For most people, cemeteries conjure up all the negative emotions of death, loss and grief. Yet
stroll through one on a bright, sunny day, unencumbered by such emotions, and you might
see them in a different light. Each marker represents a life. Behind each is a story. Often, the
markers are beautiful expressions of the sculptor and stone carver's art. That's how we see
them. They are important historical and cultural resources.
While exploring cemeteries as an offshoot of our historical interests, we started to notice grave
markers which were obviously homemade. Most were made from concrete with the inscriptions
written by hand before it dried. Sometimes objects would be embedded such as crucifixes,
tiles, colored glass, marbles, etc. It became apparent to us that this was a form of folk art and
though they have received peripheral mentions in other cemetery studies, they have been
largely unrecognized. We have decided to remedy that by undertaking a comprehensive
survey of all the folk grave markers in New Jersey!
We began by surveying the 60 folk markers at St. Barnard's Cemetery in Bridgewater, NJ. In
the summer of 2004, we received a grant from the Historical Association of Woodbridge
Township to help us start surveying folk markers in Middlesex County, NJ. We have begun by
surveying those in St. James Roman Catholic Cemetery.
Our comprehensive survey will result in a database which we will be able to sort by various
criteria to see what kinds of patterns emerge. This should tell us about the kinds of people who
made them. Digital images are also being taken of each marker surveyed. This data will be
made available to researchers. A book is planned and photography exhibits at art galleries.
While we only have a small sampling at present, certain overall patterns are already apparent:
Click here to see a sample of our database for St. James Cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ.
Click here to see some particularly outstanding or unusual folk grave markers we've come
across during our field surveys. We will be adding more images as we go along. There's also
some images of some "friends" we've encountered along the way.
stroll through one on a bright, sunny day, unencumbered by such emotions, and you might
see them in a different light. Each marker represents a life. Behind each is a story. Often, the
markers are beautiful expressions of the sculptor and stone carver's art. That's how we see
them. They are important historical and cultural resources.
While exploring cemeteries as an offshoot of our historical interests, we started to notice grave
markers which were obviously homemade. Most were made from concrete with the inscriptions
written by hand before it dried. Sometimes objects would be embedded such as crucifixes,
tiles, colored glass, marbles, etc. It became apparent to us that this was a form of folk art and
though they have received peripheral mentions in other cemetery studies, they have been
largely unrecognized. We have decided to remedy that by undertaking a comprehensive
survey of all the folk grave markers in New Jersey!
We began by surveying the 60 folk markers at St. Barnard's Cemetery in Bridgewater, NJ. In
the summer of 2004, we received a grant from the Historical Association of Woodbridge
Township to help us start surveying folk markers in Middlesex County, NJ. We have begun by
surveying those in St. James Roman Catholic Cemetery.
Our comprehensive survey will result in a database which we will be able to sort by various
criteria to see what kinds of patterns emerge. This should tell us about the kinds of people who
made them. Digital images are also being taken of each marker surveyed. This data will be
made available to researchers. A book is planned and photography exhibits at art galleries.
While we only have a small sampling at present, certain overall patterns are already apparent:
- The folk marker tradition appears to have been primarily between 1900 and 1950 with
the majority around 1915 to 1925. - The majority of folk markers are found in Catholic cemeteries, though some have been
seen in other Christian communities (only one has been found in a Jewish cemetery
thus far). - Those buried under folk markers are mostly Eastern European (many Hungarian) and
Italian immigrants and the inscriptions often contain mistakes indicating a poor
understanding of English. - The majority of folk markers are made of concrete, though examples made from metal or
carved into remainder pieces of granite are also seen. - Many times, folk markers are associated with the graves of children.
Click here to see a sample of our database for St. James Cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ.
Click here to see some particularly outstanding or unusual folk grave markers we've come
across during our field surveys. We will be adding more images as we go along. There's also
some images of some "friends" we've encountered along the way.
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