iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

🧟‍♀️ JustEEEEEK! Gardner 🦴 @jbgrumpstone.bsky.social · 15h

Day 3: Glass These are the skylights for Green-Wood’s catacombs. Every time I encounter them I think of hobbit holes as the catacombs are built into the underside of a hill. #31DaysofGraves #cemetery #greenwood

Two rows of small glass skylights spread across the top of the grassy hill in Green-Wood Cemetery.

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Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

Loren Rhoads @morbidloren.bsky.social · 13h

One of the most beautiful collections of stained glass is at Cypress Lawn in Colma, California. The light under this glass dome is magical. Day 3: glass #31DaysOfGraves

Stained glass ceiling in blue and red at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 2h

#31DaysOfGraves Day 4 - Entrance: The entrance to the Calderai mausoleum at the Verano Monumental Cemetery in Rome (Campo Verano, Roma).

A grand iron gateway with a male and female sculpture on either side.

An image of Kraków New Jewish Cemetery overlaid with text
#31 Days of Graves
Day 1: Flower
Day 2: Urn
Day 3: Glass
Day 4: Entrance
Day 5: Vehicle
Day 6: Weather
Day 7: Home
Day 8: Animal
Day 9: Lettering
Day 10: Missing
Day 11: Humorous
Day 12: Ordinary
Day 13: Unusual
Day 14: Brick
Day 15: Language
Day 16: Faith
Day 17: Music
Day 18: Earth
Day 19: Water
Day 20: Fire
Day 21: Air
Day 22: Mourning
Day 23: Wings
Day 24: Contrast
Day 25: Tree
Day 26: Accident
Day 27: Portrait
Day 28: Landscape
Day 29: Fruits/Vegetables
Day 30: Colour
Day 31: Memento Mori

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Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

Keeper of the Really Smart Words @bookishnea.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#31daysofgraves Day 3: This mausoleum window from Druid Ridge Cemetery is my favorite piece of funeral glass of all the ones I’ve seen so far.

Angled view of an arched stained glass window of three women in flowing Regency-ish gowns. The middle one in a red dress stands upright. To her right, a woman in a green gown looks to her. On her left, a woman in a blue gown leans on her. Behind them are impressionist trees and sky. Around the frame is a green and gold border with to dels for stylized flowers. Centered below the women is a pane of glass reading “Faith, Hope, and Charity. The greatest of these is Charity.” Two pieces of glass are missing from the green woman’s gown, showing stark white where her thighs would be.

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves Day 3 - Glass: Here's the old stained glass sign from the Dublin Cemeteries Office, at Glasnevin (@glasnevincemetery.bsky.social)

Rectangular stained glass which reads "Dublin Cemetery Offices"

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Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#31DaysofGraves #2 Urn Weeping willows bend over a large and tiny urn for Mrs Loina Day and infant. She died on 20 January, 1813, aged 31 years, just 11 days after her child. www.jstor.org/stable/commu... #TheVictorianBookoftheDead

Brownish tombstone with a large and small arch on the top carved with urns overshadowed by weeping willows. The text reads: In Memory of Mrs. Loina Day, Consort of Mr. Joseph Day, who died Jan. 20th 1813, Aged 31 years.
Also
Her infant Child died Jan. 9 1813.
Great God I own thy sentence just
And nature must decay;
I yield her body to the dust [? the stone is very worn]
And wipe my weeping eyes. [? the grass hides some of the inscription.]

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Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

Steve @portaspeciosa.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Iron grave with wreath at Nately Scures, Hants. #31DaysOfGraves

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Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Day 1 of #31DaysOfGraves - Flower This fine pair of daisies, a symbol of innocence, purity, and gentleness, can be seen in Currie Kirk in Edinburgh. Thank you @annaandthedead.bsky.social for pulling together a series of daily prompts, we will be sharing more from Scotland in the coming days! 🪦

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves Day 2 - Urn: So many options for urns, but how about this giant one from Rome's Non-Catholic Cemetery (Cimitero Acattolico, Roma). Commemorating Philura Wright (d.1910) of Boston, who died in Rome while travelling.

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Westminster Abbey @westminsterabbey.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Among the most remarkable memorials in the Abbey is the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, which honours the fallen of the two world wars and conflicts since. The grave is surrounded by a border of poppies, a poignant symbol of remembrance. #31DaysOfGraves #Flower

The Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. The black marble gravestone is surrounded by a border of red poppies and is inscribed with the words:

Beneath this stone rests the body of a British Warrior unknown by name or rank, brought from France to lie among the most illustrious of the land and buried here on Armistice Day, 11 Nov 1920, in the presence of His Majesty King George V, his Ministers of State, the Chiefs of his forces and a vast concourse of the nation

Thus are commemorated the many multitudes who during the Great War of 1914-1918 gave the most that man can give

Life itself

For God, for King and country, for loved ones home and Empire, for the sacred cause of justice and the freedom of the world

They buried him among the kings because he had done good toward God and toward His house

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A quote for the first day of #31DaysOfGraves from the Liverpool Mercury in 1889. 1/ “The gravestones are a study. They are full of odd conceits, of quaint sayings and curious reflections. Sometimes we find on the carven stones some gentle words which broken hearted survivors have graven there...

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves Day 1 - Flower: I wanted to start local. Here's a disembodied hand plucking a bud from the cross commemorating the Rayner family at Toxteth Park Cemetery, Liverpool. Likely erected c.1889.

Sandstone sculpted hand plucking a bud from a wreath of flowers.

A large sandstone cross with rock-shaped base.

An image of the New Jewish Cemetery, Kraków, overlaid with text:
#31 Days of Graves
Day 1: Flower
Day 2: Urn
Day 3: Glass
Day 4: Entrance
Day 5: Vehicle
Day 6: Weather
Day 7: Home
Day 8: Animal
Day 9: Lettering
Day 10: Missing
Day 11: Humorous
Day 12: Ordinary
Day 13: Unusual
Day 14: Brick
Day 15: Language
Day 16: Faith
Day 17: Music
Day 18: Earth
Day 19: Water
Day 20: Fire
Day 21: Air
Day 22: Mourning
Day 23: Wings
Day 24: Contrast
Day 25: Tree
Day 26: Accident
Day 27: Portrait
Day 28: Landscape
Day 29: Fruits/Vegetables
Day 30: Colour
Day 31: Memento Mori

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#31DaysOfGraves starts TOMORROW! Welcoming posts from graveyards, cemeteries, or related places throughout October. No rules - interpret however and wherever you want, but AI is strongly discouraged. Image is the New Jewish Cemetery in Kraków. #cemetery #graveyard #heritage #genealogy

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Keeper of the Really Smart Words @bookishnea.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Going through my cemetery photos matching to #31daysofgraves prompts like the Little Mermaid in her cave, singing: 🎶 I’ve got angels and crosses a-plenty Weeping willows and flowers galore You want Freemasons? I’ve got twenty! Used that one last year? Who cares? I’ve got more… 🎶

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#31DaysOfGraves prompts are ready for October 1st 2026! 🪦Welcoming posts from graveyards, cemeteries, or related places throughout October. No rules - interpret however and wherever you want, but AI is strongly discouraged. Browse previous posts using the tag. Translations welcome, German is below 👇

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Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

John Van Hoesen, Ph.D. @jvh-vt.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

A delicate touch on a grave marker carved in Buckingham Slate from the Arvon Presbyterian Church cemetery, Arvonia, #Virgnia. #geology #thestoryofslate

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

#31DaysOfGraves is coming in October 2026! Last year nearly 200 people took part, please join us again 🪦 Browse last year's photos, and drop your suggestions for prompts 👇 and I'll post the list in the next couple of weeks.

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Church Monuments Society @churchmonuments.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

OK - any more examples out there?

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

If you're in or near Liverpool on the 29th of July come check out our conference day "In Loving Memory - exploring Victorian death, mourning and remembrance" at the Museum of Liverpool. 🪦⚰️ It's free, but you need to book on to attend! www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/muse...

liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

In Loving Memory - exploring Victorian death, mourning and remembrance

In anticipation of our upcoming Skylight gallery display In Loving Memory, join us for a one-day public conference run jointly between the University of Liverpool and the Museum of Liverpool. This eve...

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

What's the longest period of use you've seen on a gravestone? Here erected for Christian Peacop in 1876, and also commemorating his great grandson Eric Arthur in 2021. Toxteth Park Cemetery #Liverpool

A tall sandstone headstone commemorating members of the Peacop family.

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Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead "They had but gone on to await him" The graves of Katie and Ida McKinley, the late President McKinley's children, Canton, Ohio. Ida died in 1873, a few months after she was born; Katie died in 1875 of typhoid, aged 4. www.loc.gov/pictures/res...

An Underwood & Underwood stereocard showing a little girl in a white dress and bonnet with black stockings, standing by the two graves of Ida and Katie McKinley, daughters of the late President William McKinley.
Captioned:
They had but gone on to await him- graves of President McKinley’s little daughters, Canton, Ohio 1901
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/stereo.1s32693/

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Enricharch @enricharch.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Question for #medieval folk, is there any evidence of cremation in rural areas of England during the Black Death?

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Poor Frank Raw @poorfrankraw.co.uk · 23/02/2026

Everyone gets to be dead, but at least wear a fancy hat.

#MementoMori imagery on a vault lid in the floor of Palma cathedral, Mallorca

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Anthony and Anna Binns - "the best of Parents and the most sincere Friends" at Lincoln Cathedral.

Part of a worn stone ledger in the floor of Lincoln Cathedral.

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Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

This afternoon, @tealcartoons.bsky.social and I visited San Michele Cemetery. It's one of my favourite spaces in Venice - a whole island of the dead! Here's a thread on some of the more unusual graves we came across. /1

A photo of a series of mausoleums with a dramatic sky in the background.

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Louvain Rees ⚰️ @hellohistoria.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Something a bit more cheerful! Today I made a snowman for the first time ⛄️ 📍Nant Ddu 🪦 #Wales

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Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery (KAVS) @listerlanecem.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

The chart shows the distribution of burials per year at Lister Lane Cemetery from 1842 to 1963.

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Reposted by Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson

🥀🪦 @graveyardgirly.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Day 29: Occupation Joseph Bonomi (1796–1878) sculptor, traveller, and pioneer Egyptologist. #31daysofgraves

A tall, upright sandstone monument with a gently rounded top, standing in a quiet path of Brompton cemetery. Across the upper region is the Christogram “☧” (Chi-Rho) flanked by the Greek letters Alpha and Omega. Beneath, in shallow-relief capital letters, the inscription reads:

IN MEMORY OF FOUR CHILDREN WHO WERE CALLED OUT OF THIS LIFE INTO A BETTER IN THE EASTER WEEK OF 1852:

JOSEPH MENES BORN JUNE 5TH 1846 DIED APRIL 25TH 1852
CAUTLEY FREDERICK BORN NOVR. 6TH 1847 DIED APRIL 25TH 1852
JESSIE BORN JULY 22ND 1849 DIED APRIL 25TH 1852
JOHN IGNATIUS BORN SEPT. 12TH 1851 DIED APRIL 25TH 1852
ALSO THEIR GRANDMOTHER SUSAN WIDOW OF JOHN MARTIN DIED THE 26TH AUGUST 1858

ALSO THEIR MOTHER JESSIE DAUGHTER OF JOHN MARTIN DIED 10TH SEPTEMBER 1859 AGED 34 YEARS

AND THEIR FATHER JOSEPH BONOMI

SCULPTOR, TRAVELLER AND ARCHAEOLOGIST BORN 9TH OCTOBER 1796 APPOINTED CURATOR OF SIR JOHN SOANE’S MUSEUM 1861 DIED 3RD MARCH 1878

(At the base) IN LOVING MEMORY OF COLONEL J. I. BONOMI DIED 27TH MARCH 1930

Below the inscription is a carved square panel showing the Egyptian god Anubis (jackal-headed) seated on a stylised funerary tomb, signifying the deceased’s lifelong devotion to ancient Egypt. The monument combines the Christian symbolism at the top with the Egyptian iconography at its centre, reflecting Joseph Bonomi’s dual identity as both a Victorian Christian and a pioneering Egyptologist.

After years of sketching temples along the Nile, he returned to London to help reshape how ancient Egypt was presented to Victorian audiences. He became Curator of the Sir John Soane’s Museum in 1861.

His final resting place is in Brompton Cemetery, London. a modest curved headstone but rich in symbolism: Carved with a depiction of the jackal-headed god Anubis guarding a tomb, and surrounded by hieroglyphic touches that reflect his lifelong fascination with ancient Egypt.

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Gravestones of New England @gravestones-ne.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

#31daysofgraves Day 24: Unique Animal. A pair of griffins (I think?) on the tablestone for Leonard Chester, 1648, in Wethersfield, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest dated gravestones in New England, and it was carved by my distant grandfather(s), Matthew and/or George Griswold.

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Norma Explores @normaexplores.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Day 24 #31DaysOfGraves and the prompt is 'unique animal'. Ive taken a bit of a liberty and chosen a reptile 🐢 But I couldn't not share this wonderful tortoise. 📍St John the Baptist, Aylmerton, Norfolk

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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

#Halloween quilt via Sylvia Schaefer, Flying parrot Quilts #WomensArt

Quilt with images of bats, spiders and webs

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Gravestones of New England @gravestones-ne.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

#31daysofgraves Day 31: Memento Mori. Henry Robe, 1807, at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in Boston. Carved by William Bartlett. I know it’s supposed to be an hourglass that he is holding, but I prefer to think of it as the reaper unwinding and enjoying a cold beer after a long day of harvesting souls.

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Debbie Cameron @debsadelight.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

#31daysofgraves Day31 #mementomori ‘remember (that you have) to die" Morebattle Cemetery Kelso Scottish Borders One engraved in the exterior wall of the church Another on the cemetery wall One a headstone I think we get the message!

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Alison M @alisonm.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

The last day of #31DaysOfGraves 31: memento mori. These symbols seem to be very common here in Scotland. Here are just a few from Stirling and Northumberland. Thanks so much for sharing all your pictures. I've really enjoyed seeing them. Thanks too to @annaandthedead.bsky.social for organising! 🎃👻🎃👻

Gravestone dated 1696 featuring a skull and crossbones and an hourglass

The top of an old gravestone, carved with the words 'memento mori'

A skull and crossbones carved on an old gravestone

An old gravestone featuring some typical memento mori symbols: a skull, compasses, an hourglass and crossed bones. St Aidan's, Bamburgh

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Marc Martí @marcti.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

DAY 31: Memento Mori. Last one. It's been a pleasure to participate in #31DaysOfGraves. I've learned a lot and meet very interesting people while starting to acclimatize to Bluesky. Thank you @annaandthedead.bsky.social 🙂 Cemetery of Staglieno (Genova, 08/2015) Digital stereo pair / i3Dsteroid

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

#31DaysOfGraves Day 31 - Memento mori: Joseph Tapping's headstone at King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston, Mass. 😍☠️⌛. Died 1678, aged 23y. FUGIT HORA! Time flies! Today is the end of 31 Days. Thank you SO much all who joined me.

An elaborate slate headstone featuring multiple motifs representing "memento mori", including a winged skull with hourglass on top, and beneath a depiction of a struggle between a skeleton and Father Time. The skeleton is armed with an arrow and a candle snuffer, and is attempting to put out a large candle.

A close up of the carving featuring the skeleton and Father Time. Underneath is the phrase "Tempus erat"

The top of the headstone features a winged skull with hourglass on top, and the words, Fugit Hora, Memento Mori.

In an inscribed arch on the right hand side of the gravestone are the words "Vive Memor Loethi, Fugit Hora"

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Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Day 30 of #31DaysOfGraves - Colour A wide array of varied species of lichen and mosses provide most of the colour that visitors see when wandering around historic Scottish graveyards...

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Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

A windmill on the headstone of John Whittowe, the parish miller, at Hilgay, Norfolk, 1891. He's shown unloading the cart and carrying a sack of grain into the mill. #31DaysofGraves 29: occupation

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Confusion 🧠 @neocortex.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

#31DaysOfGraves Day 30: COLOURS - Yesterday I found wonderful autumn colors in the cemetery. The yellow of the large ginkgo tree shone particularly beautifully against the grey sky. And I even found time for a quick sketch. 🤗🎨🖌️ Cemetery Lütgendortmund 📍 #Dortmund #Ruhrgebiet #Germany

Sketchbook in front of the scenery. Lots of trees with autumn colours.

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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Day 30 #31daysofgraves - colour. A red, blue, gold and white Christogram inlaid on the headstone of William Righton who died aged 31 in 1867. I’m impressed at the durability of this decoration, considering it’s over a hundred and fifty years old.

A headstone with the top part shaped like a cross. There is a colourful inlaid Christogram in gold on a blue background with a white crown at each corner, and a border of red with gold xs. The inscription reads:

In affectionate remembrance of
William son of
William and Mary B. Righton
Who died January 21st 1867
Aged 31 years

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

#31DaysOfGraves Day 30 - Colour: Coloured tiles on the monument to Daniel McCoy of Carrickmacross, d.1868, buried at Ford Cemetery, Liverpool.

The pedestal of a damaged monument featuring a plaque commemorating Daniel McCoy. Above the plaque is a circular blue, red, and white tile, featuring the IHS symbol.

A circular tile featuring the lamb of God on the other side of the monument.

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

#31DaysOfGraves Day 29 - Occupation: I haven't seen many women's occupations on C19th memorials. Ann Wallace was a corset maker, died 1857. At Nellfield Cemetery, Aberdeen.

A short grey granite obelisk commemorating Ann Wallace.

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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

#31daysofgraves day 28 - column. I know I’m slightly cheating by posting a photo of a grave I used for another prompt but I remembered I have the original paperwork for it: “best York stone coursing, best White Hard Sicilian Marble Column Headstone, Kerbs, and Posts, as design selected.”

An invoice from James Beresford and Sons, Belper, monument makers. The total cost of the headstone, including the inscription and cemetery fees was £32 11s

A marble headstone with two columns on each side. The inscription reads:

In memory of
Sarah Ann
Beloved wife of
William Mills
Who died 15th July 1934
Aged 79 years
Time passes, shadows fall,
But love and remembrance outlast all.
From husband, sons and daughters.
Also of William,
Husband of the above
Who died 15th February 1936
Aged 80 years
Re-united.

William’s date of death is incorrect, it should read 12th February.

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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

#31DaysOfGraves Day 28 - Column: Well a round tower is basically a column... Kate Mary Scott & her husband Anthony (an architect) are commemorated by this depiction of an Irish round tower (cloigtheach) at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

A granite cemetery monument in the shape of a round tower, topped with a cross. It is mounted on a rock shaped base and is surrounded by other memorials.

The base of the monument says it was erected by Anthony Scott in memory of his wife Kate Mary.

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Constance @constancereid.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

#31DaysOfGraves "Tree" This grave in Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, marks the resting place of George S. Bangs. While serving in the administration of Ulysses Grant, Mr. Bangs developed the railroad mail car. This achievement is memorialized in the base of the stone tree.

A tall stone tree trunk with vines winding up to the top. At the base, a rail car enters a tunnel.

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Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery (KAVS) @listerlanecem.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

#31DaysOfGraves Day 27: Tree Tree on gravestone at Lister Lane Cemetery.

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Gravestones of New England @gravestones-ne.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

#31daysofgraves Day 27: Tree. This gravestone for Jonathan Chaffe, 1818, shows a tree that has been cut down, representing the end of life. It is located in Hampden, Massachusetts. Carved by an unidentified carver, possibly from Longmeadow.

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