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.
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.
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.
","abstract_html":"<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>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Higgins, Dustin"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - restricted","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-08-14T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-08-14T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:19Z","subjects":["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"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2024","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Higgins, Dustin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2007-08-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["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"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3385/viewcontent/HigginsD072407f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2024"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
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.
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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Dying Traditions: The History of Community Grave Diggings in Unicoi County."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Higgins, Dustin"],"dc:date.issued":["2007-08-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["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.
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.
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.
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