Epitaph

Cemeteries are unique places in our lives. Some are beautiful, some are historic, and some are even entertaining. There is a quiet sadness about all cemeteries because they are the final resting places of our loved ones. We intend to post pictures here of cemeteries and head stones that are original photographs. We are looking for beauty, dignity, funny and above all something interesting. Feel free to comment and to contribute. We will provide a mail box if you want to contribute.




Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Blast from the Past

I found these pictures as I was looking through some of my older material and I decided to put up some of these that didn't make it previously.  This cemetery has a very close and personal meaning for me.  Many of my family on my mother's side are buried here, including my mother.  I live in Connecticut, but for the time I have moved in with my father to help care for him. I am, therefore living in Rhode Island right now, very near this cemetery.
The urn shaped stone in the middle here is the marker for my mother and my grandfather.  Many of the surrounding stones are for family of some sort.  This is in the very old part of this cemetery.  This is a very dark photo, as many of these are, because the weather was terrible!  The day was totally overcast and at times I took pictures in the rain.
You can see the river in the background here.  There is a stark beauty here.  The winter had ended but spring wasn't quite here.
I think this picture conveys the starkness of the day and the setting.  This stone from this angle looks like it is all alone in a desolate place.

Above are two of the mausoleum's that can be found in this cemetery.  These take monument building to it's height.   Certainly they can be found in many cemeteries, but this cemetery has many.
I took this picture because the stone with the angel was striking and because of the placement with the bare tree in the back.  Angels are a common theme for monuments.
Occasionally you find a stone with a portrait of some kind, but not often.  It is more frequent in Europe, I think.  This is a stone carving of this person and it is quite impressive.  This man was born in 1820 and lived to be 94.
This stone is very dark, but it is finely engraved with a scene common to this part of Rhode Island, a beach scene.  Rhode island is known as the Ocean State and the sea and related  activities dominate.

You can see the nautical theme here with the lighthouse stone.  There is a lighthouse not too far away in Watch Hill.
I had to include this head stone.  It appears to be made of pink quartz and is very unusual.  The stone is unfinished and the name is inset.

I intend to take more photographs here in better weather conditions.  I am very nearby now and I can mostly pick my weather and season. By the way, the cemetery's name is River Bend Cemetery.