From the desk of Mary Paynton Schaff

Did you ever wonder what that symbol on great granddad’s tombstone meant? Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography is just what you need.

This is an outstanding resource for deciphering cemetery symbolism. It includes hundreds of beautiful color photographs from cemeteries around the world.

The chapter on fraternal organizations and secret societies is especially fascinating.  If you can identify one of these symbols on an ancestor’s grave, it may lead you down a new path of research!