It was mainly the trend of the Victorian Era to honor the dead. Erecting tall, elaborate headstones with epitaphs, postmortem portraits and photographs, and making jewelry out of the remains of the deceased (e.g. hair, teeth) were popular during this era.

Like gravestones today, the more elaborate the headstone, the more expensive it will be. However, the "basic" headstones were affordable for middle-class people (basic meaning an in-ground rectangular grave with engraving of the life info of who was interred in the plot).