I often tell my clients to chose one line of their ancestry that they want me to research. This is why...
Another Satisfied Customer
Another satisfied customer: "I’ve received it. (40 page presentation book about 4 generations of her ancestry). It’s brilliant! Thank you so much. At some point I will ask you to do the paternal side as well." Carly Church
28th March 2019
Contact me here, or at tonywait@hotmail.com for more information.
A Brave Coward: James Coward (1888-1917)
I have discovered many military records for my clients. But recently seeing the name of my great uncle in the Victory Medal (1919) Roll and several other military registers was a poignant experience. The tragic story of James Coward (1888-1917) was the most emotional research I have ever undertaken. I discovered the reasons why he didn't initially join-up at the outbreak of WW I and my further investigation revealed why James was except from later enlistment. But tragically, he became a victim of The White Feather Campaign, when during a train journey home from work, a woman dropped a white feather in his lap - a symbol of cowardice.
James felt utterly humiliated and ashamed. Even though he had been recently widowed and had a dependent child (which would probably have exempted him) he immediately joined-up. James enlisted in Wood Green, London on the 13th October 1916. He was given the military number 24680 and was sent to the 1st Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. In less than 12 months he had been killed. He died of wounds received in action on 4th October 1917. James lies buried at Lijssenthentoek Military Cemetery in West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. His grave reference is XX. D. 10.
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| James Henry Coward |
To read the whole story and an account of my research, please click here: James Coward and the White Feather.
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| James Coward, from the image above of the West Kent's Victory Medal Roll |
War Gratuity
War gratuity was introduced in December 1918 as a payment to be made to those men who had served in WW1 for a period of 6 months or more. In most cases the war gratuity was paid to men in lieu of service due under the Royal Pay Warrant, however, as the war gratuity was not introduced until 1918, many men had already been paid the service gratuity and therefore, when it was calculated, the war gratuity had to be adjusted.
The monies due were generally paid in to a Post Office Savings Account for each man who had to apply for a savings book. If the man had already died or had been discharged insane an alternative payment method could be used.
Below is the War Gratuity book showing my Great Uncle, James Henry Coward (1888-1917).
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| War Gratuity showing James Coward |
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| Detail of payments to Hariett Coward (his mother) |
Page Details
Soldiers Name:Coward, James Henry
Regiment/Rank:
Royal West Kent, Private
Date and Place of Death:
4th October 1917, France
Account and Date:
Hounslow, December 1917, February 1918
Credits:
£2 pounds 2 shillings
4 shillings and 4 pence.
£3 pounds
Charges:
£2 pounds 6 shillings and 4 pence
Date of Authority:
5th June 1918
5th December 1919
To Whom Authorised:
Mo (Mother) Harriet D (Harriet Diana Coward)
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| Edith Coward (standing) with her Grandparents |
The War Gratuity Book that I discovered shows that it was James’s mother, Harriet Coward née Elsden (1863-1947) who received the payments.
Now that both her parents were dead, James's daughter Edith, was raised by her grandmother Harriet and grandfather Walter Coward (1861-1936). Edith later married William J. Philips at the beginning of 1935 (Islington 1b 218) and Ronald T. Franks in the spring of 1956 (Islington 5c1700).
In the early 1990's Edith was finally taken by her sons on an emotional visit to see her father's grave in Lijssenthentoek, Belgium.
To read the complete story please click here: James Coward and the White Feather.
Recommendation
Another satisfied client...
"Tony, what a great well-researched and presented document you’ve produced. My wife is over the moon to learn so much about her ancestors.
Obviously I am more than happy that she is so impressed with the product of your very professional services and would not hesitate to recommend your name to interested parties. All the best."
Doug Phillips
January 2019
My Great-Great Grandfather’s Intimate Details
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| A soldier in the Victorian artillery c.1870 |
I have often explained to my clients that military records can contain personal details about our ancestors. This information can give us an interesting description of what they looked like. But, I wasn’t expecting to learn such up-close and intimate information about my great-great grandfather, Robert Benjamin Wait (1851-1920).
When I first discovered a note describing his desertion from the army in 1871, I was stunned. Many of my ancestors had bravely fought in various conflicts. Was it really him? I initially thought that it wasn’t. In my records he was always described as a carpenter. But, on closer inspection everything seemed to match. So, with trepidation, I investigated further.
Baptism
Robert Benjamin Wait was born on 19th December 1851 at 28 Ivy Street, Hoxton in Shoreditch. He was the son of a carpenter also called Robert Benjamin Wait (1826-1877) and Elizabeth Wait née Franklin (1824-1899). Robert was baptised on Christmas Day 1851 at the church of St John the Baptist in Hoxton.
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| Interior of St. John the Baptist, Hoxton |
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| New Ivy Street, Hoxton (c.1878) |
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| The Baptism of Robert Benjamin Wait in 1851 |
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| The 1861 Census showing the Wait family in Walthamstow |
Royal Artillery
But 10 years later, Robert is in Wales, at a Barracks in Brecon. When he enlisted remains unknown at present. But we can see on the Census that he is a driver in the Royal Artillery. A 'driver' in this sense, was a soldier trained in the management and use of horses which pulled the heavy guns and ammunition wagons.
Robert is now 20 years old, single and his place of birth was Hoxton, Middlesex.
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| The 1871 Census showing Brecon Barracks |
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| Detail showing Robert Benjamin Wait |
The importance of Brecon as military centre began to grow after Victoria became queen in 1837. The barracks in Watton began as an armaments store in 1805, but many more buildings were added between 1842 and 1844.
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| The Keep at Brecon Barracks c.1895 |
The photograph above shows the keep at the entrance to the barracks from Watton, which was completed in 1879. The original barracks were built in 1805 and extended in 1813.
Desertion
My disappointment at discovering the desertion of my great-great grandfather was compensated by seeing a very revealing description of him in the 'Police Gazette' for October 30th 1871.
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| Police Gazette October 30th 1871 |
The newspaper heading is:
'Deserters from Her Majesty's Service. On and after the date (Dec.11th, 1857), until further notice, the Reward given by the War Offices? for the apprehension of a Deserter will be TWENTY SHILLINGS instead of TEN SHILLINGS; the object being to prevent the crime of Desertion, and to hold out a greater inducement for the recovery of Deserters to Her Majesty's Service.'
The list reveals that Robert Benjamin Wait's military number is 3940, he is in the Royal Artillery and described as being born in Hoxton, Middlesex. He is a carpenter by trade and is 20 years old. He is 5ft 4 and a half inches tall. The colour of his hair is brown and his eye colour is hazel. He is fresh-faced and wearing his military uniform. The date of his desertion was the 17th September in Brecon, Wales.
Under 'Marks and Remarks' they describe the fact that he has 'varicocele left side.' A varicocele is an enlargement of the veins within the loose bag of skin that holds the testicle.
Under 'Marks and Remarks' they describe the fact that he has 'varicocele left side.' A varicocele is an enlargement of the veins within the loose bag of skin that holds the testicle.
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| The description of Robert Benjamin Wait |
A transcription in the National Archives (WO 10/2629) shows that Robert was in the 11th Brigade, Royal Artillery from the 1st April 1871 till 30th June 1871 and his regimental headquarters were in Sheffield, Yorkshire. He was probably training in Brecon, when the Census took place on the night of the 2nd April 1871.
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| Brecon Barracks in c.1888 |
So was he captured and made to finish his military career?
If Robert was caught, his punishment could have involved being branded or even flogged. The British Army held an inquiry into discipline between 1868-1879, due to problems like drunkenness. And, although flogging had been partly abolished by this time, it was still applied 'sparingly.'
...the challenge to traditional ideas on punishments such as flogging was forcing the army to explore alternatives. There were three forms of serious punishment available to courts-martial : imprisonment, flogging and marking (known as branding, this was itself abolished in 1871) – whereby the prisoner was 'marked' with a letter 'D' for deserter or 'BC' for bad character. Analysis of punishments handed out by British courts-martial during the three years prior to the abolition of flogging for most military offences in 1867 shows a shifting of emphasis towards imprisonment at the expense of flogging (see figure l). However, it is apparent that the army was still making wide use of flogging despite its imminent abolition.
British Military Law and the Death Penalty (1868-1918) by Gerard Oram
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| A military flogging |
After desertion
My investigation into Robert's army career is on-going. But I do know that on the 29th June 1873, he married Esther Hills at St Peter's Church, Bethnal Green. On the certificate, in the section for rank and profession he describes himself as a carpenter.
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| Marriage of Robert Benjamin Wait and Esther Hills in 1873 |
And on the 1881 Census, he is living in Tooting, with his wife Esther and two sons Robert Edward b.1874 and William Francis (my great-grandfather b.1877).
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| 1881 Census showing Robert Benjamin Wait |
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| Descendant chart for Robert Benjamin Wait (1851-1920) |
Genealogy is a truly fascinating subject and can uncover a great deal about our ancestors' lives. But I never dreamt I would learn such up-close and personnal detail about my great-great grandfather.
If you would like me to research your family history, get in touch at tonywait@hotmail.com
If you would like me to research your family history, get in touch at tonywait@hotmail.com
Mum’s Memories of the Blitz
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| Mum with a background of London, during the Blitz |
Machine-gunned in the streets. Sheltering in a metal cage under the table, as rockets destroyed rows of houses around them. These are some of the terrifying memories of my mother, Joyce Wait and my Uncle Ed, as they grew up in London during the Blitz - experiences that are hard for us to imagine today. We have all seen the films and read about WWII, but personal accounts of life at home during those dark days are rare and equally as important. This is their story - revised and updated.
In September 1939 the British Government declared war on Germany. The following year London and its citizens, were in the front line and at times under day and night bombing by the German Luftwaffe's Blitzkrieg- or 'lightning attack'. From 7th September 1941 for 76 consecutive nights, London was pounded mercilessly. Forty-thousand civilians were killed and one million houses were destroyed. From the 7th October 1940 till 6th June 1941, approximately 482 high explosive bombs and four parachute mines landed on Tottenham, where mum and her family were living.
Evacuation
At the age of eight, my mother was evacuated along with her sister, Dorothy (Dolly), away from London to Peterborough. They travelled by coach to stay with a Mr and Mrs Eric Collier, who owned a garage in Norman Cross, Wansford. The 1939 Register shows my Auntie Dolly living there on September 29th. (Mum's name is not shown because of privacy regulations).
Mum and Dolly took with them a tin of corned beef, a bar of chocolate, and a gas mask, with their name and school written on a large label pinned to their coat. Mum was put in a church school and was the only girl amongst 28 boys! She remembered regularly being pinched on the backside by one particular boy, who sat next to her with a constant runny nose.
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| Dorothy Coward (later Greene) on the 1939 Register in Wansford, Peterborough |
Eight weeks later, the two girls returned to London because Dolly was due to start work. But the bombings had got worse and they were evacuated once again, this time along with their brothers, Reg and Ken, to Farcet in Peterborough. The two boys stayed with an elderly couple called Mr and Mrs Osborne. Mum and Dolly were sent further up the road to live with a Mr and Mrs Gilbert (daughter of the Osbornes) and their three children, Bobby, Betty and Gillian.
After about six weeks, the two girls were very homesick. Dolly was expected to do a lot of housework and they both were very miserable. So, although London was facing terrible bombing, the girls once again returned home. But, Reg and Ken stayed with Mr and Mrs Osborne - even though, before school, they both had to saw-up railway sleepers, and at weekends work in the brickyards!
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| Ada Coward née Harris (1903-1999) |
Meanwhile, their mother, Ada Coward (my nan), had also been evacuated. She had been living in 117 Tiverton Road, where she appears on the 1939 Register as a criptaless (confectioner), probably at Maynards sweet factory. Nan was sent to Cambridge, with her youngest child, Eddie, to live with two old retired female schoolteachers. On arrival, she was shown her bedroom up in an tiny attic and given a boiled apple for tea. The ceiling was so low, she couldn't even sit up in bed, and kept banging her head. She was sick with worry about her children. So next morning, she packed her case and told them in no uncertain terms that she was going home!
Uncle Ed can remember several occasions when he got up early and caught a coach with his brother John, to visit their brothers Reg and Ken in Peterborough, 85 miles away.
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| Mum with her brothers John and Reg |
Bombing
It was while mum and her brothers and sister were living in Tiverton Road, that they had their first experience of the devastation that was about to come. One night, the Edward Webber wood factory at the top of their road was hit by a large bomb. Half the building was destroyed. But the bomb had not exploded, so the street was temporarily evacuated for a week. Mum and her family spent the night-time at Manor House tube station. My Uncle Ed remembered a photograph in a local paper:
"...It showed the large defused bomb being hauled up manually by groups of men holding ropes slung under it and one dancing on top of it, to show the public it was safe. Where the building had been, they eventually put a brick built water tank, about 25 foot square and about six foot deep. This was to help provide water quickly for any local fires (and provide much amusement for kids-myself included)."
The morning after that bomb landed, mum could remember seeing a river of raw sewage running down the street, as she made her way to school.
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| Bombs dropped around Tottenham during WWII |
The bombing raids intensified, both day and night. In Woodlands Park, a barrage balloon and an 'ack-ack' gun (anti-aircraft gun) were set-up. Some evenings, mum would sit up with her sister and watch the 'dog-fights' between the British and German planes out of their bedroom window.
Uncle Ed recalls the worst days of the Blitz in 1940 and described to me how the Germans dropped incendiary bombs. These were relatively small bombs, but loaded with phosphor, which caused fires on the roof of any house they happened to hit - hence the need to have water tanks nearby.
Like many young boys, he remembered picking up the pieces of shrapnel, some of it still warm, after a nights bombing raid. Pieces that were unusually shaped were the most popular amongst his friends. These jagged scraps of metal, often very sharp, were eagerly stored in their pockets.
Next door to mum's family in Tiverton Road lived Mrs Crevie. She lived on her own, and my nan often felt sorry for her. So one night, after the siren had sounded, she invited Mrs Crevie to join them all in the air-raid shelter.
As they all huddled together, with the bombs dropping around them, my Uncle John suddenly said he could hear machine-gun-fire. They all listened intently, until they suddenly realised it was Mrs Crevie's foot, nervously tapping on the floor.
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| Tottenham Lane, Haringey in 1945 |
While mum was at school, my nan cleaned for a lady called Mrs Recognitzer. She was Jewish, and had escaped from Nazi persecution and moved to London. Tragically, the rest of her family had been shot. Mrs Recognitzer was a very kind woman - she always called nan, 'my Ada'. Nan knew her as 'Mrs Rex'.
At weekends, nan often took mum and Eddie to visit their grandfather, James Harris, at Chadwell Heath. But, usually on the return home, during the Blitz, there was a black-out. All trains were cancelled. So, they had to walk the five miles back from Liverpool Street Station, to their home in Netherton Road.
Devastation in December
The bombing raids got steadily worse and later it wasn't just bombs that landed on London, but rockets as well. My Uncle Ed recalls the dreaded V1s which came a while after the actual blitz and were pretty terrifying:
"Unmanned small jet propelled aircraft loaded with high explosives. They were programmed to fly a certain distance, then the engine would cut out and it would just drop straight down. As far as the public were concerned the terrifying part was listening for the point where the sound of the engine stopped, and then to the hear just deadly silence, looking at each other while waiting for the explosion. I vividly remember one such occasion, one afternoon kneeling underneath our Morrison shelter facing Auntie Dolly, both of us looking at each other with our fingers over our ears in case the expected noise deafened us. Actually it fell about a mile and a half away, but one never knew exactly their position. There were others there at the time, but I can't now remember who they were.
On two separate occasions, when I was out in the street with pals, I saw one come over. Looking back it seems funny now, but we all tore off in opposite directions to where they were flying.
The other weapon of terror devised by Germany to follow on from the V1s were the V2s.
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| The V2 Missile |
These were fairly large rockets with high explosive warheads. They were, of course, unmanned and they travelled faster then the speed of sound so it was impossible to have any warning of their pending arrival. I believe (but cannot be sure) that they were all programmed to fall on London. They caused tremendous damage where they fell and it's a good thing that the RAF managed to destroy a number of their launching sites otherwise the damage would have been so much greater.
I knew one lad at school that went to the pictures with his older sister, but when they came home their whole block of houses had gone (with their parents). My impression of the boy some while afterwards was that he was not permanently affected by this, but who can say?"
All this took their toll on my mum. She had a terrible experience in December 1941. It was a Sunday, and nan had taken mum, Ken and Eddie to the cinema. After watching the movie, they returned to Netherton Road in Tottenham for tea. At about 6pm, while nan was frying eggs and bacon for their evening meal, a V2 rocket landed a short distance away.
Mum described a horrific crash. The ceiling collapsed and the windows were sucked firstly inwards, then outwards and smashed into smithereens. Everybody dived into the Morrison Shelter.
The Morrison Shelter
Morrison Shelters were a way of protecting people in their own homes from falling bombs. This was an alternative to the Anderson Shelter in the garden (Nan's shelter had filled with water) and the public shelters. This type of protection was named after the Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison. They were made of very heavy steel (almost like a cage) and could be put in the living room and used as a table. Underneath were springs for a mattress. One wire side lifted up for people to crawl underneath and get inside. In mum's home, it was Toby, their dog, who was always first inside the cage!
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| Morrison Shelter |
Everything in my nan's house was covered in soot and rubble. The V2 wiped out Moreton Road, a short distance away and the whole surrounding block, including Fladbury Road. It left a crater about 30 feet across, which eventually filled with water. Uncle Ed explained to me that there was absolutely no prior warning of a V2's arrival.
Whole families were killed. That night my nan and her children slept down the tube station.
This was in December, and Stamford Hill School had been rehearsing for a nativity play. In assembly the next day, the headmistress, Miss Lloyd, read out a list of children that had been tragically killed. Everybody was crying. My mum recalled that one of the dead girls was due to play the the Virgin Mary in the school's nativity.
Mum has many memories of those dark days. She described to me how, after an air raid, her brother Ken dug out a man buried up to his neck in brick rubble with his bare hands.
One day, my mum was shopping with her sister Dolly and my nan. On their way back, they intended to visit a friend of the family, 'Aunt' Annie. But, suddenly there was the intermittent drone of a plane overhead. They knew straight away it was German, by the sound of its engine. Nan called out, "hurry up!" They ran as it began machine-gunning along the road. The plane then looped around and began shooting at them again. Luckily, they saw a door slightly open across the street and headed towards it, as fast as they could. "Come through," a voice called from inside. After the plane had passed over, my nan thanked the owner who told them that she always kept her front door open for that reason.
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| Descendants of Ada Harris (1903-1999) |
At the start of the Blitz, mum's eldest brother, John, lived for a while with Granny Coward (Harriet Diana Coward 1863-1947). He then volunteered to join the Royal Navy. His brother Reg, also wanted to join the Navy, but was disappointed when he was called up into the Army. Dolly also wanted to enlist, but due to her heart problems, she couldn't. Instead, she worked in a munitions factory, which included making rivets for airplanes. After the war, Ken became a steward in the Royal Navy and Eddie joined the Royal Air Force.
Thankfully, none of mum's family were killed or injured during WWII.
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| The Royal Family with Prime Minister Churchill |
My Uncle Ed recalls the celebrations in London on VE Day:
"I remember the trip with your Nan and 'Uncle' Frank and some of the family to see the King and Queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The huge crowds and afterwards trying to get home. At one stage the adults in our group linked arms to encircle the youngsters (your mum and me) in an effort to avoid us being squashed by the crowd. A bit scary for me, and I suppose also for your mum, but everyone was in a jovial mood. Then after a week or so there was the children's street parties.”
Family history is not just about names and numbers. It is about people's lives and how they lived them. So the importance of recording their memories is vital. They give us a priceless insight into life as it was, revealing details that can never be found in a text book. Sadly, one day this information could be lost forever. So, make sure those stories told by your parents and grandparents are not forgotten.
Very special thanks to my dear mum and Uncle Ed, for sharing with me their memories of those terrible times xxx.
Let me discover your family history, contact me at tonywait@hotmail.com.
The Mystery of John Mackveney
John Coward's dead body was discovered at 69 Rupert Road, Islington on November 4th 1897 and an inquest was held four days later. He was 74 years old. But as his family and friends gathered around his grave at Islington Cemetery on the 10th, I wonder how much they knew of my maternal great great grandfather's shadowy past?
Last summer I visited Sycamore Street in London where three of John Coward's children perished during the harsh winter of 1860-1. The thought of those three children slowly dying in wretched conditions, left me with a huge sense of despair. At the time I didn't think my great-great-grandfather's story could get more perplexing. How wrong I was!
My first investigations into the life of John Coward (1822-1897) began over a year ago. It was the most difficult research I have ever undertaken, with 'brick walls' at every turn. But when I did finally begin to piece his life together, I was completely shocked by what I discovered. My findings opened my eyes to their life in St Luke's 'Rookery' in Victorian London. Many questions remained, but I went ahead and published the information onto my family history blog.
John Coward appears as the father on the birth certificate of my maternal great grandfather, Walter Coward (1861-1936). John is living in the same building with his son, Walter, on the various census returns of 1871,1881, and 1891. On these the surname Coward is continuously used. But mysteriously, on my great grandfathers marriage certificate, he gave his full name as Walter McVeney Coward and his father's name as John McVeney. Where did this name McVeney come from?
John Coward was a shoemaker and his 'wife' was Hannah Coward née Taylor. But even though I searched, using both the Coward and McVeney surname, I had no success finding their marriage. John and Hannah first appear together on the 1861 Census, living at 3 Sycamore Street, St Lukes, Finsbury. As I trawled from this date, back through the records, I realised that Walter was not their first child.
I discovered they had a son, Henry Joseph Coward born on 18th August 1857 and twin daughters, Catherine Elizabeth and Hannah Louise Coward born on October 1st 1859. Just over a year later, the lives of this Coward family were thrown into turmoil when on Thursday 13th October1860, Henry and his sisters were taken by the police to the Liverpool Road Workhouse in Islington.
The admissions page of the Islington Workhouse (Liverpool Road Workhouse Register 1659-1930) reveals that John Coward and his wife Hannah, residents of 22 Catherine Street, had been charged with felony and remanded for one week. Their three children had been taken directly from the police court to the workhouse. The records of Islington Workhouse, shows that on Thursday 20th December 1860, Henry, 'Elizabeth' and Hannah were 'given up to their parents on discharge from prison'. But unfortunately, the lives of these three children would not improve.
Six days after the children's discharge from Islington Workhouse, 14-month-old Hannah died in terrible circumstances. Her death certificate (St. Luke 1b 487) shows that she died on 26th December 1860, at 3 Sycamore Street, Saint Luke. She had been found dead of exhaustion from diarrhoea. The certificate also shows that an inquest had been held into Hannah's death, by John Humphreys the Coroner for Middlesex on 31st December 1860.Various newspapers of the time printed a report of the inquest. Below is a transcription in The Wells Journal of January 5th 1861. Under the heading 'Deaths From The Severity Of The Weather' :
The coroner's inquest describes the Coward family as living in a 'low and disreputable house' and the conditions as 'wretched.' This area, south of Old Street, was known as St Luke's Rookery- a zone of criminality from where thieves targeted the better-off parts of the city. St Luke's was a maze of courts, alleyways and narrow streets notorious for prostitution and 'flash houses' - drinking dens.
The inquest had described the condition of the children as 'deplorable' and that 'another child was dying.' On the 2nd January 1861, John and Hannah Coward had their two surviving children baptised. Written in the margin of the parish record of St Thomas Charterhouse is Private Baptism. Due to the children being too ill to attend the church for a public baptism, it seems the ceremony was performed at their home in 3 Sycamore Street.
Two days after her baptism, on the 4th January, Catherine Elizabeth (registered as Elizabeth on the death certificate) died. Her death certificate gives her age as 15 months and the cause of her death as 'diarrhoea 2 weeks, bronchitis 8 days certified'. Four days after his sister, on the 10th January, Henry Joseph Coward died. He was three years old. The cause of death is described as rachitis from birth, the scientific term for what is commonly known as rickets.
Unfortunately the records for why John and Hannah had been charged with felony do not survive. But, when the Census was taken on Sunday April 7th 1861, John and Hannah Coward had lost three children at 3 Sycamore Street.
Several months after I had published my findings, I was contacted by a Laura Etteridge. She was researching a John McVeney (b.c.1823) from Shoreditch and had also hit many 'walls.' She wondered if there could be some connection between her John McVeney and my John Coward. Laura sent me a page downloaded from the London Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records dated Wednesday 22nd December 1852. It describes how John McVeney, now a widow, had left his son and daughter with a Henry Bromley aged 49, of Thomas Street, Curtain Road. The children had been residing with Bromley after McVeney left to hire a room and not returned.
In his statement, Henry Bromley described how McVeney had been brought to him aged about 12 by the Parish Officer of Twickenham to learn the trade of a shoemaker. John stayed with him till he was 21 years old. Bromley goes on to claim he had seen McVeney's wife, Elizabeth, during her lifetime and had heard that the couple were married in Friar's Mount Church.
Lisa also sent me a page from The Police Court in Worship Street, Shoreditch. This showed that on 1st July 1853, John MacVeney 'labourer' of 5 Thomas Court, Thomas Street, Curtain Road had 'wilfully and unlawfully run away' and left his two children namely John aged about 5 and Sarah Ann about 7. They were now chargeable to the Parish of St Leonard and John MacVeney may be punished as an 'idle and disorderly person.'
Could this John MacVeney also be John Coward? How could I prove it? I decided to search by using many variations of the surname McVeney/Mackveney and gradually a new paper trail opened up for me. Firstly, I discovered the marriage on 3rd November 1845 of John Mackveney, a shoemaker aged 22 to a Mary Ann Bromley 19, both from Hope Town (Bethnal Green 2. 38). Was she related to Henry Bromley the shoemaker who John served his apprenticeship with?
The births of Sarah Ann Mackveney in March 1847 and their son John in 1849 soon followed. And the 1851 Census showed the family living in 45 Nelson Street, Bethnal Green.
John's occupation was a Cordwainer (shoemaker). His birthplace was Chelsea. Next is Mary Ann aged 24 a Boot Binder. Their two children follow, Sarah Ann aged 4 and one year old John.
Eight months later, Mary Ann Mackveney died (Bethnal Green 2.50) and shortly afterwards John left his two children with Henry Bromley who consequently reported the missing father. But did the two men plan the whole thing? It is a remarkable coincidence that Henry Bromley and John's wife share the same surname. Bromley's statement to the authorities is also very vague in parts. Surely if he had known John from about the age of twelve he would have know the correct name of John's wife (he names her Elizabeth) and where they were married?
It was now the middle of December and as I looked out at the carpet of snow covering my garden, I thought about the winter 158 years ago and those poor starving children of John Coward. I had two spare days to get to the bottom of all this! So I began methodically trawling the archives.
John Coward always gave his birthplace as Chelsea and I soon discovered the baptism of a John Mackveney, son of Owen and Sarah in St Luke's, Chelsea, Middlesex. Unfortunately, the father was an Owen Mackveney, which conflicted with John Mackveney's marriage certificate to Mary Ann, where he gives his fathers name as James. But, undeterred I searched for a marriage of an Owen or James Meckveney, to a Sarah. It took a while, but my patience and determination was rewarded when I discovered the 1817 banns of Jas. Owen Macavine and Sarah Coward in Teddington!
I was amazed. Two conundrums solved on one document! The marriage entry for the 21st April 1817 does not give any more information other than the fact that they both left their mark, as they couldn't write. Which perhaps goes some way in explaining the many variations in the surname. When Sarah remarried in August 1837, after James' death, she had learnt to sign her name as Mackveney. But the vicar on the certificate wrote her surname as McVeney!
So it seems that when John Mackveney was wanted by the police, for deserting his two children in December 1852, he took on the surname of his mother. This might also explain why he never married Hannah Taylor, as his 'real' surname was Mackveney - not Coward.
James Mackveney married Sarah Coward in Teddington. And it was just a few miles away, in Twickenham, that their son John Mackveney became an apprentice shoemaker to Henry Bromley, in about 1833. Remarkably, Henry Bromley, a shoe maker, can be seen living with his family on one of the floors in the tenement at 3 Sycamore Street, on the1861 Census with John and Hannah Coward! Coincidence?
But what happened to John's first two children? Unfortunately all I can find, is the entry in the 1861 Census of a John McPheny aged 11 in St. Marylebone Parochial School. But, his sister Sarah Ann Mackveney married William Gunn on 28th March 1881in Tring, Hertfordshire. Her father is named as John Macveney on the wedding certificate.
So, after being snowed in for two days, I have not only managed to solve a family mystery, but also revealed the true identity of my great great grandfather. Of course many questions remain and lessons have been learned. But this all came about, because of publishing my initial findings on my family history blog and the kind response of Laura, who I would like to thank. She is a descendant of William Gunn and Sarah Ann Mackviney, so now I can tell her that we are distantly related! Oh! And also tell my mum and all the family in England and around the world that 'Coward' is not their correct surname.
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| Sycamore Street |
Last summer I visited Sycamore Street in London where three of John Coward's children perished during the harsh winter of 1860-1. The thought of those three children slowly dying in wretched conditions, left me with a huge sense of despair. At the time I didn't think my great-great-grandfather's story could get more perplexing. How wrong I was!
My first investigations into the life of John Coward (1822-1897) began over a year ago. It was the most difficult research I have ever undertaken, with 'brick walls' at every turn. But when I did finally begin to piece his life together, I was completely shocked by what I discovered. My findings opened my eyes to their life in St Luke's 'Rookery' in Victorian London. Many questions remained, but I went ahead and published the information onto my family history blog.
McVeney?
John Coward appears as the father on the birth certificate of my maternal great grandfather, Walter Coward (1861-1936). John is living in the same building with his son, Walter, on the various census returns of 1871,1881, and 1891. On these the surname Coward is continuously used. But mysteriously, on my great grandfathers marriage certificate, he gave his full name as Walter McVeney Coward and his father's name as John McVeney. Where did this name McVeney come from?
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| Marriage of Walter McVeney Coward in 1883 |
John Coward was a shoemaker and his 'wife' was Hannah Coward née Taylor. But even though I searched, using both the Coward and McVeney surname, I had no success finding their marriage. John and Hannah first appear together on the 1861 Census, living at 3 Sycamore Street, St Lukes, Finsbury. As I trawled from this date, back through the records, I realised that Walter was not their first child.
I discovered they had a son, Henry Joseph Coward born on 18th August 1857 and twin daughters, Catherine Elizabeth and Hannah Louise Coward born on October 1st 1859. Just over a year later, the lives of this Coward family were thrown into turmoil when on Thursday 13th October1860, Henry and his sisters were taken by the police to the Liverpool Road Workhouse in Islington.
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| Admission of the Coward children into Islington Workhouse |
The admissions page of the Islington Workhouse (Liverpool Road Workhouse Register 1659-1930) reveals that John Coward and his wife Hannah, residents of 22 Catherine Street, had been charged with felony and remanded for one week. Their three children had been taken directly from the police court to the workhouse. The records of Islington Workhouse, shows that on Thursday 20th December 1860, Henry, 'Elizabeth' and Hannah were 'given up to their parents on discharge from prison'. But unfortunately, the lives of these three children would not improve.
Three Deaths
Six days after the children's discharge from Islington Workhouse, 14-month-old Hannah died in terrible circumstances. Her death certificate (St. Luke 1b 487) shows that she died on 26th December 1860, at 3 Sycamore Street, Saint Luke. She had been found dead of exhaustion from diarrhoea. The certificate also shows that an inquest had been held into Hannah's death, by John Humphreys the Coroner for Middlesex on 31st December 1860.Various newspapers of the time printed a report of the inquest. Below is a transcription in The Wells Journal of January 5th 1861. Under the heading 'Deaths From The Severity Of The Weather' :
On Monday evening [31st December 1860] Mr Humphreys, the coroner, went into an inquiry concerning the death of Hannah Coward, an infant child, who was found in wretched condition at a low and disreputable house in Sycamore-street, St. Luke's. The police deposed that the mother had been taken into custody on a charge of felony, but was discharged by the magistrate, and when the police went to the house they found the children in a most deplorable condition. The constables kindly took them to the workhouse, and every assistance was rendered by the authorities, but the deceased died on Friday. The police said that another child was dying from the same cause, and when the deceased was found she had a "teat" made of a small bag of plums, which had been placed in her mouth. -Dr. Love said the deceased had died from neglect, starvation and cold; and the other child could not live.-The coroner, by the special request of the jury, severely reprimanded the conduct of the mother and father, when they returned a verdict of "Death from want of the necessaries of life and exposure to the weather, through the wilful neglect of the parents."
The coroner's inquest describes the Coward family as living in a 'low and disreputable house' and the conditions as 'wretched.' This area, south of Old Street, was known as St Luke's Rookery- a zone of criminality from where thieves targeted the better-off parts of the city. St Luke's was a maze of courts, alleyways and narrow streets notorious for prostitution and 'flash houses' - drinking dens.
The inquest had described the condition of the children as 'deplorable' and that 'another child was dying.' On the 2nd January 1861, John and Hannah Coward had their two surviving children baptised. Written in the margin of the parish record of St Thomas Charterhouse is Private Baptism. Due to the children being too ill to attend the church for a public baptism, it seems the ceremony was performed at their home in 3 Sycamore Street.
Two days after her baptism, on the 4th January, Catherine Elizabeth (registered as Elizabeth on the death certificate) died. Her death certificate gives her age as 15 months and the cause of her death as 'diarrhoea 2 weeks, bronchitis 8 days certified'. Four days after his sister, on the 10th January, Henry Joseph Coward died. He was three years old. The cause of death is described as rachitis from birth, the scientific term for what is commonly known as rickets.
Unfortunately the records for why John and Hannah had been charged with felony do not survive. But, when the Census was taken on Sunday April 7th 1861, John and Hannah Coward had lost three children at 3 Sycamore Street.
London Poor Law & Police Court
Several months after I had published my findings, I was contacted by a Laura Etteridge. She was researching a John McVeney (b.c.1823) from Shoreditch and had also hit many 'walls.' She wondered if there could be some connection between her John McVeney and my John Coward. Laura sent me a page downloaded from the London Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records dated Wednesday 22nd December 1852. It describes how John McVeney, now a widow, had left his son and daughter with a Henry Bromley aged 49, of Thomas Street, Curtain Road. The children had been residing with Bromley after McVeney left to hire a room and not returned.
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| London Poor Law and Removal showing John Mc Veney |
In his statement, Henry Bromley described how McVeney had been brought to him aged about 12 by the Parish Officer of Twickenham to learn the trade of a shoemaker. John stayed with him till he was 21 years old. Bromley goes on to claim he had seen McVeney's wife, Elizabeth, during her lifetime and had heard that the couple were married in Friar's Mount Church.
Lisa also sent me a page from The Police Court in Worship Street, Shoreditch. This showed that on 1st July 1853, John MacVeney 'labourer' of 5 Thomas Court, Thomas Street, Curtain Road had 'wilfully and unlawfully run away' and left his two children namely John aged about 5 and Sarah Ann about 7. They were now chargeable to the Parish of St Leonard and John MacVeney may be punished as an 'idle and disorderly person.'
Back on the trail
Could this John MacVeney also be John Coward? How could I prove it? I decided to search by using many variations of the surname McVeney/Mackveney and gradually a new paper trail opened up for me. Firstly, I discovered the marriage on 3rd November 1845 of John Mackveney, a shoemaker aged 22 to a Mary Ann Bromley 19, both from Hope Town (Bethnal Green 2. 38). Was she related to Henry Bromley the shoemaker who John served his apprenticeship with?
The births of Sarah Ann Mackveney in March 1847 and their son John in 1849 soon followed. And the 1851 Census showed the family living in 45 Nelson Street, Bethnal Green.
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| The Mackveney family in 1851 HO107/1542 |
John's occupation was a Cordwainer (shoemaker). His birthplace was Chelsea. Next is Mary Ann aged 24 a Boot Binder. Their two children follow, Sarah Ann aged 4 and one year old John.
Eight months later, Mary Ann Mackveney died (Bethnal Green 2.50) and shortly afterwards John left his two children with Henry Bromley who consequently reported the missing father. But did the two men plan the whole thing? It is a remarkable coincidence that Henry Bromley and John's wife share the same surname. Bromley's statement to the authorities is also very vague in parts. Surely if he had known John from about the age of twelve he would have know the correct name of John's wife (he names her Elizabeth) and where they were married?
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| The narrow alleys around Sycamore Street |
Mackveney
John Coward always gave his birthplace as Chelsea and I soon discovered the baptism of a John Mackveney, son of Owen and Sarah in St Luke's, Chelsea, Middlesex. Unfortunately, the father was an Owen Mackveney, which conflicted with John Mackveney's marriage certificate to Mary Ann, where he gives his fathers name as James. But, undeterred I searched for a marriage of an Owen or James Meckveney, to a Sarah. It took a while, but my patience and determination was rewarded when I discovered the 1817 banns of Jas. Owen Macavine and Sarah Coward in Teddington!
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| Marriage of James Mackavene and Sarah Coward |
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| Sarah McVeney |
1881 Census
James Mackveney married Sarah Coward in Teddington. And it was just a few miles away, in Twickenham, that their son John Mackveney became an apprentice shoemaker to Henry Bromley, in about 1833. Remarkably, Henry Bromley, a shoe maker, can be seen living with his family on one of the floors in the tenement at 3 Sycamore Street, on the1861 Census with John and Hannah Coward! Coincidence? |
| Henry Bromley and John Coward on the 1861 Census |
But what happened to John's first two children? Unfortunately all I can find, is the entry in the 1861 Census of a John McPheny aged 11 in St. Marylebone Parochial School. But, his sister Sarah Ann Mackveney married William Gunn on 28th March 1881in Tring, Hertfordshire. Her father is named as John Macveney on the wedding certificate.
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| Descendant chart for John Mackveney |
So, after being snowed in for two days, I have not only managed to solve a family mystery, but also revealed the true identity of my great great grandfather. Of course many questions remain and lessons have been learned. But this all came about, because of publishing my initial findings on my family history blog and the kind response of Laura, who I would like to thank. She is a descendant of William Gunn and Sarah Ann Mackviney, so now I can tell her that we are distantly related! Oh! And also tell my mum and all the family in England and around the world that 'Coward' is not their correct surname.
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| The church banns of James Owen Macavine and Sarah Coward |
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