“Sacred to the Memory: Bossier Parish and North Louisiana Historic Headstones”

 It’s now October and “spooky season” is upon us! Soon you’ll see lots of yards and houses decorated to scare. Many of these decorations will be in the form of fake headstones, maybe even clustered to look like a spooky cemetery. Truthfully, North Louisiana graveyards are fascinating places because of the wide range of symbols and imagery used on gravestones. Their historic value, I dare say, far outweighs their scare factor. 

Bossier Parish and many other areas of North Louisiana have very few surviving homes or artifacts from the 19th century. We do, however, have plenty of cemeteries. Historic cemeteries are valuable resources for researchers. Inscriptions give us information about people who lived long ago. Decorations on the tombstones can tell us a little about what life was like in the past. Many are  simply beautiful works of art.

Like other items, tombstones reflect the culture of the people who produce and choose them. 19th and early 20th century cemetery monuments in Bossier Parish contain symbols that would have been recognizable to most people of the time, even if the exact meanings might have varied from person to person. 

The majority of Bossier’s early settlers were Protestant and, as would be expected, most gravestone symbols reflect this heritage. Many are Biblical in origin.  A few Catholic and Jewish symbols have been found. Other gravestone symbols and shapes reflect the classical and historical revivals of the 19th century. A wide variety of symbols are found on these early stones. The meaning of some of these icons, or epitaphs, are obscure today. For example, some graves say “consort of” rather than “wife.” This wording appears to be the fashionable lingo of the time, and does not mean that the couple wasn’t married. 

Some symbolism we do recognize today are flower or tree-related. Rosebuds are usually found on children’s graves. The buds recognize a life cut short, not yet blossomed. Lilies represent purity and resurrection. The flowers are often shown drooping or plucked. Sometimes the hand of God is shown picking a flower from the earth. Willow trees are very common on mid-19th century tombstones and come in a wide range of styles. They symbolize mourning and grief. 

Life was uncertain, even for the very wealthy in the 19th century. An example is the grave of Sallie Pickett Cummings at the Cottage Grove cemetery. Sallie Cummings died in her late teens in 1854 during a cholera epidemic, a mere six months after her wedding to Robert Campbell Cummings. Legend says that Sallie was buried in a glass-topped coffin. Her grieving family and husband placed a magnificent marker on her grave. 

Most people in Bossier could not afford a monument like Sallie’s but some of their markers still tell us a great deal about their lives and beliefs. Tragically, in Sallie’s era, graves of Bossier’s enslaved people often were marked simply with wood, which succumbs quickly to the elements. 

Disease could destroy families. Many women died in childbirth and men then remarried in succession. Because of this, joint husband and wife gravestones, common today, are uncommon prior to the late 19th century. In a rare and touching early 20th century example of a husband-and-wife headstone, Mr. and Mrs. Eller’s from 1910, the epitaph reads, “In labor and in love allied, in death they sleep here, side by side. Resting in peace, the aged twain. Till Christ shall raise them up again.” Clasped hands were symbolic of marriage in the 19th century, or the parting at death. 

Life was hard for children and many died young from diseases that are harmless or unknown today. Children died from whooping cough, measles, smallpox and other sicknesses. In contrast to previous centuries, in the 19th century children were starting to be looked upon as innocent little beings as opposed to miniature (and sinful) adults. This change is reflected in the appearance of lambs on children’s graves. One particular such stone, for Cornelia Haughton in 1869, shows a mother with 3 children, standing on what look to be clouds. Also on the grave are three lambs under a willow tree. The poignant epitaph reads, “They sleep together, side by side, the mother and her three babes. Their bodies rest beneath the sod. Their spirits dwell with God.” 

Doves are found on both children’s and adult graves. The dove perhaps symbolizes innocence, peace or the soul. A headstone with a dove flying toward a star likely represents a soul (the dove) on its way to heaven (the star). One tiny grave with a dove on top says, “Tis a little grave, but oh! Have a care. Worldwide hopes are buried there. This epitaph was for “infant Nuckolls,” 1912. 

Many historic cemeteries are in fragile or hazardous condition, or are on private land. If you’d like to see a virtual tour in the comfort of your home of two of Bossier’s most historic cemeteries, visit our YouTube channel to see a tour of the Rocky Mount and Cottage Grove cemeteries in north Bossier Parish. Go to youtube.com and search “Bossier Parish Libraries” then select the “Bossier Virtual History Tour” playlist. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBffCDsWgMo&ab_channel=BossierParishLibraries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1bIld7z9lg&ab_channel=BossierParishLibraries

Or, for a group at the History Center or elsewhere, you can request the History Center’s presentation, “Sacred to the Memory: Bossier Parish Headstones.” This program features close-up photographs of headstones and monuments in Bossier Parish’s rural, historic cemeteries and reveals and interprets the symbolism and local history that they represent. History Center staff is available to present this and other local history programs on request, as well as assist you in researching your ancestors with our resources on Bossier Parish cemeteries. Please contact us at (318) 746-7717, or visit bossierlibrary.org and visit the “History and Genealogy” resource page. Visit us at the History Center at 2206 Beckett Street, Bossier City, LA. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org

For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok

Article by: Pam Carlisle