Prince Alexander Weryha

In the cemetery there is a headstone engraved as follows;

“Prince Alexander Weryha
Duke of Siebiesh
Far separated from the
Tombs of his forefathers
Died in Exile
1874 - 1952”

It sounds like there may be an interesting story here. Please can anyone throw any light on who Prince Alexander was, and perhaps something about his story?

Well it’s a Polish surname, so perhaps he was the first of many Polish Immigrants to seek work over here? Sir Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco, was the son of Polish immigrants (bit of useless info) I will ask Ania our Polish chef if she has heard of Siebiesh as it is not listed as a (real) place. It may also have been spelt wrong & should have said Duke of Zebisch which was part of the Czech Republic. When the communists took over they probably fled as there had no time for royalty!
Which cemetery is it in, Stewart?

Hi,

Seems like you ain’t the first to ask the question.

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CHESHIRE/2004-01/1072992623

He’s Polish. Real name Aleksander Paul Weryha-Darowski. Probably exiled when the communists took power in Poland in 1948. How he ended up in Alderley Edge I don’t know.
More info here, but you’ll need to translate the Polish. http://www.sejm-wielki.pl/b/zi.5.148.ao

Many thanks for all the contributions so far.
The grave is in the cemetery on Chelford Road, just to the left after you go in the gate.
I did google the name and found the bit on ancestry.com but there are no answers there.
Google translate worked well and i did find some stuff - it looks like he had loads of grandchildren. Perhaps they were left behind in Poland.
Fascinating stuff, and not so long ago really. I would love toknow more. Anyone?

Tangent…there’s also a tomb there of the first Lord Mayor of Manchester.
Duncan Herald

......there’s a lot of dead people there!

Hi Steve; When 4 of the parish councilors ‘did’ an inspection of the cemetery a wee while back…(we are trying to get the CE portfolio holder to meet us there, so that we can give him a copy of our report /list of faults and show him for his own eyes)...one of my colleagues remarked that she knew more of the cemetery inhabitants that she did the villagers still above ground!
Duncan Herald

Must be Mary,Duncan.I’m the same .I now know more Alderley people underground than above.
The age thing,the older you get the less 21st and weddings you attend,the more funerals you go to.!!

Me too.
I remember my Dad telling me that there was a muslim person buried there ,he was buried stood up facing Mecca.Also I seem to remember him telling me that one of the Stanleys was buried in the wood opposite the second entrance to the AZ site,going from Alderley Edge.Does anyone know of any information about this?

The 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley was a Muslim, who was buried according to Islamic practice in a plantation on the family estate at Alderley Park.

I came across the grave today and had a quick trawl online, which led me to this page, amongst other things. I may have found a connection, as there’s a webpage on Polish genealogy that mentions an Aleksander Pawel Weryha-Darowski with the same dates (1874-1952), and it also says he died in England (Anglia): http://www.sejm-wielki.pl/b/zi.5.148.ao

I think the same person is referenced on a Polish ‘Fraternities Museum’ webpage:
http://www.archiwumkorporacyjne.pl/en/index.php/fraternities-museum/riga/welecja/
“Alexander Weryha-Darowski, (January 15, 1874 - 1952) of May. Terijów family in gub. Kiev, p Alexander Middle School student in Zhitomir, a student of the Faculty of Agriculture PR from 1893 to 1895, a student and graduate of Trade from 1896 to 1899, from 1911 co-owner of the department store “Darowski & Narzymski” in Kiev, the head of sales at the department store “Rabethge & Giesecke , “in the Second Republic President of the Joint Stock Company” Marynin “in Warsaw in 1924, after the war in exile in Canada.”

He was my grandfather from my mother’s side. His estate was in what is now the Ukraine. He and my mother escaped from Warsaw during the war via switzerland and Italy. And then, like many Poles, were helped to escape to England. He was a tall, very handsome man, and he befriended a “spinster” called Winnie and lived in her house in Alderley Edge until he died of TB. He was indeed a Duke. My mother studied at the University in Manchester and emigrated with my father to Canada where they still live. I will ask her more about that time and post again. His book is in the British Library in London.

He was my grandfather from my mother’s side. His estate was in what is now the Ukraine. He and my mother escaped from Warsaw during the war via switzerland and Italy. And then, like many Poles, were helped to escape to England. He was a tall, very handsome man, and he befriended a “spinster” called Winnie and lived in her house in Alderley Edge until he died of TB. He was indeed a Duke. My mother studied at the University in Manchester and emigrated with my father to Canada where they still live. I will ask her more about that time and post again. His book is in the British Library in London.