Born at sea

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A Grave Concern: Hearts

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I set myself on a scavenger hunt. I wanted to see how many hearts I could find in cemeteries. I found so many that I’ve split the results of my hunt into 4 different posts between now and Valentine’s Day. The most common thing that I found was simple, single heart-shaped tombstones.

I found heart-shaped tombstones in Harvard Grove Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

This tombstone at Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio, is heart-shaped.

I was able to find two heart tombstones from my small collection of photos from Markillie and St. Mary’s Cemeteries in Hudson..

This lichen-covered heart tombstone is in Kirtland Historic North Cemetery.

East Cleveland Township Cemetery has a number of these tombstones.

Hearts may not be the first thing you think about when you hear the word cemetery, but they are certainly there.

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Semper Fidelis

On this date in 1775, the Continental Congress created the Continental Marines as the landing and ship-to-ship fighting complement to the newly formed Continental Navy. The existing United States Marine Corps traces its lineage back to that date and celebrates today as its birthday. In light of that, today’s post will honor those who have served in the Marine Corps over its two hundred and thirty five year history.

Frank P. Walters, veteran of World War I, rests in Union Cemetery in Columbus.

Ernest Maas, a fellow veteran of World War I, sleeps in Willoughby Village Cemetery.

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Union Cemetery Lambs

As I wrote about last week, lambs often signify the grave of a baby or child. During my tour of Union Cemetery in Columbus, I found a number of lambs.

First, we had very traditional lambs, like this one for Emma Elizabeth Long.

Other memorials integrated the lamb as part of the engraving, rather than a separate piece. This is probably going to help with preservation in the future, as we have noted the tendency for lambs to lose their heads.

It may just be erosion, but Carrie Wiedemann’s lamb seems to still have some texture left.

This style of monument, where there is a small lip behind the lamb, seems like it might provide a little more protection, but in my experience it doesn’t seem to.

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Medal of Honor

Joel Parsons was a private in the 4th West Virginia Infantry and received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Vicksburg. According to the West Virginia Medal of Honor Recipients “>list, he “stormed a Confederate stronghold” on May 22, 1863. I noticed that the Medal of Honor winner listed above him, a Pvt. Jasper N. North from the same unit, received his Medal for the same action. Searching the page, I found Pvt. James C. Summers (4th West Virginia Infantry), Thomas J. Ward (116th Illinois Infantry), Pvt. William H. Barringer (4th West Virginia Infantry), Sgt. John C. Buckley (4th West Virginia Infantry); all awarded the Medal of Honor for this same action. From looking at regimental histories, it seems that the 4th West Virginia Infantry participated in assaults on the besieged city of Vicksburg on both May 19 and May 22. Vicksburg did not fall until July 4, 1863.

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Tempus fugit

The winged hourglass is one of the rarest but clearest symbols of mortality in a cemetery. Time flies, it cautions us, this life is but a brief span. Be prepared always for death.

David and Juliana Watts of Carlisle could not have communicated it better if they had selected a version of the classic New England epitaph for their memorial:

Remember me as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I,
As I am now, so you will be,
Prepare for death and follow me.

Yet while the message of the winged hourglass can be quite serious, its gravity is lightened by its own visual pun. The designer of the Gaddis family monument in Columbus’ Union Cemetery was not all solemnity. The memorial contains an actual timekeeper in the form of a sundial atop the column that informs us playfully “I count none but sunny hours.” I trust that that is absolutely true.

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Scavenger Hunt

I did this scavenger hunt that was posted to the Association of Graveyard Rabbits, although I didn’t get the post written before the deadline for the carnival itself. I twisted my ankle walking around Union Cemetery doing the carnival and then limped my way around Origins gaming convention for four days.

All scavenger hunt photos were taken this past Wednesday morning at Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. Below I’ve listed the scavenger hunt item and then a photo of the grave marker that fulfilled that requirement.

Cross – The Birk monument culminates in a cross.

Heart – This very worn marker for a baby named Paul is heart-shaped. I can’t even make out his surname.

Fraternal symbol – For the fraternal symbol, we have the marker for Frank P. Walters, a Marine who served in the first World War and has a Masonic symbol on his tombstone.

Monument – This seemed so general that I decided to feature the Gaddis family marker. A metal sundial sits atop the center column.

Flower – A carved flower decorates the top two corners of the Hagans’ stone.

Hand – The gravestone for Amanda Evans includes a single hand holding the stem of a flower.

Angel – The names of the two Cooper children are flanked by praying angels.

Bird – A bird, likely a dove, is carved into baby William Wiedemann’s tombstone.

Tree – A weeping willow grows on the tombstone of John Lisle, whose 1808 burial must have been one of the earliest in the graveyard, which was only founded two years before.

Star – I wandered around looking for a star for while before it dawned on me that the Civil War veterans’ markers contain or are stars, like these two for George Lakin.

Obelisk – This obelisk memorializes the Lakin family.

Four-legged animal – The marker for little Mildred Ferguson, who sadly did not live to see her 2nd birthday, is topped by a lamb – a four-legged animal.

Photo – Dorothy Price Walsh’s tombstone preserves her likeness for us.

Military gravestone – For the military tombstone, I found the memorial for Medal of Honor recipient Joel Parsons, a Civil War veteran.

Mausoleum – Amaranth Abbey is a giant mausoleum.

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