THANK YOU AR ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 12:26 PM Subject: Re: [GenWisc] tombstone art > > Thanks for sharing this! > > Connie > > > > > [email protected] on 03/07/2003 11:58:31 AM > > Please respond to [email protected] > > To: [email protected] > cc: > > Subject: [GenWisc] tombstone art > > > thought someone might be interested in this > > Understanding the Art and Symbols on Tombstones > > There is nothing like a visit to an cemetery to make you feel close to an > ancestor. You are walking the very ground where they were buried and where > they > may have walked once long ago and visited loved ones. Tombstone can be > plain > or > they can be decorated with art and symbols and wording that have meaning > you > might not fully appreciate. Some examples of words or letters you might > find > engraved include: > > "B.P.O.E." means Benevolent Protective Order of Elks > "F.L.T." with each letter in a link of a chain means Friendship, Love and > Truth > (see "I.O.O.F.") > "F.O.E." Means Fraternal Order of Eagles > "G.A.R." means Grand Army of the Republic. It was an organization of Civil > War > Union Army veterans. > "I.O.O.F." means International Order of Odd Fellows (see "F.L.T."). > "V.D.M." means "verbi Dei minister" (Minister of the Word of God). > "W.O.W." means "Woodmen of the World". Upright tree stump markers are > typical > > of the fraternity. > > "Relect" carved on a woman's headstone means she died a widow. "Consort" > means > she outlived her husband. > > Some examples of engraved symbols include: > > Anchors and Ships: Hope or Seafaring profession > Arches: Victory in Death > Arrows: Mortality > Broken column: Loss of head of family > Broken ring: Family circle severed > Bugles: Military (see Trumpeters) > Butterfly: Short-lived; early death > Candle being snuffed: Time, mortality > Cherub: Angelic > Compass and Square: Masonic emblems > Corn: Ripe old age > Cross: Symbol of Christian hope > Crossed Swords: Officer in the military > Darts: Mortality > Doves: The soul, purity, innocence, gentleness > Father Time: Mortality, The Grim Reaper > Flowers: Brevity of early existence, sorrow > Flowers: Condolence, grief, sorrow > Flying Birds: Flight of the soul > Fruits : Eternal plenty > Garlands : Victory in death > Hand of God Chopping: Sudden death > Hands of God Chopping: Sudden Death > Handshakes: Farewell to earthly existence > Harp: Praise to the Maker > Hearts: Blissfulness or love of Christ > Hourglass with wings: Time flying; short life > Hourglass: Swiftness of time > Ivy: Friendship and immortality > Lamb: Innocence > Laurel: Fame or victory > Lily or lily of valley: Emblem of innocence and purity > Morning glory: Beginning of life > Oak leaves and acorn: Maturity, ripe old age > Open book or Bible: Deceased teacher, minister, etc. > Palm Branch: Signifies victory and rejoicing > Picks and shovels: Mortality > Poppy: Sleep > Portals: Passageway to eternal journey > Rose in full bloom: Prime of life > Rosebud: Morning of life or renewal of life > Roses: Brevity of mortal life > Sheaf of wheat: Ripe for harvest, divine harvest time > Shells: Pilgrimage of life > Stars and stripes around eagle: Eternal vigilance, liberty > Suns: The Resurrection > Thistles: Remembrance > Tombs: Mortality > Torch Inverted: Life extinct > Tree stump with ivy: Head of family; immortality > Trees: Life > Trumpeters: Heralds of the resurrection > Urn with flame: Undying friendship > Urn with wreath or crepe: mourning > Willows: Emblem of sorrow > Winged effigies: Flight of the soul > > A cenotaph is not a grave marker at all. It is a monument erected in memory > of > someone who died elsewhere, perhaps at sea. For more information about > cemeteries get the video "Cryptic Clues in the Bone Yard" by professional > genealogist Sharon DeBartolo Carmack at > <A HREF="http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Redirect/Store-Videos.asp > ">http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Redirect/Store-Videos.asp</A>. > > > > > > > ==== GenWisconsin Mailing List ==== > Mailing list moderator: Brenda K. Wolfgram Moore > email: [email protected] > > > > > > > > > > ==== GenWisconsin Mailing List ==== > Mailing list moderator: Brenda K. Wolfgram Moore > email: [email protected] >