HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The history of stone grave markers goes back thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans used stone
monuments to honor the dead and prevent graves from being disturbed. In America, gravestone carvers
have used various types of rock for burial markers during different periods.
Early Markers -
The Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s created simple wooden or stone grave markers.
They believed that carving anything other than words on them would violate the biblical commandment
against creating graven images, according to the website Digital History. This began to change after
1650.
Slate -
Slate was the first stone that was widely used to make grave markers in America, and gravestone
carvers used the gray rock from the mid-1600s to about 1900, according to the website Gravestone
Preservation. Many slate headstones remain in New England cemeteries and still have readable
inscriptions.
Sandstone -
Carvers in Connecticut used sandstone, or brownstone, from the mid-1600s to about 1890, as the rock
was readily available there. In the 1800s, Connecticut quarries shipped the stone to other parts of
the country by train.
Marble and Limestone -
Headstone carvers used marble or limestone for grave markers from the late 1700s to about 1930,
Gravestone Preservation says. Because these stones become stained over time, the inscriptions can be
difficult to read.
Granite -
Because of its strength, granite has been the primary stone used for grave markers in the United
States since the 1860s. Granite can be gray or another color, depending on where it is mined.
(http://www.ehow.com/facts_5560947_history-grave-markers.html)
IMAGE NOTES
The tombstone images below have been collected from a variety of
places; to include Italy, Missouri, New Mexico, and the internet. All female ancestors are listed by
their maiden name.
Annia Giovannini
(Missouri) |
Domenico Giovannini
(Italy) |
Claudio Giovannini
(Italy) |
Germano Giovannini
(Italy) |
Albert Sandretto
(Missouri) |
Edith Sandretto
(Missouri) |
Irene Sandretto
(Missouri) |
James Sandretto
(Missouri) |
Joseph Merlo
(Missouri) |
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Carlo Anesi & Family
(Missouri) |
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