Coincidence

I've been trying to find out more about the unusual memorial stone that was spotted under the trees near the wall in Sudbury churchyard.  I showed Paul's photo of it on my last post - I turned it monochrome to make it clearer.

I had the idea to try ancestry and put in the name of Vernon, which was the name of the owners of Sudbury Hall.  I added the date 1709 and was taken to a reference to Dorothea Vernon who died in 1709.  This gave me access to the pages of the parish register for that date.  There were no references to any children.  I looked either side of 1709 and found several in both 1708 and 1710, assuming that 'son of' would indicate a child.  I took down all the names but had no hope of joining the dots.

This morning I was browsing face book, as you do, and a page came up for the Church Memorial Society.  I wondered if I could follow the group and see if I could find out more.  I clicked on the page and I couldn't believe the first thing on their page was the very memorial from Sudbury!  What a coincidence.

The person who had added the details had, unlike us, looked at the back of the stone - all the details were there.  We must go back sometime to take a photo as there is a carving on the back as well as the inscription which reads:-

 'Here lyeth the body of Henry Whitaker who departed this life on ye 21st day of October 1708 aged 25 years'

So, not a child but a young man.

Armed with his name and age I again went to Ancestry and there was a whole family tree.  Lots of information which looked well researched. I know you have to be careful with ancestry and check all details.  

Henry Whittaker married Elizabeth Wooley at Sudbury church in 1703, they lived in nearby Draycott-in-the-Clay and had three daughters Ann born 1704 and Catherine and Elizabeth born 1706, such young children to leave behind.  There was a will in which he left instructions for the education of his daughters and for each of them to receive the sum of £60 at the age of fourteen.  In the will Henry is described as a Yeoman definition of which is 'a free man who owned and farmed a small plot of land, ranking just below the gentry'

All for now.