March is Women's History Month - Even in the Cemetery

March is Women’s History Month, a time to explore how women are remembered - in the cemetery.

Celebrating Women's Day

On March 8, 1911 the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in the U.S.  The Women’s Suffrage Movement was beginning, not only in this country but also throughout Europe.  Women had decided to band together to demand equal and fair treatment, including the right to vote.

Unfortunately, what those women fought so hard for was put by the wayside when our country tumbled headfirst into the Great Depression of the 1930’s.  Then war broke out in 1941. Women stepped up and came into their own, taking jobs that had only been held by men, prior to the war. It took WWII to finally place women on a more fair footing with men, only to have it taken away in the 1950’s, as women were relegated back to domestic life, to raise the children and tend the home fires.


The upheaval of the 1960s and the women’s movement of the 1970s finally brought about the lasting changes that many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had started fighting for in the early 1900’s.

National Women's History Project

It was 1981 when the U.S. Congress proclaimed the week of March 8 (an acknowledgement to the original International Women’s Day celebration of 1911) as National Women’s History Week.  In 1987 Congress declared the month of March to be Women’s History Month with the purpose of honoring women and remembering their sacrifices and contributions to the world we live in.



Although times have changed, they still remain the same. You will find the women of the cemetery usually bear one of these descriptive names on their stones to describe their station in life; daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, grandmother, widow.  On older stones, the term consort or relict was used to describe the woman’s marital status.

Consort

From the 17th through 19th centuries, consort was usually used on the graves of women, although a man could also be a consort.  The word consort was normally used in this manner: "Nancy consort of John Clark." Consort meant that Nancy was John’s spouse and died before her husband did.  There is no other information listed. The fact that she was married to John is all that’s left as a reminder of her life and identity.

Consort

Mary LaPlant faired better in regard to information about her life. Mary was the consort, or spouse, of Lambert Barrots.  Both her birth and death dates were listed along with ‘LaPlant’, which was probably, her birth name possibly used as a middle name.

Relict

Relict was another term from the 17th and 18th centuries that meant the woman was the surviving spouse of the marriage and had not remarried.  Relict was used much as our term widow is used today to describe a woman whose spouse has died before her.


Most of the other relationship terms used to describe a woman remain the same.  They can give us more insight into the lives of our female ancestors, and yet, it seems, never quite enough ...


Daughter describes any female descendent or offspring.

Charlotte Snyder was a daughter.  Unfortunately we do not know whose daughter, nor do we know the exact dates of her birth or death.

‘Mary dau. (daughter) of L.J. & M.E. Miles’ had a more detailed stone. Mary’s death date and age were listed, along with the symbol of a rosebud, used to indicate the lose of a young life.



Sister is a female who has both parents in common with another offspring.  Sister is not as prevalent on gravestones as other relationship terms.

Two sisters will share this marker.  Each has her married name on the stone. Unfortunately, for genealogy purposes, we do not know what their birth name was.




Aunt describes a female who is the sister or sister-in-law of your parent.

With this stone designation of Aunt, we may assume that Hannah never married.  Her birth and death dates were listed, along with her middle name.





Wife is the female partner in a marriage.

Catharine – wife of Samuel Thorn with a date of death listed, although covered up by years of soil buildup.  Samuel had a willow tree placed on the stone, a symbol of mourning.

Anna B. was the wife of John G. Frisz.  Anna’s birth and death years were listed and her stone was very substantial and ornate.

Then there are the stones that hint of plans gone awry – This couple’s stone showed Edward’s birth and death years, but for Ella, only the year of her birth. Did she move away, remarry or did someone just forget to have the date of her passing engraved on the stone?




Mother – a female, who has given birth to a child, adopted a child or raised a child.  The female parent.

Charlotte T. Engle’s stone showed her birth and death dates along with the simple inscription ‘Mother.’

Myrtle’s stone indicated that she was someone’s mother and the year of her birth and death.

There are also the poignant stones, such as ‘Hattie Clark and Daughter.’  No dates, no name for the child, no idea what tragedy occurred ...







Grandmother – The mother of your mother or father.
Grandmother is another designation, which is seldom found on gravestones.

Naomi Graves Bray was honored with the term ‘Grandmother’ placed on her stone, along with her birth and death years and a religious symbol.



Other designations, or lack of, that can create a dilemma about who these women were:

This stone tells us only that Elizabeth was buried here, along with her birth and death years.  No last name, no relationship designation.

Here, a bit more detail, Flora's last name - Clement.  A birth year was given, but no death year.




This stone is intriguing.  The large marble marker was used for the grave of Jesse Cravens' wife who died in 1885.  A four-line epitaph was engraved at the bottom.  But I find the semicolon a mystery.  Was it used to indicate an omitted or unknown letter?  If so, then Jesse Cravens had nothing to do with this stone, as he should have known the spelling of his wife’s name.  So who had this stone erected? And why use a semicolon instead of a question mark if the letter or letters were unknown?  Does any one have any ideas?

This stone tells of someone much beloved: someone who was considered "Darling".







It seems only fitting to close out with a stone that seems to sum up Women’s History Month.


“James Henry – Husband of Beatrice Steel”

Ah, Beatrice - Touché!

~  Joy

Cradle Graves: Not Just for Children

As a Tombstone Tourist, I love to wander cemeteries, looking for historical, artistic and cultural finds. Although I’ve seen these rectangular shaped graves for years, I only recently learned that it is known as a cradle grave.

Headboard and Footboard

Plain Curbing

On some cradle graves, the top is designed to resemble the headboard of a bed and the bottom looks like the footboard. Plain or decorative curbing or molding can also be used to outline a single grave in the shape of a bed; hence these graves are also known as bed graves.

Cement Cradle Grave

Cradle graves began appearing in American cemeteries in early part of the 1800s. This type of marker became popular during the Civil War, but by the 1920’s, they were disappearing from the cemetery scene. Although they can be found throughout the US, cradle graves were more popular in the South and Midwest regions.

Child's Cradle Grave

Adult Cradle Grave

Despite the name, cradle graves were not just for children. Adult graves were also marked in this manner.

White Bronze Cradle Grave

Leaves and Grass on Cradle Grave

The empty space between the curbed sides was usually filled with “blanket plantings” – flowers, grasses, or bushes that filled up the inside of the cradle grave, giving it the full and lush appearance of a bedspread, from spring through fall. In the winter, snow would take on the appearance of a blanket drifting over the grave.

Overgrown White Bronze

Neglected White Bronze

Cradle graves can be found in all types of cemeteries but most are no longer cared for or maintained. A shame since the choice of such a marker indicates someone had hopes that the grave would be tended for years to come …

~ Joy

Bones of Contention and Disappearing Bodies

“Rest in Peace” - it’s more than comforting words said at a funeral. The phrase expresses a desire for the deceased to be granted eternal repose and tranquility; calmness after life’s hectic journey. But there are some who had a rough road to travel, even after death...

Thomas Paine - "These are the times that try men's souls."

Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine was a well known political activist, revolutionary and author of several pro-revolutionary pamphlets.

Paine left England for the U.S. in 1774. On January 10, 1776, he published one of his best-known works, Common Sense.  The pamphlet was an immediate success and sold over half a million copies during the Revolutionary War. Paine later moved to Paris and was an ardent supporter of the French Revolution.

Paine's Farm

He returned to the U.S in 1803 and lived out his life an outcast due to his attitude toward organized religion. Paine died on June 8, 1809 in New York. In his obituary it was written, "He had lived long, did some good and much harm." Paine was buried under a tree on his small farm with six mourners in attendance.

William Cobbett

In September 1819, Paine’s body was dug up and shipped to England by English journalist and pamphleteer, William Cobbett. Cobbett hoped to build a monument to Paine where his body could rest in honor, but ran out of money before project was completed. Paine’s body remained in a trunk in the attic for over 20 years, until Cobbett died in June 1835.

 

It is not known what happened to Paine’s body – it simply disappeared. It was rumored that the bones were made into buttons but that was never proven.

The “Trophy” Bushman of Banyoles – El Negro

In the early 1830s, a French taxidermist, Edmund Verreaux stuffed, preserved and mounted the body of an African San male found in the Kalahari Desert. Verreaux then took the body on tour through Europe during the 1830’s.

Bushman

In 1916, the bushman’s mummified body was acquired by the Darder Museum of Banyoles, Spain and given the name El Negro. The mummy was polished a darker color and placed on display. It remained there until March 1997.

In 2000, the remains were sent to a museum in Madrid where the artificial spine, eyes, hair, and genitals were removed before the skull and bones were placed in a coffin and returned to Botswana. There the bushman was finally given a dignified burial in a national park.

Charlie Chaplin – The Little Tramp

He was known as “The Little Tramp,” but Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin was more than a silent film star. He was also a filmmaker and composer. Chaplin died on Christmas Day, 1977 at the age of 88 and was buried in the Vevey Cemetery, in the village of Corsier, Switzerland.

Oona Chaplin

But in March 1978 two men dug up the grave and stole the body.

Chaplin’s widow, Lady Oona Chaplin received a ransom note demanding £400,000 ($650,000 US), which she refused to pay stating, “Charlie would have thought it ridiculous.”

Chaplin's Casket

Chaplin's Grave

Eleven weeks later police arrested two auto mechanics, Roman Wardas and Gantscho Ganev, after they had made another phone call to Chaplin’s widow. The two led police to Chaplin’s body buried in a cornfield about 10 miles from his original resting place. Wardas, the ringleader, was sentenced to 4 years in jail, while Ganev was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

Chaplin was reburied in same grave, but this time his coffin was enclosed in reinforced concrete.

Abraham Lincoln – 16^th President

Abraham Lincoln

When Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865, the Civil War was drawing to a close, and most of the country was ready for peace. But with news of the President’s murder, thousands lined the nation’s railroad tracks to pay their respects, and watch the funeral train pass by.

After stops in 12 cities to allow over 5 million people to view the body, Lincoln was interred in a tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. But he did not rest in peace.

Terrence Mullen - Gang Member

Jack Hughes - Gang Member

In 1876, a band of counterfeiters attempted to steal his body. The plan was to take Lincoln’s remains and hide them in the sand dunes of northern Indiana until a ransom of $200,000 was paid.  The gang was also going to demand the release of one of their members from prison.

A police informant, who had infiltrated the group, alerted the secret service of the plan. Although the grave robbers got away, they were rounded up a few days later, tried, and sentenced to one year in the Illinois State Prison.

Lincoln's Tomb

Lincoln was reburied in the mausoleum, but it was his son, Robert Todd Lincoln who could not rest easy now. In 1901, he had the remains disinterred and placed inside a steel cage that was buried 10 feet beneath the floor of the tomb.  The cage was then encased in 4,000 pounds of concrete so it could never be opened again.

Elvis Presley Has Left the (Mausoleum) Building

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20^th century. When he died in August 1977, the world mourned. Presley was buried in the family mausoleum next to his mother, in Forest Hill Cemetery, Memphis Tennessee.

But a couple of weeks after his burial, Ronnie Tyler,
Raymond Green, and Bruce Nelson decided to steal the body. Possibly seeking media coverage, they informed a local reporter about their intended heist. The police were notified and were waiting at the mausoleum, where they arrested the three men. All were charged with criminal trespass but the case was dismissed.

Elvis's Grave

Elvis’s coffin was removed from the family mausoleum, along with his mother's. Both are now interred in the Meditation Garden at Graceland, Presley’s home in Memphis.

Gram Parsons – “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Loud, Loud Music”

Gram Parsons

He was born Cecil Ingram Conner III but professionally went by the name of Gram Parsons. Born in 1946, Parsons was a pioneer of the country/rock music genre.  He was the founder of the International Submarine Band, and a member of the Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers bands, before touring with Emmylou Harris.

Joshua Tree National Park

On September 19, 1973, Parsons died of a massive drug overdose. His family arranged for the body to be sent home to Louisiana for burial, but Parsons' manager and friend, Phil Kaufman had made a pact with him. Whoever died first was to take the other’s remains out to Joshua Tree National Park and cremate him.

Phil Kaufman with Gram Parsons

Kaufman held to his end of the bargain, arriving at L.A. International Airport to intercept the coffin before it was put on-board a plane. Kaufman and a friend then drove Parsons' body to the park, doused it with gasoline and set it ablaze. A few days later, both men were taken into custody. However, there was no law against stealing a body, so both men were fined $750 for stealing the casket and released.

Parson's Grave

Parsons' remains were eventually sent to Louisiana where he was buried in the Garden of Memories in Metairie.

And, there are many more unusual tales of "traveling" bodies after death, proving that you just never know what will happen next - even after you die ...

~ Joy