How Did They Die? Let's Count The Ways!

Caitlin of Vast Public Indifference has counted the ways and she's up to 103. Not only that, but she has the tombstone shots to prove them.

My favorite is:

101 Ways, Part 56: Was Found Lashed to the Mast of His Sunken and Ill-Fated Vessel

CAPT.

THOMAS GREEN HULL

BORN AUG. 17, 1832.

LEFT NEW YORK FOR BALTIMORE

DEC. 21, 1864,

AND ON DEC. 30, 1864, WAS FOUND

LASHED TO THE MAST OF HIS

SUNKEN AND ILL-FATED VESSEL

AGED 32 YEARS, 4 MONTHS

AND 4 DAYS.

If you have a unique "How They Died," post it on your blog and add a link in the comments.

New Article Available at the GYR Online Journal

Our Tech T.I.P. columnist, Denise Olson, discusses cemetery photos on the popular photo-sharing site, Flickr.

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On October 10, 2009, the 4,000,000,000th (yes, that's billion) photo was posted on Flickr.  I love Flickr for many reasons.  It's a fascinating collection of people and places from all over the world.  The growing Commons section is bringing historical images out of the vaults for us to enjoy.  It's a place where people who share the same interests can meet and share their photos.

It's also my backup/archive for all my photos and scanned images.  That includes all the photos I take in cemeteries.  And, it appears that I'm not the only person posting cemetery photos here.  There are more than 1.2 million cemetery photos on Flickr.

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Be sure to read the entire article and view some cemetery photos at the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal.

Remember When!

Remember when gravestones and monuments were advertised in Life Magazine and came with celebrity endorsements?

Source:

Life Magazine. New York : Time, 1966.

Reminder – GYR Carnival Submissions Due 10-25

Just a friendly reminder that submissions for the November 2009 edition of the Graveyard Rabbit Carnival are due on October 25th.

The challenge for this edition of the Graveyard Rabbits carnival is to write your own epitaph.  November 2nd is “Plan Your Epitaph Day,” an international observance created by Lance Hardie, to coincide with All Saint’s Day (a.k.a. Day of the Dead).

So your challenge for the carnival is to write your own epitaph.  What would you like to see on your gravestone?  How would you like people to remember you?  Create your epitaph, post it to your blog, and submit it to the carnival.

Submissions are due October 25.  Please submit your article using the blog carnival submission form.  Be sure to include a short description of your post in the “remarks” section of the submission form.

Funerary Objects: Preserving Death

A very interesting VodCast from the Minnesota Historical Society's Collections Upclose Podcast and Blog. They get into the Halloween spirit with a vodcast on death-related objects in the Society's collection. Curator Matt Anderson provides an overview of changing funeral customs, and then shares a look at a casket, a hearse, tombstones, and more.

There are some wonderful old photos included in this look at funerary. A look only a Graveyard Rabbit could love!

The Association's Anniversary

October, the month when the spirits of the dead are abroad revisiting their former haunts marks the birth of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.

October 1, 2008, The Association of Graveyard Rabbits made its first appearance on the internet. One year ago today the first online invitation to join this Association was posted.

The Association Of Graveyard Rabbits – dedicated to the academic promotion of the historical importance of cemeteries, grave markers, and the family history to be learned from a study of burial customs, burying grounds, and tombstones; and the social promotion of the study of cemeteries, the preservation of cemeteries, and the transcription of genealogical/historical information written in cemeteries.

It is most appropriate that the month of All Hallows Eve is the birth month of our Association. October, the month when the spirits of the dead revisit their former haunts and the month when the Association whose haunts are the final homes of those dead came to life.

Our greatest resource is our members and the work they do in their communities and on their blogs. A very special thank you to Julie Tarr, Diane Wright, Sheri Fenley, Henk van Kampen and all the Graveyard Rabbit Online column authors; Denise Olson, Tech T.I.P.; Stephanie Lincecum, Graveyard Guru; Julie Tarr, Photo Monument; Randy Seaver, Digging for Answers; footnoteMaven, The History Hare; Sheri Fenley, The Educated Rabbit; Various Authors of The International Rabbit and A Rabbit's Tale; for their tireless work in furtherance of the Association.

And thank you to the members who never cease to amaze with contributions to their communities and this Association. Well done!

Join us in this celebration as we look forward to the next year in the history of The Association of Graveyard Rabbits. The best is yet to come.

Joshua Inayat of Cemetery Seeker Makes A Connection

In the July GYRabbit Carnival ~ Obituaries, Joshua Inayat (he of the beautiful photography) author of CemeterySeeker.com submitted the following post:

July 09 GYR Challenge: Find a Marker & The Obit

THE OLDEST PIONEER. DEATH OF JAMES TERWILLIGER

WHO CAME TO PORTLAND IN 1845.

Well Joshua, you have made a connection through this post. The GYRabbits received this from Julie Stephenson Kirby:

Love your site! I am the great-great grandaughter of James Terwilliger at Riverview Cemetery, Portland OR. There have been 8 generations of our family here since James arrived in 1845. Oct 3, 2009 was his 200th birthday.

13 generations of my family in America starting in New Amsterdam in 1663...I have loved cemeteries since I was a small child visiting the family cemeteries on "Decoration Day".

I will be joining the Terwilliger's at the plot in Portland when it's time! Loved the cemetery in New Paltz NY, with the terra cotta markers... Hollywood Forever and "Boot Hill" at Virginia City NV are among my favorite places...Will go to Pere-Lachaise and the Cemeteries of New Orleans someday I hope... Thanks for the great site... Julie

So you see Rabbits, you never know when your hard work will make a connection.

New Article Available in the GYR Online Journal

INFANTS AND MOURNING DRESS

The custom of putting mourning garments on small children
is a barbarous one, and should be tabooed.

~ Godey's Magazine 1896 ~

For several years I have looked for cabinet cards and carte-de-visites showing infants in mourning dress. Such photographs have been extremely difficult to find and if found anything but affordable.

Victorians had elaborate sets of rules concerning mourning. Those rules included the dress of infants during the period of mourning. From the beginning of the dictates of mourning etiquette, black was always considered far too severe for infants and children. The mourning for children under twelve years of age was white in summer and gray in winter, with black trimmings, belt, sleeve-ruffles or bonnet-ribbons.

You'll find the rest of this article from the History Hare in
the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal.

Do you haunt graveyards?

That's the question CNN is asking in iReport. Here's what they're looking for:

"People have long been fascinated with visiting graveyards. Whether it's for the history of those buried there, the architecture or artwork of tombstones, or the tranquility of a final resting place for the famous and not-so-famous, cemeteries hold a special charm for some.

Have you ever taken a graveyard tour or visited a famous person's grave site? Did you visit a cemetery that left you wanting to go back?

Show us pictures or video of the cemetery and talk about your experience."

No one has better stories than a Graveyard Rabbit. Give them your best photo with story and be sure to tell them you're a Graveyard Rabbit.

New Article Available at the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal

This week, Stephanie Lincecum takes us on a journey of military headstones in her column Graveyard Guru.

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While conducting some recent analysis of my personal Graveyard Rabbit blog (southern graves.blogspot.com), I found out one of the most popular posts was entitled “Southern Cross of Honor,” about a symbol found on the graves of soldiers who served in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. This led me to believe a topic of military headstones would be a good one for this edition of the Graveyard Guru.

I spoke with a couple of different people while researching this topic. My main guru was Anne with the Department of Veterans Affairs. She was very helpful and very modest. Her first name was all she asked to be included with this article, and that request will be honored. All information regarding the VA was provided by her and their website - www.cem.va.gov.

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Be sure to read the entire article at the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal.

Thank you to everyone for nominating The Association of Graveyard Rabbits as one of the Family Tree Magazine 40 Best Genealogy Blogs and congratulations to the other nominees in the Cemeteries category:

- Blogging a Dead Horse
- Granny's Genealogy
- Graveyard Rabbit of Grey County, Ontario
- Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay
- Granite in My Blood


Voting takes place from Oct. 5 to Nov. 5, and you can vote more than once. The 40 Best Genealogy Blogs will be named in the May 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine. The nominees have been divided into 10 categories. In each category you are to choose the number of blogs specified in the question (you'll get an error if you choose too many).

You can read more at the Family Tree Magazine Genealogy Insider.

For a list of all nominated blogs, with links to each, view this footnoteMaven article.

NOW GO VOTE!

Call for Submissions – GYR Carnival November 2009 Edition

The challenge for the November 2009 edition of the Graveyard Rabbits carnival is to write your own epitaph.  November 2nd is “Plan Your Epitaph Day,” an international observance created by Lance Hardie, to coincide with All Saint’s Day (a.k.a. Day of the Dead).

So your challenge for the carnival is to write your own epitaph.  What would you like to see on your gravestone?  How would you like people to remember you?  Create your epitaph, post it to your blog, and submit it to the carnival.

Submissions are due October 25.  Please submit your article using the blog carnival submission form.  Be sure to include a short description of your post in the “remarks” section of the submission form.

Upcoming Topics

• December 2009 – In the News
• January 2010 – The Final Resting Place (idea submitted by Colleen McHugh)
• February 2010 – Cemetery Critters (idea submitted by Diane Wright)
• March 2010 – Forgotten Cemeteries (idea submitted by Tina Micheal Ruse)
• April 2010 – Anonymous Graves (idea submitted by Henk van Kampen)
• May 2010 – Cause of Death (idea submitted by Matt Hucke)
• June 2010 – The Interesting, The Odd, The Beautiful (idea submitted by Gale Wall)
• July 2010 – Scavenger Hunt

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival – October 2009 Edition

Welcome to the October 2009 edition of Graveyard Rabbits Carnival.  The theme for this edition is funeral cards.  Seven authors discuss at least one funeral card from their collection.  These cards not only provide genealogical information, but are small family treasures.  One author explains the difference between funeral cards and memorial cards and offers some online resources for finding cards.

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Randy Seaver presents Genea-Musings: Devier David Carringer (1889-1890) posted at Genea-Musings.

Brian presents Berger Family Memorial Cards posted at Ancestors At Rest.

Linda Hughes Hiser presents Graveyard Rabbits--Funeral Cards posted at Flipside, saying, "Funeral card of my maternal grandfather....a numbers cruncher."

Thomas MacEntee presents Destination: Austin Family: An Unusual Funeral Card posted at Destination: Austin Family, saying, "Among the many funeral cards in my collection, the one for my 1st cousin twice removed, Matthew McGinnes, is the most unusual: it is a bi-fold card with his photo."

Lorine McGinnis Schulze presents Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: Funeral Cards posted at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog, saying, "Funeral Cards & Memorial Cards are not the same, but they are both wonderful genealogical finds for an ancestor."

Janet Iles presents Funeral cards - another source of information posted at Graveyard Rabbit of Grey County, Ontario, saying, "Funeral cards can provide useful information, but Janet only has a few in her possession. She shares that in small places with only a weekly newspaper, they may be found in local stores."

Earline Bradt presents Carnival of Graveyard Rabbits - Funeral Cards posted at Ancestral Notes, saying, "Isabella Gilboe Taylor's funeral card from 1880."

Julie Tarr presents The Funeral/Memorial Card for Clarence Cahill posted at GenBlog, saying, “Clarence is my first cousin three times removed, who died in 1964.”

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That concludes this edition. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.  Be sure to join us for the next edition!