Helen Beckitt (Week 16)
 

Name - "official" name and what they were known as: Helen Beckitt

Date and place of birth: 26th September 1830 (from baptism record)

Names of parents: Joshua Beckitt & Hannah Birks

Date and place of baptism: 28th November 1830 at St Peter & Paul (Cathedral), Sheffield.

Details of each of his or her marriages: 16th May 1858 at the Parish Church of Ecclesall (Sheffield), to Moritz Christ (later changed to Maurice Chryst). Aged 27, Spinster, of Cemetery Road, Sheffield, Father Joshua Beckett, Iron Founder.

Occupation(s): Dress Maker on the 1851 census and on a trade directory dated 1852.

Addresses where they lived (including county if in UK) - and please list which censuses you have or haven't found him/her on (if s/he lived in census times!):
1841: Carr Lane, Sheffield. Age 11, with parents.
1851: 12 Carr Lane, Sheffield. Age 20, with parents.
1861: 35 Mitchell Street, Sheffield. Age 31, with Maurice.
1871: 28 Mitchell Street, Sheffield. Age 40, with Maurice.
1881: 33 Mitchell Street, Sheffield. Age 50, with Maurice.
1891: 33 Mitchell Street, Sheffield. Age 60, with Maurice.

Date, place and cause of death: 26th April 1897 at 33 Mitchell Street, Sheffield. Aged 66. Died of Bronchitis.

Date and place of burial: 29th April 1897 at General Cemetery, Sheffield. Buried with husband Maurice and two unmarried daughters; Frances Helen & Kate Helen.

Details of will / administration of their estate: None

Memorial inscription: There was apparantly a memorial for this grave but it was destroyed with a large amount of others at the end of the 1970s :(

I sympathise Blue Savannah .. with one of mine who was Scots, on her headstone it had Elizabeth Jeffrey wife of Christoph Alt. They took away the headstones, got a fit of the guilts, put a plaque which has E. Jeffrey.. not even Elizabeth, I get so mad .. it is so sad to think that they have so little respect... :(

I think its awful Julie that this can be done. I remember enquiring with the General Cemetery Trust about if there was a stone at the grave as I would have dearly liked to have paid my respects to this couple. They very kindly responded and provided me with information of who was in the grave, burial dates etc, but said no monument anymore, just a note to say there was one, but was destroyed alongside a number of others. I find it extremely disrespectful that this can be done.

I have just noticed the General Cemetery have a group on facebook so have just added a little message to see what the reason for the destruction was. The remainder of the site looks to have some very beautiful parts :)