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Sad Story in Stone
Tombstone inscriptions
can reveal sad tales of family miseries. The following gravestone from
Kirkhampton, Cumberland, England, is a poignant example.
Joseph
son of John and Sarah Hodgson of Holly Bush
d.
6 Nov 1864 aged 2 y 11
Also
Hannah their dau d. 5 (obscrured) 1865 aged 17 m
Also
son John d. 12 Oct 1869 aged 5 y
Also
daughter Dorothy d. 5 Dec 1869
Also
the above John Hodgson d. 20 Dec 1869 aged 52
Also
daughter Margaret d. 31 Dec 1869 aged 4 y
Also
above Mary Sarah d. 26 Feb 1877 aged 52
The
parents and their five children all died in the short span of 13 years.
Save for the single obscured date, the other six deaths took place during
winter seasons. First their 3-year-old son Joseph was taken away. The
following year, their 17 month infant Hannah was gone. About four years
later, their son John, only five years old, died. Two months later,
in December, another daughter of 17 months died. Then the father, aged
52, sucuumbed, followed 11 days later by 4 year old daughter Margaret.
Another eight years passed when the mother passed on, also aged 52,
ending the sad saga on this stone of a troubled family and their tough
times.
Did
the mother have the strengh to live on a little longer because of other
children? And if so, did they survive to adulthood, continuing this
Hodgson line another generation or more? Will we ever know? After the
death of daughter Margaret, Mary did live another eights years and two
months.
But
what we do know from the above etchings is that a family of five infants
and their father all died in the quick span of five years. The prevailing
winds that blow across their resting ground may be echoing their distant
cries of despair.
Take
a moment to ponder this family and remember them. It is the very least
we can do.
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