The symbols on grave markers were used to permanently declare a person's beliefs and opinions. This presentation explores how 19th century Czechs in Chicago used symbols to declare their beliefs in freethought or religion. This slide is the abridged version of a poster presented at the Organization of American Historians 2012 meeting.

1. ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & FURTHER INFORMATION
Grave Markers as Protest Symbols: Using Cemeteries to Interpret the
Intra-Ethnic Conflicts among Chicago’s Bohemian Immigrants
Samantha Chmelik
Loyola University Chicago
Limestone tree grave makers allowed people to
memorialize their ideals and philosophies on
their graves. These grave markers also
preserve the intra-ethnic conflict between
Catholic and Freethinker Bohemians.
Limestone tree grave makers allowed people to
memorialize their ideals and philosophies on
their graves. These grave markers also
preserve the intra-ethnic conflict between
Catholic and Freethinker Bohemians.
Analyzing representative trees from each
cemetery shows how the individuals carved
symbols into their sacred spaces – eternally
memorializing their ideals and philosophies.
The trees shared some symbols; the meaning of
the symbol changed depending on the person’s
religious affiliation. Other symbols were either
solely religious or solely secular.
METHODS
ANALYSIS
The author would like to thank Dr. Harold Platt
and the CSAGSI Paul M. Nemecek Research
Library.
To receive a copy of the entire paper, please email
schmelik@luc.edu.
•Archdiocese of Chicago. “Whose Lot Is It?” edited
by Catholic Cemeteries. Chicago: Archdiocese of
Chicago, 2008.
•Bohemian National Cemetery Association. The
Centennial of the Bohemian National Cemetery
Association of Chicago, Illinois. Cicero: Cicero-
Berwyn Press, Incl. 1977.
•Keister, Douglas. Stories in Stone. Salt Lake City:
Gibbs Smith, 2004.
•Nelson, Bruce C. Beyond the Martyrs: A Social
History of Chicago’s Anarchists, 1870-1900. New
Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1988.
DISCUSSION
The combination of religious and secular
symbols on the Pretl tree shows that the family
believed that their life was not solely defined by
religion. The prominence and the focus on the
cross at the top of the Kurr tree underscores
the family’s Catholic faith. The use of the
Crucifix Cross on the Kurr tree with the IHS
ribbon emphasizes the family’s devotion to the
Church and Jesus.
Pretl Family Kurr Family
Common
Symbols
Symbol
Meaning –
Religious
Symbol
Meaning -
Secular
Acorns Spiritual
Growth from
Truth
Prosperity or
Fruitfulness
Clasped
Hands
Heavenly
Welcome if
Both Sleeves
are
Masculine
Matrimony if
Sleeves are
Feminine and
Masculine
Fern Humility Frankness or
Sincerity