Apr 06

Tombstone Tuesday-Column Symbols

Stately-looking columns are sometimes used to frame the ends of a tombstone. Unbroken columns symbolize a noble life or that life has been completed.

Columns, Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Ohio. (2021 photo by Karen)

One column, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

Occasionally you will see broken columns on a marker. A broken column symbolizes the end of life, sorrow, or that the life was cut short. This icon can also represent the loss of the head of a family.

Two broken columns, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

One broken column, Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Ohio. (2021 photo by Karen)

Columns that create an archway symbolize the entrance to Heaven.

Heavenly entrance, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

 

Karen

Greetings from the Chattanooga, Ohio, area. Yes, Ohio has its very own Chattanooga, aka Chatt, a small village in west-central Ohio, near the Indiana border. I have been doing family history research for over 20 years and am a Board-Certified genealogist, certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists®. My main genealogical interests are family research, cemetery research, and historical and genealogical research of the Chatt area, with a focus on two area Lutheran Churches, both named Zion Lutheran, one in Chatt and the other in Schumm, Ohio. Family names I am researching include Miller, Schumm, Brewster, Rueck, Reid, Headington, Huey, Bryan, Whiteman, Schinnerer, Scaer, Breuninger, Bennett, and a few others. I belong to several lineage societies, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, U.S. Daughters of 1812, First Families of Ohio, and First Families of Mercer and Van Wert Counties. I am also a retired dental hygienist and our church organist. I hope you enjoy Karen's Chatt.

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