Daily AncestorBroken chain
A broken chain or broken link on a gravestone stands for a death that broke the family circle, a life ended and a family parted.
A chain with one link snapped shows a family missing a member. Behind it is a medieval belief that the soul was tied to the body by a chain of gold, and that breaking it let the soul rise.
Do not confuse it with three joined links, which is the Odd Fellows emblem. When a hand holds or plucks the chain, the image adds God's part in the death; that version has its own entry.
As seen in a recordTown cemetery, 1850 to 1920
Chain with a broken link above the name: Our Father, Lemuel T. Gowdy, 1819 to 1888
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Broken chain." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/gravestone-symbols/broken-chain. Last checked 2026-10-15.