Thanks so much for sharing. Cemeteries are so beautiful and peaceful, don't you think? And the lives of everyone there would sure make an interesting book. My Grandmother is buried in the same cemetery with Presidents Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland. Forest Lawn, Buffalo NY. I haven't visited her grave in 40 years.

How sad about that COPE family losing 3 children in a span of 10 dyas and then another child 7 years later. I don't know if "enjoy" is the right term here, but I enjoy going to cemeteries also. Especially in foreign countries.

I'm not sure "enjoy" is the right word either, but I'm so taken in my your pictures. The old stones are beautiful and share so much of a person unkown to us!

Thanks for sharing them!!

beautiful angels.

I'd guess the first 3 names on the Cope stone died from an epidemic;
influenza, diptheria, scarlet fever, etc. used to devastate families.

Even as a child I loved looking at old stones. They tell so much . I always feel like it's sacred ground I'm treading. Beautiful pictures.

Loved looking at your pictures. Kind of makes me think twice about being cremated.

A cousin and I were looking at family headstones here in Iowa and I noticed nearby headstones where several children in a family died the same day or within a short time of each other. Besides epidemics that could have been treated with antibiotics, had they been invented then, my cousin said that house fires and TB may also have been causes.

Love looking at these pictures...history is so interesting.What struck me was just today i was listening to a radio talk show about cemetaries doing sales promos.I was sttunned to learn that some people are holding parties at gravesites of loved ones, setting off fireworks,etc,Amazing how culture changes.

I haven't visited her grave in 40 years.

Jannie, as I was walking around the cemetery yesterday I saw so many names of families that still live here. I thought about how good it was that they could visit these graves, and how lucky the living were to still have each other nearby. My dad was buried in Westchester County, NY, my mother in the Bronx, my stepmother in Florida. I'm in Pennsylvania.

The old stones are beautiful and share so much of a person unknown to us!

I always feel like it's sacred ground I'm treading.

That's the way I feel about it, too.

Kind of makes me think twice about being cremated.

You can have ashes--several of them, I believe--buried in a grave. That's what I'm planning to do, so my children can have a place to go to that memorializes their father and sister, and eventually me.

I was stunned to learn that some people are holding parties at gravesites of loved ones, setting off fireworks,etc,

Gemini, I'm stunned to hear that, too. Parties? Fireworks? Yikes!

Thank you for the photos. It's obvious that you respect and treasure these sacred areas, as do I.

As for the Cope family's losses, the Wikipedia listing about yellow fever says, "...In 1878, about 20,000 people died in an epidemic in the Mississippi River Valley.." and this could have extended into Pennsylvania and caused their tragedy. That state had a typhoid epedemic in 1885, and it could have taken their other child. I can't even imagine going through that.

Petaloid, thanks for finding that out. It adds a lot to the story. I read once that parents all those generations ago were not as attached to their children as we are today, because of the strong possibility they might lose them. I find that hard to believe, though, considering how powerful maternal instinct is.

On the opposite side of the coin, here's a fairly recent gravestone. Check out the woman's dates!

{{!gwi}}

Loved looking at the pictures, Susan. BTW, do you have Woodsmen of the World tombstones in your part of the country, or is it more of a southern thing? They are fairly common around here, dating to around the turn of the century and they
all look like logs or tree trunks. I think it was an insurance company. Anyway, I started collecting pictures of them, because they are fairly common here, but I don't think I've ever seen two alike. Here is one.

Oh, my--how interesting! I've never seen anything quite like that, but I have seen two Woodsmen of the World Memorial emblems. Here's one that I saw this week. The emblem is on the top.

What is the meaning of "Woodsmen?" People in the lumber business, perhaps?

I don't know. I need to google it. I think it was an insurance company. Not sure.

What beautiful pictures. I like to stroll through old cemeteries, too.

My paternal grandmother was the sole survivor (into adulthood) of her parents' six children. Two brothers lived to just past their teens; both died in accidents. Three sisters died before age three of various diseases. They were possibly infected by germs brought home by their father. He was a doctor in a silver mining town in Colorado.

The custom in my father's family was to call a newborn simply 'Baby' until the next sib was born. It was a way of trying to avoid being devastated by the (very likely) loss of the child as an infant or around age two, when the immunities they'd gained from the mother ceased to protect them. The children were named at birth. The name just wasn't used until the next 'Baby' came along, or until it was engraved on their tombstones.

Some of my ancestors are buried in GreenWood Cemetery in NYC and some at Spring Hill in Cincinnati. It was common for families to go to cemeteries frequently to stroll and to picnic 'with family'.

I find them fascinating. Thanks for sharing!

BJ

Thanks very much for posting these pictures.

Interesting photos Alisande. Thanks for the information too Chisue.

Chisue, thank you for sharing that. It's fascinating information, and fits with what I learned about breastfeeding: how the mother's milk provides antibodies that protect the nursing infant--which is why in third-world countries one often sees chubby, healthy infants and thin, sickly older children. Many babies wean naturally around age two, especially if the mother gets pregnant again around that time.

"Baby"......how sad that a child's real name might have been used for the first time on a gravestone.

I like the idea of a picnic at the cemetery.

What an interesting thread, and lovely pics. Thanks for posting. Here in TX, there are many old forgotten family cemeteries. Every once in a while we come across one while out exploring. Some of the gravestones and inscriptions are fascinating.

There's a lot of small old forgotten cemeteries here also. I have a relative that lost her husband about 2 years ago. He knew he was dying and he knew that he wanted to be buried in one of the old cemeteries close to his house so he set to work cleaning it up. Now that he has passed away, his wife has taken it over and she's been on a quest to clean up other old cemeteries. I think that is great. I only hope this will continue after she is gone.

Interesting discussion. I had planned to take a short trip this weekend to find the grave of one of my great-great-grandfathers. Did not happen but since it is only a five hours drive it is still on my list of to do. The pics of the cemetery look like it is an old country cemetery. Any suggestions on where to find help to locate the grave? Lots of other relatives are buried in the area but different cemeteries and I hope to track of few more.
When looking for family history, I found a record of my many times great grandparents losing several children in a short amount of time. I later found out it was due to a measles epidemic.
When I was growing up, my father delivered burial vaults and I sometimes went to the cemeteries with him. I remember having chocolate doughnuts with milk from my Barbie thermos in a cemetery one time.

Cheeky, I would suggest contacting whoever manages the cemetery and getting directions to the grave. If it's a large cemetery you might be able to contact them via their website. Or if the cemetery has a telephone listing, you could use that. Others may chime in with good tips for you.

My country cemeteries are often managed by volunteers, and I get those names and phone numbers by calling local funeral homes. The funeral directors have a lot of knowledge about the cemeteries, which I guess figures. Often graves are grouped more or less chronologically, with those buried in the same decade close to each other.

My earlier family plot is at Woodlawn, which is enormous: 400 acres! I'm not likely to wander around there without a map.

Thanks so much. I would never have thought of that and just gone to wander through the cemetery. I don't even know if the graves are marked.

Local historical societies can sometimes help. (And sometimes NOT!) I can't find one of my 'Frenchie' ancestors, a 4th-Great Grandfather, because he was a suicide and hence not buried with the rest of the family in West Chester, OH.

I was to puzzled to read that some of my Elliott ancestors are buried in Merryall (pretty unlikely name for a cemetery). They are in the local cemetery for the *town* of Merryall (PA).

Another sad fact of life in earlier times is evidenced by the number of tombstones that list a succession of wives predeceasing one man. I suppose it was not an economic possibility for many girls to choose spinsterhood -- and avoid dying in childbirth.

Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society is a nonprofit, fraternal benefit organization committed to family, community and country.
Many years ago they invented a really neat clothespin, my DH has one in his "curio" cabinet.
We have quite a few of their memorials in our area.
I love your pictures Alisande, and thank you so much for posting them!
Waving hello to my fellow 'coon collector...Hi Marilyn!

I thought I had read somewhere that tombstones in the shape of trees had a special meaning. Just now did a google and found this very interesting site:

Here is a link that might be useful: Meanings of tombstone carvings

Thanks for posting that link, Schoolhouse. It gave me the idea to maybe have a treble clef engraved on my daughter's stone. I haven't ordered it yet. I'll give it some thought. She was such a wonderful musician.

You're welcome, Jaybird! Thanks for explaining about the Woodmen.

Alisande, Thank you for your time in posting these pictures and the ones before. I am into genealogy and have been for many, many yesrs. I have walked through so many cemetery's looking for ancestors and taking pictures, that your post reminded me to get started once again when cool weather returns. To me, walking the cemeteries is very relaxing. I have pictures of my 4th gr-grandfather's grave from back in the 1700's on a private farm in Indiana. It's a wonderful and enjoyable hobby.

Cemetarys are interesting,a few weeks ago i was early for dentist app.so i went up the street to where my grandparents are buried,there was soldier buried there,/his boots were sitting on his grave.somre odf the things you see and read.sorry about mispellings and it doesnt erase or shift////////no question mark either...damn computer.

I found a similar gravestone story while researching my family history. I found a set of babes buried next to their parents. They lost five, one after the other. Each died when only a few days old up to one year. I don't know how this pair could go on, but they did and finally had two children who survived. This loss was in the late 1800s in S. Illinois, a period when diseases swept through families and home births were common. Diptheria and cholorea were rampart. They also drank raw cow milk.

Had this happened today, the child protective services would be investigating the parents for child abuse.

Just came from town awhile ago, stopped at an ice cream place and glanced over at the old cemetery not far away. There were three big crows, one strutting around and two sitting on top of tombstones. Halloween isn't for two more months!