After taking a picture of the two gravestones sharing a secret here, I vowed to go back to All Saints Cemetery in Maidenhead Berkshire and find out who was buried there and whether they were related in any way.
The left stone: "George William Harrison who departed this life 13th May 1895 aged 68 years - Cecil Eliza Harrison loving wife of the above who died February 2? 1918 aged 86 years."
George was a railway clerk and moved with his wife from London to Maidenhead in the early 1890s. Possibly to work with Maidenhead's railway. Cecil continued to live in Maidenhead until her death in 1915.
The right stone: "In loving memory of Sarah Elizabeth Broad. Who died August 17th 1896 aged 42 years - Also Sovaness John Broad husband of the above. Who died Febry 14th 1904 aged 60 - Also Eliza Wheeler who died Jany 11th 1911 aged 86."
Sarah Elizabeth Broad and her husband, a coachman, lived in park street from 1881 until her death in 1896, where Sovaness continued to live with his mother-in-law Elizabeth Wheeler until his death in 1904. Elizabeth Wheeler followed them to the grave in 1911.
I have found no connection between the two families, other than they are buried next to each other.
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It is unusual to see a stone with "husband of the above".
ReplyDeleteAnd even more unusual to see a name like Sovaness. I wonder where that came from.
I couldn't find anything more about the unusual name. I suspect it may have been a surname at some point in the family history.
DeleteI have sometimes found two gravestones sitting very close together when they seem completely unrelated. Maybe they were friends, or neighbours, who bought the plots at the same time? That sounds a bit far-fetched, though.
ReplyDeleteI first picture I took of the gravestone was from behind. They looked so similar in style and shape that I wondered if they were two graves of the same family. I suspect it's nothing more than two families with the same taste in gravestone.
DeleteReally interesting. I also wonder a bit about how the stones came to sit so close together. I've seen cemeteries, though, where if the stones come loose, that they are situated up against other stones to keep them upright.
ReplyDeleteI looks as if the grave under the left stone has shifted over time, causing the stone to lean towards its neighbour.
DeleteAlso there's quite a few large trees near by, so it could be root damage.