CFHS code : AG199
Parish : St Andrew the Great
Inscription : In Loving Memory of JOSEPH HOWARD SUMMERLIN d Aug 7 1930 aged 78 also of EMMA wife of the above d March 8 1945 aged 90
Monument : Stone cross/Kerb stones (broken)
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
This broken cross, located in the parish area of Andrew the Great, stands 2 rows west of the west path, just to the south of the junction of the path that leads to the centre circle. The 3 tiered plinth stands on a solid base with curved corner posts which appear to stand on a wider solid base. The cross has fallen forward covering the east inscription. However we found a further inscription on the south face that had not been seen by CFHS. This area is usually left to grow wild but had some cutback in 2022.
As this monument was not found by us when we mapped this area the nearest monument with a map link is Storey which stands 1 row behind and about 7 plots north.
Inscription
In Loving Memory of JOSEPH HOWARD SUMMERLIN d Aug 7 1930 aged 78
Also of EMMA wife of the above d March 8 1945 aged 90
Also ALICE MAUD SUMMERLIN died March 12. 1896. Aged 6 years
Joseph Howard (Howard) Summerlin (1852 – 7 August 1930)
Howard was the son of blacksmith George Summerlin (1811-1857) and Ann (née Merry) and was born in Orwell. His father died when he was young and he was then raised by his brother George Austin Summerlin in Orwell (1861) before moving to lodge at 2 Fitzroy Street (1871). He worked as a carpenter and married Emma Reynolds in 1874. The couple had two daughters: Lizzie (known as Nance) (1880-1928) and Alice Maud (1889-1896). They lived at 2 York Street (1881), 23 Earl Street (at least 1891 – 1911) and 21 City Road. He later worked as a builder and undertaker. Howard died at City Road aged 78 years old.
His obituary said he was ‘one of the town’s oldest residents and a popular and esteemed Oddfellow, of which Order he had been a member of for sixty years. Mr Summerlin had been in failing health for some time and never really recovered from the blow caused by the death two years ago of his only daughter…..Mr Summerlin was closely identified with the church of St. Andrew the Great, of which he was a sidesman for some years’.
Joseph and Emma’s eldest daughter Nance had married newspaper sub-editor Tim Wicks (1876-1961) in 1902 .She died in August 1928 at Nether Edge, Sheffield ‘after much suffering, heroically borne’. She was 48 years old
Howard’s nephew Frederick Summerlin and sister Louisa Wilson are also buried at Mill Road Cemetery.
Emma Summerlin (née Reynolds) (21 September 1854 – 8 March 1945)
Emma was the daughter of George and Olleviner (née Everett) and was born in Cambridge. She grew up at the Woolpack pub in Newmarket, where her father was publican and musician. By 1871 the family had returned to Cambridge and were living at 24 East Road, and George was a musician. Emma married Howard Summerlin when she was 19 years old and after being widowed continued to live at 21 City Road where she died in March 1945.
Alice Maud Summerlin (1889- 12 March 1896)
Alice was the youngest daughter of Joseph & Emma and died at 23 Earl Street a few months before her 7th birthday.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]