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.

Skeletons in the closet part 2

Several years ago I wrote a blog about the tragic death of 3 year old Maria Stickland at the hands of her father John Stickland who was so distrought after his wife's death that he slit his daughter's throat with a razor and also tried to slit his own throat. Thanks to the Cornwall Parish Clerk's website I was able to find some extra information which was transcribed from local Newspapers.

The Royal Cornwall Gazette, 7th May 1868 Coroner's Inquest Maria Bowden Stickland FEARFUL TRAGEDY IN WEST CORNWALL We regret to have to announce this week the enactment of a most fearful tragedy in the neighbourhood of Hayle. A little girl has been murdered by her father, and the father has narrowly escaped death by his own hand. The prisoner is one John Stickland, a boiler maker, in the service of Messrs. Harvey and Co., of Hayle Foundry, and who lived in the hamlet of Angarrack. His wife, aged 31—whose first husband was a Mr. Miles, who, it is believed, returned from the United States to Cornwall, the possessor of considerable property—died of consumption last Friday. At the time of her demise, two children by Miles were living, and also a little girl over three years of age, born since the second marriage. On Friday, Stickland sent a razor to be ground, a circumstance which caused remark, as he did not shave. He appeared, and had done so for some days, greatly depressed, but no violence was apprehended. On Sunday night, at 9 o'clock, Stickland, who is a tall, powerfully built man, went to bed, taking with him the little girl, and both were apparently in good health. He carried the child, for whom he has always shewn great affection, and the child was very fond of him. He was offered a lighted candle, which he declined. On Monday morning, as nothing was heard of father or child up to an advanced hour, the mother of the deceased wife entered their bedroom, saw blood about the bed, and retreated horrified. She called in neighbours, who examined the occupants of the blood-stained bed, and found that the little girl's throat was frightfully cut, and she was quite dead. The unhappy father was in a sad plight; his throat was badly cut, and he lay insensible and apparently dying. A razor, covered with blood, was found near him. Mr. Mudge, surgeon, was soon on the spot, and found that although Stickland was in a very dangerous state, the carotid artery was not severed, and there was a chance of life. The body of the child was removed and placed in a coffin by her mother's side, and both were buried on Tuesday evening at six o'clock, large numbers from the surrounding districts attending. The theory formed by the neighbours, although investigation may throw additional light, is that the deceased wife's property, derived from her first husband, was found, on her death, to revert to her two first children. Thus the second husband and their child would be shut out from any participation in it. This, and the death of the wife, so oppressed the man's mind that he first killed the innocent little one, and then made the rash attempt on his own life. The statement of the Morning News, respecting the drunken habits of the wife, and the domestic misery in Stickland's house, are worthy of that paper. And with respect to the fallen man, Stickland, he had been a steady, industrious, sober person, and regarded as such by all who knew him. We understand the unhappy prisoner is slowly recovering. At intervals he has made desperate efforts to open the wound, but his attempts have been frustrated by the policeman in attendance. He sleeps tolerably well, and when awake appears very wretched, as his groans, haggard features, and movements of the head bear witness. When told that he had killed his little girl, he said, "It is dead?" and on being answered in the affirmative he was much distressed. An inquest was held on Tuesday morning, before Mr. Roscorla, County Coroner, at Thomas's Angarrack Hotel, on the body of the child, Maria Bowden Stickland, when the following evidence was given:— John Burnett said:—I am a mason and live in the village of Angarrack. In consequence of an alarm in the village yesterday morning, between eight and nine o'clock, I went to the house of John Stickland, who was in the employment of Messrs. Harvey and Company, iron founders. On reaching the house I went upstairs, accompanied by two or three persons, and in one of the bedrooms, where the body of the deceased, Maria Bowden Stickland, now lies, I found in the bed the said John Stickland, whose head was extended over the side of the bed. I spoke to Stickland and said 'What have you done?' He moved his lips but I could not understand what he said. I immediately came down stairs and suggested that a surgeon should be sent for; and soon afterwards Mr. Mudge was in attendance. Margaret Rutter said:—I am the wife of William Rutter, blacksmith. We live in this village, and very near the dwelling-house of John Stickland. Yesterday morning, between eight and nine o'clock, a person came to our house and said there had something happened at Stickland's house. This person was Jane Rutter, my sister-in-law. In consequence of what she stated, I went to the house and there found Jenifer Bond, who went into the bedroom with me. I found him lying on his right side, with his head rather over the side of the bed. I saw a great quantity of blood on the floor and bed; I thought he was dead. I then went round to see where the child was (meaning the deceased), and found her with her night dress on and the bed-clothes down. I observed a wound in her neck and a large quantity of blood on the bed and about her dress; she was quite dead, and cold and stiff; the child was the only living child of Stickland by his wife, who died on Friday last. I never heard of any misunderstandings in the family; I considered Stickland and his wife lived comfortably and on good terms. By this time I discovered that Stickland was alive, and I observed an open razor under his pillow. I took it away; it was covered in blood; the blood was dry. The razor now produced by Charles Gigg (sic), police-constable, is the same razor I found. Some man brought a razor case down stairs, but who it was I do not recollect, and I put the razor into it, and gave it to some man present. I was a good deal frightened, and cannot, therefore, recollect everything that took place. The door of Stickland's bedroom was open when I came to his room; I never heard him speak. All the parties in the house on the preceding night were Stickland, the deceased, and two children of his wife by a former husband, and a servant girl. The mother of Stickland's wife occupied separate rooms in another part of the same house. Matilda Gilbert said:—I am eighteen years of age, and for the last six months have been in the service of John Stickland; on Sunday night last about nine o'clock Mr. Stickland came in from outdoors, and after walking about the kitchen for a few minutes, without speaking to me, he took up the child at the bottom of the stairs and carried her up in the direction of his bedroom. I sent a candle after him by Elizabeth Grace Miles, one of his step-daughters; he said he did not want it and went on; there was good moonlight at the time. The child was undressed by me before she went away with her father; the child had slept with her father for some weeks alone. I heard no sounds or cries of any kind during the night of Sunday. I knew Mr. Stickland had been ill for a fortnight, and had been taking medicine. His wife had been ill the whole time of my service, and died on Friday last. I did not observe that her death made any great difference in him, or in his conduct. They lived comfortably together. I saw him smoking his pipe on Saturday last. He was by himself and leaning against the wall of the garden, in front of his house. James Mudge said:—I am a surgeon, residing, and practising at Hayle. I have known Stickland and his family for about four years, and have been in the habit of seeing them professionally. Yesterday morning (Monday), I received a message to come to Angarrack to see John Stickland. I went immediately. I found him in bed bleeding from a wound in the throat, which I proceeded to dress. During the dressing my attention was directed to the body of a child, lying in the same bed. After completing the dressing of Stickland I examined the deceased. I found a wound in the throat from which large bleeding had occurred, the blood running into the bed under her head and shoulders. The blood was cold and the linen stiff, showing that the blood had been there some hours; the body was cold and rigid. This morning, by direction of the Coroner, I made a further and careful examination of the body. I found no further marks of violence. The wound in the throat was a clean incised cut, and must have been done by a very sharp instrument. It commenced at about the middle of the neck, and to the right of the wind-pipe, and extended three inches to the left; the tissues were all divided down to the wind pipe, and the muscle on the left side partially so; blood vessels necessary to life were divided, and I attribute her death by the bleeding which thereby ensued. Strickland is in bed, and I consider in a very dangerous state; unfit to appear or to be examined on this inquiry; perhaps he would be able to appear in about ten days. There are three distinct or different incisions in his throat, which may have been inflicted by the razor produced. As the unfortunate man remains in such a precarious state the inquest was adjourned to the 15th instant. Royal Cornwall Gazette 21st May 1868 THE MURDER AT HAYLE. On Friday, the adjourned inquest concerning the death of the daughter of John Stickland, of Angarrack, near Hayle, was held before Mr. John Roscorla, county coroner. The unhappy murderer is recovering rapidly under the care of Mr. Mudge, surgeon. He has been attended ever since the sad occurrence by a policeman, and we believe that, with a view to thorough quietness of mind, the death of his child and his own attempted suicide have not been referred to. He has at times, however, made involuntary exclamations, shewing that his wife's death and family affairs still pressed on his mind. The police authorities declined to allow the attendance of the prisoner before the coroner and jury. The only additional witness examined was Benjamin Harris, hairdresser, of Copperhouse, who deposed that he met Stickland on a day early in April, and was told by him that he had left a razor at his house to be sharpened. Stickland shaved himself last summer, but had not done so for some time. Harris promised to get the razor ready quickly. When Stickland called for the razor it was not sharpened, and he complained of this to Harris, who met him on the Wednesday previous to the 1st of May, and told him it would certainly be ready on Friday, May 1st. It was left, sharp, and Stickland called and received it from Mrs. Harris. At least that was a fair inference from the facts that a razor now produced, which was the razor found in Stickland's bedroom, was the one Harris had renovated for him at his request. The jury, having heard the evidence which showed that Stickland took his only daughter to bed, and on the morning she was found dead, her throat cut, with this additional testimony, returned a verdict of "Wilful Murder" against him, and he was committed for trial on the coroner's warrant. P.C. Grigg was bound over to prosecute, and the various witnesses entered into their recognizances to appear at the assizes. Transcribed by Karen Duvall

The Cornish Diaspora

My Strickland ancestors came originally from Cornwall and most of them where connected to tin and copper mining in one way or another, either as a miner or mine adventurer, a mine engineer or a mine merchant. During the mid nineteenth century many Cornish copper and tin mines began to close down due to economic reasons and easier accessible tin and copper being found in other countries. During this time many Cornish left Cornwall to find work elsewhere in copper and tin mines throughout the world. It is estimated that 250,000 Cornish migrated abroad between 1861 and 1901 and these emigrants included farmers, merchants and tradesmen, but miners made up most of the numbers. There is a well known saying in Cornwall that 'a mine is a hole anywhere in the world with at least one Cornishman at the bottom of it!' You can also still find Cornish Pasties being made and sold in many old Cornish communities throughout the world including South America. My great, great grandfather’s family is an example of this mass emigration away from Cornwall. Robert Stickland was born in April 1829, the eldest son of John Stickland and Grace Moreshead. The family lived in Trevesack which lies between Gwinear and Phillack close by to the port of Hayle. Father John is recorded as being an engineer and most probably worked for the Cornish Copper Company which was located at the Copperhouse side of Hayle. John and Grace had 10 children, one of whom died in infancy, of the remaining 9 children, four of their sons and one daughter left Cornwall to find work elsewhere. Their youngest son Richard Arundel Stickland died on the 4 October 1862 at the young age of 14 through a fall from the mast of a schooner in the quay at Hayle resulting in serious head injuries, he only survived a half hour after his fall.

The first to leave Cornwall was my great great grandfather Robert Stickland, as a young man he probably served an apprenticeship as a Boilermaker either at Harveys of Hayle or the Cornish Copper Company. At some point in the 1840’s he moved to Birmingham which at the time was the hub of the Industrial Revolution and home to Boulton and Watts and other large engineering works where boilers and pumping machines were made. On the 14th October 1848 at the young age of 20, Robert was married to a young widow Jane Middleton née Triggs who was possibly also originally from Cornwall. This marriage didn’t last long as Jane sadly passed away in the April of 1853 and I haven’t found any children to this marriage. Shortly afterwards Robert moved further North to Newark upon Trent where he continued to work as a Boiler Maker and eventually married my great great grandmother Ann Templeman. His son John Robert eventually moved to Hull, East Yorkshire, where I was born.

The next to move away from Cornwall were sons John and William, both of whom moved a lot further afield, emigrating to Australia where large lodes of copper, with gold and other metals were found attracting large numbers of Cornish with their hard rock mining skills. The area around Orange in New South Wales, Australia is still known as the Cornish Settlement because of the large amount of Cornish communities in this area. John Stickland married Eliza Treglown in Redruth, Cornwall in 1851, but a few years later he left Eliza and emigrated to Australia, arriving in Melbourne on the 11 Augustus 1854. Husbands often traveled alone abroad, sending money back to their spouses until they could settle somewhere and send for their family to join them, in John’s case this didn’t happen as Eliza eventually married someone else in 1862 in Norwich, Norfolk, stating on the marriage certificate that she was a widow. In October of 1857, John Stickland was initiated as a Freemason in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia, he is recorded as being a miner and residing in Indigo. On the 25 November 1864 he married Isabella Emily Bowie in the Temporary Episcopal Church in Young, New South Wales, they had already had two children before their marriage, possibly he waited to marry until hearing about the marriage of his first wife. John and Emily had 11 children and lived in the area around Young, Carcoar and eventually Parkes all of which is known as the Cornish Settlement. Through a DNA match with one of John’s decendents I was able to discover all of this information about John, whom I had been unable to previously trace, he died in 1899 in Parkes, New South Wales. His younger brother William also emigrated to Australia, I am not sure whether he travelled together with his brother John but William settled and married in Beaufort, Victoria. His wife Mary Prowse was also from Cornwall, she had arrived in Melbourne in the January of 1857 with Benjamin Bone whom she had two children with even though Benjamin seems to have had a wife and children back in Cornwall. After Benjamin Bone’s death in 1861 she married William Stickland on the 4 October 1862 in Beaufort. William and Mary had three daughters one of whom was named Grace Morsehead Stickland after William’s mother. William died on the 11 May 1914 in Canterbury, Melbourne, Australia in his eightieth year, he was buried in Beaufort. I also have a DNA match with one of William’s decendents.

The next of John and Grace’s children to leave Cornwall was their daughter Wilmot. On the 17 November 1858 Wilmot was married to Thomas Miles who came from the neighbouring village of Angarrack. Shortly after their marriage Thomas and Wilmot left for America where they headed to California to take part in the Gold Rush. Their first child, a daughter, was born less than a year later on 17 September 1859 in Grass Valley, California, this is in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, north east of present day Sacramento, and was the richest of all California's gold mining towns. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for Wilmot to go through her first pregnancy and childbirth so far away from her home and literally in the Wild West, though Grass Valley had become a large bustling town and probably many other Cornish had settled here. Thomas quickly made a lot of money in a few short years because when they returned to Cornwall in order for Wilmot to give birth to their son in May 1861 he had over £1,000. Sadly, Thomas probably also picked up tuberculosis during their travels and on the 25 October 1862 he passed away. In the summer of 1864 Wilmot married her cousin John Stickland, their tragic story can be read in a previous blog called “ Skeletons in the cupboard”. Wilmot’s daughter Elizabeth Grace who had been born in California, eventually emigrated back to the USA where she married Cornish man, Charles Dawes Pascoe in Butte, Montana, another large Cornish mining community.

The last of John and Grace’s children to leave Cornwall was one of their youngest sons, James. In 1861 at age 20 he was still living at home with his parents, his younger sister Eliza and his younger brother Richard Arundell. In October 1862 Richard had his fatal accident and in 1865 father John passed away. Somewhere around the mid 1860’s James moved up to the North of England, to Haydon Bridge, Northumberland where he began work as a lead ore miner. James lived and worked here until his death in 1905, he never married. I often wonder how much communication there was between the children who left Cornwall and their parents back home, and did any letters survive? That would be wonderful to read one of their letters. I also wonder whether my great great grandfather Robert ever returned to visit his family in Cornwall. Both the names John and Grace have been used for several generations in my family which shows a continuity and a connection to the past and even before I discoverd that my ancestors came from Cornwall I felt a bond and a love to this beautiful area, a feeling of returning home.

Lest We Forget

My Grandfather Robert Strickland was called up to serve his country around 1916 when he was 27 years old and the father of four young daughters. He was trained as a Gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery which took responsibility for heavy and siege artillery in the field. After his training he was sent over to Flanders in Belgium and was in the 308th Siege Battery Battalion.

On the 27 October 1917 Robert received a serious gunshot wound to his back, according to my aunts this occurred at a place called ‘Hell Fire Corner’. If you approach the town of Ypres in Belgium via the Menin Road you come to a large roundabout, this roundabout is located on what used to be the notorious junction ‘Hell Fire Corner’. This junction was an important transport hub on the Menin Road, which ran from Ypres to the frontline trenches. Situated in a particularly exposed area, it was under constant observation by the Germans and within easy range of their guns. Anything moving along the roads here had to run the gauntlet of shellfire. As a result, it became notorious as ‘the most dangerous corner on Earth’ and thus earned its grim nickname. Transportation during the day was impossible because of it’s visibility from the higher laying German military so all the crossings of the junction occurred at night, Artillery units would have to pass almost every night, and it was probably during one of these crossings that my Grandfather Robert was injured.

My Grandmother Charlotte originally received a telegram telling her that Robert was missing in action and presumed dead and it wasn’t until she was busy trying to get a widow’s pension that she received the notice that he was alive and in a hospital in Newcastle. Even though he thankfully survived the war he was never able work full time again because of his injuries. Apparently Grandad never wanted to talk about his time in the War and shortly after the Second World War broke out, and two of his sons were of military age, he suffered and died from a heart attack, he was only 51.