Three generations of women, linked by one man, all resting here with him. Maybe it was a case of safety in numbers? Sally Barker, the first person buried here, is the matriarch. She was born Sally Fielding (or Fielden) in 1802, and married John Barker at Heptonstall in 1824. He was an agricultural labourer a …
It’s curious that this mother and son have a gravestone, because their lives were marked by poverty. Some of this was circumstantial, and some…inherited… Hannah Cunliffe was born in 1830, the illegitimate daughter of Ann Cunliffe of Burnley and later Heptonstall; and the story here really starts with Ann. Ann was one of many Cunliffes …
This is mainly a story about some Stephensons of Hanging Ditch and the routes they took in life – however far they travelled they always came back, and now they aren’t about to travel anywhere anytime soon… At two ends of the age spectrum are a pair of siblings, Sarah (aka Sally) and James. Sarah …
Read more “37A.26 – Mary, Benjamin and Sarah Bottomley, and James, Wright and Sarah Ann Stephenson”
This is one of our mysteries of the graveyard, and a tale about the power of grief and shame. Caroline Coles was not a poor woman, and her husband not without some local prestige; so where’s her grave, and where are her two children who are buried here? They might be at this plot marker …
Read more “Caroline Elizabeth Coles and her children (location unknown)”
This story was at times frustrating, but still fascinating – given that it spans 141 years that’s hardly a surprise! James Turner was born in Spotland in 1773. He grew up a weaver, of course, and made his way to Walsden and to Knowlwood specifically. At some point he married the first of his two …
Read more “39.3 – James and Betty Turner, and John and Sarah Ann Sunderland”
If you’ve been following for a while then you’ve already met quite a few of these Fieldens, but here’s some from another generation back. Charles Fielden was born in 1842, the son of Abraham and Mary (Gibson) Fielden of Wadsworth Mill, Shade. He was their second child and second son and his time on this …
There is only one person named on this low, sinking gravestone – Sidney (or Sydney) Jackson – but he may not be on his own. Sidney was born in Lion Street, Todmorden on the 3rd October 1863. Only his mother, Ann Jackson, is named on his birth certificate, his father’s name is left blank. He …
There are two names on this stone, a father, and his son, but only the father is actually in the grave. His son, Peter who is named died at sea, so has no known grave, which is why he is remembered here. The sole occupant of the grave, James Stuttard, was born in Oldham in …
This story, we thought, would be a relatively straightforward “war grave” story to post in time for Remembrance Sunday 2024. Instead, the background work on John William threw up a horrible sad story of its own; that of a soldier who was found guilty of one of the worst crimes and who was able to …
Following on from our story about Sarah Elizabeth and Mary Ann Hirst, enjoy another Hirst story. The story of these two is straightforward, but this grave contains a mystery: who was Maria Hudson? We’ll get to her at the end. Firstly, though, a recap on Arthur Hirst’s childhood. His parents George and Hannah Hirst came …
Read more “15.25 -Arthur and Hannah Hirst, and Maria Hudson”