoosier are not so valued now as in former days. So is it time to allow him to rest in peace where he intended, in his hometown of Greenfield, Indiana? Should America’s “Children’s Poet” be allowed to have his remains returned to the empty grave he purchased to house his remains?” That is a question that remains to be answered.
Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana
Away
I can not say, and I will not say
That she is dead. – She is just away!
With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand,
She has wandered into an unknown land,
And left us dreaming of how very fair
It needs must be, since she lingers there.
And you – O you, who the wildest yearn
For the old-time step and the glad return, –
Think of her faring on, as dear
In the love of There as the love of Here:
And loyal still, as she gave the blows
Of her warrior-strength to her children’s foes. –
Mild and gentle, as she was brave,
When the sweetest love of her life she gave
To simple things: – Where the violets grew
Blue as the eyes they were likened to,
The touches of her hands have strayed
As revently as her lips have prayed:
When the little brown thrush that harshly chirred
Was dear to her as the mocking-bird:
And she pitied as much as someone in pain
A writhing honey-bee wet with rain. –
Think of her still as the same, I say:
She is not dead – she is just away.
Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianpolis, Indiana
To the ordinary superstitious person, a horseshoe with the ends pointing up, is viewed as good luck. These can ususally be found tacked up above a doorway and kept as a talisman. The claim is that the luck stays in the horseshoe and is bestowed on the owner. Conversely, some believe that if the horseshoe has the ends pointing down, the good luck will drain from the shoe and be bestowed on those around it.
In gravestone art, however, the horseshoe is a symbol that wards off evil, not as a good luck charm. The horseshoe can also be found on the graves of people who had a strong passion for horses or even those who had worked with horses, such as trainers, jockeys, horse owners, or just those who loved to ride.
However, if you are not a football fan, you might have missed the meaning of what this particular horseshoe represents. This steele with the prominent horseshoe, ends up, is the gravestone of Robert Irsay, who was born March 5, 1923 and who died January 14, 1997. Mr. Irsay purchased the Baltimore Colts and moved the team to Indianapolis in the wee hours of the morning on March 28, 1984. The move of the team made Robert Irsay a dispised figure in Baltimore and beloved in Indy. This horseshoe with the ends up and 7 nail holes, most likely a lucky 7, is the symbol of the Indianapolis Colt’s team and can be seen on their helmets, team paraphenalia, and if you look closely, on the belt buckles of the cheerleaders’ uniforms.
Erie Cemetery, Erie, Pennsylvania
This metal marker is a replica of the emblem of the National Society of the American Colonists–a shield with an oak tree in full foliage in the center, surrounded by an open wreath of oak leaves and acorns. This society was one of many organizations founded to celebrate American ancestry before the American Revolution.
The organization was founded December 9, 1920 by Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell Guernsey. All members must be able to prove their lineage goes back before the signing of Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Their motto is “Past, Present, Future”.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, Louisiana
It is fitting on Halloween night, that the post relate a tale about Marie Laveau, known as the Voodoo Queen and one of the most notorious practitioners of black magic. Born in 1794 in Santo Domingo, Marie was well known thoughout her adopted city of New Orleans for the potions she concocted and the spells she cast. Marie was a hairdresser by trade, the profession which was her link to the mysteries and the scandals of the city. The job is intimate, with the stylist becoming close to her clients who open up and reveal their darkest secrets.
Marie lived a long life, giving birth to 15 children, including her daughter and namesake, Marie II, who took over for her mother when she died in 1881, casting spells for the denizens of the dark and believers in the cult. For years after Marie died people claimed to see apparitions of Marie. To this day, candles, coins, beads, and other gifts are still left at the crypt that is said to hold the remains of Marie and her daughter, Marie II.
For tales of haunted cemeteries, read, Beyond the Grave: The History of America’s Most Haunted Graveyards, written by Troy Taylor published by Whitechapel Productions Press. The author promises to take the reader on a “journey to places where the dead still walk!”
On the top of this gravestone, an angel is depicted flying amid billowing clouds. The angel is blowing a horn and carrying a laurel wreath. The angel blows the horn to announce the coming resurrection. The laurel wreath dates back to Roman times when soldiers wore them as triumphal signs of glory. The laurel was also believed to wash away the soldier’s guilt from injuring or killing any of his oponents. In funerary art the laurel wreath is often seen as a symbol of victory over death. In this case, the angel is carved on the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier and could relate to the glory of the fallen general buried beneath the gravestone.
Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky
SACRED
TO
the memory
OF
MAJOR GENERAL
JOHN E. KING
Born Dec. 21st, 1737:
Died May 13th, 1828.
Aged 70 years 4 months
& 22 days
He was patriotick:
Brave & Hospitable.
On February 11, 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney shot Harry Whittington, a 78-year old Texas attorney, in the face during a hunting outing on a private ranch in Texas. Cheney shot Whittington in the face, neck, and chest with bird shot mistaking his hunting companion for a quail.
Cheney, however, was not the first Vice President to shoot another person. That honor goes to Vice President Aaron Burr.
Aaron Burr was Vice President serving under President Thomas Jefferson from 1801 to 1805. After many years of animosity between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, Burr finally challanged Hamilton to a duel, even though, dueling was outlawed in New York (punishment was death) where they both lived. Dueling was also outlawed in New Jersey but the punishment was less severe. So, on July 11, 1804, Burr and Hamilton paddled across the river and met on the riverbank outside of Weehawken, New Jersey. When the smoke cleared, two shots had been fired but only one had hit its target. Hamilton was mortally wounded. He was loaded into a small boat and taken to a nearby friend’s house where he died.
Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, New Jersey
In spite of a long public career as a soldier, lawyer, and politican, serving in the New York State Assembly, as the New York State Attorney General, as a United States Senator, and Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr is largely remembered for dueling and killing his political oponent Alexander Hamilton.
Burr is buried in the Princeton Cemetery, in Princeton, New Jersey. His father, Aaron Burr, Sr. co-founded the College of New Jersey (which became Princeton University) and was its second president. His maternal grandfather, Jonathan Edwards, noted American theologian, was the third president of the college, Burr is buried next to Edwards’ grave. Burr’s gravestone is a plain white marble segmented-top tablet set on a foundation.
AARON BURR
BORN FEB. 6TH, 1756
DIED SEPT. 14TH, 1836
A COLONEL IN THE ARMY OF THE
REVOLUTION
VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, FROM 1801 TO 1805.
Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC
Corn is an ancient American crop that has been exported to all corners of the world. More than 300,000 million tons of corn are grown in the United States every year. It is not only ubiquitous in our Midwestern fields but corn syrup is in nearly every food on the grocery store shelf. It is right and fitting then that corn represents fertility since its abundance is obvious. It also represents rebirth in funerary art.
Green Hill Cemetery, Bedford, Indiana
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