“In Death Not Divided”, as the obituary for Robert and Betsey begins, and as in life so in death. The obituary tells you quite a lot about this couple. Robert was a native of Burnley, who married his wife Betsey Stephenson there in 1869. They had known each other for quite some time; in fact, …
The unmarked vault plots are fairly easy to both clearly identify and radically beautify. This one was a group effort and we hope its inhabitant likes what we’ve done. Thomas Frederick Lloyd was born in March 1888 in Manordeifi, Pembrokeshire – a long way from Todmorden! His father Thomas was a gardener at Pentre Mansion …
“He shall gather the lambs” – this tiny grave was lost in the undergrowth but now is found. The Molesworth family’s presence here owes everything to a Tod-famous murder and its aftermath. Reverend Reynell Francis Molesworth was drafted in to take over when the Reverend Anthony Plow was murdered by his former maid’s former beau, …
It’ll be a little while before this grave can be completely restored thanks to the tree damage to the grave next to it, but we can tidy it for now and learn about the Sutcliffes. The inscription reads “In Memoriam. Rainford Sutcliffe, 9 Grove Street, Barrowford, departed this life 23rd April 1916 in his 37th …
It’s not the what, but the how, for us. Mary was once the headmistress of the National School, and now her resting place is irrevocably tied up in its very fabric. Here you can see the list of names pulled from the headstone for the Crowther family in the 1980s, when a group of teenagers …
Read more “S7.5 – Benjamin, George, John, Susan, Ann and Mary Crowther”
This is another grave hidden under the school extension, and another explanation about why these graves matter. It starts with those we know are buried here and ends with those who we can only guess at, for now. Harold Allister was born in 1895 to James and Louisa Allister. In 1908 he can be found …
The use of surnames as first names means you might have to pay attention to this one! Betty Greenbank, the grandmother on this stone, was born Betty Barker in October 1805 to John and Hannah Barker of Stansfield. She married John Greenbank at St. Chad’s in Rochdale in September 1823. She might have been John’s …
Read more “47.52 – Betty and Elizabeth Greenbank, and Sarah and Greenbank Law”
In front of the big angel is a smaller angel…there are a surprisingly small number of angels in the graveyard, in fact to this researcher’s mind there may only be three or maybe four. Let’s look at this one; a smaller angel watching over a mother and daughter grave. Lily Parker was born in 1877 …
These two sidestones were the first to get this treatment – a new way of trying to keep loose sidestones together while also not making life difficult for those who keep the lawn trimmed here. John and Ellen (Byrne) Partlin were Irish immigrants who met and married in Haslingden in 1870 at the Catholic church …
A grand grave for a family who weren’t wealthy – who were the Laws? James Law was born in Todmorden in 1845. Ellen Sutcliffe, his wife to be, had been born the previous year and in the same place. Both of their fathers were overlookers in local mills, and when they married in 1867 James …
Read more “V4.12 – James, Ellen and Walter Law, and Sarah Ellen Magson”