Dockroyd graveyard- the people and their stories

Grave number 34M Prue Towers tells us: John Butterfield had two brothers Thomas and Frank as well as two sisters Hannah and Harriet. His brother Thomas married Alice Townend on 27th November 1877 in Keighley. Together they had four sons John Thomas, Frank, Sam and Fred as well as two daughters Sarah Ellen and Harriet.    This haymaking scene from the early 1900s shows John Thomas Butterfield sitting on the far left next to his younger brother Sam holding his dog. Sam worked as a hewer in a stone quarry whilst John T worked in mills near Haworth but both helped out with haymaking. John lost his left leg below the knee in a childhood haymaking incident. The family lived at Oldfield Gate Farm, Haworth where it is likely this photo was taken.                     Prue continues the Butterfield family history: “The Butterfields” have lived in the area surrounding the …

Read more

Graeme Waterhouse visited Dockroyd Graveyard a while ago looking for the graves of his relatives, in particular his great grandparents Lewis and Isabella Whitaker. We found them in grave 4E. Graeme also took away a copy of DOCKROYD LIVE. Some weeks later he got in touch to say his research had now discovered 32 ancestors, including six direct ancestors in the graveyard. An extract from his detailed findings is reproduced below. The names in red are his direct ancestors, the others in blue are blood relatives. Anyone wishing to contact Graeme should do so via our CONTACT page. Elsie Whitaker/Sugden with my son Mark in 1985. Elsie Whitaker (1908-1998) was my grandmother. She married Eric Fawcett Sugden, my grandfather in July 1930. They were the parents of my mother Isobel. Elsie was the daughter of Lewis Whitaker and Isabella Burbury, my great grandparents. The first Whitaker ancestors I can identify …

Read more

grave numbers 11S   (MI 127)   MOORE family history    This is a photograph of the Wool Sorters from Providence Mill, sometime around 1900. The gentleman in the middle of the back row is Heaton Moore whose parents (Robert Moore and Elizabeth Whitaker) and some siblings are in the graveyard. The man in front of him may be his brother, Murgatroyd Moore who was the overseer at the mill and is in the graveyard. The wool sorters are all proudly dressed in their brats, a uniform for wool sorters. Heaton lived at was born at Westfield farm, moved to Oldfield farm when he got married, then when he became a wool sorter he moved to Providence House, then 40 Oakworth Hall before finally buying 10 Goodley, Church Street Oakworth. He was a founding member of the Conservative Club opposite the house at Goodley, and in 1904 was on the general committee …

Read more

Grave numbers 4G + 4H   (MI 52 + 119)  here are some pictures of the Heaton home of West House Farm, Oldfield kindly provided by Margaret Stuttard. Current occupier Sally Wellock says her father removed the trees and enlarged the mullion windows in the 1950s. Sally Wellock tells more of her family’s association with West House Farm, Oldfield and its association with the Heaton and Green families as well as others buried in Dockroyd graveyard.    Sally’s great grandfather Manasseh Hollindrake who in the 1891 Census was described as a master draper living at Main Street, Haworth. His son Charles Edwin was an assistant draper and his daughter Sarah Mary was a milliner.    Charles Edwin married Emily Heaton and their son Eric, Sally’s grandfather, worked at Tewitt Hall Farm before he married Edith Annie Bosworth whose parents farmed at Broadhead Lane, Newsholme. Sally’s mother Marion was born here and …

Read more

The descendants of Martha Pearson Sunderland achieved great success in America. Their legacy created by the Sunderland Foundation which is a testament to their hard work and generosity. The future of Dockroyd Graveyard has been secured due to a generous donation from the Sunderland family. The Sunderland Foundation was established in 1945 by Lester T. Sunderland, who served as President of the Ash Grove Cement Company for 33 years as a highly respected leader in the cement industry. Since its inception, the Foundation, which continues to be led by Lester T. Sunderland’s descendants, has focused on supporting construction projects, awarding grants to non-profits in the Kansas City region and other markets traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company.  Grants are awarded in western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, western Iowa, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Montana.  The Sunderland Foundation prefers to make grants for construction and special interest projects rather than …

Read more