Cemetery Trips

She is one of the most photographed ladies in Columbus, her image gracing magazines, brochures and gallery walls.
She captures imaginations and inspires artists.
And, even after 118 years, the weeping angel of Friendship Cemetery still keeps a silent and poignant vigil over the grave of the Rev. Thomas Cox Teasdale, the ninth pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbus, who died in 1891, at the age of 83.

More than 2,000 Confederate and Union soldiers are also buried in Friendship. It is from the Civil War dead that one of Friendship Cemetery's legends arises. Supposedly, near the back of the cemetery a Confederate soldier still paces woefully back and forth with rifle in hand, guarding his fallen brethren.Another story about Friendship Cemetery isn't so much about a person that died, but what is left behind.
The grave of Reverend Thomas Teasdale is an often-visited marker in the graveyard. Reverend Teasdale's headstone has the visage of an angel weeping over his headstone. Reverend Teasdale was so well-loved by his flock that they had the weeping angel added to his headstone to show the great loss they felt. Today you can visit the headstone and the weeping angel. Legend has it that if you grasp the angel's outstretched hand it feels like a person's hand. Also, the angel is said to cross its arms differently at midnight.