What Gravestones Say: The History of Epitaphs and Symbols

Walk through an old graveyard and you can read the story of how a society thought about death. The words and pictures on gravestones changed a great deal over 300 years. Here is how to read them.

What do gravestones usually record?

The basics of a life. The Exeter Historical Society describes gravestones as small biographies: births, deaths, relationships, affiliations, and military service appear in the inscriptions and artwork. Inscriptions vary widely but usually include the person’s name and age. In old stones, the Latin phrase aetatis suae means “of the age of,” and it is often shortened to “ae.” Early markers in New England often have strikingly different styles from later ones.

What is a “death’s head”?

It is a winged skull, and it is one of the earliest symbols on American gravestones. American Ancestors says early Puritan markers in New England showed a death’s head with wings. Seven Days, a Vermont newspaper, notes that these symbols were engraved on New England gravestones from the 1600s to the 1800s, and that they are also known as “soul effigies” or “winged faces.” They were not meant only to frighten. Scholars quoted by The Tufts Daily say some believe the death’s head represented the soul departing the body, and that it invited Puritans to think about hell’s horrors and to hope for heaven instead.

What does “memento mori” mean on a gravestone?

“Remember: you, too, shall die.” Seven Days quotes a genealogist who points out that the Latin phrase does not mean “Remember me.” It is a warning to the living who read it. It appears on many old stones. The point was to keep life’s shortness in mind. For the modern take on this idea, see Memento Mori: Why Remembering Death Can Make Life Better.

How did the symbols change?

In three main steps:

• The skull gives way to the cherub. American Ancestors says that beginning about 1690, a cherub face began to appear in place of the skull. The cherub is clearly a human face, and its wings represent the soul rising to heaven. The Exeter Historical Society adds that as Puritan orthodoxy faded in the mid-1700s, the skull softened and evolved into a cherub.
• Then the urn and willow. By the early 1800s, the Exeter Historical Society says, the death and resurrection images of flying death’s heads and cherubs had given way to a gentler image of an urn and a willow tree. The Tufts Daily describes the willow as an ancient symbol of mourning.
• Hope and individuality. American Ancestors says that symbols in the nineteenth century were less grim and focused more on hope and individualism.

How did the words change?

From warnings to remembrance. American Ancestors notes that in the 1700s inscriptions began to move away from reminders of life’s brevity and the certainty of decay and toward messages addressed to the mourners. The Tufts Daily notes a change in the opening words: where earlier stones read “Here lies…,” later ones read “In memory of…,” which has a more personal tone.

How can I read an old gravestone?

Look for the name and age first, then the symbols, and then any Latin. Notice the date, because it tells you which style to expect. The Exeter Historical Society also suggests that an overcast or damp day can make the carving easier to read. Please treat old markers gently, since they can be fragile. For more on why we mark graves at all, see Why Do We Have Headstones? and Why Do We Say “Rest in Peace”?.