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.
