The First Twenty

There are twenty people on the first page of the first burial register of Teignmouth Old Cemetery. Thanks to the genealogical research of Liz Davidson, one of the members of FOTC, this is the start to discovering about their lives. A parallel blog post, The First Twenty, juxtaposes their lives with some of the events that occurred in Teignmouth and the wider world at the time of their deaths.

First page of first burial register

From a social history point of view there are some interesting characteristics of the first twenty:

  • The fact that they were buried in unmarked graves is perhaps indicative of the relative poverty in the town at that time
  • Two were young women who died in the workhouse (“Union”) at Newton Abbot
  • Of the twenty, six were children
  • Of those six, four were stillborn
  • None of the stillborn children were granted a religious funeral service

For information on each person just click on the following links:

Sarah Blackstone, buried on 22nd April 1856 in  plot G120Mary Bowden, buried 4th February 1856 in plot F51Susan Browning, buried 19th March 1856 in plot F46
Still born child of John & Mary Emma Cannon, buried on the 3rd April in a spot adjacent to plot A49.Emma Ann Austin Downing, buried on 2nd April 1856 in plot F115Thomas Finch, buried 9th February 1856 in plot F50
Elizabeth Fish, buried 9th February 1856 in plot F49Joanna Friend, buried 27th March 1856 in plot F45Edwin James Heath, buried 12th March 1856 in plot F116
Mary Jane Hindom, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Hindom, buried on 30th April 1856 in plot F114Thomas Osmond, buried 8th February 1856 in plot B86Thomas Phillips, buried 5th March 1856 in plot F47
Still born female child of Edwin and Sybilla Sally Piper, buried 7th March 1856 adjoining plot F3James Sands, buried on 7th May 1856 in plot F43Ann Smith, buried 2nd April 1856 in plot G122
Unnamed male child of Mary Taylor, buried 20th February 1856 in plot F117Stillborn child of Albert Henry & Sarah Jane Taylor, buried on 26th March 1856 next to plot A50Elizabeth Townsend, buried 19th February 1856 in plot F48
Stillborn child of Charles & Susan Webber, buried on 31st March 1856 in a spot adjoining plot A49Mark Westaway, buried 30th March 1856 in plot F44