There's little doubt that the image of a lily on a tombstone is a symbol of resurrection, a meaning made abundantly clear on this stone where the lily is springing directly from the ground. The variety here is calla, actually not a lily at all, native to Africa but now cultivated worldwide.
The stone is located in Strong Cemetery, Pleasant Township, which dates to 1853 and served a neighborhood around the pioneer village of Belinda.
The first burial here was that of Levi Harvey Strong, age 16 months, who died on April 2, 1853 --- reportedly the first death in Pleasant Township.
George T. Johnston, born 1833, died five years later, during 1858 at the age of 25, and was buried nearby.
Basic research yielded no clue as to who George may have been or to whom he was related, but he certainly was well and long remembered. The tombstone bearing the lily that marks his grave dates from some 50 years later.
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