Burial Customs
For any genealogist focused on cemetery research, the burial customs in place during specific historical periods and places are important to study. The history of burial custom is a study in itself since immigrants bought their beliefs about death and burial customs with them from the old country.
Many Europeans followed the practice of planting “yew” trees in cemeteries or other types of burial grounds. For some, it was because their greenness was symbolic of the hope of resurrection. The more common reason was the poisonous nature in the yew would keep wild animals and other predators away from the burial site. Evergreens and beech trees were planted to keep away evil spirits.
Tombstones were symbolic. Graves marked by a tombstone normally meant the person buried in the plot was important. Members of royalty, church officials, great poets, and national leaders, throughout Europe and the British isles were often buried inside churches as one see when visiting many old cathedrals and the Vatican.
Graveyards located next to churches were permitted and considered a necessity at one time before public health laws terminated the custom by force. Historically, the mindset was to keep the dead close to their faith, which helped maintain their salvation. Many centuries ago, it was customary to bury the dead facing east to be ready for the morning of resurrection day, which would occur as the sun rose in the sky. Clergymen and a few women, who because of local circumstances served in similar capacities, were buried facing the other way, placed in front of and facing their congregation and parishioner’s. The idea was that in death as in life, they were protecting their flock. Gravestones themselves had specific meanings. For instance, the portal shaped markers used by the Puritans represented the door though which the dead entered the next world.
By the 19th century, the planning and design of cemeteries changed significantly. Many were laid out like a city. They were platted with roads between family plots for easy access. As the population of the nation began to shift from rural areas into cities, more community cemeteries began to develop. This trend was also forced when state, city, and county health laws began to discourage or prohibit burials on family lands, or behind churches.
BLM 9/5/2017