Life in the Bristolwood

I know that hanging out at a graveyard isn’t the most “fun” thing to do, but it really can be quite interesting! While waiting for Michelle on Sunday,  I decided to pay a visit to a little cemetery I had mentally noted when passing by many times.  Stopping by such a place isn’t what I would ever expect my family to do, although they do often patronize my frivolous-to-them whims!

I walked around the place for a bit, and so many thoughts and questions began to fill my mind. …

There is no sign to alert one to this cemetery. It would be easy to miss if one wasn’t looking for it.  The grass here is rather lengthy, but we have had quite a bit of rain, so it would be hard to mow.  As I walked about, I also noticed that mowing with a lawnmower might be an indomitable task….I kept finding myself walking over pieces of stone that were probably very old gravestones that had broken off at ground level or just above.

The “occupancy” within dated back a goodly bit….there were people who were born in the late 1700′s and pretty much through to the mid-to-late 1800′s. The latest burial I found was in 1981.

Throughout the graveyard, there were several stones bearing the name “Dunton”.  In looking through the present telephone directory for our area, there are few Duntons living around.  There were also some “Karnes”, and when I looked up that name, I couldn’t find any locally.

 

I found two little stones that bore the names of children. The one below marks one “Essie” who passed away at only two years of age. There was also a marked that read “Little Libbie” on it.  There were other markers with several names on them, including the names of infants who passed away far too soon.

There were markers that had fallen to the ground, and some were in terrible disrepair. This one looks like it fell long ago and the earth around it has kept it somewhat protected from damage.

While most markers were rather humble in appearance, there were some that were certainly more stately. It would seem that the wealthier families were able to purchase monuments carved from more durable stone.

Many of the markers stated the date of death, noted in years, months, and days. So many of the graves memorialized people who passed away at far too early an age…

Considering some of these grave markers have been around for almost 200 years,  I guess it is remarkable they are legible at all! Many look as though the names they were created to commemorate disappeared many, many years ago…

This particular area made questions arise….Were there several markers here that tumbled on top of one another? Why were some of the stones sunken into the earth?

These two markers were so beautiful. It almost would seem that the hands that crafted them were related to the ones they marked. I couldn’t make out the names and information on them, nor was I given to crawling about on the ground. As it was, this cemetery is located in a rather “moist” area, and the grass on my ankles was making them itch like crazy.  I was a little concerned that my bare ankles would be calling out to any and all mosquitoes in the area, but thankfully, no mosquitoes were present!

Another question….Here is a marker with the name “Lockwood” engraved.  Many cemeteries have such stones marking an area where family members are interred.  The wooden cross with a cement “anchor” attached looks suspiciously modern…..The painted named looks as though done with a stencil recently. So, what is the story there?

I previously mentioned the name “Karnes”. Well, there seems to be a little problem with the Karnes marker in the form of an Ash tree! The tree stands  mere inches in front of the marker.

And another question….this couple passed away in the 1800′s, he in 1889 and she in 1898. The little statue looks like a mother and child, perhaps Mary and Baby Jesus.  It also looks very modern.  It appears to be well anchored between the graves.  Does someone still attend to these graves after all those years?

Here is a fine-looking marker that looks as though it could be repaired if someone took the time and knew how to go about doing it.

I kid you not when I say that this place is in disarray!

Another marker that is in need of repair.  These days, families are scattered not only around the country, but also the world.  How could the descendants realize these need repair if they cannot see them?

Although I did see some markers with dates as recent as the 1940′s and 1950′s, most are older than that. 

I was curious about the little metal marker on the ground. Apparently the marker was added after 1981 when a child of the couple the large marker was buried here.

Another marker found in a bit of a heap, with writing no longer legible.

And a beautiful marker in tribute to a young woman who passed away at the tender age of 21. 

There were markers with birth dates listed, but no date of death.  These people surely passed away, but were they interred somewhere other than where they had intended?

Curiously, the last grave that I photographed spoke volumes to me.  This little grave is leaning over so! It does look as though someone does tend to the grave from time to time. However, as I looked more closely…..

I saw such a hideously ugly spider that had spun a web from the stone to the flag to the ground.

One hundred years from now, we will likely be located in a similar place…..perhaps not with a fancy marker….it seems the modern cemeteries are disallowing the use of large markers any longer. With the type that is ground level, lawnmowers pass right over the markers without any extra care.

So, it all came to me that while we are in these “earth suits” given on loan to us, we must make a little difference in this world and down the line, when we are gone, others will make mention of our name and maybe even say a kind word. Perhaps our children will even decorate our marker with flowers.  But in, say, fifty, sixty years, we and our little grave sites will likely be forgotten.  What a sobering thought.

So, go out and make the most of this day!