You often find yourself feeling sorry for the last person into a grave, and this grave is certainly no exception. Ingham Proctor, or Procter, was born in 1815 in Worsthorne, outside Burnley, to Robert and Mary (Ingham – hence the name) Proctor. The area the family lived in was Hurstwood, where the reservoir is now, …
Read more “46.51 – Ingham, Robert and Sarah Proctor, and Mary Heap”
These four were in a grave with three Scholfields, and at first the connection wasn’t obvious. Thankfully the story of the Scholfields of Todmorden helped us figure out the missing link – William and Mary Scholfield of Church Street. This story will explain why an older stone has a more modern inscription on its lower …
Read more “47.58 – John and Alice Marshall, and Albert Edward and Mary Ann Alletson”
This unassuming grave is linked to the rather grander Scholfield family graves, and is the resting place of a man who must have felt a lot of pressure to achieve things in his life…and almost got there. Almost. Thomas Nash was born in 1841, and would be the only surviving son of Thomas and Elizabeth …
This grave has one story partly told in the story of Samuel and Susan Scholfield, as Elizabeth is their sister. She was born in 1814 to William and Mary Scholfield, ironmongers who had a shop on North Street (Burnley Road) and Church Street (Rochdale Road, opposite the gates to St. Mary’s) and so grew up …
This story is mostly already told over on the Todmorden and Walsden website, where an entire page is devoted to the Scholfields of Todmorden. Scroll down a spell and you’ll come to Samuel and some of his story. We’ll tell the rest though, because Susan and Martha here are lost in the story there. Samuel …
This is a grave that makes you stop, look and think, as there are four little brothers buried here. The eldest was only 5 when he died and the youngest just 6 months old. The parents of these boys were Young Uttley and Ruth (nee Stansfield). Young Uttley was born at Watty Hole in 1860, …
We like giving unnamed infants their names back – “also five infants” is a challenge, and we LOVE challenges – but sometimes giving them their names back is a slow process. The register and Sexton’s book for this plot both read “Olga Smith”, who were we to argue? Except they were wrong. Trust Researcher Sally …
Read more “9.40 – Alga Smith, not Olga Smith (unmarked grave)”
Meet William and Sarah, who had a very modern relationship indeed… William Whitehead was born in 1827, the youngest of the three sons of John Whitehead of Todmorden. He and his older brothers George and Henry lived at Hal Ing, where with their father they worked as tinplate workers and metalsmiths. John was smart, and …
Read more “46.52 – William, Sarah and Charles Edward Whitehead”
The story of the Leah family buried here is mostly told through advertisements and notices – sometimes when public records don’t come through these are your best bet for fleshing out the life of an individual. Robert Leah was born around 1803 in Erringden, and we don’t know much more beyond that. When he married …
This stone now lies flat, but the grave it marks is one of the “sweetest” graves at Christ Church. This confectioner, his wife, and two of their sons helped keep the town supplied with biscuits and candies. Abraham Crossley was born in Todmorden in 1832 to Abraham and Esther (Haigh) Crossley. Abraham Sr. was a …
Read more “38.14 – Abraham, Margaret, Esther, Mary, Deborah, William, John and Mary Jane Crossley”