Florence Irene Ford died in 1871 at the age of 10, from yellow fever. Her grave is located in Natchez City Cemetery, Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, USA.
When storms terrified little Florence she always ran to her mother for comfort. Her mother, Ellen, had a small window fitted at the head of her daughter’s coffin, and a narrow stairway built six-feet down to the level of the window. Ellen had hinged metal trapdoors installed at the top of the stairs so she could shut them during storms, protecting her from the wind and rain as she sat by her daughter’s coffin, reading or singing to her until the storm passed.
The epitaph on the gravestone reads: Sacred / To The Memory Of / Florence Irene/ Daughter Of / Washington & Ellen H / Ford / Born Sept 3rd, 1861 / Died Oct 30th 1871 / As Bright And Affectionate A Daughter / As Ever God With His Image Blest. Behind the gravestone the metal trapdoors can still be opened today.
A concrete wall was built at the bottom of the stairway in the mid-1950s to cover the glass window, thus preventing any potential acts of vandalism.
Words on Stone 