CFHS code : AL310
Parish : St Andrew the Less
Inscription : In Loving Memory of LEONARD JOHN FREESTONE d March 8th 1918 aged 71 also ELIZA FREESTONE d Feb 16th 1924 aged 70 and ARTHUR JOHN FREESTONE d August 29th 1962 aged 76 and MAUD FREESTONE d February 15th 1968 aged 83
Monument : Headstone/Kerb stones/Flowerholder
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
This small headstone with carved tulips and kerb stones is located in the parish of St Andrew the Less towards the east of the cemetery. It stands south of the north path just as it bends to become the east path, in the shade of a large tree. The inscription of metal letters is intact but quite difficult to read.
Inscription
In Loving Memory of LEONARD JOHN FREESTONE who passed away March 8th 1918 aged 71 years
Also ELIZA FREESTONE who passed away Feb 16th 1924 aged 70 years
And ARTHUR JOHN FREESTONE who passed away August 29th 1962 aged 76 years
And MAUD FREESTONE who died February 15th 1968 aged 83 years
Leonard John Freestone (1846 – 8 March 1918)
Leonard was the son of John and Ann Freestone and grew up on Mill Road (1851) , Covent Garden (1861) and Caroline Court (1871). His father was a railway porter (1851) and then an agricultural labourer (1861). Aged 14 Leonard worked as a machine boy, then as a printer, before eventually working as a railway fireman (at least 1881 onwards). He married widow Eliza Godlington in 1874 and appears to have adopted her daughter Emma (1871-). The couple had a further twelve children: Leonard Alfred (1876-1957), George (1878-1952), Louisa Ellen (1880-), Albert (1882-), Maud (1884-1968), Arthur John (1886-1962), Percy (1890-1891), Alice (1893-1977), Frederick (1897-) and a further three children who died as infants. The family lived at Norfolk Terrace. In September 1891 the Cambridge Chronicle and Journal reported that Leonard had been taken to hospital with slight injuries to his back. The newspaper said, ‘he had been jerked on the brake-handle of his engine in consequence of the latter coming in violet contact with another engine near the locomotive shed’. He was however said to have made a near recovery. Leonard was still working in 1911 and died aged 71 years old.
Eliza Freestone (née Brown) (1853 – 16 February 1924)
Eliza was born in Cambridge and grew up at 14 Caroline Place with her parents William and Mary and siblings. William Brown was a sawyer and Eliza married George Godlington (1849-1872) in 1870 when she was 16 years old. George was a butcher, and they had a daughter named Emma, but she was widowed in February 1872 when George died aged 22 years old. He was buried at Mill Road Cemetery on 29 February, but his grave has not yet been identified. Eliza died in Cambridge aged 70 years old.
Arthur John Freestone (29 August 1886 – 29 August 1962)
Arthur worked as a paper boy (1901) and then worked as a coal merchant for his brother in law Charles Moule (husband of sister Louisa) (1911). He married Beatrice Mary Flack (1894-1959) in 1916 and they had one daughter: Dorothy E (1919-). The couple lived at 1 Sturton Street, but appear to have lived separate live as by 1930 Arthur had returned to his childhood home of 53 Norfolk Terrace where he lived with his sister Maud. Beatrice lived with Dorothy at 7 Adam and Eve Street, and both she and Arthur were marked as being married when the 1939 records were taken. Arthur was an engine repairer and died on his 76th birthday.
Maud Freestone (26 December 1884 – 15 February 1968)
Maud lived at Norfolk Terrace with her parents, and then with her brother Arthur. Her death was registered in the Newmarket district in 1968.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]