Death, it seems to surround some of us, and then there are those of us who have seen the backside of death. By that I mean that we are the ones who are left behind and have to make sense of the deaths of the people we have known all these years. But that is the thing, for some, death seems to fascinate us, and for others, we just want to get through the hard times. But, why, and this is a question that I ask many, is why are we so fascinated by death?
There are a lot of times when I think that we have just about gone far enough, when it comes to seeing how far we can go. We have perfected this idea of how to keep the dead looking beautiful, it is called embalming the body. But that is not where it stops. No, we have pictures out there of people who never were all that important, and yet there they are, being commemorated through their death. And what I can tell you, there are some things that help us understand the images that we have seen, there are those of us out there who, well, we just aren’t that curious.
When I was young, and had the chance to flip through images that were captured by Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner, there were tons of images of bodies which were strewn about the battlefield. But what was the purpose of showing us all these images of death? It was to help those who were fighting the war, to show their families the stark reality of war, but what about those of others who do not have a famous history, why the images of them? Well, in this post, I hope to help you to come to an understanding of those things.
The world we live in has changed, and the advent of photography has helped us to keep pace. We have a lot of reasons that we may choose to visit a cemetery. I can tell you, spending time with my dad on the road, well, that meant at some point we were going to come across the need to visit a cemetery. Dad was into genealogy, and loved to visit cemeteries. I can remember one year, we took a trip out to Ohio, and we went with the purpose of visiting a tiny cemetery. But that is the thing, that, the visiting of cemeteries never really bothered me.
I mean, that was the thing, we have seen many cemeteries, from Arlington National Cemetery, to the Confederate Cemetery on the Rock Island Arsenal. But that is the thing, I find cemeteries to be an interesting place. In part, I think that visiting those places helps me, as a historian, to want to learn about the people that I happened to visit there. And believe me, to stand at the John F. Kennedy grave in Arlington, that is a different world altogether, but the strangest thing, was when I learned that one of my ancestors from the Civil War is buried in Millersburg, but he didn’t fight for the Union. So what was he doing clear up here? Well, it is funny the roads that people take, when they survive things like the Civil War.
But as I have traveled to and fro, I try my best to remember that the graves in the cemeteries are to be treated with respect. And I can honestly say that I have often found myself wondering if ghosts exist in some cemeteries, and such, but then there is the part of me that wants to tell people that this is a silly notion. Why would ghosts really want to haunt a cemetery? But that is a different discussion. But the thing is, that at all the different cemeteries that I have been to, I have come to know that someone took the time to put a stone there, all in hopes of passing the memory of a loved one onto another generation.
There are many times that we see those graves, and we feel that we really have to remember the people that are on that stone next to our relative’s grave? Well, that might be hard to get done. But I mean, are there stories that go to the person who is buried there? It is all a part of the past, but death has not been the final chapter like some would think, but rather it can be the catalyst for why someone becomes more infamous.
Picture this, the year is 1865, and you are General Robert E. Lee. You are returning home from being at war, and as you step onto the land that you once owned, and it is no longer a plantation, no, most of your front yard has been taken up by a national cemetery. Commemorating the men who had gone to war to stop the state of Virginia, and all the others from seceding from the Union. While I am not sure what Lee’s reaction to that was, I can tell you that there were so many other things that were taking place, like the funeral for Abraham Lincoln, as it proceeded across the country.
But that is the thing, the person does not need to have fame in order for that person to be important to someone. Each grave is the end of a life here on earth. And while I am not looking to force my way of believing on anyone, but it is the beginning of someone’s spiritual life. But that is the thing, there are some cemeteries out there who house more famous people than we can know. Many of the photos in this post are from the Crown Hill Cemetery just outside Indianapolis, Indiana. It was a place that my younger sister knew about, and she took us to visit some of the most famous of the graves. But there are some that are different, and so please take a moment to read the captions, and know that all these people meant something to someone.
But that is the part of the story that we are good at getting straight, is the story of the death of someone. For many years we have relied on graves to tell us a little something about the death and maybe even some of the life that happened before we got to that death. But why such fascination with this finding ways to preserve the bodies of those around us. Are we not told that it is “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust?” I cannot think that we will ever fully understand the reason that we people have with death.
And while this is not just here to give you a history of the subject of death, I would like to present the fact that if you are looking to learn more about the final resting place, of someone, the easiest path to take is to take the time to find the cemetery that they are in, and then visit the sextant office there. They are the ones who will take the time to tell you where a certain person was buried, and they will also help you to find exactly where that person is, if you are unfamiliar with the layout of the cemetery.
The famous people are always fun to visit. I have seen some really fun cemeteries over the years, and the Mt. Moriah Cemetery is probably one of the most picturesque that I have walked in. I will provide links to the famous cemeteries so that if you decide to go and visit one, you will have the chance to go and try and find some of these graves. But not everyone has such joy in walking the cemetery.
There are people like Edgar Lee Masters, who takes the time to walk through a cemetery and pull the names off the stones, and creates the “Spoon River Anthology.” It was cemeteries in the communities of Lewiston and Petersburg, where Edgar Lee Masters had taken the names, and even had the time to read the headstones and create so many different poems.
But that is the thing, are we going to not admit that we have a fascination with death. One of the nicest cemeteries that I went to, was the Crown Hill Cemetery, just outside of Indianapolis, and it is really nice to walk through and even drive through, so that we can see all the different famous, or even infamous, people who are buried there. Not far from where Benjamin Harrison the former President of the United States is buried, you will find the grave of someone almost as compelling, and that would be the grave of the notorious bank robber, John Dillinger.
But that is the thing, most people would never put two and two together that these men were both in the same cemetery, but they are, along with so many others. And that is the thing, if you want interesting cemeteries, they lay in all sorts of places. Take for granted the people who go to Arlington National Cemetery every single year. If you go to Washington, D.C. you will find so many markers and graves for so many people, and their stories, they go on.
The legacy that John F. Kennedy has on this nation is amazing to be sure, but that is the thing, we have to stop and think that in that same cemetery is also the grave for those who died aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, which exploded while heading for outer space in 1986. There is also the grave of the son of Abraham Lincoln, Robert Todd Lincoln. But there are little cemeteries in the middle of nowhere that have the graves of people who were very important as well, and I think of the tiny cemetery at Letts, Iowa, that is home of the grave of a man who won the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for someone in the military. Or maybe the cemetery, or memorial for the 5 brothers who fought and died in the Civil War.
There are so many things that we cannot believe are possible, and yet they are. So, remember that when you pass from this earth on, remember that it might not be as scary if you know that you were kind to those around you. Whether they take the time to embalm you, or maybe they decide to turn you into a mummy and place you inside the walls of a house for some future generation to find. Who really knows? But I sure hope that I am not the unlucky one who has to figure my situation out.
The graves that I have shown you here, they are all ones that I have had the chance to photograph myself. Remember there are those who like to see graves for the stars, and they can be found outside of Los Angeles. And there are some fun ones in other places as well. You will find below a place to check out some further information on the cemeteries I have seen and thought were pretty special.
Crown Hill Cemetery: https://crownhillhf.org/
Arlington National Cemetery: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/
Mount Moriah Cemetery (Deadwood, SD): https://www.cityofdeadwood.com/parksrec/page/mount-moriah-cemetery
Have some fun and check out the final resting place for your favorite hero that has passed and you might learn a great deal about them in the process.
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