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Historic Cemetery Symbol of the Week: the DAR emblem
This week’s Historic Cemetery Symbol of the week is the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) emblem:
Daughters of the American Revolution symbology:
When you see a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) emblem on a grave, it means that the woman buried there was a member of this service organization. The only way to be accepted as a member of DAR is to have direct lineage to to an ancestor who sided with the colonies to achieve independence from Britain during the American Revolution. As you can imagine, DAR is a deeply patriotic club.
In addition to proving your genetic ‘pedigree’ to become a member of DAR, a woman must also prove herself to be “personally acceptable” to the group. Membership today numbers somewhere around 180,000, with chapters all over the world.
If, like me, you’re a fan of the “Gilmore Girls” TV show, you probably remember that Emily Gilmore was a proud member of DAR, and often hosted formal teas and other events for the organization!
OK, so what does that DAR emblem symbolize? According to the Daughters of the American Revolution Handbook, the golden wheel is a spinning wheel, the stars surrounding it represent the original 13 American colonies, and the plant poking out at the top and bottom is flax.
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Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism:
I am currently writing a field guide to historic cemetery symbolism. Each Tuesday, I share a small snippet from my upcoming book. It’s my goal to create a handy-dandy pocket guide for taphophiles, genealogists, ghost hunters, and anyone else interested in the historic graveyard symbols that have become forgotten over the years.
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Tui Snider is an author, speaker, and photographer who specializes in North Texas travel, cemetery symbols, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction – but then, I moved to Texas!”
Snider’s best-selling books include Paranormal Texas , Understanding Cemetery Symbols, and 100 Things to Do in Dallas - Fort Worth Before You Die.
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Here in Texas you’ll also see “Citizen of the Republic of Texas” markers.
They’re fairly rare, but there’s usually one or more in the cemeteries recognized as historic.
Here’s a link to a photo of one: https://flic.kr/p/jBvqcv
Thanks, Mark! I’ll have to write a post about those markers here, as well. I know I’ve seen them, but digging through all my photos can take a while. Thanks for the link to the photo, too. If I can’t find a decent photo in my files, I can always pop over to Weatherford and snap another!