Southern Graves

Article from 2006 originally published on Southern Graves site. Some newer images added. " An important historical vestige of the cultural landscape of the rural South is the Upland South folk cemetery. " - D. Gregory Jeane Some Southern cemetery traditions include wife-to-the-left burials, bordered family plots, and feet-to-the-east interments. These practices can be fairly common in today's Southern cemeteries, but there are other traditions that may not be. The southern folk cemetery is characterized by hilltop location, scraped ground, mounded graves, east-west grave orientation, creative grave markers and decorations using materials readily available (not commercially produced), certain species of vegetation, the use of grave shelters, and the obvious devotion to God and/or parents and family with the graveyard workdays and monument dedications. Some of these characteristics can certainly be found in other parts of the United States, even the world. It is the comp...

(From November 2008) - I love sunflowers. So when I found some blooming in Sardis Cemetery , I had to photograph them. One particular plot -- Charles H. and Mary Ann Jones Johnson -- was covered with them. Here's a question: were they put there for a reason? Are these sunflowers symbolism? Let's start with the photos: Now, as much as I love cemeteries, I don't have a large library on the subject. I do have a few books, though, dealing with symbolism and southern cemetery symbolism. In only one book, Douglas Keister's Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography , did I find mention of sunflowers in cemeteries. He was referring to a sunflower carved into a gravestone. They signify devotion to the Catholic Church. This would seem to strike down the theory of symbolism in this case. Sardis Cemetery is attached to a Primitive Baptist Church. I did go looking online as well, and come across "Gravestone Symbolism" at Grave Ad...

Are you overlooking some symbols in the cemetery? Oftentimes we concentrate so hard on deciphering what is on the tombstone we don't pay too much attention to what's around it. Landscaping is sometimes very purposeful and meaningful. Take a look at the photo below: Lochrane Lot Oakland Cemetery Atlanta, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum The beautiful purple ground covering planted in the Lochrane lot at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia is phlox. Guess what it means. Sweet Dreams. Quite fitting, isn't it?

This of course reminded me of Savannah's bird girl. Even though I cannot read these headstones, the landscaping was purposefully and beautifully done, I think. Oakland Cemetery Atlanta, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum

In Loving Memory Thomas Biar McDonald "Tommy" Aug 31, 1971 - Sept 22, 1998 East Shadowlawn Memorial Gardens Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia Photo © 2010/1 S. Lincecum

The Fairview Memorial Garden at Fairview Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia was "established by Dr. Fred A. Moss in memory of his parents James M. and Ora Russell Moss, and of his great-grandparents James S. and Nancy Aiken Russell." On the back of the granite memorial marker pictured above at far left, is the following: "Yet Ah, That Spring Should Vanish With The Rose! That Youth's Sweet-Scented Manuscript Should Close! The Nightingale That In The Branches Sang, Ah Whence, And Whither Flown Again, Who Knows! - E.F." Though my visit was in the fall of last year, I could envision the rose bushes all greened up and beautiful. There's a nice walkway with a few benches, as well as a sundial. Each bench contains a sentiment about death and / or the rose. Also during that visit, I wondered about Dr. Moss. Who was this person who not only likely financed this memorial garden, but also chose to be buried within it instead of ...

Kick yer feet up, folks, this is a long one. Don't worry, it's fun and full of pictures.  You'll enjoy it! A scavenger hunt in a cemetery? You know I'm there! I excitedly played along for the next edition of the Graveyard Rabbit Carnival. I chose to try and find all the suggested items at one cemetery. That could have been a challenge in itself, but I put the odds in my favor by selecting Riverside Cemetery in Macon, Georgia as my hunting ground. This cemetery was established in 1887 and covers a beautiful 125 acres. It is a delightful mix of old and new tombstones. I especially love it because even the "new" sections have maintained an increasingly "old style" look. Upright markers are the norm, and plots can be decorated to the hilt. I know this makes upkeep more challenging, but I am grateful Riverside has chosen to continue with this layout. Fifteen items were on the list -- from crosses to flowers to stars to mausoleums -- and I found...

I've always been just a wee bit jealous of people who lived in places that got a yearly snowfall. Not because I like the white stuff, but because I've wanted to take pictures at a cemetery under a blanket of snow. I think the images are beautiful. Yesterday I got my wish! Late Friday we received about 5 inches of snow. It was almost gone in 24 hours, but I managed to get to the cemetery when it was still well covered. I literally said "Thank-you, God" before I even got out of my car at the cemetery. The landscape was breathtakingly beautiful. Since Valentine's Day is all about love, and I love my cemeteries, I believe this was H is Valentine's Day gift to me. If you love cemeteries like me, then the following slideshow of some of the photos I took are my Valentine's Day gift to you. I hope you enjoy them.

I was going to make this a Wordless Wednesday post, but decided some words were necessary. I’m pretty passionate about cemetery appreciation and preservation.  This goes hand in hand with Earth Day and a passion to appreciate and preserve our planet.  Let’s think about the connection for a moment. There is the obvious correlation of mortal remains being buried in the earth, or having one’s ashes spread all over it.  The tombstones we strive to conserve for the information they contain, as well as their artwork, also come from the earth: - marble :  a metamorphic rock formed from limestone or dolomite - granite :  a common, coarse-grained hard igneous rock consisting chiefly of quartz, orthoclase or microcline, and mica - limestone :  a common sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate - slate :  a fine-grained metamorphic rock that splits into thin smooth-surfaced layers - rock :  relatively hard, naturally formed mineral or petrifie...

I love sunflowers. So when I found some blooming in Sardis Cemetery (Bibb County, Georgia), I had to photograph them. One particular plot -- Charles H. and Mary Ann Jones Johnson -- was covered with them. Here's a question: were they put there for a reason? Are these sunflowers symbolism? Let's start with the photos: Now, as much as I love cemeteries, I don't have a large library on the subject. I do have a few books, though, dealing with symbolism and southern cemetery symbolism. In only one book, Douglas Keister's Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography , did I find mention of sunflowers in cemeteries. He was referring to a sunflower carved into a gravestone. They signify devotion to the Catholic Church. This would seem to strike down the theory of symbolism in this case. Sardis Cemetery is attached to a Primitive Baptist Church. I did go looking online as well, and come across "Gravestone Symbolism" at Grave Add...