The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1894-08-09
THESALEM GRAVEYARD.
The MEN AND WOMEN ARE SEP
ARATEO.
In Line According to Age-One style
of Slab and Inscription for
Rich and Poor Alike.

oO-
The Newbern Journal, Of recent
date, prints the following letter writ
ten by Mr.. T. G. Badham:
A stranger cannot correctly tell
without enquiry the dividing line be-
tween Winston and Salem, because
street like all the others marks the
division. Nor can he enter the quiet
and restful boundaries Of the latter
more than block, without the sense
OF different atmosphere. The re-
fr, shing sense of peace on earth and
good will towards men," Each step
leads ON to purer meditation, and con-
tentment reigns supreme. The houses
look 1t the trees whisper 1t. Your
own satisfaction is made evident by
contact and association, and a bow or
a word from a citizen confirms the
impression. But to draw distinctions
between the two places is not the pur-
pose of this communication.
From Main street fifty yards to the
north l stood at the western entrance
of the drive or avenue along the
Moravian cemetery. A reverential
respect / suppose accompanies every
person on entering the precincts Of
the deao. The feeling to recover your
head is involuntary. LII this existence
l found myself walking on tip-toe.
The walk or drive is fifteen feet wide
strickly covered with fine white peb-
bles, and on either side thirty feet OF
smooth evenly moved grass, refresh
ingly rich In color. Two rows Of tall
cedars, seventy to eighty feet in height
and about thirty feet apart, stand on
the inner edge of all grass the entire
length OF the avenue, about FIVE hun
dred yards, all Of which forming an
approach at once beautiful and ap-
propriate.
Along the avenue, at equal distances
there are three large gateways, fifteen
feet wide, opening or leading into the
cemetery. The gates remain open
during the day, and the massive wood
frames are supported by brick pillars
fifteen feet high and two feet square.
There is an arch over each gate. On
large letters Is inscribed
Then Also which Sleep in Jesus
Will God Bring With Him." l. Thess.
Ala, and on the inner side, Il Know
That My Redeemer Liveth." Job
1925.
The arch over the second gate bears
the following on the outer side in the
same lettering.
God VIII Redeem my Soul From
the Power of the Grave" P. S. 1915,
and on the inner side, Because l
Live, Ye shall Live Also"-John 14:19.
The third gate.
BLESSED are the Dead which die In
the Lordi, Rev. 14:15.
And "I am the Resurrection and
the Life"-John l1:25.
And now we are within the inclos-
T. IL = l. y@lf tao
of Salem's Moravian dead from 1870 to
the present. All buried in regular
order, according to age beginning with
the old who are buried in line, and OBJ
serving the same order down to in
fancy, the men on the squares allotted
to them, separate from the women,
and the girls from the boys. No dis
tinction Is observed in the memory Of
the dead, all are treated alike, rich
and poor, high and low, great and
small, a simple white marble slab, 16
and IA inches, not upright, but laid
fiat on the head of the grave, and on
this (headstone Is carved simply the
name, record of birth and death.
This is all there Is to remind us Of the
living; no panegyric proclaims to the
world his many virtues, nor song of
praise to lift him above his fellows
neither tells what he was or what he
might have been, but in common with
the many, the same slabsiZe, shape
and inscription marks the resting
place OF each departed Moravian.
The Following is copied from one OF
the oldest graves. In Birk head York
Sh: d. s. Iun: 1772 A 81.
There are near fifteen and a half
squares fully covered with graves,
averaging about sixty to the square
so that In one hundred and twenty
years. over nine hundred have passed
the portals leading to this quiet little
"city of the dead" where pomps and
vanities make no show, and all seem
one family. Strange; such strange
contrast, with other christian people
and religions of the present day, whose
inclinatio tend to ostentation even
in the peace Of death.