Nineteenth-century gravestones, like those in the Union Campground Cemetery, use a great deal of symbolic imagery to convey meaning about the deceased and the sentiments of their families and friends.

A prevalent 19^th-century symbol exists in the pair of clasped hands on Jane C. Caldwell’s gravestone.  This symbol is interpreted by many sources as a goodbye, where the living clasps the hand of the deceased in a final farewell; other sources suggest, however, that this could also represent a welcoming of the deceased into heaven or a symbol of marriage. Around the clasped hands are four images of flowers, which can have many meanings; these flowers may specifically be passionflowers, and if so, they represent the passion of Christ.

Alta M. McMurry, who died at the age of 1, also has a hand symbol on her gravestone, but this is a hand reaching down from the clouds, holding a cut flower.  This symbol likely represents God reaching down to take this young child to heaven.

The gravestone of William J. Jeffries and Elmira E. A. Jeffries, meanwhile, has a very different type of symbol on the headstone – the symbol of the Freemasons, of which William was apparently a member. The Masonic symbol is easy to identify, with its compass, architect’s square, and the G in the center.  This symbol may also serve as a religious symbol in this context, as the G is a reference to geometry and to God, the Divine Architect.

 

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For more information, you may contact the researcher(s) noted in the title of this exhibit entry, or Dr. Billie Follensbee, the professor of the course, at BillieFollensbee@MissouriState.edu