CFHS code : AL418
Parish : St Andrew the Less
Inscription : In Loving Memory of CHARLES STELEY d April 8th 1888 aged 37 also ELIZABETH M STELEY d Oct 13th 1930 aged 76
Monument : Stone cross (broken)
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
This small plinth in the parish of Andrew the Less stands about 8 rows east of the central path. It is the 4th visible monument from the north path but is easily hidden in long grass. It has become displaced and the stones may eventually separate. The carved inscriptions are still legible in good light and although now covered in grass the cross still lies where it fell to the west.
Inscription
In Loving Memory of CHARLES STELEY.
Died April 8th 1888 aged 37 years.
‘Life’s a short summer. Man a flower.
Also ELIZABETH M STELEY his wife died Oct 13th 1930 aged 76 years
Charles Steley (7 December 1851 – 8 April 1888)
Charles was the son of Joseph (1811-1869) and Mary Ann (née Mccarty)(1820-1870) and was baptised at St. Clement’s Church on 18 October 1857 when he was five years old. Joseph Steley was a tailor and the family lived at Sussum’s Yard. Aged 19 Charles was working as a machine printer and lodging at 19 Ferry Path with the Langford family. He married Elizabeth Beans on 7 January 1878 at Christ Church, Cambridge and they started married life in Hackney, London where he continued to work as a printer. They moved back to Cambridge and lived at 4 Clarendon Street. Charles worked for the Cambridge University Press where he was said to have been ‘hed in high esteem by his fellow workmen. He was a member of the ‘Order of Foresters’ and an auditor of the society. He was also a member of the Cambridge Medical Association, and sat on the Management Committee. He died at home aged 36 years after a few days illness (although the grave monument states 37 years). He was buried at Mill Road Cemetery on 12 April.
Elizabeth Mary Steley (née Beans) (1853 – 13 October 1930)
Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas (1826-1865) and Eliza (née Butcher) (1817-1890) and grew up at 12 Gold Street. Her father was a railway carriage fitter, her mother a laundress. After she was widowed Elizabeth ran a Lodging House at 4 Clarendon Street (until at least 1901) before moving to West View, Shelford Road, Trumpington where she died aged 76.
Both Elizabeth’s parents were buried in the St. Andrew the Less area of Mill Road Cemetery, but their graves have not yet been found. Thomas Beans died at Gold Street and was buried on 21 March 1865. Eliza died at Clarendon Street and was buried on 7 March 1890.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
Parish burial records transcribed by CFHS
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]