Titheradge Graves in Kingston Cemetery, Portsmouth

Grave of Joseph Blaik Titheradge and family 

On a dull afternoon I found myself in Portsmouth with a few hours to spare.  Now, normal people might seek out a local tourist attraction, or shops or gardens, but if you are interested in genealogy then a good cemetery is the best option.

So with daughter in tow we headed for Kingston Cemetery, St Mary's Road, Portsmouth armed with a pdf map of cemetery and a list of Titheridges and Titheradges known to be buried there.

The list of Graves read

• Richard Titheridge died 1870 buried in a Paupers grave

• James Fabian Titheradge died 1877 buried in Buckells Plot, row 15, grave 2

• Diana Frances Titheradge died 1884 buried with James

• Joseph Blaik Titheradge died 1904 buried in Allens plot

• Amelia Titheridge died 1918 buried in Triggs plot, row 2, grave 13 and half

• George Robert Titheradge died 1871 buried in a brick grave in Brambles plot row 1 grave 10. Buried with 5 other people (Sarah Isabella his wife died 1864, Augustus Fabian son died 1877, Herbert Hine, son died 1926, Robert son died 1864 and Emma died 1936)

Buckells plot, Paupers plot and Triggs plot produced no joy - just lots of missing stones and nothing that looked remotely like the names Titheridge \ Ttheradge on the old stones that remained.    

Kingston Cemetery, Portsmouth - Buckells Plot

Kingston Cemetery, Portsmouth - Triggs plot

We had visited Brambles plot several year ago and identified what was probably the grave of George Robert Titheradge and family.  We double checked that it really was the most likely grave and confirmed there really were no inscriptions or no markings to confirm its identify, so without an accurate map it is just  an educated guess that this is the right grave of George Robert and his family.

Kingston Cemetery Portsmouth
Probable grave of George Robert Titheradge and family

Success was finally achieved when we visited Allens plot at the far end of the cemetery.  This burial had been identified on the Billion Graves Website (https://billiongraves.com/ ) which had also included a helpful Google map showing the location of the grave.

The gravestone read

In loving memory of Joseph Blaik Titheradge died August 16 1904 aged 31
Also Ada Caroline beloved wife of the above died February 25^th 1936 aged 65
Christopher and Percival sons of above died 1904 Reunited.
 

So who are this family and what tragic events took place 1904 to leave Ada a widow and a grieving mother?  If you know the answer please get in touch.


Joseph Blaik Titheradge was one of six children born to James Walter Titheradge and Mary Ann Blaik.  Joseph was born in 1872 in Portsmouth.  He married Ada Caroline Matthews in September quarter 1893 in Portsmouth.  They had four children, William Joseph Blaik Titheradge born in 1895 died 1955, Walter Titheradge born in 1899 died 1955, Christopher born in 1900 died 1904 and Percival Titheradge born in 1902 died 1904.

Joseph was a stoker in the Navy.  He joined the navy on 14 May 1891 when he was 19, signing up for 12 years a service.  His first service was on HMS Asia and his last on HMS Firequeen.  The last entry in his naval service record is 5 May 1904, 3 months before he died.  He also served on HMS Euphrates, HMS Victory, HMS Serapis, HMS St George, HMS Duke of Wellington and HMS Racer.

The Portsmouth Evening News carried the following notice in the Deaths section on 19 August 1904

Titheradge On 16^th August at 45 Liverpool Road Kingston Joseph Blaik Titheradge late Chief Stoker in Royal Navy aged 31 years.

In the March quarter of 1904 Joseph's son Christopher aged three and a half had died.  In the June quarter of 1904 his son Percival aged 2 had died.  We do not know what the cause of death was.  When Joseph died his son William was 9 years old and son Walter 5 years old.  After their father's death the boys were taken into a naval orphanage in Commercial Road, Although Ada was still alive I presume she did not have the means to support the children.  When the orphanage at Portsmouth closed the boys were moved to an orphanage in Swanage.

Family Grave of Joseph Blaik Titheradge

If you are a relative or can tell us more please get in touch or add a comment below.