“Comprehensive in scope and fascinating in detail, this volume will stand as a model of scholarship and will be a treasured reference.”—R. Alan Mounier, author of Looking Beneath the Surface: The Story of Archaeology in New Jersey

In this sweeping tour of New Jersey’s burial sites from the seventeenth century through the dawn of the twenty-first, readers will discover how headstones are much more than place markers for the deceased. From the earliest memorials that were once used by Native Americans, to some of the elaborate structures of the present day, historians Richard Veit and Mark Nonestied use grave markers to tell an off-beat account of New Jersey’s history that is both fascinating and unique.

In detailed descriptions, the authors explain what cemeteries and their gravemarkers say about different individuals and the communities in which they lived. Images that decorate seventeenth-century headstones, such as skulls, hourglasses, and crossed bones, speak to the brevity of life in the colonial world. Eighteenth-century cemeteries reflect the distinctive cultures that sprang up in the state at that time, ranging from the unadorned marble markers used by Quakers, to rich brown sandstone used by settlers in the central and northern regions of New Jersey.  By the Victorian era, markers were transformed into elaborate monuments and mausoleums as New Jerseyans honored their dead relatives with a cavalcade of obelisks, pillars, ornate statuary, and sculpture. Today’s tombstones continue to mirror New Jersey society.  A life-sized Mercedes Benz headstone in a Linden cemetery, for example, reflects the materialism of the new millennium. Also considered are modern-day novelties such as pet cemeteries and what they mean for modern culture.

Having visited more than 900 state burial grounds, and interviewed dozens of owners of monument companies, this richly illustrated book is essential reading for history buffs and indeed anyone who has ever wandered inquisitively through their local cemeteries.

Richard Veit is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University. He is the author of Digging New Jersey’s Past: Historical Archaeology in the Garden State, winner of the 2003 New Jersey Historic Preservation Award. 

Mark Nonestied has been a staff member of the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission since 1991. He currently serves as the Director of Exhibits and Programs at a historic site in Piscataway.