I have received
enormous response on the tips on tombstones/graveyards, etc. Before returning to
soldiers, time lines, county holdings and towns, want to answer some questions
and give a little more information.
I had often been
told that even if you can't read the dates on an old stone, you can get a
general idea of when the person died, or at least some information about the
individual from the shape of the stone, the artwork on it or the material from
which it is made. The oldest stones found in family cemeteries were many times
carved by a member of the family with little ability. It was not until later, or
in the larger cities that stone masons began the intricate art of engraving. We
discussed in a previous article some of the meanings of designs found on stones.
Here are a few more. Marriage trees have been found on some stones - two trees
with one felled. This went back to a Puritan custom of the newly weds planting
two trees to symbolize their marriage. When one of the couple died, they were
"cut down" in the prime of life. An ordinary candle carved on a stone
represented the life-style of candles being the primarily illumination in the
home. The candle was on a little night stand and when the individual wanted to
retire, he took the snuffer and snuffed out the candle. This found its way to
the tombstone - a candle - or a candle snuffed out. Shovels, axes, spades were
used on engravings to symbolize "as I am now, you too shall be." Clouds
repesented heavenly awards (18th century).
Grave markers themselves have evolved
throughout the ages. In older days, a wooden coffin was just placed in the
ground covered by a heavy boulder and then the dirt. The boulder was to protect
the grave from grave robbers and symbolically, the keep the body there safe from
evil spirits. Indian burials were often done on the crest of a hill and people
just tossed stones on a pile over the grave. From the mid 17th century and into
the 18th century, the plain grave marker was becoming more refined. The flat,
unadorned slabs were being replaced with carved vertical stones with
inscriptions on the center of the stone. A footstone was placed paralled to the
headstone about 6 feet away - a much smaller stone with just the initials usualy
found. Slabstones were used during this timeframe also, but not as frequently.
They were horizontal monuments which was a single piece of stone about 3 inches
thick and flush with the surface of the land. Tablestones or "table tombs" were
slabstone about 2 inches thick which were raised 2-3 feet on corner leg
supports. Carving would be found on the stone and these are very familiar in
this part of Kentucky.
A boxtomb
was set off the ground by faced, solid sides. It was normally 2 feet wide,
6 feet long and 2-3 feet high and resembled a stone coffin. These are also
common in this area.
Stone used
for tombstones depended on what was available in that particular area. Only the
rich could afford to import stone from Europe and most people used what they
had. In New England began the use of "green-stones" ... common field stones. But
these did not last. Many field stones of all varieties looked as their name
implies ... stones found in a field and have been dug up, plowed under or
cleared out accidentally by farmers working their fields. It was also very
difficult to carve anything on a field stone.
There are
generally five categories of cemeteries, one of which the reader hopes,
describes where an ancestor might be interred. (1)Government owned, (2) Church;
(3) church but separated by a distance from same; (4) privately-owned; (5)
amily. The government owned cemetery would be your city municipal cemetery
style. Better records are kept on these and permits may still be available for
the older burials. The church yard cemetery may or may not still have records
available from the church itself. Some churches kept detailed records in their
minute books. The privately-owned cemetery is operated as a business and there
is a board of directors, fees are paid for maintenances, etc. The family
graveyard is where so many ancestors are buried ... found somewhere close to
where the old house used to stand, out in a corner, under a grove of cedar
trees. The briars and undergrowth have often overtaken the old family cemetery;
trees can be found growing through tombstones with only the corner of the stone
visible. The graves have sunken in and many times the stones have fallen into
the grave. As one walks through the cemetery, field stones maybe seen jutting up
between the poison ivy, briars - or are they just plain stones in the field
instead? Is that depression an old grave? It is a challenge to walk through an
old deserted cemetery. If one grave can be found and confirmed, the searcher can
almost plot the rest of the cemetery. All graves were arranged so the face of
the deceased faced east and they were in rows. Husbands and wives were normally
buried next to each other, flanked by children and other relatives. Sometimes
friends or neighbors were buried in a family cemetery and were not related at
all. In south central Kentucky - we look for cedar groves and crepe myrtle. Both
grow abundantly in old cemeteries - with the pioneer usually making a cemetery
under a grove of the "Cedars of Lebanon."
If you
find a stone and it has Latin wording on it - which is seldom found in the old
family cemetery - here are a few of the more frequently used
expressions:
Anno
Domini - (AD) - in the year of our Lord
circa (c.,
ca., circ.) - about
Esse - is
E t alii
(et al) - and others
Fugit hora
- the hour is fleeting
Mortalem -
mortal
Mememto -
recall, remember
Memento
mori - remember that you must die
oblit (ob)
- he died, she died
nepos -
grandson
requiescat
in pace (RIP) - may he/she rest in peace
sic - so,
thus
te -
that
testes -
witnesses
ultimo
(ult) - last, final
uxor (us,
vx) - wife
videlicet
(viz, vitzt) - namely
consort -
man was living at the time of death (husband)
relict -
widow
Junior/Senior. - Does not mean that Sr was the father of Jr. Used
also to distinguish between 2 people with the same names in the same area
- uncle/nephew, etc.
Esquire -
came from the 1600's in England.
In England, someone who held the ablity to bear arms. Next in line after a
knight, or one who deserved special social respect.
In America, it could refer to a politician, lawyer, judge, wealthy landowner,
clergyman or someone just respected.
Gentleman
- Signified a man of elite birth who was socially situated just under the rank
of Esquire.
Mrs. - did
not always mean wife. In Europe meant a member of the upper class - a woman of
gentle birth, married or single.
Goodman/Goodwife (sometimes just called goody) - the head of a
household, male or female - in the South sometimes referred to as colonel. No
military rank meant - plantation owners often referred to as
Colonel.
* -
born
(*) -
illegitimate
X -
baptized or christened
O -
engaged
OO -
married (two circles touched)
O/O -
divorced/separated
O-) -
common law marriage
