Two husbands, four children; some of them are here, along with the woman whose affection they all held in common. John Binns was born in 1811 somewhere outside of Todmorden. The short time he was alive and the time he was alive in means we know nothing else about him apart from that he was …
Read more “42.16 – John Binns and Joshua, Betsy and Richard Taylor”
More Hiley/Highley graves which link to one another here in the graveyard; this one features the parents and siblings of Charles Hiley at 43.52. This branch of Hileys (or Highleys, depending on who wrote the name down at the time) were firmly Lumbutts and Causey Wood stock, but they hadn’t always been this way. John …
Read more “43.ii – James, William, Thomas, Hannah and John Hiley”
Two widows, two different experiences – what a difference a handful of half-grown children makes. Everyone in this story were born outside of Todmorden, so be patient and kind, their stories deserve telling too… Up on the Mytholmroyd hills, in 1832, Richard Crossland was born. Richard’s father Joseph was a stonemason from Dewsbury and Richard …
Read more “43.59 – Walter, Richard and Fanny Crossland, and George and Mary Hartley”
This war grave is one of our Remembrance Sunday 2024 stories, sitting alongside that of Percy Smallwood. Percy died only five weeks before WW1 came to an end; Harry here died about seven weeks after. John Helliwell was born in Walsden in 1852. His father John was a railway porter and he and his wife …
Read more “V1.8 – Fanny, John, Harry, Charles Henry and Ann Horsfall Helliwell”
The first thing you’d notice when reading this gravestone is the quick succession in which people were laid to rest here; the first three burials represent a span of less than 24 months, and all five (because there are five here, not just the four on the stone) cover 13 years from beginning to end. …
Read more “52.51 – Hannah, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah Jane and Amos Kershaw”
This grave is in need of adopting, since the descendants of those buried here are all abroad; in fact, one of these four isn’t buried here at all. Josiah Stott was born around 1816, and his future wife Sarah Crossley was born around 1823. No marriage certificate can be found for them, and no 1841 …
All records spell it Akroyd, their grave reads Ackroyd. Rather than waste time arguing about it let’s find out more about the people in this grave. One, at least, has a great number of records behind him, because he rose through the ranks of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. But was he as respectable as …
The Ackroyds are dear to our Chair’s heart, with Fanny being his literal great-aunt Fanny – and this grave is slightly unusual for those under the school for the sheer number of people buried in it. Sadly that’s partly because four of the seven were young children; what was their story? Roger was born in …
Read more “S6.6 – Ada, Agnes, Florence, Samuel, Fanny, Roger and Mary Ackroyd”
Their son, John William, lies under the school; they lie here. Think of John next time you get a free book in the train station office or visit WH Smiths, and think of Helen next time you nip into Boots. John Richards was born in Manchester in 1852. His parents Evan and Elizabeth were both …
Murdoch is an enigma in the graveyard. His common-for-the-time name makes it hard to pin down his origins; he is not mentioned in any official records of the work he did; his cause of death poses nothing but questions. But he’s here, and with a magnificently carved stone, so this is what we know: “This …