Cemeteries

The Speaking Stone: Stories Cemeteries Tell is a literary love letter to the joys of wandering graveyards. While working on a novel, author and longtime Cincinnati resident Michael Griffith starts visiting Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, the nation's third-largest cemetery. Soon he's taking almost daily jaunts, following curiosity and accident wherever they lead. The result is this fascinating collection of essays that emerge from chance encounters with an interesting headstone, odd epitaph, unusual name, or quirk of memory. Researching obituaries, newspaper clippings, and family legacies, Griffith uncovers stories of race, feminism, art, and death.

Rather than sticking to the cemetery's most famous, or infamous, graves, Griffith stays true to the principle of ramble and incidental discovery. The result is an eclectic group of subjects, ranging from well-known figures like the feminist icon and freethinker Fanny Wright to those much less celebrated-- a spiritual medium, a temperance advocate, a young heiress who died under mysterious circumstances. Nearly ninety photos add dimension and often an element of playfulness.

The Speaking Stone examines what endures and what does not, reflecting on the vanity and poignancy of our attempt to leave monuments that last. In doing so, it beautifully weaves connections born out of the storyteller's inquisitive mind.

Certain symbols abound in modern Western culture that are instantly recognizable: the cross signifies Christianity, the six-pointed Star of David is revered by Jews, the golden arches frequently means it's time for lunch. Other symbols, however, require a bit of decoding-particularly those found in cemeteries.

Cemeteries are virtual encyclopedias of symbolism. Engravings on tombstones, mausoleums and memorials tell us just about everything there is to know about a person- date of birth and death as well as religion, ethnicity, occupation, community interests, and much more. In the fascinating new book Stories in Stone: The Complete Guide to Cemetery Symbolism by noted author Douglas Keister, the secrets of cemetery symbolism are finally revealed. For instance, did you know that it is quite rare to see a sunflower on a tombstone? Did you know that the human foot symbolizes humility and service since it consistently touches the earth? Or the humble sheaf of wheat-while it is often used to denote someone who has lived a long and fruitful life, do you know other meanings it might carry?

Stories in Stone provides history along with images of a wide variety of common and not-so-common cemetery symbols, and offers an in-depth examination of stone relics and the personal and intimate details they display-flora and fauna, religious icons, society symbols, and final impressions of how the deceased wished to be remembered. Douglas Keister has created a practical field guide that is compact and portable, perfect for those interested in family histories and genealogical research, and is the only book of its kind that unlocks the language of symbols in a comprehensive and easy-to-understand manner.

Illinois is home to cemeteries and burial grounds dating back to the Native American era. Whether sprawling over thousands of acres or dotting remote woodlands, these treasure troves of local and state history reflect two centuries of social, economic, and technological change. This easy-to-use guidebook invites amateur genealogists, historians, and cemetery buffs to decipher the symbols and uncover the fascinating past awaiting them in Illinois 's resting places. Hal Hassen and Dawn Cobb have combined almost three hundred photographs with expert detail to showcase how cemeteries and burial grounds can teach us about archaeology, folklore, art, geology, and social behavior. Features include

• the ways different materials used as gravestones and markers reflect historical trends;
• how to understanding the changes in the use of iconographic images;
• the story behind architectural features like fencing, roads, and gates;
• what enthusiasts can do to preserve local cemeteries for future generations.

Captivating and informed, Cemeteries of Illinois is the only guide you need to unlock the mysteries of our state 's final resting places.

One of Chicago’s landmark attractions, Graceland Cemetery chronicles the city’s sprawling history through the stories of its people. Local historian and Graceland tour guide Adam Selzer presents ten walking tours covering almost the entirety of the cemetery grounds. While nodding to famous Graceland figures from Marshall Field to Ernie Banks to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Selzer also leads readers past the vaults, obelisks, and other markers that call attention to less recognized Chicagoans like:

• Jessie Williams de Priest, the Black wife of a congressman whose 1929 invitation to a White House tea party set off a storm of controversy;
• Engineer and architect Fazlur Khan, the Bangladeshi American who revived the city's skyscraper culture;
• The still-mysterious Kate Warn (listed as Warn on her tombstone), the United States’ first female private detective.

Filled with photographs and including detailed maps of each tour route, Graceland Cemetery is an insider's guide to one of Chicago's great outdoor destinations for city lore and history.

This bestselling guide to the lives, deaths, and final resting places of our most enduring cultural icons has been revised and updated to include celebrities like Betty White, Alex Trebek, and many more.



Where Are They Buried? has directed legions of fervent fans and multitudes of the morbidly curious to the graves, monuments, and tombstones of the more than 500 celebrities and antiheroes included in the book.



The most comprehensive guide on the subject by far, every entry features an entertaining capsule biography full of little-known facts, a detailed description of the death, and step-by-step directions to the grave, including not only the name of the cemetery but the exact location of the gravesite and how to reach it. The book also provides a handy index of grave locations organized by state, province, and country to make planning a grave-hopping road trip easy and efficient.



The 2023 edition adds 8 new entries including Kobe Bryant, Eddie Van Halen, and Regis Philbin.

A guide to the fascinating practice of cemetery research, from determining an ancestor's final resting place to decoding mysterious headstone symbols.

Chicago is a city that is filled with history. In nearly every neighborhood monuments, markers, and memorials have been erected to commemorate this history. It is safe to say that Chicago has one of the richest collections of such commemorations to be found anywhere in the world. While many of these works were completed by local or virtually unknown artists, others were created by world renowned artists, architects, and sculptors, including Pablo Picasso, Lorado Taft, Louis Sullivan, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Whether they commemorate events like the Haymarket Riot, captains of industry like Marshall Field, sports heroes like Michael Jordan, or famous politicians like early Chicago mayor John Wentworth, each of Chicago's monuments, markers, and memorials has an interesting story to tell.

A sweeping history of America as seen through its gravestones, graveyards, and burial practices, stunningly illustrated with eighty black-and-white photographs

Cemeteries and burial grounds, as illuminated by an acclaimed cultural historian, are unique windows onto our religious, ethnic, and deeply human history as Americans.
The dedicated mother-son team of Marilyn and Reid Yalom visited hundreds of cemeteries to create The American Resting Place, following a coast-to-coast trajectory that mirrors the vast historical pattern of American migration.
Yalom’s incisive, often poignant exploration of gravestone inscriptions reveal changing ideas about death and personal identity, and demonstrate how class and gender play out in stone. Rich particulars include the story of one seventeenth-century Bostonian who amassed a thousand pairs of gloves in his funeral-going lifetime, the unique burial rites and funerary symbols found in today’s Native American cultures, and a “lost” Czech community brought uncannily to life in Chicago’s Bohemian National Columbarium.

From fascinating past to startling future--DVDs embedded in tombstones, "green" burials, and “the new aesthetic of death”--The American Resting Place is the definitive history of the American cemetery.

Charting the lore and lure of Chicago's ubiquitous burial grounds, this resource unearths the legends and legacies that mark the city's silent citizens—from larger-than-lifers and local heroes to machine mayors and machine-gunners. The book demonstrates that Chicago's cemeteries are home not only to thousands of individuals who fashioned the city's singular culture and character, but also to impressive displays of art and architecture, landscaping and limestone, egoism and ethnic pride. Mysterious questions such as Where is Al Capone buried? and What really lies beneath home plate at Wrigley Field? are answered in this reminder that although physical life must end, personal notes—and notoriety—last forever.

Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface—About Six Feet Under.

Ever wonder where Al Capone is buried? How about Clarence Darrow? Muddy Waters? Harry Caray? Or maybe Brady Bunch patriarch Robert Reed? And what really lies beneath home plate at Wrigley Field? Graveyards of Chicago answers these and other cryptic questions as it charts the lore and lure of Chicagos ubiquitous burial grounds.

Like the livelier neighborhoods that surround them, Chicagos cemeteries are often crowded, sometimes weary, ever-sophisticated, and full of secrets. They are home not only to thousands of individuals who fashioned the citys singular culture and character,but also to impressive displays of art and architecture, landscaping and limestone, egoism and ethnic pride, and the constant reminder that although physical life must end for us all, personal note—and notoriety—last forever.

Grab a shovel and tag along as Ursula Bielski, local historian and author of Chicago Haunts, and Matt Hucke, photographer and creator of graveyards.com unearth the legends and legacies that mark Chicagos silent citizens—from larger-than-lifers and local heroes, to clerics and comedians, machine mayors and machine-gunners.

This book contains 168 photos.

"Astonishing. . . fascinating . . . powerful. . .This clever, sensitive book gives us a new way to think about death, not as the final chapter, but as a window onto life in America."--NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW



A lively tour through the history of US cemeteries that explores how, where, and why we bury our dead

The summer before his senior year in college, Greg Melville worked at the cemetery in his hometown, and thanks to hour upon hour of pushing a mower over the grassy acres, he came to realize what a rich story the place told of his town and its history. Thus was born Melville's lifelong curiosity with how, where, and why we bury and commemorate our dead.



Melville's Over My Dead Body is a lively (pun intended) and wide-ranging history of cemeteries, places that have mirrored the passing eras in history but have also shaped it. Cemeteries have given birth to landscape architecture and famous parks, as well as influenced architectural styles. They've inspired and motivated some of our greatest poets and authors--Emerson, Whitman, Dickinson. They've been used as political tools to shift the country's discourse and as important symbols of the United States' ambition and reach.



But they are changing and fading. Embalming and burial is incredibly toxic, and while cremations have just recently surpassed burials in popularity, they're not great for the environment either. Over My Dead Body explores everything--history, sustainability, land use, and more--and what it really means to memorialize.



Locales visited in Over My Dead Body

Shawsheen Cemetery - Bedford, Massachusetts

The 1607 Burial Ground - Historic Jamestowne, Virginia

Burial Hill - Plymouth, Massachusetts

Colonial Jewish Burial Ground - Newport, Rhode Island

Monticello's African American Graveyard - Charlottesville, Virginia

Mount Auburn Cemetery - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Green-Wood Cemetery - Brooklyn, New York

Laurel Grove Cemetery - Savannah, Georgia

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery - Concord, Massachusetts

Central Park - New York, New York

Gettysburg National Cemetery - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, Virginia

Woodlawn Cemetery - Bronx, New York

Boothill Graveyard - Tombhill, Arizona

Forest Lawn Memorial-Park - Glenwood, California

The Chapel of the Chimes - Oakland, California

Hollywood Forever Cemetery - Los Angeles, California

Nature's Sanctuary - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 

Not all research can be done from home--sometimes you have to head into the field. Cemeteries are crucial for any genealogist's search, and this book will show you how to search for and analyze your ancestors' graves. Discover tools for locating tombstones, tips for traipsing through cemeteries, an at-a-glance guide to frequently used gravestone icons, and practical strategies for on-the-ground research. And once you've returned home, learn how to incorporate gravestone information into your research, as well as how to upload grave locations to BillionGraves and record your findings in memorial pages on Find A Grave.


   • Detailed step-by-step guides to finding ancestors' cemeteries using websites like Find A Grave, plus how to record and preserve death and  burial information
   • Tips and strategies for navigating cemeteries and finding individual tombstones in the field, plus an at-a-glance guide to tombstone symbols and iconography
   • Resources and techniques for discovering other death records and incorporating information from cemeteries into genealogical research