Tolomato Cemetery

 Tolomato Cemetery

St. Augustine, Florida

February 24, 2022

The Tolomato Cemetery was in use up until 1884 and it consists of the three major time periods in St. Augustine. It was first the place of the Indian Mission in the First Spanish Period, then later it was a British Cemetery when the Minorcans had moved here during the British Period, and finally a Cathedral Cemetery during the Second Spanish Period. During the Early Statehood Period and after the Civil War, the cemetery was when there was a halt to people be buried here. This cemetery consists of 1000 people of different ethnic and national backgrounds in its tight enclosure of only 1 acre. The burials in the Tolomato Cemetery include those from Spain, Cuba, Ireland, Minorca, Italy, Greece, Africa, Haiti, France, and America. Currently the space is used for tours as well as research on the people buried here along with their genealogical history of their descendants.

http://www.tolomatocemetery.com

Exterior Picture 1

This is a photo from the front entrance of the Tolomato Cemetery on Cordova St.

Exterior Picture 2

The beautiful landscape of the Tolomato Cemetery as pictured.

Artifact Picture 1

This is the grave of 16 year old Elizabeth Forrester and it has the title of the oldest marked (named and dated) burial in the state of Florida in 1798. She was from Philadelphia and it is speculated, based on other discovered records, that she and her family had moved to St. Augustine from the outbreak of tuberculosis. Elizabeth's marker is one of one-hundred and five that lice in the Tolomato Cemetery.

The grave  tells us that her family was well off due to the stone itself. Because Florida has no natural stone, families would have to order marble form Charleston, Georgia, or New York. There was also an imported marble stone from Italy that the well-known family names would use to show their class in society. Although any marble stone showed upper class fortune, the difference between the Georgia marble and the Italian marble is that the Georgia marble weakens easily, develops layers, and is quite veiny. Meanwhile the Italian marble is durable and very long-lasting. Evidently in the picture, this seems to be a Georgia marble due to its flaking and veiny nature. 

Another observation that can be taken from this site is the above ground tomb. The above ground burial points to a Spanish background, as the Spanish preferred this type of burial. 

Artifact Picture 2

The row of stones captured in the photograph represent some of the Veterans of the Civil War. It was part of President Truman's and President Eisenhower's efforts to recognize these fighters with markers. If you look closely at the top of the grave you can see that there is a symbol that represents that of a Veteran. They also have CSA engraved on them which stands for Confederate States of America. In St. Augustine during the time of the Civil War, there were many differing opinions. Some residents liked the Confederacy, while other didn't. However, these men's lives were preserved through respecting that they fought in the war.

Image In Conversation 1

https://antiques.lovetoknow.com/Civil_War_Political_Cartoons

At a stop in the tour, the tour guide showed us the graves of the soldiers from the Civil War. All of their graves have the symbol of a veteran however they also have CSA printed on it. CSA or the Confederate States of America, reminded me of a political cartoon that my professor of United States History class showed us. This political cartoon shows the controversy, debate, and trouble that the country faced regarding the Civil War.

Image In Conversation 2

https://www.mykindofitaly.com/post/michelangelo-s-marble-mountains

This is the quarry where white marble is extracted in Carrara, Italy. This precious metamorphosed rock has to be drilled with a diamond bit in order to even pierce its hard surface. It is cut to separate the vertical planes that are visible in the picture. The marble stone from the grave sites, if the family was wealthy enough, would come from this quarry pictured. As discussed before, the Carrara Italian marble was the best stone you could have. Obtaining this beautiful rock would show the class of the family on the stone. This quarry can actually be toured either on a tour or by yourself.

Literature In Conversation

Excerpt from "Habitat Threshold" by Craig Santos Perez

"We do not know which to fear more, / the terror of change / or the terror of uncertainty,"

In this stanza from "Thirteen Ways Of Looking At A Glacier," the speaker is expanding on the human emotion fear. He elaborates that humans fear change as much as we fear the unknown. In this poem specifically, the speaker is expressing the change of the environment and how the lack of our efforts to preserve are changing Earth rapidly. However, the lack of preservation makes us scared of the outcome that is coming upon us. This fear of change being expressed in the poem by Perez is similar to how humans typically fear death. The inclusion of the third line of the stanza, "or the terror of uncertainty," is most closely related to our fear of death. One of the main reasons that we fear death is because of the uncertainty of afterlife as well as the uncertainty of how we pass. However, there is simply no way to get past this fear other than to accept that change is normal. Change is normal. Death is normal.

Creative Component