What is on your ancestor’s tombstone? You can expect to find their name, date of birth, and date of death. There may be an inscription added. Some gravestones have portraits of the deceased. Many gravestones have angels carved into them. You may find arches, bones, or other imagery. These kinds of images are not simply decorations, or aesthetic choices. There is a specific meaning behind each of these symbols! It is possible that the symbols on your relative’s gravestone will tell you things about that person that you were not aware of.
A visit to a cemetery is something that every genealogist may eventually decide to do. Cemeteries hold a lot of information that you might not have uncovered in your research. Take a photograph of the symbols on your ancestor’s gravestones. You can look up the meanings of the symbols after you return home.
An angel is a very common symbol to find on a tombstone. This symbol represents rebirth or resurrection. An angel can be interpreted as a guide, or a messenger between God and man. If the angel has wings, it represents the deceased’s guardian angel. A weeping angel is the symbol of grief and mourning.
An arch is the symbol for victory in death. It can also symbolize the passage into heaven.
Hands clasped together, or shaking, signifies a “farewell” to, and a devotion to, the person who died. This is often used to represent married couples. It can be a way to show that the devotion of these two people is not destroyed by death. The clasped hands can also signify a farewell to earthly existence.
There are many images that can be used to signify that the person who died was a Christian. A scallop shell represents a pilgrim’s journey. A ship can represent the Church. A rosary signifies that the person was devoted to Mary, the mother of Jesus. A cup represents the Eucharist. Crosses, of course, are symbols of Christ. A fleur-de-lis can be a symbol of the holy trinity. Other Christian symbols include doves, lambs, stars, or the sun.
Skulls can appear in different ways. If you see an entire skeleton, it symbolizes mortality. Just a skull by itself can represent death, and may also represent sin. A skull with wings on either side of it, also called Death’s Head, symbolizes the flight of the soul from the mortal man. Victorian gravestones sometimes used an image of a sleeping child to represent death.
Image by Brett Rutherford on Flickr