Reading the American Cemetery
Thomas Connors, University of Northern Iowa, 2011
Title Slide: Immanuel Churchyard, New Castle, DE
I.
The Frontier Burial Ground
a. New England: Winslow Cemetery, Marshfield, MA
b. Rebecca Winters gravesite, Scotts Bluff, NE
c. Boot Hill, Billings, MT
d. Birch Hill Cemetery, Fairbanks, AK
II.
Churchyards
a. Old First Churchyard, Bennington, VT
b. Westminster Presbyterian Churchyard, Baltimore
c. Memorial Church Cemetery, Deepwater Creek, Raub, ND
d. Ossuary / Charnel House, St. Leonard’s Church, Hythe, Kent
III.
Municipal Burial Grounds: Enlightenment
a. Congressional Cemetery (1812), Washington, DC
b. Pioneer & Military Memorial Park, Phoenix, AZ (map)
c. Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, TX
IV.
The Rural Cemetery: Romanticism
a. Cimètiere du Père Lachaise (1804), Paris
i. Nicholas Frochot (1761-1828)
ii. Heloise & Abelard
b. Mt. Auburn Cemetery (1831), Cambridge, MA
i. Jacob Bigelow (1787-1879) botanist & physician
c. The Romantic Landscape
i. Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
ii. Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY
iii. Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, NY
d. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (1849), Tarrytown, NY
V.
The Lawn Park Cemetery: Victorianism
a. The English Garden & the Pastoral Ideal
b. Spring Grove Cemetery (1853), Cincinnati
i. Adolph Strauch (1822-1883)
c. Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, CA
i. Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) landscape architect
d. Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, NJ
e. Woodlawn Cemetery, Toledo, OH
VI.
The Memorial Park: Death in the 20th Century
a. The City Beautiful: Columbian Exposition (1893)
b. Forest Lawn Memorial Park (1917), Glendale, CA
i. Hubert Eaton (1881-1966)
c.
d.
e.
f.
ii. Eaton’s Landscape
iii. Attractions - Meditation Garden
iv. Evelyn Waugh, The Loved One (1948)
Pinelawn Memorial Park, Farmingdale, NY
Col. Gates Memorial Cemetery, Rocky Hill, CT
Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles
Green Cemetery: Daphne-Fernwood Cemetery, Mill Valley, CA
VII.
Cremation
a. Crematory
i. Stone Chapel, Forest Hills, Boston
b. Columbarium
i. Trinity Cemetery, NYC
ii. Forest Lawn – Cathedral City, CA
VIII.
Military Cemeteries
a. National Cemeteries
i. Fredericksburg National Cemetery, VA
ii. Ft. Richardson National Cemetery, Anchorage, AK
iii. San Francisco National Cemetery, Presidio, CA
IX.
City or County Cemeteries: “Potter’s Fields”
a. Holt Cemetery, New Orleans, LA
b. County Cemetery, Fresno, CA
c. Riverside Cemetery, Moline, IL
X.
Religious Cemeteries
a. Jewish Cemeteries
i. Mikveh Israel Cemetery (1740), Philadelphia
ii. Home of Peace, Los Angeles
iii. Hebrew Rest Cemetery, Washington, LA
iv. Gates of Prayer, New Orleans
v. Symbols & Customs
vi. Holocaust Memorial, Mt. Sinai Cemetery, North Hollywood
b. Catholic Cemeteries
i. Holy Cross Cemetery, San Diego
ii. Calvary Cemetery, Queens, NY
iii. Jesuit Cemetery, Grand Coteau, LA
iv. Lourdes Grotto, Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
c. Islam
i. Greenwood Cemetery, San Diego
ii. Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack, NY
iii. Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, NY
iv. Shirzad Memorial, B’nai Israel Cemetery, Salt Lake City
d. Buddhism
i. Chinese Association (1901), Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburgh, PA
ii. Greenwood Memorial Park, Renton, WA
iii. Rose Hills Columbarium & Stupa Garden, Whittier, CA
iv. Stupa Garden, Hollywood Forever, Los Angeles, CA
XI.
Race & Ethnicity
a. African American Cemeteries
i. Colonial
1. Pompey, Common Burial Ground, Newport, RI
ii. The Color Line:
1. Bethlehem Cemetery, Henning, TN
2. Ripley Cemetery, MS
iii. South
1. St. James Cemetery, Avalon, MS
2. Immaculate Heart Catholic Cemetery, Lafayette, LA
iv. Great Migration
1. Eden Cemetery, Collindale, PA
b. Native American
i. Nespelem Cemetery, Colville Agency, WY
ii. Wounded Knee, Pine Ridge, SD
iii. Spirit Houses, Eklutna, AK
iv. San Ildefonso Pueblo Mission Cemetery, NM
c. Latino Cemeteries
i. Mission Burial Grounds
1. San Luis Rey, CA
ii. Southwest
1. Our Lady of Sorrows, Bernalillo, NM
2. San Jose Cemetery, Albuquerque
XII.
Architecture / Title Slide: Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY
a. Victorian Revival Styles
i. Saxon: Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, IL
ii. Celtic Cross, Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville
iii. Moorish Mausoleum, Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville
b. Celtic Revival
i. Ruined Church, Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans
ii. St. Patrick & Round Tower, Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Chicago
iii. Clann-na-Gael, Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Washington
c. Islamic Revival
i. Home of Peace Cemetery, Colma, CA
ii. Home of Peace Cemetery, Los Angeles
d. Egyptian
i. Dodge Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit
ii. Brunswig Mausoleum, Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans
iii. Viele Mausoleum, West Point, NY
iv. Community Mausoleum, Mountain View Cemetery, Fresno, CA
e. Classical Revival
i. Clark Mausoleum, Hollywood Forever, Los Angeles
ii. Potter Palmer Monument, Graceland Cemetery, Chicago
iii. Harris Mausoleum, Roseland Cemetery, Chicago
iv. Williams Stele, Princeton Cemetery, NJ
f. Gothic Revival
i. Spire, Blossom Grove Cemetery, Concord, NH
ii. Lamb in Gothic Cage, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia
iii. Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY
iv. Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans
v. Arch & Column, Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, MS
g. Mission Revival
i. Mausoleum Entrance, Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica, CA
ii. Courtyard Mausoleum, Greenwood Cemetery, San Diego, CA
iii. Mausoleum, San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, CA
iv. Gate, Manasota Memorial Park, Bradenton, FL
v. Portal of the Folded Wings (1953), Valhalla Memorial Park, N.
Hollywood, CA
h. Tree-Shaped Monuments
i. Trunk & Ivy, Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis
ii. Curbed Lot, Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
iii. Chair & Hat, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL
iv. Stump, Lancaster Cemetery, PA
i. Ironwork
i. Pineapple, Cypress Grove Cemetery, New Orleans
ii. Dog’s Head, Oakwood Cemetery, Montgomery, AL
iii. Pointing Hand, Mt. Hebron Cemetery, Winchester, VA
iv. Iron Fence, Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
v. Iron Mausoleum, City Cemetery, Natchez, MS
j. Monumental Bronze
i. Chapman Obelisk & Shepard Gothic Monuments, Cedar Falls, IA
ii. McLeod Angel, Urbana, IL
iii. Hope with Anchor, Moravian Cemetery, Staten Island, NY
iv. Soldier’s Memorial, Cemetery Hill, Gettysburg, PA
k. Art Deco
i. Mausoleum of the Golden West, Inglewood, CA
ii. Calvary Mausoleum, Los Angeles
iii. Colma, CA
iv. Crown Hill Mausoleum, Dallas
l. Folk Monuments
i. Crosses & Heart, Canoncito, NM
ii. Vault, Jaffrey Center Cemetery, NH
iii. Teddy Bear, Fairview Cemetery, Albuquerque
iv. Hands & Cross, Forest Hill Cemetery, Winona, MS
v. Menozzi Marker, Lehigh Cemetery, OK
XIII.
Symbolism
a. Hands
i. Hand & Scroll, Kentland, IN
ii. Hands Reaching Down, St. Peter’s Cemetery, Oxford, MS
iii. Hand & Crown, Pointing Hand, Silver Lake Cemetery, Portage, WI
iv. Hand & Heart, Sunset Hills Cemetery, Bozeman, MT
v. Clasped Hands on Obelisk, City Cemetery, Natchez, MS
vi. Clasped Hands from Clouds, Harlington Cemetery, Waverly, IA
b. Religious Symbols
i. Rock of Ages, Bethel Cemetery, Croton, NY
ii. Heavenly City, Fairview Cemetery, Cedar Falls, IA
iii. Bible, Woodlawn Cemetery, Des Moines
c. Occupation
i. Propeller, Anchorage Memorial Park, AK
ii. Corn, Elmwood Cemetery, IL
iii. Books, Hillcrest Cemetery, Holly Springs, MS
iv. Sports Writer, Fairview Cemetery, Waterloo, IA
d. Family
i. Stages of a Marriage, Oakwood Cemetery, Geneseo, IL
ii. Wife, Husband, & Infant, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA
iii. Mother & Children, Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, MS
iv. Donati Smoking Man, Hope Cemetery, Barre, VT
e. Gender
i. Suffrage Epitaph, Fairview Cemetery, Cedar Falls, IA
ii. Ferro-Grumley Monument, Rockland Cemetery, Piermont, NY
iii. Portrait of a Marriage, Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY
iv. Bloomer Epitaph, Fairview Cemetery, Council Bluff, IA
XIV. Sculpture
a. Codona Statue, Inglewood Cemetery, CA
b. French / Death Stills the Hand of the Sculptor, Forest Hills, Boston
c. Portraits
i. McElvaine Bust, Spring Grove, Cincinnati, OH
ii. Kelly Statue, City Cemetery, Kosciusko, MS
iii. Sick Stonecarver, Hope Cemetery, Barre, VT
iv. Lynch Cameo, Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, MS
v. Emily Cameo, Ft. Hill Cemetery, Auburn, NY
vi. Johnny Ramone, Hollywood Forever, CA
d. Angels
i. Black Angel, Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City
ii. Pointing Angels, Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles
iii. Casual Angel, Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, CA
iv. Angel & Sword, Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland
e. Children
i. Boy & Stump, Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
f. Birds
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
XV.
Boy Reading, Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY
Boy & Girl, Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, IL
Girl, Green Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY
Child in Boat, Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston
Statue, Salt Lake City Cemetery
May Sarton Phoenix, Nelson Cemetery, NH
Facing Doves, Highland Cemetery, Cedar Falls, IA
Flying Gulls, Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, DC
Eagle, Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston
Epitaphs
a. John Jacks (1773), Old Hill Burial Ground, Concord, MA
b. Charles Bukowski (1994), Green Hills Memorial Park, Palos Verdes, CA
c. Rodney Dangerfield (2004), Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles
d. Cap Anson (1922), Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago
e. Willowbrook Cemetery, Edgefield, SC
XVI. Regionalism
a. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans
b. Rural Family Burial Grounds
i. South: Plantations –Jefferson Cemetery, Monticello, VA
ii. Midwest: Farm Graveyards – Old Concord Cemetery, Petersburg, IL
iii. West: Ranch Graveyards – Breden Cemetery, Spalding, ID
c. Colonial New England
i. Skeleton, Old Granary Burial Ground, Boston
ii. Memento Mori (1763), Old South Burial Ground, Concord, MA
iii. Gravediggers, Bell Rock Cemetery, Malden, MA
iv. Death’s Head, King’s Chapel Burial Ground, Boston
d. Valley of Virginia
i. McDowell Burial Ground, Fairfield, VA
ii. Presbyterian Churchyard, Timber Ridge, VA
e. New Mexico
i. Old Mission Graveyard, Zuni Pueblo, NM
ii. Kit Carson Cemetery, Taos, NM
iii. Old Church Cemetery, Hernandez, NM
f. Alaska
i. Copper Center Cemetery
ii. Whale Ribs, Anchorage Memorial Park
iii. Talkeetna Cemetery
iv. Orthodox Churchyard, Ninilchik
Websites
www.findagrave.com
http://politicalgraveyard.com
http://www.uni.edu/historyofblackhawkcounty/greenwoodcem/greenindex.html
or http://www.uni.edu/connors/