May Day (bonus post)

 In honor of May Day, which is so many things across history, a bonus post of some ambient landscape photos from the cemeteries, bringing the flowers.

Roses in Cortland, NY

Buds in Cleveland, OH

Purple flowers in Rochester, NY

Daffodils in Syracuse, NY

Also, we're halfway to Halloween, i.e. the best holiday. Let's Persephone it up -- from goddess of spring to underworld queen:

Kerosene lanterns waiting to be claimed for the lantern tour at Sleepy Hollow, NY. A++ do recommend.

Bouquets

Since it's Valentine's Day, flowers for you.

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, NY:

"Married Forever"

From Woodlawn Cemetery, Syracuse, NY:

Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY:

From Rome Cemetery, Rome, NY:

From Chappell Hill Masonic Cemetery, Chappell Hill, TX:

It's curtains

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, NY:

(Which I somehow apparently have not posted before; that, or I completely failed at my tagging system both here and in Picasa)

From Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, LA:

An interesting detail to note on this one is that the death year for the husband is added on with a little red plate that matches the brick of the mausoleum and completely fails to match the rest of the epitaph.


Related post: Matched Set 1

A Civil War obelisk

Found in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, NY:

 Capt. Wm. J. Hunt

Died at Chesapeake

Hospital Va.

of wounds rec'd.

before Petersburgh

July 30, 1864.

Ae. 22 y'rs & 4 mo. 

I found a scant amount more of information about him from here: Captain William J. Hunt, Co. D, 117th NYSV. Joined July, 1862 at Utica as 1st Lt., age 21; Captain Dec., 1863; WIA June 28, 1864 at Petersburg, VA; died July 31, 1864 at U.S. General Hospital. The death date differs by a day and the hospitals are identified differently.

Armistice

Since Veteran's Day has is its origins with the conclusion of World War 1, here are a few graves of men who died overseas for that war.


From Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Syracuse:

Wilfred Wickliffe Porter Jr

1st Lieut. Co B 305th MGB USA

Feb 23 1888 - Aug 20 1918

"In France"

Harold Greene Porter MD

Lieut (jg) Medical Corps USNRF

US Naval Hospital Chelsea Mass

Aug 20 1893 - Sept 10 1918

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse:

 Leonard A. Smith

1897 - 1918

1st. Class Private

Co. C. 106th N.Y. Inf. 27th Div.

Died in France

Edward M. Casey

Born March 21st 1894

Mechanic

Machine Gun Co. 30th Infantry

Killed in action October 19, 1918

Meuse-Argonne Offensive, France

Related post:

War & Veterans, part 2

A mysterious prop

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse:

A statue, high atop a tall obelisk, holding something neither a book nor an anchor (unique!), nor anything I can really readily identify (too unique!) It looks like a weighing scale, only...not.

Cemetery critters

Stepping outside my normal purview a bit for some pictures of cute critters that held still long enough for me to get a picture.

From Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester:

Surprised the poor little thing and he wound up just freezing for several seconds.

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, another chipmunk, perched on a headstone:

 And one of the lovely black-furred squirrels that runs around up here:

From Walnut Grove Cemetery, Syracuse:

A non-living specimen-- a cement sculpture of what was apparently once a cardinal, perched alongside the stone urn atop an obelisk:

Rocky epitaph

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse:

A charming epitaph carved into a big chunk of rock left sort of out of the way of all the other headstones in that section.

I'd rather be a rather be

Than be a rather been,

Because you see a rather be

Is not a might have been.

                  ...F. H. Harms

Even more poignant as an epitaph, I think.

And a slightly different angle:

Intricacies

And finally, from Oakwood Cemetery, some lovely examples of attention to detail:

A Gothicy monument with very realistic flowers adorning its peak.

Nice detailing of...uh, some sort of plant (thistle?) along the arms of this bench.

A towering obelisk, which was the primary inspiration for this post:

A closer view:

And finally, the intricately-filled circle pattern on the end of an above-ground tomb:

Also of note! Today is the official one-year anniversary of my first post. Yay!

Family ties

Epitaphs that mention a family tie and fall outside the usual Wife/Son/Daughter identification. For instance...

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse:

One more uncommon "husband" identifier, complete with a possessive!


From Rome Cemetery, Rome, NY:

In memory of

Anna Elizabeth

Landon Adopted

daughter of Numa

& Betsy Leonard

who died Dec. 16,

1827, in the 6 year

of her age.

From Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester:

Amelia I.

Buchan

Second wife of

John Robb

Died

Jan. 9, 1883

Ae. 80 yrs.

Related posts:

Husband of...

Friends

Column envy

From Gibson Chapel Rural Cemetery, Cortland, NY:

From Oakwood Cemetery, a similar arrangement on a much larger scale:

Bookish 2

More books!

From Liverpool Cemetery, Liverpool, NY:

An obelisk-cum-table for some draped fabric and a pair of books:

From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, NY:

"Until the day break And the shadows flee away."

From Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY:

Faces

Unlike all the statues I have seen and posted, these are limited only to heads, each presumably modeled after the deceased's own.

From Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta:

A nice obelisk, somewhat set apart by some dense plant growth...

And the face, "In memory of my wife":

And the top half of the obelisk:

From Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester:

James Douglas Reid
1819-1901
Born Edinburgh
Died New York
-
A pioneer of the telegraph and its first superintendent
Friend and associate of Morse
A kindly gentleman of beautiful character and stainless life
-
This monument was erected 1914 by telegraphers in appreciation and loving memory of his unselfish helpfulness.






From Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse:

Lewis H. Redfield: Printer

The rest of his epitaph:

A worn and battered form,

Gone to be re-cast,

More beautiful and perfect.