FOLK GRAVE MARKER SURVEY: Modern Things to Come!

Whenever Stephanie and I go anywhere in NJ, if we have a chance, we stop off at any cemeteries along the way. We're looking to see which ones have folk grave markers, so we'll know which ones to return to later when we're ready to survey in that area.

Last weekend, we were in the Oranges and stopped by St. John's. As expected from a Catholic cemetery, we found several interesting markers. The main difference between those at St. John and those we've surveyed at St. James in Woodbridge has been the lack of Hungarian graves in the former. There were more Irish at St. John's. While the folk marker tradition seems to have been strong among the Hungarian community, that we still find them in a cemetery where they are less represented proves that the tradition is part of the overall Catholic burials.

What was particularly neat was that we found at least two very modern, 21st century examples! These were fine markers incorporating concrete and tile. One would appear to have been Hispanic. While we've seen some later 20th century examples, these are the most recent and show that to some degree anyway, the tradition is still alive today! It will be interesting when we start working in that part of the state!

Gordon