CFHS code : AL573
Parish : St Andrew the Less
Inscription : In Affectionate Memory of THOMAS CUTHBERT d 8th Sept 1879 aged 65 also of ELIZABETH wife of the above d [January] 17 1918 aged 87 also of GEORGE CUTHBERT son of the above d Jan 24 1908 aged 60
Monument : Headstone
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
Inscription
In Affectionate Memory of THOMAS CUTHBERT who departed this life 8th Sept. 1879 aged 65 years
“Not my will but thine be done oh Lord.”
Also of ELIZABETH wife of the above d [January] 17 1918 aged 87 years
Also of GEORGE CUTHBERT son of the above d Jan 24 1908 aged 60 years
Thomas Cuthbert (c.1821 – 8 September 1879)
Thomas was born in Hundon in Suffolk. By 1841 he had married Betsy, they were living in Poslingford near Clare and Thomas was working as a ‘farm servant’.
Betsy and Thomas had at least two sons: Walter [1845-1922] and George. Thomas worked as a farm bailiff and ran a farm in Great Thurlow. In 1851 the farm was 48 acres, and he employed three men and one boy. By 1861 the farm was 80 acres and he employed 4 men and one boy. Betsy Cuthbert died in 1867.
Thomas married for a second time on July 24th 1869 to Elizabeth Saunders. In 1871 the couple were living at 18 Norfolk Street, and Thomas was working as a milkman. Thomas’ age in the 1871 census is recorded as 50 years old. He died in September 1879, although his grave monument records his age as 65 years old.
Elizabeth Cuthbert [nee Saunders] (c.1831 -17 January 1918)
Elizabeth was born in Trumpington to Thomas & Susan Saunders. Thomas was an agricultural labourer. In 1841 the family were living in Eagling End Trumpington but Thomas & Susan had moved to 3 Prymes Yard with their 2 youngest children Joseph & Hannah. Thomas was working as Scavenger (refuse collector), and Elizabeth was working as a family servant for Martha and William Brewster the chemists in Sidney St, where she remained until her marriage to widower Thomas Cuthbert.
After being widowed Elizabeth lived at 15 Blossom Street [1881] with her sister Hannah, step son George and niece Elizabeth Cambridge. Elizabeth ran a dairy business, with the help of Elizabeth who was a ‘dairy maid’. In 1891 she was described as a ‘cow keeper’ and her nephew Joseph Cambridge was helping her and was a milkman. Hannah and George were still also in the household at 15 Blossom Street.
The milk company that Elizabeth ran appeared in the newspapers in June 1901 when she was prosecuted by the Town Clerk, Mr Whitehead. He accused her of supplying milk that was deficient in cream. Whilst Mr Whitehead accepted he was unlikely to win the case, he argued that if the public paid 2d for a pint of milk they should get the genuine article. The case involved analysing milk, and also visiting Elizabeth at 7am and drawing a pint of milk direct from the cow. This was also found to be deficient in cream. George Cuthbert, Elizabeth’s step son spoke at the trial and said ‘that they were one of the oldest firms in Cambridge and supplied Jesus College for over 48 years’. Mr Whitehead replied ‘so much the worse for Jesus College’. The case was dismissed by the magistrates.
In 1911 she was still running the dairy business in Blossom Street. Her nephew Joseph and his wife Rose lived with her with their daughter Mabel. Joseph was the dairyman in the business. She died at Blossom Street in 1918 aged 87 years old, leaving her estate to Joseph.
George Cuthbert (c.1848 – 24 January 1908)
George was born in Great Thurlow and was the son of Thomas and Betsy Cuthbert. After the death of his father he went to live with his step-mother in Blossom Street and worked as a police constable. The census of 1901 described him as a retired police constable – he was 53 years old at this time. He never married and died at Blossom Street aged 60 years old.
Claire Martinsen
Source: Ancestry/Newspaper archives
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