CFHS code : AG377
Parish : St Andrew the Great
Inscription : Sacred to the Memory of WILLIAM PARKER d [8 September] 1855 age 61 ANN widow of above d 3 Oct 1890 aged 88 BESSIE KATE PARKER d 22 Nov 1869 aged 3
Monument : Headstone
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Lat Lon : 52.202936, 0.136726 – click here for location
Monument
Inscription
Sacred to the Memory of WILLIAM PARKER died 8 Sept 1855 aged 61 years
ANN widow of above who died 3 Oct 1890 aged 88 years
BESSIE KATE PARKER died 22 Nov 1869 aged 3 years
William Parker (1794 – 8 September 1855)
William was born in Wimpole and was the son of Richard and Catharine Parker. He was baptised in Wimpole on 27 July 1794. He married Ann Looker in Standon, Hertfordshire on 4 March 1822. William worked as a coachbuilder and the couple had at least two children: Caroline (1823-1890) and Frederick (1827-1902). In 1841 the family were living on Regent Terrace and in 1851 on St Andrew’s Street.
He died suddenly at his home and an inquest was held into his death. William had gone to have a drink with his neighbour James Hillman at nine thirty on 7 September. He had drunk three glasses of gin and water and left at quarter to one in the morning. James testified that he had walked William to his door where they shook hands and parted. At half past two in the morning James was called to the Parker house where he saw William lying on the sofa, his skin was cold and he was having difficulty breathing. Two doctors decided that William’s stomach should be pumped, which it was, but William died at eight o’clock in the morning. The post mortem found a blood clot on his head, which was said to have been caused by a fall. The cause of death was said to be ‘apoplexy’ (internal bleeding) and the jury returned a verdict of ‘that the deceased died by the visitation of God’. He was buried in Mill Road Cemetery on 11 September.
Ann Parker (née Looker) (c.1802 – 3 October 1890)
Ann was born in Long Stowe – a village twelve miles south east of Cambridge. She is believed to have been the daughter of William and Elizabeth (née Royston) Looker and married William Parker when she was 20 years old.
In 1861 Ann was living at 37 Hills Road with her daughter Caroline and son in law William Groote. William was by then the manager of the carriage business. Caroline died in 1867 and by 1871 Ann was living at 74 Regent Street with her son Frederick, daughter-in-law Mary and their six children. Frederick was described as a ‘music hall owner, lodging house keeper and house owner’ and Ann was described as a ‘house owner’. By 1881 Ann had moved again and was living at 1 Beaconsfield Villas on Mill Road with two of her granddaughters and servant Keziah Braybrooke. She died at Beaconsfield Villas aged 88 years old.
Bessie Kate Parker ( 1866 – 22 November 1869)
Bessie was the daughter of Frederick and Mary (née Beales) Parker. She died aged 3 and a half years old at her family home of 74 Regent Street. Frederick and Mary had a total of eight children and later moved away from Cambridge to live in Brighton.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
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