Gravely Speaking

REUBEN FLAGG
DIED NOV. 9, 1869
IN THE 71ST YEAR OF HIS AGE
WAS ONE OF THE FOUR FIRST FAMILIES
THAT SETTLED IN WILL CO.
A PIONEER IN THE ADVANCE GUARD OF THE
WESTERN EMIGRATION 1830
HAULED THE LUMBER TO BUILD THE FIRST
FRAME HOUSE ERECTED IN CHICAGO.
OUR MOTHER BETSEY K.
WIFE OF REUBEN FLAGG
DIED FEB. 20, 1876
IN THE 71ST YEAR OF HER AGE
MOTHER OF THE FIRST WHITE CHILD BORN IN WILL CO.
MARY JANE
DIED JULY 11, 1853 AGED 9. YRS. 10. MS 26. DS.
HENRY C.
DIED DEC. 17, 1854 AGED 15. YRS. 3. MS. 10. DS.
SAMATHA E.
DIED FEB. 25. 1872 AGED 41. YRS. 5. MS.
CHILDREN OF R. & B. FLAGG

According to the trade magazine publication, Monument Reporter, December, 1909, Volume 42, Issue No. 12, published by Nichols and Co., Chicago, Illinois, page 13, the Flagg monument was a “unique monument erected at the Plainfield, Cemetery, Plainfield, Ill. For George Flagg, in memory of his father and mother, Reuben A. Flagg and his wife. This job was cut out of one solid piece of Indiana buff Bedford stone. It is 5-0 x 4-0 x 7-2 to the top of the chimney and weighs 15,000 pounds. It required six horses to haul it from the depot to the cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Flagg were one of the first four families in Will County and always lived in a log cabin of this style; and that is why this monument was especially designed for them by Arthur Wunderlich of the E. Wunderlich Granite Co., Joliet.”

One of my favorite graveyard motifs is the willow, one of the most ubiquitous symbols found in American cemeteries.

According to James Deetz and Edwin S. Dethlefsen, in their groundbreaking article, “Death’s Head, Cherub, Urn and Willow” the willow first made its appearance in cemeteries in the early 18th century.  The motif represented a break from the stark and cold reminders that death would bring that the Puritans carved into their gravestones—flying death’s heads, skulls and crossbones, and gravedigger’s equipment. In addition to the grim reminders of the inevitability of death Puritan gravestones often accompanied the haunting imagery with blunt words such as, “Here lies the body.” Nothing subtle there.

The willow, however, represented a more sentimental view of death.

The willow as a symbol is sentimental and hints at the human emotions felt during grief.  The willow motif represents what one might expect; sorrow and grief, it is after all a “weeping” willow. This symbol is found on many gravestones and can be found carved in a variety of styles. Not only does it appear on tombstones, but can also be found in the iron fences and gates surrounding plots–as does this willow shading two lambs in the Old City Cemetery in Sacramento, California.

In the previous post, floriography was defined and highlighted as a way to understand the silent messages found on gravestones erected during the Victorian era. To understand the symbolism, however, one has to be able to identify the flower depicted on the stone.

For me, this flower is a mystery. Any ideas of what kind of flower this is?

JAMES COUSINS

DIED

JULY 4, 1901,

AGED 50 YEARS

The segmented top white marble gravestone of James Cousins in the Old City Cemetery in Sacramento, California, is festooned with flowers and foliage—lily of the valley, ferns, and ivy—each with meaning. 

 In Victorian times, flowers took on significance as a way to send coded messages; this was known as floriography from the Latin combining flora—“goddess of flowers”—and graphein—“writing.”

In 1884, Kate Greenaway, a popular author and illustrator published a book titled, the Language of Flowers.  According to her book, each flower had a meaning that was conveyed to the viewer or receiver of the flower or bouquet of flowers—for instance, the weeping willow represented mourning, the white lily represented purity, the Easter lily represented the Resurrection, and so on.  The book is a nearly complete listing of flowers along with their “secret” or symbolic meanings. 

Since the lily of the valley is one of Spring’s first bloomers, often pushing up through the snow it symbolizes renewal and resurrection.  Also, as legend tells us, when the Virgin Mary shed tears, her teardrops fell to the ground and sprung up into lilies of the valley. They have come to represent purity and innocence.  The fern represents humility and sincerity.  The ivy is commonly found in most cemeteries. Because of the ivy’s nature to twine up a surface and hang on tight, the plant symbolizes everlasting love and eternal friendship.

VIRGINIA

RANDOLPH

ELLETT

1857 – – 1939

FOREMOST IN LIEARNING AND IN FAITH AND AID

PRE-EMINENT; ALL-TIRELESS; NEVER FOND

BUT RESOULTE IN PROGRESS AND AFRAID

ONLY OF FINDING NO MORE WORK BEYOND

Nested under a canopy of trees in a gated plot surrounded by an iron fence in the famed Hollywood Cemetery is a gravestone dedicated to the pre-eminent educator, Virginia Randolph Ellett, in Richmond, Virginia.  Ellett was an early advocate for the education of girls and in 1890 established a small but well-known school.  By 1897, Ellett began accepting only girl students.  She became renown as an educator in Virginia and beyond.

Honoring Ellett is a plain square-topped white marble tablet embellished with a stylized trumpet angel.  Trumpet angels foretell of the impending apocalypse and that the last Judgment is at hand but also as “embodiments of the resurrection.” According to the article, “Embodying Immortality: Angels in America’s Rural Garden Cemeteries, 1850—1900”, pages 56 – 111, 2007 edition of Markers, XXIV, written by Elisabeth Roark, of the eight common categories of angels found in rural garden cemeteries only the trumpet angels are commonly found in cemeteries before the 1850s.

After the 1850s trumpet angels appear more frequently and often as full sculptures rather than bas-reliefs. The angels are often depicted looking toward the Heavens with an almost serene expression unlike the trumpet angels found in the Book of Revelation. The seven trumpet angels in Revelation “are a ferocious lot; each trumpet blow brings a disaster that destroys earthly life.”

This particular trumpet angel was carved by Rene Paul Chambellan (1893 – 1955) an American artist best known for his architectural sculptures.  His fluid designs were referred by several names—French Modern Style, Zig-Zag Moderne, as well as, Art Deco. 

His work can be found on many prominent buildings such as the Chicago Tribune Building, Sterling Memorial Library on the Yale campus, the Buffalo City Hall, and several works at Rockefeller Center in New York City, such as the Acts of Vaudeville under the marquee above the 1260 Avenue of the Americas entrance:

Atlas at the 630 Fifth Avenue, Main entrance, Chambellan collaborated with Lee Lawrie to create:

and the Fountainhead Figures of the Six Pools in the Channel Gardens.

ANN AMERICA,

WIFEOF L. GAMBRILL,

AND DAUGHER OF

REV. L. PIERCE,

BORN DEC. 10^TH 1815,

DIED DEC. 1^ST 1859.

“THIS IS THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOM-

ETH THE WORLD EVEN OUR FAITH.”

The white marble monument in the Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia, of Ann America Gambrill is festooned with flowers decorating the rounded top.  The gravestone also has a deep inset with a bas-relief allegorical figure of Faith.  Faith holds a closed book, likely a Bible, in one hand and her other holds a Latin cross, the universal symbol of Christianity.

The neoclassical sculpture displays a Greek sculptural scheme referred to as contrapposto, which is an Italian word meaning counterpoise.  The figure is poised “such that the weight rests on one leg, freeing the other leg, which is bent at the knee.  With the weight shift, the hips, shoulders, and head tilt, suggesting relaxation.”  In early classical sculptures the statues were often nude figures but also draped as in this example.

Archibald Bulloch’s tomb can be found in the Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.  Though his name most likely does not ring a bell today, he was an historically significant figure in the State of Georgia’s history.

Brickwork covers his tomb.  Atop the stepped brick ledger sets a gray marble monument in three parts—plinth, base, and decorative urn.   

On each of the four-sides of the base is a carved Ouroboros Ophis.  The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a snake eating its tail. The word, Ouroboros, is Greek—oura meaning tail; vora meaning eating, and ophis meaning serpent or snake. In ancient Egypt, the Ouroboros represented the daily passage of the sun.  However, the symbol was adopted by Western culture and came to represent the cycle of endless creation and destruction; for living creatures, the cycle of life and death.  The snake eating its tail in cemetery symbolism represents the cycle of life—birth and death—and eternity.

Inside the Ouroboros on the front of the base is inscribed:

FIRST PRESIDENT

Of

GEORGIA

1776 – 1777

ARCHIBALD BULLOCK

Born in So. Carolina

1730

Died in Savh

1777

Below the base on the plinth is inscribed the following:

Patriot Soldier Statesman

Georgians! Let the memory

of Archibald Bulloch live

in your breasts, tell your

children of him and let them

tell another generation.

Next to Bulloch’s tomb is a marker placed by the Georgia Historical Commission that reads:

“This is no time to talk of moderation; in the present instance it ceases to be a virtue.”
Speech to Provincial Congress, June 5, 1776

Foremost among Georgia’s Revolutionary patriots stood Archibald Bulloch whose remains rest in this vault. An early and staunch advocate of American rights, Bulloch was among the patriots who issued the call in 1774 for the first province-wide meeting of the friends of Liberty in Georgia.

He served as President of the 1st and the 2nd Provincial Congress & was a delegate in 1775 to the Continental Congress where he won John Adams’ praise for his “abilities and fortitude.”

In April, 1776, Mr. Bulloch became the first President and Commander in Chief of Georgia, an office he ably filled until his untimely death during the latter part of February, 1777. His loss was a severe blow to the revolutionary cause in Georgia as his was the only leadership which united the Whig factions in the troubled young State.

Theodore Roosevelt was the great-great-grandson of the Georgia patriot.”

GEORGE W. MARTUS

MAY 31, 1861

JUNE 24, 1940

FLORENCE M. MARTUS

AUG. 7, 1868

FEB. 8. 1943

IN MEMORY OF THE WAVING GIRL AND HER BROTHER,

KEEPERS OF THE LIGHT HOUSE ON ELBA ISLAND. SAVH RIVER FOR 35 YRS.

Savannah, Georgia, like many historic cities has a Hop-on-Hop-off Trolley that takes you round the city with the tour guide regaling the tourists on the bus with many fascinating, spooky, and sometimes tragic stories.  Few of the stories told are as poignant as the story of the “Waving Girl.”  And here is where the myth comes in.

As the story goes, the young redhead, Florence Martus, fell in love with a good-looking sailor.  Unfortunately, he was soon to set sail shortly after they fell for each other.  But they pledged their love and promised that as soon as he returned, they would renew their love and begin their life together.  She promised to be faithful.  Patiently and hopefully, Florence waved her white apron greeting incoming ships and at night she waved a lantern hoping that her true love would be on board and see her.  For forty-four years she kept her vigil by the lighthouse, but her sailor never returned.  She never again saw the love of her youth and she died broken hearted.

But after further research, what I found out is that that fanciful tale is not, in fact, true.  It does sound terribly romantic, and you can imagine how a story like this got started as the story of the Waving Girl was told and re-told.  There is a lot of truth in the story.  Florence did live on Elba Island with her brother, George.  They took over the care of the lighthouse when their father died.  And Florence did wave at passing ships—from 1887 until 1931!  But, according to Savannah’s Monuments: The Untold Stories by Michael Freeman, published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., page 59, Florence gave an interview late in her life where she dispelled the myth that had grown up around her, “That’s a nice story.  But what got me started…I was young and it was sort of lonely on the island for a girl.  At first I would run out to wave at my friends passing, and I was so tickled when they blew the whistle back at me…”

Felix De Weldon, famous for his statue of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima statue in Washington, D.C., was commissioned to create the bronze statue of Florence Martus. The statue was erected on the east end of River Street in Savannah not in remembrance of her lost love, but her devotion to greeting the passing ships for over four decades.

The cautionary tale here is: “Don’t believe everything you hear from a tour guide.”

GEORGE W. MARTUS

MAY 31, 1861

JUNE 24, 1940

FLORENCE M. MARTUS

AUG. 7, 1868

FEB. 8. 1943

IN MEMORY OF THE WAVING GIRL AND HER BROTHER,

KEEPERS OF THE LIGHT HOUSE ON ELBA ISLAND. SAVH RIVER FOR 35 YRS.

Savannah, Georgia, like many historic cities has a Hop-on—Hop-off Trolley that takes you round the city with the tour guide regaling the tourists on the bus with many fascinating, spooky, and sometimes tragic stories.  Few of the stories told are as poignant as the story of the “Waving Girl.”

As the story goes, the young redhead, Florence Martus, fell in love with a good-looking sailor.  Unfortunately, he was soon to set sail shortly after they fell for each other.  But they pledged their love and promised that as soon as he returned, they would renew their love and begin their life together.  She promised to be faithful.  Patiently and hopefully, Florence waved her white apron greeting incoming ships and at night she waved a lantern hoping that her true love would be on board and see her.  For fifty years she kept her vigil by the lighthouse, but her sailor never returned.  She never again saw the love of her youth and she died broken hearted.

A bronze statue of Florence Martus was created by Felix De Weldon and erected on the east end of River Street in Savannah in remembrance of her and her lost love.

WILLIAM RUEGER

SON OF LOUIS AND

SABINA RUEGER

BORN NOV. 30. 1857

RICHMOND. VA.

DIED JUNE 30. 1936

RIGHTEOUS. JUST BELOVED BY ALL

DOROTHEA W. VOCKE

BELOVED WIFE OF

WILLIAM RUEGER

BORN MARCH 10. 1859

VLOTHO GERMANY

DIED SEPT. 28. 1909

A DEVOTED WIFE, MOTHER AND FRIEND

THEY THAT LIE HERE REST IN PEACE

The winged angel monument in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, was created for William and Dorothea Rueger.  Rueger’s father, Louis, was a successful hotelier and William joined him in the family business where they made their fortune.

The bronze sculpture of the angel was created by Austrian-born sculptor Julius Loester (April 12, 1861—July 20, 1923) the son of Josef and Wilhelmine Loester.  Loester took other commissions for funerary monuments.  For instance, two stunning examples of his work are bronze mausoleum doors he created.  The one below was created for the over-the-top Greek Revival Winter Mausoleum in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.  The middle figure’s face is reported to be a likeness of Emil Winter himself.  The figure to the left is Anubis, guide to the Underworld and protector of graves, and the figure to the right is Nephthys, who symbolizes the death experience and is protector of mummies.

The door below was created for the Waller Mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.  The door depicts a classically dressed and draped mourning figure standing with her head bowed, tentatively waiting in somber silence.

But He also received commissions for innovative and new sculptural projects.  An article titled, “Models in Miniature: A New Device of Architects to Prevent Disappointment of Owner,” in the New York Tribune from November 16, 1902, states that millionaires building palatial homes in Manhattan were often disappointed once the house was built because they didn’t really understand the plans they looked at when the blueprints were drawn up.  According to the article, innovative artist Julius C. Loester took the plans and constructed a plaster scale model of the house so the owners could see in 3-D what their house would look like thereby preventing disappointment.

He also won some major public commission work, such as the contract for the creation of the statuary for the Liberal Arts Building and the Horticulture Building at the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition of 1898 in Omaha, Nebraska.  He also sculpted a monumental piece, the Wisconsin State Memorial, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

He sculpted the Mothers Monument in Ashland, Pennsylvania, which is a 3-D likeness of Whistler’s famous painting titled, “Arrangement in Gray and Black” but became known as “Whistler’s Mother.”