JOHN F. GROW

NOV. 10, 1873—Oct. 2. 1923

IDA, HIS WIFE

JUNE 19, 1880—SEPT. 11, 1962

The John and Ida Grow open book tombstone can be found in the Beech Grove Cemetery, in Bedford, Indiana. The open book is a common symbol found on gravestones. The motif can represent the Word of God in the form of the Bible or, likely in this case, symbolize the Book of Life with the names of the just registered.

This small tree-stump tombstone of 33-year-old Melia Baxter Roberts in the Knightsbridge Cemetery in rural Bloomington, Indiana, represents a tree not fully grown in width or height.  This tree-stump tombstone is a metaphor in limestone, representing a life that has been cut short. 

In both tombstones, three fern fronds are twinning up the front of their gravestones.  Numbers are significant in the Bible and the number “three” may represent the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

The fern itself is a plant that thrives in shade underneath trees and wooded areas.  The ferns in both cases are secondary to the main gravestone symbolism—the open book and the tree-stump.  The fern, often not first noticed in nature, represents humility, solitude, and sincerity.

MELIA BAXTER ROBERTS

1895—1928