"A Mother's View into Daughter's Coffin" (18Mar2021) Faces of the Forgotten

THIS STORY:
During her short life, Florence Irene Ford, who was born in 1861, was terrified of storms. As soon a one developed, with the violent thunder and lightning, she would run to her mother, Ellen, who would patiently comfort her until the it passed.

In 1871, sadly, Florence died of yellow fever. Her mother, naturally very distraught, couldn’t bear the thought of Florence being buried and down there and all alone. She she still wanted to comfort her during those storms, even as she lay at rest. So Ellen made a strange request. She asked that her daughter’s coffin be fitted with a small window, with stairs leading down, like you would find at an outside cellar entrance. This would lead down to that specific spot where Florence's head rested, so she could peer into the coffin and feel close to her during the storms. And there she sit, after pulling down and closing the metal hatch doors above, as she would begin to sing and read to Florence, in order to comfort her during these storms.

The window is walled up now to prevent vandalism. Come with us as we step down to the bottom and try to imagine what it was like in that day of age.

Original Source Video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a9DnlSRdbJ0&t=1448s&pp=ygUlRmFjZXMgb2YgdGhlIEZvcmdvdHRlbiBhIG1vdGhlcnMgdmlldw%3D%3D