Hands are nineteenth and early twentieth century icons. They are particularly interesting because they allow us to set a date
range for a headstone. If only because no one else has found them peculiar enough to study, I decided to do an anthropological
analysis. The following is from http://www.gravestonestudies.org/faq.htm: "Hands are found on many gravestones. It may be
the hand of God pointing downward signifying mortality or sudden death. The hand of God pointing upward signifies the
reward of the righteous, confirmation of life after death. Praying hands signify devotion. Handshakes may be farewells to
earthly existence or may be clasped hands of a couple to be reunited in death as they were in life, their devotion to each other
not destroyed by death."
My own analysis differs just slightly; a hand with a finger pointing down may also signify “Here Lies....” It’s unlikely to
indicate anything of the deceased lifestyle and ultimate passage into hell but that cannot be ruled out. Shaking hands are
found on graves of couples and also on children's headstones; perhaps one hand signifies that of God.
Here are examples of these variations:
Point down
(These are rare!)
|
Hand Scatter Graft
This is a scattergram of the incidence of hands on headstones. Each letter represents one
headstone data point. I add data as I find more stones. Note that the first instance is in 1837
and the last is 1938. Periods “.” separate every 5 common data points.
There are 417 data points.
U = up D = down P = praying S = shaking H= holding Items
Year of Death:
1834
35
36
37 U
38
39
1840
41
42
43
44
45
46 U
47 HU
48
49
1850 H
51 UUU
52 U
53 SU
54 UUU
55
56 UU
57 HU
58 HHPS
59 DHUUUU
1860 U
61 DHHSU
62 SU
63 SUUUU
64 SSSUUUU
65 SUU
66 HHSSSUUUU
67 HHSSSUUUU
68 HHSUU
69 HSUUUUU.U
1870 HHUUU
71 SSSSS.SSUUU
72 HHHSSUUUUU.
73 HHHHH.HSSUUUUU.UU
74 HSSUUUUU.UUU
75 HHHHSSSSUU
76 SSSUUUUU.U
77 HHHSSSSS.UUUUU.UU
78 HSSSSS.SSUUUUU.UU
79 HHHSSSSS.SSSSUUU
1880 HSSSSS.UUU
81 DPSSSSS.SU
82 HSSSSS.SSSSS.SSSUUU
83 HHPSSSSS.SU
84 SSSUUUU
85 HSSSSSUUU
86 UU
87 S
88 SSSSUUUU
89 HS
1890 SSS
91 SSU
92 HHSSSUU
93 HHS
94 SSSSS.SSU
95 HSS
96
97 SSU
98 HSUU
99 HSSSUUU
1900 DHSSSU
01 SSSS
02 HSSSSS.UU
03 SS
04 SSSSS.SS
05 UU
06 SS
07 SSUUUU
08 S
09 HS
1910 SS
11 SSSSUU
12 SSUU
13 S
14 SS
15 SSSSS
16 SSS
17 SSSSU
18 SSSSS.SSUU
19 SS
1920 SSU
21 SSS
22 SS
23 SU
24
25 SS
26 S
27 PU
28 SS
29 SSU
1930 U
31 S
32 U
33 S
34
35 SS
36
37
38 S
39
1940
Criteria for inclusion in this study: 1) A name and year of death must be readable;
2) Data from stones I have not personally visited were accepted if they qualify under
#1; 3) Stones showing mixed displays (hand with a finger pointing up AND holding a
flower) are categorized according to the predominance of the image; 4) Stones after
1950 are excluded; 5) Hands must be sculptures, not engravings.
The sudden "bump" in 1918 probably represents deaths from the "Spanish" flu.
Complete records and photographs of all headstones are maintained by the
webmaster.
Caveats: Since I live in California I mostly visit California cemeteries. California
was settled after the Gold Rush so my data may be skewed toward the second half of
the nineteen century. However my research on the web indicates that very few
hand sculptures were done before 1850. Further research will resolve this question.
Outside Contributors:
John N. Cox, Charlotte, North Carolina
