
Silent Secrets Set in Stone
A walk through a cemetery when researching ancestors can be a haunting, yet beautiful and reflective experience. Aside from the names, birthdates, and death dates, what other secrets might their tombstones reveal?
Those majestic, weather-worn stone carvings you see (popularized by those cipher-loving Victorians from 1839 to 1920) are more than pure decoration. They mean something; a virtue the person exemplified, a value they held dear, or a nod to how they earned their living.

In the table below, learn the meanings behind twenty popular gravestone symbols. A revelation about your ancestor’s life may just be right in front of you, hidden in plain sight.
Meanings of Gravestone Symbols
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Acorn | prosperity; power; triumph |
Anvil and Hammer | blacksmith |
Basket | fertility; maternal bond |
Bird | flight of the soul |
Candle | life |
Column/Pillar (Broken) | life cut short; sudden death |
Evergreen | faithfulness; rememberence |
Farmer | plow; hoe; rack; stalk of corn; shock of wheat |
Fern | sincerity; humility; solitude |
Fruit | eternal plenty |
IHS Mono-gram | Christian; name of Jesus |
Key | knowledge; entrance to heaven |
Lamp | knowledge; spiritual immortality |
Lily | innocence, purity, and the resurrection (Easter); marriage and fidelity (Calla); innocence and humility (Lily of the Valley) |
Mariner | anchor; sextant |
Oak Leaf | strength; stability; endurance |
Olive Tree | peace; reconciliation between God and man |
Palm | life conquering death |
Rose | love; beauty; virtue; strong bond (intertwined); youthful death (rosebud) |
Sphinx | courage; honor; power |
Tree-shaped | possible member of The Modern Woodmen of America or Woodmen of the World fraternal organization member |
A Guide to Cemetery Research
This information, and much more, can be found in The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide. In addition to a complete headstone iconography guide, you can learn more about cemetery research strategies and how to apply discoveries to your family tree.