by Jim Griffith
This is the third in a series of short photo essays on occupation and ethnicity as they are revealed in Arizona grave markers. This time, let’s shift to a specific occupation — the cattle industry. Some of the statements are explicit, and others symbolic, but all attest to the importance of being identified with an important traditional Arizona activity — cattle raising.
All photos by Jim Griffith.
Commercially-made marker in Black Oak Cemetery at Canelo in Cochise County. The phrase “Rancher and stockman” implies that Mr. Pyeat was a ranch owner — a different status from that of “cowboy,” a man who works with cattle.
Commercially-made marker in Black Oak Cemetery. A strong statement of occupational identity.
Commercially-made marker in Skull Valley Cemetery, near Prescott in Yavapai County. The border of the stone is filled with cattle brands — the traditional heraldry of the cattle business. Without knowing more about Mr. Boaz, it would be impossible to say whether these were the insignia of outfits he owned, or outfits he worked for. I suspect the latter, just from the number of brands present.
Home-made grave decorations in the St. Johns Community cemetery, in Apache County. The design here is most likely the Rushing Family’s brand.
Graves with horse shoes in the Leon Ranch Cemetery in Pima County. If you have horses, you are likely to also have a lot of old horse shoes. This is one thing you can do with them. In the case of these two graves, not only are the crosses assembled of horse shoes, but the openings in the surrounding fences are filled with floral horse shoe designs. Furthermore, brands are scratched into the metal fence sides.
A complex horse-shoe cross in the Leon Ranch Cemetery.
This bronze saddle in Skull Valley marks the final resting place of George Phippen, a well–known northern-Arizona cowboy artist.
This marker in the St. Johns community cemetery gives us the last verse of a well-known cowboy poem. It was first printed in 1910, in Leslie’s Weekly , and is itself a parody of the well-known 1859 sentimental poem “Rock Me To Sleep Again, Mother”, by Elizabeth Akers Allen. I am indebted for this information to my colleagues Margo Metegrono and David Stanley
There is another cemetery in St. Johns — the St. Johns Catholic Cemetery, which will eventually have a photo essay to itself.
Suggested Reading
There is a short discussion of cattle brands on pages 136-139 of Griffith, James S., Southern Arizona Folk Arts (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1988.