Zenith Graver - Cemetery Photography and Blog by Hayley Lindbeck

09/04/2024

Yesterday I finally got the opportunity to visit the graves of Alexander and Eliza (Schuyler) Hamilton, at Trinity Church in New York City.

08/27/2024

Since Scandia Cemetery is in the news for concerns over erosion along the lakeshore exposing human remains, I thought I would re-share my blog post from two years ago so curious minds could read a little more about it.

I visited Scandia Cemetery back in July, on the same day I had visited Forest Hill. It was Sunday, in the middle of a gorgeous three-day weekend, and I had the whole day available, since my family …

05/05/2024

In concert with my latest blog post, here are some more pictures from Walnut Hill Cemetery in Baraboo, Wisconsin. You really couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day, although I may need to invest in a lens hood to cut down on all the Michael Bay lens flare in the future.

05/03/2024

A brand new blog entry about the Ringling family of Baraboo Wisconsin, founders of the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, the Ringling Brothers Circus.

In the same spreadsheet where I keep my cemetery notes (Title: ‘Cemeteries to Visit Before I End Up In One’), there’s another page titled ‘Other Bizarre Locations’. This is where I keep track of th…

10/25/2023

With many unanswered questions, I decided to return to Forest Hill Cemetery to take some more photos of the Mary Janes. My working theory at the moment is that after the first Mary Jane died, her parents named their next child in her honor, and unfortunately that Mary Jane passed as well. The cemetery, unfortunately, has no records for these stones, and there are no dates or family names carved on them to lend a clue to their identity. There also are not any other stones nearby that could be family members. The Mary Janes appear to only have each other for company.

I suspect these carvings may have been done either from a death mask or from postmortem photographs of both children, which was a common practice in the Victorian era, when Forest Hill was established. The broken rose, also featured on both graves, symbolizes a life cut short before it could flourish, and is also a feature of Victorian-era headstones.

10/19/2023

I encountered a bit of a mystery in Forest Hill Cemetery this weekend. Two headstones, side-by-side, both with the name Mary Jane. At first glance they appear identical, but on further inspection, I think the faces are slightly different. Possibly post-mortem sculpture? Unfortunately I couldn’t find any additional information online. I will have to return to photograph both stones individually, in more detail.

10/16/2023

I made a special trip into Forest Hill Cemetery over the weekend to capture the fall colors, and I was not disappointed. 🥰🍂

10/02/2023

My first successful grave rubbing!

While I am aware that the practice of grave rubbing is frowned upon, as it can degrade the stone over time, I decided to make an exception in this case. Anna Lovisa Johnson is a great-great aunt of mine, and I have been trying unsuccessfully for some time to translate the Swedish epitaph on her headstone. I decided a rubbing would be appropriate in order to hopefully get a clearer impression of the lettering, so I can preserve an accurate translation .

Materials used: Tracing paper, painters tape, and jumbo crayola crayons.

09/10/2023

In concert with my latest blog post, here are some more photos from my exploration of the Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

09/08/2023

A new blog entry, where a quiet old cemetery in Minneapolis leads me down a true crime rabbit hole full of murder-for-hire, forensic pseudoscience, and famous last words.

On the morning of December 3rd, 1894, the body of dressmaker Katherine ‘Kitty’ Ging was discovered on a road near Lake Bde Maka Ska (known at the time as Lake Calhoun), with a bullet wound behind h…

09/02/2023

A beautiful little family. 🥰 Mom, dad, and three little babies enjoying the quiet of the cemetery.