Meaning of Initials on Cross-shaped Tombstones?

Question

The cemetery attached to the Mental Health Center in Farmington, Missouri has a number of cross-shaped tombstones. The intials JNO appear frequently on these grave markers, and I'm curious what they stand for.

The region was settled by French and German Catholic immigrants, if that would help identify the initials. Or could it have been something related to the Mental Health Center and the indigent status of those buried there?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer 1

It's a common abbreviation for John. Jonathon and Johannes. Any chance these are the first names of the men buried there?

Answer 2

I am unsure of where the initials you refer to might be located.  If the preceed the deceased's last name, they almost certainly stand for "Jonathan."  Jno was the usual shortening of the name, just as Robt was for Robert, and Wm for William, or even Chas for Charles.

Answer 3

Given the nationalities of the settlers, I believe JNO may be JNo, or JNo with the period after the N being engraved in the form of a circle. It's an abbreviation for John, not Johnathon. Families used to use them as two different names, not one being the short form of the other. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

http://freereg.rootsweb.com/howto/realna...

  JNO= John (Never let anyone tell you that this is Jonathan, because that is abbreviated as "Jon.";  or "Jona"--with the A like a superscript number). "JOH" and "JO" also shown to be  John. This, too, is John--"IOH" (I = J, so Ioh. = Joh.)

The site also says if you see the name ELIZA with NO punctuation after it, the lady's name WAS Eliza, and not Elizabeth (abbreviated as "Eliz."; "Elizth"--with the TH as a superscript; "Eliza." and "Eliza:"

Some others you might see:

"JAS."=James

"JOS." = Joseph

"MICH"= Michael, as "MICLS" (with LS as superscript)

"NIC" or "NICH" = Nicholas

"RIC" or "RICH" =Richard

"SAR" =Sarah

"THO" or "THOS" =Thomas

"WM" or "WILLM" =William

Answer 5

This is what a I found just typing in JNO. Besides standing for the name of John it also stands for

  

JNO Just North Of  

JNO Jump If No Overflow  

JNO Journal of Nanoelectronics and Optoelectronics  

JNO Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology  

JNO Joint Net-Centric Operations (US DoD)  

JNO Junction North Of

Answer 6

If it clearly isn't an abbreviation for someone's name, you might call someone and ask.  You have my curiosity up.