Grave images: Clasped hands

For a period of time in the 1800s, clasped hands were a popular image on gravestones, and I have seen a number of them in central and west central Ohio where I do my grave hopping.

Clasped hands on a gravestone are often meant to represent farewell to earthly life. Indeed, the first two photos below show FAREWELL written above the hands (although the first is barely visible, even when you click to enlarge the image).

The Association for Gravestone Studies adds that they could also represent “the clasped hands of a couple to be reunited in death as they were in life, their devotion to each other not destroyed by death.”

Jane Temple, Sandy Corners Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
George Thompson, Flint Cemetery, Franklin County, Ohio
Mariah Harris, Africa Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
Claudious Aubert, Groveport Cemetery, Franklin County, Ohio