April marks the season of Easter, with its themes of life, death, and resurrection. For genealogists, life and death are at the heart of all we do. Through the study of family history, we can bring the dead back to life (albeit not quite as powerfully as through the resurrection). We ensure that they are remembered.
Genealogists tend not to fear places of the dead, such as churchyards and cemeteries. Instead, we regard them as locations of education, peace, and inspiration. Among the tombs and headstones are found solutions to long-held genealogy mysteries. It is not death that dominates in family history, but life. As long as we can read the names on their monuments and investigate their existence, we are able to keep our ancestors alive.
Cemeteries remain centres of death and life. Even as lichen forms on the stones, new life emerges from the ground, and birds swoop down to rest their wings for a while, eyes wandering about the surrounding insects. Graveyards are as rich in biodiversity as they are genealogical clues.
The words on this headstone in Edinburgh’s Seafield Cemetery are fading, but as spring brings new life, bunches of pungent wild garlic are growing up around them. Bright green leaves contrast with the grey.
The stone belongs to the Henderson family. It reads:
In loving memory of
Wee Retta
Beloved daughter of
D and M Henderson
Who died 3rd May 1926
Aged 2 years and – months
Also my dear father
Andrew Gray McIntosh
Who died 23rd May 1940
Aged 69 years
Also our beloved only son
Pte Andrew Henderson
Black Watch
Killed in Action H. E. F.
October 1942 aged 29 years
RIP
“Wee Retta” was Margaret Wise McIntosh Henderson, who had been born in Leith North in 1923 (ScotlandsPeople ref. 685/10 619) and died in Edinburgh’s Morningside in 1926 (ScotlandsPeople ref. 685/7 292). Her parents were David and Margaret Henderson of Edinburgh.
Also, remembered on the headstone are Margaret’s father, Andrew Gray McIntosh, and Retta’s only brother, Andrew Gray Henderson, who was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) when he was killed at El Alamein. He was buried in Egypt, but like many who died overseas, was remembered by words on a gravestone in his home city. Andrew’s entry in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database indicates he was married to Rose Henderson, of Granton, Edinburgh. He died between 23 October 1942 and 24 October 1942, aged just 20.
As long as we are visiting cemeteries, reading the monumental inscriptions therein, and exploring further into the lives of those recorded, we are keeping them alive. It is not just the plants, insects, and birds that are bringing life to the resting places of the dead. Family historians have their role to play, too.
This spring presents the perfect opportunity to go out and explore local graveyards, or those of family further afield. Who will you bring back to life this Easter?
Sources
Commonwealth War Grave Commission entry of Private Andrew Gray Henderson no 2764168 https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2094591/andrew-gray-henderson/
Please contact us for more information