Laws & Customs

We have many entries on the CemeteryScribes database for individuals who were famous for their charity and good deeds , their professional and financial achievements, or their contributions to the Arts and Sciences, but this is the story of a person who was famed, not for his life, but for his burial. Camillo Roth,...
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A recent message on one of the forums reminded that for, some time, I had been mulling over a piece about Stonemasons.  Who and where were they? What were the particular skills of their craft? Was this a trade (or craft?) that was handed down from father to son, or could any likely lad...
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George Eliot John (or David) Johnasson, was born in London on 4 February 1863 and was circumcised at 149 Sloane St, Chelsea by Rabbi Asher Ash, on 25th February – somewhat later than the usual seventh day following a birth. He was the only son of John Johnasson and his Belgian born wife,...
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English law regarding proscribed marriage partners was based entirely on those laid down by the Anglican Church and stemmed from Henry VIII’s reformation of the English Church. These laws almost exactly correspond with those set out in Leviticus, which, whilst explicitly naming the parties forbidden to marry, makes no mention of a deceased wife’s...
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Well here goes with my first ‘real’ post. Its about an intriguing headstone we found at Brady Street. One of the more difficult to interpret as it included an Acrostic and a Gematria. The inscription was transliterated as: Creature of earth in his mother’s bosom… His gathering comes now … His fineness with those...
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