Daily AncestorSkeleton
A skeleton on a colonial gravestone is death personified, often holding a scythe, dart or hourglass to show that death comes for everyone.
Full skeletons appear on some early New England stones as Death himself in bodily form. Before the Victorian era the scythe was commonly shown in a skeleton's hands.
Like the death's head, the skeleton belongs to the stern Puritan view of death as an ever-present threat: life is short and the reaper will come. Victorian carvers softened these images, and when the scythe returns later it usually appears without the bones.
As seen in a recordBoston area burying ground, 1680 to 1750
Skeleton holding a scythe across the arch: Here lyes interr'd ye Body of Mr. Habakkuk Oakum, who Departed this Life Decr 21 1723
Sources
- Gravestones of New England (Westport Library resource guide)
- Early American Gravestones: Introduction to the Farber Gravestone Collection, by Jessie Lie Farber (American Antiquarian Society)
- Messages in Stone: Symbolism on Victorian Grave Markers, by Loren N. Horton (The Palimpsest, State Historical Society of Iowa, 1989)
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Skeleton." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/gravestone-symbols/skeleton. Last checked 2026-10-15.