Graveyard Galavanting

Leo I & spent an afternoon taking pics at Chippiannock & Riverside Cemeteries. Hey, don't laugh--it's really very interesting, and a great way to pump some history lessons into leo! We're also planning on doing some research to learn more about these fascinating places & the history behind some of the graves. Elaborate and/or decorative markers were fashionable in Victorian times.
The Victorians used a lot of symbolism on their grave stones, if they could afford it. Check out this link for an explanation of some of the more common symbols--
http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/pages/Cem_Symbolism.htm

This empty cradle was for a baby named Jamie Sax, who died
in 1887, just shy of six months old. The symbolism of an empty cradle speaks for itself. It was interesting to see that someone had laid two small stuffed toys in the cradle--a memorial for a child dead over 100 years. Rex the faithful dog, at Chippiannock. Follow this link to read the story--

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/437

Another elaborate marker. It would be cool if I could afford something like this when I die......
This one was in a section of Riverside that is very old, and gets very little attention. This particular stone was carved more crudely than most, so I suspect a family member did it, rather than paying a stone mason.
This older section had a lot of immigrants in it--very interesting names!
A cicada emerging from his shell on one of the stones. New life in the grave yard! Even if that new life is a little creepy, it was still sort of touching......
An Armenian grave. There were a lot of Greek, Armenian, and Swedish graves.
A family who lost a set of twins very young. Possibly they were too small, premature, or had some other ailment they couldn't treat then. No way to know now. But it's something to keep in mind, that in the past, a mother could be reasonably sure she'd lose some of her children to disease.