A Soldier's Gravestone

 

I spent at least part of Memorial Day weekend in one of my favorite places, the Albany Rural Cemetery.  It was a rewarding walk (despite ending up with my foot ankle-deep in the rotted stump of a tree).  Among the headstones found on this outing, a fallen Civil War soldier's marker high on the old North Ridge.  Though the name and dates are difficult to read, it is easy to recognize it as a Civil War soldier's resting place; the design includes a soldier's kepi-style cap and a shield overlapping a crossed sword and scabbard.

A Spooky Gravestone For Halloween

 

I've featured this gravestone before on my Church Grounds blog, but it's so delightfully macabre that I had to use it for Halloween as well.  

It's one of the oldest stones I've encountered at the Albany Rural Cemetery and one of the distinctive.  It features a winged skull - a popular image of mortality in old New England and some downstate burial grounds, but not so common here in the Albany area.  The center tablet is framed with a wonderful carved border of vines and flowers. 

It's also one of a few stones featuring a Dutch inscription and marked the grave of Elsie Gansevoort Winne, wife of Frans Winne.  The grave was originally located in the churchyard of the Reformed Dutch Church at the intersection of State Street and Broadway, but was moved several times over the years (including to the Washington Park) before ultimately being laid in the Church Grounds lot at the Rural Cemetery.

Happy Halloween

A spooky gravestone in the Albany Rural Cemetery. 

Stones like this - with winged skulls or soul effigies -aren't found in great number around here (they're much more common in New England), there are a few interesting examples.  This striking stone is one of the oldest in the Church Grounds section.

Happy Halloween

An old headstone in the Albany Rural Cemetery, one of my favorite "haunts."