History of a Tombstone

Here in Michigan the oldest grave markers that you will find average to have been erected around 1850. Before that, there was typically only markers made of wood.

A persons immediate family would be able to visit the grave of a loved one as long as they lived in the area. After that, it was neglected and forgotten. Eventually giving in to time and weather and fading along with the memory of the person who died. The only persons with a more permanent marker would have been dignitaries or important people of the area or time. But, often they were memorialized in a town square rather than a grave yard. Grave yards were not how we know them today. They were often outside of town because the art of embalming had not been developed and lets face it, a decaying corpse is not something that anyone would want to smell. Today, we not only have embalming, but we have cement vaults to contain our loved ones. They not only help to keep out moisture, bugs and tree roots, but they contain the not so pleasant side of death. We would all like to remember our loved ones for who they were, alive and not think about what's happening beneath the surface of the cemetery plot.

 Early markers were usually simple wooden crosses.

The cross being a symbol of death even before being adopted by Christianity.

Individual stone markers are only about three hundred years old and started in 18th century Colonial America.

18th Century American grave stones depicted images of death or mortality symbols. They were hand carved and could take months or even years to complete a more elaborate stone. Granite was the stone of choice. A  marble stone was easier to carve. Marble however does not hold up as well in the weather. If you find an old marble stone now, it's likely that you won't be able to read it at all. Most of the original stones had a symbol of a skull at the top. These were carved and kept in stock. Then upon death, only the name and dates would have to be chiseled into the stone by hand, speeding up the process.

Here is a sample of the original stones from a grave of a Revolutionary War Veteran in Barnstable Massachusetts. The wings at the side of the skull symbolize the ascension into heaven.

A few years later, people wanted a more pleasing image than the death image of a skull and opted for angels or like this one depicting a willow tree. The weeping willow represents sadness or mourning for the loved one that has passed on to their eternal life.

The idea of individual markers has caught on. You can see them across the globe in every country.

In the future, I'll try to post some of the styles and symbolism's that I've been able to find in my travels. And I'm always on the lookout for interesting epitaphs. Let me know in the comments if you've seen one that caught your attention.