Taphophile Tragics # 40

I stumbled across this dedication during the Rookwood Necropolis Open Day yesterday, where I barely managed it out of the Independent Section. I wonder who 'F. Jenkins' was, yet admire the love they held in their heart for all those years.

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Welcome to the 40th week of Taphophile Tragics.

Your contribution is most welcome. Please ensure that you include some details of the cemetery in which you took your photographs, and link directly to your post, rather than simply to your blog in general. This week, Mr Linky opens at 9:30pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10), and closes at 9:30pm on the Friday. When you can, please visit the other contributing bloggers to show your appreciation of their endeavours. Due to time zone variations and overcrowded schedules, some contributions are made later than Tuesday/Wednesday. As per usual, we are working with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.

At the moment, there are three posts a week to this blog:

Mon - Research of an individual from the details on their headstone;
Wed - An example of funerary symbolism and its meaning; and
Fri - 'Six-Feet-Down-Under' highlighting an Australian cemetery/graveyard.

Join me if that sounds of interest.

Widow's weeds

John McArthur was only 35 when he died at his home in Nelson Street Annandale. Only 35, and with a wife 7 months pregnant with their third child. I have not been able to find a coroner's report, so I will figure he had a heart-attack until something more informative jumps out in front of me. Mary McArthur was born McFarlane: they don't fall far from the tree, these canny Scots! There were two things about her that I really needed to know: when she was born; and did she remarry. The dearly departed John was born in Patrick, Scotland; perhaps Mary was a native of Scotland, too. So aged in her early 30s (conjecture, conjecture) Mary was a widow with three small girls: Maggie born in 1884, Jane in August 1885; and Jennetta in June 1887. But worse was to come ...

In July 1892, Maggie died in Parramatta Hospital as the result of burns accidently inflicted, according to the coroner's report. A house-fire would be ironic, considering her departed father, John was a builder, as was HIS father, Peter. They lived in the same set of terraces - Kilmartin Terraces - in Nelson Street Annandale. But the coroner's report did not specify the type of fire. To compound all this, another son of Peter McArthur died in October 1888, once again at his home in Kilmartin Terrace. Ready for this? Archibald, Peter McArthur's oldest son, lost his 23 year old wife in 1884. Talk about not being able to take a trick! I never did find out when Mary was born, nor if she remarried. However, I could not find a date of death either, so figure she did remarry. All this gets very complicated, yes? That is very final, that 'Farewell'. Death is a bit like that.

Six-Feet-Down-Under: St Stephen's Graveyard, Newtown

The graveyard surrounding St Stephen's Anglican Church in Newtown is also known as the Camperdown Cemetery, even though it is just a small portion of the original Camperdown Cemetery, established in the 1840s, and the recipient of some of the removals from the Devonshire Street Cemetery when that cemetery closed in about 1900. On the map down below, the entire park greensward was the original Camperdown Cemetery, but in 1938 everything outside the sandstone walls of St Stephen's was removed, and most ungraciously at that. Headstones are laid along the inside of the sandstone walls to this day. Many of the remains ... remained; unless individual families wished to reinter their ancestors in either Waverley Cemetery, Botany Cemetery, or Rookwood Necropolis.

It does have a great feel to it, this graveyard. Dark and gloomy. And unlike nearly any other cemetery I have visited in Australia, most of which are like and airy, with neatly trimmed lawns and riots of cut flowers. St Stephen's is populated with great, gnarled Port Jackson fig trees, their roots twisting and turning into the soil, and their massive canopies blocking out the sun and the air, with a shadow that admonishes the merest sliver of grass that pokes it head out of the compacted clay. Moisture lies in the uneven ground, mud sloshes, and mould and fungi flourish. All of which has a predictable affect upon sandstone, which is a porous rock to begin with. I have tried to show this aspect of St Stephen's with my selection of images.

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

This is not to condemn this cemetery, which has a piercing beauty which I have described in an earlier post on another blog. It is an engagingly historic graveyard, with memorials not only from Devonshire Street but also from the original Old Burial Ground at the Town Hall. Many of the memorial are sans remains, but the feel of the place is authentic. And there is also St Stephen's, the building. I am but a little old lady, with a stick, and noone thinks twice when I sidle into a church doorway. And I am left in peace, to wander and wonder. As I did on this earlier occasion when the only people around was a bunch of electricians.

I continue to return to Camperdown Cemetery for personal reasons. To endeavour to locate the memorial to Ann Maund, which is prone and has not disclosed it resting place to me in my three previous visits. Darn it! Ann Maund is my 4x-great-grandmother on my mother's side. And a tough old biddy she apparently was. She arrived in the colony with her convict husband, Joseph Puckeridge, in 1801, her two children dying on the journey. When Joseph died in 1818, having 7 young children, she quickly married again, had three more children and died in 1850, aged 71. I have seen a photograph of her memorial, but not seen it with my own eyes yet. But I will, I will ... eventually.

Funerary Objet d'Art - Manly

A with so many of these symbols, I can read and read, but it still comes down to a guess. The combination of these two symbols lead me to think they are of masonic import. The Masons have an 'Order of the Eastern Star' to which both males and females can belong (with qualification). The OES does have a five-pointed star, but it is inverted which this one isn't. Each star point represents a different heroine of the Bible and degree of the Order, and each one represents a different virtue. 'Worthy Matrons' in the order are permitted to wear a crown symbol. The crown is a symbol of sovereignty, honour, glory, victory (especially over death) and the crown of Christ's righteousness. The symbolism could come from Paul's comment about winning the crown of life. However, I am open to a different interpretation.

To be found in Manly Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia

Taphophile Tragics # 39

This headstone, and grave, is to commemorate the life, and death of Catherin Paskell who died in August 1898. The mason forgot to leave sufficient space to tell us how old Catherin was. I was taken by the method of decoration. I have seen plain headstones, I have seen small (growing) annuals, cut blooms, and all variety of artificial flowers. It is not often that I have seen a bush of this size. I shudder to think how far the roots go downb.

Manly Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia

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Welcome to the 39th week of Taphophile Tragics.

Your contribution is most welcome. Please ensure that you include some details of the cemetery in which you took your photographs, and link directly to your post, rather than simply to your blog in general. This week, Mr Linky opens at 9:30pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10), and closes at 9:30pm on the Friday. When you can, please visit the other contributing bloggers to show your appreciation of their endeavours. Due to time zone variations and overcrowded schedules, some contributions are made later than Tuesday/Wednesday. As per usual, we are working with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.

At the moment, there are three posts a week to this blog:

Mon - Research of an individual from the details on their headstone;
Wed - An example of funerary symbolism and its meaning; and
Fri - 'Six-Feet-Down-Under' highlighting an Australian cemetery/graveyard.

Join me if that sounds of interest.

Taphophile Tragics - Something does not add up

Florence and Lillian were cousins, Florence's mother (Winifred, born 1903) was the sister of Lillian's father (Samuel, born 1895). Or, at least, I think that is how it goes. Florence's story is the more straightforward, so let's start there first. She was the only child of Winifred Orr and Eric Alfred Ingoverson (born 1900). In 1938, she was on the roof of the verandah at her houme in Naremburn, when she came into contract with and energized electrical wire, and died of shock, aged 14 years. The Coroner's Report, and the New South Wales BDM records all have her down as Florence Hilda, these being also the names of two of her mother's sisters, one of whom died aged 8. So just where the 'Delmont' comes in, I have no idea.

Now Lillian is a totally different story, shrouded in mystery. Nah, not really. Just that the National Library of Australia site is down, and it holds the Trove record which shows tantalising snippets of Lily's obituary. But I have issues here. The monument says Lily died in 1931 aged 23, meaning she was born in 1908. Is my arithmetic right? The hassle is that the family trees that I can find have Lily's mother (Elsie) being born in 1901 and her father (Samuel) in 1895. I do not understand. What is more, the electoral rolls for 1930 show Samuel and Elsie living at 38 The Causeway, Enfield, yet Lillian (who would have been 22 at that stage and on the electoral roll) was not also listed. I await the repair to the NLA site with bated breath. Morning has broken, and still no Trove. However, thanks to Rosemary I went back to NSW BDM. There were two (2) Lillian Orrs: one born to William and Florence and the other born to Samuel and Elsie. The Lillian born to William and Florence is the one buried at Manly, making her the aunt of Florence and also the aunt of the second Lillian. Lillian (the older .. stick with me) was born in 1906 according to official records. Lillian the younger died in 1929, but must have been born AFTER 1911 which is the cut-off for birth-searches within the NSW BDM records. But still need Trove to read what that obituary says.

This is my contribution to the Taphophile Tragics Community.

This is my contribution to the Cemetery Sunday Community.

This post is also linked up to Graveyard Rabbits on FB.

Six-Feet-Down-Under : Manly Cemetery

This little handkerchief of a burial ground was probably way out in the boon docks when it was established in 1872. Although, Jane McLean's monument went up in 1863, and there is a charming story of a birder stumbling across a rough-hewn cross for an infant c.1861. It is small and rectangular, perhaps a normal suburban block. But it is still in use, although only cremations and burial in existing plots is any longer permitted. It is similar to Gore Hill Cemetery in that regard. Both established in the middle of the 19th century.

It is divided into religious demoninations, as were all cemeteries of that era. Christian religious demoninations, you realise. The protties and the micks. Those that protested against the ruling Protestants (eg Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists) were begrudgingly allocated a General section. One only has to look at the dedications on the headstones to be fully aware when one moves from one section to the next. This is a relatively austere cemetery, meaning devoid of excessive decoration. There are a few angels and Marys but it gives every indication that the people who chose to spend eternity in this burial ground knew the value of money and the necessity of hard work, and kept their ego well in check.

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

Once again, this cemetery was the recipient of a removal from the old Devonshire Street Cemetery which made way for Central Railway Station in the first few years of the 20th century. One William Aberdeen who died in 1845 was reinterred here in Manly in 1899. There are a number of headstones that were instantly memorable and which I will research in more detail as time goes on. The stonemasons were mostly journeymen, judging from their finished product. George Watters’ monumental mason’s yard operated on the corner of Griffiths and Hill Streets, opposite the cemetery from around 1920; his name is carved on several headstones. The Pickworths had their masons’ yard in Harland Street from the 1930s.

The burial ground is now under the care of the Manly Council. Unlike the old Balmain Burial Ground out in Leichhardt, which was turned into a Pioneers' Park during the years of WW2, Manly Cemetery has a long way to go to be mothballed. They are still taking ashes and bodies for burial. The grass is mowed, and the memorials are kept secure. There is some destruction as you can see in the images, but this could be the result of erosion and weather, rather than vandalism. But there is little in the way of decoration; few flowers; fewer vases. It is kept tidy, without being loved.