Why Victorian-era Southerners created seashell graves and where you can still see them

Why Victorian-era Southerners created seashell graves and where you can still see them

Kelly Kazek | kkazek@al.com By Kelly Kazek | kkazek@al.com  
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on August 12, 2015 at 1:55 PM, updated August 12, 2015 at 1:56 PM

Seashells, laid as one would lay shingles or a tile roof, would effectively protect the mound of earth from rain.

As many cemeteries as I've visited over the years, I never came across seashell grave covers until recently. I'm not talking about shells scattered on a grave, which I've heard is an old African custom. I mean mounds with seashells cemented on them to create protective grave covers. (See the accompanying photo gallery).

It turns out, the practice was quite common across the South in the Victorian era and not only in coastal areas. They seemed to be particularly plentiful in Texas, although there are quite a few across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida, most dated from the late 1800s to before 1910.

Also, the types of shells used for this construction are the type commonly referred to as "cockleshells," the shell of a salt-water bivalve such as a clam. So if not because the graves were close to the shore where shells were plentiful, why did people use seashells on graves?

There are several theories, including an interesting one about the economics of the time period.

The sea shall take them home.
According to "The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Volume 23, Folk Art" by Crown, Rivers and Wilson, seashells were a representation to slaves of returning to Africa: "They said the sea had brought them to their new country and the sea would return them to Africa when they died."

So whether the shells were scattered or cemented into place, "they are meant as a symbol that ensures a safe journey is made to that unknown shore where everlasting life is possible. Loose shells placed on a tombstone or dropped on the ground around it are also a visible reminder that the person buried below continues to be remembered and honored by those still living."

However, many of the seashell grave covers are found in cemeteries where only white settlers are buried. Some theorize white people took the tradition from slaves while others have other ideas on the origins of seashell graves.

Crossing over.
Experts at the Association for Gravestone Studies say seashells have to do with Christianity.

"Clam shells, scallop shells and other types of shells are a symbol of a person's Christian pilgrimage or journey through life and of baptism in the church. In the middle ages, Christians wore the scallop shell to indicate that they had made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Compostella in Spain," the association's website says. "Placing a shell on a gravestone when visiting the site is an ancient custom and may in fact have several different meanings depending on the cultural background of the people placing the shells. The idea of crossing over a body of water to the promised land or crossing the River of Styx to the afterlife, the final journey to the 'other side' is also part of the symbolism of the shell."

Protection for the dead.
William Flake "Sonny" Joiner, an Alabama genealogist, wrote that he believes the shells were used by poor Southerners as a means of protecting grave sites.

"The traditional method of marking a grave (for the less affluent) in South Alabama during the early years and especially during the Reconstruction era was to create an earth mound 12- to 18-inches wide and from 5- to 6-feet long," he wrote on the genealogy site rootsweb.ancestry.com. "Needless to say, the rains washed these mounds away quite easily ... it was found that seashells, laid as one would lay shingles or a tile roof, would effectively protect the mound of earth from the rain and yes, the seashells were also decorative. "

"Making do" with found materials.
The shells were not only effective and pretty, Joiner wrote, they were cheap and available.

"Salt, during the reconstruction era was scarce and very expensive. To overcome this, salt making crews were formed in many communities ... to make an annual trip to the coast, where they would boil down the seawater or water from salt ponds into salt crystals to take back to their families and communities. While at the coast they would also catch fish, clean them, butterfly filet them and pack them in salt to take back home. And a by-product of their time at the coast was the collection of seashells to take back for the graves in their cemeteries."

Stephanie Linecum wrote on the blog SouthernGraves.net that Southerners often had to "make do" with materials at hand.

"If a grave marker is found in a pioneer model, southern-folk cemetery, this is where the art of 'making do' is seen," Linecum writes. "What is missing most often from a pioneer southern folk cemetery is commercially produced gravestones or granite or marble...A common decorating practice in southern folk cemeteries still seen today is the use of shells. Conch shells, among others, are frequently seen. The shells are used to varying degrees, from a single one at the head of the grave to a line of them down the center of the grave or as a border. Sometimes the entire grave will be covered with shells."

Join al.com reporter Kelly Kazek on her weekly journey through Alabama to record the region's quirky history, strange roadside attractions and tales of colorful characters. Find her on Facebook or follow her Odd Travels and Real Alabama boards on Pinterest.

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