CHARLESTON | Everyone wants to leave their mark on the world, and "one way to show that we've been here is by what's put on our tombstone," said local historian Nancy Easter-Shick of Charleston.
"We all want to be remembered. Unfortunately, most people don't have anything to say about their epitaph," she said.
Easter-Shick finds researching the elaborately carved old stones and epitaphs in area cemeteries a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
Most of the older local monuments are inscribed with Bible verses or bits of poetry. A few, like that of Livingston C. Lord (1851-1933), the first president of what is now Eastern Illinois University, are simple and to the point: "He was a teacher."
A large, uncut rock at Mound Cemetery on Ill. 316 in Charleston marks the burial place for well-known local artist Paul Turner Sargent. It is simply inscribed with his name, the dates July 23, 1880 -- Feb. 7, 1946, and the word "Artist."
"Even up at Greasy Point/Union Cemetery, a small cemetery in the middle of farmland north of Rardin, you find the most beautiful tombstones," Easter-Shick said.
Two of Easter-Shicks favorite tombstones stand at the top of the hill in Mound Cemetery.
The stones are thought to mark the graves of a couple and their married daughter. The larger of the two is carved like a tree trunk with its branches cut off and a vine growing around it. Among details carved into the stone are a squirrel, a lily, and carved mushrooms at the base.
According to librarian Barbara Krehbiel, who is in charge of genealogy at the Charleston Public Library, there are 108 cemeteries recorded in Coles County; however, there are undoubtedly more small burial sites, she said.
These days, the trend is toward more detail on one's gravestone.
"We're getting back to the more ornate stones," Easter-Shick said, "and they're becoming more personal, showing more what the person was like."
Carol Adams, co-owner, with her husband Wendell, of Adams Memorials in Charleston, said today's stones are becoming more indicative of the person's personality.
"We've always done monuments that reflect the person, but we're doing even more now," she said.
Adams said farm scenes are becoming more common. She also mentioned mountain scenes, sports equipment, playing cards, and Bingo cards. Personalizing the tombstones is done by either sandblasting or laser etching.
"When we first started in 1975, the black granite was just getting here," Adams said. "We don't have any pure black in the United States and it was being imported first from Africa, then India, and now China. It's really the only granite that shows all the laser detail."
