Obelisks were common markers for anyone buried in a cemetery started circa 1840. It has nothing to do with the Masons other than the fact that they, like other Victorians, chose the obelisk as a marker because of the Egyptian revival period. So actually, no, an obelisk marker does not always mean a Mason. The majorty of Masons marked their graves with the usual symbols. An obelisk can mean a Mason, but don't assume a Mason is buried under one. They were just a stylish aspect of the Victorian Era. "S.K. Bramlett" <eastpointgraves@bellsouth.net> wrote: Obelisks were a common grave marker for FreeMasons. Was it exclusive (Year of death on this one is 1863) o likely to be a mason burial those years? I have one in a local cemetery and am not sure yet if it has any markings that would indicated freemasonry because we have to have brush cut and sit it back up into place. I had heard that the lack of a fremasonry symbol didn't mean anything because the obelisk alone was a statement of it. So what I want to know is if it was an exclusive symbol that others generally avoided or if someone just liked it even if they were not a mason, they may have purchased it? ==== GA-CEMETERIES Mailing List ==== NOTICE: Posting of virus warnings, test messages, chain letters, political announcements, current events, items for sale, personal messages, flames, etc. (in other words - spam) is NOT ALLOWED and will be grounds for removal. Consideration for exceptions, contact Kathleen Burnett kathleenburnett@earthlink. ============================== Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx --------------------------------- Bring words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail.