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| Here Lies the Body of Susannah Wife of Williams Brown Born in Jones County, No-Carolina 12th March 1803 Died in Houston County, Georgia 17th March 1847 In the 45th Year of her age. ------------------------------------- We miss thee from a band so dear, That gathers round our hearth. We listen still to hear thy name Amid our household mirth. We gaze upon thy vacant chair, Thy form we seem to see. We start to find thou are not here Yet joy that thou art free. Henderson Church Cemetery Houston County, GA Note: Epitaph from poem entitled "The Loved and Lost," but cannot find an author. |
Why do people put rocks on grave stones? Some time ago, I learned that the rocks signified a visitor. That is true enough, but I decided to learn a little more about the custom and share my findings with you. Putting rocks on tombstones is most often described as a Jewish custom. There are many "Ask a Rabbi" columns out there, but I did not find one that knew for sure where the custom originated. They all agreed, however, that a rock symbolized a visitor and when put on a tombstone said, "I remember you." I also read that some people pick up a rock wherever they are when they think of a person that has passed. Then, the next time they visit the grave, they place the rock to say, "I wish you were here." Rabbi Shraga Simmons offers a deeper meaning: "We are taught that it is an act of ultimate kindness and respect to bury someone and place a marker at the site. After a person is buried, of course, we can no longer participate in burying them. H
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p.s. I'm bugging my husband to carry me up to Massachusetts in mid- to late-August. I'm keen to see the graves of Emily Dickinson ("called back") in Amherst and Lizzy Borden (she of 40 whacks) in Fall River! If I get to go I imagine I'll take 1,000 pictures ... that'll be worth 1,000,000 words! LOL