CFHS code : AG538
Parish : St Andrew the Great
Inscription : —MO WILLIAM PLANE d April 30 1874 aged 60 ELIZABETH PLANE widow of the above d Nov 14 1889 aged 74 ALFRED PLANE d July 18 1885 aged 30 JOHN HOWES PLANE d USAmerica August 24 1885 aged 44
Monument : Headstone
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Lat Lon : 52.203032, 0.13687697 – click here for location
Monument
This headstone, located in the parish area of Andrew the Great, stands roughly 8 rows from the west path and 8 monuments north of the east west path that runs from the centre circle. The carved inscription is only visible in certain light conditions.
Inscription
In [Loving] Memory of WILLIAM PLANE died April 30 1874 aged 60
ELIZABETH PLANE widow of the above died Nov 14 1889 aged 74
ALFRED PLANE died July 18 1885 aged 30
JOHN HOWES PLANE died US America August 24 1885 aged 44.
William Plane (c.1813 – 30 April 1874)
William was born in Weston Longville in Norfolk (a village eight miles north was of Norwich) and was baptised there on 22 December 1814. He is believed to have been the son of labourer Purling Plane and his wife Honour (sic). He married Elizabeth Tann on 1 January 1837 at St. Andrew the Great Church. William worked as a blacksmith and the family lived at Falcon Yard (1851) and later at 2 St. Andrew’s Hill (1871).
William and Elizabeth had at least nine children: John Howes (1839-1841), John Howes (1841-1885), Charles (1844-1915), Robert (1846-1917), James (1849-1929), Sarah (1851-1923), Honora Elizabeth (1853-1901), Alfred (1855-1885) and Caroline Charlotte (1858-1906). He died in April 1874.
Elizabeth Plane (née Tann) (1815 – 14 November 1889)
Elizabeth was born in Brisley, Norfolk (a village between East Dereham and Fakenham) and was the illigitimate daughter of Mary Tann. She was baptised in a private ceremony at St Bartholomew Church, Brisley on 6 November 1815. She married when she was 20 years old.
After she was widowed she moved to live at 7 Saxon Street and was living there with her children Alfred and Caroline. She died in 1889.
Alfred Plane (1855 – 18 July 1885)
Alfred was the youngest son of William and Elizabeth. By the time he was 15 years old (1871) he was working as a college porter. He was still listed as a college servant on the census of 1881. He died aged 30 years old and is not believed to have married.
John Howes Plane (1 October 1841 – 22 August 1885)
John was baptised at St Andrew the Great Church on 31 October 1841. He emigrated to America, arriving in New York on 7 September 1858, and then married Mary Ellen Sausbier (1845-1931) in Buchanan County, Iowa on 27 December 1863. The couple lived in the town of Independence in Buchanan County and in 1880 John was working as a store clerk. They had two children: Emma Elizabeth (1864-1956) and Charles William (1878-1944). He became a naturalised American on 21 September 1865. John died in Independence and was buried there on 24 August 1885.
His death was announced in the Cambridge newspapers of the time and he was also remembered at Mill Road Cemetery.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any further information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]