The grave of Joseph Dalton and his wife Ann Dalton stands out a little among the thousands in Beacon Edge Cemetery, above Penrith. The stone is black and there is a white, circular plaque inset at the top. It shows an angel (or cherub) holding a cross, and has sadly been cracked and chipped somehow over the past 120 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the grave stands out, Joseph Dalton and his wife don\u2019t. There\u2019s no \u2018story\u2019 to tell. So while this post records a little of who they were, it is little more than places and dates \u2013 and a reminder to today of \u2018ordinary folk\u2019 of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph Dalton was born in Edenhall, the son of yeoman farmer William Dalton and his wife Mary. By 1851, Joseph was farming 64 acres there, had married Ann Stephenson (on May 22, 1847), and had a son William, aged three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were to be no more children \u2013 unless they lost any in infancy: Dalton is too common a surname in Cumbria to be sure. You can read more about Cumbrian surnames in this post<\/p>\n\n\n\n