Handshake

A handshake symbol on a tombstone usually signifies a welcome into the heavenly world. Sometimes you may see this as a symbol of matrimony on the grave marker of a married couple. If it’s a marriage symbol you may notice that one cuff will look masculine and the other, feminine.

Photograph: from the tombstone of Hugh L. Mitchell, died Dec. 14, 1882, age 34/4/17, Ute Cemetery, Aspen, Colorado.

Billy the Kid’s Grave

Old West outlaw William Bonney, aka “Billy the Kid,” was famously shot by Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico on July 14, 1881. He was buried in the Old Fort Sumner Cemetery alongside Tom O’Folliard and Charlie Bowdre, two members of the Kid’s gang, who had both been killed by Garrett’s posse in 1880. The Kid’s individual grave marker, which wasn’t placed until 1940, has been stolen and recovered twice. It is presently in shackles inside an iron cage.

There are those who believe that the person buried in Fort Sumner isn’t the real Billy the Kid, but an impostor. Numerous claims have been made, but two possible other Billy the Kids are Ollie “Brushy Bill” Roberts (buried in Hamilton, Texas) and John Miller (buried in Prescott, Arizona, where he died in 1937).

John Miller’s remains were exhumed in 2005. DNA was gathered from two corpses buried next to each other — researchers were unsure at first which of the two was the body of John Miller. DNA samples from these exhumations were to be compared with bloodstains from a bench where the Kid’s body was laid after he was killed in Fort Sumner. But so far the results of any comparisons with Miller’s DNA have not been released to the public.

The same team had also wanted to exhume the bodies of the Fort Sumner Billy the Kid, and the Kid’s mother Catherine Antrim, who is buried in Silver City, New Mexico. But officials in Fort Sumner and Silver City have successfully blocked these exhumations. For more details on the search for Billy the Kid see: A New Billy the Kid? The mad search for the bones of an American outlaw icon has come to Arizona. Despite the impostor theories, many historians believe the real Billy the Kid died and was buried in Fort Sumner.

Photographs by Joe Beine, 17 October 2007, Fort Sumner, New Mexico

Angels Dropping Flowers

I sometimes see angel statues in cemeteries, where the angel is holding flowers in one hand, while the other hand seems to be dropping the flowers over the graves. I’m not sure of the exact significance of this, but the angels appear to be spreading blessings. Perhaps this tradition is related to flower girls at weddings who spread flowers or petals ahead of the bride, or hand them out to the guests. If anyone knows more about this tradition feel free to leave a comment.

Photo: Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Colorado (you can click on the photograph for a larger view).

Treestones

Treestones are basically grave markers in the shape of a tree. Often they will look like tree stumps or logs. Some will have branches. They are usually associated with the Woodmen of the World, and their various associated groups, although using tree-shaped grave markers pre-dates the organization. The treestones of Woodmen will usually include their symbols, and they might be inscribed with “Dum Tacet Clamet” (”though silent he speaks”), or “here rests a Woodman of the World.” Trees, branches and leaves are common symbols of nature in cemeteries.

According to Douglas Keister’s Stories in Stone, treestones were derived from the Victorian rusticity movement, and at one time could be ordered from the Sears and Roebuck catalog.

Photos: (top) the tombstone of Alfred J. Day, Jr. (1892-1908), Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado; (bottom) the grave marker of Louis S. Samuels (1886-1905), Rose Hill Cemetery, Commerce City, Colorado

Colorado’s Mount Lindo Cross

Colorado’s Mount Lindo Cemetery and Mausoleum rests on top of a mountain that overlooks Highway 285 and Denver. On the East side of the mountain is the largest lighted cross in the United States. The history of the lighted cross goes back to the Olinger family, who founded the Olinger mortuary company in Denver in the 1890s.

George Olinger Sr., son of Olinger mortuary founders, John and Emma Olinger, bought Mount Lindo in the 1930s. He later sold it to Francis S. Van Derbur, who was married to George’s daughter, Gwendolyn. Van Derbur originally intended to develop the mountain, but instead he made it into a cemetery in 1963. His father, Francis C. Van Derbur, expressed an interest in being buried on Mount Lindo with the spot being marked by a cross. Francis S. had the famous lighted cross installed on the East side of the mountain so his mother, Pearl, could see it from her home in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood.

The cross is 393 feet high and 254 feet across, and can be seen from the highway and parts of the city it watches over. It was partially conceived by designer Donald Lee Frees, who also worked on designs for many Olinger buildings, including the Tower of Memories at Crown Hill Cemetery. The cross was first lighted on Easter in 1964.

The Mount Lindo cemetery gates are on South Turkey Creek Road just off Highway 285 near Tiny Town. Mount Lindo rises 7660 feet above sea level and is owned and operated by Olinger Mortuary.

Photograph:
Mount Lindo Cross from the Morrison exit off Highway 285, 10 November 2006; You can click on the photo for another, larger view.

Cemetery Burials:
For more information on Mount Lindo burials and Jefferson County, Colorado cemeteries see: Online Colorado Death Records Indexes and Cemetery Burials

Sources:
Jones, Rebecca. “Mount Lindo bears its cross: regarding the big cross up on the mountain…My husband says there’s a graveyard there.” Rocky Mountain News, 2 March 1997, p. 27D.

Martin, Claire. “A Colorado Life: Designer helped conceive huge Mount Lindo cross.” The Denver Post, 15 December 2004, p. C10.

Website: History of Colorado Funeral Homes - Denver

Daughters of the American Revolution - DAR

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was founded in 1890. Today this lineage organization and genealogical society has about 168,000 members. Any woman 18 or older, who can prove a lineal bloodline descent from a patriot of the American Revolution, is eligible for membership. The DAR promotes patriotism, preservation of American history, and education.

A notable fictional member of the DAR is Emily Gilmore of the CW television show, Gilmore Girls.

Photo: Green Mountain Cemetery, Boulder, Colorado