Epitaph:

Strictly, an inscription on a tomb; by extension, a statement, usually in verse, commemorating the dead. The earliest such inscriptions are those found on Egyptian sarcophagi.

In England epitaphs did not begin to assume a literary character until the time of Elizabeth I. Ben Jonson, John Milton, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson were considered masters of the art.

The epitaph on Ben Jonson's own tomb in Westminster Abbey was splendidly brief: "O rare Ben Jonson!" Epitaphs are often humorous.
*******************************
Friends and Family
A contented man:
Here I lie snug as a bug in a rug.

The contented man's relative in a nearby grave:
Here I lie snugger than that other bugger.

From La Pointe, Wisconsin:
To the Memory of Abraham Beaulieu
Born 15 September 1822
Accidentally shot 4th April 1844
As a mark of affection from his brother.

In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace
The children of Israel wanted bread
And the Lord sent them manna,
Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.

On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
Here lies
Ezekial Aikle
Age 102
The Good
Die Young.

Written by a Vermont widow:
Sacred to the memory of
Jared Bates
who died August the 6th, 1800:
His widow, aged 24, lives at 7 Elm Street,
has many qualifications of a good wife,
and yearns to be comforted.

From Essex, England:
Here lies the man Richard,
And Mary his wife,
Whose surname was Prichard;
They lived without strife;
And the reason was plain,
They abounded in riches,
They had no care nor pain
And his wife wore the britches.

John Dryden's epitaph for his wife:
Here lies my wife:
Here let her lie!
Now she's at rest
And so am I.

From Burlington Vermont:
She lived with her husband fifty years
And died in the confident hope of a better life.

Written by a disgruntled son in Maryland:
My father and mother were both insane
I inherited the terrible stain.
My grandfather, grandmother, aunts and uncles
Were lunatics all, and yet died of carbuncles.

An unusual epitaph of a 5 year old in West Woods Cemetary, near Hameden,Connecticut:
Soon ripe
Soon rotten
Soon gone
But not forgotten.

Montrose, South Dakota:
To he who passes by, as you are, so once was I;
As I am now, thou soon shalt be,
So prepare thyself to follow me.

This message is often found next to the epitaph on the left:
To follow thee is not my intent,
unless I know which way thou went.
A widower placed these two message over his wife's tomb:
1890. The light of my Life has gone out.
1891. I have struck another match.

Poor Ned:
Here lies Ned
There is nothing more to be said--
Because we like to speak well of the dead.

From Marlborough, New Hampshire:
The land I cleared is now my grave.
Think well, my friends, how you behave.

1829From Hartford, Connecticut:
Those who cared for him while living will know whose body is buried here.
To others it does not matter.

A Grave in Schoolcraft Michigan:
2-3-99
Born of woman
Killed by lead
I most likely had your wife in bed."

From the Eufaula Historical Cemetery:
36-33-01-24-17
Honey you dont know what you did for me,
always playing the lottery.
The numbers you picked came in to play,
two days after you passed away.
For this, a huge monument I do erect,
for now I get a yearly check.
How I wish you were alive,
for now we are worth 8.5

A tired wife and mother in Pembroke,
Massachusetts:
Here lies a poor woman who always was tired
For she lived in a house where help wasn't hired
Her last words she said were, Dear friends I am going
Where washing ain't wanted, nor mending, nor sewing
There all things is done exact to my wishes
For where folks don't eat there's no washing of dishes
In heaven loud anthems forever are ringing,
But having no voice I'll keep clear of singing.
Don't mourn for me now, don't mourn for me never
For I'm going to do nothing forever and ever.

------------------
Pinhead,Pindead,PinM&M, PinMoney, Pinocchio Pincushion, Pinwheel, Pinochle

[This message has been edited by Pinhead (edited 04-29-2000).]

Great, Pin-Up!

There's more interesting epitaphs in the Tavern ....

Don't want this written on my tombstone but when I go I hope people will be able to say about me.............

"That guy sure owed me a lot of money"

The 2 best-known epitaphs are probably by Stevenson and Yeats: Stevenson, who wrote it for himself: Under the wide and starry sky dig the grave and let me lie glad did I live and gladly die and I laid me down with a will This be the verse you grave for me here he is where he longed to be home is the sailor home from sea and the hunter home from the hill. And Yeats' from his "Under Ben Bulben": Cast a cold eye on life on death Horseman, pass by! tjoeb};>

"Here lies Les Moore;
Four shots from a .44;
No Les, no more."

------------------
Gunslinger
'Slipping the surly bonds of earth, to dance the skies on laughter-silvered wings'

Here lies the body of Colonel Corselis
The rest of the fellow I figure in hell is.

Written by Sir Richard Francis Burton for his commander.