Warleigh Manor

Do you like British historical TV shows about upstairs/downstairs stories like Downton Abbey?  It turns out my ancestor was part of the "downstairs" staff in a grand English country manor.

Family member name: Charles King

Lifetime: 1775 - 1868
Tree branch: Bromley
Places lived: Near Bath, England

Relation: My 5x great-grandfather (my dad's mom's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad)

An Ancestry.com member kindly posted this scan of some old King family notes.  Notice the area I highlighted in red.  It mentions Charles King, born in 1775, was "for over 50 yrs. valued servant of Skrines, Warleigh M[anor]."

Warleigh Manor is just outside of Bath, England.  It was built in 1815.  If Grandpa Charles was hired as a servant at Warleigh as soon as it was built, he would have been 40 years old at the time.  

I have questions!!!  

What were his duties? Was he the butler? Did he live on the grounds? Or were there servants quarters inside the Manor House? He must have been very "valued" if the family kept him on for 50 years.  He would have been 90 years old when he retired!  Maybe the Skrines thought of him as part of the family, like Carson on Downton Abbey.

Whatever his profession in "service", he did it well.  Congrats Grandpa Charles!

PS: More about Warleigh Manor

* Warleigh is a small parish outside of Bath with a population of 1,759

* The Skrine family bought the land in the 1600s 

* Henry Skrine finished building the current Manor house in 1815 

* It is a lovely early example of a Tudor villa with Victorian additions

* It remained in the Skrine family for seven generation, until the early 1960s

* From the 1960s until the late 1990s it was a reform school for the most emotionally troubled pre-teens in England

* Around 2000, it was sold and underwent a fabulous restoration and now is broken up into luxury "apartments", one that is 4,500 square feet

Links to sources and pictures:

The Bathford Society

Video: Flying around Warleigh Manor, Bath

2018 pics of renovated interior

Descendant of Kings

Yes! I finally found a British King in my family tree!  I am a descendant of Kings!

Family member name: Charles King

Lifetime: 1775 - 1868
Tree branch: Bromley
Places lived: Bath, England

Relation: My 5x great-grandfather (my dad's mom's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad)

Sorry to get your hopes up, but he's not a member of the royal family. heehee. His last name is King.  But, this post is NOT just about a play on words.

Charles was born in Bath, England in 1775 and lived for 93 years, long enough for photography to be invented.  Another descendant of Mr. King generously shared his family photo online for others to see.

This post is simply to say:

* I can't believe that we have a photo of someone born in 1775.  

* And that person is my 5x great-grandfather.  

Here he is!  What do you think?? Is he a sweet grandpa or a curmudgeon?  Please leave a comment below!

Signed with a mark

Marriage certificates in Great Britain are great! I love that they include the bride and groom's signatures.  How cool is it to see our ancestor's handwriting?!  However, there is one exception: when they sign with their mark.  What is that?

Let's check out two examples from my family that are 100 years apart.

1871

In 1871, my 2x great-grandfather signed his own name, John Boyle.  But his new bride wrote an X and the clergyman wrote "The mark of Catherine O'Neill".

Family member name: Catherine O'Neill Boyle

Lifetime: 1849 - 1941
Tree branch: Boyle
Places lived: Durham, England; Indianapolis, Indiana

Relation: My 2x great-grandmother (my mom's dad's dad's mom)

1771

In 1771, my 5x great-grandparents, William Fripp and Betty Knight both added their marks with an X.  

Family member name: Betty Knight

Lifetime: 1744 - 1831
Tree branch: Bromley
Places lived: Dorset, England

Relation: My 5x great-grandmother (my dad's mom's mom's mom's dad's dad's mom)

Why?

Why did they sign with a mark?  There are multiple theories.

• Most likely, the participant could not read or write. Illiteracy was very common prior to 1875 in Great Britain. On the other hand, we can't really assume that those who signed their name were completely literate, as some could write their name, but that's all.
• They were simply asked to put their mark by the official in charge of the ceremony.  Maybe the official assumed they were illiterate.
• You never know, they could have been blind!

Tree Branches

What is a branch of a family tree?

Is it the family line through my grandparents?  If so, each person would only have four tree branches.  And while this is technically a true statement, for this blog's purposes, I'm going to narrow it down a little further.

Going forward, when I reference a branch of my family tree, I'll be referring to the branch beginning with my (or Dru's) great-grandparents, as shown in the red box below.

Therefore, we each have eight branches.  Mine are: Webber, Pearson, Smith, Bromley, Boyle, Anderson, Sullivan and Goesch.

Meredith's Family Tree's branches

Dru's branches are: Hargreaves, Cottam, Jones, Newman, Kekos, Papoutsaki, Stevens and Papas.

Dru's Family Tree's branches

Each post will also be tagged with the tree branch so as to find information easily.  Hopefully this will add some clarification to what may be a bunch of random family stories and research findings.

Bath time!

My dad's middle name is Bromley.  It is his grandmother's maiden name.  I knew that the Bromleys were from England.  It's time to see life through their eyes.

Family member name: William and Anne Amelia Bromley and their son Henry Bromley

Relation: My 2x great grandfather (Henry) and my 3x great grandparents

William and Anne lived in Bath.  Ah, Bath! Known for its beautifully preserved white Georgian style buildings and its curative hot springs, Bath has been a destination for who's who of British society for centuries. 

And the Bromleys lived right in the middle of it. Anyone who has lived in Bath or has ever visited Bath for even one day is familiar with where they lived. 

In 1858, they moved into the downtown area of Bath.  They lived on the 3rd and 4th floor attic of 25 Union Street.  The ground floor and second floor was used for retail.  Union Street is a pedestrian shopping area in the heart of the town. And just across the street is the Roman hot baths along with the famous Pump Room restaurant. The Pump Room is named for the actual water pump that brings the mineral water up from the deep spring below directly into the restaurant. Centuries old plumbing! 

Here I am directly below their apartment. Downstairs is now a clothing store called COS.  Their windows would have been the ones above the letters COS. The Bromleys were so downtown.

Jane Austen, who lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806 wrote about the Bromleys' corner.

From chapter 7 of Northanger Abbey:

Half a minute conducted them through the pump-yard to the archway, opposite Union Passage; but here they were stopped. Everybody acquainted with Bath may remember the difficulties of crossing Cheap Street at this point; it is indeed a street of so impertinent a nature, so unfortunately connected with the great London and Oxford roads, and the principal inn of the city, that a day never passes in which parties of ladies, however important their business, whether in quest of pastry, millinery, or even (as in the present case) of young men, are not detained on one side or other by carriages, horsemen, or carts.  This evil has been felt and lamented, at least three times a day, by Isabella since her residence in Bath.

In the 1860s, William was the manager and editor of a newspaper, also listed as a printer, which I think is fantastic since I also work for a publishing company. Maybe that's where I get some of my obsession with grammar and punctuation. (I know I get some from you too mom!) That profession meant he was educated and no doubt well-known around town. Anne Amelia was a dressmaker. Did she create fashion-forward clothes for the high society ladies to show off at the theatre? How cool would that be?  Anne made enough to support herself since William moved out of the home in the late 1860s. We don't know why.  Anne lived there until 1874. 

Here are some pictures of the sources I found at the Bath Records Office.

Bath City Directory 1860-1861

Bromleys listed in Bath 1860 Directory at 25 Union Street

1852 map of Bath.  I added the star at 25 Union Street.

4 ways to NOT find your ancestor on Ellis Island

I currently live in a very cool place. From my living room window I can see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  I actually have very few ancestors who came through there, so I was excited at the prospect of my great-great-grandma. These days it almost seems to be a feather in the cap of genealogist to find an Ellis Island immigrant ancestor. 

Family member name: Ellen Fripp Bromley Wahlgren

Lifetime: 1851-1941
Tree branch: Bromley
Relation: My 2x great-grandmother (my dad's mom's mom's mom)

But I was running into brick walls. It was a learning experience. Of what not to do.

1. Search on only one name 

This is especially true of females. She was born Ellen Fripp, married young to a Bromley and married a second time to a Wahlgren. What name did she have when she immigrated?  Match the year of immigration with the year of marriage, right? For some reason I was certain she came here when she was single. Couldn't find her. 

2. Search on only one database

I was certain she had to come through Ellis Island, so I searched the Ellis Island website. I entered her name, her other name, various spellings, various years of crossing. Nada. 

3. Assume you have your historical facts straight

I knew from later documents that her year of immigration was 1881. So, "of course she came through Ellis Island, since the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France for the US's centennial in 1876", said Miss Smartypants Me to myself.  Why couldn't I find her? 

4. Stick to your guns

I went across the river to the National Archives in NYC where I performed these same searches again, hoping that a passenger list had recently been found in the bottom of a box (eureka!) and scanned by an intern.  Nope. 

My advice is to not take any of the above advice.

Finally, I asked the nice lady volunteer with glasses and a lanyard what she recommended. She informed me that Ellis Island was not built until 1892, and before that, immigrants sailed by the Statue of Liberty and landed at Castle Clinton at the tip of Manhattan in Battery Park. (Duh! The Statue of Liberty is not the same as Ellis Island!)  "Why not try the Castle Clinton website?"  Boom. One search and done. I could even print it out. 

Passenger list of the Celtic

October 30, 1881.

3. Ellen Bromley, 29, F, Spinster, From England

A five minute walk from the National Archives to Castle Clinton and I was feeling successful. It's not Ellis Island, but I got to visit the spot where my great great grandma started her new life. And I didn't have to stand in line for a boat. Here I am.

And then my husband took me out for a glass of wine. :)

Distinguishing marks

Passport applications back in the day were not politically correct.  However, it's kind of cool for us to look back on them, as it gives some great additional information. 

Family member name: Herman Emanuel Wahlgren

Lifetime: 1866-1944
Tree branch: Bromley

Places lived: Sweden; Massachusetts
Relation: My 2x great-grandmother's husband

I have seen several pictures of my great-great grandmother's husband, Herman Wahlgren.  Although not my biological great-great-grandfather, he is the grandfather that my grandma knew.  They lived right down the road from her and saw each other often.  Each picture shows him as a distinguished older gentleman wearing a suit and tie.  Most often in a dapper hat.

However, his passport application gives another detail.  Under the area "Distinguishing marks" is written "Letters 'H.V.' tattooed on left..." and the page is cut off.  Left leg? Left arm? Not sure.  But I wonder if old Herman had a wild side as a younger man, or perhaps was in the Swedish navy.

Why H.V. when his name was Herman Wahlgren?  In Swedish, there is no letter W.  In rare cases where there is a W, it is pronounced as a V.  So I wonder if his name was Vahlgren?

Maybe some further digging will reveal those answers.  For now, it's nice to have a little more insight into my grandma's grandpa.