Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: German Language

  • Maria Boertzler Monument, First Congregational Church of Etna Cemetery

    Maria Boertzler monument

    A beautiful work by a German craftsman. Father Pitt is not an expert in German, but the inscription seems to be in Franconian:

    Hier ruht
    die Gattin von
    JOH. H. BOERTZLER
    gb. Maria Wunderlin
    Gebor. 1 Marz 1829
    Gest. 28 August 1875

    Ein freues Weib und
    eine wahre Mutter
    warst Du und das sagt
    Alles! Alles!

    Anyone with a better knowledge of German dialects is invited to submit a better translation, but here is old Pa Pitt’s attempt:

    Here lies
    the wife of
    Johann H. Boertzler
    Born March 1, 1829
    Died August 28, 1875

    A joyful wife and
    a true mother
    were you, and so says
    everybody! Everybody!

    See the transcribed inscription above

  • Friederike Hannach Monument, Tree of Life Cemetery

    Burials in the Tree of Life Cemetery go back into the middle 1800s. Here is one from 1871 that uses a stock-model monument with inscriptions in German, most of which have eroded to the point that old Pa Pitt was not able to read them. The name and date (in English), however, are still legible: Friederike Hannach, July 12, 1871.

  • John and Elisabeth Seiferth Monument, St. Paul’s Cemetery, Mount Oliver

    Seiferth monument

    A prominent granite monument in this German Lutheran cemetery. John and Elizabeth are identified as “Uncle” and “Aunt,” suggesting that they had no children of their own.

    Inscription

  • Statue of Christ in St. Michael’s Cemetery

    Statue of Christ

    St. Michael’s was a German parish, but it must have had a small Hungarian contingent as well, or it shared its cemetery with a Hungarian parish. This statue of Christ blessing visitors as they enter the cemetery (it is placed in the middle of a circle at the entrance) stands on a base with the inscription EGO SUM RESURRECTIO ET VITA in Latin and three other languages: German, English, and Hungarian.

    Statue in circle
    I am the resurrection and the life
    Ego sum resurrectio et vita
    Hungarian and German
    Rear of the statue
    Full length

  • William H. Krauth Monument, Prospect Cemetery

    A splendid bilingual zinc monument—German on one side, English on the other. As usual with zinc monuments, it is as legible now as it was when it was put up. This is style no. 156 from the Monumental Bronze Company, with an interesting choice of panel inserts.

    Father Pitt was not able to find this poem anywhere on line. His attempt at a translation follows the transcription, but anyone who knows German better is invited to correct it:

    Liebe Eltern ich muss scheiden,
    Denn mein Jesus ruft mir zu;
    Nun erlost von allem Leiden,
    Gönnet mir die susse Ruh.

    Tröstet euch, wir seh’n uns wieder,
    Dort in jener Herrlichkeit,
    Singet ihm die frohen Lieder,
    Bleibet doch mit Gott vereint.

    Dear parents, I must depart,
    For my Jesus calls to me;
    Spared by good fortune from all suffering,
    He allows me sweet repose.

    Be comforted; we shall meet again,
    There in that glory,
    Sing joyful songs to him,
    Linger still united with God.