Manson gravestone 1870

[Jen]

Can anyone help. I have a gravestone for my ancestor
A. Warden in Wick Old Cemetry dated 1854. Carved on the same flat stone is the name A Manson 1870. The gravestone is in section 3, number 413. I have no
A. Manson in my family, can anyone help with who this may be and was it normal to share a gravestone with another?

[fred]

Can anyone help. I have a gravestone for my ancestor
A. Warden in Wick Old Cemetry dated 1854. Carved on the same flat stone is the name A Manson 1870. The gravestone is in section 3, number 413. I have no
A. Manson in my family, can anyone help with who this may be and was it normal to share a gravestone with another?

Was your A. Warden related to Hugh the musician and Isabella Horne?

[Jen]

Fred,
Yes, Alexander Warden was the son of Hugh, the Musician and Isobella Horne. Alexander is my gggg G/father. Hugh is my GGGGG g/father. Are you familiar with this family?
Jen

[fred]

Fred,
Yes, Alexander Warden was the son of Hugh, the Musician and Isobella Horne. Alexander is my gggg G/father. Hugh is my GGGGG g/father. Are you familiar with this family?
Jen

No, I was just wondering if it was worth considering what a normal person would do to judge what a musician might do :-)

Graves were usually family affairs and if A. Warden and A. Manson wern't close I think the stonemason would have put the word "Also" between them. I took a look at the grave and my guess would be that A. Manson is Ann Mason and the stonemason made a mistake, Mason wasn't a very common name in these parts.



Though in the 1841 census there was an Anne Manson working as a housemaid two doors down from where Hugh and Isabella lived on High Street Wick, Hugh and Alex were in Castletown at the time, perhaps working.

[Jen]

Fred,
Thank you so much for sending the photo of the grave.
I had thought at first that the stonemason had made a mistake in the carving but, Alexander's wife Ann Mason, as per death cert. died on 2nd Nov 1891 at Loch St, Abdn. 21 years of a difference from the carving of 1870 on the stone.
Ann was the daughter of John Mason, shipmaster and Isobella Hourston of Stromness.

I also thought that family members were kept together. By the way if you ever get a chance to read Hugh Warden, musician's obituary it makes for facinating reading. I also read that both father and son gave music and dancing lessons to John Davidson, son of a promiment family in those times. Also the adverts in the John O'Groat journals regarding the various balls and concerts they performed at are amazing too.

One questin Fred, I was unsure where Alexander and Hugh were in the 1841 census, how did you know they were in a different area?

Thank you again, Jen

[fred]

Fred,
Thank you so much for sending the photo of the grave.
I had thought at first that the stonemason had made a mistake in the carving but, Alexander's wife Ann Mason, as per death cert. died on 2nd Nov 1891 at Loch St, Abdn. 21 years of a difference from the carving of 1870 on the stone.
Ann was the daughter of John Mason, shipmaster and Isobella Hourston of Stromness.

That's one of those strange coincidences that crop up from time to time, with Mason being such a rare name, not one listed as burried in the old cemetery, I had assumed that she was the Ann Mason daughter of John Mason and Janet Gibson born 28th Mar 1830 in Wick.

One questin Fred, I was unsure where Alexander and Hugh were in the 1841 census, how did you know they were in a different area?

When they didn't show up in Wick I searched the entire county, the freecen website http://freecen.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl lets you do that.

[Jen]

Thanks very much for the freecen website Fred. I suppose I will just have to go back to the drawing board as far as A. Manson 1870 on the gravestone is.

Hugh Warden & Isobella Warden are both buried in the Chuch yard of Wick. Can you tell me please if this is a different graveyard from Wick Old Church or the same one?
You seem to be a great mine of information on Wick. It's sometimes difficult being so far away in Brisbane, Australia.

Thanks Jen

[fred]

Hugh Warden & Isobella Warden are both buried in the Chuch yard of Wick. Can you tell me please if this is a different graveyard from Wick Old Church or the same one?

That would be the same churchyard. There has been a church there for centuries but work on the present church started in 1822 so it would probably have been called the new church then.

There is no sign of Hugh and Isobella, not even a H. W. or I. H. so I would guess that they were burried with Alexander and it wasn't thought worth marking their names. From the way Alexander was abbreviated to A. and only the year of his death given I think the intention was to erect a headstone after Hugh and Isobella died and for some reason it never got done.

There is however a J. W. in grave 866 which I did wonder if it was Alexanders sister Johanna, it also has the name A. Manson carved on it and the date 1835/6.

[Jen]

Thanks again for info Fred, it is most helpful.
I am just wondering if its possible I do have a Manson connection as:
Hugh Warden, musician was born to Hugh Warden, excise office, begot out of wedlock. I have never been able to find out who Hugh's mother was but somebody must have raised him as he was born blind and his father, the excise officer, according to his salary books travelled all over Scotland with his work.

Perhaps A Manson buried in with Johanna Warden is Hugh's mother dying 1836 age maybe 75 or so. Perhaps the other A Manson 1870 in Alexander's grave is related too. Does this sound too far fetched?

I will have to investigate further. A very Happy New Year to you Fred. "Lang may yer lum reek" Thanks again.
Jen

[fred]

Perhaps A Manson buried in with Johanna Warden is Hugh's mother dying 1836 age maybe 75 or so. Perhaps the other A Manson 1870 in Alexander's grave is related too. Does this sound too far fetched?

When it comes to blind musicians who give dancing lessons I think I would expect to find the unexpected.

In the 1841 census Hugh and Alex are staying with Peter Sinclair, 40 - 44, at Castletown, the IGI have a record of a Peter Sinclair born at Bower 13th Aug 1796 the son of Benjamin Sinclair and Anne Manson, I wonder if Peter and Hugh might be half brothers.

[Jen]

I have printed off the 1841 census with the Wardens at Peter Sinclair's address., thank you
The next step must be to see if I can find proof that there is a relationship there somewhere.
I will try to find the extract of Peter's birth on Scotlands people website and see if I can find Hugh bearing witness on any documents as the son of or brother of any Manson's or Sinclairs.
Maybe he was a witness on Ann Manson's death cert, I will just have to keep on looking. Any suggestions would be most helpful.
Thank you again Jen