The Kershaw gravestone at Heptonstall

Four generations of Kershaws are buried in the graveyard of St Thomas the Apostle church in Heptonstall. Their names are commemorated on the gravestone shown below:

The Kershaw gravestone

M.F. was Mary Farrer (nee Kershaw)

G.K. was Grace Kershaw (nee Farrer)

A.K. was Abraham Kershaw

R.W. is unknown

The family tree below shows  the relationships between the people named on the gravestone - marked in blue. Thomas and Elizabeth were no doubt related but we haven't found their connection to the other Kershaws so far. Other brothers and sisters in each generation have been excluded.

James Kershaw (1803-1860), killed on Mytholmroyd station, featured in the last two posts. His son James Kershaw (1851-1887), married at Mankinholes in 1874, featured in the post before that. This James was known as 'Jim Screw' - more about him in the next post.

Derrick and Evelyn Kershaw cleaning the Kershaw gravestone at Heptonstall

James Kershaw (1803-1860)

In the last post we learned how James Kershaw met an untimely death on Mytholmroyd Station.

His great grandson Derrick Kershaw researched the Kershaw and Taylor families in his retirement, visiting record offices, searching through archives, and finding and photographing the places where his ancestors were born, lived and were buried. His research was done well before the days when the availability of computers, together with transcriptions of parish records, baptism, marriage and burial records, and censuses made researching family history a lot easier. Derrick compiled a large file of family photographs, documents, records and reminiscences.

Below is his entry for James Kershaw:

Derrick's photos of his trip to Mytholmroyd:

Mytholmroyd Methodist Graveyard

Mytholmroyd Methodist Church

Grave of James Kershaw and his family