How are Quaker graveyards different? Early Quakers believed that ornate gravestones communicated the dominion of the upper classes, even in death. Earlham College professor Thomas Hamm takes us through the history of Quaker cemeteries.
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Discussion Questions:
- Early Quakers believed that ornate gravestones communicated the dominion of the upper classes, even in death. Do you think this still applies today?
- What would you like to have on your tombstone? Would you be OK with a simple Quaker tombstone?
Transcript:
Since the beginning of the Quaker movement, one of the ways that Friends have distinguished themselves is in their practices connected with death and burial, and Quaker burying grounds, Quaker cemeteries—although cemetery is a word that Friends probably didn’t use until at least the 19th century—are unusual. They are an illustration of how Friends tried to distinguish themselves from the rest of the world.
How Quaker Cemeteries are Different
Friends believed that, as it was inappropriate to try to elevate some people above others in life, it was equally inappropriate to do that in death. Thus, Friends banned tombstones from their burying grounds because they thought that all that tombstones did was to distinguish some people from others.
Equality in Life, Equality in Death
When Quakers attended church in their parishes in 17th century England, in those churches they would’ve been surrounded by memorials. In some cases grandiose tombs, that even in death were intended to communicate that the upper classes—the people who had sat in the front-most pews by life—still exercised dominion, even in death, by the way that they had buried themselves.
Friends felt it appropriate, required of them, that even in death that they bear testimony against such practices that served to puff up human vanity.
Early Quaker Burial Grounds
So in a Quaker burying ground in the 17th and 18th centuries, most likely when you approached it you would have seen a simple, unbroken spans of Earth. Usually consisting entirely of unmarked graves. There were always some Friends who found that unacceptable. They certainly didn’t want grandiose monuments that spoke to how some families were superior to others, but they could see nothing wrong with a simple stone that helped them remember where a loved one was buried.
Modern Quaker Cemeteries
By the middle of the 19th century, Friends finally decided that under certain circumstances, marking graves could be appropriate, and so Friends moved towards a new testimony on tombstones. Tombstones would be allowed, but they had to be simple. The name of the deceased, the date of death and the age, or maybe the date of birth. No ornamentation, no epitaphs, no decoration of any kind, and usually strict limits on height and width.
If you go, for example, to London Grove Meeting, Chester county, Pennsylvania, a Meeting that goes back to the 18th century, and look at the burying ground, there’s maybe one marker before 1850. But if you go to, say, Gwynedd or Chichester or Old Caln, you’ll find the burying ground full of simple, rough stones, going back into the 18th century.
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
Wonderful. Prof. Hamm is clear and concise. I personally would rank this number 2 on the best videos yet.
I find this initiative really worthwhile and very educational. In trying to rescue my Quaker roots from the Anglo-Catholic tradition I was brought up with, I find these videos to be very helpful in explaining my thoughts and my ancestors. Thanks!
Thank you for the excellent and clear explanation of early Quaker burial practices. I would be interested to hear whether modern Quakers are exploring green burial as a way to avoid toxic chemicals used in embalming.
When I visited the cemetery where Margaret Fell is buried near Swarthmore Hall in England, it seemed really strange to me that there were no markers. That was the first time I had seen a cemetery like that. It certainly makes a powerful statement.
The cemetery at the Maison Quaker in Congenies, France, is a good example of the early burial practices of Quakers. There are simple rough stones with not even a name on the earliest ones, and later just initials and dates. This cemetery is a national historic site and was preserved even when Quakers no longer owned the building. It’s the reason that France Yearly Meeting raised the funds to renovate the old meeting house and turn it into a beautiful B&B that welcomes people from all over the world….and the cemetery is the highlight of the grounds. Well worth a visit!
This is wonderful to hear and see. I am beginning the process of developing a cemetery – or, perhaps I should call it a burial ground – out in Northern California. listening to these ideas, I really believe we are on the right track with our and newer, simpler approach to burial a revision of the “American Way of dying.”
Thank you for this wonderful video. I believe you have one of the burial grounds identified incorrectly. It’s Sandy Spring, MD, not Sandy Spring, VA.
Good catch, Jenny! Thanks.
Jon
True.
D
It was my understanding that most people in England were buried in the burial grounds which surrounded each church. George Fox’s great disagreements with the Church of England led to Quakers being banished from the Burial Grounds of the Church of England, forcing the Quakers to provide land and make provision for their own Burials. These equality practices of which Tom Hamm details, were products of the Quaker practices in general, I believe.
Why do not Quaker burial grounds show a named month on their tomb stones? Is it because the months were named after pagan gods?
But no matter who the deceased person was, Quakers did not allow public displays of wealth or position in their cemeteries.
I like the idea of cremation and no ornate markers. But if there is no marker at all…that is very hard to take (especially if you are doing genealogy). I like seeing my departed loved ones’ names and places of birth, and that of their spouses, and knowing where they died. I’m looking for Quaker ggggg grandparents’ markers right now. They died in 1781 and 1782 in NJ. I would love to know if their ashes were buried together. I’m in touch with historical societies where they lived–perhaps I’ll find some answers. Nothing on ancestry.com
I’m doing my family’s genealogy and just discovered some Quaker relatives and was trying to figure out why there was a nondescript headstone (especially since there are 3 different spellings of the last name and I’d love to know how THEY spelled it). This was incredibly helpful and gave me some insight to a part of my past I didn’t know about. Thank you so much for sharing this.