The Hidden Symbols Of The Historic Montgomery Cemetery

NORRISTOWN, PA — What hidden meanings are held in the carved tombstones of the Historic Montgomery Cemetery?

Curious residents, historians, and cemetery buffs will have a chance to investigate further during a special event held by the Historical Society of Montgomery County on Saturday, Aug. 19.

The event is a walking tour of the cemetery, beginning at 7 p.m., with local historian and author Tammy E. Schane.

The tour will be followed by light refreshments inside the Cemetery’s gatehouse, with a presentation from Schane on the symbols in the Cemetery from 7:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the society said.

The Cemetery holds the remains of some of the nation's most prominent citizens from its early history, including five Civil War generals and numerous captains of industry.

The Society provided the following background:

"The early 19th century saw the birth of the rural garden cemetery, which began in Paris and spread to the United States by 1824. Tombstone memorials also experienced great change throughout the 19th century, as Americans thought about death in new, more emotional and evocative ways. Tombstone carvers were tasked with carving symbols that illustrated a softer, aesthetically pleasing, and more hopeful way of viewing death as not an endpoint, but rather a step on the path to a better and glorious afterlife where family would be reunited. Tammy Schane has photographed and studied 19th century tombstone carvings in Pennsylvania and surrounding states and will present the meanings behind them. These symbols were a language of sorts in their time and still speak to us today."

Schane holds a B.S. from Syracuse University in Journalism and History, and is currently pursuing a M.A. in Public History from LaSalle University. She has worked for Heritage Conservancy in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, as the membership coordinator and lead docent of tours of historic Aldie Mansion, and currently volunteers as a tour guide at Doylestown Cemetery. She has researched and written a tour about the site’s 19th-century tombstone symbols and their meanings. She lectures on her research of 18th- and 19th-century cemeteries to historical societies and other groups, and in 2016, she published a book called, “Engraved: The Meanings Behind 19th-Century Tombstone Symbols," the Society said.

The entrance to Montgomery Cemetery is at the end of Hartranft Avenue, off of West Main Street, Norristown. Parking during the event will be made available inside the Cemetery gates. Tickets for the event are $15. To reserve a seat, call 610-272-0297 or go online at hsmcpa.org to reserve your spot.

Images courtesy Historical Society of Montgomery County