Unusual Graves, Tombstones and Epitaphs

[Frank 'N' Howie]

I keep coming back to this one...I would love to get some pics of some of the cool ones up here and post them...Why don't we all do that? It would be cool to see what everyone can come up with!

[1karenhb]

Great post mother! Loved the scrabble one. Some funny, some touching and some just weird. Thanks again.

[beatlebaby4]

Pardon me if this is already listed elsewhere:

http://www.humoric.net/2008/08/11/th...nd-tombstones/

I found this link on mental-floss.com and loved it! Poor Rex's stone is by far my fave.

Wow, some of those are absolutely beautiful
Very, very creative

[tommyjox]

Imagine the money to chisel a life size Mercedes out of stone!

[cindyt]

I loved the last one with the man and woman lying in bed. I'd love to know the story behind that one.

[onekindsistah]

Those were all really cool, I would definately like to hear the stories behind them.

[Missa310]

I loved the..."I told you I was sick" one! LOL

[Morty]

Okie doke, this is a forward from my mom. Don't know how authentic it is, but I felt it worth sharing with my fellow death hags.


Browsing Old Cemeteries
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour. Some fascinating things on old tombstones!


Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York :
Born 1903--Died 1942.
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the
car was on the way down. It was.
=============================
In a Thurmont, Maryland , cemetery:
Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up and no
place to go.
=============================
On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in
East Dalhousie Cemetery , Nova Scotia :
Here lies Ezekial Aikle, Age 102. Only The
Good Die Young.
=============================
In a London , England cemetery :
Here lies Ann Mann, Who lived an old maid
but died an old Mann. Dec. 8, 1767
=============================
In a Ribbesford, England , cemetery:
Anna Wallace
The children of Israel wanted bread, And
the Lord sent them manna. Clark Wallace
wanted a wife, And the Devil sent him Anna.
===============================
In a Ruidoso, New Mexico , cemetery:
Here lies Johnny Yeast... Pardon me
for not rising.
===============================
In a Uniontown, Pennsylvania , cemetery:
Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake.
Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
==============================
In a Silver City, Nevada, cemetery:
Here lays The Kid.
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger
But slow on the draw.
================================
A lawyer's epitaph in England :
Sir John Strange.
Here lies an honest lawyer,
and that is Strange.
=================================
John Penny's epitaph in the Wimborne,
England , cemetery:
Reader, if cash thou art in want of any,
Dig 6 feet deep and thou wilt find a Penny.
==================================
In a cemetery in Hartscombe , England :
On the 22nd of June, Jonathan Fiddle went
out of tune.
==================================
Anna Hopewell's grave in Enosburg Falls ,
Vermont :
Here lies the body of our Anna,
Done to death by a banana.
It wasn't the fruit that laid her low,
But the skin of the thing that made her go.
==================================
On a grave from the 1880s in Nantucket ,
Massachusetts :
Under the sod and under the trees,
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there's only the pod.
Pease shelled out and went to God.
==================================
In a cemetery in England :
Remember man, as you walk by,
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so shall you be.
Remember this and follow me.
*
To which someone replied by writing
on the tombstone:
*
To follow you I'll not consent,
Until I know which way you went!

[ratkin638]

There is a set of old tombstones in Vermont that Harpo Marx discusses in his book "Harpo Speaks." He and his friend, author/critic Alexander Woolcott (who had a summer home in Vermont) used to drive around and stop at old cemetaries to read the stones. This is a passtime I also enjoy, and it happens that I had seen the same set of tombstones even before reading Harpo's book.

They were four sisters. The names?
First Cora Hooker
Second Cora Hooker
Last Cora Hooker
Immaculate C. Hooker

[Noreen]

I heard about one that said "I told you I was sick"

[RoRo]

Those were great! I love old stones!!

[Chunga]

http://www.goodquotes.com/gravestones.htm

I like the Ben Franklin epitaph, being a printer and all. Amazing all Ben did in his life he mentions his trade on his headstone.

[guardmom2008]

Very nice post. Thanks Chunga. I love reading them.

[pvezz]

Very cool, Chunga. Love Poe's and Shakespeare's.

[Nessa]

Cool link, Chunga. I like Sonny Bono's and Mel Blanc's.

[Danse Macabre]

Thanks for the cool link, Chuga. I love those of Bette Davies and Emily Dickinson, and Ben Franklin

[girlnamedfaerie]

Yay! Thanks for the link!

[mandee1005]

Great find!

[Linnie]

My favorite local ones (Connecticut mostly.) One has to remember that many epitaph poems were actually standardized--- if not actual Biblical verses, one could pick them from a handbook or catalog when ordering the stones. However, they could certainly be made more individualized with names, or more glorious, gloomy, or just graphic (referring to worms and bones, etc.) depending on whoever ordered the stone. There are endless variations on this old favorite:

"Attend, oh youth, now passing by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, one day you'll be.
Prepare for death and follow me."

Others, as you can see, might actually tell you something about the person in the grave:

"The once well-respected Daniel B.,
here rested from the hurry of life 1777, aged 73.
Could a virtuous, honest, amiable character,
Could blessings of the poor echoing from his gate,
Could ye sympathetick grief of an aged Partner
or the soft'ning tears of a numerous offspring,
disarm the King of Terrors, He had not died.
What is Life, to answer life's great aim."

Phebe Ann, daughter of Elisha & Laura A.,
died 1825, aged 10 mo.
Be ready you who see
This monumental stone,
For soon your days will flee
Like ours are forever gone.


Elisha B. died 1865, AE. 78 yrs.
There is a land mine eye hath seen,
In visions of enraptured thought,
So bright that all which spreads between
Is with a radient glory frought;
A land upon whose blissful shore,
There rests no shadow, falls no stain,
There those who meet shall part no more,
And those long parted meet again.


In memory of Mr. Stephen B.
who departed this life 1804, AE. 62.
If a man die shall he live again?


Emma J., Daughter of Silas & Betsey H., Died 1862, AE. 10 yrs. & 6 mos.
"What I do not know though knowest not know, but thou shalt know hereafter."


In memory of Zechariah S., who died1833, aged 67 years.
Our days begin with trouble here
Our life is but a span,
And cruel death is always near
So frail a thing is man.


Sacred to the memory of
Mrs. Hepsa E. S., Wife of Gold S. and
daughter of Rev. David & Mrs. Hepsa E.; Born in (Conn.) 1778,
She departed this life 1864, in the 86th year of her age,
at (NY)

She was distinguished, honored and loved for her wisdom and dignity; her great intellectually powers and varied and extensive learning; the firmness and elevation of her principles, her fidelity and earnestness in the performance of every duty; the steadfastness of her friendship; the generosity, unselfishness, sincerity and tenderness of her heart; the warmth of her affections; her heavenly temper, truth, benevolence, purity, refinement, gentleness and piety."


Julia Henrietta, daughter of Agur & Levina S. W.,
departed this life 1832, aged 5 months & 9 days.
Oh hadst thou still on earth remained
Visions of beauty, fair as brief,
How soon thy brightness had been stained,
With passion or with grief,
Now not a sullying breath can rise
To dim thy glory in the skies.


Carlotta F., aged 23, (late Victorian):
"Say not goodnight,
but in some brighter sphere
bid me good morning."

In memory of Urania H., Wife of Elijah H.,
who died 1790, in the 52d year of her age.
Death rent me from my friends on earth,
Hope wafts me to the sky:
By nature doomed like Kings & Slaves,
Forgotten here to lie.


I close with a more modern one with an interesting quotation. The young woman, Nancy L. G., died at age 25 in 1977. I have NO idea why this was engraved--- I don't remember anything at all about this girl's death, or what she did for a living. but maybe she (or her husband?) was just a fan of Mao's little red book:


"To die for the people is weightier than Mount Tai..."


(The rest of the quote is:
..."but to work for the fascists and die for the exploiters and oppressors is lighter than a feather." Mount Tai is one of the 5 sacred mountains of Tao. The original quotation Mao twisted around, attributed to ancient Chinese historian---and eunuch--- Sima Qian, was "Though death comes to all men alike, it may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather.")

[sablegsd]

In a local cemetary there is a stone with just name and dates, but the headstone is shaped like a Coke bottle. Very cute. I told my hubby I want a Pepsi bottle on my grave.

[deathbunny]

I love reading gravestones
here's one from a local church.

[SIZE=2]Here lies in horizontal position[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The Outsize case of[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]GEORGE ROUTLEIGH, Watchmaker[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Whose abilities in that line were an honour[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]To his profession[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Integrity was the mainspring,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]And prudence the regulator[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Of all the actions of his life.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Human, generous and liberal[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]His hand never stopped[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Till he had relieved distress.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]So much regulated were his motions[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]That he never went wrong[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Except when set agoing[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]By people[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Who did not know his key.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Even then he was easily[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Set right again.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]He had the art of disposing his time[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]So well[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]That his hours glided away[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]In one continual round[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Of pleasure and delight[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Till and unlucky minute put a period to[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]His existence.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]He departed this life[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Nov 14 1802[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Aged 57[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Wound up[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]In hopes of being taken in hand[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]By his Maker[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]And of being thoroughly cleaned, repaired[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]And set-going[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]In the world to come.[/SIZE]

a link to some more from my little corner of the island.
http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hdecent/epitaphs.htm

[sunshine74137]

I found a list of cute epitaphs. From the book "Final Exits"



Early American eptaphs were often used as a sort of mini obituary heres one for a man who died in 1745:

He got a fish bone in his throat
and then he sang an angel note.




This man died of overeating in Virginia in 1748:

Here lies the bones of Joseph Jones
Who ate while he was able
But once overfed, he dropped down dead
and fell beneath the table.
When from the tomb, to meet his doom,
He arises amist sinners.
Since he must dwell in heaven or hell,
Take him--whichever gives the best dinners.



Man who died during a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1790

Grim death took me
without any warning
I was well at night,
and dead by morning



This was found in Enosburg Falls, Vermont

Here lies cut down like unripe fruit
The wife of Deacon Amos Shute:
She died of using too much coffee
Anny Dominy-eighteen-forty



This one was for Anna H. who died in 1938 in Schenectady NY, from a fall

Here lies the body of our Anna
Done to death by a banana
It wasn't the fruit that laid her low
But the skin of the thing that made her go



This in a moravian cemetary in NY

Wherever you be,
Let your wind go free.
For holding it in
Was the killing of me.




Some epitaphs tell how the person lived

Rebecca Freeland
1741
She drank good ale
good punch and wine
and lived to the age of 99



By the late 1800's new technologys were causing deaths and were noted on tombstones, Before companies were heald liable for false advertising this was another way to grt back at the manufacturer of a faulty product for all eternity.

Ellen Shannon
Who was fatally burned
March 21,1870
by the explosion of a lamp
filled with "R.E. Danforth's
Non-Explosive Burning fluid"



Albany New york 1914

Harry Edsel Smith
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if
the car was on it's way down
It was.



A man executed for rustleing sheep

Here lies the body of
Thomas Kemp
Who lived by the wool
and died by the hemp



When Americans moved westward a new sense of poetic justice appeared in epitaphs.. Lester Moore was employed for Wells fargo company in Naco arizonia, and died during a robbery in 1888

Here lies Lester Moore
four shots from a .44
No Les--No More



Under the inscription for Dan Slater are the names of the six jurors that cvonvicted him

Dan Slater
Hung for stealing horses that didn't exist
Here are the people responsible for this



this man followed some bad advice and entered town believing it was clear of bounty hunters in his pursuit. Found in Boot Hill Cemetary, Tombstone,AZ

Here lies the body of arkansas Jim
we made the mistake
but the jokes on him



Silver city, Nevada 1878

Here lies Butch
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger,
But slow on the draw



These epitaphs were chosen by a disgruntled spouse

Tom Smith is dead, and here he lies
Nobody laughs and nobody cries
Where his soul's gone, ore how it fares
Nobody knows and nobody cares



From Onconto Falls, Wisconson, 1876

Beneath this stone my wife doth lie
Now she's at rest and so am I



Bibbesford, England 1799

The children of Isreal wanted bread
and the Lord sent them manna
Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife
and the Devil sent him Anna



East Dalhouse Cemetary, Nova Scotia

Here lies Ezekial Aikle
age 102
The good die young



An adulterous husband got these final words

Gone but not forgiven



Not much loved wife in New Hampshire

Tears cannot restore her
Therefore I weep



Some used their epitaphs to talk back to the living, heres a hypochondriac's grave found in Littleton, Colorado who died in 1979

I told you
I was sick!



27 year old who died in 1984 has a marijuana leaf etched on his tombstone above these words

Hi!
Stay high.
Bye!



and finally some people just run out of words

Here lies Ned.
There is nothing more to be said-

[Tracyb24]

Ellen Shannon
Who was fatally burned
March 21,1870
by the explosion of a lamp
filled with "R.E. Danforth's
Non-Explosive Burning fluid"







Ain't that a Bitch!

[Paige B]

Joe DiMaggio's epitaph reads:

Dignity, Grace And
Elegance Personified

Hmm...maybe I should put that on *my* gravestone!! Not!!

[sunshine74137]

beneath this stone my wife doth lie
now she's at peace and so am I

I think my husband might use that one

[kelbons]

Afflictions sore,
Long time I bore,
Physicians were in vain.
"Til God was pleased
To give me ease,
And free me from my pain.

[Fujicakes]

My favorite is:

Here lies David St. Hubbins...
And why not?

[kelbons]

My favorite is:

Here lies David St. Hubbins...
And why not?

LOL I always loved that one!

[Boxofpandoraz]

This is on a wall crypt about ten feet from where my Mom is buried...It makes me laugh every time I walk by it.

[Fujicakes]

This is on a wall crypt about ten feet from where my Mom is buried...It makes me laugh every time I walk by it.

LOL that's awesome!

[Dying Breath]

Check out this site...lots of odd things

[Dying Breath]

Could not post the pictures.. so here is the link
http://oddee.com/item_96536.aspx

[suicide_blonde]

Makes me snicker every time I see it.

[sheri]

Makes me snicker every time I see it.

*snort* thanks

[thanatos.net]

I feel like I've posted this on here before, but oh well:.

[havoc]

Just up the road in Paris, TX is the Evergreen Cemetary. Famous for its Jesus in Cowboy Boots statue. I don't remember whose grave it is. But he does have cowboy boots on....

LMFAO!

.

[Mintgiver]

"As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so shall you be." I wish I could make attribute but.....

I will have to get out and take a picture. We have one of these in a cemetary not far from my home. It is pretty creepy. It ends with, "Prepare my friends, to follow me..."

[MmmRavioli]

Anyone have any?

Surely I'm not the only one who likes taking the camera to the cemetery. Anyone ever photograph any funny or just really cool-looking headstones? Interesting epitaphs? Cool headstone designs/colors? Hilarious last names?...



This is from a cemetery right down the road. It's actually a really cute stone. Just the single birdy in the corner, flying over a mountain, and a couple of little vases for flowers...

[havoc]

This is near me in Paris, TX.

Jesus in Cowboy Boots....

.

[Shano]

[guardmom2008]

[anne]

Sir Richard E Burtons tomb in Mortlake, in the shape of a bedouin tent
burtonrichardfr.jpg

[cachluv]

Jack Lemmon's tombstone:

[guardmom2008]

[guardmom2008]

[Harrietd]

Just up the road in Paris, TX is the Evergreen Cemetary. Famous for its Jesus in Cowboy Boots statue. I don't remember whose grave it is. But he does have cowboy boots on....

LMFAO!

.

Tres cool!

[Omerta]

An interesting topic for discussion...

A grave debate about headstone art

Getting personal - too personal? - in the cemetery

By John Vitale
For The Inquirer

At 65 years old, Charles De Christopher is a third-generation gravestone carver, in love with the simple beauty of the monuments that once had a monopoly in burial gardens.

Yet these days, he often finds himself selling headstones in the shape of motorcycles, automobiles, and teddy bears - what he calls "tacky" memorials that defy what his heart tells him is beautiful and sacred.

As the owner of the successful Philadelphia-based memorial dealer De Christopher Bros. Inc., he knows the industry is changing. Modern headstones featuring etchings of the deceased, or perhaps fashioned in a shape evoking their favorite pastime, are all part of what the business is calling "personalization."

And while some artists privately lament the vanishing beauty of more classic tombstones, personalization continues to gain ground. The eight Philadelphia Archdiocese cemeteries decided last year to permit carved and etched portraits. First seen in the early 1960s, the trend to such personalization is proving unstoppable.

The debate, of course, signals more than just a difference of opinion about art. It raises questions about religion, the purpose of graveyards (to cheer the living or honor the dead?), and our legacy to future generations.
Many don't know it, but headstones, according to folklorist and gravestone scholar Richard E. Meyer, are objets d'art, America's first form of sculpture. And like much of American culture, cemeteries are becoming more secular, and the headstones reflect that.

"Secularization runs right alongside of personalization," Meyer said from his home in Salem, Ore. "It signals a decrease in religiosity, a shift in religious emphasis."

For the local archdiocese, the change to allow personalization was popular, said Robert Whomsley, director of cemeteries.

"More families expressed a desire to include some form of personalization on memorials, so we established the new rules and regulations to adjust to the new trends."

At the same time, he says, they maintain the cemeteries' Catholic identity "by always being mindful that memorials should tell the story of our faith, the life and death of our lord."

De Christopher, a Catholic, bemoans the 2008 change by the archdiocese. Go to Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem or Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on Cheltenham Avenue, and you'll see the recent additions of portraiture on headstones. Speaking almost in a whisper from his main office, he complains, "When people start putting [etchings of] automobiles, race cars, and family portraits on their headstones, I think it's tacky. If the person was an avid hunter or fisherman, the family monument gets filled up with these images and it looks like a billboard. That's not art."

Others believe the dispute is a matter of taste, with East Coasters decidedly more conservative than Westerners. David H. Quiring, president of Quiring Monuments in Seattle, is a third-generation stone carver. His business is famous for spearheading the personalization movement, and he is unabashed when talking about Easterners, and how they just don't get it.

"There are some cemeteries in Philadelphia with a nice big estate monument with a name like [and here his accent changes to British] Higgins that might say that a personalized memorial which had a hot rod on it or a picture of a house would not be as dignified," Quiring said.

But he believes traditional headstones act to overemphasize death and mourning, making a visit to the cemetery drab and boring. Personalization highlights unique and happy images from a person's life, and the result is a cemetery that the living can enjoy.

"Let's say that a guy has an Irish background. Why shouldn't his heritage be represented by that?" Quiring asked. "I mean, shouldn't he have a green stone?"

Pictures of marijuana leaves, emblems of the Black Panthers, images of Marilyn Monroe holding her billowing dress in The Seven-Year Itch - they are all reminiscent of what the pharaohs did in ancient Egypt, he said.

"They left messages which defined who that person who lived really was."
Carmen Vigezzi, 83, remains skeptical. Now an independent designer living in Colchester, Conn., Vigezzi, a Catholic, is a second-generation stone carver who studied at the Barre School of Memorial Art in Vermont. His father, he says, got a classical education in Italy, where he graduated "as a sculptor, as an artist" from a school in Milan before coming to America to teach carving at the Cooper Union.

In time, Vigezzi believes, people will walk through personalized cemeteries and "remember us as pretty shallow."

"These headstones say that we are not a very cultured society, that we are a very argumentative society, that our country is being run by television, and that it is ostentatious."

Still, the numbers show more people are embracing it.

Dave Pace, president of the Monument Builders of North America, estimates that personalization currently constitutes at least 30 percent of revenue at every monument business in the country. That's up 20 percent from just 10 years ago.

As a gravestone carver and member of the American Institute of Commemorative Art, he is today working in Mississippi fashioning an almost life-size memorial, at a cost of $6,000, of young Josh Golmon standing with his guitar.

A quick conversation with Josh's mother, Anita Golmon, who is a Pentecostal and works as a director of a preschool, makes clear why she lovingly and painstakingly chose every detail of this personalized gravestone for her son, who died at 22.

"I've walked through so many cemeteries without pictures and wondered, 'What kind of person was this?' I've always been a visual person."

But Golmon also wanted Josh's good looks memorialized. "All moms think that their children are the prettiest, but Josh was absolutely gorgeous. Everybody has always told me that they miss his smile." A vase on the headstone will also bear an etching of a smiling Josh.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magaz...tone_art_.html

[1karenhb]

I think it's great that headstones are more personalized. Nice post Omerta.

[scott69]

I've seen some of these personalized headstones in cemeteries (I love walking through cemeteries) and I've seen some that were very tasteful and I've seen some done is nascar styles that are extremely tacky and should be removed.

[crazedfemale]

I saw a story on this last year. One woman, whose daughter was killed at age 18; chose to memorialize her daughter with a weather-proof type of video. It's attached to the back of the headstone and it has a slideshow of her daughter. It cost several thousand dollars.