Ford Cemetery

Post by **Blue70** » 30 Jan 2010 13:06

Does anyone know the bus numbers that go near to Ford Cemetery? I'm thinking of going there at some point to find some graves. I already have the section and grave numbers. I'll probably have to get there via the City Centre.

Col

Post by **42aitch** » 30 Jan 2010 16:33

Hi Col,

The 52 and 55 buses stop just before the cemetery on Sefton Road, and the 56 also stops by the side of the cemetery on Sterrix Lane. Ask any of the bus drivers and they will give you a shout when you are there. There are also 52a and 55a which I think also got past it.

They are all very regular, about every 15mins. You can get the timetables from Queen Square or any Merseytravel depot or online at Merseytravel.

Eileen

Post by **MaryA** » 30 Jan 2010 17:31

The Journey Planner should be good http://nw.aimwebsites.co.uk/ I haven't used it but gave it a go and it did plan the journey for me.

Post by **Blue70** » 30 Jan 2010 19:53

Thanks Eileen I'll check out those buses. Thanks Mary I tried the Journey Planner and it recommends the 52 or 52A via the City Centre.

Edit: I think I'll probably go for the 81 to Bootle and then I can get the 52 or 55 from Bootle to Ford Cemetery.

Col

Post by **Blue70** » 03 Feb 2010 00:10

I went to Ford Cemetery this morning. I got the 81 to Bootle and then the 52 to Ford. The bus stops just before the cemetery and you can't miss the cemetery on the right hand side of Gorsey Lane. I went today because the snow may return soon and put my trip back for a while. It was a horrible day to walk around a cemetery, very wet and muddy underfoot. I intended to look up a few graves but settled for my main ones.

I eventually located the two main grave plots I was looking for, both unmarked as expected, by looking at the numbers on the backs of some of the grave stones in the section. I had a decent map with me but the sections at Ford are not signposted in any way which made it difficult at first to tell where each section starts and ends. There are gaps between sections but there's also gaps because of the unmarked graves.

I think it was worthwhile even though the graves were unmarked. When you previously have family members knowing only that relatives are somewhere in Ford Cemetery and no one living has been to the grave it's good that someone in the family has some knowledge about it. I think if you're interested in Genealogy and information comes your way you shouldn't feel morbid about adding burial information to your records.

Col

Post by **PJLong** » 03 Feb 2010 08:48

Morning Col,
Same experience - at Anfield but at least I pinned down the final resting place of my GGrandfather.....the dreaded by all on the forum....William Lindsay! No stone either which made me go through a few different emotions. He had 6 kids and a wife so how come nobody got round to putting him in a grave of his own and marking it? Don't suppose I can do anything about it as he's in with someone else!!!! Sad eh?
Pauline.

Post by **MaryA** » 03 Feb 2010 09:37

Glad you had a good day out and found it easy to get there. It's quite emotional to see the last resting place of one of our ancestors isn't it, headstone or not. At Anfield I found my grandfather's by counting the slight mounds along the row.

6 kids and a wife

is probably why there is no headstone, with six young mouths to feed there was little spare money for what they may not have exactly considered unnecessary, but was certainly further down their list of priorities.

Post by **Blue70** » 03 Feb 2010 10:06

Both graves were purchased plots from the 1920s and the last burials were in the 1950s. One grave had my Grandad and two other people that I don't know how they are connected to us. The plot owner on the record is the wife of one of the other two men in the grave. She bought the plot to bury her husband in the 1920s. My Grandad and the other man were buried in the 1950s.

The other grave was bought by my Great Grandad for his wife when she died in the 1920s. It also contains one of his sons and two other relatives I haven't identified yet who died in the 1930s. Great Grandad was the last to be buried in the grave in 1955, he was 75 years old. A good age as a lot of relatives on this side of the family died young.

Col

Post by **PJLong** » 03 Feb 2010 10:12

Nah Mary......all the "kids" were by that stage in their 50's. He died in 1957. New cuz from Oz and I did discuss trying to get something sorted but wondered if we'd run up against red tape?

Post by **MaryA** » 03 Feb 2010 10:42

PJLong wrote:wondered if we'd run up against red tape?

It's an interesting thought, not that I know the answer but I suspect you'd be allowed to.

For the benefit of others, if you do decide to go through with this, please let us know what pitfalls or otherwise you come across, information is always useful.

Post by **PJLong** » 03 Feb 2010 11:13

Will do Mary! Shall maybe make enquiries as to where I'd start. For one thing I have absolutely NO idea of the price of headstones. All Mel and I would like is a small mark of where he lies. This old boy has left us with so many unanswered questions on his life! I recently contacted a gent who'd been brought up by William for a few years (William's second wife's grandson!!!!) and he told me bits and bobs that cheered me slightly. Oh............ if only I'd shown interest when my Grandad was alive!

Post by **kwr** » 03 Feb 2010 12:42

PJ,

My wife had no trouble whatsoever in obtaining permission to put up a headstone for her great grandmother so I am sure it would be Ok. She did ask the person who did the admin. for the cemetery for the names of masons and chose one near the church. The bad news is that it was not cheap. What was written was very simple and quite brief but it cost over £800 though this did include him taking it there and erecting it with the (I think) compulsory Health and Safety requirements.
Hope this helps....

Ken

Post by **PJLong** » 03 Feb 2010 13:36

Ah.........cheers Ken. We have a wedding to fund this year so maybe old William will have to wait a while! Thanks for input though.
Pauline.

Post by **Blue70** » 03 Feb 2010 20:02

I don't think I'll be pursuing the gravestone option one grave is complicated by there being two others in it that I can't identify as family or friends. The other is a bit too far removed in terms of my relationship to them and a couple of the people in there are relations but I don't know how they fit into the family.

The two graves I visited were private plots (Section SD). I've tried to find out which sections are public and which ones are private as apparently the public graves don't have any markers at all at Ford so that could determine how much effort you put into finding each grave. Here is an incomplete list of sections at Ford ie all those sections that I've so far confirmed as either public or private:-

Public Sections: A, AD, BZ, DZ, SJ, SV, X,

Private Sections: 1A, 2A, AB, AC, AF, AE, AH, AM, AS, C, D, DA, EX, F, G, H, I, JL, K, M, N, O, P, PO, Q, R, RD, RF, SD, SP, T, TW, WD

Col

Post by **Blue70** » 17 Feb 2010 12:22

Here is some information about "private" burials at Ford Cemetery. The "public" graves at Ford were actually graves purchased for single interments rather than paupers graves as I previously thought:-

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.anc ... YYEAR.html

Col

Post by **Blue70** » 26 Sep 2010 22:25

Just an update about my Grandad's grave at Ford Cemetery. I've finally found out how the grave plot owner was connected to the family. She was the mother-in-law of my Grandad's sister. Her husband died and she remarried so that's where the unfamiliar surname came from. The grave owner lived to be 90 years old! She died in Wallasey so she was probably buried in Wirral or cremated.

Blue

Post by **MaryA** » 27 Sep 2010 09:31

Wow, always worthwhile digging into puzzles isn't it, you came up with the goods and gave you another lead.