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The tall tablet marker at the grave of Daniel Brobst (b. 1802, d. 1844), skillfully carved by J. W. Jungkurth, is a popular subject of cemetery photographers. It is easy to see why.
In
memory of
DANIEL
BROBST,
born June 11th 1809,
died Septr 10th 1842,
aged 33 years,
2 months and
29 days.
A laurel wreath on a gravestone normally is understood to represent victory and immortality; in particular, triumph over death. Bay laurel is evergreen and may also refer to the memory of the deceased as ever green in the hearts of those he left behind.
The epitaph continues the positive theme:
It’s heav’n alone can make thee blest;
Can ev’ry wish and want supply;
Thy joy, thy crown, thy endless rest,
Are all above the lofty sky.
The Philadelphia hymn book 1 by Abner Kneeland shows that the epitaph is a verse from its Hymn 480, “The Happiness of Heaven.” It attributes the hymn to Bowden, although exactly who Bowden is must be left as a topic for another day.
Glick-Brick Church-Hoy Cemetery, Fairfield County, Ohio
1. I have written an abbreviated version of the book’s title. The full title of this 1819 book is quite impressive: The Philadelphia hymn book; or, a selection of sacred poetry, consisting of Psalms and Hymns from Watts, Doddridge, Merrick, Scott, Cowper, Barbauld, Steele, and others.
Glick-Brick Church-Hoy Cemetery, Fairfield County, Ohio
The bronze marker at the grave of Sarah A. Haydock (b. 1829, d. 1890) is small and simple with a lovely grapevine border.
Sarah A. Haydock
1829 – 1890
Grapevines. Surely this leads to a few words about Christian symbolism on gravestones, right?
Not so fast.
A FamilySearch death index reveals that Sarah’s occupation at the time of her death was saloon keeper. If the grapevines are a reference to Christ (the standard interpretation on gravestones), the grapevine’s symbolic reference to her occupation becomes a smile-worthy coincidence.
A bit more Google sleuthing turns up a short reference to the Haydock business from the Delaware Gazette in May, 1879. It appears to be announcing a new business in Ostrander, Ohio:
The Haydock House in Ostrander is large, convenient, in good hands, airy, handy to the railway, and should be largely patronized.
That’s not all: Sarah Haydock was an inventor who was awarded two patents in the late 1870s. Did the fact that Haydock House was “handy to the railway” contribute in any way to her patents for improvements in (railway) car couplings?
Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
The gravestone of Harriet Elizabeth Welch (d. 1830) is weathered and broken into several large pieces, but its rising sun carving remains beautifully intact.
Harriet Elizabeth
daughter [of]
F. C. & S. Welch,
died 16 July 1830
Aged 1 year 5 mo. &
20 days.
This is only one of many damaged stones in the Old Graveyard section of Oak Grove Cemetery, most likely the handiwork of vandals.
Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
Russell M. Willey (b. 1890, d. 1918), the son of Isreal and Rebecca Willey of Delaware, Ohio, died while serving in the U. S. Army during World War I.
RUSSELL M. WILLEY
1890 ★ 1918
34TH C.O 9TH T. B.
U. S. A.
The back of his grave marker in Oak Grove Cemetery shows us what his grieving family must have felt upon learning that their Russell had died.
SOME DAY WE WILL
UNDERSTAND Russell Willey’s draft card and military record (both via Ancestry.com), reveal that Russell died of pneumonia. He was unmarried.
Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
