Interesting Monuments

I am not a number: I am a Person !

When I carried out my Inscriptions Survey of the British Cemetery, one thing which emerged was just how many graves have but a simple stone marker with a number engraved upon it. Why? Well, many families either could not afford a headstone, or were too far distant from Lisbon to be able to make such arrangements. Indeed in earlier times, before the era when such marker stones were instituted, some grave sites were not permanently marked at all. One by-product of my most recent project to correlate my survey with the Burial Register spreadsheets will be that we may finally have some idea just how many unmarked graves we have in the British Cemetery.

However, this present article concentrates upon those marked with the stone pillar with number, and the story of one person so buried. The number on the marker stone is not always easy to read, but with the right light conditions and a strong slanted torch beam, it is possible in most cases. The engraved number refers to the number of the burial in the Burial Register. So number 1109, for instance, refers to that entry in the register. The recording of all such stones in the survey has finally given these people a name and sometimes reveals a little of their lives at the time of their death.

For this article I will, indeed, be looking at the life of Number 1109. Buried in Section J1 under the Pead Reference J1.035, the man buried in this plot is Abel Samuel. The Burial Register records these facts about Abel:

Abel Samuel

Died: 10th May 1930

Buried: 11th May 1930

Profession: 1st Engineer Merchant Service

Residence: S/S Lady Kirk (Messrs Corrie )

Married

Age: 55

1109

J.1.9A { this is written in pencil and is incorrect as the 1943 Survey has J.1.27 }

Officiating Minister: Cyril Gerald Holland Acting Chaplain

The number J.1.9A refers to the 1943 Inscriptions Survey. We can see that the burial record gives us certain clues to trace more of this man's life. He was 55 years of age, so likely born around 1875. He was married and served in the merchant navy as a 1st Class Engineer. His ship at the time of his death was the Steamship Lady Kirk (actually Ladykirk as one word). And we also have his date of death and burial. These are all jump off points required to construct a life story, even if brief. So what is that story for Abel Samuel?

Abel was born on 6th July 1875 at Morganstown, Radyr, Glamorganshire in Wales. From his birth certificate, I can tell he was born the son of Charles Samuel, recorded as being a Hammer man at the time of Abel's birth, and Gwenllian, whose maiden name had been Jones.

In the 1881 Census, he appears in Morganstown with his parents, and seven brothers, as a Scholar. This just means he was attending school. His father is recorded now as a Ironworker. This is consistent with his profession when Abel was born, because a Hammerman was a metal worker and, as the name implies, often such men wielded a hammer or steam hammer in a foundry. By the time of the 1891 Census, whilst still in Morganstown, Radyr, we now see they lived in 'Ivy Cottage', and the 15 year old Abel was now an Apprentice Fitter. No record can be found for Abel in the 1901 or 1911 Census, but in the 1921 Census he is recorded as being in Bideford, Devon, on board a Steam ship number 119966, registered to the port of Cardiff. The Census has him being aged 44 years and 10 months. This gives him the birth year of 1875, however in August/September. This is not a problem because the census often had the ages wrong to a degree. Even the 1939 Register has many with the wrong birth year ! You get used to this in family history. However, he is married and a Chief Engineer on the ship. Also recorded on the same sheet is Minnie Vera Samuel, 34 years 2 months, married, Passenger, doing Home Duties and born Abercarne, Monmouthshire. The significance of this will be mentioned more fully below. The database of merchant ship numbers confirms that his ship was indeed the steamship Hillhouse.