Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: Stumps

  • Gilmore-Donaldson Stump, Melrose Cemetery

    A typical rustic stump, and not the most artistic one Father Pitt has seen. The “Gilmore” inscription appears to be the original one, with “Donaldson” added later. The idea of bark peeled away to reveal the family name is clever, but some effort should have been put into making the peeled-away bark match the shape of the section from which it is supposed to have been peeled away.

    This stump stands in the middle of the Donaldson family plot, which is marked by four small rustic stumps at the corners—something old Pa Pitt has never seen before.

  • Wilkins Stump, Allegheny Cemetery

    A huge rustic stump, probably the second-largest in Pittsburgh (without measuring, Father Pitt would say the Gilchrist stump in the Homewood Cemetery is probably taller). It is surrounded by graves of the Wilkins family, and each sawed-off branch is made to represent one dead Wilkins—a metaphor that old Pa Pitt thinks at least verges on tasteless, if it does not merrily dance on the grave of taste.

    Whatever we think of its artistic merit, it does at least imitate the natural form of a stump with some success, and it is one of the few monuments in the cemetery that actually bear the name of the creator: W. C. Brown, signed in small plain letters on one of the roots.

  • Gilchrist Stump, Homewood Cemetery

    This may be the biggest rustic stump in Pittsburgh. It has the naturalistic shape and details usual in these monuments, with the addition of a fancy monogram for each dead Gilchrist on the stump of each sawed-off branch.

  • Rev. Frank Ferenck Stump, Homewood Cemetery

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    Another variation on the popular rustic stump, this one with an open book hanging from a rope for the inscription. The monument tells us that the Rev. Frank Ferenck was a Hungarian Reformed minister; and there is an epitaph in Hungarian, which is a language of which Father Pitt is almost entirely ignorant. Google Translate thinks it means “the beloved Pastor fish temples.” 

  • Clark Stump, Union Dale Cemetery

    “Rustic” tree stumps in stone are a surprisingly popular form of monument. Sometimes they carry the name of a deceased family member on the stump of each sawed-off branch, an obvious symbolism that old Pa Pit thinks verges on the tasteless. The Clark monument is an interesting variation on the idea, with its ivy vine and owl adding to the romantic country atmosphere.