Sharing from Heritage Avon Lake (Lorain County) - Monday, May 14th, 2018 - At 1:00p.m. Mary Milne: Epitaphs and Icons: Interpreting Gravestones

"Memorializing the dead with grave markers, headstones and tombstones, family burial plots were marked with rough stones, rocks or wood as a way to keep the dead from rising.  The deceased’s name, age and year of death were inscribed.  From 1650-1900 square shaped tombstones from slate and sandstone evolved with churchyard burials.  During the Victorian era (1837-1901) lavish and decorated gravestones included sculptured designs, artwork and symbols.  Marble, granite, iron and wood were popular materials from 1780 to the present. 

Mary Milne, professional genealogist, presents Epitaphs and Icons: Interpreting Gravestones on Monday, May 14, 2018 at the Avon Lake Public Library’s Waugaman Gallery.  She has investigated cemetery records, carvings, and statues that provide clues to aid genealogy research.  Learn how to interpret often-overlooked messages on gravestones. 

All events, which are free, will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Waugaman Gallery at Avon Lake Public Library, 32649 Electric Blvd.

Heritage Avon Lake is a local history organization that collects, preserves, and promotes oral, written, and physical history. For more information, visit www.heritageavonlake.org or call 440.549.4425."

REMINDER: Next Hands-On Volunteer Cemetery Preservation Work Session at the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield is Tuesday, May 15th - starting at 9:00a.m.

Reminder:  The Next Volunteer Hands-On Cemetery Preservation Work Session at Greenfield's earliest cemetery, The Old Burying Ground, will be coming up on Tuesday, May 15th, 2018 beginning at 9:00a.m.  -- it is a "stay as long as you can environment". 

The Old Burying Ground's restoration/preservation efforts are now in their 5th year...and still going strong!!  

Many of the historical society's volunteers, namely, John King, Scott and Venus Andersen, Harold Schmidt, and Gloria Losey, have been volunteering since the beginning.  Others have also joined them over the past years, including, Michael  Lee Anderson and Jackie Doles, who are regulars as well.  

You won't find a more dedicated, and experienced group of caring individuals who are working to restore an early Ohio cemetery than these volunteers!   

Also, be sure to check out the link below with details and photographs taken at the previous work session on May 8th.:

Old Burying Ground Hands-On All Volunteer Work Session of May 8th, 2018

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"Volunteer Session - May 8, 2018"

"What a beautiful day for work in the cemetery! We were able to realign more stones, repair a couple broken stones, clean some stones, and using the hoist, lift and reset a few of the heavier stones. Joining in were Scott Andersen, John King, Jackie Doles, Mike Anderson, Gloria Losey and her sister Karen, Harold Schmidt, and Avery Applegate (who came from Hillsboro to help)."

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****How Can YOU Help?****

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"Join us for an upcoming work session. You can stay as long as you like. We will help you get started if you have not participated previously. Tasks range from cleaning stones, straightening stones, recording information, etc. We post our scheduled sessions on the GHS website calendar"

For further details, or to sign up to participate in the next volunteer work session, contact John King, of the Greenfield History Society at:  

jfking@earthlink.net.

The Old Burying Ground on "Find A Grave"

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The Old Burying Ground's Ohio Historic Inventory # HIG-00314-02

More White Bronze! Monuments & Markers - Look for Them at Your Favorite Cemetery!

Sharing a small sampling arranged in groups of four photographs each, that are representative of what we can expect to see for close up details found on White Bronze markers (zinc), monuments, and a unique urn that doubles as a family plot marker.  

Remember when you next visit your favorite cemetery that contains older (pre-granite) markers, be sure to look around for monuments or markers with distinctively crisp details -- they just might be made of White Bronze, and you wouldn't want to miss seeing and photographing them!

 (There are two white monuments in the above photo)

"White bronze" 

"Actually sand cast zinc, but called white bronze for marketing purposes. Almost all, if not all, zinc grave markers were made by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, CT, between 1874 and 1914. They are in cemeteries of the period all across the U.S. and Canada. They were sold as more durable than marble, about 1/3 less expensive and progressive."  

 

 

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Further Reading:
"Metal Monuments of Greenwood Cemetery"
by Mark Culver