
The True Image
Gravestone Art and the Culture of Scotch Irish Settlers in the Pennsylvania and Carolina Backcountry
Daniel W. Patterson(Author)
The University of North Carolina Press
Will be published approx. on 30. October 2012
Book
Hardback
496 pages
978-0-8078-3567-8 (ISBN)
Description
A thousand unique gravestones cluster around old Presbyterian churches in the piedmont of the two Carolinas and in central Pennsylvania. Most are the vulnerable legacy of three generations of the Bigham family, Scotch Irish stonecutters whose workshop near Charlotte created the earliest surviving art of British settlers in the region. In The True Image, Daniel Patterson documents the craftsmanship of this group and the current appearance of the stones. In two hundred of his photographs, he records these stones for future generations and compares their iconography and inscriptions with those of other early monuments in the United States, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
Combining his reading of the stones with historical records, previous scholarship, and rich oral lore, Patterson throws new light on the complex culture and experience of the Scotch Irish in America. In so doing, he explores the bright and the dark sides of how they coped with challenges such as backwoods conditions, religious upheavals, war, political conflicts, slavery, and land speculation. He shows that headstones, resting quietly in old graveyards, can reveal fresh insights into the character and history of an influential immigrant group.
Combining his reading of the stones with historical records, previous scholarship, and rich oral lore, Patterson throws new light on the complex culture and experience of the Scotch Irish in America. In so doing, he explores the bright and the dark sides of how they coped with challenges such as backwoods conditions, religious upheavals, war, political conflicts, slavery, and land speculation. He shows that headstones, resting quietly in old graveyards, can reveal fresh insights into the character and history of an influential immigrant group.
Reviews / Votes
Describes with clarity a great tradition, sets it in historical context, and accomplishes an historical ethnography of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. Patterson has done a tremendous job in bringing this fascinating story and these important works of art to light.--Henry Glassie, Indiana University|""Seamlessly weaves together a catalog of the tombstones with a social history of their makers. . . . Illuminates the ways these immigrants and their descendants drew on their cultural heritage as they adapted to life on a dynamic frontier.""--Richard MacMaster, co-director of the Center for Scotch-Irish Studies, University of Florida
More details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Edition type
New edition
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 210 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
1614 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8078-3567-8 (9780807835678)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Daniel W. Patterson is Kenan Professor Emeritus of English and Folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is author or editor of nine books, including The Shaker Spiritual, Sounds of the South, and A Tree Accurst: Bobby McMillon and Stories of Frankie Silver.