Marmaduke Stephenson & Others: some notes on a family history
To begin …
THE EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
The East Riding of Yorkshire, map by Christopher Saxton
“The tract of country so called (formerly York Wold), is situated in the East Riding of the County, and consists of ranges of chalk hills with intervening depressions, extending from Flambrough Head towards Pocklington and Market Weighton and sloping down hence to the Humber near Welton; and from the north of Beverley to Malton, whence commences the rise of the more elevated hills of Cleveland.
Many of the higher points command magnificent prospects – eastward of the German ocean, Flambrough Head and Lighthouse and the Priory Church of Bridlington; north-westward of the vale of York and York Minster; southward, of the flat expanse of Holderness, the majestic Humber, Beverley Minster and the churches of Hull and Hedon.
The climate of the Wolds is severe; the winds, as they sweep over the plain and unbroken surface, being extremely violent and penetrating … Still the Wolds are healthy and the most grass is produced in the driest summers; but when the crops are exposed to the sea fogs they are usually small and the grass thick-skinned and coarse.
The houses of this county (East Riding) are generally good, except upon the Wolds, where the materials are indifferent. The old buildings are composed of chalk stone, with mud instead of lime mortar, and covered with thatch … Many farms are found of £20 and £50 per annum, and a farm of £200 per annum is of a respectable size … The old-fashioned foot plough has continued too much in use, being a clumsy, heavy, ill-formed implement …”
(From ‘CELEBRITIES OF THE YORKSHIRE WOLDS, by Frederick Ross, London Trubner & Co, 57 & 59 Ludgate Hill; Driffield: T. Holderness, “Observer” Office – 1878.)
1650: Cadney, Lincolnshire. Baptism of a Marmaduke Stephenson. Possible connection.
1691:
23rd April: A Marmaduke Stephenson marries Elizabeth Smith in Nunburnholme in the East Riding of Yorkshire. (Relationship unconfirmed, but likely.)
7th July: John Hebb marries Anne Hall in Wykeham, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. (Wykeham is close to the North Riding/East Riding border.)
The Hebbs can be traced back to the 1600s in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
At some stage, they migrated south.
1704:
9th October: ISABEL ACKLAM is baptised in Burton Agnes.
1724:
CHRISTOPHER HEBB is born in Kilham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
1726:
26th December: ANN MAXFIELD is born in Wadsworth, Yorkshire.
She is the daughter of THOMAS MAXFIELD and ANN MARWOOD.
1736:
4th January: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON marries ISABEL ACKLAM in Ruston Parva.
“Marmaduke Stephenson of Nafferton & Isabel Acklam of Thornholme in ye Parish of Agnes Burton (sic.) Lawfully Published were then Marry’d.”
1740:
4th November: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON is baptised in Rudston.
Parish register entry: “Marmaduke Stevenson son of Marmaduke Stevenson (sic.) 4 Nov 1740”.
c.1740: ANN JEFFERSON is born in Nafferton.
1751:
25th April: CHRISTOPHER HEBB marries ANN MAXFIELD in Catwick.
They have 11 children:
John (b.12.12.1751 – d.03.03.1752);
Elizabeth (b.03.01.1754 – d.16.02.1771);
Mary (bpt.28.12.1755 – m.17.03.1773: Thomas Arksey – brd.15.11.1816.);
Ann (b.27.01.1758 – d.17.09.1785);
Thomas (b.15.03.1762 – m. (1) 19.04.1792: Frances Richardson; (2) 25.10.1800: Ellen Robinson;
Frances (b.ca.1763 – m.10.12.1789: Matthew Webster – d.1832);
Sarah (b.16.12.1764 – m.15.05.1790: Isaac Atkinson;
Christopher (twin – b.11.03.1768 – m. (1) 20.01.1801: Margaret Blakestone; (2) 09.05.1823: Mary Keld – d.16.05.1828);
Edward (twin – b.11.03.1768, mentioned in will in 1795, date of death unknown);
Elizabeth (b.28.07.1771 – m.09.09.1793: William Clifton);
Jane “Jenny” (b.25.05.1777 – m.25.11.1801: Alexander Grainger – d.14.02.1858, brd. St Laurence, Sigglesthorne, ERY.
1768:
11th March: CHRISTOPHER HEBB is born to CHRISTOPHER and ANN. He is the 8th child of 11. (Twin brother of EDWARD.)
29th of June: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON, a sheepherd (sic) marries ANN JEFFERSON in Nafferton. Ann Jefferson is illiterate, and ‘makes her mark’ in the register.
Of the witnesses, Richard Hodgson is the vicar of Nafferton.
1769:
24th March: North Frodingham: Abraham STEPHENSON is baptised. He is the Eldest son of Marmaduke Stephenson and Ann Jefferson.
1773:
MARGARET BLAKESTON is born.
1777:
5th January: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON (younger brother of Abraham, above) is baptised in or near Rudston.
1785:
8th February: THOMAS HUDSON marries MARTHA BRADLEY (Bradeley ?) in Rise, East Yorkshire. Thomas was born c.1754.
They married by banns; both signed (rather than made their mark); witnesses: Christopher Hudson, E (or poss C) Marshall.
The witness: Christopher Hudson – possibly Thomas’ father or brother?
Martha is the daughter of GEORGE BRADLEY of Molton in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
Their children were born and baptised in Rise:
William in 1786, Jane in 1787, Elizabeth in 1789, Christopher in 1791, and George in 1792.
17th October: Grantham, Lincolnshire.
GEORGE GRAY marries ANN LYNN.
1788:
10th April: Ann Stephenson (nee JEFFERSON, is buried in Nafferton.)
1789:
9th March: ELIZABETH HUDSON is born.
(23rd March, 1789/90, “Marmaduke Stephenson, son of Marmaduke Stephenson”- the one married 1736 ?- is buried in Nafferton.)
4th December: Marmaduke Stephenson - (Ann Jefferson’s widower ?) – marries Sarah Ingraham in Nafferton.
1795:
Christopher Hebb’s will is dated 20th August, 1795. His wife Ann and his son Christopher are joint executors.
1798:
16th November: CHRISTOPHER HEBB senior dies aged 74, in North Frodingham.
1799:
Grantham, Lincolnshire:
21st December: THOMAS GRAY (son of George Gray and Ann Lynn) is baptised.
1801:
20th January: CHRISTOPHER HEBB, bricklayer, marries MARGARET BLAKESTON (b.1773) in Great Driffield.
Silk Willoughby, Lincolnshire:
JOSEPH MARFLEET and MARY LEAK are married. (Date uncertain.)
1805:
1st September: THOMAS HEBB is born.
1810:
26 March: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON (b.1781) marries ELIZABETH HUDSON at Rise.
(St Mary’s Church. The building was renamed All Saints’ in 1845 after being rebuilt.) They are both described as being of the parish of Rise at the time of their marriage, and Marmaduke is described as a shepherd. Their wedding is witnessed by George Smithson, Francis Jackson, and Mary ? (Francis Jackson – presumably the same one, or a son – is listed in the 1829 Pigot’s Directory of Trades & Professions for Great Driffield. He is a surgeon.)
1811:
6th January: ISABELLA STEPHENSON is baptised.
1813:
5th April: MARTHA STEPHENSON is baptised.
1814:
11th July: ELIZABETH STEPHENSON is baptised.
1817:
21st November: MARGARET HEBB (nee BLAKESTON) dies.
1818:
20th July: SUSANNAH STEPHENSON is baptised. She dies on the 30th August.
1819:
5th January: Abraham Stephenson (Marmaduke’s elder brother) is buried.
1820:
11th June: MARY STEPHENSON is baptised.
27th September: THOMAS HEBB’S grandmother, ANN HEBB (nee MAXFIELD) dies aged 94, in North Frodingham.
1824:
24th July: CHRISTIANA STEPHENSON is baptised.
1827:
2nd May: THOMAS GRAY marries MARY MARFLEET in Horncastle, Lincolnshire.
They have nine children:
John Lynn (baptised 29th January 1828); Edmund (baptised 24th January 1829); Arthur (baptised 5th May 1830, buried 16th May 1830); Joseph (baptised 20th July 1831, buried 11th February 1832); Thomas (baptised 3rd March 1833); Arthur (baptised 4th May 1834); Marianne (baptised 27th October 1835, buried 29th January 1836, aged 3 months); ELLEN (baptised 4th January, 1837); Ann Cook (born 29th March, 1839).
1832:
24th April: ISABELLA STEPHENSON marries bricklayer THOMAS HEBB. The Rev., William Drake, vicar, performs the ceremony in the parish church. It is witnessed by Thomas Witty, Martha Stephenson, and “Ann Heb” (sic.)
12th June: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB, son of Thomas and Isabella, is baptised by the vicar.
1835:
19th July: in North Frodingham MARTHA STEPHENSON (b.1811 or 1812) marries THOMAS WITTY (baptised 23rd February, 1812, died 9th December 1884) – a Grocer and Draper.
Thomas Witty is the son of William Witty (c.1788 – c.1843) and Jennet Baron (baptised 9th September 1792, died 14th September, 1849.)
William, who was born in Beeford, is the son of Thomas Witty (b.1743 in Lund), who is the son of Robert Witty (b. c1704 in Hutton Cranswick.)
The Wittys go back to Roger Witty (b.c1445, in Middleton-on-the-Wolds).
On the Electoral Roll:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON is a farmer, farming land at North Frodingham, worth upwards of £50.00 per year.
1837:
Sleaford, Lincolnshire:
4th January: ELLEN GRAY is baptised.
1838:
3rd June: In North Frodingham CHRISTOPHER HEBB, bricklayer (b.28th September, 1807) – Thomas’s brother – marries MARY STEPHENSON, Isabella’s sister.
1840:
20th September: Isabella HEBB, daughter of THOMAS HEBB and ISABELLA is born in North Frodingham. Her birth is registered on 30th September. The registrar is her father, THOMAS HEBB.
1841:
1st June: In North Frodingham - THOMAS HEBB dies.
6th June:
CENSUS RECORDS BEGIN:
With MARMADUKE STEPHENSON (60) are ELIZABETH STEPHENSON (50); John Stephenson (18); Ann Stephenson (15); MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB, (B.1833) aged 8; Margaret Hebb, aged 6.
(These last are the children of ISABELLA – nee STEPHENSON – and THOMAS HEBB.)
Also in the household are FANNY PRESTON (20) a servant, and JAMES MARSHALL (27), another servant. (A dressmaker, Elizabeth Marshall can be found in Pigot’s directory of professions & trades, 1834.)
ISABELLA HEBB is described as a Grocer and Draper residing in North Frodingham, Yorkshire. She has three other children living with her: Elizabeth Hebb, aged 5 (born c.1836); John Hebb, aged 3, and Isabella Hebb, aged 8 months.
1841 Census Records:
SLEAFORD, LINCOLNSHIRE:
THOMAS GRAY (b.1801) who was born in Grantham is married to MARY GRAY (b.1811). He is a tailor, and they live in West Street, Sleaford.
In their household are John Gray (aged 13), Edmund Gray (aged 12), Thomas Gray (aged 8), ARTHUR GRAY (aged 7), ELLEN GRAY (b.1837) aged 4, and Ann Cook Gray (b. 29th March, 1839.)
1844:
22nd January: GEORGE WILLIAMSON HEBB is born to ISABELLA HEBB and GEORGE WILLIAMSON.
March quarter: ISABELLA HEBB marries again. Her new husband is GEORGE WILLIAMSON (b.1803) an agricultural labourer.
1845:
26th May: CHRISTOPHER HEBB, THOMAS’s father, dies aged 77.
5th November: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON is buried in North Frodingham.
1851 Census Records:
NORTH FRODINGHAM:
ISABELLA is now 42, and she and her second husband GEORGE WILLIAMSON, 48, live with ISABELLA HEBB (b.1841), GEORGE WILLIAMSON (b.1844), JENNETT WILLIAMSON (b.1846), and WILLIAM JOHN WILLIAMSON (b.1850), aged 4 months.
KINGSTON UPON HULL:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB is now aged 18, and is apprenticed to a DRAPER & SILK MERCER, one EDWARD SHAW, of 28 Whitefriars Gate.
LEVEN, Yorkshire:
Grocer and draper THOMAS WITTY, aged 38, and his wife MARTHA, (nee Stephenson – Isabella Williamson’s sister) also aged 38, have a servant to look after their household: CHARLOTTE DANSON is 14, and comes from Scarborough. The Witty children are at home with their parents:
WILLIAM (14, b. 1837, in Bridlington) is ‘employed at home’.
His sisters, MARY, 9, and JENNETT, 7, are ‘scholars at home’ – while the youngest, SUSAN (5) is just ‘at home’.
SLEAFORD, Lincolnshire:
The GRAYS are now in EAST STREET, next to The Waggon and Horses public house. They live ‘over the shop’ – and have no servants. THOMAS is 51, MARY is 40, THOMAS M. is 18 and ‘unemployed’, ARTHUR is 16, ELLEN GRAY is 14, Ann is 12. There are newcomers: George, aged 9, Caroline, aged 2, and Emma M, aged 1.
(1853: Construction begins on a railway from Boston to Swineshead to join the Great Northern Line at Barkstone. The line between Grantham and Sleaford was opened in 1857.)
1860:
19th April: MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB, b.1833, marries ELLEN GRAY (b. 1837) of Sleaford in Lincolnshire. The ceremony is performed in the parish church of St. Denys, New Sleaford, by the vicar, the Rev. Richard Yerburgh (1817-1886). The witnesses are Ellen’s father, and Elizabeth Hebb.
The Happy Couple move to London.
1861 Census Records:
London:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB and his wife ELLEN are living at 21 Broad Street, Stepney, ‘of the Tower Hamlets’.
MARMADUKE is 29, and listed as a ‘Glass Manufacturer’s Clerk’. ELLEN is 24, and THOMAS S. HEBB is 3 months old. Looking after him is Ellen’s sister, CAROLINE GRAY, aged 12. She is described as a ‘Nursemaid’ (in the ‘Whether blind or deaf-and-dumb’ column is a comment: possibly ‘Mute’ ?) Aged 2, she appears in the Sleaford census for 1851, when Ellen was 14. There is also a servant, 15-year-old Mary A. Neal.
YORKSHIRE:
In the Main Street in North Frodingham, bricklayer CHRISTOPHER HEBB, 53, and his wife MARY, 42, have the scholars WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER HEBB, 12, MARTHA HEBB, 10, and TOM HEBB, 6, to contend with. ELIZABETH HEBB aged 4, and little FRANCIS HEBB, aged 2, are not at school yet.
LINCOLNSHIRE:
THOMAS (61) & MARY GRAY (50) are still in East Street, Sleaford. With them are their children: Maria (15), Emma Mary (11), Cook (9), Amy (5), and Lucy (7). (Lucy has been scribbled in as an afterthought.)
1865:
3rd January: Carry Mary Gray is born to Maria (19), daughter of Thomas and Mary Gray. The birth is registered on the 7th February; the father is unnamed.
1867:
March quarter: GEORGE WILLIAMSON HEBB marries ANN MITCHELL. They have three children.
1869:
YORKSHIRE:
18th February: Isabella HEBB (daughter of THOMAS and ISABELLA) marries JAMES BURNETT HOPWOOD, a boiler maker living in Sewar Lane. He is 25, the son of a bricklayer, also James, she is 28. They are married in the parish church of Holy Trinity in Hull. The wedding is witnessed by John Frankish and Charlotte Ann Hought. The celebrant is the Rev. John Pitkin, curate.
1871 Census Records:
Nethergate Cottage, Court Hill Road, Lewisham:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB and ELLEN have produced EDITH HEBB (b.1865.) Edith was born in RATCLIFF, Stepney, which is ‘of the Tower Hamlets’ – so she is a true Cockney. By 1871, they are in LEWISHAM, south of the river.
In the HEBB household are:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB, a ‘Commercial Clerk’ aged 38; ELLEN, his wife, now aged 34; MARMADUKE ARTHUR HEBB, aged 8, born in Stoke Newington and a ’scholar’; HARRY HEBB, aged 7, born in Sleaford, his mother’s home town; EDITH, aged 6, born in Ratcliff, and ELLEN MARY, aged 1.
THOMAS S. HEBB has probably not survived. They are taken care of by one Eliza Clackworthy, of Devonport – a ‘servant’ aged 42.
Back in Yorkshire:
WILLIAM WITTY (34) son of MARTHA and THOMAS, lives in Barley Gate, Leven, and has a grocer’s shop. He is married to SARAH (31) a Geordie lass from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, daughter of EDWARD and SARAH ARMITAGE. Edward was a licensed victualler. He married again before 1851, his new wife being Isabella. WILLIAM and SARAH have a daughter ELIZA (b.1861) born in Leven, and a General Servant from Beverley – SARAH A. WINDAS, aged 15.
And in Lincolnshire:
THOMAS & MARY GRAY are now 71 and 60 respectively. Thomas is a Master Tailor, employing 10 men – and he is deaf; Maria is 25, a dressmaker; her daughter, Carry Mary (b.1865) is aged 6; AMY is 15, ‘a scholar’.
1874:
16th June: ELIZABETH STEPHENSON (nee HUDSON) is buried in Leven.
1881:
Census Records:
London:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB and family are living at 456 Commercial Road, Ratcliffe (of The Tower Hamlets), East London. Marmaduke, 48, is described as a ‘china and glass merchant’. Ellen (Gray) is 44, Marmaduke Arthur is 18, and ‘a commercial clerk; Harry is 17, a ‘china and glass shopman’, and Edith, 16, is described as a ‘shopwoman’. Ellen M. Hebb is 11, and ‘a scholar’.
Yorkshire:
WILLIAM WITTY (b.1837) is 44, and SARAH is 41. He still has his grocer’s shop in Leven. With them on Census Night are daughters ELIZA, now aged 20, and ELEANOR, aged 18. There is also a visitor from back home in North Frodingham, MARGARET SEDLEY, 46, and JOHN ARMITAGE, Sarah’s brother, a retired brush maker aged 47. He is blind.
Lincolnshire:
MARY GRAY is 70, and a widow, and a ‘carpet maker’. She lives at 1 Repton Court, New Sleaford, with her son-in-law LUKE HOLDERNESS ( 36, a coal porter from Ewerby), her daughter AMY HOLDERNESS, now 25, and her granddaughter EMILY HOLDERNESS, aged 10 months.
1886:
LONDON:
31st July: EDITH HEBB marries ARTHUR WRIGHT. They are married in St Paul’s Church, Shadwell, by The Rev. H.W.L.Robinson BA, Assistant Curate. The ceremony is witnessed by Edith’s father, Marmaduke Stephenson Hebb, her sister, Ellen Mary Hebb, Arthur’s brother Walter Wright, and one Harriet R.D.May.
(St Paul’s Church was opened in 1820, having been built to replace the older – 17th Century - St. James’s, demolished in 1817. )
ARTHUR WRIGHT is a ‘wholesale clothier’ (b. 1861, Colham Green, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, Middlesex).
The new Mr and Mrs Wright live at 144 Winston Road, Stoke Newington.
1887:
8th June: ARTHUR STEPHENSON WRIGHT (1887-1936) is born at 144 Winston Road, Stoke Newington.
1891 Census Records:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB is now 58, and ELLEN is 54. He is a Retired Clerk. She is described as a ‘Forewoman’ with the words ‘Costumes’ and ‘Dress’ added alongside. Their daughter ELLEN MARY, who is a draper’s assistant, aged 21, and a son, MARMADUKE ARTHUR HEBB, aged 28, who is a ‘commercial clerk’. Both appear to be living with their parents.
With them is a visitor, one Ernest Stilwell, aged 11, a ‘scholar’ from Barrow-in-Furness.
They live in lodgings at 40 Coborn Road, Bow. (‘Bow and Bromley of the Tower Hamlets’.) Their landlord is an electrical engineer, John E. Rudd, aged 33. Also in the house are Rudd’s wife Lizzie A., 24, and their daughter Ellen A., aged 1.
The house was probably divided into two.
Marmaduke Arthur Hebb (b.1863) is 38, described as a Commercial Clothier; he was born in Mildmay Park.
In South Street, Leven:
WILLIAM WITTY is dead, and SARAH WITTY is 51, ‘a widow living on her own means’.
Next door (or the next record) are her daughter ELIZABETH (ELIZA) aged 30, and her husband, FRANCIS (see 1861) or FRANK HEBB now aged 32, son of MARY and CHRISTOPHER HEBB of North Frodingham. He is a Grocer and Draper, and they have a daughter, LILLIE BEATRICE, aged 3 months.
In London:
In June 1894, ELLEN MARY HEBB marries FRANCIS EDWARD OSTIME, a commercial clerk, the son of a German bootmaker.
Their son, FRANCIS H. OSTIME is born in 1898 in Poplar.
1901 Census Records:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB is now 68, still retired. ELLEN is 64, and a ‘blouse/dress maker’.
They live at 7 Malmesbury Road, Stratford, Bow. (Canning Town ?).
In their household are their daughter ELLEN MARY OSTIME, now aged 31, her husband, FRANCIS EDWARD OSTIME, also 31, FRANCIS H. OSTIME, aged 2, and a boarder, Harry R. Clark, aged 27. He is a ‘card box/paper bag cutter’.
(See note, below, on the Ostimes.)
1908:
MARMADUKE STEPHENSON HEBB dies aged 75 (March quarter, v.1c, p320 of the Poplar District Register. Details tbc.)
1911:
ELLEN HEBB is 74, and in lodgings at 253 Thorold Road, Ilford, Essex. The householder is Arthur Thomas Webb, employed by the Urban District Council as a ‘Motorman’ on the Tramway. His wife Florence was originally from Lincolnshire, so maybe there is a connection between her and Ellen.
14th October: ARTHUR STEPHENSON WRIGHT marries ISABEL ADA GISBORNE, and they live at 56 Stapleton Hall Road, Muswell Hill.
1914:
14th December: their only child, MARJORIE ISABEL JOAN WRIGHT is born.
1915:
ELLEN HEBB dies, at the age of 78. (vol.4a, p573, December quarter, Romford register.)
(MARMADUKE ARTHUR HEBB, (b1863, d9.01.1936) uncle of ASW, above, was a warehouse manager at Brook’s Wharf (possibly Hay’s Wharf) in the Pool of London. The census describes him as a ‘public wharfinger’, though does not specify where. (His will is witnessed by two directors of Brook’s Wharf, Upper Thames Street, on the north side of the Thames, so it’s a safe assumption that this is where he worked.) His son, also MARMADUKE ARTHUR HEBB, was born in Lambeth in 1899, and lived until 1980. In 1923, he married Rosie Woodfield in Wandsworth.)
* * *
The scene shifts now to rural Middlesex: 
HILLINGDON, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Uxbridge district, Middlesex. The village stands near the Uxbridge railway, the Grand Junction canal, the river Colne, and the boundary with Bucks, 1 mile SE of Uxbridge; was known, at Domesday, as Hillendone; and has a post office under Uxbridge, and a policestation. The parish contains also the town and township of Uxbridge, the villages of Yiewsley and Colham, and the hamlets of Gould-Green, Peel-Hatch, Colham Green, Long Atter, and Hockley Hole; and a detached part of it is encompassed by Ickenham parish. Acres, 4, 720. Real property, £32, 230; of which £200 are in the canal, and £250 in gas works. Pop. in 1851, 9, 588; in 1861, 10, 758. Houses, 2, 052. Pop., exclusive of Uxbridge, in 1851, 6, 352; in 1861, 7, 522. Houses, 1, 424. The increase of pop. arose partly from the erection of barracks. The Uxbridge workhouse is in ColhamGreen; and, at the census of 1861, had 211 inmates. Moorcroft lunatic asylum is in Gould-Green; and, at the census, had 61 inmates. The manor belonged to Roger de Montgomery; passed to the Salisburys, the Lacies, the Stranges, and the Stanleys; and belongs now to the De Burghs. The old manor house has been demolished. An old rectory-house, now extinct, was used by the Bishops of Worcester, who had the rectorial titles. Hillingdon Park, or Little London, belonged to Count de Salis. Cedar House was the seat of Reynardson, the naturalist; and took its name from a cedar tree which, in 1779, measured from 12½ to nearly 16 feet in the girth of its stem, and from 89 to 96 feet in the diameter of its head. Other chief residences are Hillingdon House, H. Court, H. Place, H. Grove, Little H. and Dawley Court. Charles I. halted here, in 1646, on his way to the Scottish army. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of London. Value, £489.* Patron, the Bishop of London. The church is later English, in good condition; stands on a commanding eminence at the village; figures conspicuously over many miles; and contains a few brasses and two fine monuments. A chapel of ease, built in 1859, is in Yiewsley. A section of the parish, with a pop. of about 2, 500, was constituted a separate charge in 1865, a vicarage, with income of £230, * in the patronage of the Bishop of London. The church for it bears the name of St. Andrew’s; was built, in 1865, at a cost of £7, 700; is of yellow brick, with red brick in patterns; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with tower and lofty shingle spire. The p. curacies of Uxbridge and Uxbridge-Moor also are separate benefices. There are national and British schools, and charities £878.-The sub-district includes also Cowley and West Drayton parishes, but excludes Uxbridge township. Acres, 5, 870. Pop., 8, 844. Houses, 1, 681.
(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))
COLHAM GREEN, HILLINGDON:
THE WRIGHT FAMILY
My maternal grandfather was ARTHUR STEPHENSON WRIGHT (ASW), who married Iasabel Ada GISBORNE; my great-grandfather was ARTHUR WRIGHT, my great-great-grandfather THOMAS WRIGHT, and my great-great-great-grandfather ROBERT WRIGHT; according to the 1841 census, he was born in Buckinghamshire in about 1776. His wife Mary was born in about the same year. She was ‘from Hayes’, Middlesex.
It is likely that they married in about 1820 – possibly 1821, and the IGI lists a marriage in Tottenham between a Robert Wright and Mary Ann Game, widow, which fits – at a pinch. Within a wide timescale, there are no other marriages with the relevant names in the area.
1774:
Finchley, Middlesex:
8th August: WILLIAM WRIGHT marries ANN BROWN.
1777:
5th June: ROBERT WRIGHT, baptized Chalfont St Giles, the son of WILLIAM and ANN. (Chalfont St Giles is within easy striking distance of the Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Middlesex borders.)
1820:
Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire:
6th March: THOMAS ROBERT WRIGHT is baptised in the parish church of St. John. He is the son of ‘Robert’ and ‘Mary Ann’. ROBERT is described as a ‘Grocer’.
(Note: in the baptism register, the previous entry is for ‘Richard, son of William and Hannah WEATHERLY‘, of Rowley Green, Shenley. Rowley Green is a hamlet next to Chipping Barnet. See the Weatherlys, below. William is ‘a labourer’.)
1821:
4th October: ROBERT WRIGHT marries MARY ANN GAME (widow), in Tottenham.
1841 Census Records:
The Census was taken on the night of 6th June, 1841.
COLHAM GREEN, HILLINGDON, MIDDLESEX. (The Elthorne Hundred).
ROBERT WRIGHT is 65. He is a Hay Dealer. His wife MARY is the same age.
In the household are their son THOMAS (b.1820) aged 21, daughter SARAH (aged 25), HARRIOT, a daughter aged 19, and GEORGE, aged 2.
Given the age of Robert and Mary, I do not know what the relationship to George might be. Presumably he is a grandson – but whose child ? Possibly illegitimate (the child of Sarah or Harriot) as it was quite common for illegitimate children to be looked after by grandparents. According to the 1841 census, a George Wright – aged about 20 – is living nearby. He is quite possibly the father of little George.
(The place they live in is changing. This part of Middlesex was mainly agricultural and market garden. Now there are brickfields for the building of London’s increasing urban sprawl.)
In Hayes, ESTHER WEATHERLY is 21. She will marry THOMAS WRIGHT, but for now is a FEMALE SERVANT at the RECTORY HOUSE BOARDING SCHOOL for girls, which is presided over by The Rev. George Hale (see below). Her brother WILLIAM, aged 15, is also recorded as a Male Servant. (There is also the VICARAGE HOUSE BOARDING SCHOOL which caters for boys. It is next door, and is presided over by one Rev. Billy Hodges, clergyman.)
Esther’s father GEORGE (b.1800) is recorded as an Agricultural Labourer, aged 40, and he spends the night of the census in lodgings with William and Mary Tripp. William is described as ‘a Beer Hall Keeper’. Many other Weatherlys spend the night ‘in a camp in the lane’. Hay-making ?
1843:
September 11th: THOMAS WRIGHT (b.1820) marries ESTHER WEATHERLY (b.1820). They are married in St Mary’s, the Parish Church, Hayes, Middlesex, by the Rev. GC Hale, Curate.
ROBERT WRIGHT, Thomas’s father, is described as a ‘Farmer’, and GEORGE WEATHERLY as a ‘Labourer’ (dead). Thomas is also described as a ‘Farmer’.
The register is witnessed by William J. Weatherly (Esther’s brother ?) and Mary Ann Weatherly. Their relationship to Esther is not specified.
1851 Census Records:
The Census was taken on the night of 30th March, 1851.
Colham Green, Middlesex.
THOMAS WRIGHT is a ‘labourer’ aged 30, married to ESTHER. They have four children: THOMAS, a scholar (b.1844), MARY, a scholar (b. 1846), ROBERT (b.1848), and CHARLES (b. 1850).
ROBERT & MARY WRIGHT are now – according to the census enumerator – 74 and 72, respectively. He is described as a ‘Hay & Straw Dealer’. In their household are also EMMA WRIGHT (b.1836), a granddaughter, aged 15, who is a dressmaker, born in the parish of St. Marylebone, and GEORGE WRIGHT (b.1840), a grandson, now aged 11.
1861 Census Records:
The Census was taken on the night of 7th April, 1861.
Colham Green, Middlesex (Parish of Hillingdon).
THOMAS and ESTHER are both 41. Thomas is described as a ‘Farmer – 5 acres – 2 boys’.
The two boys are:
THOMAS, now aged 17 (b.1844), and ROBERT, now aged 13 (b.1848). The family has grown.
In the household are four scholars: CHARLES, aged 11, ESTHER, aged 9, FREDERICK, aged 7, and WALTER (b.1857) aged 5.
Also listed are ANNA (possibly HANNAH) aged 3, and ARTHUR (b.1861) born in Shadwell, who is aged 2 months.
1871 Census Records:
The Census was taken on the night of 2nd April, 1871.
Hillingdon. New Road, Hillingdon Heath.
THOMAS and ESTHER are now 50.
In their household are:
THOMAS (b.1844) aged 27, CHARLES (b.1850) aged 21, WALTER (b.1857) aged 14, HANNAH (b.1859) aged 12, and ARTHUR (b.1861) aged 10. ESTHER is 19, and is employed as a nursemaid by The Rev. Arthur Hilton, vicar of Uxbridge Moor. She lives at the Vicarage, 12 St John’s Road, Hillingdon, Middlesex.
CHARLES is described as a Carpenter.
1875:
19th June: At the age of 54, ESTHER is committed to MIDDLESEX LUNATIC ASYLUM, (also known as Hanwell Hospital, or St Bernard’s Hospital, Norwood) suffering from ‘Mania’. Her notes – signed by W.Rayner, Sgn – describe her as being ‘In fair health. Body well nourished. On admission there was a small bruise on right arm.’ She was probably menopausal, and/or suffering from depression.
She spent the rest of her life in an institution.
1881 Census Records:
The Census was taken on the night of 3rd April, 1881.
THOMAS and ESTHER are both 60.
THOMAS is working as a gardener, and living in lodgings in Uxbridge.
WALTER WRIGHT (b.1857) is aged 24, and he and his brother FREDERICK WRIGHT (b.1855) are commercial travellers dealing in shirts. They have lodgings with John and Frances Meadows at 6, Smith Street, Clerkenwell.
ARTHUR WRIGHT (b.1861) born in Shadwell, is now aged 20, and is an Outfitter’s Assistant. He has lodgings at 99 Clerk Street, Mile End Old Town. His landlords are Catherine & Henry Bailey, and Rosina Bailey, aged 45.
1886:
31st July: ARTHUR WRIGHT marries EDITH HEBB, of Ratcliff.
1887:
8th June: ARTHUR STEPHENSON WRIGHT is born at 144 Winston Road, Stoke Newington.
1891 Census Records:
The Census was taken on the night of 5th April, 1891.
ARTHUR WRIGHT (b.1861) a commercial traveller, aged 30, and his wife EDITH, (b.1864) aged 26, now live at 22 Lothair Road, Stoke Newington (Hornsey/Stroud Green).
THOMAS WRIGHT (b.1820) is with them, ‘living on his own means’.
ARTHUR STEPHENSON WRIGHT (b.1887) is 3 years old.
There is no servant.
(WALTER WRIGHT is a ‘linen draper’s agent’. He is 34, single, and living in lodgings at 41 Strand Green Road. His brothers FREDERICK, and carpenter CHARLES have apparently disappeared from the census records.)
1900:
ESTHER WRIGHT (b.1820) dies on the 4th May, in Wandsworth Asylum. She had been transferred there on the 18th February, 1890. Her malady at the time of admission: ‘Mania, chronic. Cause unknown. Duration of attack: 14 years, 9 months.’ She had been ‘in fair health.’ The records for 1900-1905 were destroyed in a fire.
1901 Census Records:
The Census was taken on the night of 31st March, 1901.
THOMAS WRIGHT (b.1820) is dead.
ARTHUR and EDITH WRIGHT are now living at 159 Nelson Road, Hornsey (Stoke Newington). Arthur is now 40, a ‘Wholesale Clothier’ – and an employer. Edith is 38, and ARTHUR STEPHENSON WRIGHT (b.1887) is 13. He has a sister, EDITH MAVIS (b.1892) aged 9, and a brother, THOMAS FREDERICK (b.1898) aged 3.
A 14-year-old servant, Daisy Agnes Hill, looks after them.
EDITH MAVIS WRIGHT is mentioned in the will of Marmaduke Arthur Hebb, Edith Hebb’s brother, who died in 1936. She was presumably still living, and presumably married.
At some stage, before 1911, the Wrights move to 46, Crouch Hall Road, Crouch End.
1911:
14th October: ARTHUR STEPHENSON WRIGHT marries ISABEL ADA GISBORNE (of 56 Berkeley Road, Crouch End) in Christ Church, Hornsey.
The wedding is witnessed by Isabel’s parents, Henry Beaumont Gisborne (a solicitor’s managing clerk) and Jessie (Janet) Weir Gisborne; Edith Wright (ASW’s mother), and Arthur B. Hogben (?); The Rev., C.J.Sharp performed the ceremony.
The new Mr & Mrs Arthur Stephenson Wright live at 56 Stapleton Hall Road, Muswell Hill.
1914:
14th December: Their only child, MARJORIE ISABEL JOAN WRIGHT (always known as Joan Wright) is born.
Arthur Stephenson Wright died in 1936.
Isabel Ada (Gisborne) died in 1972.
Joan Wright married my father Dr. Bedrich Belohlavek (1902–1991) in 1972. They met in 1956. I was born in 1958.
Joan Wright died on August 28th, 1997.
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There is no family album – no well-thumbed book of sepia photographs, no starchy portraits of Hebbs or Grays or Stephensons – or of Arthur Wright with his shirts. There are a very few small snapshots found in a dark blue suitcase: Arthur Stephenson Wright smiling out with his briar pipe and plus fours, and Isabel Ada his wife looking coyly, almost coquettishly, at the camera, her arm linked with her husband’s. They look happy enough. They were not.
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A note on the OSTIME family:
In the Census of 1861:
FRANCIS OSTIME is aged 30. He is a tobacconist, originally from Frankfurt in Germany. His wife SARAH (1836-1887) is 24. She was born in London. Their daughter JULIA is a year old, and there is another child of 15 days – the name and sex are unrecorded.
In the census of 1871:
FRANCIS ANDREW OSTIME (1831-1900) is 40, and described as a Bootmaker. His wife is 34. They live at 40 Turner Street, Mile End Old Town.). The family has grown:
Julia is 11, Lydia is 10, William is 8, Emily is 6, George is 4 and little FRANCIS is 1.
In the Census of 1881:
FRANCIS ANDREW OSTIME is 50, SARAH 44, Lydia, a dressmaker, is 20, WILLIAM, and ‘oilman assistant’ is 18 (he dies in 1929 in Bristol), EMILY is 16, and is the Family Help; GEORGE is 14, a Butcher’s Assistant, and FRANCIS is 10, a ‘scholar’. MINNIE, the youngest, is 8 – also a scholar.
In the Census of 1891:
FRANCIS OSTIME (1829 sic) is now 62, SARAH is 55, FRANCIS EDWARD (b.1829 sic) is 26, and a ‘Commercial Clerk’, GEORGE is 24, a butcher, and MINNIE, now aged 18, is a schoolteacher.
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LUKE EDMUND HOLDERNESS, son of LUKE and AMY, died in the Great War, in 1916. His name appears on the Sleaford War Memorial.
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Copyright © Francis Wright, 2009
