Cemetery Study

Evolution of New England Puritan Gravestone Symbols The evolution of Puritan New England gravestone symbols (e.g., death heads, cherubs, and urn and willows), inscriptions, borders, and finials, styles popular in New England from approximately1620-1820. By comparing seriation charts from a variety of colonial Puritan cemeteries, one can begin to see that changes in style may be connected to a broader cultural context. There is no universal agreement among scholars regarding the relationship between the symbols on Puritan gravestones and ideology.

James Deetz, Allan Ludwig, and Peter Benes all link gravestone style to a larger cultural context but David D. Hall challenges this interpretation by suggesting that this type of research is reading too much into the meanings of mere designs and decoration ("Nonchronological Sources of Variation in the Seriation of Gravestone Motifs in the Northeast and Southeast Colonies."). Over the years, through direct observation and seriation charts, experts have generally agreed with the interpretation of Deetz, Ludwig, and Benes.

From my observations of four cemeteries and approximately seventy stones, all of the early Puritan gravestones are facing east, many with two smaller stones (called "footstones") in front. These stones seem to represent a bed in which the deceased can more easily rise when God appears from the east on the Judgment Day to save the chosen ones from eternal damnation.

Through my seriation chart I have also determined that the stylistic evolution from death head to cherub reflects the exact time period in which the Great Awakening (1735-1750) brought about a change in Puritan attitudes toward life, death, and the afterlife. The change in inscription from "Here Lies ____" to "In memory of ____," during this time period also suggests a connection between gravestone iconography and the larger cultural and religious context.

And the later (1780-1820) more secular design of the urn and willow, with its classical Greek symbols could be interpreted as representative of an emerging spirit of democracy and republic -- a civic religion! My seriation chart has also revealed some interesting data concerning the question of whether a change in the popularity of a style would more likely occur in larger urban centers as compared to outlying areas, particularly coastal areas.

The conventional wisdom would conclude that the change would most likely occur in the urban area because of its greater cosmopolitanism, but my research suggests the reverse. This may be explained by the likelihood that the urban area religious leaders may see a change in gravestone iconography as a challenge or threat and would do their best to.