Revelations of Mennonite Tombstone Epitaphs in Marion County, Kansas

The thesis contained in the following pages represents an attempt to demonstrate that the tombstones of the Mennonites of Marion County, Kansas, reveal the acculturation of this group in many ways: in language, in the practice of naming children, in the usage of art and symbols on the tombstones, in their reaction to military service, in length of epitaphs, and in sources of epitaphs. But it is more than that, for at the same time the thesis also attempts to demonstrate that the tombstones and epitaphs of any group can be and are a fruitful source of information about that group. Although historical and sociological data are in many cases also obtained by the study, my primary concern has been with the field of folklore.