Posted in Graveless memorials, tagged burma war, cenotaph, china war, dublin, ireland, soldier, st. patrick's cathedral, war on October 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I will be the first to admit that I am not knowledgeable about United States military organization, so I definitely do not have a lot of experience with British forces. What I was able to gather from different sources, including this history of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment, the regiment existed from 1684 until 1922 (when Ireland became an independent republic), serving in British imperial conflicts all over the world.
Posted in In the church..., tagged dublin, effigy, ireland, sculpture, st. patrick's cathedral on October 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »
The largest monument in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin is to the Boyle family. Robert Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, commissioned the monument following the death of his wife Catherine in 1629. The monument’s size and location were controversial, as explained further here.
Posted in Symbolism, tagged mechanicsburg, mourners, pennsylvania, silver spring meeting house, silver spring presbyterian church, symbolism, urn, weeping willow on October 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I’m not lucky enough to see many tombstones with this particular combination of symbols, but those I have seen have all been gorgeous. A woman mourns at a tomb topped with an urn under the shade of a weeping willow tree, a representation of the grief felt by the bereft loved ones of the deceased.
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Posted in Dead Men Do Tell Tales, tagged ohio, oxford, oxford cemetery, wordless wednesday on October 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Dead Men Do Tell Tales, tagged mechanicsburg, occupation, pastor, pennsylvania, silver spring meeting house, silver spring presbyterian church on October 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
In the Silver Spring Presbyterian Churchyard, previous pastors still watch over the flock.
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Posted in Dead Men Do Tell Tales, tagged mechanicsburg, pennsylvania, silver spring meeting house, silver spring presbyterian church on October 24, 2016| Leave a Comment »
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Relict is a term you will see on old tombstones for a woman who was widowed.
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Posted in Morbid Musings, tagged cincinnati, harrisburg, harrisburg cemetery, mechanicsburg, names, ohio, pennsylvania, silver spring meeting house, silver spring presbyterian church, spring grove cemetery on October 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »
When a tombstone includes someone’s real name, it can be revealing. I particularly like when the individual is named for someone famous.
In Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery, you can find the grave of Thomas Jefferson Henderson.
Florence Nightingale Houck lies in Harrisburg Cemetery.
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Ulysses S. Grant Fisher is buried in Silver Spring Presbyterian Churchyard.
Posted in Dead Men Do Tell Tales, tagged consort, euclid, first presbyterian church cemetery, language, mechanicsburg, ohio, pennsylvania, silver spring meeting house, silver spring presbyterian church on October 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I’ve always been a big fan of language and enjoyed learning about how it develops. If you followed this blog in its first incarnation, you know that I’m particularly fascinated by some of the archaic words and phrases you can find on tombstones.
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One of my favorite examples of old language is the use of “consort” in place of “wife” when the wife predeceased the husband.
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Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged mechanicsburg, pennsylvania, silver spring meeting house, silver spring presbyterian church, sun, sunshine, symbolism, symbols on October 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I’m fairly certain that the symbol on top of this stone is a sunrise, and if so, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting representation of the family’s faith.
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Our society perceives sun and sunshine as almost overwhelmingly positive. It is a powerful symbol of belief in an afterlife of hope and comfort.
Posted in Dead Men Do Tell Tales, tagged big spring presbyterian cemetery, newville, occupation, pennsylvania, revolutionary war, wordless wednesday on October 19, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Transcription: ERECTED BY THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM DENNING, THE PATRIOTIC BLACKSMITH AND FORGER OF WROUGHT-IRON CANNON DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR BORN 1737 DIED 1830
A Grave Concern 