E. B. Norcross. Emma’s Grave. New York: Horace Waters, 1857.

This song offers a glimpse of a sentimentalized attitude regarding the death of a child that was common in the mid-19th century. In Emma’s Grave, the lyrics begin: “Dear Mother when I close my eyes and pain and toil are o’er, will little Emma be forgot and never thought of more?” The mother responds that they will meet again in heaven in the fourth verse, and finally, in the fifth verse, the mother visits Emma’s grave and “drops a silent tear.”

The Guardian Angels, or, Friends in Heaven. Compiled by Sarah Gould. Boston: Higgins and Bradley, 1857.

In the preface of this anthology of consolation literature, Mrs. Gould writes that she compiled the volume to assure readers of the “goodness and wisdom of Him who permits His Guardian Angels to hover around us, giving peace, comfort, faith, hope and consolation to the Christian mourner.” Thus, perhaps the two sleeping children are orphans with their guardian angels; however, many a 19th-century reader might also have wondered whether the children were themselves nearing death, given the ubiquity of dying children in print culture.

Theodore L. Cuyler. The Empty Crib: A Memorial of Little Georgie. New York: R. Carter and Brothers, 1869. Gift of Robert C. Clark.

The Rev. Mr. Cuyler published this volume after the death of his own son, to help others deal with the death of children. He writes, “In almost every home there are stored away, among its most cherished treasures, a little photograph, or a box of toys, a torn kite, a halfworn cap, or a pair of tiny shoes. They all tell a story too deep for tears.” The Empty Crib is one of numerous memorial volumes published as tributes to dead children, a topic with tremendous emotional impact in 19th-century America.

Guide to Laurel Hill Cemetery, Near Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 1844.

The 1844 guidebook for Laurel Hill Cemetery includes this depiction of the tomb of Alfred T. Miller, the infant son of Philadelphia exchange broker Matthew T. Miller and his wife. Carved by the German sculptor Ferdinand Pettrich while he was working for the Philadelphia marble mason John Struthers, this tomb was unusual in terms of scale and grandeur, but part of a larger trend of grieving parents memorializing children with artistic and literary tributes.

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