CFHS code : AL392
Parish : St Andrew the Less
Inscription : In Loving Remembrance of CHARLES SMEE d August 23rd 1882 aged 66 also of REBECCA SMEE his wife d December 2nd 1902 aged 81
Monument : Headstone
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
This Headstone stands roughly 8 rows east of the central path and 4 monuments south of the north path in the parish of Andrew the Less. The carved inscription is very clear with only a small section eroded.
Inscription (faces west, the epitaph Charles Wesley)
In Loving Remembrance of CHARLES SMEE. Who died August 23rd 1882. Aged 66 years.
Trust in Jesus
_______
Happy soul.Thy days are ended.
All thy mourning days below:
Go, by angel guards attended.
To the sight of Jesus Go.
Waiting to receive thy spirit.
Lo! the Saviour stands above:
She was the purchase of his merit,
Reaches out the crown of love.
Also of REBECCA SMEE his wife who died December 2nd 1902. Aged 81 years
Charles Smee (20 June 1816 – 23 August 1882)
Charles was the son of James, a cabinet maker, and Ann (née Day) and was born in Cambridge and baptised at St Peter’s church on July 14th. He married Mary who was not from Cambridgeshire and they had at least four children: Louisa (1838-1893), Charles (1840-1867), Elizabeth (1842-) and Alfred (1844-1904). We have been unable to find a record of this 1st marriage but in 1841 the family were living at 3 Gloucester Place. We know that he married for a second time in 1848 to Rebecca Mason. In 1851 the family were living at 10 Albert Street and Charles was working as a lamplighter. By 1861 Charles and Rebecca were at 7 Cromwell Road in Croydon with Charles and Alfred and he was still working as a lamplighter. They had returned to live at 14 Albert Street by at least 1871 and by then Charles was working as a painter. He died at home aged 66 years old.
Rebecca Smee (née Mason) (c.1821 – 2 December 1902)
Rebecca was the daughter of Henry, a brewer and Elizabeth née Gage and grew up at 19 East Road (1841). She married Charles Smee on February 2nd 1848 in the parish of Andrew the Less. After she was widowed she lived at 16 Albert Street (1891) and 51 Gold Street (1900/1901). She died at 17 Staffordshire Street in December 1902.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
CFHS parish records
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any further information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]