The Cast-Iron Grave Cover: A Case of Mistaken Identity and Identity Found

An object, tentatively identified as a cast-iron casket lid, appeared to be eroding out of the ground in an east-central Illinois rural cemetery. Appropriate authorities were notified in the anticipation of re-interment, but subsequent research determined that the object was a cast-iron grave cover, a rare and scarcely recognized mortuary accoutrement. The revelation afforded the opportunity to systematically examine a mid-nineteenth century

death custom and artifact, and to ultimately reunite the grave cover and its associated grave with its dislocated gravestone.