Initials on a headstone

[littlesis 76]

She was in St Aloysius Catholic School in Claredon square in St Pancras in 1871.
We have no idea why she was in Ingrave at time of her death in 1880.Like I said there are 3 ladies on the 81 census in Ingrave for the St Joseph's Convent and School so am trying to find more out about that
On the phone the initials were discussed and the duty archivist didnt know what they stood for.
The death cert doesn't give away much apart from a Aunt from Harrow was there at her death,Her father was alive and in Marylebone he had remarried after mother died and they were not a poor family so they could of got her a headstone so no idea why her school companions got her one

[heywood]

Yes I saw her in 1871 in the school run by FCJ and I thought that was an orphanage or certainly a school for poor children.

[heywood]

I wonder if there are other graves in the cemetery - perhaps some of the nuns who may have similar inscriptions.
I wonder if EDM could possibly be OLM for Our Lady of Mercy or similar?

Lots of wondering 

[heywood]

Does the address on the death certificate not indicate whether she was in that convent? I see that the children in 1881 are under 11 yrs so perhaps it wasn’t a school for older girls and therefore maybe she was part of the order.

[louisa maud]

It has occurred to me that perhaps Martina was either training to be a nun or a helping as a teaching assistant, she was 16 when she died so the possibility was that she might have been employed

My friendly priest has no idea either

Sometimes gravestones have the initials or names of the undertaker on the stone but it usually is a bit out of the way of inscriptions

Louisa Maud

[heywood]

That is my thinking LM - did they not write an occupation on the death certificate?

[louisa maud]

" It seems strange that her school companions would have the funds to erect a memorial."

Yes Heywood it might seem strange her school companions funded the headstone, that is why I am wondering if she was a teacher or a trainee nun, it was a really nice idea whoever's idea it was, as Lisa said, her parents weren't poor, whatever the reason she must have been well thought of which must be a source of comfort to her relations

Louisa Maud

[Isabel H]

I wonder if there are other graves in the cemetery - perhaps some of the nuns who may have similar inscriptions.
I wonder if EDM could possibly be OLM for Our Lady of Mercy or similar?

Lots of wondering 

Searching for EDM produced an example on this Irish site:
 http://www.from-ireland.net/st-michaels-old-grave-transcriptions-4/

While it doesn't explain anything, it does seem to confirm that the letters on Martina's gravestone are correctly transcribed as EDM.

[littlesis 76]

I did see that on a Irish site it's beside 2 elderly ladies names ,shame it doesn't explain more .
I wonder if it is anything to do with the Sister Of Mercy as Heywood said
I think Louisa is prob right as the convent in Queens Rd  Brentwood the pupils are up to 10yrs so maybe she was becoming a nun