Money for Cemeteries

This past summer, Delaware passed Senate Bill 256, which, among other things, established a Distressed Cemetery Fund that will be used to help restore abandoned cemeteries. It makes me wonder if something similar could happen in Pennsylvania, though considering our funding struggles (in Philadelphia especially), it might be unlikely.

It seems like a great idea though. Even if we could allocate a dollar or two of taxpayer money towards a fund like this, it would be something. They'd just have to figure out how to distribute it.

Palmer Cemetery

Palmer Cemetery is a small cemetery located in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. An acquaintance at Laurel Hill had clued me in to its existence, and since I was headed to Port Richmond, a neighboring primarily Polish community, to buy pierogies today, I decided to take a look. (You can read more about the cemetery and its origins here.)

In the cemetery, I found some of the most lovely old headstones (including many that are definitely feeling the effects of time), and then newer ones like the one above, that contain the image of the deceased. I hadn't seen one of these before I went to Mt. Peace two weekends ago, and I have to admit they brought me up a little short. I've seen headstones with small pictures attached, but there's something about this format that to me really memorializes a person. But then I've heard some say they find them gaudy and showy. What do you think?

The rest of the photos from my visit can be found here. I hope to take more cemetery pictures I have a better camera, but I was pleased that these came out as well as they did using my tiny camera phone!

Friends' Final Resting Place

As most of you reading this blog probably already know, Philadelphia is the home of many Quakers, and has been since William Penn sailed across the ocean in the Welcome. Serendipitiously, I came across the graveyard where many of those Quakers are interred, Friends South-Western Burial Ground.

I'd been doing the whirlwind tour I mentioned earlier, and was driving through West Philly searching for Mt. Moriah. I suddenly saw on my left a sea of small white stones, all the same except for the names and dates, parallel to the ground. No ornate masoleums or tall monuments here.

(I would later find out that there were previously two Center City Quaker gravesites, one at 4th at Arch, and another at 16th and Race, where meeting houses are still located, but both were disinterred and moved to the South-Western site in the early 1900s. The South-Western site is located at 236 Powell Lane in Upper Darby, just over the county line from Philadelphia.)

Tom Keels had mentioned in his presentation a few weeks back that Quakers believed in very plain graves, none more elegant than the other. And it certainly makes sense in light of the Quaker philosophy of simplicity and practice of being more concerned with the inward than the outward.

There was something very profound in those humble, flat white rows. It's been said that death is the great equalizer. This graveyard is a poignant reminder of that.

Mikveh Israel

My wanderings took me to one of the three Mikveh Israel cemeteries this weekend. The one at 8th and Spruce is perhaps the most famous (and preserved), but there are also locations at 11th and Federal and 55th and Market. I visited the one in West Philly.

This picture, to me, captures the odd juxtaposition of a quiet resting place with the bustle of city life. (That's Philly's el in the background.) One has to wonder if those spirits are a little more restless since that rumble's so darn noisy! ;)

Boot Camp

The New England Historic Genealogical Society, considered by some the premiere genealogical organization in the country, has a free online seminar about how to transcribe gravestones.

Definitely worth a listen!

Raw Materials

One interesting factoid I learned this weekend at Laurel Hill--marble used to be the most popular choice for tombstones because its luminescent white color was associated with innocence and purity of the soul.

It seems like these days so many more are made out of granite, maybe because it's more durable?

Whirlwind Tour

I'm trying to familiarize myself with most of the graveyards in the city (quite a task!) so I went on a bit of a tear this weekend to check out various sites. All in all, I got to see six of them: Fernwood, Mikveh Israel (the one in West Philly), Friends Southwest Burial Ground, Mt. Vernon, Mt. Peace, and finally, Laurel Hill.

I'll be writing a bit more in depth about them in the next few days, but for now, I'll just say each was fascinating in their own way. Urban cemeteries are such an interesting juxtaposition--places of quiet and reflection in the middle of the hustle and bustle.

More soon!