Indian Converts Collection | Study Guide

2. PARTS OF THE GRAVESTONE

The goal of this page is to teach you to identify

The main elements of stone
The main stone shapes
The main parts of the inscription [Quiz #1] [Quiz #2] and
Key gravestone symbols [Quiz #3]

A. Elements of the Stone

from Dean Eastman's "Gravestone Glossary," ("Tiptoeing Through the Tombstones" Common-Place. http://www.common-place.org 2(2) January 2002.)

B. Stone Shape

The shape of the stone can provide us with information about the ethnicity, religious denomination, and social status of the deceased. In early New England, three basic stone shapes were commonly used: vertical, horizontal, and obilesques. Each of these stone shapes has specific associations. During the late nineteenth-century, gravestones became more individualistic, and in some garden cemeteries the gravestones were quite unique.

Vertical

Horizontal

Obilesque

Individualistic

Associations: Vertical stone with a curved top are associated with a curved doorway into the world to come. The side pillars (“borders”) were seen as analogous to the pillars in the third temple that harkened of the messianic era.
Typically used by: this is the most common shape used in colonial New England. In colonial Jewish cemeteries, they are associated with Ashkenazi Jews. In cemeteries that have a larger than usual proportion of horizontal stones, children are often given a disproportionate number of vertical stones.

Associations: Horizontal “ledger” stones mark individual as well as family tombs: beginning in the early 1700s, Protestants sometimes built underground tombs consisting of a brick burial room covered with earth and grass. Thus, the above-ground box structures covered by ledger stones mark the site of the tomb, rather than being the tomb itself (Wells & Wells 20).
Typically used by: Protestant ministers and their families, Sephardic Jews, adults, wealthy members of society who can afford more expensive stones. In Protestant cemeteries, it is not uncommon for this style of stone to mark the tomb of more than one individual.

Associations: Obilesques became popular in the nineteenth century and are associated with the Egyptian revival movement.
Typically used by: I know of no particular religious groups or ethnic groups that favor this style of stone. They are more common, however, among the upper classes. Presumably this is due to the cost of the monument.

Associations:
During the later part of the nineteenth century, cemeteries were constructed as garden-like parks. Lavish amounts of money were spent creating individualistic monuments.
Typically used by:
Although fanciful monuments were easier for the upper-classes to afford, in cemeteries such as Lowell, there are elaborate monuments commemorating “the laboring classes” as well.

C. Elements of the Inscription

There are seven basic elements found on gravestone inscriptions: (1) Header, (2) Epithet [terms of praise or identifying labels], (3) Name, (4) Formulas of Death, (5) Date, (6) Eulogies [usually hopes for the person in the afterlife], and (7) Age. These elements do not appear on every stone, nor do they always appear in the same order. For example, children’s gravestones often have shorter inscriptions. If you are creating a seriation study, it is useful to identify which element of the inscription you want to track. For example, studies of colonial Protestant stones suggest that the header is the most important locale for understanding theological changes over time.

Sometimes stones contain inscriptions in more than one language. This is particularly true of immigrants and communities that used more than one language in their social and religious lives. In these stones, the elements found in the inscriptions, as well as the order, may vary between the languages. For example, in the Rachel Lopez’s 1789 gravestone from Newport, RI presented below, the order of the Hebrew inscription is 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 6, while the English inscription is 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 2. The specifics of the inscription are also different: the English inscription is more effusive in its epithets of praise, while the Hebrew inscription relies more heavily upon Biblical quotes.

Rachel Lopez (1789); Newport, RI (Photo L. Leibman, 2007)

Examples of each category (not exhaustive):

1. Header	Here lies; Here lies the body; In the memory of; Sacred ; The remains of..; etc.
2. Epithet(s)	Honored; Minister; Merchant; Esteemed; Esq[uire]; Daughter of..; Ornament; Faithful Relic of; Mason; etc.
3. Name	Mr. Thomas Mayhew; Moses Lopez
4. Formula of Death	Who departed from this life; Who fell victim to..; who died
5. Date	May 23, 1786; 3 Nissan 5568; ye 2nd of June
6. Eulogies	A Biblical verse; May his soul enjoy the glory; In God we trust
7. Age	Age 3 months and 2 days; Aetatis 62

Quiz #1: Identifying Elements of the Inscription (Simple)

Here is the actual stone:


John Mayhew (1688); West Tisbury Village Cemetery, Martha's Vineyard, MA (Photo L. Leibman, 2007)	*Drawing of the John Mayhew Stone from Banks' History of Martha's Vineyard, I. 504 (1911).*

Practice identifying the parts of the inscription. If you are unsure what element of the inscription something is, see the examples above. Click on CHECK when you are done:

Inscription:	Pull Down the Answer:
HERE LYES ye BODY OF MR.
JOHN MAYHEW THAT WORTHY
LABORIOUS MINISTER OF ye
GOSPELL TO ye INHABITANTS
OF TISBURY & CHILMARK UNITED
& TO ye CHRISTIAN INDIANS
WHO DIED FEBRUARY ye 2D
1688 AETATIS 37.

Format and code for matching quiz borrowed from Donna M. Campbell's "English 102: Literary Genres" website
Code produced using Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Donna Campbell

Quiz #2: Identifying Elements of the Inscription (Difficult) -Click Here

D. Identifying Key Symbols

The images that appear on gravestone usually have stock associations. The most commonly used gravestone symbols appear on the lunette. These are the death's head, the cherub, and the willow & urn. Scholars have argued persuasively that the shift from the Calvinist “death’s head,” to the Arminian Cherub, to the Unitarian “Urn and Willow” reflect when and how individual communities made the transformation from Calvinism to more liberal forms of Christianity. The change in symbols on the lunette is often reflected in a change in the inscription's header from (1) "Here lies" to (2) "Here lies [buried] the body [corruptible, what was mortal] of" to (3) “in memory of.”


Death's Head	Cherub	Willow & Urn

The symbols used on the finials and borders are more diverse. Because images on gravestones are often stylized rather than realistically depicted, it is important to familiarize yourself with how objects are typically represented. Click here to see a gravestone glossary for PROTESTANT cemeteries in New England. Once you have familiarized yourself with the basic symbols, look at the Prisscilla Coddington stone below and identify what symbols are on the lunette, finial, and the borders.

Quiz #3: Identifying Symbols on the Gravestone


Prisscilla Coddington Gravestone (1668), Newport RI (Photo L. Leibman, 2007)

Lunette:_____________________________________

Finial:______________________________________

Borders:_____________________________________ Click here to see the answers

It is is equally important to understand the significance of the symbols being used. Create your own gravestone glossary Here are some resources:

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Study Guide Reading Gravestones

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