CFHS code : ED132
Parish : St Edward
Inscription : headstone MARY ELIZABETH / the beloved wife of / ROBERT ROE/ b May 2 1800 / d March 31st 1856 / slab: In memory of / MARY RAY / d March 22 1849 / aged 85
Monument : Headstone/Ground slab
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Lat Lon : 52.203228, 0.13650584 – click here for location
Monument
This headstone with ground slab, in the parish area of St Edward (Sexton row I, grave 1 (which includes the grave of Robert Roe)), is located to the left of the western path beyond the path to the centre circle (going northwards), against the west boundary wall.
Inscription
headstone
Mary Elizabeth the beloved wife of Robert Roe
born May 2 1800 died March 31st 1856
slab
In memory of Mary Ray
who died March 22 1849 aged 83 years
Mary Elizabeth Roe (née Edleston) (2 May 1800 ‒ 31 March 1856)
Mary was born in Cambridge, the daughter of John and Mary Edleston (née Lilley). She was baptised in the parish church of St Botolph on May 27th 1800, and married Robert Henry Roe (1892 – 1880) there on November 8th 1821. They lived above Robert’s shop on Kings Parade (known as Trumpington St at that time), Robert was a noted printmaker, engraver and miniaturist.
Mary and Robert had at least five children: Robert Henry [1822-1905], Ellen [1825-], Owen [1827-1877], Emily [1829-1890] and Mary Matilda [1835-1907]. Robert Henry would become a noted artist like his father. Mary died at 14 Kings Parade aged 55.
Robert married for a second time in 1859 to Maria Plees (1828-1901) and had a further three children. He died in July 1880 and is also buried at Mill Road Cemetery.
Mary Ray (c.1766‒22 March 1849)
Little is known of Mary, she was not a blood relative of Mary Elizabeth but a long standing family servant of the Edleston’s. In 1841, aged 65, she was living at Dagling End, Trumpington and working for Mary Elizabeth’s younger brother Samuel Lillie Eddlestone and his wife Sarah. She died in Trumpington, and at the time was one of the oldest residents of Cambridge. Announcements of her death read ‘Mrs Mary Ray, widow, much respected’, but it has not been possible to find a marriage or further details.
Photos by Ian Bent
Research by Claire Martinsen and Mary Naylor
Sources:
Ancestry
CFHS parish & grave registers.
[If you have any information about this person, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]