I’m posting the Sandy Grove AME Cemetery separate from the church and schoolhouse, due to the number of images. Like many rural cemeteries, it is kept up as best it can be. Small rural congregations of all races have dwindled greatly in the last generation, presenting a major challenge to the upkeep and survival of these landmarks. Cemeteries are avoided by many people. I consider them not only sacred spaces for obvious reasons, but works of art that invite quite contemplation.

The memorials in Sandy Grove represent a variety of styles, from vernacular to commercial. These are presented in no particular order.

It’s highly likely that Mr. Rogers was born into slavery. Simple memorials like his are the most vulnerable to the elements and should all be documented.

There are a number of commercial memorials in Sandy Grove, as well. This example notes when Mr. and Mrs. Brown passed, but I didn’t locate either of their birth dates.

Dawson and Fannie Rivers were both from mixed racial backgrounds and were prominent members of Sandy Grove. They had 14 children.

Memorials of this type are commonly found in rural cemeteries, and I enjoy documenting them. They add symbolic images to otherwise simple stenciled markers and are thus surrogates for the more costly commercial markers.

Sometimes, the names of those honored are their most fascinating legacy.

The lamb is often used on children’s gravestones.

I always document the work of Eldren Bailey when I find it. This and the next example were acquired through the Dawson Funeral Home.

Funeral homes acted as agents for Mr. Bailey’s work, I understand, and as a result various names appear on these iconic memorials.

The concrete markers with stenciled text are among the most commonly found types in many rural cemeteries. A sentiment is often added. On Mrs. Howard’s, it is: “Death is the Crown of Life”.

Mr. Howard’s epitaph is informative: “Servant of God 38 Years”.

Mrs. Rivers’s memorial is quite typical, in contrast to her husband’s (below).

Mr. Rivers’s headstone incorporates a triangle enclosing a mosaic of green and brown glass shards. Triangles can represent the Trinity in Christianity but also have Masonic connections. It’s impossible to discern from this photograph, but there is a small circle inside the triangle with rays radiating from its center. This may represent the Eye of God.