| Stone
trees and fields of stone |
Edward
Frank |
| Apr
16, 2006 18:15 PDT |
ENTS,
I visited an old cemetery in my hometown of Reynoldsville. PA
today. In the cemetery are several unusual tombstones. Two were
shaped like tree stumps. One had the name Coax in bas relief in
a font like it was made of twigs. There was a G.A.R. bronze star
(Grand Army of the Republic) beside the marker and the graves of
several family members. I am trying to find out more about the
owner of the bronze G.A.R. star.
The other unusual gravestone I want to mention was also a stump,
with a carved scroll hanging from a carved chain from one of the
branches. The name on this one was Gibson. There were a number
of family members buried near the marker. One was a David(?)
Gibson born 1845 and died in 1887. Another was Evaline Gibson,
born 1820, died 1902.
These were not the only markers with tree or leaf themes.
Another read: Mary, dau. of Geo. and Jeannie Roller, Sept. 15,
1899 to Dec 9, 1900. The figure is that of a lamb laying in
front of a palm tree stump. Lambs usually mark the graves of
children and symbolize innocence.
Another read: Juliana Smith Reynolds, born March 30 1828, died
July 7, 1888. This is a basic polished granite stone with
engraved symbols of ferns and ivy.
And finally one more on the theme worth mentioning: Harriger
This is a more modern polished stone of red granite. Depicted is
an image of a horse barn complete with horses. Trees adorn the
surrounding property. This is likely to have been etched from an
artists rendering of a real property.
I had been told about these markers by a friend who had photos
of them on her blog. She also had visited other cemeteries with
tree symbolism elsewhere. One place she visited was the Leaf mausoleum,
a crypt for a family with the surname of Leaf.
I am curious about the symbology of the tree stumps, trees, and
how prevalent they are around the country. One organization was
called the Woodsman of the World and was an early fraternal
benefit society. They often had tree themed markers. But
generally gravestones bearing this symbology are found in the
midwest and westward. Neither of these markers had the Woodsman
of the World name, WOW, or symbol present on their surface.
I have listed some related links below that I found after some
internet searching. They refer to the symbolism, the Woodsman of
the World organization, and some photos from other cemeteries
around the country.
Edward Frank
-------------------------------------------
Cemetery Art and Symbolism
http://www.angelfire.com/ky2/cemetery/reid.html
Lamb - Usually marks the grave of a child and means Innocence.
Tree or Trees
A Tree stands for life.
A Tree Sprouting stands for life
everlasting.
Tree Trunk stands for the brevity
of life.
Stones shaped liked Tree Stumps
usually signify that the deceased was a member of
The
Woodmen of the World
Weeping Willow Tree - Perpetual Mourning; Grief.
--------------------------------------------
http://are.as.wvu.edu/grave.htm
Religion as art: Gravestone Iconography in West Virginia
---------------------------------------------
Woodsman of the World
http://www.rootsweb.com/~gacowet2/fratsymbols.shtml
Woodmen was one of the first fraternal benefit societies in the
United States. Founded in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 6, 1890, by
Joseph Cullen Root, the Society had a humble beginning with very
little capital and no office space.
It was also reported that Root's idea for "Woodmen"
came from a speech he heard about woodsmen clearing away forests
to provide shelter for their families. Others speculated that
Root visualized himself as the root that would grow into a
shelter, protecting members from financial disaster.
The Latin motto, "Dum Tacet Clamat" translates as
"Though Silent, He Speaks." I believe the motto might
be based in Biblical principles: "But when thou doest alms,
let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine
alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret
himself shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:3-4
-------------------------------------------------------
WOW: On the search for graves
http://www.interment.net/column/feature/jimd/index.htm
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorbeef/50667417/in/set-1099552/
----------------------------------------------------
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~zimm/headstones_of.htm
--------------------------------------------------
http://home.joimail.com/~gravestones/id4.html
Image of another tree gravestone
|
Beulah Land Cemetery, Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania
photos by Edward Frank
This tombstone simply says Coax. The bronze star beside
the marker reads G.A.R. for the Grand Army of the Republic.
There are three smaller round markers that simply say Coax
adjacent to this one and another small tombstone that reads
Minnie C. Coax, May 22, 1861 to May 21, 1880.
|
This stone tree monument holds a scroll and bears the name
Gibson. There are several adjacent graves of members of
the Gibson family. One reads David(?) B. Gibson, Jan 10,
1845 to Aug 20, 1887.
|
Mary, dau. of Geo. and Jeannie Roller, Sept. 15, 1899 to Dec
9, 1900. The figure is that of a lamb that appears to be
lying in front of a palm tree stump. Lambs usually mark
the graves of children and symbolize innocence.
|
Juliana Smith Reynolds, born March 30 1828, died July 7,
1888. This is a basic polished granite stone with etched
symbols of ferns and ivy.
|
Harriger plot. This is a more modern polished stone of
red granite. Depicted is an image of a horse barn complete
with horses and trees adorn the surrounding property. This
is likely to have been etched from an artists rendering of a
real property.
|
|
| Re:
Stone trees and fields of stone |
Don
Bertolette |
| Apr
16, 2006 19:34 PDT |
| Ed-
While living
in Hatfield Massachusetts, I visited an old cemetary there and
recall a tree there (gravestone) that resembles the dimensions
of your image at the bottom of your post...I remember commenting
to Bob about this, although I can't recall if Bob had already
seen it.
-Don
|
| Re:
Stone trees and fields of stone |
Fores-@aol.com |
| Apr
17, 2006 05:50 PDT |
Ed:
There are lots of small cemeteries in WV where you can find the
WOW tree
stump grave markers. It seems that there were several areas in
the state where
the Woodsmen of the World were really active in the early 1900's
and most of
the graves seem to be from that time period. I really like the
ones that
have ivy and vines on the stumps and squirrels climbing up the
sides. Most of
the markers are four to six feet tall.
Russ |
| RE:
Stone trees and fields of stone |
djluth-@pennswoods.net |
| Apr
17, 2006 16:45 PDT |
| Re:
Stone trees and fields of stone |
Edward
Frank |
| Apr
17, 2006 19:17 PDT |
Russ,
The symbols are shown at this link:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~gacowet2/fratsymbols.shtml
Generally the gravemarker will say WOW, or have the text
"Woodmen of the World" somewhere on the gravestone.
The symbol as shown on the above link includes crossed axes and
a sledgehammer. Another common phrase on these gravestones is
the Latin phrase "Dum Tacet Clamat" The stumps in the
Beulah Land cemetary in Reynoldsville bore none of these
symbols. Geneological research is still ongoing to determine if
there is a link between these markers and the Woodmen of the
World organization.
Ed
|
| RE:
Stone trees and fields of stone |
Pamela
Briggs |
| Apr
17, 2006 21:58 PDT |
Dear Ed --
I had not heard of Woodmen of the World before. Interesting
information
about the gravestones. Small World Department: The national
headquarters of both Modern Woodmen and Royal Neighbors are in
Rock
Island IL, just across the river from me.
Pamela
|
| Re:
Stone trees and fields of stone |
Fores-@aol.com |
| Apr
18, 2006 05:02 PDT |
Ed:
In central WV there were a lot of chapters of WOW and it seems
like there
were more in rural agricultural areas where coal mining was not
common. I have
seen some incredibly ornate sculptured grave markers in
cemeteries where
most other graves were identified by unmarked field stones.
As an aside...There are still extremely remote graveyards in use
in this
area and nearly all local funeral homes have at least one hearse
that is a full
size black Suburban with a lift kit and heavy duty mud
tires...not because it
is a redneck joke but that is just how rough the terrain can be.
We have a
cemetery on our land that is used by a local family and they
have used a
bulldozer more than once to get caskets to the graves. It is
amazing sometimes
to see a procession of pickups loaded with flowers and people
heading into the
middle of what is now the woods but was open farmland a couple
of
generations back.
Russ |
| Re:
Stone trees and fields of stone |
wad-@comcast.net |
| Apr
18, 2006 06:35 PDT |
Ed
I have seen many cut tree stump markers in Montgomery county Pa.
I also enjoy family trees, so I spend alot of time looking at
stones. One good thing is that there are usually big trees in
old cemeteries. I can combine two hobbies at once! Can't say I
ever heard of WOW though.
Scott
|
Woodsman of the World Gallery - Texas
Merriann Lansford
Woodsman of the World Gallery - Larry Tucei
(Florida)
|
