Morris was born 1857 in Oregon Territory.
On his stone is written, "Here Rests a Woodman of the World", and above, a symbol with the inscription, “Dum Tacet Clamet” (“Though Silent, He Speaks”). Woodmen of the World was a secret fraternal benefit society started in 1890 by Joseph Cullen Root. Members were connected by their membership and also their desire to better their lives, their families' lives and their communities. For a premium of $100 the organization would provide a headstone for the beneficiary on their death.
The earliest headstones are tree stumps that vary in design based on the local stonemason. Why secret? Well, at that time, money could not be set aside for a grave marker with the assurance that it wouldn't go to creditors.
The symbol on Morris’ headstone is worn, but has leaves on the perimeter and I'm sure the center shows a tree stump probably with an axe. The base of the early tree stump headstones included a sawed-off branch commemorating each child. Is Emil’s cylindrical headstone meant to symbolize a branch? A Woodman policy can still be purchased from Woodmen of the World Insurance.
Why Woodmen? Root’s thought was that “a cleared conscience and a cleared forest were synonymous,” says Bruce Lee Webb, who co-authored the 2015 book, As Above, So Below: Art of the American Fraternal Society with Lynne Adele. “The axe, also used in their symbolism, is an instrument that clears the forest but is also useful for constructing buildings and making progress.”
On his stone is written, "Here Rests a Woodman of the World", and above, a symbol with the inscription, “Dum Tacet Clamet” (“Though Silent, He Speaks”). Woodmen of the World was a secret fraternal benefit society started in 1890 by Joseph Cullen Root. Members were connected by their membership and also their desire to better their lives, their families' lives and their communities. For a premium of $100 the organization would provide a headstone for the beneficiary on their death.
The earliest headstones are tree stumps that vary in design based on the local stonemason. Why secret? Well, at that time, money could not be set aside for a grave marker with the assurance that it wouldn't go to creditors.
The symbol on Morris’ headstone is worn, but has leaves on the perimeter and I'm sure the center shows a tree stump probably with an axe. The base of the early tree stump headstones included a sawed-off branch commemorating each child. Is Emil’s cylindrical headstone meant to symbolize a branch? A Woodman policy can still be purchased from Woodmen of the World Insurance.
Why Woodmen? Root’s thought was that “a cleared conscience and a cleared forest were synonymous,” says Bruce Lee Webb, who co-authored the 2015 book, As Above, So Below: Art of the American Fraternal Society with Lynne Adele. “The axe, also used in their symbolism, is an instrument that clears the forest but is also useful for constructing buildings and making progress.”
Morris was born 1857 in Oregon Territory.
On his stone is written, "Here Rests a Woodman of the World", and above, a symbol with the inscription, “Dum Tacet Clamet” (“Though Silent, He Speaks”). Woodmen of the World was a secret fraternal benefit society started in 1890 by Joseph Cullen Root. Members were connected by their membership and also their desire to better their lives, their families' lives and their communities. For a premium of $100 the organization would provide a headstone for the beneficiary on their death.
The earliest headstones are tree stumps that vary in design based on the local stonemason. Why secret? Well, at that time, money could not be set aside for a grave marker with the assurance that it wouldn't go to creditors.
The symbol on Morris’ headstone is worn, but has leaves on the perimeter and I'm sure the center shows a tree stump probably with an axe. The base of the early tree stump headstones included a sawed-off branch commemorating each child. Is Emil’s cylindrical headstone meant to symbolize a branch? A Woodman policy can still be purchased from Woodmen of the World Insurance.
Why Woodmen? Root’s thought was that “a cleared conscience and a cleared forest were synonymous,” says Bruce Lee Webb, who co-authored the 2015 book, As Above, So Below: Art of the American Fraternal Society with Lynne Adele. “The axe, also used in their symbolism, is an instrument that clears the forest but is also useful for constructing buildings and making progress.”
On his stone is written, "Here Rests a Woodman of the World", and above, a symbol with the inscription, “Dum Tacet Clamet” (“Though Silent, He Speaks”). Woodmen of the World was a secret fraternal benefit society started in 1890 by Joseph Cullen Root. Members were connected by their membership and also their desire to better their lives, their families' lives and their communities. For a premium of $100 the organization would provide a headstone for the beneficiary on their death.
The earliest headstones are tree stumps that vary in design based on the local stonemason. Why secret? Well, at that time, money could not be set aside for a grave marker with the assurance that it wouldn't go to creditors.
The symbol on Morris’ headstone is worn, but has leaves on the perimeter and I'm sure the center shows a tree stump probably with an axe. The base of the early tree stump headstones included a sawed-off branch commemorating each child. Is Emil’s cylindrical headstone meant to symbolize a branch? A Woodman policy can still be purchased from Woodmen of the World Insurance.
Why Woodmen? Root’s thought was that “a cleared conscience and a cleared forest were synonymous,” says Bruce Lee Webb, who co-authored the 2015 book, As Above, So Below: Art of the American Fraternal Society with Lynne Adele. “The axe, also used in their symbolism, is an instrument that clears the forest but is also useful for constructing buildings and making progress.”
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