Dying Traditions: The History of Community Grave Diggings in Unicoi County.

<p>The subject of this thesis deals with instances where members of the community dig the grave for the grieving family. This thesis is limited to Unicoi County. Looking at past and present occurrences of this practice, this project will explain how it came to be and why it is still being exercised.</p><p>The primary sources for this project include newspaper articles from the Erwin Record, interviews with members of the community. Secondary sources were used to frame the overall context and draw comparisons with the rest of Appalachia.</p><p>The digging of the grave by the community began as a necessity in the rural areas of Unicoi County. Due to the growing economic prosperity of these areas, and the eventual easy access to roads, the tradition began to waver and was preserved and practiced only by the small, isolated community churches.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MA (Master of Arts)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - restricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Higgins, Dustin

• Death Practices
• Burial Practices
• Grave Digging
• Cemeteries
• Unicoi County
• Community
• Anthropology
• Arts and Humanities
• History
• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• United States History

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by the authors.

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2024

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-3385