Genealogy Club Presentation: “Sacred to the Memory” – The Ephemera of Death and Mourning

Join us on Zoom June 10th at 7pm, as we welcome Laura Suchan, a historian and genealogist, presenting “Sacred to the Memory” – The Ephemera of Death and Mourning.

Much like gravestones, the ephemera (lasting a short time) associated with death and mourning is indicative of societal values. Memorial cards, obituaries, death notices, expressions of sympathy (cards) and other death ephemera exhibit the same language and motifs as seen on gravestones. In this presentation participants will gain a historical perspective of the methods and imagery associated with communicating the news of death and how these changed in response to changing societal norms. Death and mourning ephemera was sometimes stark and plainly adorned with black borders but could also feature elaborate poems, sentiments, images and drawings. Today death ephemera has become electronic with online spaces for remembrance and expressions of sympathy and the use of “living” tombstones.

Presenter Bio:

For over…