More about Joseph Challis and his family

Throughout the last year myself and a distant cousin Clive Boyce have been researching the Challis family. As noted in a previous post we were finally able to prove that our joint 4x great grandfather Joseph Challis of Ramsgate, Kent was born in Witham in Essex on the 5th April 1758, the son of Joseph Challis and Sarah Havers. In this article I want to fill out his life with a little more background information, and to surmise about which Challis family he was connected to.

In the area around Braintree in Essex there were quite a few Challis families who were most probably all related to each other though as yet we have been unable to find a direct link because of missing, damaged or unreadable parish registers. Joseph’s father died in April 1768 and was buried in Witham on the 20th April 1768, the age that was recorded at his burial was 40 which would mean if this age was accurate that he was born around 1728.

In Finchingfield which is located about 15 km north of Braintree and 25km north of Witham, we have the family of Joseph Challis (b.abt 1697) and Susanna Fryer (b.1702) who were married in 1724. They had a total of 11 children, the oldest being named Joseph after his father, he was christened 14th April 1725, three years before the proposed birth of our Joseph, but still a possibility.

Another Challis family was that of Daniel Challis (the elder) born about 1664 and living in Bocking which is a small village about 2km to the north of Braintree and 15 km from Witham. Daniel married Rebecca Livermore in 1684 and had 10 children by her, after Rebecca’s death in 1707 he remarried a year later to Mary Bickner, a widow of Purly and had three more children by his second wife. At least one of Daniel’s sons Thomas born 1698 had a child who was named Joseph, who was born around 1730 and christened in 1733, this time a year or two after our Joseph’s proposed birth. Another of Thomas’s sons named Daniel after his grandfather was married in 1760 in Faulkbourne to Ann Havers, the sister of our Sarah Havers ! Creating a tangible link between our Joseph Challis and this family. Daniel the Elder’s son Joseph, born on the 18th June 1704 was married in Braintree to Hannah Puckle or Buckle on the 12th June 1728, as yet I have been unable to find anything else about Joseph and Hannah, did they also have a son named Joseph?

Yet another Challis family in the area is that of Daniel Challis (another Daniel) and Ann Wenden of Panfield, located about 3 km north of Bocking. This Daniel married Ann Wenden around 1699 and had a total of 10 children all born in Panfield between 1700 and 1719, none of his children were named Joseph. I am sure that all of these families are related to each other but which of the three our Joseph’s father belonged to is yet to be confirmed and may always remain a mystery.

What is certain is that Joseph Challis was married on the 21st October 1756 in Witham to Sarah Havers the 19 year old daughter of Andrew and Ann Havers. Joseph would have been about 27 depending on his actual birth date, so quite a bit older than his wife.

Sarah Havers was christened on the 10th May 1737 in Faulkbourne, a small parish just north of Witham. She was the third child of six children though her eldest brother John had died in infancy. Sadly when Sarah was 12 years old her father passed away, he was buried on the 6th May 1749. Four years later her mother Ann also passed away, leaving 5 young children, the eldest Ann being 19 and the youngest Andrew being only 6 years old.

Three years later Sarah married Joseph Challis and together they had four children. The eldest was our Joseph who was born on the 5th April 1758 and christened in St.Nicolas parish church in Witham on the 23rd April 1758. Three more children followed, William in 1760, Sarah in 1763 and Ann in 1766. Sadly baby Sarah died in 1765 aged 18 months and then 3 years later father Joseph also died and was buried in Witham on the 20th April 1768. His eldest son, our Joseph had just celebrated his tenth birthday and William was 8 years old whilst the youngest Ann was only two years old. Joseph’s wife Sarah never remarried but brought up her children on her own and thankfully lived to be 90. My next Blog will be about her eldest son Joseph and his further life but very briefly I want to write about his siblings William and Ann.

His brother William signed up for Military service in 1776, he was aged 16 at the time and served in the 3rd Regiment of Foots, also known as the Buffs, he served for about 9 years until he was released from service by an injury to his leg. During his time of service the Buffs fought in the American War of Independence (1775-83) and, apart from a return to Flanders in 1794, spent much of the 1780s and 1790s in the West Indies.

According to military records he was 5ft 6in tall, had a fair complexion, a long face, grey eyes and light hair and was born in Witham and was a labourer. In the records of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea he was 25 at the time and had served for 9 years and had a mutilated leg which had been amputated. On this record his place of birth is given as Braintree and his occupation as maltster. Sometime after his service William married someone called Ann but I have been unable as yet to find a record of his marriage. In 1841 he and his wife Ann are living in Bocking, he is recorded as being 80 and an army pensioner and his wife Ann is 75. William Challis died on the 14th June 1841 of natural decay, aged 82, he was recorded as being a Chelsea Pensioner. I have been unable to verify if William and Ann had any children, in 1841 they were living with Hannah Row and her son William and Hannah was the person who was in attendance at his death, was she maybe their daughter?

Joseph’s sister Ann was 8 years younger than him, she was born on the 11th March 1766 in Witham and as I mentioned earlier she was only two years old when her father died. Ann married quite late in life, she was 34 years old when she married 45 year old Johnson Howes in St. Nicolas church Witham. Johnson Howes was from Hatfield Peverel which is about 5km further along the London Road from Witham and it is there that they lived after their marriage. Fifteen months after their marriage Ann gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Ann but sadly their daughter only lived for a few days, she was christened on the 23rd January 1802 in Hatfield Peverel and buried in Witham on the 28th January 1802. Johnson and Ann don’t seem to have had anymore children.

In 1810 they were living at World’s End Farm which was located near the River Chelmer in Hatfield Peverel. Johnson Howes passed away on the 11th August 1838 at the respectable age of 83 and his wife Ann passed away a year later aged 72.

It was through the Last Will and Testament that Ann made shortly after the death of her husband that gave us the proof that our Joseph Challis belonged to this family, in her Testament Ann leaves everything to the seven children of her deceased brother Joseph Challis of Ramsgate!

In my next Blog I will try to go into more detail about Joseph Challis’s life and what caused him to end up in Ramsgate. Joseph and Ann’s mother Sarah Challis née Havers also ended up living in Ramsgate where she died and was buried on the 16th March 1828 at the grand old age of 90.

Maria Bishop of Dalham, Suffolk

My 3rd Great Grandmother Maria Bishop lived in the beautiful little village of Dalham in the county of Suffolk. A village which is filled with lovely thatched cottages and is watched over by Dalham Hall which was previously owned by the Affleck family and is located next to the village church of St. Mary, where Maria and her family probably attended. She was the seventh child of Frederick Bishop and Anne Fitch. Frederick was a journeyman Miller and during his life he worked in the Windmills of nearby Gazeley, Barrow and in Dalham. One of Dalham’s windmills is still standing though unfortunately it has lost its sails, could this have been the mill where Frederick worked? Frederick was born in Worlington, Suffolk, a little village near Mildenhall, right on the boarder of Cambridgeshire, he was the youngest son of John Bishop and Elizabeth Webb. On the 9th February 1801, aged 26, he married Anne Fitch in the large church of St. Mary’s in Mildenhall. After their marriage they lived in the little village of Gazeley, where their first four children where born and christened and Frederick most probably worked in the Windmill in Gazeley.

When their fifth daughter Harriet was born they were probably living in the nearby village of Barrow as Harriet and their next two children, Robert and Maria where all christened at the All Saints Church of Barrow. Whilst the children were still young the family probably moved to Dalham where Frederick was able to work in the Windmill there. All three villages, Gazeley, Barrow and Dalham are very close to each other so it is also possible that the family lived in one location and that the children where christened at different churches. Maria’s mother Ann died around 1820 whilst Maria was still a small child and father Frederick remarried a few years later to Elizabeth and had a daughter named Jane by his second wife. Maria eventually married William Henry Tozer on the 27 August 1837 in Newington, South London. Even though though William was born in Dartford, Kent and was living and working in London it seems that he too had connections to Suffolk. In a previous Blog I wrote about his mother Elizabeth Archer, a few years after William’s father died his mother remarried a William Rashbrook, William Henry Tozer was 14 years old at the time and his brother Charles was 11. Their new step father William Rashbrook was born in Barrow, Suffolk, one of the villages where Frederick Bishop lived and worked. Did William Henry Tozer maybe visit Suffolk with his mother and stepfather and did he meet his future wife Maria Bishop during one of these visits? His younger brother Charles also married someone from Bury St. Edmunds, the main town of the area and lived and worked in Bury St. Edmund’s as a Corn and Seed Merchant. The house that Charles Tozer and his family lived in on Risbygate Street is still standing. After William Henry Tozer and Maria Bishop married they lived in London for several years where William Henry worked as a painter, grainer and decorator. Eventually they moved to Northampton where he set up his own business together with his sons. More about their life together in another Blog.

Where was Joseph Challis (1758 - 1834) of Ramsgate from?

By Debra van Driel Kluit and Clive Boyce

The first Challis family we have found living in Ramsgate, Kent is that of Joseph and Ann Challis and their children in the early 1800’s.  Joseph made his will in 1827 in which he refers to his honoured mother Sarah Challis. She died shortly after in March 1828 and was buried at St Lawrence, Ramsgate aged 91.  We know from Joseph’s will that he left nine surviving children: Ann Wife of Charles Smith, Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Charles, George, Francis, Henry, and James share and share alike”. We are direct descendants of Henry and Francis. Seven of the children were baptised at St Lawrence, Ramsgate. As the will puts them in order of baptismal dates it is very likely that all children are cited in strict order of age in the will and that Ann and Joseph were the first two children. Census data establishes that daughter Ann who married Charles Smith was born in London around 1790. We have not found her baptism and it is doubtful whether she was daughter of both Joseph and Ann. We suspect that she was daughter of a previous marriage. The next child, Joseph, had a twin sister Sarah, and they were baptised at St Mary, Marylebone in 1796. Sarah must have died young as she is not mentioned in her father’s will. She probably died of fever on 29 April in 1810, recorded as Ann Challis , aged 13. 1810 was  annus hornbills  for Joseph and Ann as their son John died in infancy on 29 April and their daughter Maria also an infant died “of bowels”on 27 August. There appear to be no baptisms for John or Maria but we presume that they were twins. There was another son Johnson born in 1812 who died in infancy. He was probably named after his paternal uncle Johnson Howes (see below). Joseph Challis was buried in Ramsgate on 5 Feb 1834 aged 76 So, we know he was born about 1758 and his mother, Sarah, was born about 1737. The consensus in family trees online is that Joseph was  baptised 25 Apr 1762 at Southminster, Essex son of Joseph Challis  and Sarah Lingley who were married 12 Oct 1761 at Sourthminster but there is no convincing baptism for Sarah around 1737 so the evidence for Jospeh coming from Southminster is very weak. We propose an alternative that establishes beyond doubt that Joseph Challis came from Witham, Essex. There was a Joseph Challis/Chalice was born 5 Apr 1758 and bap 23 April 1758 at Witham Essex son of Joseph and Sarah Chalice. Joseph Chalice senior married Sarah Havers on 21 October 1756 at St Nicholas, Witham. The transcript records her as Haven but she was actually Sarah Havers who was bap. Faulkbourne, Essex (about 2 miles from Witham) on 24 April 1737 dau. of Andrew and Ann Havers. Sarah married Jospeh Challice in 1732 when she was 19 which is reasonable given that both her parents were dead. Sarah had an elder brother John born 1733, and sister Ann born 1734 so we presume her parents were married about 1732 but their marriage has not been found nor has the baptism of Andrew Havers which we presume would be about 1710. Andrew Havers was buried at Faulkbourne in 1749 and his wife died in 1753, but their ages were not recorded. Joseph and Sarah Challis had a second son, William b 1760, who went into the army, was seriously injured and became a Chelsea pensioner. He married but there is no evidence of children. Joseph and Sarah also had two daughters; Sarah  b 1763 and Ann b 1766. Ann married Johnson Howes at Witham in 1800 and they live in nearby Hatfield Peverel. Johnson Howes died in 1838 and Ann made her will very shortly after his death. She left her estate to the eight children of her late brother Joseph Challis of Ramsgate. This establishes beyond doubt that Joseph Challis of Ramsgate was a son of Joseph Challis and Sarah Havers of Witham, Essex.

Heroic Harry - More facts from William Henry Orwin’s life.

My last blog was about my great uncle William Henry Orwin and his First World War experiences. Whilst searching through the British Newspaper Archives I discovered some more heroic deeds from his life that I would like to share with you. At the end of the war he returned to his family in Hull after his harrowing time as a Prisoner of War in Germany. On the 16th May 1921 his father William Orwin passed away after suffering a Haemorrhage, he was only 54 years old. Being the eldest son, Harry became the man of the house, his younger brother Arthur was only 12 years old. Harry’s occupation was Stevedore, that is someone who works at the docks loading and unloading ships. Harry was in the employ of the Bulk Oil Steamship Co. Ltd.

At the end of 1923 he married Anne Margaret Fox and a year later on the 4th October 1924 their first child was born, Joyce Theresa Orwin. At the beginning of 1927 their second daughter was born, Dora Anne Patricia Orwin. A couple of months after Dora’s birth the family decided to take a little break together with some of their extended family. It was a sunny Whitsuntide weekend in June 1927 so they decided to rent a Houseboat on the River Hull, they were located near a little place called Hull Bridge which is a few miles outside of Beverley.

According to a report in the Hull Daily Mail, Whit Monday, 7th June 1927 “Hull Bridge near Beverley was the scene of some thrilling rescues on Monday evening when a rowing boat containing a party of holiday makers suddenly turned turtle. Fortunately there were a number of houseboats about and the whole party were saved from drowning.” According to the article the members of the party were - Mr & Mrs West of 24 Bourne Street, Hull and their two children, Harold 4 and Stella 2. (This was Anne Fox’s sister and her husband and children) Mr & Mrs Ainley of New George Street, Hull and their daughter Sadie 3. Mr Reuben Waddington of Grange Street, Hull. Mrs Teresa Orwin of 28 Bourne Street, Hull (Harry’s Mother) Dora Morfit, aged 1 of Symons Street, Hull (Harry’s niece). Mrs Alice M Lilley and her five year old daughter Jocelyn and another gentleman. Mr William Henry Orwin, 28, Stevedore, of Bourne Street who alone was responsible for saving the lives of six or seven of the party. As can be seen several of the party were family to Harry and the others were maybe friends or neighbours.

To quote further from the Newspaper report which describes in perfect detail what happened. “Shortly after 5’0 clock on Monday at Hull Bridge, 2 miles out of Beverley the party of holiday makers were about to go for a row in a small boat. As the boat was about to start a gentleman of rather weighty proportions stepped aboard and the little boat immediately turned turtle, throwing the occupants into the water. The depth of the river at that point is said to be about 20 ft deep. “ I was sat in a houseboat near by” declared Mr Orwin “When someone shouted” He immediately went out and was horrified to see the neighbouring boat upside down and the party including his Mother in the water. “I jumped in after them and as soon as I got in I heard my Mother shouting for me - I got hold of her, I think I saved about six or seven.” “When I was holding my Mother, Mrs West and I noticed Mrs Ainley drifting down the river, so I dived after her, I did not think I could swim so fast, there was a strong current at the time.” When the accident occurred it was fortunate that there were a number of other boats nearby. The occupants gave valuable assistance, one of the rescuers was a young mid shipman who plunged in from the opposite bank. After the whole party had been recovered from the water they were taken aboard the neighbouring houseboats where they were supplied with blankets and hot drinks. Drenched to the skin, Orwin and the three men of the party drove back to Hull in a motor and after effecting a quick change returned to Hull Bridge with dry clothing for the remainder of the party. None of the party appear to be much the worse for their “ducking” except Mrs Orwin senior, who lies in bed suffering from shock and her son William who caught a severe chill and is practically speechless.”

Shortly after this article appeared in the Newspaper a thankyou letter was also published from one of the rescued. It is titled ‘The Unlucky Thirteen’

“Sir - Will you please allow me a little space - I would like to thank Mr H. Orwin for dragging my daughter Josie and myself safely to the bank, and also the man who assisted us to a houseboat and then put my daughter in blankets. I also thank Mrs Wilkinson for her kindness and the occupants of other houseboats for hot drinks and dry clothing etc. “ Alice M. Lilley 11 June 1927 Funnily enough the report of the boating accident wasn’t just reported in the Hull Daily Mail but was also reported in several other Newspapers throughout Britain, so it was real national news.

Sadly Harry’s second heroic rescue attempt wasn’t as successful, this occurred a year later in February 1928 and was at the docks were Harry worked. The accident occurred at about 8.30 in the morning, 42 year old George Hirst, a foreman of the Trent Navigation Company was superintending the removal of tinned fruit when he apparently slipped and fell into the water between the side of the quay and the forepart of the S.S. Hull Trader which was discharging bulk oil at the time. Stevedore Harry Orwin and Seaman Harold Hill who where aboard the S.S. Hull Trader at the time, heard the shouting and lowered themselves over the side to where Hirst was struggling. They got hold of him but Hill lost his hold and also fell into the dock and being unable to swim was soon in difficulty himself. Orwin was unable to hold Hirst alone and the latter Orwin states “sank like a stone” probably through the suction of the vessel. Hill managed to grab hold of the rope on which he had been lowered and was pulled on board the ship in a very weak condition. Hirst’s body was later brought to the surface and though artificial respiration was applied and the man was hurried to the Royal Infirmary he was found to be dead on arrival. Even though this was a very sad outcome Harry had been prepared to risk his life to save the man.

It is fascinating what you can find in old Newspaper reports that can give more colour to our ancestors lives. Through the report about the boating accident I was able to see that my Great Grandmother enjoyed having a day out with the family, even if this activity almost ended in disaster! She had her one year old granddaughter with her, daughter of her eldest daughter Dora, thankfully this young child was also safely rescued. My Mum was born in August 1926, she would have been 9 months old at the time, I have no idea whether her parents Herbert and Violet Orwin where also there in one of the other Houseboats with their three children or maybe they had decided to stay at home with such a young child.

William Henry (Harry) Orwin - soldier and prisoner of war 1918

Just about every family in Great Britain and the Commonwealth was effected in some way or another by the First World War, many lost sons or husbands or brothers and every village has a war memorial with the names of the fallen from that village. I have written earlier about my paternal Grandfather Robert Strickland and his injuries and survival in the Ypres Salient. My maternal Grandfather Herbert Cyril Orwin was too young to be called up to serve in the First World War as he turned 18 just a few months after the armistice, but his older brother Harry did serve and was also taken as a prisoner of war.

William Henry Orwin or Harry as he was called was born exactly two years before my Grandfather on the 6th April 1899 in Hull. He was named after his father William and his Grandfather Henry Bromby. According to his Military papers Harry joined the army when he was 16 though he must have lied about his age as the minimum age for all recruits at the time was 18. He joined the East Yorkshire Regiment and in December of 1915 he was serving in Egypt. According to Wikipedia “The 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th (Service) Battalions were raised in September 1914 from men volunteering in Kingston upon Hull. These units were additionally entitled 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City of Hull battalions and were known as the Hull Pals, nicknamed the 'Hull Commercials', 'Hull Tradesmen', 'Hull Sportsmen' and 'T'others' respectively. They formed the 92nd Brigade in 31st Division, and landed in Egypt in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.”

Harry was in the Lewis Gun Section of the East Yorkshire Regiment, he would have fought in many battles along the Western Front, in the Ypres Salient and in France. According to Wikipedia at the end of May 1918 his Regiment was in the Aisne Department of France “In late May 1918 50th Division was moved to a 'quiet' sector on the Chemin des Dames ridge to relieve French troops. The sector was indeed quiet, but intelligence warned of impending attack, and on 26 May the battalion was alerted. A Company held the front line on the extreme left of the divisional sector, with B Company in close support and the other two companies in brigade reserve. Enemy gas shelling of Battalion HQs began at midnight and shellfire increased until it reached a crescendo at 01.00 on 27 May. At 06.00 the German infantry launched the Third Battle of the Aisne. There was no direct attack on 150th Bde, but successful attacks on the neighbouring French division and the rest of 50th (N) Division left the brigade to be enveloped on both flanks by 06.30. All communications to Brigade HQ were cut by shellfire, and nothing more was heard from 1/4th East Yorkshires' HQ; most of the battalion was overwhelmed, and rearguard actions were fought by small parties who worked their way back to the bridge over the River Aisne at Maizy. The battalion quartermaster attempted to hold the bridge with his men and the battalion transport details but was forced to withdraw. During 28–31 May the remnants of 50th (N) Division acted as a composite battalion (four officers and 105 other ranks from 1/4th East Yorkshires) under Lt-Col Stead. This served in 'Marshall's Force', holding the line while the German offensive was eventually stopped.” On the 29th June 1918 an article appeared in the Hull Daily Mail with a list of soldiers from the East Yorkshire Regiment who were reported as missing since May 27th 1918, one of the missing was Private Harry Orwin. This must have been a terrible time for my Great Grandparents, not knowing whether their son was still alive or whether he was injured and taken as a prisoner of war.

Finally three months later another article appeared in the Newspaper announcing that Mr and Mrs Orwin had received a postcard from their son Lance Corporal H. Orwin that he was a prisoner of war in Germany and that he was well. What a relief that card must have been for them though I can imagine that they would still have worried about how he was being treated as a prisoner of war.

According to military records Harry had suffered a wounded finger on his left hand.

Thankfully Harry eventually returned home and in 1924 he was married to Anne Margaret Fox.

Sitting on the far left of this photo is my great grandmother Theresa Orwin née Bromby and the handsome man standing to the left of the groom is my grandfather Herbert Orwin, younger brother of Harry. Their father William Orwin had passed away in 1921.

Louis De la Coste - French Huguenot

Louis De la Coste and his wife Rachel Chintrier were living in La Rochelle during the second half of the 17th century. Louis was a prosperous merchant whose family had originally come from the region of Provenance, but because of religious persecution had settled in La Rochelle which was designated as one of the ‘safe cities’ for Protestants. La Rochelle, being located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean was also a very prosperous merchandising city, known as the ‘Gateway to the Ocean’ Louis De la Coste was born on the 12 March 1641 to Jean De la Coste and Francoise Herpin. Louis was married for the first time on the 15 May 1667 to Maria Philbert, a year later Maria gave birth to a daughter, but sadly two years later both his daughter and wife passed away. In November of 1672 Louis was married for the second time, this time to Rachel Chintrier, daughter of a wood merchant called Jacques Chintrier and his wife Marie Papin. Rachel was born in June 1648 so was 24 at the time of her marriage and Louis was 31. Rachel and Louis had a total of 7 children, their oldest child was named after his father and was born on the 10 April 1674, he was christened in the Reformed Church of La Rochelle by Mr. De Laireman and his Godmother was his cousin Olive De la Coste, daughter of his uncle Charles. This Louis was later called Ludovicus and is the 6th great grandfather of Leen Arie. The other children of Louis and Rachel were David, born 1675, Charles, born 1677, who died as an infant, Jean born 1678, Maria born 1680, Susanna born in 1681 and another David in 1684.

In the autumn of 1681, seven year old Ludovicus and six year old David were sent by sea to Bristol in England so that they could be educated in the Reformed Protestants religion. They spent two years in Bristol and returned to La Rochelle in the autumn of 1683. Sadly young David became sick and died during the sea voyage and had to be buried at sea, how traumatic this must have been for Ludovicus and so sad for his parents when they heard the news. In October 1685, Louis XIV renounced the Edict of Nantes, this Edict had been signed in 1598 by King Henry IV, granting the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in a predominantly Catholic country.

The year before the renunciation Louis and Rachel decided to send all of their surviving children to safety in the Netherlands, at the time Rachel was in the last term of pregnancy of her youngest child whom they would name David after their son who was lost at sea. For this reason 10 year old Ludovicus, 6 year old Jean, 4 year old Maria and 3 year old Susanna where accompanied by their Aunt, Elizabeth Burtel née Chintrier and her daughter. They left from St. Martin on the Ile de Re and after a sea voyage of around 12 days arrived in Rotterdam on the 9 October 1684. Louis and Rachel joined their children several months later after fleeing from La Rochelle as did thousands of other Huguenots at this time, sadly their new born baby died in infancy. On the 14 May 1686 Louis and his family where granted Citizen Rights to the city of Rotterdam. Young Ludovicus had already continued with his education after arriving in the Netherlands. On the 10 December 1684 he began to study the Dutch language in Overschie by Mr. de Crocq, he studied here for 9 months.

After living in Rotterdam for a few months Louis and Rachel and their family took up residence in Dordrecht and Ludovicus was enrolled in the Latin school where he studied Latin and Greek, Geometry under Abel de Vries, Philosophy and Astronomy under Mr. Drucker and later after his graduation at this school in 1690 he continued his education at the Illustre School Dordrecht where he studied the languages Hebrew, Syrisch and Chaldean under the French preacher Olivier Loquet. Whilst Ludovicus was busy with his studies in Dordrecht his parents and siblings decided in the Spring of 1687 to carry on their journey to Zurich in Switzerland. After residing here for only a few months, sadly on the evening of 18 November 1687 Rachel passed away, she was only 39 years old. She left her husband Louis with three young children to look after, Jean aged 9, Maria aged 7 and Susanna aged 6. For this reason, before her death she encouraged her husband to take as a new wife her recently widowed cousin Marguerite Thomeur. According to Ludovicus, his step mother Marguerite “raised them with much tenderness and love, God bless her.” Rachel was buried at the Protestant Church of Grosmuster in Zurich.

Louis probably returned to the Netherlands with his children, he married Marguerite Thomeur in 1688. Marguerite’s brother or father Pieter Thomeur was a merchant in Amsterdam. Possibly around this time his youngest son Jean was also sent to school, possibly also in Dordrecht. In 1694 eldest son Ludovicus continued his education at the ‘Leidsche Hoogeschool’ in Leiden which he left in 1695 to go into the Church. In 1698 he took up his first appointment as Preacher of the church in Simonshaven. (More about Ludovicus and his family in a future article)

During this time his father had decided to move on with his new wife and two daughters to London in England. They settled in a house on Petticoat Lane which is in an area of London where many French Huguenots resided. He was able to continue here successfully with his merchandising business as can be seen by a Notary Act made between him and Pieter Thomeur on the 25 March 1695 in Amsterdam, in which his son Ludovicus is acting as his representative. In this Act he transports four Obligations which he owned which where from the hand of Holland and West Vriesland, over to Pieter Thomeur. These four Obligations where worth all together more than 5,000 pounds sterling, which in today’s money would be about £1,400,000 an amazing amount of money! Louis’s two daughters both married in London, Maria in June of 1700 to Jean Arnaud, she had three children, a son and two daughters, her son died in infancy. Her husband died in 1707 so she then remarried Isaac Rivalland in 1708. Susanna was married in April 1709 to Allard Bellin, she didn’t have any surviving children. Louis’s youngest son Jean graduated as a doctor of medicine at the University of Utrecht on the 4 September 1704. After his graduation he joined his father in London and found work as a Physician. He got married around 1706 to Maria Susanna Assaily, they had around 7 children but only two daughters survived to adulthood. In a previous Blog you can read about Jean’s involvement in the Mughouse Riots.

On the 30 March 1706 Louis De la Coste made his Last Will and Testament, he passed away a month later and was buried on the 6 April at St Botolph’s Church at Bishopsgate in London he was 65 years old. In his Will he leaves a yearly payment of 28 pounds sterling to his dear wife Margaret, to his as yet unmarried youngest daughter Susanna he left £500, and to his eldest son Ludovicus in the Netherlands he also left £500 and £50 to Ludovicus’s eldest daughter Cornelia Louisa. His youngest son Jean received a yearly annuity of £24 as well as the sum of £120. His other daughter Maria is to receive his household estate and effects after the death of his wife and Maria’s husband Jean Arnaud is named as chief Executor.

Most of the information that I have written about here I was able to glean from an account written by Ludovicus De la Coste himself. About his father he wrote “ My Father was a very sensible man, a very honest man, a very good Father for his children and a very good Christian. As he lived, so he died in the Lord. His main virtues were humbleness, thriftiness, sincerity, moderation and alertness. He was an enemy to pomp and excess and wastefulness, not out of the principle of greediness, but of Godliness. An enemy to hypocrisy, and of all lies. God give that my children and descendants will follow him in all of these virtues.”

Elizabeth Archer my 4th Great Grandmother

My Maternal 4th great grandmother Elizabeth Archer was born in August 1780 in Sittingbourne, Kent to John and Sarah Archer. Elizabeth’s grandparents Stephen and Jane Archer resided in Dartford Kent, alongside the River Thames, as did her uncle Stephen and his large family. It was possibly through this family connection to Dartford that Elizabeth met her future husband Henry Couchman, who lived with his family in the little village of Swanscombe which lies next to Dartford.

Henry Couchman’s father Thomas was a blacksmith and a farrier, who was someone who not only shoed horses but provided general veterinary care for them as well. Henry followed his father in this work, not only becoming a farrier but also a veterinarian surgeon. Henry’s uncle, Henry Couchman, was a distinguished architect who designed several public buildings and later resided in Temple House, Temple Balsall, Warwickshire. On the 25 May 1800, aged 23, Henry was initiated as a Freemason in the Emulation Lodge of Dartford. Seven months later he was married to Elizabeth Archer, on the 10 January 1801, the wedding banns were read at Dartford Church and at Frindsbury Church. Henry and Elizabeth had three daughters, Eliza who was born on the 24 March 1803, Selina who was born two years later on the 18 February 1805 and Jane who was born in 1806 who I believe died as a baby. Finally in January of 1807 a son was born to them, named after his Grandfather Thomas Couchman, he was born on the 2 February 1807. Sadly on the 18 September 1807 Elizabeth’s husband Henry passed away, he was only 29 years old and she was left with three young children, the oldest being 4 and Thomas the youngest 7 months. Henry was buried in Swanscombe, where his parents lived and I am sure that his parents helped Elizabeth financially in her first year alone with the children. The children of Henry and Elizabeth are mentioned in Thomas Couchman’s Last Will and Testament which he made in 1816 but wasn’t Proved until 1820 when he passed away. By this time baby Thomas would have been 13 years old and his eldest sister Eliza 17. A year after Henry Couchman’s death his widow Elizabeth remarried, she was only 28 years old when she married William Tozer on the 23 October 1808 at St. Dunstan’s Church in Stepney, London. William was still a bachelor aged 25, the son of Charles and Mary Tozer. After their marriage they lived in Dartford and William became the Publican of the Crown and Anchor Inn at 80 High Street, Dartford. This historic building was built in the 15th Century and is still standing and functioning as a pub to this day.

On the 13 January 1810 their son William Henry Tozer was born, a younger brother to Elizabeth’s other three children. In May of 1811 another son was born, named Charles James after William’s father but sadly baby Charles died a year later. At the end of 1812 Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter whom they named Elizabeth Ann, but sadly once again this baby died in infancy. Shortly after this baby’s death, in July 1813 they had another son who was also named Charles James Tozer, thankfully this son survived. In June of 1814 William Tozer was one of the witnesses at the famous trial of Charles Random de Berenger and Sir Thomas Chochrane (see my Blog of January 2022 ‘Fake News and William Tozer’) the following is a quote of William Tozer at the trial “ I keep the Crown and Anchor at Dartford; I remember Jem Overy bringing a fare to a house in our town on Monday about the 21st February, and the person I took notice of was sitting in the chaise. I made my obedience to the gentleman in the chaise, hoping he had brought us good news; he said he had, and that it was all over; that the allies had actually entered Paris; that Bonaparte was dead, destroyed by the Cossacks, and literally torn to pieces.” ...’ I can imagine the joy and relief that William and his family must have felt on hearing this news as the Napoleonic Wars had been going on since 1803 and the English were constantly in fear of a French invasion , especially living near to the South Coast and on the Thames Estuary, their fear would have been more relevant, not to mention the economic effect that the war was having on everything. When they heard that it was fake news their disappointment must have been great, thankfully a year later Napoleon was finally defeated and captured at the Battle of Waterloo. Sadly for Elizabeth, her second husband, William, passed away two years after the victory at Waterloo, in May 1817, he was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Dartford on 9 May. He was only 33 years old and 36 year old Elizabeth was once again left as a widow, this time with five young children and pregnant with her sixth, a son who was born five months after his father’s death and was named James William Tozer. Elizabeth seems to have managed fairly well in the years after William’s death, possibly she was able to carry on running the Public House in Dartford with the help of servants, in 1824 Richard Sears is recorded as being the victualler of the Crown and Anchor so maybe he took over from her. What I have recently discovered is that Elizabeth Tozer became the Proprietor of the Bear and Ragged Staff Pub on the High Street in Chatham, so she seems to have continued to work in a Pub but now in a different location. In April 1823 her eldest daughter, 20 year old Eliza Couchman was married to a prosperous Tea Merchant, Richard Jones and a year later her daughter Selina Couchman was married to William Greenwood Asquith a victualler of the Rose and Crown in Leadenhall, London, On the 10 January 1824 Elizabeth herself remarried for the third time, this time to a widower, William Rashbrook, who was also a victualler of the Dolphin Inn in Strood. Elizabeth’s daughter Eliza Jones was one of the witnesses at their marriage, Elizabeth was now 43 years old and her new husband ( another William) was 58. An announcement of their marriage was placed in the Essex and Herts Mercury of the 13 January 1824 announcing that they were married in Strood, William Rashbrook of the Dolphin and Mrs Tozer, late of the Bear and Ragged Staff, Chatham.

Eliza was 21 and married, Selina was 19 and on the verge of getting married, Thomas was 17 and would shortly take up employment in Hampshire by the New Forest as a registrar and later as a surveyor. I assume that he was helped in getting this employment by his paternal uncle Robert Turner who was married to Mary Couchman and was employed for many years as Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest. William Henry Tozer would have been 14 at the time of his Mother’s new marriage and his brother Charles James 11 and Elizabeth’s youngest son was only 6. William Rashbrook also had five children, his two eldest were already married but he also had three young sons who were probably still living at home, James aged 12, Robert aged 10 and Richard aged 8. Sadly 6 years after their marriage, young Richard passed away, he was only 13 years old. It is interesting to note that both James Rashbrook and William Henry Tozer became plumbers, painters and decorators so they most probably did the same apprenticeship. William Rashbrook senior was also born in Barrow, Suffolk which is where William Henry Tozer’s future wife Maria Bishop came from so I wonder whether William Rashbrook still had family connections in Suffolk and whether he took Elizabeth and her sons there for visits. Charles James Tozer also ended up marrying a girl from Bury St. Edmunds and became a Corn Merchant in that city, though originally he went to work for a short while in Eling, Hampshire as an assistant registrar to his elder brother Thomas Couchman. Elizabeth and William Rashbrook seem to have been married for quite a time, from January 1824 up to William’s death in April 1840. During this time Elizabeth’s eldest daughter Eliza who was living in Lambeth, Surrey with her husband gave birth to eight children, though sadly three died in infancy. Daughter Selina also had two daughters and in 1830 her son Thomas married Eleanor Gregson and during the coming 10 years had 6 children, so Elizabeth had many grandchildren to visit and enjoy. William Henry Tozer married in 1837 and was working as a Glazier and painter and living at 38 Gravel Lane, Newington in Surrey. Sadly in March 1837 Selina’s husband William Asquith passed away, he was 37 years old and had been the Publican of the Rose and Crown in Leadenhall. A year later Selina also became sick, she had sold the Rose and Crown and had moved to No. 2 Greyhound Place, Upper George Road with her two young daughters, Eliza aged 8 and Selina Mary aged 5. According to her death certificate, dated 15 May 1838 she died of dropsey and her Mother was present at her death. Selina left a Will in which she left to her dear mother the full and uninterrupted use of all my household furniture, plate, linen, china and glass. To her brother Charles Tozer she left a siver watch and a gold chain and seal worn by her late dear husband. Her brother William Tozer of Gravel Lane, painter is named as one of the Executors of her Will which was mainly for the benefit of her two young daughters whom she requested to be placed under the care of her mother. After William Rashbrook’s death Elizabeth moved to London, in the 1841 census both Selina’s daughters are recorded as residing at a girl’s school in Chelsea. In 1845 the eldest Eliza contracted consumption and passed away on 23 April 1846 she was only 16 years old. At the time of her death she was living at 21 Barbican, St. Giles and Jane Scriven was present at her death, I believe that Jane Scriven was a hired nurse as I found her on the 1851 census employed as a nurse for another family. I have no idea whether Eliza’s Grandmother Elizabeth was also present. Ten months later her younger sister Selina, aged 13 also passed away after 6 months of suffering with consumption. Selina died on the 5 February 1847 and Jane Scriven was also present at her death. Fifteen days later on the 20 February 1847 Elizabeth Archer her Grandmother, the widow of Henry Couchman, William Tozer and lastly William Rashbrook - Victualler passed away of heart decease, she was 64 years old, Ann Harper was present at her death. It has taken a long while and a lot of research to piece together Elizabeth’s life, especially in the time period before the Census Returns. I am still trying to find Elizabeth on the 1841 census and have tried all variants of her different surnames, but as yet have not been able to find her. Elizabeth’s youngest son is also a bit of an enigma, I didn’t know of his existence until discovering his sister Selina’s Will in which he is mentioned. I eventually found his christening record but strangely he wasn’t christened until his 16th or 17th year. His Christening was performed at St. Dionis Backchurch, the church that Selina and her husband attended and where buried at, and his residence at the time of his christening is recorded as being Leadenhall Market, so maybe he was living with his sister and brother-in-law. The christening date was 29 June 1834 but his birth date is given as the 9 October 1819, his parents are recorded as being William and Elizabeth Tozer and the occupation of his father Publican, but if he was born in October 1819 it would have been two years after his father’s death, so either the date was wrongly recorded as I have assumed and he was born in 1817, several months after his Father’s death or Elizabeth had a child in between marriages or her daughters Eliza or Selina had a child out of wedlock who was then brought up by his Grandmother. I have no idea why he wasn’t christened as a baby and I have also been unable to discover what became of him after his christening. The only possible record that I have is of a James Tozer who died in the Greenwich Workhouse, 20 September 1850 aged 31. If this is him it makes me wonder why he died in the Workhouse, unless this also functioned as an infirmary or hospital as well. More mysteries to unravel and discover. All of Elizabeth’s other children seem to have done well in their lives. When Eliza’s husband passed away in 1865, he left a Will with Effects under £4000. Elizabeth’s son Thomas Couchman passed away in 1873 after having worked faithfully for many years as a Surveyor in the New Forrest, according to an obituary in the Newspaper he was much loved and respected by the community and would be greatly missed. William Henry Tozer established a well running Painting and Decorating business in Northampton and several of his sons continued on in this business in several other locations, as did my great great Grandfather, his son William Frederick Tozer. William passed away in 1901. Charles James Tozer became a Corn and Seed Merchant in Bury St Edmunds, he passed away in 1871, via someone on Ancestry I have a copy of a portrait that was made of him as a young man. According to William Henry Tozer’s Will there was a portrait made of him and his wife Maria as well which he left to his eldest son in his Will, wouldn’t it be great to find out where these portraits are now. With genealogical research you are never finished and there is always another mystery to be unraveled.