More Most; Money Births contd, & Most Reverends

In my last blog entry, I detailed the births of Mary Webster, who birthed 13 babies in her lifetime. One of those babies was Susannah Money, her sixth child, and third daughter. Susannah also birthed 13 babies, and together they hold the record in our family tree of birthing the most number of babies. This post is dedicated to the 13 births of  Susannah Money, who possibly holds the record of birthing the most number of boys who became clergymen, and girls who married clergymen. It seems that the Moneys were both prodigious, and faithful to the Anglican strain of Christianity.

Susannah Money was born on 23rd April 1779. She married Robert Chatfield in 1800, in the parish church of Much Marcle. Robert Chatfield was a clergyman, and was the vicar of Chatteris, in Cambridgeshire, however at the time of the marriage it seems that he may have been the vicar at Kings Caple, Herefordshire, not far from Much Marcle.

Chatteris Parish Church, Cambridgeshire

Just a year after Susannah's marriage to Robert she birthed her first baby; a daughter, Susannah Mary Anne Chatfield. She was born about 1801 and baptised at Kings Caple parish church on 22nd July 1801. Susannah Mary Anne later married Robert Edward Hankinson, the rector of Halesworth parish church, Suffolk, who later became the archdeacon of Norwich. Together they had two daughters; Marian, and Eugenia Hankinson. Susannah Mary Anne Chatfield died in 1881 at the age of 83, in Norwich.

Rev Robert Hankinson

Dorothea Chatfield was their second baby. She was born in 1802, and like her sister, also baptised at Kings Caple, on 22nd July 1802. Dorothea married Martin Boswell, a clergyman, in 1823, at Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. Together they had 2 daughters, Dorothea and Eugenia Boswell, and 3 sons, Martin Theodore, Rowland, and John Albert Boswell. Dorothea died in 1872, in the family home of Iver Lodge, Buckinghamshire, at the age of 70.

Iver Lodge was built for the Boswell family.

Susannah's third child, another daughter, Eugenia Chatfield, was born in Kings Caple and was baptised at the parish church there on 11th October 1803. She married a banker, named Samuel Smith on 4th July 1821, at Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. Eugenia and Samuel had 3 sons, Samuel George, Frederick Chatfield, Rowland, and Horace James Smith, and 1 daughter, Charlotte Eugenia Smith. Eugenia Chatfield died shortly after her daughter was born in the spring of 1838. Records suggest that she may have died as a result of childbirth.

Eugenia Chatfield

Susannah and Robert's first son, and fourth child was born 19th August 1804; Robert Money Chatfield. Robert married Anna Maria Jesson in 1829, and was the vicar at Woodford and Wilsford, in Wiltshire. Together they had 5 daughters, Mary Madeline, Catherine Maria, Caroline Blanche Cecilia, Ella Eugenia, and Alice Chatfield, and 3 sons, Alfred John, George and Robert Edward Chatfield. Robert Money Chatfield died in Woodford, Wilstshire in 1882.

Woodford Church, in 1812

The fifth child and second son was Thomas Kyrle Ernle Chatfield, who arrived on 14th March 1806. Thomas was a student at Cambridge University, but died before he could make much of a mark on this world. He died on 13th July 1835, at the age of 29, and was buried at Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.

Vincentia Money Chatfield was Susannah's sixth baby to be born. She was born in Chatteris on 22nd March 1807. In May 1831 Vincentia married Rev Charles Rush Wells, the son of a slave woman, who had been freed by his Welsh father Nathaniel Wells. Nathaniel Wells was the son of William Wells, and Juggy, a female slave, in St Kitts. Nathaniel Wells was sent to England by his father with the hope that he would attend Oxford University, however when William Wells died Nathaniel inherited his estate, and Nathaniel decided against Oxford, and chose the 'university of life' instead. Nathaniel led a vibrant and successful life in the UK, and became the first High Sherriff of colour, in the United Kingdom, serving for Monmouthshire in Wales. Charles and Vincentia had three daughters together; Margaret Vincentia, Gertrude, and Eugenia Wells. Charles Rush Wells died in 1848, and Vincentia died in 1881, some 33 years later.

Charles Rush Wells may have been the vicar of the church in Nicholaston, Gower, wales, where he lived when he died in 1848.

The seventh child of Susannah Money and Robert Chatfield was a son named Allen William Chatfield. Allen was born in 1809, and was baptised at Chatteris on the 2nd October of the same year. Allen married Anne Sober at St Nicholas', Brighton, Sussex, on 25th June 1833. Allen William Chatfield was a graduate of Charterhouse, and Trinity College. Cambridge. He became a clergyman and eventually took the vicarage-ship at Much Marcle. He was a talented translator of Greek, and wrote many hymns, which could be found in the popular hymn book, Hymns Ancient and Modern. Allen and Anne had 3 sons, Kyrle Mitford, George Kemp, and Henry Rowland Spencer Chatfield, and 2 daughters, Emma and Mary Chatfield. Allen William Chatfield died on 10th January, 1896 at the age of 88, at Much Marcle.

Much Marcle Church

Maria Chatfield was the eighth child born to Susannah Money and Robert Chatfield. She was born in Chatteris, in 1810, and in 1829 she married a banker named David Barclay Chapman. David Barclay Chapman was a partner in the bank which became Barclay & Co Ltd in 1896. Most Brits of today will recognise the name Barclays Bank, which still today is a popular high street bank in the UK. Maria was his second wife, his first wife having died in 1828 following the birth of their son David Ward Chapman. Maria and David went on to have 3 sons together, Horace, Spencer, and Peter Godfrey Chapman, and 3 daughters Ellen, Eugenia, and Adeline Chapman. In 1871 Maria's sister Vincentia, by then a widow, was living with her, and her family at 29 Brunswick Square, in Brighton, Sussex. Maria Chatfield died in 1881.

Susannah's ninth child was Rowland Wesley Chatfield, born in Chatteris on the 23rd August 1811. Rowland worked for the Civil Service in India, and was an employee of the East India Company. He lived for a while in Madras, India, where he met and married Gertrude Trevor Tyler. Gertrude was the daughter of George Peter Tyler, an East India Company man, and she was born in Kolkota in 1811. They had 1 daughter, Gertrude Maria Chatfield, and 2 sons Rowland, and Alexander Charles Davidson Chatfield. Both boys died in infancy. His daughter Gertrude married and had two sons with a Bernard Ward. Sadly Gertrude died at age 28,  following the birth of her second son. Gertrude, Rowland's wife, died in 1870, after they had returned to the UK. Rather scandalously, Rowland met a Mary Brown, who was 34 years his junior, and with whom he lived as if she were his wife. They had a son together, Alfred Chatfield, who was born in 1874, and they eventually married in 1887, when he was 75 and she was 41. I wonder what it was that caused the delay in their marriage. Rowland died just 4 years later, in 1891. He named his son in law, or grandson (both have the same name) as his executor.

Felicia Chatfield was the tenth child born to Susannah and Robert. She was born on  the 14th September 1812, at Chatteris. She sadly did not survive childhood, dying in 1818 at the age of 6. Susannah's eleventh child, Mary Chatfield, was born in 1813, in Chatteris. She married Charles Tombs, a clergyman educated at Oxford University. He was a vicar at Aden in Bombay (now known as Mumbai, India. Mary and Charles had one daughter together; Mary Eugenia Tombs. She was born in India in 1845, and just a year later, at the age of 30, Rev Charles Tombs  died, in India. Mary and her daughter returned to  England, and resided at Western Cottages, Brighton, which may have been owned by the Sober family (the in-laws of her brother Allen William). Mary Chatfield died in 1859. Mary Eugenia, her daughter, was just 14, and an orphan. Her uncle John Tombs and his wife Ann took her in and she was living with them in 1861.

The building of the Brighton Pavillion began in 1787, and was the Royal seaside residence. This brought Brighton to the attention of the rest of the country, and raised it's profile. It became a favourite place for many in the upper classes of Great Britain during the Regency period.

Susannah's last two children both died in infancy.Caroline Elizabeth Chatfield, the twelfth child, was born in 1815. She died in 1818, at just 2 years of age. Her brother, James William Kyrle Chatfield, was the last and thirteenth child birthed by Susannah Money. He was born in 1817, and died just a year later.

Susannah Money birthed 13 children over 16 years, from the age of 22 to 38. It seems that after Robert Chatfield retired from the church the family relocated to Brighton, the fashionable regency seaside resort in Sussex, where other members of the family were living. They were living at 7 Montpelier Crescent in the 1851 census, and it seems likely that they were still residing there when Robert died in 1853. Susannah died a few years later, in 1857, and was buried with Robert at St Andrew's church, Brighton.

Susannah outlived 5 of her 13 children, with her youngest surviving daughter Mary dying two years after Susannah's death. Susannah and Robert were grandparents to a total of 41 Chatfield children. And out of the 9 surviving sons and son-in-laws there were a total of 6 clergymen. That's a lot of praying!

'A Clerical Alphabet' by Richard Newton, published in 1795

#Newell

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https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-reverend-robert-e-hankinson-23

http://www.chatfield-genealogy.website/oxy-gen/n299.htm

https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/wells-nathaniel-1779-13-may-1852/#:~:text=Nathaniel%20Wells%2C%20a%20former%20slave,on%20the%20island%20of%20St.

https://manningfineart.co.uk/shop/nineteenth-century-silhouette-of-a-gentleman-david-barclay-chapman/

https://gowerma.org/nicholaston-church/

Most; More on the Money's- The Most Births

Whilst researching the Money's and their stately pile, Homme House, for the recent 'homestead' post I discovered a pair of women who both individually birthed the most number of babies in our family tree. Both mother and daughter birthed 13 babies each, which makes my 'non math' mind boggle when trying to figure out the number of uncles, aunts and cousins etc. In this post I will tell you about the mother, Mary Webster. I shall save Susannah for a subsequent post.... More Most!

Mary Webster was the daughter of William Webster of Whitby, Yorkshire, and Mary Burdon of Stockton, Durham. The Burdon family were a well established and highly noted family in Stockton Upon Tees. Her father, Revered Rowland Burdon inherited the Burdon estate from his uncle, Henry Burdon, a mariner and local tenement owner. Rev Rowland Burdon, and his wife Mary Lackenby had just one child- Mary. She inherited the property known as 'Blue Posts' which had been the family home since the time of Henry VII. The home was so called due to the two posts or pillars of Frosterly marble that supported the gable frontage and created the entranceway to the home. The building, which had stood at numbers 8 & 9 Main Street in Stockton, was demolished in 1811. Although the building no longer stands, the name 'Blue Posts' lives on, now naming an adjacent yard to where the house once stood. It is thought that Mary Burdon married William Webster in the early 1740s (records are yet to be found), and their daughter Mary Webster was born in Stockton Upon Tees in 1743. 

William Money was the eldest son of James Money, the gent who inherited Homme House, and the rest of the Kyrle estate, from his aunt Lady Constantia Dupplin (as described in the aforementioned 'homestead' post). William's mother was Eugenia Stoughton, of Warwickshire. Her first name will be used again and again throughout many further generations of Money women. William Money was born in 1748, at his father's Pitsford estate in Northamptonshire, 5 years before his father was to inherit Homme House from Lady Dupplin, who died in 1753. The current Pitsford Hall, in Pitsford, Northamtonshire was built by James Money in 1764, when William was 16 years old. James and Eugenia had 3 boys altogether; William, George, and James. James died at the age of 15, in 1769, and George also died before his father James' death in 1785, leaving William Money the sole heir of the Pitsford, Whetham, and Much Marcle estates, as well as Mary's Stockton property.

James Money, 1724-1785, father of William Money

It seems to me that William Money and Mary Webster were set upon filling all these large properties to the gunwales. So many previous generations of meagre heirs perhaps put fire in their loins, and made them all the more keen to ensure there were heirs aplenty going forward. Their first child, Mary, was born on 11th January 1773, in Stockton, presumably at the Burdon home of Blue Posts. She did not survive childhood, and died at the age of 10, on 30th September 1783, in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Their second daughter, was born around 1775 in Stockton. (I have not found her exact birth record, but can estimate her birth year by her age at death. She may have been the 2nd born, or the 3rd born, but it's impossible to tell without better records.) Eugenia Money was to marry another Money; William Taylor Money, from Walthamstow, Essex. William Taylor Money was from (I believe) an unconnected Money family, who had strong connections to the East India Company. He was a director of the East India Company, and the family lived in India for a time, where many of Eugenia's children were born. Eugenia died in 1865, after having 8 children with William Taylor Money.

William and Mary's first son and third child was James Money, born in 1775, in Stockton. I have pondered on why the family were still living in Stockton, while there were bigger estates and houses in which they could have made their homes. William's father James did not die until 1785, and Pitsford Hall was under construction from 1764. It was, and still is, a large Georgian house and it would have taken a considereable time to build. I also do not know how long the inheritance from Lady Dupplin was under dispute, in which case they may not have had access to the Whetham estate for a while either. It is entirely possible that the Stockton residence was their only option.

James Money Kyrle, 1775-1843

William Money was born in 1776; the first child to be born on the Much Marcle estate of Homme House, and fourth child. William Money became a cleric, at Calne, Wiltshire, near the Whetham estate in Wiltshire. He married Emma Down, in 1805 and together they had 8 children (7 sons, and 1 daughter). In 1809 his older brother James gifted the estate of Whetham, in Wiltshire, to William.

Rev William Money Kyrle, 1776-1848

James Money was heir to his father William's estate. James assumed the last name Kyrle, by Royal Warrant in 1809, and married Caroline Ann Taylor in 1811. They had no children, so when he died in 1843 the Much Marcle estate, and the baronetcy passed on to his younger brother William.

The fifth child of William and Mary was George Money, who was born in 1743, in Stockton. At the age of 40 George married Pulcerie de Bourbel, the daughter of the Marquis de Bourbel- Montpincon; Antoine Raoult Henrie de Bourbel, from the Normandy region of France. Pulcerie's father escaped to England during the French Revolution in 1790, and did somewhat well establishing a coal and jewelry trading company. (I say somewhat, because the company went bankrupt when his business partner returned to France in 1802, when Napoleon became First Consul of France, for life.)

Kolkata, spelled by the English as Calcutta, in 1788, was where George and Pulcherie lived. 

George and Pulcerie had 6 children together, with some of the most interesting names in our family tree; Aurelian James, Edward James d'Oyly Thrale, Alonzo, George Henry, Mary Frances Vincentia, and James William Bayllie. George died in 1751, at the age of 74, in his home of Hill House, Berkshire.

Susannah Money was the sixth child and 3rd daughter. More on her later, as she was the daughter with more births than anyone else, equal to the number birthed by her mother.

The next (seventh) child, born January 1781, was Kyrle Ernle Money. Kyrle married Mary Thomasina Ffrench. He was the vicar of Much Marcle's parish church, St Bartholomew. Kyrle and Mary had 4 daughters, and 3 sons. Kyrle died in 1846, at the age of 64, leaving Mary a widow at just 58.

St Bartholomew, Much Marcle, Herefordshire

The eighth child was John Kyrle Ernle Money, who was a commander in the Indian Navy, and who died without issue on the 6th August 1825. Strangely, the family memorial in St Bartholomew's Church, Much Marcle, refers to John as the youngest son of William Money and Mary Webster. He was, however, succeeded by one further son, Rowland Money, who was my 4x great grandfather.

Rowland, the ninth child, was born on the 28th April, 1782. He was a naval captain, who at one time saved all the souls on a merchant brig which had grounded in dangerous weather conditions off the coast of Harwich. Rowland married Maria Money, of the Walthamstow Money family and sister of William Taylor Money who had married Rowland's older sister Eugenia. (You can only imagine how complicated all these different Money's were to trace!) Rowland and Maria had 11 children together. (Perhaps they were competing for most number of births!) Since they are in our direct line I shall list them and their dates;

1. Maria Rowlanda Money (1807-1874) [My 3x great grandmother.]
2. Amelia Mary Money (1810-1873)
3. Rowland Money (1812-1883)
4. Ernle Kyrle Money (1814-1883)
5. Mary Martha Money (1815-1817)
6. William Taylor Money (1817-1877)
7. David Inglis Money (1819-1843)
8. Angelica Mary Money (1820-1883)
9. Emma Martha Money (1822-1854)
10. Eva Maria Money (1824-1877)
11. George James Gambier Money (1827-1829)
Rowland Money died in Cheltenham in 1860 at the age of 78.

The last four children born to Mary Webster were all daughters, none of whom married. The first of these four, and tenth child, was Dorothea Money who was born in 1783. Dorothea, towards the end of her life at least, lived with her sister Susannah in Brighton, Sussex. At her death she bequeathed parts of her estate to her nephews (by her brother George) Alonzo and George Henry Money, to her brother Rowland Money, and to her sister Susannah, and Susannah's daughter Vincentia. Dorothea died in 1857, at the age of 74.

The brothers Alonzo and George Henry Money wrote this book together, about their experiences in the Crimean War.

Hester Money, the eleventh child, was born in 1784. She died in Cheltenham in 1854, at the age of 70, as a spinster. I suspect she was residing with her brother Rowland, at the end of her life. In her will she bequeathed her estate to her nephews (by older sister Eugenia) William and Charles Forbes Septimus Money.

Alice Money, the twelfth child, was born in 1788. She did not survive to adulthood, and died in 1802, at the age of 14. Her younger sister, the final thirteenth child, Vincentia Money was born in 1789. She lived only a short few years more than her sister Alice, and died in 1816 at the age of 26.

Throughout her life Mary Webster birthed a total of 13 babies, from the age of 30 to 46. Some of her children were conceived within the same year as having given birth to their previous sibling. My body aches at the thought of so much babymaking, and can only imagine what a physical toll this must have made on her body. Mary Webster died in 1813, in Much Marcle, Herefordshire. She outlived just two of her children; daughters Mary and Alice. Considering her age at the start of her birthing years, and the maternal death rate in the Georgian era, this was quite some feat, no doubt helped along by the family's wealth.

Breastfeeding, 18th century caricature by James Gillray (1756-1815)

#Newell

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https://picturestocktonarchive.com/2013/11/01/blue-post-yard-sign/

http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/19701/1/53.pdf

https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/stockton/

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/0ecfa97a-da31-4f11-ba1f-31a22649202e

https://teessidepsychogeography.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/blue-posts/

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Money-368

https://www.thekingscandlesticks.com/webs/pedigrees/15631.html

https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/st-bartholomew-much-marcle

Least; The Least Lived

I struggled with this writing prompt; least what? And then I stumbled across a person in my husband's ancestry, whilst researching the original Ferguson for the 'Symbol' post a few weeks ago. In that story I searched for the birth, marriage, and death records for Helen Ferguson's parents. Helen Ferguson, and her husband Ebenezer Grosset were my husband's 3x great grandparents. Ebenezer Grosset was born on the 26th October 1829, in Burdiehouse, Liberton, Midlothian, in Scotland. Liberton is now considered a neighbourhood in the south of Edinburgh city.  Before he married Helen Ferguson, Ebenzer Grosset was married to an Elizabeth Thompson (sometimes spelled Thomson). They married on the 30th June 1852, when Ebenezer was 22 and Elizabeth was 26. /

From the Ordnance Survey Map of Scotland, 1856-91

Elizabeth and Ebenezer had 4 children together. The first three were Ebenezer, William, and Helen Murray. But it was the fourth child that grabbed my attention for the purpose of this week's writing prompt. You see Elizabeth died on the 17th August 1858. She died from 'phthisis pulmonaris', the archaic medical term for the disease we now call tuberculosis, or TB. Elizabeth had suffered from 'consumption', the colloquial term for the disease, for more than 12 months. During those 12 months Elizabeth became pregnant with her  fourth child, and on her death on 17th August 1858, her baby girl was born prematurely. Elizabeth's daughter lived for  8 short hours, and died on the 18th August 1858. Ebenezer Grosset registered the death of his wife, and the birth and death of his baby daughter, all on the following day; 19th August 1858. It must have been quite a tragic few days for the family, and I can only imagine the sense of loss he would have felt on that day.

Death certificate for Elizabeth Thompson

Birth certificate for Baby Girl Grosset

Death certificate for Baby Girl Grosset

Consumption was also known as the Great White Plague, or the White Death, due to the pallid colour those suffering from the disease would turn. It is thought that tuberculosis is one of the worlds greatest killer diseases throughout history, and has generally hit the most poverty stricken in society. In 1838-1839  somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of poor, working class men died from TB, whilst just 1/6 of the 'gentleman' class died from the disease. Despite these statistics, our family tree, branches of all classes, rich and poor, is littered with deaths from 'phthisis'; usually the type that affects the lungs, although TB can affect many other organs in the body.

The Young Consumptive, by Henry Robinson Peach, 1858

Strangely, the look of consumption was rather 'en vogue', during the Victorian era. It was generally felt, by society, that there was something romantic about the thin, pale, melancholic appearance of a person wasting away from this disease. This romanticism was encouraged by poets and writers, such as Keats, Shelley, and Emily Bronte all of whom, ironically, died of the disease. Lord Byron did not die from tuberculosis, but he did once wish that he would die from consumption, reasoning that "all the women would say, 'See that poor Byron- how interesting he looks in dying.'" It seems so strange to the modern mind, that anyone would desire such an awful, destructive death. 

The rates of tuberculosis in the world have decreased over time, due in part to a better understanding of the disease, better treatment, and mass vaccination programs. In the 19th century tuberculosis killed roughly a quarter of the adult population of Europe. In 2022 the same disease killed around 1.3 million worldwide. I have, however, been pondering on how today's cat walk and fashion models are often very thin, and pale looking, and how it seems that our modern society is still hankering after the 'consumptive' look. When will we return to admiring the looks of a person robust with good health?

#Grosset

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https://victorianweb.org/science/health/tb.html

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pgrs/documents/Granite%20Tuberculosis.pdf

https://thegildedhour.com/tuberculosis/

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/700944

https://www.thecollector.com/tuberculosis-art/

https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/tuberculosis-a-fashionable-disease/

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14.0&lat=55.91611&lon=-3.17633&layers=205&b=ESRIWorld&o=100

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis

https://www.valmcbeath.com/victorian-era-england-1837-1901/victorian-era-consumption/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tuberculosis#Nineteenth_century

Homestead; A Squabble Over a Money Pile

Recently I wrote about my genealogical connection to Edward III, King of England, and one of the Plantagenet monarchs.  In that post I mentioned how the owner/creator of the site thepeerage.com advised me that my descendancy from the Plantagenets was via the Money family. Whilst researching the Money family more closely, I discovered a story about a 'homestead' of sorts; a stately pile by the name of Homme House (also spelled Hom House). [For the benefit of any non British readers, in the UK stately homes, palaces and grand mansions are often referred to as 'piles'.)

I should make it clear that Homme House is not my homestead, and I make no claim to it, although it is a homestead still held by the Money branch of my family; distant cousins who only have tiny specks of blood in common with me! Tiny specks of blood, and an ancient ancestor by the name of Thomas Kyrle.

Thomas Kyrle was my 13x great grandfather. He was lawyer, money lender, and Minister of Parliament for Chichester in 1571. In 1574 Thomas Kyrle acquired the manor of Much Marcle, a beautiful village in south Herefordshire. This was the estate that was to become known as Hom House (later spelled Homme House.) Thomas Kyrle was not to live for many years after acquiring the property, as he died somewhat abruptly in 1577. A record that may not be attributed to our Thomas Kyrle, reports that a Thomas Kyrle of Herefordshire was murdered in 1577. It's impossible to know whether or not this record refers to my 13x great grandfather, and I have been unable to find any further information about this murder online. He did, however, write his will on the 26th July, and then died just 5 days later, on the 31st July, which suggests that he was unwell, and making arrangements in preparation for the worst outcome.

When Thomas Kyrle died, his eldest son and heir, John Kyrle was only 9 years old. His uncles (Thomas' brothers) Richard and Anthony Kyrlewere appointed as executors, along with the then dean of Westminster, and together they were to hold the land in trust until John came of age. 

John Kyrle, my 12x great grandfather, was born in 1568. He was a justice of the peace and held the office of High Sheriff of Herefordshire not once, but twice! He was created a Baronet, by Charles I in 1627, and was married to Sybil Scudamore, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. His eldest son and heir was Francis Kyrle who was married to Hester Tracy. Sadly Francis died a year before his father, in 1649, leaving his eldest son, another John Kyrle, to inherit his grandfather and namesake's estate. 

Charles I was removed as monarch, when Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentary forces won the English Civil War. He was executed in 1649.

John Kyrle, my 10x great grandfather, was born in 1619. He was 31 years old when his father died, leaving him the estate of Much Marcle and Hom House. At this time he was already a married man, having married Rebecca Vincent in December 1647, in the parish church of Much Marcle. John Kyrle was a lawyer and Minister of Parliament for Herefordshire in 1688. Both his father, Francis, and grandfather, John, had acted on the side of the Parliamentarians, in the Civil War, and had worked for Cromwell's republic during the years of the commonwealth. John had continued them in some of their work, but this did not hinder his opportunities, as he was knighted in 1660, after which he was known as Sir John Kyrle, 2nd Baronet of Much Marcle.

Sir John Kyrle, and Rebecca his wife had 4 daughters; Vincentia, Hester, Elizabeth, and Sybil. On Sir Johm's death in 1679, and with a dearth of male heirs, it was Vincentia who inhertited the estate of Hom House, and the manor of Much Marcle. Vincentia was my 9x great grandmother, and she was born in October 1651. She married Sir John Ernle in December 1674. Sir John Ernle was a mariner, and son of yet another Sir John Ernle, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1676- 1689, making him one of the longest serving Chancellors in English history. Sir John Ernle  was a captain who served with the Royal Navy in the Third Anglo Dutch War, and was later an MP for Calne in Wiltshire which was a village close to his Whetham estate. Sir John Ernle and Vincentia Kyrle had just two children; Hester Kyrle Ernle (1675-1723), and John Kyrle Ernle (1682- 1725). It was the younger, male heir that inherited both the Whetham and Much Marcle estates. John Kyrle Ernle married Constantia Rolt, while Hester the older sister, married William Washbourne, of Wichenford, Worcestershire. Hester Kyrle Ernle and William Washbourne were my 8x great grandparents, and it is through the Washbourne branch that we make our way back to Edward III.

Constantia Rolt, and her brother Edward, by Jonathon Richardson, c1690.

It would seem that this was the end of my family's connection to Hom House, however this was not to be. John and Constantia Ernle had just one child; a daughter named Constantia Ernle. Constantia Ernle (my first cousin, 9x removed) was born in 1717. She married Thomas Hay esquire, a statesman and 9th earl of Kinnoull, Perth. He was titled Viscount Dupplin. Constantia and Thomas had one child; Thomas John Ernle Hay.

Constantia Kyrle Ernle

Hester Kyrle Ernle and William Washbourne also had just one child; Elizabeth Washbourne. Elizabeth Washbourne was born in 1700, at her father's estate in Pytchely, Northamptonshire. She married Francis Money, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, in 1723. They had a son named James Money, who was baptized at Wellingborough on 25th September 1724. 

Elizabeth Washbourne

Thomas John Ernle Hay did not survive infancy. He died in 1743, about a year after he was born. Constantia and Thomas did not have any further children, leaving no heir for Hom House through their line. Constantia died just ten years later, in 1753, and so the estate was passed to the son of her cousin, Elizabeth Washbourne (whose mother was Hester Kyrle Ernle). Thus Hom House, and the manor of Much Marcle was to come to James Money. Viscount Dupplin, now known as Lord Kinnoull, Constantia's husband, was apparently unhappy about the inheritance, and objected to the will. A long lawsuit ensued between Lord Kinnoull and James Money, and his family. 

Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull, and Viscount Dupplin

By all accounts the inheritance was finally settled, and the Moneys could finally call Hom House their homestead; an actual Money pile! 

Today Homme House and the manor of Much Marcle is owned by the members of today's generation of the same family. The house, which was not well maintained for a long while, has been refurbished and renovated, and is now a family home and since 2004 has been a popular wedding venue. Homme House is also open for people to book for a stay, sort of like an uber special Airbnb, from what I can tell. Income from this business goes directly back into the maintenance, renovation, and restoration fund for the house, ensuring that it will be standing for many future generations of the family. 

Homme House

#Newell

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https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/0ecfa97a-da31-4f11-ba1f-31a22649202e

https://hommehouse.co.uk/

https://handedon.wordpress.com/2018/06/21/whetham-house-wiltshire-homme-house-herefordshire/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kyrle-Money

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homme_House

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernley

https://www.thepeerage.com/

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/kyrle-sir-john-1617-80

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Marcle

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/kyrle-thomas-1577

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernle_(Royal_Navy_officer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hay,_9th_Earl_of_Kinnoull

Symbol; A Clan Crest, & My Search for Our Original Ferguson

The Clan Ferguson of Scotland crest and motto.

The symbol that has the most meaning to my husband and I, is the crest for his clan; the Ferguson clan of Scotland. The crest, as you can see above, includes a bee, on a thistle, all of which sits on a 'chapeau' ( a heraldic term for a cap of ermine). The motto for the clan is 'Dulcius ex asperis', which means 'sweeter after adversity'. This was a motto that my husband and I held close to our hearts, and in our minds, when we struggled with the conception of our first, and then our second child. We faced a fair bit of adversity in getting those buns to bake, with both major surgery and then IVF, but boy! It was a sweet result! We decided to use the name Ferguson in honour of that adversity, and its resulting sweetness.

But from where does the name Fergusson come, and how does it fit into our family's genealogy? In the family there is a series of George Ferguson Grossets. Following this line backwards I knew that I would eventually find a woman with a maiden last name 'Ferguson'. The George Grosset that I wrote about back in February, for the Heirlooms week, was the son of Ebenezer Grosset and Helen Ferguson, the 3x great grandparents of my husband.

George Grosset (1863-1935)

Ebenezer Grosset had married twice. His first wife, Elizabeth Thompson died after just 6 years of marriage, during which time they had 3 children. He would have struggled to manage the children alone, as well as earn a wage to keep their home together, so it's not surprising that Ebenezer married again, fairly quickly after Elizabeth's passing. In 1860 Ebenezer Grosset, at the age of 31, married Helen Ferguson, a 32 year old spinster. Together they had 4 children; Margaret Annie Connell Grosset, George Grosset (as mentioned above), Jane Shields Grosset, and Catherine Morrison Bell Grosset. 

I've been unable to find any birth or baptism records for Helen (sometimes called Ellen) Ferguson (or Fergusson), Her marriage record to Ebenezer states clearly, however, that her father (deceased at the time of her marriage) was George Ferguson, a gardener, and her mother was named Margaret Morrison. In census reports Helen gave her place of birth as Prestonpans, Haddingtonshire, which is now known as East Lothian. And I could make a rough estimate of year of birth from Helen's marriage record. If she were indeed 32 years of age in 1860, when she married Ebenezer, she must have been born around 1828, give or take a year. Armed with all this information I set about trying to find more records relating to George Ferguson and Margaret Morrison. 

First I searched for a record of marriage between a George Ferguson and a Margaret Morrison, in the Edinburgh area, around 1810-1830. It didn't take long. Scotland's People, is the source of all historic records for Scottish genealogical research, and a quick search on their website helped me find a record, where the proclamation of Banns of Marriage were made at St Cuthbert's church, Edinburgh, for George Ferguson, a gardener at Lochrin, and Margaret Morrison, daughter of a shoemaker named James Morrison. At the time, according to the record, they were living at 235 Canongate, Edinburgh. Lochrin was possibly Lochrin House; a grand house in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh about a 30 minute walk from Canongate, where George and Margaret lived. Lochrin House was owned by Michael Edwin Fell in 1816, who had just married his wife, Jane Callander Haig in January of the same year, also at St Cuthbert's. I've been unable to find a picture of the house, and it is long since gone; replaced by a row of tenement buildings (with retail properties on the ground floor) circa 1897, now known as Lochrin Buildings. This old map of the area gives an idea of how much garden in which George might have worked.

Lochrin House can be seen here in the north east corner of the intersection of Gilmour Place and Leven Street/ Home Street.

After having confirmed George and Margaret's marriage I was then able to find quite a few of their children, through parish records. George and Margaret must have moved from Canongate at some point soon after their marriage, as by March 1st 1817 they welcomed their first child; George Fergusson who was baptised at Prestonpans, East Lothian on 25th May the same year. A further 5 siblings followed; Catherine Ferguson (1818), James Ferguson (1821), Margaret Ferguson (1826), Helen Ferguson (1828) and John Morrison Aitcheson Fergusson (1830). There was a sixth baptismal record from 1824, for a child born of George and Margaret at Prestonpans, but the full date of birth and baptism, and the name of the child, was omitted from the record. It is impossible to know if this was Helen's actual birth and baptismal record, since I've been unable to locate her's, or if this was another child who was otherwise unrecorded. 

Prestonpans Parish Church

Prestonpans is now located in East Lothian, but back in the 1820s and 30s the county was called Haddingtonshire. It was predominantly a coal mining town, but maps from the 1800s show that there was plenty of space for gardening work, and George had continued to work as a gardener, as recorded on each and every baptismal record of his children.

Map published 1895, and found on National Library of Scotland.

After the birth of their youngest child, John, the only record I could find relating to George was a death record, dated 31st July 1842. According to the record, he died of consumption (otherwise known as TB), and was buried in the south west corner of the Prestonpans kirkyard. The death record included his age at death; 53. This gave me a rough idea of a birth year, and using this I ran a search for a birth record for a George Ferguson born between 1787-1790. When I saw the results, one entry jumped out to me; William Wright Fergusson and Elizabeth Sheills had a son named George in 1788, who was baptised at St Cuthberts, Edinburgh. It was the mother's maiden surname that caught my attention. One of George Ferguson's grand-daughters, by Helen and Ebenezer, had a middle name 'Sheills' (sometimes spelled Shields); Jane Shields Grosset, born 1865. This was my breakthrough; I now had all I was ever going to find about our original Ferguson. 

Presumably, without the income from George's gardening work, Margaret was forced to return to the nearby city of Edinburgh, where cheap housing was possibly more abundant. The next record found relating to Margaret was her own death record, from 9th February 1848. She had been living at Murdoch's Close, High Street, Edinburgh, which was a tenement at 48-50 High Street. She died of typhus fever; a disease caused by bacteria spread to humans by fleas, and lice. 

Margaret Fergusson (nee Morrison) was 51 at the time of her death; the same age of my husband, her 4x great grandson. George Fergusson was 53; the same age as myself. As I sit in our comfortable home, with heating, hot water, a fridge full of food, and soft, clean comfortable beds I wonder at how so much sweeter our lives are, compared to the adversity filled lives of George and Margaret. 

#Grosset

Tombstone; How a Google Search Led Me to the Plantagenets, & a Royal Tomb

A few years ago I was idling about on Ancestry and on an unexplained whim, decided to Google my grandfather's name. I was rather surprised to find the first site that came up was one called 'The Peerage'. The information listed with his name was all accurate; mother and father's names, father's occupation, and birth date. It was the citation that intrigued me; 

'Marquis Ruvigny, Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal, being a complete table of all the descendants now living of Edward III, King of England: Essex Volume, page 256. Hereinafter cited as Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal: Essex.'

I was so perplexed by this finding I ended up emailing the site's owner to ask if I understood correctly, what I was reading. Was I making a wild generalisation based on what was included on his site, or was I correct in understanding that my grandfather, and therefore, myself as well, were descendants of Edward III? His reply was swift and emphatic; 'Yes he is a descendant- the link is through the Money family.'

I was already aware of the Money family; Maria Rowlanda Money was my 3x great grandmother, who had married Samuel James Gambier in 1830, at Hotel de Charost (the home of the British Ambassador to France) in Paris. But I hadn't yet spent much time researching them. I tentatively started clicking on my ancestors' names, and found my way through their maze, to finally find Edward III and his wife, Philippa of Hainault.

The Essex volume of The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal follows the lineage from Isabel Plantagenet and Henry of Essex.

Still in disbelief, I found myself wanting to see the information from the actual book by Melville Henry Massue, the genealogist who created the book cited on 'The Peerage' website. He created 5 volumes of 'The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal', with the Essex volume (in which my grandfather's name appeared) following the lineage from Lady Isabel Plantagenet and her husband Henry, 1st Earl of Essex. Lady Isabel Plantagenet was the daughter of Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge, who was the grandson of Edward III, and Lady Anne Mortimer, who was the 2x great grand daughter of Edward III.

I found a copy fairly quickly, online, and was amazed to see information exactly as was cited online. Assuming that Melville Henry Massue used accurate records, I could claim descendency from Edward III!

Melville Henry Massue, 1911, assumed the identity of Marquis Ruvigny, in the writing of the Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal.

Edward III was born on 13th November, 1312, at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, and succeeded to the throne on 25th January 1327, at the age of 14. His parents, Edward II and Isabella of France had a tumultuous life together, and in 1327 Isabella deposed her husband, with the help of her lover, Roger Mortimer. When Edward III succeeded the throne Isabella, and Mortimer acted as his regents, pretty much ruling the country as they wished. After 3 years of  being effectively handcuffed by the power hungry Mortimer, Edward, with the help of some close friends, managed to overthrow his regents and took the throne as an independent and capable king, at the age of 17.

Mortimer seized by the King, from James Doyle, A Chronicle of England, 1864

I won't bother going into all the details of his reign; there are copious websites and books, movies and TV documentaries where all of that can be found. Suffice to say that Edward III was one of the longest reigning monarchs of England, keeping the throne for 50 years. He was a highly militarized king, and is noted by historians for his military successes. During his reign, Parliament changed substantially. The biggest change was the development of Parliament into the bicameral system we have today; of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. As part of this change the process of impeachment was developed, along with the position of the Speaker.

Sir Thomas Hungerford was the first Speaker of the House, in 1377.

Edward Plantagenet married Philippa of Hainault in 1328 when he was about 16 years old and she was somewhere in her late teens or early 20s. Her father was William the Good, Count of Hainault in Holland, and her mother was Joan of Valois, the sister of Philip VI of France. Together Edward and Philippa had 13 children; Edward the Black Prince, Isabella Countess of Bedford, Joan, William of Hatfield, Lionel Duke of Clarence, John Duke of Lancaster, Edmund of Langley Duke of York, Blanche, Mary Duchess of Brittany, Margaret Countess of Pembroke, Thomas, William of Windsor, and Thomas Duke of Gloucester.

Lionel, Duke of Clarence, as he appears on the side of his father's tomb, was my 20x great grandfather.

Despite their wealth, status, and power, their family were not immune to the Black Death, which was prevalent at the time, or the general health care norms of the day. Daughter Joan, who was betrothed to King Pedro of Castile, died of the plague before the marriage could take place, in her early teens. And likewise, their first son named Thomas died of the plague shortly after his first birthday. William of Hatfield died shortly after his birth and was buried at York Minster, and baby Blanche also died shortly after her birth, and was buried at Westminster Cathedral. The child considered to be the most important to the royal couple was, of course, their eldest son, and heir to the throne; Edward the Black Prince. Edward was a successful military man, like his father, and it was whilst he was fighting the Spanish campaign that he became ill. Some claim that he was poisoned, but it seems more likely that he suffered from the same diseases by which so many of his army were sickened. Edward lived for a further 9 years but he never fully recovered from this illness, finally succumbing in 1376. He was never to take the crown of England.

Edward the Black Prince, gained the nickname after his death, which may have referred to the black armour that he wore.

Philippa, who had ruled the country at times during her life, while husband Edward III had been out of the country, fighting the Hundred Years War, died in 1369. She was given a state funeral in 1370, and was interred in Westminster Abbey.

Edward III died eight years later, and was placed next to her. Their tombs lie opposite his grandparents, Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, on the north east side of the Chapel of Edward the Confessor.

Edward's successor to the throne of England was his grandson, Richard Plantagenet, and son of Edward the Black Prince. He was to become Richard II, whose crown would come to be overthrown by Henry of Bolingbroke, sparking the Cousin's War, better known today as the War of the Roses.

Edward III was succeeded by his grandson Richard II, in 1377.

#Newell

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville_Henry_Massue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Charost

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippa_of_Hainault#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Black_Prince

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Valois,_Countess_of_Hainaut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I,_Count_of_Hainaut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_III_of_England