CFHS code : AS142
Parish : All Saints
Inscription : JOSEPH ATTACK d Dec 11 1841 aged 50 his remains are interred in All Saints church-yard ELIZABETH his wife d Nov 5 1865 aged 69 also CAROLINE daughter of the above d April 21 1900
Monument : Stone cross
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Lat Lon : 52.20352, 0.1367394 – click here for location
Monument
This tall cross on a plinth of rough hewn stone stands two rows from the west wall in the north west corner of the parish of All Saints. This area is usually left to grow wild but was cleared in 2023.
Inscription
Joseph Attack died Dec. 11 1841 aged 50 years.
His remains are interred in All Saints church-yard
Elizabeth his wife died Nov 5 1865 aged 69 years
Also Caroline daughter of the above died April 21 1900
Relationships – Parents & daughter – possibly son.
Related monument Benjamin Attack brother of Joseph Attack snr
Joseph Attack (28 November 1791 – 11 December 1841)
Joseph was the son of John and Elizabeth Attack. He was born in Bedford and baptised there on 1 January 1792 at the Howard Chapel on Mill Street, Bedford. He married Elizabeth Sanderson at All Saints Church, Cambridge on 16 July 1816. Joseph and Elizabeth had at least three children: Benjamin (c 1816 ), Caroline (1818-1900) and Joseph (1821-1888). The family lived on King Street, and Joseph worked as a plasterer. He died on 14 December and was buried on 19th December in the old All Saints Church-yard in St John’s Street in the centre of Cambridge. This church was demolished in 1865 and is now a garden. The new All Saints Church was built in Jesus Lane.
Elizabeth Attack (née Sanderson) (c.1796 – 5 November 1865)
Elizabeth was 20 years old when she married Joseph Attack. After being widowed she lived at 6 Malcolm Street where she worked as a ‘college servant’ and lived with her two children. She died at Malcolm Street aged 69 years old.
Caroline Attack (c.1818 – 21 April 1900)
Caroline lived with her parents and brother throughout her life and did not marry. She was baptised at All Saints Church on 28 March 1819. After her mother’s death she ran a Lodging house at 6 Malcolm Street (1871/1881) and lived there with her brother Joseph who was a tailor. Her brother died in March 1888 and is buried in this parish – possibly here. By 1890 she had moved to live at 10 Newnham Terrace. In 1893 she paid for a window in All Saint’s church which she dedicated to her family. She died at Newnham Terrace aged 82 years old.
When she died she left an estate valued at £26,764 11s 9d (c.£2.85m in 2019 values). Caroline appears to have been a shrewd investor, and her various investments were sold by auction after her death on 6 July 1900. The portfolio consisted of: £736 stocks in the Cambridge University and Town Gas Light Company, £125 stocks/shares in the Cambridge University and Town Waterworks company, 50 £1 shares in the Cambridge University and Town Coffee Palace Company, 100 £10 6% preference shares in the Star Brewery Company and a life policy in the Star Life Assurance Company of £100.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
You can read more about the Attack family here https://lostcambridge.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/all-saints-church-cambridge-a-hidden-gem/
by Claire Martinsen with some additional material by Mary Naylor