Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Epitaph: Thus end all earthly joys

The small sandstone tablet at the grave of Otho H. Thurstin (d. 1843) features a single pinwheel design.

The design on this stone reminds me of modern cemeteries, where colorful pinwheels are a common gravesite decoration—especially at the graves of children.



OTHO. H.
son of
R. H. & M. B.
Thurstin died
Dec. 20, 1843:
Aged 1 yr & 23 ds.

The epitaph is the first verse of a poem by Caroline Matilda Thayer, “Reflections of an unfortunate mother over the grave of her only son.”

How are my hopes, my lambent visions fled!
How disappointment racks my grief-torn heart!
My sole delight, my darling infant’s death:
Thus end all earthly joys, thus dear connexions part.


Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio

3 comments:

  1. Caroline Matilda Warren was my third great grandaunt. She died March 26, 1844. The quotation is from her book 'Religion recommended to youth'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I should have said Caroline Matilda Warren Thayer! Laurence Badagliacca

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  3. Thanks for stopping by, Laurence. This is such a beautifully written epitaph! Your comments remind us that a gravestone is a link not only to the person who is named on the stone, but also to the artists whose work is "recorded" there.

    ReplyDelete

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