Many genealogists and taphophiles are familiar with the Woodmen of the World organization, which placed countless tree-stump tombstones on the graves of its deceased members. The Modern Woodmen of America is older than WOW, though it was founded by the same man, Joseph Cullen Root. He formed MWA in Lyons, Iowa in 1883. He left the organization and formed WOW in Omaha, Nebraska in 1890. Modern Woodmen of America is still an active fraternal/insurance organization. Today it offers a variety of insurance and financial services.
Copied from Tombstone Tuesday: Modern Woodmen of America by Amy Johnson Crow.- Story of the Tree Stump Tombstones at HistoricHouston.
- Tree-Stump Tombstones: A Field Guide to Rustic Funerary Art in Indiana (Kokomo, 1999) by Susanne S Ridlen, a folklorist at Indiana University Kokomo, identified over 2,400 of these headstones in Indiana.It is one of several interesting titles at Tombstones and Folklore Resources American Cemeteries and Tombstones: Books from the IU Folklore Collection that contains more than 850 books, audio recordings, web resources, and serials on the general subject of death and dying. in the Indiana University Archives Exhibit at Indiana University Bloomington. Tree-stump tombstones : a field guide to rustic funerary art in Indiana by Susanne S. Ridlen is available in The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- Why Some Gravestones Are Shaped Like Tree Stumps When nature and secret societies get together. By Sarah Laskow posted July 17, 2018 on Atlas Obscura.
- Woodmen of the World and the Tree Stone Grave Markers posted by Joy Neighbors June 21, 2011 on A Grave Interest blog.
- Woodmen of the World and the Tree-Stump Gravestone posted on November 28, 2011 by gravelyspeaking.
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April 18, 2023 post by the The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast on Facebook:
Tuesday Tidbit...
"Exploring the Legacy of Woodmen of the World and its Unique Headstones"
Charles H. Huggins was born March 15, 1863 in Illinois to William and Martha Huggins. He spent his entire boyhood in Illinois. In 1885 he married Addie Ray in Marion, Illinois. By 1900 the couple had moved to Cripple Creek, Colorado where Charles was working as a carpenter. He died August 13, 1906 and was buried in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Cripple Creek. He was a member of Woodmen of the World and his grave is marked by a distinctive Woodmen of the World tombstone which is surrounded by a small grove of Aspen trees.
The Woodmen of the World is a fraternal organization that was founded in 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska by Joseph Cullen Root, who was a clerk for the district court.
After hearing a sermon about "pioneer woodsmen clearing away the forest to provide for their families", Root wanted to start a society that "would clear away problems of financial security for its members". The first type of benefit the organization provided was a death benefit to help cover burial costs. The first death claim was paid to the mother of a 19-year-old drowning victim in Niles, Michigan.
One of the distinctive features of Woodmen of the World is its use of symbols and rituals that are inspired by the lumber industry. For example, members are organized into "camps," which are similar to lodges in other fraternal organizations. Members also participate in ceremonies that involve the use of axes and other lumber-related tools.
Over the years, Woodmen of the World has expanded its mission to include a focus on community service and charitable giving. Today, the organization, now called WoodmenLife, supports a variety of causes, including disaster relief efforts, youth programs, and medical research.
Woodmen of the World also has a rich history of supporting veterans and their families. During World War I, the organization raised money to support the war effort and also provided financial assistance to the families of soldiers. In the years that followed, Woodmen of the World continued to support veterans through various initiatives, including the establishment of a Veterans Memorial in Omaha.
Woodmen of the World's early headstones were known as "Woodmen markers" or "Woodmen monuments." They were designed to be easily recognizable and unique, and were typically made of limestone or marble.
The markers featured a variety of distinctive symbols, including an axe and a maul crossed over a tree stump, with the letters "WOW" (for Woodmen of the World) carved above the axe and maul. The tree stump symbolized the end of life, while the axe and maul symbolized the tools used in the lumber industry.
Other symbols that were sometimes included on the markers included a dove (which represented peace), a broken tree limb (which represented a life cut short), and a bundle of sticks tied together with a band (which represented the strength of unity).
Woodmen markers were popular from the late 1800s through the early 1900s, and can still be found in cemeteries throughout the United States. While the markers were originally intended for use only by members of Woodmen of the World, they eventually became popular with other fraternal organizations as well.
Today, Woodmen of the World has over 700,000 members and operates in all 50 states in the United States, as well as in several other countries around the world.
Photo: Grave of Charles Huggins in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Cripple Creek, Colorado
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January 1, 2023 post by Historia Obscurum on Facebook:
Happy New Year! 🎉
......perhaps......
.....unless you're using the Julian calendar. Let me explain....
. If you spend much time in rather old burying grounds, you may begin to notice curious things carved into the stones that may be baffling to the modern eye.
For example, while wandering a burying ground in Concord, Massachusetts, recently this headstone caught my eye for its odd system of dating.
Note that the year of Mr. Joseph Dakin's passing is written as 174⁴/³. Which is it? Did he die in 1743 or 1744? Why did they write the date in that confusing way?
The first hint we get of what happened is that Mr. Dakin died between January 1st and March 24th, and this little piece of information leads us directly to the issue of competing calendars.
Until the Calendar Act ("An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use") went into effect in Britain and her colonies in 1752, each new year began on March 25th, aside from in Scotland, which already had adopted January 1st.
At the time, Britain was using the Julian Calendar while most of Europe was using the Gregorian Calendar, which not only began the new year on January 1st, but also, by the 1750s, put the rest of Europe 11 days ahead of Britain (which caused a LOT of issues with coordinating trade and military operations).
Prior to the Calendar Act, however, many folks living in British territories observed a dual-dating system, observing January 1st as the new year in practice, but using March 25th as the new year for legal purposes.
This especially was true in the colonies where there were large groups of Scots immigrants who already used January 1st to mark the new year.
This created an overlap period each year between January 1st and March 24th where it actually was two different years (hence both 1743 and 1744 at the same time), but come March 25th each year, everyone would be in the same year once again.
And so, to ease confusion (believe it or not), in the case of poor old Mr. Dakin of Concord, Massachusetts, the stone carver used the dual-dating to clarify exactly when he died:
By the "Old Style" (which is the term you'll find in documents of the era) system, he died on March 13, 1743 because the new year had not yet begun.
But by the "New Style" system, he died March 13, 1744, because New Year's Day already had passed.
If he just could have held on for twelve more days, his heirs could have saved the little bit of money paid to the carver for the extra digit.
So, Happy New Year! Perhaps! 🎉
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