Death of Sylvester Boswell, 1890

From the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, Old Series, Vol. II, p191 (1890-1891)

DEATH of a well-known English Gypsy

Sylvester Boswell (“Westaaros”), famous for his deep Romines (1), died April 8 and was buried April 24 in Flaybrick Hill Cemetery, in the same tomb with his two sons Byron and Bruce. He died in Walton Workhouse, where he had been placed by his family about four years ago, when his mind began to fail. He was seventy-nine years of age, but most of the Gypsies here believe him to be much older; his nephew, J. Gray, insisting that he was at least 100. Upon his giving up tent-life, his goods were divided among his surviving sons and relatives, and as his subsequent death did not actually occur on the camping-ground, the usual Gypsy custom of destroying the deceased’s effects was not in this case followed. He is, however, said to have himself made away with a number of small valuables before his retirement. I remember, after that event took place, the ground underneath and around his small tent was dug up to a considerable depth, in the hope of finding some of the articles, which he is believed to have somewhere secreted.

(1) Vide Bath, Smart and Crofton’s Dialect of  the English Gypsies; Groome’s In Gipsy Tents; and Morwood’s Our Gypsies in City, Van and Tent

Sylvester Boswell – often known as ‘Wester’ – was baptised on 23 August 1812 at St Mary’s, Dover, Kent, the son of Tysa Boswell and Sophia (nee Heron). His father was allegedly serving in the Army at the time and so was stationed on the Kent coast. As many Gypsy historians know, Tysa (aka Tyso/Taiso) was killed by lightning at Tetford, Lincolnshire, in 1831, as was Edward Heron. The two men were buried together in the churchyard there under a large monument. Sylvester’s mother Sophia died in Brindle, Lancashire, in 1861, reputedly aged 100, and is buried in the churchyard of St James, Brindle.

It’s believed that Sylvester had three partners. The first – according to the oral history – was Mary aka Moll Smith [B1 in the Borrow’s Gypsies tree of 1910]. There were no children and Mary then went on to become the partner of Golden Hope and had a large family with him.

The second partner was Sarah Heron by whom – so the story goes – Sylvester had one child. Perhaps it’s this one, found in the baptismal register of West Keal, Lincolnshire, dated 16 July 1832: Sempronius Boemea, son of Sylvester and Sarah Boswell, occupation potter. (He was known later in life as ‘Bui’.)

And partner No. 3 was Florence Chilcott, the maternal aunt of the Corlinda Lee – wife of George Smith [C12] – who you’ll find mentioned many times elsewhere on this site. The children of Sylvester and Florence were: Byron (born 1839), Mackenzie (born 1842), Oscar (born 1844), Bruce (born 1847), Julia (born 1850), Wallace  (born 1853), Laura (born 1859) and Trafalgar (born 1856).

In 1878 Trafalgar Boswell married Athaliah Whatnell, daughter of Adelaide Smith [C6] and James Whatnell. Their son Silvester Gordon Boswell (born in the Gypsy encampment at South Shore, Blackpool, Lancashire, in 1895) not only inherited his grandfather’s name but his literary talent too. Old Wester was well-known as a scholar Gypsy with his own extensive library and a deep knowledge of the Anglo-Romani language that he shared with George Borrow. And young Silvester Gordon – in turn – became the first British Gypsy to have his autography published by a major publisher when his Book of Boswell: Autobiography of a Gypsy appeared in 1970.

An overgrown monument at Flaybrick Cemetery commemorates Sylvester Boswell and three other people: his son Byrom [spelt thus, rather than ‘Byron’] who died or was buried 23 May 1883; his son Bruce died/buried 23 April 1886; and an infant named Burns Boswell died/buried 11 March 1873. Research in other sources shows that the latter is a grandson of Sylvester, being the child of Mackenzie Boswell and his partner Lureni Young, baptised 3 February 1873, Tranmere, Cheshire with the parents’ names recorded as ‘McKinzie’ and ‘Loraine’. Mackenzie himself is buried under his own fine monument nearby, as described in another entry on this site.

Buried at Flaybrick Cemetery, Birkenhead, Cheshire: No. 3 – Mackenzie Boswell

This is the third of three items on this site about the Gypsy monuments visited by the Gypsiologist Robert Scott Macfie on 11 October 1909 at Flaybrick Cemetery in Birkenhead, Cheshire. He saw this one commemorating Mackenzie Boswell, another for the Smiths and one for the Chilcot/ts.

Here’s part of the inscription he took from Mackenzie’s tomb, now preserved in a document at the Gypsy Collections at the University of Liverpool Library:

In loving memory of Mackenzie Boswell the well known Horse Dealer, who died 25th March 1906 | Aged 66 years

Scott Macfie is rather dismissive in his description of the grave. He wrote: “A pointed arch headstone of grey granite: letters gilded. Granite curb enclosing white gravel. An expensive but common looking monument.”

A century later – in April 2008 – the tomb was found to be still there behind iron railings, although fallen and broken. A number of other family members were commemorated on it after Macfie’s 1909 visit. They are: Lily, described as the daughter of Mackenzie, who died 9 October 1912 aged 46; Harold his son, died 12 January 1915 aged 30; and Ethel ‘his youngest daughter’ who died 10 April 1921 aged 37.

On top of their stone, another small tablet has been laid, possibly by the Cemetery officials. This commemorates Helen Ida Hamilton, described as ‘the wife of David Hamilton FRCS Edin, born 1850, died 1903’. But it’s not yet known if Helen has any relation to Mackenzie. To be investigated!

The death certificate of Mackenzie confirms that he died on 25 March 1906 aged 66. His place of death was a field in Albany Road, Walton, Liverpool. His occupation is given as Horse Dealer. Cause of death is Influenza, Bronchitis and Cardiac Failure. Guswell Boswell, a grandson, present at the death, is the informant. Guswell gives the same address as his grandfather.

Mackenzie’s father – the famous Sylvester Boswell (1812-1890) – plus his brothers Byron (recorded as ‘Byrom’) and Bruce Boswell are buried nearby in Flaybrick under an overgrown gravestone. That tomb also contains the remains of a child of Mackenzie and his partner Lureni Young, named ‘Burns Boswell’, who was born and died in 1873. You can read more about the death of Sylvester in another entry on this site.

Buried at Flaybrick Cemetery, Birkenhead, Cheshire: No. 2 – the Smiths

This is the second of three items on this site about the Gypsy monuments visited by the Gypsiologist Robert Scott Macfie on 11 October 1909 at Flaybrick Cemetery in Birkenhead, Cheshire. He saw this one commemorating the Smiths, another for the Chilcot/ts and one for Mackenzie Boswell.

Here’s part of the inscription Scott Macfie took from the Smith tomb, now preserved in a document at the Gypsy Collections at the University of Liverpool Library: To the memory of | Elizabeth Smith | who died 5th January 1883 Aged 76 years  Charles Henry Smith | Born January 20th 1864 Departed this life January 12th 1897 [Here Scott Macfie has sketched a freemason’s mark that he saw cut into the stone] Also of Frederick Grandson of Elizabeth Smith | who died at Douglas, Isle of Man, 12th Septr 1889 | Aged 23 and is here interred. Robert Scott Macfie wrote: “This grave is exactly similar  [to the Chilcott grave], and is next to it.”  The description of that tomb says: “Table tomb with gable top on the surfaces of which the inscriptions are cut. Mounted on plinth: no railing. Quiet and tasteful monument without ostentation.”  Elizabeth Smith [B9 on the Borrow’s Gypsies family tree elsewhere on this site] was the widow of Elijah Buckley. Charles Henry Smith [D40] and Frederick Smith [D41] were the sons of Elizabeth’s son George Smith [C12] and his wife Corlinda Lee.

Buried at Flaybrick Cemetery, Birkenhead, Cheshire: No. 1 – the Chilcot/ts

On 11 October 1909, the Gypsiologist Robert Scott Macfie went to Flaybrick Cemetery in Birkenhead, Cheshire, to visit the graves of a number of Gypsies who are buried there. They belonged to the relatives of some of the families he was well acquainted with and called friends in his home city of Liverpool.

Fortunately for today’s researchers, Scott Macfie recorded the event by writing some notes that are now held in the Gypsy Collections at the University of Liverpool Library. These include transcriptions of the inscriptions on three monuments, an outline sketch of one of them plus one-liner descriptions of their appearance. There is this one for the Chilcot/s, one for the Smiths and one for Mackenzie Boswell.

Here’s part of the inscription Scott Macfie took from the Chilcot/t tomb:

To the memory of Charles Chilcot | a Gipsy Horsedealer | who departed this life 5th November 1865 | aged 58 years

Also | Ruth Chilcot | Mother of | Charles Chilcot | who departed this life | 15th March 1866 | aged 78 years

Also | Union Lee | Sister of | Charles Chilcot | who departed this life | 1st April 1883 | aged 69 years

Scott Macfie described the monument like this: “Table tomb with gable top on the surfaces of which the inscriptions are cut. Mounted on plinth: no railing. Quiet and tasteful monument without ostentation.” 

You can read a newspaper account about the death of Ruth Chilcot/t elsewhere on this site.

The Chilcot/t and Lee grave at Kesgrave, Suffolk

This fine coffin-shaped monument commemorates members of the Chilcot/t and Lee families. It stands in the churchyard of the parish church of Kesgrave, Suffolk, about 8 miles outside Ipswich. It marks the burial spot of four people, three of whom are named in the inscriptions.

The first of these is John Chilcot/t, commemorated on the side of the tomb facing the camera. His inscription reads: “In memory of John Chilcot (horse dealer) eldest son of John and Ruth Chilcot, who died in the parish of Woodbridge, 1st April 1851 aged 25 years”. The carving of the horse and two men is – according to information from Penfold relatives of the Chilcotts provided at the end of the 19th century or early in the 20th – meant to show John Chilcott on the right with whip in hand, while his brother Charles stands on the left holding the horse by its halter.

This John was baptised as John Riley Chilcott at St Andrew’s, Barton Bendish, Norfolk, on 2 November 1823, his father’s occupation being given as Gipsey. His brother Charles was baptised on Christmas Day 1825 at St Michael at Thorn, Norwich, Norfolk, where his father’s occupation is given as Brazier and his mother Ruth’s surname as Boss. (This surname conflicts with the oral history which suggests that Ruth was a Lovell.)

On the other side of the monument is an inscription for Rosabella Chilcot, sister of this John. This reads: “Rosabella daughter of John and Ruth Chilcott who departed this life April 16, 1857 aged 26 years.” Rosabella – recorded as “Erosabella Killthorpe” – was baptised on 2 October 1831 at South Wooton, Norfolk, where her parents are described as Itinerant and Gypsies. Corlinda Lee, daughter of Charles Lee and Union Chilcott, was baptised on the same day in the same church. (You can read more about Corlinda elsewhere on this site.)

On the third face of the monument – the flat upper surface – is an inscription for Repriona Lee. This reads: “In memory of Repronia Lee niece of John Chilcot who died March 2, 1862, aged 25 years.” Repriona is another daughter of Charles Lee and Union Chilcott, being baptised on 27 September 1846 at Westhall, Suffolk, at the age of 10 years and 7 months.

According to the burial register, there is also a fourth occupant in the Kesgrave grave. This is Noah Slende (properly Slender) who was buried on 11 April 1851 aged 4 years: that is, only a week after the burial of John Chilcot/t. A note in the register beside the entries of these two states: “Buried in the same grave. Died in Wales.” However, according to the GRO death indexes, the deaths of both John Chilcot/t and Noah Slender were registered at Woodbridge, Suffolk. The reason for the “Died in Wales” comment is therefore a mystery.

The deaths of all three of the adults attracted press attention. The death of John Chilcot/t is believed to have been reported by the Suffolk Chronicle on 12 April 1851. The paper mentions the funeral of a wealthy Gypsy at Kesgrave, unfortunately unnamed,  that drew great public interest and a good deal of abusive behaviour from the non-Gypsies who came to the church.  The Suffolk Chronicle of 21 April 1857 mentions the funeral of Rosabella Chilcott, calling her “Isabella” and describing her as the “Queen of the Gipsies”. And the death and funeral of Repriona Lee was extensively reported in The Times on 2 March 1862.

You can read more about this grave in an article by Ivor Evans in the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society (Third Series, Vols 33-34, 1953-54) and in a local history published sometime before 1953 called Kesgrave – Short Guide to Church and Parish.

Cassello Chilcott: died in a stable and buried at Coggeshall, Essex, 1842

Visit the churchyard of Coggeshall, Essex, and one of the first gravestones to greet you as you climb the path to the church is that of Cassello Chilcott, daughter of John and Ruth Chilcott, who died in the parish on 29 September 1842. The burial register records her as Celia Chilcott, abode Coggeshall, aged 28, who was buried on 2 October 1842. Against the entry, a different hand has written: “One of a company of Gypsies who died at the White Hart Inn.”

The event of her death attracted a lot of press coverage. It was reported not only in The Chelmsford Chronicle but also in the national press, appearing in The Times on 18 October 1842, where Cassello’s name has evolved into ‘Cecilia’. The Chelmsford Chronicle of 7 October 1842 states:

“SINGULAR GYPSY FUNERAL AT LITTLE COGGESHALL. – For some time a numerous tribe of gypsies have pitched their tents in Cut Hedge Road, Little Coggeshall, and depredations having been committed in that neighbourhood during their sojourn, a suspicion has been entertained that they are the guilty parties. Information was consequently given to the police, who, on Wednesday, the 28th ult, visited their tents and instituted a strict search. Nothing tending to incriminate them was, however, found in their abodes, which, it seems, were furnished most comfortably – their bedding being of the best description, and their apartments carpeted throughout. Their removal was insisted upon, and three carts were filled with their household ‘sticks’, which were conveyed to the White Hart Inn, where, according to our informant, they were accommodated in the stables.

Amongst the parties was a young woman who had been ill for two years, and who was at the time of her removal rapidly sinking. She, instead of her accustomed bed, it is stated, lay upon straw only in the stable, and expired on the following (Thursday) morning. Medical aid was offered, but the head of the gang declined it, saying it was their practice to attend to their own sick, and all had been done for her that could be. As soon as life was extinct, much ceremony was observed: – The body was dressed in a Scotch plaid gown, silk stockings, and satin shoes; wax tapers were burnt, and the remains laid in state. Instructions for the funeral were given to Mr. Clements, the undertaker, and no expense was spared to render it most respectable in all its appointments. The coffin was of fine oak, studded with gilt nails, and bore a brass plate upon which was engraved ‘Cecila Chilcott – Died Sept. 29 1842, aged 28 years.’  On Sunday last the funeral took place, and her remains were interred in the parish churchyard, by the Rev. W. Wigson, curate, in the presence of a concourse of between four and five thousand persons. The pall was supported by four respectably dressed females, deeply veiled, and about thirty of the tribe followed all dressed in black, the men wearing black cloth cloaks. The greatest decorum was observed by the whole of the party, and a more respectable funeral, we understand, has not been seen in the town for many years. We are credibly informed that in the coffin were placed by the side of the body the deceased’s watch and a purse of money, for the protection of which a person is appointed to watch the grave for some weeks. The father of the deceased, attributing the death of his daughter to the removal by the police threatens to take legal proceedings against the parties.”

You can read more about Cassello and the Chilcott family in an article by Angus Fraser called Gypsy Burials at Coggeshall, published in the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, (Third Series, Vol 47, 1968).

George Smith plans Romany language newspaper, 1891

From The Boston Globe (Boston, USA), 17 July 1891:

Odd items from everywhere

A newspaper in the gypsy jargon, the Romany language, is soon to be published in England with the expectation of making it the organ of the wandering people. It will be edited by George Smith, the “King” of the English gypsies, who counts upon getting 20,000 subscribers to it.

A great self-publicist and showman, George Smith [C12] was famous – or infamous – for his inventive, money-making schemes. I’ve never seen or heard anything about this newspaper before. So perhaps this was one project that didn’t quite get off the ground for him.

You can read about one that did – his tour around Britain and Ireland heading a Gypsy group that held dances for the public – in another post on this blog. It’s in the one about George’s wife Corlinda Lee and her grave in the Necropolis, Glasgow, Scotland.

Died on her 78th birthday: Ruth Chilcott, Almondbury, Huddersfield, 1866

From The Huddersfield Chronicle and West Yorkshire Advertiser, 17 March 1866

VISIT OF A GIPSY QUEEN – DEATH IN THE CAMP

One of the topics and events which have been exciting attention in the town and district in the past week is the encampment at Moldgreen of an influential, wealthy and withal royal tribe of gipsies. There is no deception as to the genuineness of this tribe: their complacent manners, customs, gorgeous style of dress, peculiar and interesting features, and other characteristics, go to show that they are an itinerant race of semi-Egyptians. From time immemorial the Zingari or wandering tribes have been noted for their detestation of stone and brick buildings with slated roofs, and the boast of their patriarchs has ever been that they never “disgraced” themselves by sleeping under a “tiled” roof. Many of these itinerants are very wealthy, and the tribe which on Tuesday pitched its tent in Mr. John Poppleton’s field, behind the place where the old weighing machine formerly stood, is one of this stamp. No sooner was it known that gipsys [sic] had taken up their quarters in that locality than hundreds repaired thither in order to catch a glimpse of these singular creatures. On Tuesday no fewer than 700 persons visited the camp, and it is not too much to state that the courtesy of the new comers not only surpassed expectations, but would have done credit to the most superb society.

The party denominate themselves the “Queen Tribe of Epping Forest;” and the camp consists of six separate tents, on one of which–constructed of white canvass–is hoisted a red flag, on which a number of Moorish or Egyptian hieroglyphics are emblazoned, indicating the tent of the Queen of the tribe. This royal personage, on Tuesday evening, was very richly attired, and her jewels are said to be exceedingly costly. After a sojourn of five weeks at Halifax, the party’s next station as above stated, is at Moldgreen, whither they were brought by 16 fine horses.

The six tents are arranged on the upper side of the field, so that the occupants may be sheltered from the east winds, and at the same time command a full view of any person who enters the field. The tribe consists of eight families, sprung from one head, and are known as the Chillcott tribe, numbering about 50 individuals. The chief trade in which these migratory people embark is horse dealing; but they also engage in various branches of industry.

Early on Thursday morning the gipsy encampment was all astir, consequent on the death of the mother and grandmother of the tribe, who, singular to relate, attained the 78^th year of her age on the day of her death. Mrs. Chillcott has lately suffered much from indisposition, and has been attended by several medical gentlemen, none of whom could persuade her to leave the tent. A few days prior to their removal from Halifax, the old lady improved, but on reaching Huddersfield on Tuesday, although able to move about, she found herself much weaker, and, notwithstanding every attention and kindness, expired shortly after 1 o’clock on Thursday morning, a few minutes before the arrival of Mr. Gardiner, surgeon, who had been sent for. Deceased retained possession of her faculties to the last, and expressed a wish to be buried among others of her relatives at Birkenhead, where it is proposed to inter the remains. The preparations for the funeral have been entrusted to Mr. Oldfield of Moldgreen. A most substantial coffin has been made from British oak, and is to be surmounted by a breast-plate of solid copper. As a token of respect to the memory of the deceased, the “Queen” lowered her flag, and members of the tribe attired themselves in sable garments.

This ‘Mrs. Chillcott’ was Ruth Boss or Boswell, the widow of John Chilcott, horse dealer. Her death certificate records that she died in Smithy Lane, Almondbury, Huddersfield, on 15 March 1866. The cause of death was ‘natural causes’. The informant is Sarah Lee, present at the death, who gives Smithy Lane as her address also. This could be Ruth’s daughter Union Chilcott or Lee who – in the 1861 census – calls herself ‘Sarah Lee’ rather than ‘Union’. Alternatively, it could be Sarah, the daughter of Union and Charles Lee: that is, Ruth’s granddaughter.

As the newspaper story records, Ruth had elected to be buried in the family grave in Birkenhead, Cheshire. This is in Flaybrick Cemetery where she shares a tomb with her son Charles Chilcott who died the year before her in 1865. Like many of “Borrow’s Gypsies”, their grave is marked by an impressive monument.

Logan Lee: a monument in Cathcart for a child who died in Galway

If there’s one thing that “Borrow’s Gypsies” were keen on, it was big gravestones. And in the days before family historians started roaming churchyards with a camera, one of these stones – unusually – caught the eye of an illustrator instead. Not only that, but the illustration was published by the Gypsiologist Francis Hindes Groome in his book In Gipsy Tents in 1880 and so has thankfully been preserved for us.

Standing in Cathcart Old Churchyard, Renfrewshire, Scotland – now a suburb of Glasgow – the monument marked the grave of a child called Logan Lee [D46].

Logan died a very long way from Cathcart. For his death has been traced at Taylor’s Hill, Galway in Ireland on 25 September 1872. His Irish death certificate simply states that he is ‘the child of a Gipsy’, having suffered from scrofula for five years. The informant is neither his father or his mother but an unknown Mary Curran, perhaps a Galway resident.

The inscription on Logan’s gravestone in Cathcart, as recorded in Groome’s 1880 book, read:

Here lie the remains of Logan Lee, the beloved son of John and Lavithen Lee and brother of Nathan Lee and grandson of Elijah Smith….He departed out of this world on the 25th day of September 1873 [sic] aged 12 years…Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.

Groome also records that a Dr Smith, the minister of Cathcart, wrote about conducting Logan’s funeral: “A person of a very gentlemanly manners and appearance called on me on the day of his cousin’s death, to request that I would attend the funeral, and conduct it in the usual manner, with the addition of a prayer at the grave…I meet the party there, and took the service, for which they expressed much gratitude. Among the principal mourners were four females, completely enveloped in mantles of deep crape, who seemed much affected. On the following Sunday they all attended church in the same attire.”

But this mention of a cousin arranging the funeral on the day of death sounds a bit suspicious when you consider that there would have been no easy way for Logan’s family in Galway to communicate with relatives in Scotland so quickly. So perhaps Dr Smith was recalling the funeral of a different family member? More likely – I think – is that he is remembering the burial of a relative of Logan’s called John Cooper [C21] who died in the same year and reputedly had his own gravestone next to Logan’s. John died on 21 January 1872 in a tent behind Hope Terrace, Queens Park, Govan, Lanarkshire, aged 39. The informant was his cousin Thomas Reynolds [C11] (aka Smith, the son of Ambrose Smith and Sanspirella Heron).  It’s understood that John’s monument described him as the ‘beloved husband and son of Sarah and Phoebe Cooper’.

The illustrator of Logan’s gravestone was a Lieut-Colonel Fergusson. He also wrote about the burial place in Notes and Queries on 19 December 1874: “The burial ground of this family is very neatly laid out, ornamented with the traditional cypress and yew. The tombstones are executed in excellent style, and the ground is enclosed with an exceedingly handsome cast-iron railing – the design vine-leaves and gilt clusters of grapes; the whole giving one the idea of a burial place of some very substantial and well-to-do citizen of the neighbouring town of Glasgow.”

The gravestone of Logan Lee, Cathcart Old Churchyard, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

I’m pleased to report that Logan’s monument still exists, although John Cooper’s seems to have disappeared, perhaps a victim to the vandalism that has hit the Churchyard in recent years or the growth of a large tree at one end of Logan’s grave. An archaeology team from Glasgow University conducted a survey of all existing gravestones in April 2010 and have taken a photograph of the stone. It still looks very much as it did in 1874 with the transcription clearly legible.

‘The last of the Gipsy Princes’: the funeral of Ernest Smith, 1898

From the North-Eastern Daily Gazette (Middlesbrough), 4 May 1898:

On Monday a gipsy funeral took place in Glasgow. The deceased was Ernest Smith, son of the “King” of the Gipsies of Epping Forest. The ceremonial was of a very elaborate character, and the departure of the funeral from the deceased’s house at 202 Cambridge-street, was witnessed by a gathering of about two thousand people. The coffin was of oak, and the lid bore the inscription “Ernest Smith. Aged twenty-seven. The last of the Gipsy Princes.” The Necropolis was the place of burial. The hearse was drawn by four horses, and following there were nine two horsed mourning coaches, chiefly occupied by members of the tribe, the Gipsy “King” and “Queen”, with deceased’s wife occupying the first. Three funeral services were held. Deceased was a member of the Church of England, and his wife belongs to the Church of Scotland. Church of England services were conducted both at the house and at the grave by the Rev. W.S.B. Petrie, Port Dundas; and the Rev. James B. Grant, St Stephen’s Parish, also conducted a Presbyterian service in the house. It is, however, a mistake to claim the deceased as “the last of the Gipsy Princes”: there are several of these still living in the South of Scotland, including Prince Charlie Rutherford, of Kirk Yetholm.

This ‘last of the Gipsy Princes’ was Ernest Smith [D44], the son of Kurlinda/Corlinda Lee and George Smith [C12]. As the newspaper story reports, he was buried in the Necropolis in Glasgow. Here his tomb is marked by a large monument with the inscription:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

MY DEAR HUSBAND

ERNEST SMITH

BORN 9th SEPTEMBER 1870

DIED 28th APRIL 1898

ERECTED BY HIS WIFE

The gravestone of Ernest Smith at the Necropolis, Glasgow, Scotland. His mother's monument stands behind it in this shot.

Ernest’s mother is buried in an adjacent grave with its own impressive monument that also includes a mention of Ernest in its inscription. (You can read about this monument and see a photo of it in another post on this blog.)

Ernest’s wife was Sarah Jane Ellicock . They married on 3 July 1895 at 52 West Nile Street, Glasgow, Ernest being described as a horse dealer living at 202 Cambridge Street, Blythswood, Glasgow. On his death at the same address three years later his occupation is given as old clothes dealer.