CFHS code : ML61
Parish : St Mary the Less
Inscription : Sacred to the Memory of ELIZABETH wife of JOHN JOHNSON d Apr 23 1860 aged 61 and ELIZABETH wife of FREDERICK JOHNSON d Apr 19 1860 aged 45 and JOHN HARVEY their son d Feb 17 1867 aged 2 and JOHN JOHNSON remainder illegible
Monument : Headstone
Above information amended from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Lat Lon : 52.202794, 0.13808026 – click here for location
Monument
This double sided headstone, in the parish area of St Mary the Less, is located thirteen rows east from the centre circle on the northern boundary of the parish. Some of the carved inscriptions are badly eroded and the grave register was used to establish which members of the family are buried in these 2 graves – one to the east and one to the west.
Inscription
west face
Sacred to the Memory of ELIZABETH wife of JOHN JOHNSON who died April 23 1860 aged 61
Also of ELIZABETH wife of FREDERICK C JOHNSON who died April 19 1860 aged 4[5]
And JOHN HARVEY their son who died Feb 17 1857 aged 2
And JOHN JOHNSON remainder illegible’
east face
Also ISABELLA JOHNSON daughter of John and Elisabeth Johnson. Who died May 27. 1881. Aged 41 years.
Also JOHN JOHNSON eldest brother of the above, Born June 28 1819 died at Newmarket July 31 1886
“Strong in the faith that God supplies through his beloved son”
Also in loving memory of SUSAN JOHNSON, wife of the last named,
Who died 22 May 1895 aged 75 years
” The soul [of the blessed] are in the hands of God.”
Relationships – John & Elizabeth, their son John and his wife Susan, their daughter Isabella, their daughter in law Elizabeth and her son John Harvey.
Elizabeth Johnson (née Edwards) (17 December 1798 – 23 April 1860)
Elizabeth is believed to have been the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (née Harvey) and married John Johnson on 18 June 1818 at St. Edward’s Church, Cambridge. The couple had at least eleven children: John (1819-1886), Frederick George (1820-1885), Elizabeth Frances (1822-1873), Thomas Harvey (1825-1904), Alfred (1827-1909), Mary Ann Eliza (known as Polly) (1830-1879), Charles Henry (1832-1923), George Robert (1834-), Octavius (1836-1838), Lucy Ellen (1838-1840) and Isabella (1839-1881). John Johnson was a cooper and the family lived at 2 Wheeler Street (1841/1851), then 79 Trumpington Street. Elizabeth was said to have died from the shock of her daughter in law Elizabeth (see below) dying four days previously.
Elizabeth Johnson (née Topping) (c.1815 – 19 April 1860)
Elizabeth was the daughter of tailor William Topping. and in 1841 was working as a servant for the Johnson family at Wheeler Street. She married Frederick George Johnson (1820-1885) on 31 August 1846 at Christ Church, Cambridge and they had at least four children: Louisa Elizabeth (1848-1922), Rev. Frederick George (1850-1909), Helen Mary (1853-1922) and John Harvey (1854-1867). Frederick was a cooper who worked with his father and the two families lived together at Wheeler Street and then Trumpington Street. Elizabeth died ‘suddenly of disease of the heart’ at 79 Trumpington Street aged 45 years old.
Frederick married for a second time to widow Helen Tacey Smith (née Moore) on 19 September 1865. They had one son together: John William E (1866-1958) and emigrated to Connecticut, USA. Frederick died in New Haven on 25 July 1885
John Harvey Johnson (1854 – 2 February 1857)
John was the youngest son of Frederick and Elizabeth Johnson and died at Trumpington Street aged two and a half.
John Johnson (1785 – 9 January 1865)
John was the only son of cooper John Johnson and took over the family business when his father died in October 1820. In 1829 John took out notices in local newspapers which read ‘John Johnson, Cooper, Wheeler Street, Cambridge begs leave to contradict a report of his having declining business, whereas he never entertained an idea of so doing; but continues to carry it on as usual; and with grateful acknowledgements for past favours, respectfully solicits a continuation of the public patronage with greater confidence, as he had changed his man’. John died at 79 Trumpington Street aged 79 years old.
Isabella Johnson (1839 -1881)
Isabella was the eleventh child of John & Elizabeth. After the death of her parents she may have stayed with family. In the 1871 census she was with her elder sister Elizabeth Frances at 9 New Square. Elizabeth had married a clergyman – Rev James Gregory who died in 1864. Elizabeth struggled to manage on virtually no income, she became very depressed and drowned herself in 1873. She is buried in the grave yard at Cherry Hinton St Andrews.
This must have been a very difficult time for Isabella who’s sister Mary Ann appeared as a witness at the inquest.
In 1881 Isabella was living on Hills Road she was both the head of house and a lodger and listed as an annuitant – so must have had some investments.
The burial record state that she died in the parish of St Paul’s so was presumably still living on Hills Road.
John Johnson (28 June 1819 – 31 July 1886)
John was the eldest son of John and Elizabeth Johnson and worked as a tailor/robemaker. He married Susan Wade on 17 July 1842 at St. Pancras Church and they had one son: Rev. John Edward Swift (1857-1941). They lived at 6 St. John’s Street (1851/1861), 9 Peas Hill (1871) and 2 Regent Terrace (1881). John died aged 67 years old.
Susan Johnson (née Wade) (1820 – 22 May 1895)
Susan was the daughter of builder/bricklayer Edward Wade (1786-1860) and Harriett Elizabeth (née Rogers) (1779-1871). She was born in Cambridge but grew up in London and married John Johnson when she was c.22 years old. She died at Richmond Road, Cambridge aged 75 years old.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
If you have any information about this family, please email friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com