Finding my 3rd great-grandparents’ home in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

 My 3^rd great-grandparents, Thomas and Mary (Smith) Pearson, moved to Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, sometime before 1851. They are shown on the 1851 census living on Leam Terrace East in Leamington, running the Railway Tavern. They likely would have lived upstairs in the same building. In 1841 there were still in Tile Cross, Sheldon parish, Warwickshire, running a pub there called the White Hart.

Thomas was a victualer for much of his adult life. He is shown on government records from 1823 through 1828 leasing and operating the White Hart. That tavern was built in the 17^th century and is still going. The 1829 baptism entry for his son records his occupation as a victualer in Tile Cross.

At the time of their move to Leamington Spa, the town appears to have been going through a major development. Thomas and Mary probably thought there was an opportunity for improving their lives through relocation. As one follows the census records it is apparent the residents of Leam Terrace, and presumably the whole of Leamington Spa, grew in number from 1851 through 1911. They also aged.

Until recently, I thought I knew the location of the home they occupied in Leamington for many decades, but I was never entirely certain. A photo of their home in Leamington gave me a strong clue but until now I had not fully confirmed where it was located.

I am not sure how long Thomas operated the tavern in Leamington Spa. By 1861 he was working as a baker. One may presume that business was at the location across the street from the pub, now called the New Inn, however the census does not record building numbers. In 1871, widow Mary Pearson was recorded as a baker as was her son, Charles. While maintaining different residences, they may still have been working together in the same shop.

In many documents produced during the 1880s for both Thomas and Charles, their prime residence was at #58 Leam Terrace East. So, what could be simpler than looking up the address? Well, lots as it turns out. The early censuses did not record building numbers. The later ones had entirely different numbers. And those of today are different again. The exterior of many houses has also changed over time.

To sort out the neigbourhood, I had to look through the lists noting street intersections, large versus small residences, unique terrace names and backstreet enclaves. I matched up names of neighbours, to get an idea of who lived where for long periods of time in the same house.

I few landmarks, such as the New Inn, which appears to be the name of the what was the Railway Tavern, helped me identify building numbers over the latter part of the 19^th century and early part of the 20^th. The old Pearson residence at #58 Leam Terrace East is now #166 Leam Terrace. There is no “East” designation anymore. The last renumbering appears to have taken place between 1901 and 1911.

Eventually Charles took over the bakery business. He had taken his wife and first child to Australia in 1853, at the start of the gold rush in the State of Victoria. They had four children while living down under and lost two, including the daughter that had accompanied them. On board the ship on their way home in 1861 another child was born. Back in Leamington they had four more, one them my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth.

I believe Charles was actually asked to come home by his mother after the death of his father, Thomas, who died in August 1861. He was their only child and she would have needed his help and support. Charles and his family were on their way back to England in December. Upon their arrival they moved into one of the properties owned by Thomas and Mary, called the Pearson Buildings or Cottages.

On the 1881 census, Mary Pearson, by then a widow, was living at #60 Leam Terrace East (now #168) and shown as a coal dealer. By the time of her death in 1884 she had moved back next door to the familiar #58. The 1871 census records Mary at #12, indicating that the houses were re-numbered prior to 1881. It was likely after 1876 as the Kelly’s Directory for that year showed her operating out of #12. Curiously on the 1881 census, an Elizabeth Rowlands is shown living at #58 and indicated to be a “baker’s wife.” Earlier censuses, however, showed her as a widow. It is probably that she was running the bakery for Mary Pearson, by then aged 85.

Mary died on 6 November 1884, after which Charles and Susannah, his wife, moved into #58. They resided there until their deaths, his in 1892 and hers in 1895.

Luckily, for me at least, most of the buildings that were there in the 1880s, are still standing so I was able to compare an old photo with the modern Google Street View. Old ordnance maps of the town proved very useful in illustrating the buildings present in the mid 1800s that could then be compared with current street plans.

So, why is this all important. Well, my grandfather, James Pearson Shepheard, lived with his grandparents, Charles and Susannah, after the death of his mother, Mary Elizabeth (Pearson) Shepheard, in 1891, until he was about five years old. He was only six months old when Mary died of phthisis. His grandmother was with him and his mother when he was born and likely looked after both when Mary fell ill. Their residence was above the bakery, then operated by George Boswell who lived in #60. Boswell operated the bakery until his death in 1911. Grandpa Jimmy went to live with an uncle in Torquay, Devon, after the death of Susannah in 1896.

The photo of how the building looked was sent to my grandfather by his aunt, one of his mother’s sisters. On the back she wrote “Our old home the house you lived at until you was 5 years old. I had made new shop double fronts.” The photo accompanied a letter dated 1944 and the building pictured is numbered 166 and would therefore have been taken some time in the decades prior.

With a combination of photos, census records and other documents, I am confident I have been able to confirm the location of the Pearson home and the other properties they owned nearby.

Left: photo of bakery at #166 Leam Terrace East around 1940; right: the unit as it looks today; anchors where the sign was attached can still be seen in the second-floor wall

Left: ordnance map from 1885 showing Leam Terrace East; right: map from Google maps showing buildings present today; buildings highlighted indicate properties owned by Pearson family

Experiences at Sea - The Enidwen, 1905

 Most of us have probably heard stories about sailors – raucous, hard-drinking, women-chasing voyagers common to every port. Most of these tales I am sure are not true. Those making a living as mariners were as likely as not to be honest, hard-working men, many supporting families at home.

The work of sailors took them to many ports in many countries, some interesting, others dirty and dangerous. Just being at sea had its risks, of course. Bad weather and mechanical problems could lead to aimless floating or being driven by heavy winds and seas on to rocky shorelines.

In a previous post (16 September 2020, My Great-Grandfather was involved in a shipwreck!), I wrote about how my great-grandfather survived a shipwreck on the coast of Cornwall, England. James Shepheard was a widower when he first went to sea to work as a steward in the 1890s. He sailed on a number of steam-driven merchant ships over the years until he came to Canada in 1913. As detailed in my blog post, the Wimborne wreck in 1910 would have been traumatic but it did not stop him from going back to work on ships.

I am sure there are many tales to be told of the voyages my great-grandfather was on. The one detailed in the Official Log Book for the Edinwen for 1905 was of particular interest.

The ship had many problems with crew members who were underexperienced or just plain incompetent. Right from the get-go they were forced to alter their planned trip from Newport (Cardiff) to South America and make an unscheduled stop at Falmouth because several firemen refused to work. Seven men were called by the Captain to explain their actions. Their explanations about potentially dangerous equipment and conditions were found baseless. The men were eventually charged and convicted, basically for dereliction, and sentenced to 14 days of incarceration.

That would not be the end of the troubles, though.

The log book has many entries about sailors being “under the influence of drink,” acting disorderly, or “absent without cause.” Many were arrested while in South American ports. Some were let go from the ship’s crew. One man actually fell from a ladder coming on board one night while “very drunk” and was drowned.

The event that involved my great-grandfather occurred on 20 February 1905 while in the port at La Plata, Argentina. Four men, all in a state of inebriation and full of anger, accosted the 1^st Mate and Captain, demanding money. According to the Captain’s log entry, “these men were shouting & trying to push their way into the Salon saying they would drag the B….. meaning me from his bunk . . . as soon as I went on deck they crowded around me demanding money in most defiant & threatening manner . . . 2 men J. S---- & J. C---- laid their hands on me and assaulted me afterwards they went on the main deck both abusing me but J. S---- being the worst of the two using the most low insulting language & shouting come down you f….. we will fight or f… you. I therefore sent the Mate for policemen and had these men arrested. The language used toward me is not worthy to defile this log book with.”

Two of miscreants on a previous day reportedly “took charge of the Galley driving the Cook out afterward came aft & created a disturbance on the poop wanting to go down to the cabin to get hold of the Steward [my great-grandfather] who they said they [would] kill. I quieted them down & pacified the Steward not to bring the charge against them but now after yesterday’s occurrence the Steward pleads that he is frightened of his life with these men after having been threatened by them. So I also charge J. S---- and J. C--- with assault.”

The Captain, 1^st and 2^nd Mates, 1^st Engineer and Steward all signed the statement in the log.

None of the men appeared to have been jailed but the vessel was quickly rid of them.

I can imagine how Great-grandpa James probably stood up to the gang but glad he survived unscathed.

Just another day at sea!

Losing a Friend

 Andrew Neilson Hutton (1934-2020)

I lost a good friend just before Christmas, a man I had known for almost 50 years.

It’s inevitable that, as you grow older, you will have friends die, some early in their lives, others late in yours. Neil’s death was not a surprise as he had been in a nursing home for the last couple of years after suffering a series of strokes. Another one during the week leading up to Christmas proved to signal the end, though. 

His passing does leave an empty place which we will fill with great memories.

In my studies of family history, I have focused mainly on my ancestors, but all along the journey I have noted that, within the communities in which they lived, each of them had neighbours and co-workers among whom many would undoubtedly have been good friends. We have examples of some children in ancestral families being named for such individuals

We cannot go through life without others touching us in some way. Genealogy, of course, involves the study of families. But a large part of our connections are the friends we make over the years. There is a poem titled A Reason A Season and A Lifetime (author unknown) that describes how and why people come into your life. I have reproduced it below. Some friendships are short-lived; others last as long as you do.

Neil and his wife, Maureen, became our friends for a lifetime. We are richer and wiser for having known them.

The year 2020 will be remembered for many things, not the least was the imposed separation of loved ones. Rules for nursing homes and long-term care facilities, in particular, have kept families and friends apart. Visits are restricted to only the closest relatives and sometimes even these have been limited. That has made giving comfort or saying goodbye exceedingly difficult.

I am not good at hospital visits and I know I could have made a better effort to see Neil in the months before our COVID-19 lockdown. I am glad we had the years before though.

As with many people I think, friends are often made through the workplace. That was the case with us. Neil and I were both geologists and we found ourselves collaborating in oil and gas exploration efforts for Texaco Exploration Canada Limited in the 1970s. While we initially got of to a bit of a rocky start, in the end we became good friends. We even carpooled to work for many years.

Neil was not only a co-worker, but a mentor as well. His insight and leadership had a profound influence on me and my career, even after we stopped working together. His inspiration also extended to projects outside of geology for which I am immensely grateful.

Our families got to know each other. We had growing children in common as well as professional interests. As is the case with many friendships, we seemed to occasionally drift in and out of each other’s lives. Sometimes our calendars were not always synchronized. Changes in jobs, children growing up, moving residences, grandchildren appearing, and a host of other distractions took their toll on our social get-togethers.

Neil loved parties and social outings. We both hosted a few events on birthdays, New Year’s and other special occasions. Neil was ever ready to share in the fun and never afraid to dress up.

With our common Scottish ancestry (he was a true Scot while I have only a small bit of Scottish blood) we spent more than a few Robbie Burns’ nights together. At the last one we were at together Neil danced up a storm, in spite of the fact that he was scheduled for knee surgery.

We have many happy memories of Neil and Maureen. That is how it should be when thinking about old friends.

 

A Reason A Season and A Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.