Was this common, any ideas welcome?

[Loopy Linda in La La Land]

Great Great Aunt Harriett Prestidge born in Moreton Pinkney Northamptonshire worked in service all her life.

On 1901 census she is in service in Rutland with lots of other staff, one of which was Florence M. Sibley born in Somerset.

On 1911 she is in Leicestershire with the same family but Florence is back in Somerset.

Now for the strange part..... in 1924 Florence dies in Moreton Pinkney and is buried in the parish church graveyard...in 1934, 10 years later, Harriett dies and is buried in the same grave, both were spinsters. Have a photo of the gravestone with both their names and years of birth and deaths.

Harrietts' family and loads of relations are also buried in the church cemetary so I am wondering why she was buried with Florence. Just because they were friends???

Any ideas?

Linda

[Elizabeth Herts]

I was trying to see if the two women were related, but no evidence of this so far.

Here is Florence's baptism. Her mum Elizabeth came from Barnet, Hertfordshire.

Name: Florence May Sibley
Gender: Female
Baptism/Christening Date: 25 Sep 1878
Baptism/Christening Place: Holy Nativity, Bedminster, Somerset, England
Father's Name:
Mother's Name: Elizabeth Sibley
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C00878-0 System Origin: England-EASy Source Film Number: 1565939 Reference Number: item 7 p 86

[Janet in Yorkshire]

Have you checked the burial register to confirm that they were both buried there, rather than just being commemorated there?
(I was once misled by a gravestone - thought it meant a person had been buried there. However, he hadn't;
family members had and his name had been added to their stone.)

Have you been able to find any family connection between the two ladies?

Jay

[Little Nell]

If they were close friends, maybe Harriet chose to have her friend buried in the grave she would later be buried in.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Maybe both were concerned with not being able to afford a grave - a common preoccupation in Victorian times - and clubbed together to buy one. It would be interesting to see who bought the plot, if those records survive.

OC

[Loopy Linda in La La Land]

Yes that would be very interesting. On the gravestone it says.... under Florence's name 'lay me down in peace and take my rest' and under Harriet's it says 'Give His beloved rest'

The Prestidges were prolific in Moreton Pinkney even having a row of cottages named after them.... 'Prestidge Row' which still stand still with that name.

I'll have to do a bit more digging locally when I next visit

Linda

[Olde Crone Holden]

Oh, I've just realised they were probably living together when Florence died, so even more reason for them to pay for and share a common grave.

OC

[Heather Positive Thinker]

If they were both in service all their lives to the same family - and it may well be that the family had two residences? - the family may have paid for the burials?

[Loopy Linda in La La Land]

Florence was only with the family on one census but of course that could have 19 years if she joined just after one census and left just before another but of course she could have just been visiting in Somerset on 1911 and still actually been in service with the same family with Harriet.... oh if only I could ask them lol


Linda