Angels' Heads and Weeping Willows: Death in Early America (original) (raw)

Facing the "King of Terrors": Death and Society in an American Community, 1750-1990

The American Historical Review, 2001

Facing the "King of Terrors" : death and society in an American community / Robert V. Wells. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.). isbn 0-521-63319-2 (hbk.) 1. Death-Social aspects-New York (State)-Schenectady-History. 2. Mortality-Social aspects-New York (State)-Schenectady-History. 3. Funeral rites and ceremonies-New York (State)-Schenectady-History. 4. Mourning customs-New York (State)-Schenectady-History. 5. Schenectady (N.Y.)-Social life and customs. I. Title. hq1073.u62s348 2000 306.9′09747′44-dc21 99-21118 isbn 0 521 63319 2 hardback Contents List of Illustrations page vii List of Tables ix List of Abbreviations x Preface xi

The death culture of Southern Appalachia

Wichita State University. Department of Anthropology, 2018

The region of Southern Appalachia is rich with tradition and custom going back to the inhabitants' homelands. Southern Appalachia is a unique place with a distinct culture formed by immigrating pioneers. Despite opposition from the environment and the Native Americans living in the area at the time, these pioneers created their own communities (Taggart 2006:656-657). The Scotch-Irish formed a large part of these immigrants, and their traditions continue today. However, they were not the only immigrants, and it was only through the combined traditions of multiple ethnicities and the creation of new traditions. These traditions created the distinctive culture among modern Southern Appalachia. One cultural distinction is their death culture. The death culture in Southern Appalachia is intuitive not just of their origins but of the immigrants themselves. This paper will explore the death culture first by outlining the history of the Scotch-Irish immigration into Appalachia, as well as some of the other dominant immigrants. Then, the paper will focus in on aspects of the death culture such as funeral traditions, cemeteries and gravestone patterns, the attitude toward death, and the effects of commercialization in the region.

Dead Bodies that Matter: Toward a New Ecology of Human Death in American Culture

The Journal of American Culture, 2012

Suzanne Kelly is an independent scholar and an adjunct lecturer in the Women's Studies Program at SUNY New Paltz. She is currently completing a manuscript that looks at the burgeoning natural burial movement in the United States and that calls for an environmental ethic of human death.

A Historical Perspective of Death in the Western World

Dying and Death in Oncology, 2016

Humans appear to have had awareness from their early consciousness that death was inevitable for all living things. Religions and spiritual practices throughout history have provided belief structures that support the religious and social needs of practitioners regarding death and an existence after life. Death beliefs and practices throughout history have been influenced by environmental, social, and religious and spiritual factors that guide societies’ approach to the dying, the dead, and the bereaved.

Looking into Death: An Evolution through Time in England from the Middle Ages to 1800

Proceedings of The National Conference On Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2017 , 2017

Death has long been a topic in concern for all humans. Regardless of gender, nationality or time period, we all reach the same destination: death. However, the interpretation of death itself does not always stay the same, but radically evolves throughout history, as reflected in multiple literary works. This paper, therefore, will examine the evolution of death notions with special regards to England from the Middle Ages to the seventeenth century-from the time of persistent threat of the Black Death to the modern colonial period. Exploring the death of the three rioters in "The Pardoner's Tale" of Geoffrey Chaucer's masterpiece Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) and the protagonist's death in "Oroonoko" of Aphra Behn (1688), the paper will dissect each death to illustrate its relationship with the contemporary common belief. Following the indepth multi-dimensional analyses of other critical book and journals besides the primary texts, this research will also indicate the shift from the medieval romantic and religious mindset to the dominance of realism and humanistic world before the 1800s in England. Over time, we cease to perceive death as a necessary means to pay for sins, but witness the replacement of a totally different frame of mind, in which the colonists become "the Almighty" and death for justice disappears from scene.

A grave subject:" Hollywood Cemetery and the ideology of death in mid-nineteenth century America

2017

During the nineteenth century, Americans began to develop a new relationship with death. Urbanites were less confronted with the constant presence of the dead and dying than they had in the past. A new trend in cemeteries also developed as a result. The Rural Cemetery Movement promoted the idea that the dead should be buried amongst a natural setting that was pleasing and calming to visitors. The first few initial cemeteries were an immediate success, but this was not the case in Richmond, Virginia. Although the developers had grand ideas about their cemetery project, Richmonders opposed the cemetery in the first several years. They feared that the cemetery would stunt the growth of the city or even harm the health of the city's citizens. Over time, however, Richmonders began to accept the cemetery and with this they formed a new understanding of nature that was pleasing and allowed Americans to value natural settings. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation was funded through two institutions: The Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library in Delaware and the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond. I would like to thank the staff at both institutions for their assistance and hospitality. I would also like to thank my advisor, Anne E. Marshall, and dissertation committee, Alison Greene, Jim Giesen, and especially Judy Ridner, for their time and assistance throughout the process. Additionally, many of the professors and staff in the Mississippi State University history department have helped me in numerous ways. A number of my colleagues and friends have also helped me through graduate school by keeping me sane for the most part. These include