Le tombeau de Marie Laveau

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Basin Street
New Orleans, Louisiana


Among the most important cemeteries in the American South is the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Established in 1789, just after a disastrous fire and calamitous epidemics left the original St. Peters Street Cemetery filled, this cemetery continues to be used on occasion, though it is mostly filled. It is the resting place of numerous well-known New Orleanians including the famous "Voudou Priestess," Marie Laveau (1794-1881).

Marie Laveau's tomb, 1999. Photo by jclarson,
courtesy of Wikipedia.

Most of the cemetery here is built above ground. A quote from architect Benjamin Latrobe (who is also buried here) notes that the graves are mostly above ground because of the very high water table. There is some indication that the case is more due to Spanish and French burial traditions. Here these family tombs are reused. A family member would be placed in a wooden coffin and then sealed into one of the shelf-like tombs. After at least a year and a day, the remains would be removed and pushed to the back of the tomb, while the coffin would be burned or reused. The name of the deceased would also be added to a marble plaque sealing the tomb. Therefore, these tombs could hold many people. The Wikipedia article on the cemetery states that some 100,000 people are buried on this acre of land, though I would question that source.

A marvelous engraving showing a Victorian All Saints Day
in one of the cemeteries in New Orleans. All Saints Day in New
Orleans--Decorating the Tombs in One of the City Cemeteries,
by John Durkin, published in Harper's Weekly, November 1885.

The tomb of the Glapion family, where Marie Laveau may be buried, has become one of the most famous monuments in this cemetery and the story has been told that drawing three Xs on the tomb can be the source of good luck. Courtney Mroch of the wonderful paranormal travel blog, Haunt Jaunts, has addressed this legend in a marvelous article. There is some doubt as to whether Madame Laveau is really buried in this tomb.

Sources

Historic Preservation Program, U. of Pennsylvania. "Burial Custom."
     St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Accessed 23 August 2011.
Historic Preservation Program, U. of Pennsylvania. "Historic Overview."

     St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Accessed 23 August 2011.
Marie Laveau. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 23 August
     2011.
Mroch, Courtney. "The Xs on Marie Laveau's Tomb: Vandalism or Voodoo?"
     Haunt Jaunts. 23 August 2011.
St. Louis Cemetery. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 23 August

     2011.

Henry McCauley's Hands--Waverly Hall Cemetery

Waverly Hall Cemetery
GA Highway 208
Waverly Hall, Georgia


Lately I've been travelling to Columbus, Georgia for work. Once I've finished the work, I've set out to photograph the nearby cemeteries. Columbus' Linwood Cemetery is marvelous and features some incredible funerary art, some of it by local stone carver Henry McCauley. McCauley's work, described in Mary Jane Galer and Linda Kennedy's book on Linwood Cemetery as "museum quality," also appears in the cemetery in Waverly Hall, just down the road.

Working between 1856 and 1879, McCauley produced a number of exquisite monuments. Among them, two monuments in Waverly Hall Cemetery featuring beautifully carved matrimonial hands. These hands, common in Victorian grave symbolism, symbolize holy matrimony. Two hands joined together commonly appear in the symbolism and may have a variety of meanings; but in this case with gender-specific cuffs indicates matrimony.

Both monuments are fairly similar and the Lowe Monument appears to have had a column similar to the Crook Monument. There is a rounded column base on top of the Lowe Monument with a notch in the top for attaching the column. It's interesting to note that, according to the Linwood Cemetery book, McCauley started working in 1856, as the deceased all died prior to that. Of course, sometimes it would take years to get a permanent marker. Both monuments are signed, "H. McCauley, Columbus."

There is also a bit of difference in how the hands are carved. The hands on the Lowe Monument, in my humble opinion, are a better effort and more natural. The fingers appear more relaxed than the stiff fingers on the other monument. Also, note the wrinkles and folds of skin on the thumb on the Lowe Monument, detailing absent from the Crook Monument. The inclusion of a double heart above the hands on the Lowe Monument emphasizes the matrimonial nature of the joined hands.

The Crook Monument erected for Maj. Osborne
Crook, d. 15 October 1851 and his wife, Elizabeth
C. Crook, d. 25 October 183[?]9. Photo 2011,
by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

One pair of hands on the Crook Monument. Photo 2011, by
Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

The opposite side of the Crook Monument. Photo 2011, by
Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

The Lowe Monument, note the natural stone
foundation and coping. This was erected for
General Henry H. Lowe, d. 8 July 1854 and
his wife Mariah H. Lowe, d. 27 November 1852.
Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights
reserved.

The hands and hearts from the Lowe Monument. Photo 2011,
by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

McCauley's signature from the Lowe Monument. The Crook
Monument is signed, but the signature could not be clearly
photographed. Photo 2011, all rights reserved.

Sources
Galer, Mary Jane and Linda Kennedy. Historic Linwood Cemetery.
     Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2004.

A Crying Shame—Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Newsbyte)

Bethesda Presbyterian Church
Russellville, Tennessee

"Ghost hunting" teens vandalizing a historic church and cemetery in eastern Tennessee have been arrested. I covered this in my Southern Spirit Guide blog, here.

Colonials, Confederates and Victorians--Churchyard of Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church

Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church
300 Broad Street
Georgetown, South Carolina


Just the name Prince George Winyah has a colonial feel to it: a mix of honoring royalty and an Indian name, Winyah, the original name of Georgetown. This parish is one of the oldest in South Carolina having been founded in 1721. The church itself dates to around 1750 and I presume the churchyard dates to the same period, though I can currently find nothing to support that. The churchyard is lovely and verdant. If you visit in the mid-summer, be sure to bring some type of insect repellent as the mosquitoes are positively vicious. I wanted to stay longer, but the mosquitoes wanted to feast on me.

View of the cemetery. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV,
all rights reserved.

Late 19th century plot. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all
rights reserved.

Victorian marker for Joanna Ward Pyatt, d. 2 June 1882.
Can anyone identify the flowers on the stone? Photo 2011,
by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

Neoclassical stone for Joseph Benjamin Pyatt, d. 28 July 1910.
Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

Front of the Neoclassical marker
for M. Lee Ward, d. 9 October
1885. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell
IV, all rights reserved.

Back of the marker for M. Lee Ward,
d. 9 October 1885. Photo 2011, by Lewis
Powell IV, all rights reserved.

An unusual Neoclassical stone for Florence,
daughter of Richard Henry and Eliza Lee, d.
7 February 1883. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell,
IV, all rights reserved.

Back of the stone for Florence Lee. Photo
2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

Unusually shaped stone for Charles Garnett Stone,
d. 10 June 1869. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV,
all rights reserved.

Signature of J.A. Purdell on Charles Garnett Stone's marker.
Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.

Sources
McCorkle, Norman. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
     for Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church. 14 February 1971.
Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
     Accessed 9 August 2011.