"The Parting Gift (1873)"
The Story of the Campbell--Henman Family Bible
Where did the bible come from? The CAMPBELL--HENMAN family bible is a smart, leather-bound volume, weighing about 5 pounds. On the flyleaf are the names of 150 years of ancestors, their comings into this world and their goings into the next. The dedication, in faded ink, reads: "Elizabeth HENMAN, The parting Gift of her Friends, M.E & C.A WILLIMOTT, Novr 30th 1873". No mystery here: Elizabeth married my great-grandfather Joseph CAMPBELL in Reading, Berkshire on Christmas Day, 1873. But, what was her connection with these friends? Who were they? Why didn't they write their full names? How forgetful of them not to provide an address! I thought it would be an interesting sideline to track them down. In fact, this work became inseparably linked to the research of my HENMAN ancestors. Like a good detective story, there were false leads and missing evidence. Such is the joy of the family historian.
Where was Elizabeth in 1871? To start at the beginning ... The marriage certificate gave Elizabeth's address as "Crane Wharf", plain and simple. Guessing that this street would be somewhere in Reading, I downloaded a couple of maps from the internet, but found no street of that name. Talking to my father about this, he recalled a family legend that his grandmother had once saved someone from drowning in a canal, where her father was a lock-keeper. The Reading Museum had a web page which mentioned canal history, so I sent them a short e-mail. Javier Pes replied that this street bordered the River Kennet, in the heart of the old town. Good! It seemed a simple matter now to read the 1871 census returns, where I would assuredly find Elizabeth, her parents, friends and marriage witnesses. Right? Not so. Benjamin HENMAN, "carman" (whatever that might be), and family were indeed living at 12 Crane Wharf, but there was no trace of Elizabeth, nor of her mysterious friends.
Where was Joseph in 1871? As the saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed, try try try again". Since the groom's address was given as Plumstead (formerly in Kent, nowadays a suburb of London), I guessed that the couple and their friends were living in the "Big City" in 1871. Only the 1881 census has been indexed: a bit late, but worth a try. I scanned the fiche for 3 different counties: Kent -- one marriage witness showed up, namely Gabriel WINGATE, at 15 Powis Street, Woolwich; Middlesex -- no; Surrey -- no. Puzzling!
Who were the Willimotts? Trying a more direct approach, I decided to look up the baptisms of Elizabeth's "friends" in the International Genealogical Index (IGI -- compiled by the Mormon Church). Success! Their full names were Mary Elizabeth and Caroline Ann WILLIMOTT: parents Thomas and Caroline. However, to my surprise, they were baptised in 1801 and 1803 respectively (at Lambeth, London). This meant they were in their 70's when they wrote the dedication, while Elizabeth (born in 1844) was just 29. What kind of friends could they be? Perhaps Elizabeth was a neighbour, or some sort of ladies' companion?
Turning once again to the internet community for help, I was referred to a lady in Wiltshire. Her reply was significant: the 1811 Holden's Annual Directory listed a Thomas WILLIMOTT Esq. at Clapham Rise, close to the parish of Lambeth. The "Esquire" suffix led me to think that the family had social status. No profession was given, unfortunately.
Elizabeth's early years To learn more about Elizabeth's early life in Reading, I began trawling backward in time through earlier census returns. The first insight came in 1861. Elizabeth (age 17) was working as a housemaid with the family of Henry HEADING, clothier and hatter, at 25 Broad Street. Nearby, at Crane Wharf, her father was a bargeman -- the same occupation he had given at his marriage (in 1841). Obviously, this family could not have been well off. Some background reading persuaded me that Elizabeth's line of work was consistent with the social norms of the period. As the eldest daughter of a numerous family, she must have left home and entered domestic service as soon as she finished schooling. Oh yes -- no WILLIMOTTs were found. Ten years earlier, in 1851, Elizabeth (age 7) was living with her parents at Crane Wharf; this time her father was a farm labourer. Still no WILLIMOTTs.
Willimotts found, and lost Then, in 1841 (shortly before Elizabeth's parents were married), I found the whole WILLIMOTT family at No. 1 Southern Hill, Whitley, just two miles south of Reading city centre. Mary Elizabeth, Caroline Ann, and a younger sister Charlotte, plus parents Thomas and Caroline, who were all of "independent means": certainly not Elizabeth's economic group. Now I felt sure that she must gone to work for them, some time after 1861. But, where? For the time being, the case had to rest.
The next item in my HENMAN research was church records. Reading has three parishes: Saints Giles, Lawrence and Mary. The parish registers provided much less information than I had expected. Finally, at St. Giles, another piece for my puzzle: Thomas WILLIMOTT (father of the 3 sisters) was buried there in 1845, and his wife Caroline in 1848. Here, then, was a possible motive for their daughters to leave Reading; but no clue as to their destination.
Willimotts found again Common sense should have dictated that the search stop here. The general picture was clear, and the details weren't going to affect the family tree. But my curiosity was still not satisfied. Perhaps, as the city grew, her generous "friends" had moved further out into Berkshire, or across the River Thames into Oxfordshire. I turned to the local experts for help. Geoff Mather at the Berkshire Family History Society (FHS) reported no sign of the WILLIMOTTs in the 1851 census. The response from Hugh Kearsey at Oxfordshire FHS was the same. No alternative now: I would have to search nationwide! The quarterly death indexes for England and Wales finally gave me the nugget I needed -- Cheltenham district, Mary Elizabeth WILLIMOTT, 3rd quarter, 1880. After ordering the certificate, I sent an e-mail to Hugh with the good news. His reply was swift and sure: using the county reference (Gloucestershire), he had located all 3 sisters in 1851, living 55 miles north-west of Reading, at Ivy Cottage, Charlton Kings.
Elizabeth found again The rest was straightforward. From the 1861 census, I confirmed that the two older sisters were still at the same address. In 1871 they were away from home, but Elizabeth was there, reported as "domestic servant". Their death certificates confirmed that the sisters had stayed at the same address up to 1880. Puzzle solved, right? Sure, persistence had paid off. But, now I have two new questions. First, if the sisters left Reading when Elizabeth was still a child, how did she make contact with them? Second, how on earth did Elizabeth meet Joseph, if she was working in the Cotswolds, he was working in Spark HIll, Worcestershire, and his parents were living in Enfield, north of London? If only we knew ...