Tag: Kirner (Georg)

  • Georg Kirner Monument, Minersville Cemetery

    In  spite of the damaged statue, this is an unusually beautiful monument, and the inscriptions are very good examples of German stonecutting in Pittsburgh.

    Georg Kirner
    Born Hoeffingen, Baden,
    April 17, 1831.
    Died in Pittsburg
    May 12, 1872.

    The language does not seem to be standard German (note, for example, the spelling “Maÿ” rather than “Mai”). Is it some Alemannic dialect? Perhaps someone more familiar with German can help old Pa Pitt by identifying the dialect and translating the other inscriptions:

    So leb denn wohl so zieh dahin
    Die Erde wartet dein
    Geh in des Todes stille Ruhe-Kammerein
    Shlaf eine sanfte süse Ruh’
    Die Hand der Liebe deckt dich zu,

    In his transcription, Father Pitt has made the assumption that a horizontal line over an N or M doubles the letter.

    Jeh empfand an deiner Seite
    Lebensfroh der Erde Glück
    Jinner geh mir dein Geleite
    Einen frohen augenblick.

    The base of the statue is marked “Mein Gatte” (“My  Husband).” The statue is probably ordered from a monument-dealer’s catalogue, with the simple Gothic letters already on the base. They are not nearly as elegant as the beautiful lettering by the local stonecutter.