I love this photograph taken on the 7th October 1902 showing Alfred Benjamin Hacker and his new wife Elizabeth Hunt.
They got married at St Peter ad Vincula, the parish church of Broad Hinton, Wiltshire. For much of his life he was a master baker in the area, later joining the GWR as a plasterer in Swindon. They had 10 children, one of which was my maternal grandmother.
Posted in Hacker family, Hunt family, wedding
Tagged Broad Hinton, Hacker, Hunt, wedding, Wedding Wednesday, Wiltshire
I’ve been doing some further research regarding Blanche Elizabeth Young (1856-1891) who was approved as a candidate at the Royal Naval Female School, Isleworth in 1868 and was there until at least 1871.
According to TNA catalogue I found that the Local Studies Library at Hounslow held the following record:
Royal Naval Female School, Isleworth
GB/NNAF/C2823
1868-1875: ledger
I contacted them to see if it held any relevant information and received the following response:
…this is an isolated document that at some point became separated from the school’s records, remained in Isleworth after the school had left the area, and found its way to us. The ledger records payments received by the school in date order, with a page every month summarising school expenditure during the month. Entries are made in columns under headings such as Subscriptions; School Fees; Donations; Chapel Fund etc. Only minimal information (rank or title, initials, surname) for those paying money to the school is recorded in the ledger, against their payments.
I have paged through the period late-March 1868 – January 1870 to see what might be in it that could be of use to you.
Several pages for the summer of 1869 have been torn out and are missing – perhaps by the child who has pencilled the words ‘Roten book an’t it cock’ on a page for March 1869. Several other pages are torn and damaged, but not actually removed from the book.
I spotted a small number of ‘Young’ entries while I was paging through the book, none before the first date given below:
20 Feb [should be Jan. – two pages have been described as February but are found in the middle of an otherwise sequentially correct January date sequence] 1869: R M Young; Annual Subscription; £1/1/0.
17 April 1869; Miss Young; School Fees; £4/15/0 [I take the name given here to be a reference to the pupil not the fee payer]
1 October 1869; Miss Young; School Fees; £7/15/0
7 January 1870; Lady Young; Annual Subscription; £1/0/0
19 January 1870; Misses (plural this time)Young; School Fees; £7/15/0
I hope that the above will give you some idea of the potential usefulness or otherwise of this document. Reading through it all and looking for entries in the name ‘Young’ would certainly take me a couple of hours and our charge for such research on behalf of a remote enquirer is £27.00 per hour. I am sure that you understand how thinly staffed we are and that I have many other calls upon my time.
My understanding is that in 1976, when Philip Unwin wrote a history of The Royal Naval School, the school still had a substantial archive of old records. I cannot say whether it still has them and cherishes them, or whether they have now gone to a County Record Office. The School left Isleworth/St. Margarets during the blitz of 1940, after experiencing some bomb damage. It is now part of the Royal School, in the Farnham/Hazlemere area.
Definitely something to add to my ‘to do’ list!
Blanche Elizabeth Young was the daughter of Alfred and Selina Young. She was born on December 28th 1856 at Contantia Terrace, Marine Town, Minster, Sheerness, Kent. Her father was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and presumably based in Sheerness, which had a Royal Naval Dockyard.
1861 census she is recorded as a visitor at 17 Otterbourne Village, Hampshire (the home of her uncle Benjamin Leigh, Superannuated Excise Officer)
1868 entered the The Naval School, Isleworth
1871 census she is recorded as a scholar at *The Naval School, Isleworth
(1875 left The Naval School, Isleworth? – need to check)
1880 married William St Clair Cole in the Parish Church at Fareham
1881 census living at 5 Peninsular Terrace, Southampton St Mary
1883 son Robert Mansel S Cole born
1887 daughter Gertrude Cole born
1891 died South Stoneham, Southampton (of what?)
*The Royal Naval School had been founded in 1840 to educate the daughters of naval officers and moved to St. Margaret’s, Isleworth, in 1856. It is now known as The Royal School, having merged with The Grove School in 1995.
I have one report from the school, dated 1868 (from the University of Dundee Archives), which lists new candidates to the school. My great-grandfather’s sister is listed as follows:
In 1868 there were 87 girls enrolled at the school where they seemed to stay until the age of 18.
On the 6th day of December 1875, Letters of Administration, with the Will annexed, of the personal Estate of George Caswell late of Upcross South Stoneham in the County of Southampton a retired Captain in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy deceased, who died on the 7th day of October 1875 at Upcross aforesaid were granted at the Principal Registry of the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice to Selina Cleopatra Anne Caswell of Upcross aforesaid Spinster the Daughter of the said Deceased the residuary Legatee named in the said Will, she having been first sworn duly to administer. Duncan Pringle Burnett the sole Executor named in the said Will having died in the lifetime of the said deceased.
Effects under £800
No households
I have a feeling that Wills are really useful. A couple of years ago I spent some time at The London Probate Registry looking up a list of relatives to see if they had left a Will. It was a really interesting experience but I had a really small success rate. I’ve also spent some time using TNA’s online pre-1858 records catalogue, where I’ve had the same success rate. I’m not sure if I’ve been searching correctly or more likely, my relatives didn’t have money or property to leave. Either way I thought I would transcribe a few of the Wills I have as they are pretty useless in their original state. It’s taken a while as the handwriting is terrible!
In the Name of God, Amen.
I, George Caswell, Commander in the Royal Navy, being in bodily health and of sound and disposing mind and in xxx and xxx the perils and dangers of the seas and other uncertainties of this transitory life do, for xxx xxx after my xxx xxx publish and xxx, this my last will and testament in manner following, that is to say, First I recommend my Soul to God that gave it and my body I commit to the Earth or Sea as it shall please God to xxx and as for any xxx all my worldly estate I give bequeath and dispose thereof as followeth that is to say after payment of my just debts funeral x x x testamentary expenses all such wages sum and sums of money, lands, tenements, goods, chattels and estate whatsoever as shall be xxx but owing or belonging unto me at the time of my decease & to give xxx and bequeath the same unto my dear daughter Selina Cleopatra Anne Caswell and I do hereby nominate and appoint Mr xxx Pringle Burnett of Surrey Street, Strand, London, Navy Agent, Executor of this my last will and testament hereby revoking all former and other wills testaments and deeds of gifts by me at any time herefore made and I do ordain and ratify those present to stand and be for and as my only last will and testament xxx witness whatof to this my said will – I have set my hand and seal, the eighteenth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty and in the xxx twenty fourth year of the reign of Our Sovereign Lady Victoria by the Glory of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen Defender of the Faith and so forth – George Caswell x Signed sealed published and declared by the testator the said George Caswell in the presence of us present at the same time who in his presence and in the presence of each other have submitted our names as witnesses – W. B. Pike Geo. Nye
On the 6th December 1875 xxx with the Will annexed of the personal estate of George Caswell late of Upton South Stoneham in the County of Southampton, retired Captain in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy deceased who died 7th October 1874 at xxx aforesaid was granted to Selina Cleopatra Anne Caswell, Spinster, the daughter the xxx legatee xxx having been first sworn xxx Pringle Burnett the sole Executor named the said Will having died in the lifetime of the testator.
This way I’m joining up with Wedding Wednesday again. I’ve chosen a black and white photograph of my grandparents on their wedding day, 14th September 1929 at the Parish Church, Elson, Gosport.
My grandmother kept a few souvenirs from her wedding day including the parish newsletter, a silver shoe (perhaps from her bouquet or wedding cake) and a little card with their initials on.
Posted in Benger family, wedding, Young family
Tagged Benger, wedding, Wedding Wednesday, Young
