Cemetery Wandering

 On  Sunday, I spent three lovely hours wandering Rookwood Cemetery, with 15 other members of the Society of Australian Genealogists and Geoff, who belongs to the Friends of Rookwood and the Society as well.

Geoff is a font of knowledge and showed us the graves of such notables as, John and James Toohey, who started Tooheys Brewery in 1869. W.C Penfold, stationers, and next to him, John Fairfax, the newspaper family. David Scott Mitchell, of the Mitchell Library in Sydney.

The grave of Bridget Catherine Jensen is marked by this ornate headstone. I have found many In Memoriam notices by searching Trove, but the family its self are proving interesting to find. (More on what I find, later. I'm having fun.)

Now when I see a headstone with an interesting note on it, like the one below, I have to search for what happened. Joseph Leeds death was a tragic accident. Joseph was a prominent businessman, with his offices in Camden House 418 George Street, Sydney. (This is between what is nor JB HI-FI and Dymocks.) On the evening of 14 January 1897, around 6.00pm, he took the lift, without the lift driver, (finished at 5.30pm), to the third floor. Joseph then walked to his office, one floor down and not remembering that the lift was on the third floor, opened the door and fell 60 feet to the basement. He left a wife and six children. The Inquest was held, in his home, where the body had been taken, in Hereford Street, Glebe.

Rookwood Cemetery is an amazing place, full of both history and mystery, why not do some exploring yourself?