Kelly Green
Member
There is an old cemetery that sits abandoned on the southwest corner of my property. It was there before my great-grandfather acquired this section of land in the 1800's.
One of my chores as a boy was to periodically maintain the cemetery. My dad thought it disrespectful to let the graveyard lie in ruin. I actually relished the responsibility. Occasionally, my little sister would tag along to pick wildflowers and place them at each marker. As I worked, I would read the inscriptions on the stones, all from the 1800's, and speculate about these people and how it came that they were buried here.
The stone that fascinated me most was a marker with the name Mary. At the top was a symbol I had never before seen. Below this symbol were capital letters chiseled in an arc. Inside the arc of letters was the word "ARMY". It was years before I learned that the symbol was that of the Freemasons. It took longer still to decipher the letters. I'm still not certain about the meaning of the word "ARMY".
F N D O Z B T K C - AMRY was a degree conferred upon the wives, daughters, mothers or sisters of Freemasons. It was used predominantly in the southern states, from the 1850's through the early 1900's.
"F N D O Z B T K C" refers to the biblical verse from the book of John 12:15, "Fear Not Daughter of Zion, Behold, The King Cometh."
"ARMY" is still a puzzle. As I understand it, the word should be "A M R Y" which is an anagram for Mary. So, either the stonecutter made a mistake or it means something else.
I still maintain the cemetery as time permits. My dad once said that he was unaware of anyone from the outside visiting the gravesites and during my lifetime there has not been a single visitor. When my sister comes by, she will sometimes go up there. She says that the cemetery exudes a peaceful feeling and when her time comes she would like to be buried there. My wife and I have been thinking about doing the same when our time comes.
One of my chores as a boy was to periodically maintain the cemetery. My dad thought it disrespectful to let the graveyard lie in ruin. I actually relished the responsibility. Occasionally, my little sister would tag along to pick wildflowers and place them at each marker. As I worked, I would read the inscriptions on the stones, all from the 1800's, and speculate about these people and how it came that they were buried here.
The stone that fascinated me most was a marker with the name Mary. At the top was a symbol I had never before seen. Below this symbol were capital letters chiseled in an arc. Inside the arc of letters was the word "ARMY". It was years before I learned that the symbol was that of the Freemasons. It took longer still to decipher the letters. I'm still not certain about the meaning of the word "ARMY".
F N D O Z B T K C - AMRY was a degree conferred upon the wives, daughters, mothers or sisters of Freemasons. It was used predominantly in the southern states, from the 1850's through the early 1900's.
"F N D O Z B T K C" refers to the biblical verse from the book of John 12:15, "Fear Not Daughter of Zion, Behold, The King Cometh."
"ARMY" is still a puzzle. As I understand it, the word should be "A M R Y" which is an anagram for Mary. So, either the stonecutter made a mistake or it means something else.
I still maintain the cemetery as time permits. My dad once said that he was unaware of anyone from the outside visiting the gravesites and during my lifetime there has not been a single visitor. When my sister comes by, she will sometimes go up there. She says that the cemetery exudes a peaceful feeling and when her time comes she would like to be buried there. My wife and I have been thinking about doing the same when our time comes.
