The Scovill-Jarvis graves provide a good example of a trio of hand iconography.

Arguably the most beautiful spot in Washtenaw County, Highland Cemetery offers an outstanding chance to examine 19th-century grave symbols. The following self-guided 2-hour tour, available as a .pdf, highlights a range of some of the northern half of the cemetery’s most interesting symbols. Numbers in the text correspond to the map.

Visitors can reach the cemetery by traveling down Washtenaw to its terminus on Huron. Turn left on Huron and right on Cross Street through Depot Town. At the remains of the Thompson Building at River, turn left. You will pass Forest Avenue and the ornate brick Swain home on the northeast corner of Forest and River. Continue down River; Highland Cemetery is a quarter mile down on the left.

Inside the main gates, open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. until April 30 and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. from May 1 to Sept. 30, a small parking lot appears on the right. Park here and walk west to Starkweather Chapel at the end of the main driveway.

On the north (right) side of the chapel, three paths diverge. Take the middle path. A few steps down on the left is the grave of Maria Towler (1) with this barely legible poem:

[Remember] friends as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now, so you must be
Prepare for death and follow me.

From Towler’s grave, cross west through this section of graves, to the opposite path.

Lying flat here on the ground is the grave of Mary, wife of John Smith (2). It shows a rose, which when full-blown like Mary’s can signify a person who died in the prime of life.

Just to the left of Mary’s stone are a set of 4 graves (3) that tell the story of a man who married three times.

Crowning the third grave, for Otis Lee, is the legend, “Postmaster Lee.”

Unlike some modern stones, 19th-century gravestones do not usually indicate occupations. Exceptions include military rank, political office, or occasionally religious office (and once in a great while, a trade). However, the job of local postmaster in Otis’s era was a political office and coveted position, often hotly fought over in local elections. Its appearance on Otis’s grave is meant to indicate prestige in his community.

Flanking his grave are those of his three wives, Phebe, Lucy, and Minnie N. A careful examination of all four stones’ death dates reveals that sometimes the spatial placement of stones tells a story. In this case, the stones are set in order of the deaths of all four people. The stones show that Minnie, who died at age 44, nevertheless outlived her 72-year-old husband by three years.

Further down the path, Albert Coffman’s grave (4) shows a hand pointing to a book. As seen on the previous tour, the book usually signifies the bible, and the pointing hand indicates faith.

Following the path’s curve, you will find the grave of G. H. Griffith (5). Like Otis Lee’s grave, Griffith’s indicates his occupation: reverend. He died in 1832 at age 35.

The marker for the Weed children.

Behind his grave is a pillar for the Weed family (6). It shows a book resting on a cushion, ringed with ivy, the evergreen that represents immortality or lasting memory.

Nearby is a low monument showing three lambs nestled in sleep. A signifier of children’s graves, the lambs refer to the tiny gravestones next to them. One is a double grave for two children.

Nearly illegible, the inscription seems to say:

In memory of
[David M] Weed
who died August [18] 18[XX]
aged [15] months
Also of
Mary Ann
Who died Jan 20 18[XX] aged [2] months
Infant daughter of
[JR J W]
[ROLLIE V WEED]

Nearby, a trio of graves for a man and his two wives (7) seem to tell a sad story. Edward Peal’s wives Jennie and Roxcy Jane both died before him, and their ornate and beautiful – and likely expensive – graves are bordered in an intricate Greek key pattern. However, his own tiny grave is merely a rock with a polished face and his name, death date, and age of 75. One wonders whether he had no remaining children to provide a stone commensurate to his wives’ beautiful stones, or if he was just a humble man who picked a humble grave for himself.

The nearby Scott and Willson obelisks (8 & 9) show unusual designs of clasped hands carved halfway up the monument. Clasped hands can indicate the unity of marriage, especially if the sleeves depicted are those of a man and woman, or signify a goodbye.

Circling back towards this section’s starting point, you’ll find the 1878 grave of 21-year-old Sarah (10), wife of William H. Hayton. A poem on her grave reads:

And I am like the flower
That blooms in fragrant May
When days of sickness find me
Then I shall fade away.

Re-enter the path at the starting point and follow it north. Shortly past the Phillips obelisk (11) on the right stands the double grave of Peter Miller and Catherine (12). Their names are carved on a shield which is surmounted by a hand pointing to a scroll suspended from an arrow. [See this week's Mystery Artifact].

A bit further past the Miller grave is one for James H. Phillips (13), showing a large Masonic symbol of compass and square resting on a book.

Continuing past the path that exits at left, and the Bacon obelisk at left directly after the leftward path, you’ll find on the right the grave of Thomas Chicken (14). A martial eagle flanked by furled flags behind a shield hints that Thomas died in military service. A faint inscription on his stone reads, “Drowned while trying to rescue a comrade in Springfield, [ILL]. [June] 24, 1865, aged 24 years.”

Slightly further down the path at left looms a huge white obelisk crowned by a green statue (15). This is Elijah Grant’s monument, near the Brayton mausoleum. You might think that the tallest grave memorial in Highland Cemetery, after the Civil War Soldiers’ memorial statue, honors a great philanthropist, doctor, scientist, statesman, or artist. Grant was a dry goods merchant who later made money in real estate.

Heading west past this marker and through this section, you’ll find near the path the grave of Helen May and next to it, that of her child (16). This poignant marker is unusual in being crowned with the white body of a nude sleeping child.

Enter this path and continue westward – it leads past the Dow obelisk on the right. Nearby is the monument for Asa Dow’s wife Minerva. It is said that the spirit of Minerva haunts the Ypsilanti Historical Museum, a claim that has been investigated by no fewer than three paranormal societies. One volunteer at the Archives, who has written several articles about Minerva for the Historical Society’s publication Gleanings, visits her grave every year on her birthday to place flowers. See if you can find the flowers at her grave.

Further westward, you will pass on the right a row of the titanic graves of the Norris family. The author has overheard one Highland visitor describe these massive graves as “Norrishenge.” Behind them are the modest graves of Mark Norris, one of the early developers of Ypsilanti, and his wife.

Near the end of this section on the left is a striking grave showing a 6-and-a-half foot cross (17) twined with ivy and rising from a cairn of carved stones. Standing at this Henrich cross and looking to the south, you can see the unusual giant orb (18) marking the Cornwell family plot, where paper mill owner Cornelius Cornwell lies.

Heading west, turn left (19) onto the cemetery’s rear path and walk past the section of newer graves at left to an intersection. At the grassy triangle, look left for the boulder-like Woodward grave (20). Gertrude Woodard, onetime University of Michigan law librarian and the first licensed woman driver in Washtenaw County, lies here. She lived alone in the Huron Hotel on Pearl Street. When she died, it is said her living quarters were stacked to the ceiling with hoarded piles of newspapers, clippings, and other detritus.

Go up the leaf-covered path leading uphill from the Woodward grave and look for the Eliza Post grave (21), which shows another beautiful book-themed grave. Backtrack to the intersection of the paths and follow the westward one, with the section of newer graves at the left. Follow it around the rightward curve and uphill, past the Meulbetch family plot at left. Look left for the apparently homemade Snidecor grave (22), a strange concatenation of cemented rocks. Opposite it is the Sullivan family marker (23), showing the name framed by a rectangle formed by logs.

Follow the path around its bend at the northwestern end of the cemetery, which yields a beautiful vista. Continue around the bend. At left is another homemade grave (24), that of one Parrish, with no dates.

Continue along this path until you pass a large concrete wall leaning into the path from the right. Immediately after passing this wall, note the little leaf-covered switchback path at right. Take this path around its curve to the trio of Scovill-Jarvis graves (25). They provide a good example of a trio of hand iconography. These include clasped hands, the up-pointing hand pointing towards heaven, and the down-pointing hand holding a broken chain, signifying the will of God in choosing the deceased, with the broken chain signifying a broken family link.

Backtrack from this path back to the gravel path. At the intersection, sight east between a large pine tree and a spreading evergreen. Look for a small grey stump, the grave of Lottie Reed (26), between them. An unknown artist made several such beautiful stump graves in cemeteries around Washtenaw County. The stump signifies a life cut down, or cut short.

Look east again for the large brown Ferrier obelisk at the center of this section and head there. On the way, you will pass the Worden graves (27), laying flat on the ground. These provide a feast of iconography in their four stones. Images include the hand with scroll and arrow, another scroll, and the handclasp. Try to find the stylized crown, signifying the glory of resurrection and life after death.

At the Ferrier obelisk (28), look east to St. John’s cemetery across River Street. Walk in that direction until reaching the path and follow it left and downhill. Here, on the right, is a collection of graves (29) lying flat on the ground that represents one of the art treasures of Highland. These many exquisite graves offer a concentrated wealth of the iconography to be found throughout the rest of the cemetery. See how many symbols you remember.

To exit the cemetery, backtrack along this path and follow it south between the older and new sections back to the house and outbuildings and the chapel.

Mystery artifact

This biweekly column features a Mystery Artifact contest. You are invited to take a look at the artifact and try to deduce its function.

Last week cmadler correctly guessed that one grave’s upward-pointing hand indicated ascension to heaven after death. This week’s Mystery Artifact, in keeping with the cemetery theme, presents a more challenging image. What might this combination of hand, scroll, and arrow mean? Take your best guess and good luck!

Laura Bien is the author of “Tales of the Ypsilanti Archives,” available in Ann Arbor at Nicola’s Books and in Ypsilanti at Cross Street Books, the Rocket, and Mix boutique. Bien will be giving a talk and signing at Nicola’s in Ann Arbor’s Westgate Shopping Center on April 20 at 7 p.m.; and at the Ypsilanti Archives, 220 N. Huron St., on April 24 from 1-3 p.m.

Arguably the most beautiful spot in Washtenaw County, Highland Cemetery offers an outstanding chance to examine 19th-century grave symbols. The following self-guided 1-hour tour, available in printable .pdf format with a map, highlights a range of the most interesting symbols in the southern half of the cemetery. Numbers in the text correspond to the map.

An unusual depiction of a ship on a grave marker, seen at the end of the tour.

Visitors can reach the cemetery by traveling down Washtenaw to its terminus on Huron. Turn left on Huron and right on Cross Street through Depot Town. At the remains of the Thompson Building at River, turn left. You will pass Forest Avenue and the ornate brick Swain home on the northeast corner of Forest and River. Continue down River; Highland Cemetery is a quarter mile down on the left.

Inside the main gates, open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. until April 30 and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. from May 1 to September 30, a small parking lot appears on the right. Park here and walk west to Starkweather Chapel at the end of the main driveway.

Circling counter-clockwise around the chapel, the Worden family monument (1) comes into view on the right. It is crowned by a draped urn. One of the most popular of Victorian-era grave symbols, the urn is a classical motif that refers to funerary urns used by the wealthier of ancient Greeks for cremated remains. The cloth is a “pall,” a cover of usually black, purple, or white velvet used to cover a coffin (for some soldiers’ coffins, a flag is used as a pall). The phrase “to cast a pall [on a party] refers to this cloth associated with death and mourning.

At the Worden monument, looking southward and to the left, a field of white stone obelisks presents itself. Proceeding towards them, a tall gray obelisk (2) appears, slightly to the right. This unusual metal obelisk shows three panels that display a sheaf of wheat, a wreath, and a maiden with an anchor.

The sheaf of wheat denotes God’s divine harvest of the deceased, and often signifies a long and full life. The wreath signifies a victory over death. The anchor sometimes signifies a member of the navy or a mariner, but Colonel George Lee, buried here, was an Army man. In later life he served as the “Indian agent” for the state of Michigan. In this case the anchor likely signifies steadfastness of Christian faith; Lee was a Methodist.

Backtracking to the path, continue circling the chapel counter-clockwise. Just before reaching the first path on the right, notice the graves of Helen and B. D. Kelly (3). Both display a lily, a symbol of innocence, purity or Christian resurrection.

The tree stump grave for "Laura" includes a small headless lamb (at lower left).

Turning onto the path, immediately on the right, lie two tree stump graves (4). Tree stumps denote a life cut short, or the brevity of life. On the stump furthest from the path, carved with the name “Wilson,” lies an ear of corn, said to be a symbol of resurrection.

On the stump closest to the path, for “Laura,” the wheat-sheaf-crowned stump includes two branches cut short, signifying lives cut short. Each branch has its own plaque with burial information. Though very hard to read, this is likely the grave of Laura and two of her children.

Note the small (headless) lamb on a ledge of Laura’s grave. Lambs are seen on the graves of children. There are, sadly, many small gravestones bearing lambs on their tops in Highland Cemetery.

Proceed down the path past the grave of the Thompson Building’s O. E. Thompson (5) on the right, towards the Civil War soldier’s monument in the distance. Look for John Reese’s white grave (6) on the left. It bears a down-pointing hand with chain. The hand is meant to be the hand of God selecting someone to bring to Heaven, and the broken chain symbolizes the death of a family member.

Just to the right of this grave is the James and Mary Court gravestone (7), bearing the compass and square that signifies that the deceased was a member of the Masonic fraternal group. The stone also shows the inverted star that symbolizes the Order of the Eastern Star, the onetime (now co-ed) women’s auxiliary to the Masons.

Walk to the Civil War soldier’s monument and follow the path’s rightward curve. Look for Allen P. Gale’s white grave (8) on the left. This is another, less legible, example of the down-pointing hand with chain. Just to the right of this grave, other Gale graves (9) lying flat on the earth show a crown topped by a cross. This represents the afterlife reward to believers in Jesus, who will be crowned with everlasting life. The graves also show parted drapery, likely signifying the parting of the veil of life to reveal the afterlife. Surmounting the crown is a banner, signifying victory or triumph.

Travel across the path to the large tree. Just to the right of the tree is a rare autographed stone. Visible at the bottom right corner of Jonathan Ellis’s stone (10) is the name of the Detroit stonecutter who carved it, W. E. Peters.

Now look to the left and behind Ellis’s stone. Eli Dickinson and Abigail Park’s tombstones (11) each show a hand pointing to a book. Books represent scholarship, knowledge, or memory, but usually, on non-Mormon Christian graves, the Bible. The hand likely serves to emphasize the importance of the book; “look to the Bible.” Just to the left of and behind these graves is one for H. K. Dickinson (12) showing a scroll held by a hand with ivy. The hand represents an angel’s hand recording the deeds of the deceased on the scroll of life. Ivy, due to its evergreen quality, represents immortality or lasting memory.

Further down the path, a white grave (13) on the left near the large Hay stone shows the common grave motif of a dove descending, symbolizing a descent from Heaven to guide the deceased upwards, or symbolizing the Holy Spirit.

Rounding the far corner and heading north, a pink Deubel family monument (14) soon comes into view. At its foot is a dog, likely just a representation of a beloved family pet. Sighting northwards from here reveals another dog, “Watch,” next to the Starkweather monument (15).

In front of and facing Watch, sight westwards behind the Starkweather monument. A white grave appears in the distance roughly thirty degrees to the right. En route to this grave is Catherine Crane’s grave (16), flat on the ground, showing a weeping willow tree, symbol of grief and mourning.

Also en route towards the white stone, notice the onetime wagon company shipping clerk Edwin Towler’s plaque (17), also flat against the ground. Its chain of three links is the symbol of membership in the Odd Fellows fraternal charity group.

Once at the white stone, examine the far side. Here on Tinnie Booth’s grave (18) is an exquisite depiction of the clasped hands motif. The sleeve on the left is a feminine one, and that on the right masculine; the symbol denotes unity in marriage.

Now turn around and walk to the obelisk at the top of the hill. On its right is a small white marble grave (19) near a marker labeled “84” (the graveyard section number). The ship depicted on the stone refers to Commodore James Patterson McKinstry’s naval career, which spanned the mid-1820s through the mid-1860s and included work in China.

Descending the hill and heading back towards the chapel leads to the exit.

Next week: a tour of the cemetery’s northern half.

Mystery artifact

This biweekly column features a Mystery Artifact contest. You are invited to take a look at the artifact and try to deduce its function.

Last week George Hammond correctly guessed that the mystery artifact was a frog gigger, or, frog spear. A couple of e-mailers also correctly guessed the item (but please do leave guesses in “comments” so that I can mention your name). This week in keeping with the Highland Cemetery theme, the Mystery Artifact is yet another “hand” symbol to be found elsewhere in Highland. What do you think it means? Take your best guess in “Comments” and good luck!

Laura Bien is the author of “Tales of the Ypsilanti Archives,” available in Ann Arbor at Nicola’s Books and in Ypsilanti at Cross Street Books, the Rocket, and Mix boutique. Bien will be giving a talk and signing at Nicola’s in Ann Arbor’s Westgate Shopping Center on April 20 at 7 p.m.; and at the Ypsilanti Archives, 220 N. Huron St., on April 24 from 1-3 p.m.