This is the two part story of my grandmother’s grandmother, Louisa Emily Smith. She was born in Farnham in 1834, the only daughter of Frederick Richardson Smith, and his wife, Jane Manwaring nee Matthews. She had 5 brothers. Her father, Frederick, was a smith by trade as well as by name.
We can track the story of the family through the national census which was carried out every 10 years from 1841 onwards. The first census record of the Smith family, in 1841, shows them living in Abbey Street, Farnham but sadly, Frederick died in 1848 leaving Jane a widow with 5 children still at home. She is described on the 1851 census as an ‘annuitant’ which probably means that she was receiving some kind of annuity - possibly from a local blacksmiths’ society. Louisa was now 16 and working as a needlewoman and her three oldest brothers, Charles, Sidney and John, had become a blacksmiths like their father. Their neighbours on one side were the family of Sidney Smith (Louisa’s Uncle) and on the other side were John Caesar and his family.
By 1861 much had changed in the lives of the Smith family. Louisa’s mother, Jane, was living with a different family, where she was employed as a nurse for their baby son. Louisa and her brother Sidney, were living with their mother’s sister, their Aunt Louisa, still in Abbey Street, Farnham. Aunt Louisa was a widow aged 46 and was described as a farrier. This may have been unusual in those days but as a widowed woman she needed to earn a living to support her large family of 7 children. Sidney was now working as a farrier and Louisa was now a corset cutter.
Corsets and Farriers
At around this time, Louisa must have met William Caesar who was probably living nearby in the small village of Tilford, Surrey. He has not yet been found on the 1861 census but they were married at the parish church in Farnham in December 1861 - he was 22 and she was 27.
On the marriage register William gave his residence as London so maybe he was somewhere away from Farnham when the census was taken.
Over the next 8 years William and Louisa had three children. The first, Louisa Jane, was born in Abbey Street, Farnham but the family moved to London around 1865 so Frederick Charles and Agnes Caroline were born at 34 King Street, Long Acre. Sadly Agnes died aged 8 months of Reubeola Bronchitis (measles).
In the 1871 census William’s occupation was described as Coach Builder and Louisa’s as Coach Builder’s wife but the census enumerator misheard the unusual surname and wrote Poser by mistake. Sadly, a few years later in 1875, William passed away having suffered from Phthisis (tuberculosis) for at least a year. He was only 36 years old and Louisa was left as a widow aged 41. An article about coach making written in 1841 says that the paints used were lead based so it is possible that breathing the fumes and inhaling the dust from repeated sanding of the surfaces may well have contributed to his illness.
By 1881 the family had moved to Trollope Street in Battersea. Louisa’s children - Louisa Jane and Frederick Charles - were still living with her aged 17 and 14 and there was also a 4 year old called Charles Garden. He was described as a Nurse Child which was probably similar to a foster child. Interestingly, Louisa gave her name as Emily on this census form, possibly having changed it to avoid confusion with her daughter. She was still working as a dressmaker, assisted by her daughter and Frederick was working as a Junior General Clerk.
When the 1891 census was carried out Louisa was found visiting the Scott family in Stanwix, Cumberland. As yet I do not know why she was there - it was a very long way for a single lady to travel in those days. Her son Frederick had married Lydia Emerson in 1886 and they were living in St James’s Dwellings, Westminster with their two young daughters, Daisy (4) and Ruby (2) and Frederick’s unmarried sister, Louisa Jane. By 1901, in her late 60s, Louisa was living with her son Frederick and his family at 25, Cumberland Street in Belgravia. Frederick and his wife, Louisa, were both working as tailors and now had 4 children, Daisy (14), Ruby (12), Frederick (8) and Percy (2). Having the children’s grandmother living with them might have been a help with the children but more likely, as she was already in poor health, she may have been in need of care herself as will be seen in Part Two of the story.
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About MeI've always been interested in the Past Stories of my family and have recently found the time to delve deeper into the lives of the people who went before me. Previous Posts
1. Making a new start 2.The Qui Vives 3. From Ruby to Silver 4. A postcard and a passenger list 5. Louisa's story Part 1 6. Louisa's story - the second part 7. Three generations of Joseph Shearsbys 8. The Down-Under Adventures of Thomas and Catherine Skitteral Categories |