I saw some really cool wooden tombstones out in Nevada. I don't know why they used them, though--as temporary tombstones or because they were too poor to afford stone?
Were they modern or old? Could be the same reason either way, but historically many folks would use temporary wooden markers because they needed to save up to pay for a stone, or because a skilled carver wasn't easily available in their area, which may have been the main issue in Nevada depending on the date - also, not sure of the geological aspects of Nevada, but it's also possible that suitable types of stone had to be shipped in from elsewhere, if it wasn't available locally. Obviously, people of lesser means would use wooden markers on a permanent basis.
You're in the land of some pretty amazing cemeteries yourself, right now. I know you're working, but maaaan I wish I could just teleport there, take you out to lunch, and wander through those cemeteries again. :)
Yeah, I love the Parisian cemeteries. They are awesome. Maybe I'll go to Pere Lachaise while I'm here. They were from the 1860s-1890s, thereabouts I'd say. The town was in the mountains, surrounded by mines, so I don't think finding stone was a problem. And the carving on the wood was identical to what it would look like on a stone, so I'm thinking the issue was more cost...? Maybe gold seekers who died penniless, or nearly so? If you remind me sometime, I can post some of the photos or send them to you...? The cemetery you were in wasn't Jewish, was it?
Perhaps it wasn't a lack of stone, but of trained stone-carvers? That's a pretty sophisticated craft, and in that period, transporting a carved stone from the city might have been prohibitive for the average person.
Good points all! I just had another thought - typically gravestones were purchased by the surviving family, after the person's death. A good number of those men who went in search of gold in that period left their families behind back east, if they had families to begin with. Thus, when they died out west, they may not have had any family around to see to a proper stone marker.
Nope, wasn't Jewish, it was actually uniformly secular.
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You're in the land of some pretty amazing cemeteries yourself, right now. I know you're working, but maaaan I wish I could just teleport there, take you out to lunch, and wander through those cemeteries again. :)
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They were from the 1860s-1890s, thereabouts I'd say. The town was in the mountains, surrounded by mines, so I don't think finding stone was a problem. And the carving on the wood was identical to what it would look like on a stone, so I'm thinking the issue was more cost...? Maybe gold seekers who died penniless, or nearly so? If you remind me sometime, I can post some of the photos or send them to you...?
The cemetery you were in wasn't Jewish, was it?
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Nope, wasn't Jewish, it was actually uniformly secular.
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