In our current lab project we are evaluating grave markers with data that we have collected within a group of 3. The section of the cemetery that I collected data from was mostly infant grave markers which is very sad but I thought it would be interesting to see the differences in style between my section and my other group member’s sections which are mostly adults. I choose to focus on style using only two characteristics: grave marker shape and material of grave marker.  When evaluating the data I discovered that Infant gravestones where less diverse in style. The only gave marker shape that infants had where block shaped where as the grave markers for adults where either block, tablet and obelisk shaped. The Infant grave markers where also made with cheaper material usually granite where as adults where mostly made of marble. Next I separated the data based on gender and found that the majority of diversity came from female grave markers. Females had more tablet and obelisk shaped grave markers while also using a larger verily of materials within there grave markers. This trend is less prevalent within the infant grave markers but still present. Overall, infant grave markers have less style than adult grave markers and male grave markers have less diversity in style than female grave markers.

note: some grave stones where excluded from my data because I could not find figure out the gender or grave marker shape/material of grave marker was not listed.

I happened to find myself in Calvary Cemetery on a crisp cold January morning, tasked with recording data of gravestones, I finished scribbling down some notes before taking a moment to enjoy the golden rays of the sunrise fall over the view of U-Village. Cemeteries can be some of the most peaceful, beautiful places in our sprawling metal and glass cities. They are very much tied into human antiquity, while the city is built up and torn down around, the heavy stones stand strong in the cemetery, every one a signature of a life passed on.

After reviewing the compiled data, it is evident that human life ebbs and flows throughout time. No one period of time had the same style or type of stone, each stone holds information of who is buried there, who they loved and who loved them, what was going on in the world at the time, and so much more. The spike of deaths from 1920 to 1950 stands out very clearly in the histogram below, why this influx of burials during this time? Well, WWII and the adverse effect it had on the world is the clear answer, however other leading factors may have included; influenza, tuberculosis and a number of other diseases. It is quite interesting the way local graveyards show signs of world wide events.

The following chart accounts for frequency of gravestone material types compiled from our class data. It reflects the frequency of death as well. During the 1940s it is interesting that there is a small spike in cement, which might account for the large amounts of burials happening in the 1940s and possibly the inability to afford higher-end stones for a portion of the population.

Frequency of gravestone material types at Calvary Cemetery

In later dates, gravestones of women were somewhat lacking permanent adorn or design, such as a cross or other religious motif in comparison to male gravestones, which are more detailed and descriptive. For instance, a gravestone in St. Matthew says, “Beloved Marie” and unfortunately doesn’t have her last name on it. She passed in 1926, and the gravestone is somewhat small. In St. James, one large cenotaph reads, “In loving memory of William Chochrane” who passed away in 1911. Near the cenotaph, there’s one footstone with William and his wife’s name, as well as three other headstones. Two are female, and one is male. The male headstone has his name almost fully spelt out, except for his middle name: “William F. Cochrane Jr.”. Birth and death dates are also shown on William Cochrane’s footstone. The females’ footstones simply say, “Mary E.” and “Sue E.” with their birth and death dates. While the male footstone is more descriptive, the three footstones are similar in size and shape. In St. Matthew, one gravestone of a single male “Albert. A. Amodel” has a cross design to the left of the name, and is a little bit larger than the “Beloved Marie” footstone. The rest of the female’s footstone reads, “Died Mar. 5, 1911. Aged 28 YRS”, while the male’s footstone reads, “Nov. 9, 1921 – June 25, 1972 In the Lord, I put my trust”. The male footstone here is much more detailed, and implies religious beliefs. A possible explanation is that the female footstone is from 1911, and the male footstone is from 1972. Her family might not have been able to afford a more descriptive gravestone. There’s also a large tablet in the St. Joseph’s section for a male who passed in 1900. It reads, “In memory of Thomas Mathew Corbett Born Feb. 22, 1889 Died Aug. 3, 1900”. This is not only a tablet which is seen without walking directly up to it, but it is written in remembrance of the male who passed away. The dates are written out, and not simply years. His name is also fully spelt out. Looking at these gravestones, it appears female gravestones lacked permanent adorn or design, while male gravestone are more detailed and descriptive.

– Stephanie H.

When walking through the tranquil, almost silent cemetery sitting just above U Village one gets a micro glimpse into the history of this part of Seattle. You get to see the names, the births, and the deaths of so many people over the many decades who are now interred  at Calvary Cemetery. As a class, we took note on many of grave stones that can be found here and each of us analyzed the data to see what could be learned from these aging marble markers. I decided to look at the frequency of deaths when compared to years. The results are as follows:

When looking through the data, the two 5 year increments that contained the highest number of deaths were the years 1930 and 1945 with the years leading up to 1930 increasing and the years following 1945 decreasing.

So what can be gained from this? Well, we can clearly see two major events going on. The impact of the first World War with the coming impact of the Spanish Flu, and the onset and impact of the second World War. As soldiers came back home from all over the world, the flu took its impact on many of the populations whose countries were involved in the war. Then with the end of World War II we get the steady decrease of deaths due to the end of the major impacts of the two wars. As well as the impact of these two wars, we also see the surrounding impact of the Vietnam War and other events of the time as well as the ending of a generation with deaths increasing as we leave the 20th century and the war generation.

Though cemeteries are usually a place of quite reflection and respect, much can be learned by simply walking up to and seeing who the marker represents and from what time they came from.