CFHS code : AL443
Parish : St Andrew the Less
Inscription : In Ever Loving Memory of my dear wife BEATRICE CURTIS d Sept 7th 1919 aged 29 also HENRY RICHARD MABBATT d Oct 16th 1926 aged 33
Monument : Headstone
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
This headstone located in the parish of St Andrew the Less stands 6 rows east of the central path, towards the south of the parish.
The carved inscriptions are very clear.
Inscription
west face
In Loving Memory of
Richard Gillam died Aug. 18. 1884. Aged 52 Years.`
“Lord he was Thine and not my own
Thou hast not done me wrong.
I thank Thee for the precious loan
Afforded me so long.”
Also Caroline wife of the above died April 23. 1890. Aged 58 years
“Fare well my children my life is past”
east face
In Ever Loving Memory of my dear wife BEATRICE CURTIS
Who passed away Sept. 7th 1919. Aged 29 years
“Jesus lover of my soul.”
Also HENRY RICHARD MABBATT
Who passed away Oct. 16th 1926. Aged 33 years.
“Now the labourer’s task is o’re.”
Relationship: Husband, wife, grandson and granddaughter
Richard Gillam (c.1832 – 18 August 1884)
Richard was born in Cambridge and worked as a chimney sweep. In 1851 he was lodging iwith fellow sweep William Franklin at ‘Sweeps Yard’ just off East Road. He married Caroline and in 1861 the couple were living at 1 Saxon Street. They had at least two daughters: Eliza (1863-1953) and Catherine Maud (1874-1940). Richard later worked as a carter and publican, and by 1871 the family were living at 11 Union Street. He later ran the Smith and Wheelwright Arms at 82 East Road, and combined being a publican and contractor, employing two men.
In 1879 Richard was charged with selling alcohol after hours. Caroline Gillam was observed by a policeman with a jug of beer in her hand. At court the Gillams said the beer was for their servants, and therefore no offence had been committed. He was fined 10s and costs, but his license was not endorsed. Richard died at home aged 49 years old and his funeral was held on 22 August.
Caroline Gilliam (1831- 23 April 1890)
Caroline was also born in Cambridge, but little is known of her early life. She continued to run the Smith and Wheelwright Arms after she was widowed until at least 1888, and then went to live with daughter Eliza and her family at 10 Burleigh Street, where she died aged 58.
Beatrice (Beatie) Curtis (née Mabbatt) (1890 – 7 September 1919)
Beatie was born in Cambridge and was the daughter of George and Eliza (née Gillam) Mabbatt. George was a paper hanger, and the family lived at 10 Burleigh Street (1891) and then 6 Smarts Row (1901).
In 1911 she was living with her mother and siblings at 36 St Matthews Street and was working as an examiner for a knitting company. Beatie married gardener Jack Curtis (1894-1981) in 1915 and died in 1919 at 2 Norfolk Street. The Cambridge Independent Press reported that she died ‘after a very trying illness’ and that ‘the esteem in which the deceased lady was held was evidenced by the chapel (at Mill Road Cemetery) being almost full and by the large crowds at the graveside’.
The following year Eliza Mabbatt placed an in memoriam notice in the Cambridge Independent Press which read: In ever loving memory of my only darling daughter Beatrice Curtis, and the first wife of Jack Curtis of Old Chesterton, Cambridge……There is a vacant place around the fireside, Her face which we loved dearly is gong for ever from our home. But we hope to meet her some day where she is gone. To a bright and better home. Never forgotten’.
Jack Curtis married for a second time in 1930 to Nellie Wilson (1897-1984). He worked as an electrical engineer for the Post Office after the war and died in Cambridge aged 86.
Henry Richard Mabbatt (1893 – 16 October 1926)
Henry was the brother of Beatrice, and youngest child of George and Eliza Mabbatt. In 1911 he was living at home and working as a ‘night adjuster’. In 1920 and 1925 he was living at 2 Norfolk Street with his mother Eliza and died aged 33 years old.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
Parish burial records transcribed by CFHS
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any further information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]