In the small Bethel Cemetery in rural Harrison County, Iowa, is a double tablet gravestone commemorating the graves of two children.
GEO MARQUIS
DIED NOV. 19, 1879
AGED
6 YEARS & 9
MONTHS
MINNIE M.
DIED
DEC. 29, 1879
AGED
5 YEARS & 15
DAYS
Children of
PETER C & AMANDA
HENDERSON
Tis hard to give them up
Yet we drink from the bitter cup in hope
That we shall meet again
Beyond this sphere of sin and pain.
In the top of the white marble marker in a double rounded inset mimicking the gravestone shape is a carved image of a boy and a girl holding hands depicting the Henderson’s children who died a little more than a month apart at the end of 1879. The stone is a reminder of how high mortality rates were for infants and children in the 19th Century.
This is wonderful! Thank you for posting it. The inscribed scrolls to the sides of the image are great, too. NB typo GED for AGED. I point this out with due humility because I do it all the time.
Thnk you very much for pointing out the typo. Unfortunately i do it all too often. I always need a good editor!