Tombstone Tuesday-Vacant Chair Gravestone Book

I recently read a new book about a unique tombstone style, the Vacant Chair gravestone.

I have only seen a couple Vacant Chair gravestones around here, usually a small monument to mark a child’s grave. Some have a pair of child’s boots added to the seat.

Greenbriar Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio, 1922 Vacant Chair, Rex Eugene Medaugh. (2018 photo by Karen)

Another nearby variation is the impressive Herbst chair monument in Greenlawn Cemetery, Wapakoneta, Ohio. That monument looks like a Victorian living room chair, complete with tufted cushions and tassels, situated well above the ground on an elaborate base.  

Herbst monument, Greenlawn Cemetery, Wapakoneta, Ohio

Although there are not many Vacant Chair gravestones around here, I learned that there are many variations of that gravestone in another part of the Midwest.

A Field Guide to the Vacant Chair Gravestone in Central Illinois, 2024, by Jackie Oakley, is a 208-page book that details her observation, study, and documentation of these Vacant Chair monuments found in that area.

A Field Guide To The Vacant Chair Gravestone In Central Illinois, Jackie Oakley, 2024

Her interest in cemeteries began as a child and eventually evolved into her study of Vacant Chair gravestones. Jackie visited cemeteries in 44 Central Illinois counties, looking for variations of the Vacant Chair gravestone. She found 213 examples of this marker in those counties. Some counties had none and one county had 37.  

What a clever idea. A project focused on one particular gravestone style, to study and document it in a specific area. A great project, especially if you enjoy visiting cemeteries.  

Jackie created a mission statement for the project, To catalog and to share information regarding the gravestone commonly known as the Vacant Chair.

The author sought to answer the question, why a chair? She describes what constitutes a chair and gives seven basic Vacant Chair gravestone styles. Some styles are rustic, appearing to be constructed of branches, vines, and log stumps, while others look like Victorian house chairs with carved cushions and tassels. Some have arms. Others look like a bench. But all have a backrest.

Jackie explains that the popularity of the Vacant Chair in Central Illinois began about the time of the Civil War and lasted for about sixty years. A number of the Illinois chairs can be linked to Civil War veterans and she discusses if there could be a link to the Vacant Chair and the Civil War. She also explores some myths and legends associated with the Vacant Chair.

The author created several descriptive categories, with graph tables, of the Vacant Chair gravestone. Function of the chair, for example. Whether the chair’s primary function is the grave marker or if the chair is located near the main marker, but is not the primary marker. Chairs located near the marker may appear to be a place for a family member to sit, but these chairs are usually too small to sit on. Other categories detail the marker’s style, size, and condition.

The book includes many photos, showing many chair variations and the numerous adornments that may be added to the chairs. Some iconography seen on Vacant Chair gravestones include shawls, cushions, fringe, tassels, scrolls, ferns, flowers, potted plants, leaves, tree trunks and branches.

A Field Guide To The Vacant Chair Gravestone In Central Illinois, Jackie Oakley, 2024.

The author identifies her Vacant Chair gravestone photos by county, cemetery, inscriptions (if any), dealer’s mark (if any), and categorized by function, style, size, condition.

In addition, this book is a good model guide for projects such as this. It is a good example of how to methodically gather, record, organize, evaluate, and document data for similar cemetery projects. 

I enjoyed reading this detailed study of Vacant Chair gravestones and seeing their many variations. There does not appear to be many Vacant Chair gravestones in this area of Ohio and Indiana, and I wonder why. Was that monument style particular to that region of Illinois? Were they a tombstone fad in that area at that time? Were they a specialty of a particular sculpture or dealer in that area?

The book sells for $25.95, tax & postage extra. You can order a copy of the book directly from Jackie Oakley by email: vacant.chair2020@gmail.com

I think you will enjoy this interesting and informative book.