A Century and One-half of American Epitaphs (1660–1813): Toward the Study of Collective Attitudes about Death

Vovelle, Michel

doi:10.1017/s0010417500009531

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…The master status of wife, however, many not have been an indicator of patriarchy. According to Vovelle, as a community develops, there is a shift from the devaluing of women and children in the 17th and 18th centuries to the recognition of the loss their lives represented in the communities of the 19th century (Vovelle 1980). Certainly, this appears to be supported by findings in this study relating to the two most frequent categories of age at death.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…Women, memorialized with the master status of wife or mother of were also being remembered for the very important role they would have played in the development of the frontier (Vovelle 1980). Their prescribed reproductive status, while very different from that of men in terms of prestige, was central to stabilizing communities on the frontier and to furthering the development of the Union.…”

Section: Age In Years With Master Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating Gender on the Frontier: 19th-Century Crooked Creek Cemetery

Schroer

Hine²

2017

Genealogy

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This qualitative case study highlights the work of university students who participated in a service learning component of a sociological research methods course. Their complete documentation and analysis of all 477 gravestones in the abandoned Crooked Creek cemetery provide a cultural snapshot of life in the Western frontier in the 1800s. In contrast to existing literature on the analysis of gender indicators on gravestones, this study finds significant evidence that gender was related to social identity and that indicators of master status exist for both women and men. Furthermore, the significant role of women in the development of a pioneer village is represented in the epitaphs chosen by a woman's surviving family members. The findings attempt to dispel assumptions that the use of terms such as "wife" and "mother" on gravestones of the period exemplified the lower status of women in relation to men. Implications for genealogical research include rethinking the way researchers consider the role of wife and mother to write more historically situated narratives of family and community histories.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Age In Years With Master Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Gender on the Frontier: 19th-Century Crooked Creek Cemetery

Schroer

Hine²

2017

Genealogy

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“…The deceased is valued in "social" terms. The survivors mourn the tender father or mother, the irreplaceable spouse, the loveable daughter, the beloved partner, the true friend, the inspiring companion (see Vovelle 1980;Auger 2007;O'Rourke 2007). At many gravestones, expressions of a religious belief in resurrection and salvation continue to be juxtaposed to a wholly worldly notion of survival in the memory of family members and friends ("we will never forget you", "your memory lives in our hearts", etc.).…”

Section: 11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modes of Individualisation at Cemeteries

Vanderstraeten

2009

Sociological Research Online

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Permanent individual gravemarkers were established as social norm for large populations in the nineteenth century. These markers typically display a range of matters-of-fact about the dead: name, age or dates of birth and death, family status, social position, profession, religion, etc. They also include symbolic figurations, which communicate in a more implicit way how the survivors remember their dead. Against this background, this paper analyses gravemarkers and graveyards as material witnesses of changing social and cultural sensibilities. It explores the kinds of changes which took place in European regions with a predominantly Catholic population.

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“…The earliest grave inscriptions in Colonial America (early 17th-to mid-18th-centuries) were reserved almost exclusively for the male elite and consisted primarily of symbols and basic identifying information (e.g., name, age, vocation). Largely influenced by the Puritan beliefs of the day, grave inscriptions were used to mark the body or remains (Vovelle, 1980). For Puritans, piety, self-control, and a life-long journey or pilgrimage to resurrection was central to their views on both life and death.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Death was commonplace and while feared, was an accepted culmination of a life (Stannard, 1977). This was reflected in the relatively simple and descriptive grave inscriptions of the day (Cole, 1992;Vovelle, 1980).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gardens of Stone: Searching for Evidence of Secularization and Acceptance of Death in Grave Inscriptions from 1900–2009

et al. 2011

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From the magnificent to the mundane to the sublime, grave inscriptions serve as remembrances of the dead and provide concrete evidence of the thoughts and values of the day. In this study, 1,214 grave inscriptions (N = 1,214) dated 1900 to 2009 were examined for evidence of secularization and changes in attitude toward death. Using set criteria, the researchers categorized grave inscriptions in terms of language used (sacred/secular) and acceptance of death (acceptance/other). Binary logistic regression models revealed significantly more use of sacred language and significantly less acceptance of death over the past 110 years. Findings from these analyses suggest that: (a) secularization may not be as pervasive as thought, particularly with respect to death; and (b) as death has become increasingly medicalized and marginalized, society has grown less accepting of the finitude of life. These findings are further discussed in light of the continued evolution of death memorials.

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A Century and One-half of American Epitaphs (1660–1813): Toward the Study of Collective Attitudes about Death

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Investigating Gender on the Frontier: 19th-Century Crooked Creek Cemetery

Investigating Gender on the Frontier: 19th-Century Crooked Creek Cemetery

Modes of Individualisation at Cemeteries

Gardens of Stone: Searching for Evidence of Secularization and Acceptance of Death in Grave Inscriptions from 1900–2009

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