Cloverville Cemetery Stone #32 John and Cynthia Bishop Dimensions: approx. 4’ high Carver: illegible, possible J.M Inscription: "IN LOVING / REMEMBRANCE / OF / JOHN BISHOP / DIED / JULY 5 1886 / AGED 66 YRS/" "CYNTHIA / HIS BELOVED WIFE / DIED / AUG. 1 1886 / AGED 46 YRS/" "BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN / HEART FOR THEY SHALL SEE / GOD. MATT. V5" . Condition:slightly tilted, lichen covered but sound This white marble gravemarker is a headstone with no base. White marble was extremely popular in Nova Scotia between 1845 and 1920. According to Deborah Trask, white stone appealed to people on several levels. She writes, "Marble may have been used because of its cost -- an external and lasting demonstration of the wealth of the deceased." She further notes, "The Biblical attribution of white stone to a pardon or reward, when applied to a white memorial, implies that the dead one is pardoned for his earthly sins and finds a reward in death--perhaps heavenly bliss." All the lettering and decorative detailing on this headstone are incised except for the hands. The two hands clasped in a handshake are in relief. This motif was a popular tombstone ornament in Maritime graveyards. According to Trask, it represents the last farewell on earth or even the hand of God reaching down to claim its own. Betty Willsher offers another explanation: "two hands clasped in a handshake, a nineteenth-century symbol, is a sign of farewell, or perhaps reunion." According to the 1871 census, John Bishop was a carriage-man or coachmaker. He lived at 16 Court Street. This property also served as his place of business, for it included his personal residence as well as a carriage shop and blacksmith shop. Cynthia Bishop, a native of Antigonish, was John's first wife. She died on 18 August 1866 of tuberculosis. It is interesting to note that although she predeceased her husband, her name was positioned below his on the tombstone. Irene Yorke. [ Back ]