A Little Graveyard History

Eighteenth-Century Graveyards 

Field stones or wooden slabs, most of which have been moved or have disintegrated, probably marked the majority of North and South Carolina’s 18th-century graves. The relatively small number of remaining carved gravestones suggests that back then, few South Carolinians could afford either to purchase carved gravestones or to transport them to the burial site.  In the sparsely settled areas of the state, family burial grounds were common. Families buried their own in small plots set aside on the farm or plantation.

Charleston probably established South Carolina's earliest church graveyards. By the first half of the 18th century—or even before—the city had several graveyards associated with churches. Church yards were generally small with closely-spaced markers arranged irregularly.

The upcountry of South Carolina established church graveyards in the second half of the 18th century. One of the earliest is Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church Cemetery in present-day Lancaster County. The oldest legible gravestone records the death of Mary Taylor in 1758. Other early graveyards include those at Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church in Chester County and Bethesda Presbyterian Church in York County. Family cemeteries are found in rural areas across the state. 

Eighteenth-century gravestones were usually thin upright tablets of slate, soapstone, or sandstone. Many were largely plain, carved only with the name and birth and death dates of the deceased and perhaps an epitaph. On the coast and in some sections of the upcountry, however, more sophisticated stones carved with images were used.

In the ports of Charleston and, to a lesser extent, Georgetown, prosperous citizens often purchased gravestones from stone carvers in New England. A few Charlestonians even imported gravestones from England. In the early-18th century, skull and crossbones and hourglass motifs on some stones emphasized the inevitability of death and the briefness of life. The stones were intended to remind the living of the uncertain fate of the soul. As the 18th century progressed, gravestone motifs reflected changing attitudes toward life and death. The Great Awakening, a religious revival that swept the country between 1726 and 1756, emphasized a joyful resurrection for those who repented. By the end of the century, carvings of a winged soul, reflecting confidence in resurrection, had largely replaced the skull and crossbones and hourglass. The winged soul was a popular gravestone motif from the mid-18th through the early years of the 19th century. The figure represented the soul in or ascending to heaven. 

Carvers from New England did not execute all of South Carolina’s 18th-century gravestones. Thomas Walker, an immigrant from Scotland and one of the major early local carvers, settled in Charleston in the late-18th century and operated a gravestone business until the 1830s. Walker carved gravestones with winged souls, but he used other motifs as well. Influenced by architectural ornamentation, he carved stones with urns, festoons, and floral motifs. Walker’s stones are found in the upcountry as well as in Charleston.

In the upcountry, there were also local gravestone carvers practicing their trade in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. Scots-Irish immigrant Hugh Kelsey settled in Chester County and began work as a gravestone carver before the American Revolution. The Bigham family of present-day Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, operated a gravestone carving business from 1740 to 1820. Prominent families in Chester, York, and Lancaster counties purchased stones from the Bighams, and examples are found in the cemeteries at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church (Rock Hill), Bethesda Presbyterian Church (York County), Bethel Presbyterian Church (Chester County), and Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church (Lancaster County). Kelsey and the Bighams used traditional Scots-Irish motifs on their gravestones. Designs included coats-of-arms, birds, and animals.

Source: South Carolina’s Historic Cemeteries: A Preservation Handbook, Susan H. McGahee and Mary W. Edmonds, South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1997, pages XX-XX

Nineteenth-Century Graveyards

Eighteenth century traditions in gravestone carving continued into the early years of the 19th century. As the century progressed, however, graveyards changed dramatically, reflecting changing attitudes toward life and death, new technologies, improved transportation, and a growing population. Even the word Americans used for a burial place changed from graveyard to cemetery—a word that in Latin means sleeping chamber and carries with it a sense of optimism.

By the 1840s, lighter-colored marble markers largely replaced the darker slate and soapstone markers of the 1700s. The use of tablet markers continued, but a profusion of more elaborate markers rose—three dimensional ornately carved monuments, obelisks, statues, table top stones, and cradles. Motifs were softer—angels, crosses, rosebuds, draped urns, weeping willows, and the like. Some families erected mausoleums to display their wealth and status. Monuments often reflected the revival styles that were popular in the 19th century—especially Gothic, Classical, and Egyptian.  attention given cemeteries during the second half of the 19th century reflected Victorian sentimentality and preoccupation with the rites of death.

South Carolina’s widely dispersed agricultural population kept family burial grounds popular. Church graveyards became more common as the number of churchgoers increased, and new churches were established. Some towns and cities established community cemeteries.

By the mid-19th century, overcrowding in many church yards resulted in the rural-cemetery movement, which swept across the United States. Rural cemeteries were community graveyards laid out on large tracts outside the city limits. They featured winding paths and drives and ornamental trees and shrubs. Intricate cast-iron fences often surrounded family plots within the cemeteries. Rural cemeteries were intended to be inviting. Some even had benches so visitors could sit and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the surroundings and remember their loved ones. Two of the best examples of the rural cemetery in South Carolina are Magnolia Cemetery, founded in 1850 in Charleston, and Elmwood Cemetery, founded in 1854 in Columbia. Although South Carolina had fewer rural cemeteries than did other parts of the country, cemeteries throughout the state were influenced by the movement. 

Gravestone carving had also become more mechanized, standardized, and commercial. Prominent families in York County and throughout the state, for example, began to purchase stones from Thomas Walker in Charleston and, later, from the Whites, also in Charleston.2 Small local carvers in rural areas, like John Caveny of York, were often unable to compete and began to hire themselves out as engravers to these and other firms in Columbia, Charleston, and elsewhere.

The catastrophic losses of the Civil War—more than 600,000 lives—vested with more significance memorials to the dead and the establishment and maintenance of cemeteries in both the North and the South. South Carolina lost over 18,000 men in Confederate service, and citizens honored the dead during or soon after the war with individual gravestones as well as monuments and other memorials. Common motifs were laurel wreaths, broken columns, broken swords, and shields. Markers often included elaborate or detailed epitaphs memorializing a soldier’s death from battle or disease. In the first few decades of the 20th century, the United Daughters of the Confederacy marked the graves of many Confederate veterans with cast-iron crosses.

At the turn of the 19th century, middle class families were able to purchase by mail modest mass-produced monuments. The 1902 In the 18th and 19th centuries, some carvers “signed” the stones they engraved with their names or initials to advertise their work. 

African American graves were segregated from white graves in both the 18th and 19th centuries. In Charleston, an 1859 report noted that in the Upper Wards there were fourteen graveyards for whites and twelve for “the colored, not including the Potters Field.” In the antebellum period, slaves were often buried outside the walls of family burial grounds or church graveyards or in a separate slave graveyard. The small number of carved stones on slave graves today suggests they were rarely erected. 

After the Civil War, African Americans, excluded from white burial grounds, began to establish their own cemeteries. In 1872, a group of black civic leaders established Randolph Cemetery in Columbia. The Orangeburg City Cemetery was organized in 1889 for black citizens of Orangeburg. Leading African American citizens of Columbia organized Randolph Cemetery during Reconstruction. It was named for Benjamin F. Randolph, a black state legislator, who was assassinated in 1868 by three white men. 

Source: South Carolina’s Historic Cemeteries: A Preservation Handbook, Susan H. McGahee and Mary W. Edmonds, South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1997, pages XX-XX

There are many types of cemeteries with varying levels of services and options relating to burials. Depending on a number of factors finding an appropriate cemetery for burial or cremation may prove difficult. The factors for consideration when selecting a cemetery include, but are not limited to, types of services, geographic location, religious affiliation, type of memorial, and military services. As a result of the variety of burial practice options a unique set of cemetery classifications and categorizations exists to help individuals with choosing the proper final resting place. Accordingly, cemeteries are generally be categorized based on the type of burial options offered, type of memorialization allowed, services provided, religious affiliation, and ownership structure.

Purpose and Characteristics of Cemetery Types

Each type of cemetery is designed and organized to reflect the religion, culture, traditions, and habits of the community it serves. The changing differences in both burial traditions and legal regulations has led to the creation of many different types of cemeteries.

The most common types of cemeteries include monumental cemeteries, memorial park, garden cemeteries, religious cemeteries, municipal cemeteries, VA cemeteries, full-service cemetery, combination cemeteries, and natural burial grounds or green burial grounds.

Cemetery Types

• A Monumental Cemetery, or a monument cemetery, is the traditional style of a cemetery that features upright headstones or other upright monumental memorials. These monument and headstones are typically granite, marble or a combination of stone and bronze. Many modern monumental cemeteries have designated certain sections for flat-lawn level memorials to allow for a lower-cost burial option.

• The Memorial Park type of cemetery features lawn-level memorials in order to make the cemetery look and feel like a garden or a park.. The use of lawn-level granite or bronze memorials allows for easier care, more natural beauty, and typically has lower costs. The memorial park concept was created in the 19th century and became popular in the 20th century.

• The Garden Cemetery combines upright monuments with an attempt to incorporate a natural or garden like look and feel. Frequently, a garden cemetery will also be a botanic garden or arboretum. Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts is a prime example of a garden cemetery and arboretum.

• Religious Cemeteries are owned and operated by a religious group or order in order to serve a specific religious community. Religious Cemeteries represent a large percentage of the absolute total number of cemeteries across the US, many of which are church graveyards. Religious cemeteries may have religious restrictions dictating the religious beliefs of individuals buried within the cemetery. Religious cemeteries vary in their level of required observance and practice. Some are very restrictive, allowing only known orthodox practitioners, whereas others operate according to general loose guidelines and principles of belief. The Catholic Church operate diocesan catholic cemeteries regionally. There are many Jewish Cemeteries owned by specific congregations in the northeast, southeast, Midwest and west coast.

• Municipal Cemeteries are owned by the local city or county. The upkeep and maintenance of many municipal cemeteries fall under the supervision of the public works department. Whereas 'cemetery services' which include the opening of graves, setting of the vaults and performance for burial services are often outsourced to the value company, funeral home or professional cemetery service organization. Municipal, or public, cemeteries may be self-funding or subsidized by the local government. Public cemeteries tend to have lower plot and service costs than do private cemeteries but may also offer fewer options and services.

• Natural Burial Grounds emphasize minimal environmental impact funeral and burial practices. The specific rites and rituals allowed will vary based on the climate and topography of the area.

• Green Burial Grounds are a specifically certified and monitored type of natural burial grounds. There are multiple levels of green burial based on the specific practices of the given cemetery.

• VA Cemeteries are owned, operated, and controls by the Veterans Affair Administration on both the state and national levels. Burial in a VA Cemetery is limited to those individuals who qualify for veteran burial benefits. Learn more about VA cemeteries.

• A Graveyard is a small burial ground historically attached to or associated with, church property. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, a graveyard is a specific type of cemetery.

• Family Burial Grounds are privately held parcels of land specifically designated for the burial of members of the same family. Family cemeteries were commonly used in rural America throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Located on family farms, family cemeteries are dedicated to a single family and are largely unregulated. Practical problems may arise with family cemeteries when family land is sold and access to the burial sites is lost. While some states have laws guaranteeing access to family graves, after a land is sold, many states do not.

Differences between Publicly and Privately Owned Cemeteries

The cost of cemetery goods and services depends on the type of cemetery, type of burial, location of plot, memorialization, and perpetual care funding. Additionally, the cost of cemetery services will depend on the source of ongoing care and maintenance. Municipal, or public, cemeteries may be self-funding or subsidized by the local government. Public cemeteries tend to have lower plot and service costs than private cemeteries. In general, private cemeteries may have higher costs than public cemeteries. Private cemeteries are required to be financially self-sustaining for both its daily cemetery operations and for its ongoing care and maintenance.

History of Cemeteries

Cemeteries have been an important part of culture and society since the beginning of human history. Cemeteries have evolved to meet the changing needs of the communities they serve with respect to the care provided to those individuals buried within the cemetery grounds, and the comfort offered to visitors and mourners.

Ancillary Information about Cemeteries

A cemetery can be owned by a religious order, municipality, fraternal organization, association, individual or corporation. The ownership structure of a cemetery determines the mix of available burial options, memorials and legacy services offered through its policies, practices, and Rules and Regulations.

The cemetery owner is the steward of the individual lot owners burial rights and the guardian of those at rest within the cemetery. They directly impact the quality of care by determining the cemetery staff's levels of responsiveness and service orientation and is ultimately responsible for the cemetery care and upkeep.

Let’s drill down into what exactly makes a cemetery a cemetery and what makes a graveyard a graveyard so that you can be sure to make your final wishes known. And so you can be sure to educate your next of kin so they know the difference as well.  

What’s a Graveyard?

A graveyard, like a cemetery, is a place where people are buried after they die. Graveyards are affiliated with a church and are typically located on church grounds. They tend to be smaller due to land limitations, and thus, are often choosier. Only members of their religion and sometimes only members of that specific church can be buried in a graveyard. 

The etymology behind the word graveyard is somewhat straightforward. It is, after all, a yard filled with graves. It is interesting to note though that the word “grave” is derived from a proto-Germanic word “graban” which means “to dig”.

» MORE: Taking steps after a loved one's death is a final act of kindness. Here's your complete checklist.

 What’s a Cemetery?

A cemetery is a place where people are buried. They are not associated with a church, so they are often larger as they’re able to spread out beyond land adjacent to a church. Both religious people and non believers can be buried there.

 The word cemetery dates back to the late 14th century. Its roots can be traced back to the Old French word “cimetiere,” which is itself derived from the Medieval Latin “cemeterium.” Its literal translation is “a place set aside for the burial of the dead.” 

It can also be tied to the ancient Greek word “koimeterion,” which was a sleeping place or dormitory. Somewhere over the years, the terms “sleep” and “death” became blurred together. 

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4 Differences Between Cemeteries and Graveyards

To further understand the distinction between “cemetery” and “graveyard,” it helps to make some side by side comparisons. Let’s have a look at where the differences truly break down.

1. Location

Cemeteries refer to large burial grounds that are not affiliated with a church. A graveyard, on the other hand, refers to a burial ground that is located on a church’s property. Graveyards, on the whole, tend to be much smaller than cemeteries. 

2. Space requirements

Starting around the 7th century, churches had complete control over burials. This meant that most burials took place in the graveyards adjacent to the church.

But as the population grew over time, graveyard space became limited. This is when cemeteries unaffiliated with churches came into being. 

3. Religious requirements

Because graveyards are attached to the church, churches may have stipulations that only members of that particular faith be buried there. Cemeteries, on the other hand, are secular. This means people of all faiths can be buried there. 

4. Headstone requirements

Just like many churches have stringent requirements over the faiths of people interred there, they may have particular requirements about headstones in church-owned graveyards. Headstones are typically required to be made of granite or natural stone. 

Churches typically demand that stone be uncolored and unpolished and discourage elaborate memorials. Even headstone inscriptions are regulated to ensure that they adhere to Christian values. The plus side of this austere aesthetic is that at least the cost of a headstone isn’t too high. You may also want to ensure your next of kin knows about cleaning a headstone. 

Cemeteries, on the whole, have much fewer restrictions when it comes to headstones. You can go as simple or as over the top as you want. 

What’s in a Name? Cemetery vs. Graveyard 

Language is a lot more fluid than a lot of people realize. Over time, the meanings of worse change to accommodate changes in the way people use them. So while cemetery and graveyard were originally distinct words coined at different times in human history, these days the distinctions are a lot more subtle. 

At the end of the day, whichever word you use, your meaning should be clear enough to anyone you’re trying to communicate with. Especially the people who will handle your arrangements after your death.

What’s the Difference Between a Headstone, Tombstone, or Gravestone?

In modern days, people tend to use the words “headstone,” “tombstone,” and “gravestone” synonymously. But while language has evolved, the words weren’t always used that way. They were originally coined to describe three different things.

The word “gravestone” is Middle English in origin. Its original usage dates back to between the years 1175 and 1225. Back then, the word was used specifically to refer to a stone slab that was laid over a grave.

This stone might have had words, dates, or the name of the deceased engraved into it. But it didn’t resemble the straight up and down grave marker most people think of today. It was a large stone slab that lay horizontally to cover most of the grave plot. 

The word “tombstone” first came to the English language around the year 1560. It is Greek in origin. In Greek, the word “tymbos” means “burial mound” while the word “stia” means “pebble.” From there, “tymbos” evolved into “tomb” and “stia” became “stone.” In this era, many coffins were made out of stone. “Tombstone” initially was coined to describe the lid of a stone coffin. 

Lastly, the word “headstone” was originally used starting in 1400 as a synonym for “cornerstone.” A cornerstone is a ceremonial stone that sits at the corner of a building. It typically joins two exterior walls together. It can be inscribed with the starting and ending dates of construction, as well as the names of the architect and building owner. It may also include other interesting details about the building.

Cornerstones tend to be significant both structurally and symbolically. They didn't just contain information about the structure, either. Cornerstones also provided a reference point for every other stone used in the foundation of the building. 

Over time, the definition of headstone evolved. Instead of referring to a cornerstone, it came to be associated with a grave marker. This development makes sense. In its original usage, a headstone featured important information about a building. In its later usage, it featured important information about a person buried in a grave. By the year 1775, headstone had fully evolved to a new usage defined as “upright stone at the head of a grave.”  

Just as the word “headstone” evolved into a description for a grave marker, so too did the words “gravestone” and “tombstone.” The first usage of “tombstone” to denote a grave marker can be seen as early as 1711. It is unclear when the word “gravestone” officially shifted to that usage.     

When to Use Headstone, Tombstone, or Gravestone

We’ve talked a little bit about the ways the words “headstone,” “tombstone,” and “gravestone” have evolved over the years. But it can still be difficult to remember the subtle variations between them.

Here, we use the definitions of each word in simple sentences. These sentences sum up the original definitions of each word and also contextualize their modern usages.

Headstone

The word headstone was once a synonym for cornerstone. Currently, it is used to describe an upright stone at the head of a grave. A headstone contains information like the name of the deceased and the dates of their birth and death. It might also feature a memorial quote or a picture of the deceased. 

Tombstone

The word tombstone was once used to describe the lid of a stone coffin back in the mid-1500s. Over time, its definition changed. Now it describes the upright stone that sits at the head of a grave. This stone will contain the deceased’s name, as well as the dates they were born and died on. Some tombstones will include an epitaph or even a likeness of the deceased.  

Gravestone

Gravestones were once used to describe a large stone slab that covered a grave. The slab might have been inscribed with information about the deceased. It could include their name, the dates when they lived and died, and an epitaph. It might also have included decorative elements like gravestone symbols. These days, a grave ledger would be the closest to what a gravestone originally described. A gravestone in modern parlance is used synonymously with headstone and tombstone.  

The Meaning of a Word Can Evolve Over Time

The end of someone’s life is a somber and grief-filled time. It can be intimidating to talk about the trappings that accompany the rituals we have built around death. You might be tasked with picking out a headstone for a loved one. Or you may want to ask a loved one how end-of-life arrangements are going. But it’s easy to get stuck on the terminology.

The words “headstone,” “gravestone,” and “tombstone” once meant very different things. But over time they have evolved to share the same meaning. Any one of these words would be clear and appropriate when it comes to discussing a grave marker. Using one word over another won’t be violating some obscure tenant of headstone etiquette.    If you're looking for more on grave markers, read our guides on buying the best headstone and headstone shapes.    Site LInk

The Difference Between Headstones, Monuments, Markers, and Urns

Determining the way to remember a loved one after death is a decision not to be taken quickly. Our recommendation is that you wait a number of months after a death to decide on what type of memorial to purchase. There are many different options out there for you and depending on how you want your loved one remembered, the financial assets you have, and certain restrictions of cemeteries, there is certainly a lot to think through. However, there is always an option that will make sense for you, provided you know what the options are:

Headstone

The headstone is the most common form of memorial for a grave site. The headstone is typically a piece of rock (usually granite) that sits erect on the ground, allowing individuals who walk past to easily identify the individual. You can have any information you desire carved into the headstone, ranging from a person’s name to birth date and death date, to a quote or saying, to an engraving or inscription. For military funerals, often times there is a sign or symbol of their military outfit or division. A headstone is typically less ornate than true monuments, and often times are smaller. It is common to have one headstone per family (mother and father).

Monument

When people refer to monuments, they typically refer to larger headstones (think "monumental"... aka "big"). While monuments are often times the same shape as headstones, you likely have seen other monuments in very different shapes and sizes. Some gravesites have lion monuments twenty feet long by ten feet high. Other gravesites have large obelisks, or tall skinny spindles (think "The Washington Monument" in Washington, D.C.). A monument might have any icon or image represented typically in three-dimensional form. If you walk through a cemetery you are going to see a large number of monuments, ranging from saints and angels watching over a grave site to other animals that represent the individual. It is possible to have just about any sort of monument created for your loved one, although depending on the cemetery, there might be some specific height restrictions you need to check into (which any experienced monument dealer can do for you). However, usually, there isn't an issue with you designing and selecting an image, icon, animal or anything else as a monument for your passed loved one.

Marker

A marker is a smaller option of a memorial that is not going to gain as much attention as a monument or headstone simply because of its size. A cemetery marker often sits flat, so you can only read it when standing straight above it (although some markers have a slight angle designed to it that make it easier to read). This is the easiest memorial to maintain. Most cemetery ground crews are able to perform this for you if you are not able to make it to the grave site. They often times will remove unwanted grass or weed growths around it. The marker allows for the same basic information as a headstone to be printed, which is desirable. This is also an excellent option for anyone who is looking to save money and doesn't have the financial assets to build a large monument (or for the deceased individual who just doesn't want anything large constructed over their grave cite).

Site Link

Wikipedia – Definition of Headstone