You might want to check out: http://www.cemeterypreservations.accessgenealogy.com/ There is a great deal of info located here that tells the meanings of different things found on the tombstone. Example: if your loved one was a member of Woodman of the World, [an early insurance organization and fraternal order], members of the group were provided insurance during their life. In death, they received a lump sum that went toward their monument, which was a stone carved like a tree or parts of a tree. Sometimes, when you find just a stump, it meant that they died before their natural time. The hands, in various positions also have a multitude of meanings... This site also tells of the hazards of preserving of those cemeteries prior to 1910... lots of interesting info.. Lanita