![[The identity of Mr. H will be revealed later in this article]](https://leghornmerchants.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/fh.jpg?w=254&h=300)
Mr. H. whose identity will be revealed later.
H. suffered from a pulmonary ailment, and during the autumn of 1816, having been advised to winter in a warmer climate, he travelled to Pisa (Italy) with (more…)
Analysis and Biography and Cemeteries and Old English and Sources British, Burial Practices, Burials, Cemetery, Francis Horner, Henry Englefield, History, Non-Catholic, Old English Cemetery, Parliament of the United Kingdom, Scottish, Sculpture, Sir Francis Chantrey, Sismondi 1:20 pm
Mr. H. whose identity will be revealed later.
H. suffered from a pulmonary ailment, and during the autumn of 1816, having been advised to winter in a warmer climate, he travelled to Pisa (Italy) with (more…)
Biography and Books and Cemeteries and Genealogy and New English British, England, History, Mediterranean Sea, New English Cemetery, Sicily, Tuscany 5:53 pm
In 2009, during frequent email exchanges with Professor Michela D’Angelo and Dr. Diletta D’Andrea of the University of Messina I was informed that Dr. D’Andrea was carrying out a research on an English Esquire named Gould Francis Leckie. He was a classic scholar and a publicist who lived in England between the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX. As Dr. D’Andrea had found out, he had also spent some years in Sicily and, later on, had moved to Tuscany where he had probably died, though nobody had ever known where or when exactly, so I was asked by them to check my sources for any further information.
Checking the Chapel Register vol. 2 (1784-1824) and the inscriptions at the Old English Cemetery of Livorno did not reveal any trace of his. Next possibility was to check the Registers of the New Cemetery. Indeed, I felt a strong emotion when I read “Leckie, Gould Francis, 4-9-1850” in the Burial Register kept by the caretaker of the New English Cemetery in Livorno. I made copies of the whole register and wrote down the reference to the location of the grave.
This happened in the winter 2009. The cemetery was completely overgrown. My first attempt at finding the grave ended as soon as I arrived close to the relevant section, where the tomb should be: the whole area was totally covered with brambles to a height of 7-8 feet.
I immediately advised (more…)
Analysis and Articles and Books and Cemeteries and Churches and General History and New English and Old English and Places and Saint George (Anglican) and Sources and Update British Factory, Burials, Cemetery, Consuls, Diplomats, English Consul, History, Merchants, Montgomery Carmichael, New English Cemetery, Non-Catholic, Old English Cemetery, Protestant Church, Protestants, Sources 12:28 am
Introduction.
The survey of the Old English Cemetery of Livorno which I began in 2009 and my subsequent analysis of the data has revealed an elevated amount of discrepancies. Some examples are: the position of the existing tombstones not matching the complete survey made in 1906 (see below), the great number of missing slabs and tombstones, the astonishing collages of inscription fragments mounted together with no apparent logic, some artistically/historically incoherent monuments, the total loss of the iron railings that were enclosing a number of graves, the mysteriously empty areas, the enormous quantities of debris, dumping material and objects found everywhere, etc…
The very limited local bibliography on the subject lacks any detail on the history of the cemetery, and gives only opinions and hypotheses. It relays unreliable information from previous books and articles and transmits oral statements of unknown origins. Everything about this place has always been uncertain, from the year of its foundation (historians have dated it anywhere from 1594 to 1737), to the events of World War II. On the other hand, Prof. Stefano Villani has provided some very interesting evidence about the enclosure of the cemetery and other documents related to the first hundred years of the burial ground’s existence. I recently discovered the testament of a Leghorn merchant which finally establishes, for the first time, the year of the foundation of this cemetery (see related article on this blog).
Read the new page: History of the Old English Cemetery of Livorno: an outline.
Articles and Biography and Cemeteries and Genealogy and General History and Old English and Places and Sources British, Burials, Cemetery, Genealogy, History, Merchants, Non-Catholic, Old English Cemetery, Protestants, Sources, Wills 7:34 pm
As everyone can verify by heading down Via Verdi in Livorno towards the entrance of the “Misericordia” and of the “Old English Cemetery”, the Municipality indicated the historical site by a brown panel which states 1737 as the year of foundation. This date has always been questioned by historians given that the oldest tomb is dated 1646, but some local historians advanced the hypothesis that the oldest graves were actually transferred from private gardens to the burial ground at a later moment, after it received the “official” authorization. The evidence suggests that this theory is inaccurate and (more…)