Manchester General Cemetery Transcription Project

[Cancan]

Next Groundwork Day
Sunday 17 July 2016

Arriving abt 10.30am

Weather forecast looking good!

[Cancan]

Weather was great with a lovely welcome breeze!!

More and More buried stones being revealed
with more and more information to be recorded!

(31)

Fingers crossed for weather like today for next Sunday!

[Cancan]

Fingers crossed for weather! worked again!!

Another great day for uncovering!

Keeping them crossed for Sunday 14th August!

(57)

[Luzzu]

Some more interesting finds at Manchester General Cemetery which have been added to our collection of Notable Burials on the project website:  www.mgctp.moonfruit.com

Prolific author, librarian and member of Manchester Literary Guild, Alfred Owen Legge (1835-1897) - his works include Manslaughter, The Growth of the Temporal Power of the Papacy and The Unpopular King : Richard III;

Contractor, Peter Jones (1811-1867), best known for the construction of the Woodhead Tunnel on the Manchester/Sheffield railway, which when it was built was the longest tunnel in England;

On our page Buried Stories we aim to tell the story behind the inscription on the gravestone and have added Mary Ellen Baker (1872-1884). She tragically died when the school bell fell on her at the Board School, Harpurhey.

We have also added Jabez Sykes to our collection of Policemen.

Luzzu

[Luzzu]

Have you visited our website recently?

www.mgctp.moonfruit.com

We are always adding new information about Manchester General Cemetery and very soon will be adding some helpful information about researching our ancestors who may have been buried in some of the many other Manchester cemeteries and churchyards.  We are always happy to help and can be contacted via the website or on Rootschat.

There is a page on the website which we have named "Buried Stories".  This is when we have found a grave where the inscription leads us to believe there is a story or the manner of death was due to unusual circumstances.

The latest addition however concerns the death or rather the non-death of Jane Shakeshaft Sweeney.  In this case however there is no gravestone, no inscription and the name of the person who was actually buried on 2nd April 1866 is a mystery.  It would be wonderful if any of the Rootschatters can help us find out more .......

In March 1866 a death occurred in Angel Street, Manchester and was registered in the name of Jane S Sweeney, aged 24 years, 1st quarter 1866 Manchester 8d 309 but all was not as it seemed because Jane didn’t actually die.  Somebody else did and was buried in her place.

This is the story which was told to Mr Herford, the City Coroner at the inquest held  on 6th April 1866.

In February 1866, a man and a woman rented a house in Angel Street, which is located off Rochdale Road in the Harpurhey district of Manchester.  They lived as man and wife and were known by the name of Sweeney.  The woman was about 24 years old.  Within a few weeks the woman became very sick and was tended by the landlady who made her gruel.  Mr Sweeney added sugar to the gruel and fed it to his wife.  She became much worse and on 30th March 1866 she died.

The following day, Easter Saturday, Mr Sweeney travelled to Toxteth Park, Liverpool to visit a Mrs Hill who was his wife’s sister to inform her that he had fallen in love with Jane Shakeshaft, they had subsequently married and now Jane Shakeshaft Sweeney was lying dead in Manchester.  That very same day, Mr Sweeney wrote to his wife’s and Mrs Hill’s mother, who lived in Blackpool, and also called upon another of his wife’s sisters to inform them of Jane’s death.

The bereaved family comprising Mr Sweeney, his mother-in-law and his two sister-in-laws all travelled to Manchester on the following Monday for Jane’s funeral and burial at Manchester General Cemetery.  Prior to the burial the family members viewed the body and according to the newspaper reports at the time didn’t recognise her as their relative.  However, they presumed her illness had changed her appearance so didn’t take the matter any further.

The burial proceeded as planned and afterwards the family returned back to the rented accommodation in Angel Street at which point Mr Sweeney disappeared.  On the Monday evening, Jane’s mother and sisters returned to Liverpool.  Shortly after their arrival, Mrs Hill was shocked by the appearance of Jane at her home, the sister who she believed she had just buried in Manchester.

Jane, having heard rumours of her death, had decided to visit her family to put their minds at ease.  Meanwhile, the surgeon in Manchester who had attended the death had been asked at the time, by Mr Sweeney, to guarantee the cost of the funeral and other related expenses and was now being called upon to repay the debt.

The body which had been buried in Manchester General Cemetery was exhumed and the cause of death was confirmed as “effusion of blood on the brain”.  The remains of the unknown woman were re-buried but her identity has never been discovered and so remains a mystery.


 

Luzzu

[Barbara.H]

How is the transcription project going? I haven't been able to get to Manchester much this year.

The MLFHS posted a link to this video (about the General Cemetery) on their facebook page:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNsDHs9L5hU&feature=youtu.be

The maker of the youtube video credits 'Friends of Manchester General Cemetery' for their research. Does he mean the transcription project or is there a Friends group now?

Hope you are all well!
  Barbara

[beannie]

Hi Barbara
We've not done much on the Project this year for various reasons, but will be back in the Spring and hope you can join us. We are determined to finish the Project!
Thanks for bringing the video to our attention, they've got it wrong yet again, it's nothing to do with the "Friends" group, all the research they've nicked off our MGTCP website and all the research our group has done!
Don't worry I will put them straight!
Regards
Jeanne

[Barbara.H]

Hi Jeanne, I'm glad I haven't missed too much!

I thought that chap might have 'borrowed' from the website. Cheeky!

At least the cemetery was looking quite nice in the background. I'd love to get back and finish the transcriptions.

See you in spring!
  Barbara

[Cancan]

Copying/using our work!!!! Ugh!!!!

Brilliant Original Work is always being copied!!! Copyrighted?? Credit???

But we all know how hard we've worked

We haven't been at the Cemetery this year due to bone breakages (not on the project) and bereavements.  Been a pretty terrible year for a few of us.

Back now to catching up with things.

We will be back at the Cemetery on the groundwork days in the Spring weather permitting.
We're raring to go!!!

Did visit a couple of so weeks ago and it was just as we left it, apart from grass being cut, nothing else has happened!!  Little Jean did celebrate a birthday!!!

We do still have the free of charge lookups for everyone to contact us, and we have helped quite a few!! for those looking for family burials!

Hopefully the website is going to be updated and a few changes made soon,  plenty to keep us busy over the winter!!

Glad to be Back!!!

Cancan