This is a “busy” gravestone, and we’re going to first focus on the first two people named on it. A girl and her aunt whose stories are both short, but for different reasons. So let’s look at the top half of the lancet, admire the subtle dove that you might miss because of the larger …
Following on from this story, this grave reveals more secrets – this time, its connection to the parish church and to many other graves in the yard! We last left this grave with the death of Ruth Hargreaves in February 1876, who died with her niece Sarah by her side. On Ruth’s death Sarah’s adopted …
Read more “37.8 – Sarah, John, Mary Elizabeth, Annie and Ruth Alice Greenwood, and Harold Ashworth”
One of these names is that of an offcumden who made a life here, and if you were living in Victorian era Todmorden, you’d have known him well – he had a finger in every meat pie! Henry Langstreth was born in West Marton, north of Barnoldswick, in 1837. His father Henry was an innkeeper …
Read more “37.10 – Ellen, William Howorth and Henry Langstreth”
This is a story already half-told, at a grave further back in the yard – a now-flattened ledger commemorating Susanna (Marshall) Barker and some of her children. That stone also remembers the three children of John and Mary (Smith) Barker, who are buried here. A first wife who looks after her replacement’s children in death; …
Did you know about this stone? Even if you walked the path to and from the school every day you might not always see it, due to it being laid flat in a natural dip which means all rain and leaf fall covers it with mud and muck and renders it invisible very quickly. Putting …
This unusual tomb, one of only two in the graveyard, holds a parent and child – vicar and singer – two figures whose time in this town was relatively brief but who were essential parts of people’s lives here. William Augustus Conway was born in West Derby near Liverpool in 1821, one of the children …
Read more “37.11 – William Augustus and Maria Louise Salusbury Conway”
Another story about a Lord family dairy farmer – but we aren’t yet sure if William was related to John. Given it’s Todmorden, he probably was! William Lord was born on August 5th 1842 to Samuel and Hannah (Stansfield) Lord, who are buried at 39.0 not too far away. He was their first baby, born …
Read more “37.15 – Sarah, Edwin, Edgar, Hannah, William and Arthur Lord”
Many people stand on their principles at some point or another – few follow those principles to jail. Herbert followed his to jail not once but twice…but his principle was that he wouldn’t pay child support “and would not be made by the best man breathing”. We can’t all be heroes! There isn’t much to …
This was research I [Researcher Sally] didn’t intend to do, but getting one birth certificate was like opening a treasure chest of information! I was researching the Crowthers when I saw a baby’s burial at Christ Church (Fred Crowther) on Holly’s tree. He was all on his own (the GRO index showed he was illegitimate) …
Christ Church graveyard has a number of unknown graves where the occupant is shown in the burial books but their final resting place is unknown. These are four people whose grave is unknown, we can’t be sure if they are buried together in the same grave, but it’s possible because they are all related. The …
Read more “William, John and Nicholas Hopwood, and Eli Crowther (unknown)”