Ipswich Cemetery: grave of Commander Robert Welch and his widow Lucy photographed by William Vick, 1870 or later
Bought from an eBay vendor in Sunbury-on-Thames, this carte de visite is in far better condition than the monument in section O of the old cemetery in Ipswich, judging from images made available by the Gravestone Photographic Resource since 2013 if not earlier.
The inscription on the headstone is not entirely legible, even at 600 dpi, but has been clarified by other sources:
In Affectionate Remembrance
of
COM. ROBERT WELCH R.N.
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
FEB. 8TH 1869
IN THE 88TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
- - - - -
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
[Proverbs 16:31]
ALSO OF
LUCY,
RELICT OF THE ABOVE,
WHO DIED JAN. 29TH 1870,
IN THE 83RD YEAR OF HER AGE.
- - - - -
Chosen of God and precious [1 Peter 2:4]
How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.
[Hymn by John Newton, 1779]
Lucy Overy being under 21 at the time of her wedding with Lieutenant Robert Welch of H.M.S. Experiment at Portsea, Hampshire, in 1804, he obtained a marriage licence with the consent of her widowed mother, Sarah Overy (Internet Archive). His career was highlighted by an obituary in the Suffolk Chronicle on Saturday 13 February 1869 (page 5 column 4):
DEATH OF A NAVAL VETERAN.—We regret to record the death, which took place on Monday, of an aged naval officer, Commander Robert Welch, R.N., of Orford-street, Ipswich, the father of Mrs. Gay, the wife of the Rev. J. Gay. Deceased was born in the year 1781, entered the naval service in 1794, and served as midshipman six years in the Galatea and Foudroyant. He was made Lieutenant in 1801 and was in the Egyptian campaign, for which he received a large gold medal from the Turkish Sultan, Selim the Third. He was in the Mediterranean during the French Revolution with Lord Nelson; was engaged in many a single combat with French and Spaniards, and was always distinguished for bravery and love of his country. He received a silver medal from Her Majesty the Queen in 1848, with bars notifying a few of the many engagements in which he had fought to serve his country. It is a little singular that Mr. Gay's father was also a naval hero. He was on board the Royal Sovereign, Lord Collingwood, second in command, at the battle of Trafalgar; and saw that idol of the British navy, Lord Nelson, a few hours before he was mortally wounded.
Ipswich Cemetery: grave of Commander Robert Welch and his widow Lucy photographed by William Vick, 1870 or later
Bought from an eBay vendor in Sunbury-on-Thames, this carte de visite is in far better condition than the monument in section O of the old cemetery in Ipswich, judging from images made available by the Gravestone Photographic Resource since 2013 if not earlier.
The inscription on the headstone is not entirely legible, even at 600 dpi, but has been clarified by other sources:
In Affectionate Remembrance
of
COM. ROBERT WELCH R.N.
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
FEB. 8TH 1869
IN THE 88TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
- - - - -
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
[Proverbs 16:31]
ALSO OF
LUCY,
RELICT OF THE ABOVE,
WHO DIED JAN. 29TH 1870,
IN THE 83RD YEAR OF HER AGE.
- - - - -
Chosen of God and precious [1 Peter 2:4]
How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.
[Hymn by John Newton, 1779]
Lucy Overy being under 21 at the time of her wedding with Lieutenant Robert Welch of H.M.S. Experiment at Portsea, Hampshire, in 1804, he obtained a marriage licence with the consent of her widowed mother, Sarah Overy (Internet Archive). His career was highlighted by an obituary in the Suffolk Chronicle on Saturday 13 February 1869 (page 5 column 4):
DEATH OF A NAVAL VETERAN.—We regret to record the death, which took place on Monday, of an aged naval officer, Commander Robert Welch, R.N., of Orford-street, Ipswich, the father of Mrs. Gay, the wife of the Rev. J. Gay. Deceased was born in the year 1781, entered the naval service in 1794, and served as midshipman six years in the Galatea and Foudroyant. He was made Lieutenant in 1801 and was in the Egyptian campaign, for which he received a large gold medal from the Turkish Sultan, Selim the Third. He was in the Mediterranean during the French Revolution with Lord Nelson; was engaged in many a single combat with French and Spaniards, and was always distinguished for bravery and love of his country. He received a silver medal from Her Majesty the Queen in 1848, with bars notifying a few of the many engagements in which he had fought to serve his country. It is a little singular that Mr. Gay's father was also a naval hero. He was on board the Royal Sovereign, Lord Collingwood, second in command, at the battle of Trafalgar; and saw that idol of the British navy, Lord Nelson, a few hours before he was mortally wounded.