There’s nothing we like more than a plot marker – sometimes we mean that, but in this case we almost didn’t. Thankfully the sexton’s book filled us in on two of the inhabitants, although there was a cryptic note attached reading “also four interments of ashes”. Can we puzzle out who those might be? Reuben …
The graveyard is full of stories where good, bad, neutral and unknown meet and combine, and this grave is (possibly) a perfect example. Sarah Grindrod, her daughter Doris, and an unnamed and unknown grandson rest here. Sarah was once Sarah Halstead, born in 1879 to Reuben and Lucy Ann (Dean) Halstead. One of the younger …
Samuel Grindrod was last seen being mentioned in the story of Clara and Leslie Forbes – the wife and son of Thomas Forbes junior. What’s his connection to the Forbes family? And who were they? Thomas Forbes (senior) was born in Salford, Manchester in 1842. His parents John and Elizabeth (Allen) Forbes had lived in …
Read more “17.13 – Thomas and Mary Forbes, and Samuel and Amy Grindrod”
This grave has an initialled plot marker, T. F., but thanks to the sexton’s book we know some of the names buried here – Clara and Leslie Forbes. The T stands for Thomas, Clara’s husband and Leslie’s father. This is their brief story. Clara Williams Hollinrake was born in August 1878. Her mother was Esther …
George’s brother in law John Mitchell lies just a few plots away, and we saw the connection while researching John’s story. John was married to George’s sister Grace and died a year before George, in 1915. Who was George? George’s story starts with his parents (as do most people’s stories). Joseph and Charlotte (Rawson) Hollinrake …
2.11 has traditionally been marked, at least with a stone, as the resting place of Arthur Marshall, one of our seven CWGC graves at Christ Church. But as you’ll know if you’ve read Arthur’s story, he isn’t actually buried there. Who is? John Mitchell of 113 Knowlwood Road, who was buried there on September 20th …
As researcher Holly put so much care and compassion into her FB post about this grave, it’s been copied over in full here. Located not far from the middle pathway to the school is row 31, along here at plot number 36 is an unmarked grave (one of many unmarked). From the sexton records we …
William Taylor was born in 1861 in Heptonstall, the son of Paul Taylor, a mason, and his wife Sarah Ann (Paul and Sarah later became licensees of the Fox and Goose in Hebden Bridge). In 1871, Willie aged 9 was working as a mule piecer, in 1881 he was a cutter out, but by 1891 …
Read more “16.2 – Sarah Jane, William, Ernest and Annie Taylor”
This is a grave where the relationships between all three people took a short spell to unpick. Not one of these three is biologically related to the other, but all three men meant something to a Suthers. Not that poor Felix got the chance to become a man. In chronological order, we will begin. Patrick …
Read more “12.37 – Felix Sebastian Muldoon, Patrick McDonald and Thomas Sutcliffe”
This grave turned out to be a case of incorrect assumptions taken by the teenage transcribers in the 1980s, and is an excellent illustration of why projects such as ours matter. John Law was born in 1821 in Walsden. We don’t know much more than that; there was at least one other knocking around at …