CFHS code : AL345
Parish : St Andrew the Less
Inscription : In Loving Memory of JAMES NORTHFIELD d May [24] 1903 aged 62 also LUCY NORTHFIELD d May 28 1888 aged 51 also children of the above LUCY d Dec 15 1871 EMILY d Oct 30 1873 erected by his wife E NORTHFIELD
Monument : Headstone
Above information amended from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
This headstone in the parish of St Andrew the Less stands roughly 13 rows from the central path and a few monuments south of the north path.
Inscription
In Loving Memory of JAMES NORTHFIELD died May 2 -1903 aged 62
Also LUCY NORTHFIELD died May 29 – 1888 aged 51
Also children of the above
LUCY died Dec 15 – 1871
EMILY died Oct 30 – 1873
“Weep not for me my wife so dear
I am not dead but sleeping here
My end you know, my grave you see
Prepare yourself to follow me.”
Erected by his wife E. NORTHFIELD
James Northfield (1838 – 24 May 1903)
James was born in Little Shelford and was the son of Benjamin and Mary Northfield. He grew up at 30 Cambridge Place (1841) and Benjamin worked as a labourer. James married Georgiana (Selina) Linsdell on 24 June 1860 at St Paul’s Church, Cambridge. The couple lived at 66 Cambridge Place (1861) and James too worked as a labourer. He was widowed in July 1861 when Selina died.
James married for a second time on 12 April 1863 at St. Paul’s Church to Lucy Cornwell. James and Lucy had at least seven children: Sarah Elizabeth (1864-1953), George John (1865-1947), William James Henry (1867-1956), Lucy Lydia (1869-1971), Rosamond (1870-1939), Emily (1873-1873) and John William (1877-1958).
In 1871 James was running the Race-horse pub on Newmarket Road, but this had passed to a new landlord by 1879. In 1881 the family were at 6 Coldham Lane and James was working as a bricklayer. They later moved to 4 Hobart Street and James was widowed in May 1888. He married for a third time on 4 August 1889 at St. Stephen’s Church, Battersea to Elizabeth Pettit (1837-). The couple continued to live at Hobart Street (1891/1901) with his sons William and John.
John died in May 1903 and although both the grave monument and his death registration documentation record his age as 62 years old, he was in fact 65 when he died.
Lucy Northfield (née Cornwell) (c.1837 – 28 May 1888)
Lucy was the daughter of George and Mary (née Nottage) and was born in Bottisham. Her father was a farmer in the village, and Lucy married widower James Northfield when she was 26 years old. She died at 4 Hobart Street aged 51 years old.
Emily Northfield (1873 – 30 October 1873)
Emily was baptised at St. Paul’s Church on 29 June 1873 and died when she was less than six months old.
Lucy Lydia Northfield (1869 – 15 December 1871)
Lucy was baptised at St. Paul’s Church on 30 May 1869 and died at the Racehorse pub aged 2 years old.
The grave monument was erected by James’ third wife Elizabeth.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any further information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]