Early gravestones may also be considered works of art, for after 1830, decorative symbols or motifs began to appear in increasing numbers, almost always carved in the upper quarter of the stone. Prior to this, markers were incised with little more than the name of the deceased, date of death, age and in the case of men, often their place of origin – village, town, parish or country, all in the hope that their origins should be remembered by future generations. Later, as stone masons arrived in even increasing numbers and were available for monument work, a form of decoration, known as funerary art became increasingly popular. Within twenty years, decorative markers were more usual than plain ones.
Many of the motifs that were included on the markers, particularly the religious ones, were hundreds of years old. Some carried from England, but many from American sources. Almost always the symbols were personal interpretations, as no pattern books appear to have been available, so a wide variety of the same style may appear in the same cemetery. Lambs and doves, both well-known Christian symbols were used for children, while draped urns-of-life and hands were common on adult markers.
Weeping willow trees, in a wide variety of designs, were standard expressions of sorrow and appear to be the most popular of all motifs. As a Christian symbol, the willow represented the Gospel of Christ, hardy, able to withstand loss of limbs and still survive, even flourish. To the grieving relatives, the symbol seemed to mirror their loss and at the same time represent eternal life – ironically most cemeteries included at least one living willow tree, planted to help with drainage problems that were experienced, especially with Spring melting!
The second most popular symbol was the hand motif. Pointing upwards, it symbolized the path to heaven taken by the deceased, while the clasped hands had the symbolic meaning of union with God. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, as the motifs passed out of fashion, popular conventional Christian symbols made a brief appearance. Complete monuments in the design of the Cross, the open book or Bible, the lamb and the angel became fashionable cemetery markers for a couple of decades, but as granite became the popular monument material, it signaled the complete decline of the hand-crafted vernacular era of Ontario gravestones.
Today the city’s ethnic population has re-awakened an interest in funerary art. A walk in any one of Hamilton’s newer municipal cemeteries will reveal a whole new art form – the granite headstone bearing a portrait or a personal memory of the deceased. Enameled into the stone, the photographic likeness provides the single most important ornamentation on the stone – a return to funerary art with the modern touch.
© The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society 2006, 2024.
