James Dismuke & the Hourglass

James Z. Dismuke
Born Oct 17th, 1800
and Died March 23rd, 1861

"The pains of life are past,
Labor and sorrows cease;
And life's long warfare closed at last,
His soul is found in peace."

"The memory of the just is blessed."

For forty years He was a devoted and useful Member of the Methodist church;
And the virtues of his character as A humble and faithful Christian,
Shone through all his Relations in life.

Mr. Dismuke had inscriptions on all four sides of his gravestone, as transcribed above. He was laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery in Talbotton, Georgia.

Also found on the Dismuke gravestone was the image of an hourglass with wings. Douglas Keister, when referring to this mortality symbol, states the following: "The symbolism is clear: time is passing rapidly, and every day, one comes closer to the hour of their death. A bolder interpretation of the hourglass suggests that since it can be inverted over and over again, it symbolizes the cyclic nature of life and death, heaven and earth."

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