Died
9 May 1915
Sources
Sankey Family Photographic Collection
Cumbria BMD
Ancestry
Barrow Herald and Advertiser
Grace's Guide
Place
Walks
Edward James Stevenson
Another pristine white headstone made grey by the effects of the climate. There are some hints that it would still look bright if it were cleaned regularly. Nothing has been added to the stone since Sankey’s picture.
In Loving Memory of
EDWARD JAMES STEVENSON
DIED MAY 9TH 1915,
AGED 32 YEARS.
UNDER THE BRIGHT AND STARRY SKY,
DIG ME A GRAVE AND LET ME LIE,
GLADLY I LIVED AND GLADLY DIE,
AND I LAY ME DOWN WITH A WILL.
THESE ARE THE LINES YE SHALL WRITE FOR ME,
HE LIES HERE WHERE HE WISHED TO BE,
HOME IS THE SAILOR HOME FROM THE SEA,
AND THE HUNTER IS HOME FROM THE HILL.
In Victorian England and the early part of the twentieth century sorrowing relatives could choose from books of poetry how to memorialise their loss. The poem on this grave was a popular one, sometimes reduced to just two of the lines.
It is from Requiem Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 –1894
Modern versions of such poems can be found at e.g. stoneletters.com or gravestones.ie/memorial-verses/.
1891 Census
In the 1891 Census Edmund (sic) J. Stevenson (8) born Streatham, is living at 15 Buckleigh Road, Streatham with his family. They are father Samuel Stevenson (44) Engine Maker, born Sheffield, Yorkshire; Emma L. Stevenson (39) Wife, born Peckham, Surrey; Alice M. Stevenson (10) born Streatham, Surrey; Frank Stevenson (6) born Streatham; Edith Stevenson (4) born Streatham; James Court (sic) (60) Brother-in-Law, Widower, Engine Maker, born Newington, Surrey; Alice Hope (19) Single, General servant (Domestic), born Peckham, and Emma A. Lamb (18) Housemaid, born Walworth, Surrey.
1901 Census
Some of the family are still at the same address in the 1901 Census. Samuel has died, so there remain Emma L. Stevenson (49) Widow, born Peckham, Surrey; Maud Stevenson (20) no occupation recorded, born Streatham, Surrey; Edward J. Stevenson (18) Mechanical Engineer, born Streatham; Frank Stevenson (16) Mechanical Engineer, born Streatham; James Cort (70) Widower, Boarder, no occupation recorded, born Newington, London; Catherine Jones (28) Cook, Domestic Servant, born Aberavon, Glamorgan; and Sarah Gordon (17) Domestic Servant, born Camberwell, London.
An annotated record on Ancestry relating to Membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for Edward James Stevenson has his employers as Vickers, Sons, & Maxim. He is proposed on 18 September 1907 by George Cochrane, seconded by Fred. H. Harrison, and supported by W. T. Bell, A. M. Brown, and Henry C. Walker. Details on the reverse give his date of birth 7 August 1882, at Streatham, London S. W. He attended Elementary School 1889-1893, then Streatham Grammar School (1893-1898). From 1902 – January 31st 1907 he was manager at R Cort & Son, and .. (having left) .. by my own desire I now hold a position in the Submarine Boat department of Vickers Sons & Maxim. He lists work for which he has been personally responsible: drawings and manufacture of Feeder Pillars for Bombay Tramways, Erection of Hoists and Travelling Crane at the Brentford Gas Co. and design and manufacture of Linoleum Plant.
1911 Census
I have been unable to find Edward J. Stevenson in the 1911 Census.
The Barrow Herald and Advertiser 1 June 1912, reporting on the first regatta of the season for Barrow Sailing Club, refers to Edward J. Stevenson as the Hon President.
Edward James Stevenson married Gladys Braddon Cain at the Parish Church, Hove, Sussex, on 22 December 1914. He is a 32 year old bachelor, and his father is Samuel Stevenson (deceased), an engineer. She is a spinster of 27, of 45 St Aubyns, Hove, and her father is Henry Frederic (sic) Cain, Solicitor.
The National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1915 has:
STEVENSON Edward James of 8 Infield Park Barrow-in-Furness Lancashire died 9 May 1915 Administration London 16 June to Gladys Braddon Stevenson widow. Effects £802 18s 7d.
For someone who seems to have been a relatively important person and contributing to the community, I had expected to find an obituary in the local press. Either one was never published, or my observation skills are lacking. One explanation would be that the papers were full of war news, and specifically the sinking of the Lusitania, which took place on 7 May 1915.
Edward J. Stevenson’s obituary in Grace’s Guide has:
EDWARD JAMES STEVENSON was born in London on 7th August 1882.
He was educated at Streatham Grammar School and served an apprenticeship of four years with Messrs. R. Cort and Son (1898-1902), when he became Manager of the firm, and subsequently Chairman of the Company.
He relinquished this position in 1907 to enter the Submarine Boat Department of the firm of Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim, and was holding the post of Manager of the Power Station, Engine, Smithy, and Shell Departments, at the time of his death, which took place at Barrow-in-Furness on 9th May 1915, in his thirty-third year.
He became a Graduate of this Institution in 1902, and was Honorary Secretary of the Graduates' Association during 1904-5, and Chairman in 1905-6.
He was elected an Associate Member in 1907. Read more - Grace's Guide
1891 & 1901 Census
Edward Stevenson’s mother and uncle were Cort (see 1891 & 1901 Census returns).
1939 Register
Edward’s widow, Gladys, never remarried, and returned to Sussex. In the 1939 Register she is living at Wayside, Mill Road, Chanctonbury, Sussex. The household is Sarah L. U. Cain (DoB 24 August 1865); Gladys B. Stevenson (DoB 16 February 1887), and Phyllis E. Cain (DoB 12 July 1888) Presumable Gladys’s mother and sister. All are engaged in Unpaid Domestic Duties, and Phyllis is part of the Civil Nursing Reserve.
Gladys Braddon Stevenson died 18 October 1968 with an address of 132 Pepys Road, Wimbledon, London, having been married for less than six months (1914-15), and spending 53 years as a widow.
No-one is certain why Edward Sankey took photographs of graves in the period 1910-1920ff. Were they advertising the skills of his friend William Hull, or later Hull and Fairbairn? Were they to be made into postcards that the bereaved family could send to members who were not able to attend the funeral?
The historic photograph is from the Sankey Family Photographic Collection, courtesy of Cumbria Archives.
