4/1/14

Unfortunately, last week I was not able to go into work on Wednesday due to fulfilling my part as an active member of society by attending jury duty. Friday as usual, was field day and led to interesting finds, but also caused to me reflect on the act of cemetery preservation as well.

A weathered handmade marker

Mr. Jacksons (left) & Commissioner Engele (Right)

      The group of us went out to the Oak Hill area, which is not far from Edgewater or New Smyrna Beach, and we visited four cemeteries. The first two were the Saints and Sinners Cemeteries, then Oak Hill Cemetery, and ending at the Clinton family cemetery. The Saints and Sinners Cemeteries are two different African American cemeteries that are located out in the middle of a forested area away from the regular hustle and bustle of the town. Since we were unsure of the location and also since there is a locked gate, we were escorted by two incredibly helpful men, City Commissioner Ron Engele and Abraham Jackson.  Ron Engele became fascinated by the idea of preserving the cemeteries a few years ago after its status was brought to his attention and he realized that due to the location on private property the city couldn’t intervene in preservation. Therefore, he and Abraham Jackson have gathered a group of men who have dedicated their free time to clearing out the overgrowth and preserving the remaining headstones while also keeping one as an active cemetery.

A fallen concrete cross that was most likely part of the headstone originally

            

       The cemeteries showcase a great example of how different materials for headstones or as markers react differently to weather and aging. For the most part in the Sinners Cemetery, all of the markers were constructed from concrete, which is an incredibly porous material and is affected by the elements very easily. Besides wood, this is a preservationist’s nightmare for the inscriptions could be completely weather-beaten or have eroded away entirely. I’m always saddened when I see eroded, broken, or just decrepit headstones/obelisks/markers. For that item once held a small peek into the history of whoever is interred there, it was a glimpse into their life and it has become lost to time now.  If only more people could become educated about the proper techniques in preserving different materials, even concrete, it could create a lasting impact in regards to the future of historic cemeteries.  If anyone is interested in the beginning of June, the CRPT Alliance is hosting a conference, which will include educating attendees proper techniques in regards to preserving historic headstones. If you are interested in learning more about this conference you can check it out here (x)! 

A headstone destroyed buy a bullet I found

            While I am on the topic of creating awareness in cemetery preservation there is a sensation in reality television that is encouraging vandalism more than promoting understanding of the past and those who are potentially buried there. I discovered this through an online petition to stop this sensationalized act. On three different channels, there are televisions shows that focus and inevitably glorify the pursuit of discovering artifacts and jewelry at battlefields, parks, and private property. These shows do get permission for their searches, but how many people are watching the shows and do their own hunting without receiving permission or thinking about their actions? What concerns me is the audience reaction and if this will begin a fad of treasure hunters. For when not properly done it can lead to the loss of historical and archeological context or the act of grave robbing could become a phenomenon again because there could be a priceless artifact there they just have to get. Noticeably, I am very passionate about this issue and I find this to be a prime example of why proper awareness of the importance of preserving cemeteries (and historic sites) is vital now more than ever. I’m getting off my soapbox now… Clearly, this internship has led me to think about how one’s actions can cause a ripple effect with preservation. The more educated people become about preserving cemeteries and other overlooked sites the greater a chance of it truly happening in a massive way and allowing for a more historically minded society as well.

3/25/14

As this month is wrapping up, I have to start preparing for the end of my internship as well. I cannot believe how quickly this internship has gone by. It feels as if just yesterday I went out on my first field visit!

            Wednesday included working on finishing touches on the histories of a few cemeteries I’ve been working on and comparing inscription found by Daphne Brown in the early seventies with more recent findings. I’m hoping I can have the few remaining cemeteries I’m assigned to complete in the next two weeks or so.

Mother of Willie Eldridge

Willie Eldridge-died 1877, moved to Oakdale in 1881

            Friday was interesting for we only visited one cemetery and that was the Oakdale Emporia Cemetery. It’s out by a multitude of ferneries and allowed for a very visually appealing and fascinating drive. The cemetery is now run by just one man, who has been actively working to cleanup the excess of trees/shrubs/bush in the surrounding area to help the cemetery expand. Which we are all grateful for since it helped to solve a mystery of the location of the two oldest burials. Daphne Brownell marked it as outside of the fenced area of the cemetery, but when searches that are more recent have occurred, the burials have not been found around the perimeter. So on Friday we were tentative of what we would find, but the aforementioned man was able to show us to a newly cleared area wherein laid the two oldest burials in the cemetery. Before the clearing, it would have been basically in the woods and incredibly difficult to find if one didn’t know where to truly look. I thought it was really exciting to see how well preserved the headstones appear after having been unwatched for such a long period of time.

Willie's footstone

            After the visit to the Oakdale Emporia Cemetery, we talked about our internship presentation, which UCF history department has as a mandatory aspect of interning. It has worked out that we will be presenting April 12^th at the DeBary Hall for a Lemonade Lecture. It’ll be about an hour or so with my boss, my co-intern, and myself presenting about different aspects of preservation in regards to cemeteries. Though I am a little nervous about it, I am glad that this is more of an informal setting and by that point I will be comfortable with presenting research due to the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence  where my friends and I  will be presenting research from another project. April is going to be a crazy month and I am still trying to come to terms to the fact that this semester and internship is almost over. It has been a fascinating journey and I’m excited to see where this last month leads.

3/17/14

Happy Saint Patricks ay Everyone!! This was the first week back from Spring Break and the time change, so Wednesday was a very arduous day. I did make headway with Osteen Cemetery transcriptions then which allowed for me to understand more people of import when visiting the cemetery on Friday.

             On Friday, we visited several cemeteries all which had their own unique feel and appearance that allowed for it to stand out more so. The first stop was the Lake Helen & Cassadaga Cemetery, which I have mentioned just a few times on this blog. I was very excited to visit for two different reasons. The first is that though I am still learning about the history of Florida, the Lake Helen & Cassadaga history really fascinated me. Secondly, I have always heard of the infamous “devil’s chair” in Cassadaga which is nothing more then vandalized mourning chairs. Just looking at the chairs one can assume that the chairs were put in place for remaining family could sit and remember or in a sense spend time with their dearly departed loved ones. When I arrived, I was expecting one ominous appearing chair, instead there were three intriguing and simplistic chairs. The entire cemetery had a feel of what could be considered beautifully angst-ridden cemetery that becomes more intriguing the longer you’re there.

            The next cemetery we ventured to was Osteen Cemetery, which is another I was excited to visit.

It’s amazing how one can imagine a cemetery to look like and it can be drastically different. I imagined a small, compact cemetery similar to Mount Zion Cemetery. Instead, it was a large, sprawling cemetery that was very calming. Adding to the serene atmosphere that can only be felt at a cemetery, were wind chimes hanging in the looming pine trees.

From Pi(e) Day!

It also had one of the most larger historic burials than I’ve noticed in the smaller cemeteries, it may not have been more but it was the most orderly and one of the best preserved plots I have encountered. Also on Friday it was National Pi Day and so my coworker and I stopped at Osteen Diner and had a celebratory slice!

            

Enterprise Cemetery

The last two cemeteries were Enterprise and Hollywood. With Enterprise, there is a fairly empty expanse that I believe would have unmarked graves. It was pretty, but did not stand out to me. Hollywood Cemetery was beautiful and similar to Oakdale, but not nearly as expansive.

"Don't blink"

There was a beautiful combination of older and newer headstones/obelisks that were all maintained very well, but there were some beautiful newer headstones that were just exquisite. The weeping angel monument was expertly carved and I was actually surprised to see that here. I’ve read about those monuments to be popular in France, but not in the States.

            I know that next Friday we will be visiting Emporia and my boss will be along for we will try to find a few graves that are somewhat unsure of the whereabouts. I am looking forward to that and additional adventures and discovery that I may experience. 

Before I wrap up this post I do want to mention the River of Lakes Heritage Corridor Scenic Highway, they work to promote learning and active involvement within the community, including creating awareness for historic cemeteries.  I was recently featured on their Facebook page (which can be accessed here x) and they are in the middle of revamping their website to include more detailed information about cemeteries Volusia County is working to document and preserve.  They have a fascinating website and I would recommend anyone interested in digging deeper into the history and even activities available in areas like DeLand and Sanford to check it out! (x)

3/5/14

Well it is that time of year again; Spring Break is here and is the cause of a later blog update than typical of me. I went up to Jacksonville for two days for research for my research paper and while there I stumbled onto another Clifton Cemetery, I guess I just can’t get enough of cemeteries on my Friday field days.

           

            This week I was quite productive, I finished the majority of not only my Lake Helen & Cassadaga Cemetery Site File, but Bethel Cemetery as well. This included researching and writing a technical history, compiling the names of those buried at either location, and estimating the amount of those buried at the cemeteries to name a few examples. However, I will once again focus most of my blog on last Friday for it was incredibly fascinating even though we only visited two cemeteries.

           

            For the first cemetery of the day, we actually returned to Oakdale Cemetery, the main cemetery for DeLand by my understanding. I was actually very excited to return to Oakdale for I found to be so beautiful and full on stories waiting to be uncovered. The last time I was there, my coworker and I were basically rained out and only looked on the newer half of the 33-acre cemetery and some of the more famous headstones as well. This time before walking around the massive cemetery, we stopped at the maintenance building and talked to Stewart, whom was an enormous help. He gave us information about the history of the cemetery, told us of influential people buried there, and alerted us to unique headstones/obelisks to photograph. I felt like we were in a scene from a TV show when Stewart was telling us about the prominent members of the area buried there, for he would say the name and then my coworker would turn to be and explain why they’re famous. I’m starting to understand the history of Volusia County much better, especially when Henry DeLand is involved.

           

            While we were photographing the cemetery, there was a theme that continually caught my eye. The first was a symbol of two hands shakings that was carved on numerous headstones and it appears as though gender does not matter. I had also previously seen that symbol at other cemeteries including Clifton Cemetery, so my fascination was peaked.

This is also the oldest death date I saw there

From my perusal of the Internet, I have found three distinct explanations of the symbol. The first and most common, is that the symbol is itself symbolic of one saying their goodbyes near the time of death or saying goodbye to this life and going into the afterlife. The second theory is that the two hands are that of a married couple. The foremost hand is that of whomever passed away first and is leading the second into the afterlife. From what I’ve read, one can tell if this theory applies to the carving for one cuff will be feminine in appearance while the other looks masculine. The final theory is that it is apart of the fraternity order Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which until I started researching I had never heard of before. It would make sense since it is a symbol that is on enough to make it appear as a pattern, but few enough to look like it was unique. Additionally men and women are allowed to join the order and it appears that it came to Florida around mid 1840’s. I find all three theories to be fascinating and that they all have a strong possibility of being the truth. I find Oakdale Cemetery fascinating and I could easily continue to write about how I was trying to find a link in multiple deaths in the same year or about all the unique headstones that I saw while there.

           

            The second cemetery we went to was Lincoln Cemetery, which is located right behind Hollywood Cemetery. The close proximity is due to the fact both cemeteries once had been used for segregation during Reconstruction and over time, they just became two separate entities. I found the entire cemetery to have a very melancholy feel for no particular reason. The headstones were spread out far and wide in the cemetery and there were several homemade ones as well. My favorite had no words, but there were broken glass shards in a concrete headstone and the faint image of a woman on the photograph behind the broken shards. It’s sad that the headstone was broken, but I am amazed that is still intact. I wish I knew more about the person there, but there is no true clue about the history of whoever is laying there. 

Beware the wild cactus

It was a very sandy cemetery, with wild cactus growing which I found fascinating since I didn’t know that grew in the wild here. I know that’s a random thing to note, but I was fascinated by that on Friday.

 Overall, last week was a great time for me to finish up before Spring Break and I set myself up so when I go back next week I’ll have new projects to start on. I can’t believe the semester is halfway done, it seems like I am still just getting started with schoolwork and this internship! I’m very excited to see what the last half of the semester brings.