The lee's of leek, staffordshire.
At LEEK,
STAFFORDSHIRE, there are three graves to be found which relate directly to
the LEE family. The cemetery stands high on a hill on the approach from the
west.
The first is grave No. 3978.
It contains...
Robert Lee.
Died June 26th 1891 aged 70. (Lived
and died at Hugo Street Leek. Retired
Farmer).
Margaret Lee.
Wife of the above. Died August 27th 1906 aged 86.
(Widow of 6 Alsop Street, Leek. Aged
81).
Annie.
Wife of Earnest V. Trafford and daughter of the above.
Died June 14th 1923 aged 50. (Lived
and died at 16 Field Street, Leek.
Aged 48).
The second is grave No. 3980.
It contains...
Mary Ellen, wife of Job Lee.
Died October 17th 1888 aged 32.
( Lived and died at 6 Alsop Street, Leek).
Margaret Jane Marshall,
daughter of the above. Died
November 27th 1890 aged 3 years and 11 months.
(Of Hugo Street, Leek).
Harriet, daughter of Robert
and Margaret Lee. Died February
26th 1891 aged 24. (Single woman of
Hugo Street, Leek).
Also Henry their son.
Died April 16th 1891 aged 22 years.
(Yeast dealer of Hugo Street, Leek).
Also in this grave but not
on the headstone is Job Lee, husband of Mary Ellen. Died September 24th 1899 aged 39. (Yeast dealer of Hugo Street, Leek.)
Also, Phylis Mary Lee, daughter of John Lee, Soldier. Died August 31st 1911 aged 1 year and 3 months. (Of 20 Alsop Street, Leek).
It should be noted that the
words in brackets are those of the superintendent and are those recorded in the
official record book of those in the grave. Although the ages don't correspond,
I don't think it's too important to dwell on them. If we look at the census
returns and Robert's date of baptism, we can see that the superintendents
figures are the accurate ones.
NOTE.... Also grave No.
3979.
This grave contains the
remains of the Widdison family. The
Widdisons were the parents of Mary
Ellen Lee, wife of Job Lee.
Thomas Clark, only son of
John and Jane Widdison. Died 13th
of December 1875 aged 15 years.
Also above Jane Widdison.
Died 23rd of December 1877 aged 49.
Also, Elizabeth Clark, mother of the above Jane Widdison. Died 4th of September 1880 aged 76.
It's obvious that Job, son of Robert 1820, set up a business as a Yeast merchant. All seemed to be going well until around 1888. It was during this year that Mary Ellen, wife of Job Lee died just 22 months after her daughter, Margaret Jane Marshall Lee was born. I believe she died of Tuberculosis. It was rife in the latter part of the 19th century and many families succumbed to this terrible disease. It was only a matter of just over 2 years later that her daughter, Margaret Jane Marshall Lee died of tuberculosis. [I have the Death certificate which proves this.] She died at Glenochir Villa, Hugo Street, Leek in the presence of her father, Job Lee.
I make this point because I believe it is relevant to all that followed during the next few months. Young Margaret died in the November of that year, 1890. The following year, other close members of the family also died and I think it's reasonable to presume that they all contracted this disease. After Margaret, Harriet, daughter of Robert 1820 and his wife Margaret. died February 26th 1891 aged 24. Also Henry their son. Died April 16th 1891 aged 22 years. And then, to cap it all, Robert 1820 died June 26th 1891 aged 70.
Poor Margaret Toft as was, must have been completely heartbroken by these events. In the space of eight months, she had lost her granddaughter aged almost 4, her daughter aged 24, her son aged 22 and then the final straw, her husband Robert to whom she had been married for 45 years. Margaret went on to live a further 15 years after these events. She must have been a very sad and lonely old lady who would have welcomed death with open arms when eventually it arrived in the next century.
Each Christmas, I journey to Leek cemetery and put wreaths on their graves. More than a hundred years have passed since these sad events occurred but I'm sure they would all have been pleased to know that they would not be forgotten and that their great grandson still retains affection for them. Indeed, I feel for all those who passed away during that sad time.
May they Rest in peace.