Daily AncestorHeart
A heart on a gravestone stands for love, the love of God, or the soul; two joined hearts usually mark a married couple.
Hearts appear on 18th century New England stones among the hopeful images that replaced skulls, read as love, the love of God, or the place where the soul lives. Pennsylvania German carvers used hearts for God's love of mankind.
On later stones a heart shows the love of the living for the dead, and two joined hearts mark a marriage. Some old carvings, such as upside-down hearts, have no agreed meaning, so do not press a single heart too hard.
As seen in a recordPennsylvania German churchyard, 1790 to 1880
Two joined hearts over a double stone: Jacob Schnable 1801 to 1863, his wife Barbara 1806 to 1870
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Heart." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/gravestone-symbols/heart. Last checked 2026-10-15.