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Association for Gravestone Studies
e-Newsletter
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2017 AGS Conference Bus Tour
Photo by John O'Brien
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AGS Membership
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The Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) was founded in 1977 for the purpose of furthering the study and preservation of gravestones. AGS is an international organization with an interest in gravemarkers of all periods and styles. Through its publications, conferences, workshops and exhibits, AGS promotes the study of gravestones from historical and artistic perspectives, expands public awareness of the significance of historic gravemarkers, and encourages individuals and groups to record and preserve gravestones.
If you're not an AGS member already, we want you to join! If you become a member, you will receive:
-The next published issue of
Markers
-Discounts on AGS publications
-Discounts on AGS conferences
-News and Notes about Chapter meetings
To join, renew, or for more information, visit
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AGS Chapters
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Did you know that the AGS now has eighteen chapters? Our state and regional chapters work as local extensions
of AGS and thus, provide meeting and workshop opportunities at the local level.
Consider attending a meeting in your area. Here is a list of our current chapters and who to contact for more information.
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AGS Publications Available Online
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Past AGS Conference program books have been digitized and can be viewed on the UMass, Amherst Library website:
Also, some back issues of the
AGS Quarterly and
Markers can be viewed here:
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2017 AGS Conference and Annual Meeting
The 2017 Conference in Tuscaloosa, Alabama was great! A full report will be
featured in the Fall 2017
AGS Quarterly.
Scenes from this year's conference:
Jason Church, Joe Ferrannini and Francis Miller
prepare for the Conservation Workshop.
Photo by Dennis Montagna.
Bruce Elliott photographing a gravestone in
Mesopotamia Cemetery, Eutaw, Alabama.
Photo by John O'Brien.
Nancy Tatarek
and Krista Horrocks at a workshop.
Photo by Teresa Straley Lambert.
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2016 AGS Annual Report
The 2016 AGS Annual Report was distributed at this year's conference in Tuscaloosa.
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Call for Articles: Sixth Annual AGS Quarterly Theme Issue
We've expanded the topic of our next theme issue -- it will be devoted to all types of War Monuments.
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Gravestones of Early New England and the Men who Made Them, 1653-1800
The AGS office now has available a limited number of newly re-bound copies of Harriet Merrifield Forbes'
Gravestones of early New England, and the men who made them, 1653-1800. It was published by the Center for Thanatology Research, with support from the Barre Granite Association in 1989. In hardcover, this is a classic, an invaluable reference resource, and a "must have" for every AGS member.
Members Price: $40.00
Non-members: $45.00
Hardcover, 140 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm
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Save the Date: AGS New York Chapter Meeting
Save the Date! The fall meeting of the NY Chapter of AGS will take place on October 21st, 2017 at Prospect Cemetery in Queens, NY. The meeting will include talks on a variety of topics related to cemeteries and gravestone studies, as well as a tour of the cemetery by Cate Ludlam, President of the Prospect Cemetery Association.
More details will be announced; please email Chapter Chair Eva Bowerman at
evabowerman25@gmail.com to be added to our mailing list.
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Markers Notes
A note from Elise Ciregna,
Markers Editor: In the most recent issue of
Markers we regretfully did not include two publications from longtime AGS member and gravestone scholar Bruce Elliott. In the past two years Bruce has published the following book chapter and article; these will be included in the "Year's Work" Bibliography in
Markers XXXIV (2018), but we include them here as well:
- Bruce S. Elliott, "Proclaiming Modernity in the Monument Trade: Barre Granite, Vermont Marble and National Advertising, 1910-1932" in Susan Dobscha, ed., Death in a Consumer Culture (New York: Routledge, 2016): 13-29.
- Bruce S. Elliott, "Cemetery Reform, Ultramontanism, and Irishness: the Creation of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia", for special number on Irish Catholic Halifax, Mark McGowan and Michael Vance, eds., of the Canadian Catholic Historical Association, Historical Studies, 81 (2015): 105-138.
And...a new Editor for
Markers!
I am pleased to announce that because I have taken on new duties as AGS President,
Markers has a new editor, Elisabeth Roark of Chatham University. Beth
is an art historian and longtime scholar of angels and cemetery sculpture, and has been a hardworking member of
Markers' editorial board. The prospective author guidelines (here:
https://www.gravestonestudies.org/images/MARKERS_STYLE_GUIDE.pdf) will be updated in the coming weeks, but queries and submissions should be sent to
roark@chatham.edu. Congratulations, Beth!
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Markers' Author's Note: second thoughts on the 1781 Edward Allen stone
In my recent article in Markers XXXIII I posited some possibilities for words obliterated by lawnmowers from the epitaph on the 1781 Edward Allen stone in Providence, Rhode Island. Basing my conjecture on rhyme scheme and scansion, I suggested that the text once may have read:
"This gash or wound and all so sad
It with a shot was shone [?] [i.e., shown?]
The flesh appears as Though it had
Most barbariously been done."
When the new issue of
Markers arrived in the mail and I looked at the stone with fresh eyes, I decided that the flesh was "torn," not "done." I'll gladly welcome alternative suggestions from anyone who could improve on my transcription.
Edward Allen stone
Photo by Rob Emlen
Sarah Swan stone.
Photo by Rob Emlen.
Also in that article I made a reference to the Providence stonecutter Stephen Hartshorn's having carved the renowned 1767 Sarah Swan stone in Bristol, Rhode Island. The great authority on the early gravestones of the Narragansett Bay basin, Vincent Luti, has recently written me a typically gracious note in which he reminded me that he and James Blachowicz published an article in
Markers XVII
in which they re-attributed this stone to William Coye, a teen-aged apprentice in Hartshorn's shop. Thank you, Vincent, for helping me set the record straight.
Rob Emlen
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Recent Articles Featured in the Journal Panorama
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Upcoming events with the Gravestone Girls
The Girls are always on the go--here's where to visit us during the next few months. We hope you'll join us at one of the many presentations, classes, and art shows we participate in every year!
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Ed Snyder's "Stone Angels" at Art for the Cash Poor
This information comes from Ed's June 4 blog post: On July 17-18, 2017, I will be showing (and selling) a sampling of my 17-years' worth of cemetery photography at InLiquid's 16th annual "Art for the Cash Poor" event. This is a large social event in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood that will feature 100 artists, beer, live music, food, and great art - with no single piece costing more than $199!
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Seminar: "Lichens, Biofilms and Stone"
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Query: Cemetery Databases
This request comes from Al and Betsy McKee: We are in the process of selecting a cemetery software program to manage our cemetery records. We have had a demo with CemSites, which we liked, but it is pricey. Any experience with any other programs?
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Free Digital Book: Federal Stewardship of Confederate Dead
Civil War-era national cemeteries were created to bury Union dead. But the U.S. government was also responsible for Confederate dead--most associated with POW camps. This cultural resource study examines 9 all-Confederate cemeteries and 9 national cemeteries containing the greatest number of Confederate graves overseen by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Blog Post and Book Review: Congressional Cemetery
Please click here to read Loren Rhoads June 14 Blog Post about Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. There is also her review of the book:
Historic Congressional Cemetery by Rebecca Boggs Roberts and Sandra K. Schmidt, published on behalf of the Historic Congressional Cemetery.
Loren Rhoads is the author of 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, which will be published in October 2017, and is available for pre-order from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Blog Post: Six Scoops Under
Douglas Rife's June 15, 2017 blog post features Ben & Jerry's flavor graveyard in Waterbury, Vermont. Previous posts about other gravesites are on this link as well.
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Website: Albany Rural Cemetery
Paula Lemire's website features her research about Albany Rural Cemetery in Albany, New York.
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Article: "Group Works to Preserve Gravestones"
This article is posted on the Fox21 News website.
AGS Member and
gravestone conservator Jonathan Appell is leading a training session for
The Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps at Forest Hill Cemetery in Duluth, Minnesota.
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Article: "A Leap Forward for Heritage Conservation"
This article is posted on the Carleton University website.
The CIMS team will use the robots to assist in creating sculptures and other architectural ornaments in a variety of materials - including stone and wood - from digital models obtained by laser scanning and photogrammetry, the science of using photographs to make precise measurements.
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Article: "Rediscovering A Curious Cemetery Fad From The Years Following The Civil War"
This article, posted on the WBUR website, is about white bronze markers.
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Articles: Places Journal website
The latest issue of Places Journal has a couple of cemetery-related articles. One is about the neglect of black burial grounds around the country. The other is about Washington Park Cemetery in St. Louis.
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Articles: Atlas Obscura Website
The Pirate Cemetery in Analanjirofo, Madagascar:
Bukit Cina (Chinese Hill) in Melaka, Malaysia is t
he largest Chinese cemetery in the world outside of China dates back to the 15th century:
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Article: "The Race to Save Benjamin Franklin's Cracked Gravestone"
This article is posted on the
Mental Floss website.
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Article: "Scrubbing Veterans' Headstones Clean, Uncovering Heroes"
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Article: "Local church strikes deal with American Coal"
This article is posted on the Carterville, Illinois WSIL website.
A woman has gained some attention on social media from a video she posted that went viral after the church cemetery where she buried her daughter struck a deal with American Coal to mine underneath the cemetery in Galatia, Illinois.
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Article: "The man buried outside the cemetery fence"
This article is posted on the Minnesota Kare-11 website.
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Article: "8 things you didn't know about Arlington National Cemetery"
This article is posted on the PBS website.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/8-things-didnt-know-arlington-national-cemetery/ |
Article: "The 65 Symbols on US Military Tombstones"
This article is posted on hyperallergic.com.
This is a useful site with examples of the different emblems now allowed on 'official' military gravestones.
https://hyperallergic.com/381933/the-65-symbols-on-us-military-tombstones/?utm_source=social&utm_campaign=fbpage |
Article: "Finding the plot: England's tombstone tourists"
This article is posted on the BBC website.
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Article: "The Cider That Comes from Beyond the Grave"
This article is posted on vice.com.
Malus Immortalis, a limited-edition cider, is made of apples foraged from an iconic Brooklyn cemetery.
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Article: "Violin left unfinished by WWI soldier played at his grave..."
This article is posted on
The Telegraph website.
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