In Brick Union Cemetery in Lloyd, Greenup County, Kentucky, not far from the banks of the Ohio River, rests Hannah E. Spangler Waring. She was born April 26, 1833, to Christian Spangler and Cassandra Rigg, and later married James Lawrence Waring.
Hannah died on July 8, 1865, at just 32 years old. Her marble headstone, marked with traditional Victorian-era symbols, features the first verse of Asleep in Jesus, a hymn written by Margaret Mackay in 1832:
Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep!
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the last of foes.
The hymn was commonly used in 19th-century funerals and inscriptions, offering families a message of peace and assurance during times of grief. Its presence here speaks to the religious culture of the Ohio River Valley and the role of faith in Appalachian mourning practices.
Though much of Hannah’s life remains unrecorded, her gravestone offers a lasting connection to the families and communities of Greenup County during a time of transition at the close of the Civil War.
