The Aldigé family was a prominent New Orleans who lost three family members on the sinking of the SS La Bourgogne on July 4, 1898. Alice Aldigé, daughter Amelie Bordé, and granddaughter Amy Bordé lost their lives when their steamship collided with another ship. The great loss the family experienced inspired the monument of the two grieving angels. While the tomb serves as a cenotaph for the three family members lost at sea, it’s now the final resting place for at least 13 family members.

You may wonder how a tomb could hold so many family members. It’s likely due to the practice of placing bodies into a vault, and within a year, the body has decomposed just to bones due to the hot, humid air of New Orleans. For the more recent deaths, family members were probably cremated.