Program to highlight Victorian mourning customs

By the mid-19th century, Americans were handling death differently than their ancestors did. From a gloomy, puritanical outlook to a romanticized view, the traditions surrounding death took on a new meaning when Victorian society began to dictate the appropriate mourning behaviors, clothing and accessories for honoring the deceased.

Visitors can learn about those customs when Naper Settlement presents "Victorian Memory and Mourning, plus Cemetery Symbols," a program and guided walking tour of the Naperville Cemetery from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 13, starting at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville. The program will be led by Sheila Riley, folklorist and Naper Settlement's director of learning experiences. Admission is $15 per person and $13 for Settlement-6 members and above. Registration is required by calling (630) 420-6010.

"When we know how people coped with tragedy in the past, we can add those strategies to our own set of coping mechanisms," Riley said. "Memorialization has been around for thousands of years as a tool for remembering and honoring our deceased loved ones. Today we see it in graffiti wall memorials in cities and in roadside crosses along the highways."

During the Victorian period, people were heavily influenced by three major events: the frequency of death from common illnesses, embalming of deceased soldiers for shipping back home during the Civil War, and England's Queen Victoria's obsessive mourning for her husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Queen Victoria remained in mourning until her death in 1901, setting an example for many women around the world.

Visitors will get an in-depth look at the clothing and jewelry that were the most recognized symbols of mourning. Other symbols include lithographs and handmade memorials showing your mourning status, mourning tea sets for visiting with those paying their respects, and post-mortem photographs. The demand for mourning items among middle and upper class Victorians created a strong "mourning goods" market, and commercial suppliers sold necessary goods through department stores and mail-order catalogs like Montgomery Ward.

During the guided cemetery walk, Riley will explain gravestone art and symbols, and the history behind more unusual markers.

"In the Naperville Cemetery, participants will see grave markers that reflect what was stylistically popular at different times in history, including traditional symbols reflecting religious and secular meanings, like the anchor being a Christian symbol for hope and ivy meaning immortality," said Riley.

If you go

What: "Victorian Memory and Mourning, plus Cemetery Symbols"

When: 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 13

Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville

Cost: $15, $13 Settlement-6 members and above

Info: (630) 420-6010