Echoes of our Past NEWS........14th July 1869

 

Read all about it……. Echoes of our past NEWS

What was in the local news this weekend in 1869?

MAIN NEWS –

*Robbery from the person –

On 6^th July Thomas Brotherhood was the victim of two ladies from Ashover.

Thomas was in a bad way when he entered the Plough Beerhouse that night, he was “hard up”.  Times were hard and there was only 1s 6d in poor Thomas’s pocket.  To alleviate his current spell of financial difficulties he sold his watch to the landlord of the Plough Beerhouse for 15s. 

Thomas placed the money into his breeches pocket with his other money.  But later on he took the coins out of his pocket; kept 6s and put the other 9s into his purse. 

He bought himself and two ladies a pint of beer.   These ladies were Margaret Melbourne aged 25 years old and married from Ashover and Mary Jackson a 41 year old widow from Manchester.  He then walked away from the ladies and took his pint of beer into the parlour but Mary Jackson followed him. 

Mary took his pint of beer from him and allegedly “did something to it”.  Thomas recalled how when he took his next drink of it there was a different taste.  He did not have time to question this as he was immediately feeling sleepy and fell fast asleep.  When he did awake the ladies were no longer around and on checking his purse and the 9s it contained were also missing.

The police were called and the incident reported. 

At the trial of the two ladies the landlord Mr Patrick Flinn gave evidence to back Thomas against the prisoners.

The youngest prisoner Margaret Melbourne alleged that it was Mary Jackson who took the money and afterwards gave her 3s 6d of it.  Mary Jackson admitted her guilt but did state “the man gave me the money and told me to go and prepare a bed so that he could sleep with me and I walked off with the money”.  Mary was sentenced to 21 days hard labour.  It is not clear what the fate of Margaret was.

OTHER ITEMS –

*Robbery in a brothel –

Joseph Booth had one sovereign stolen from him.  He alleged that two prostitutes took the item; Mary Dale aged 18 years old and Jane Seymour aged 22 years old.

The prisoners were remanded to return to trial next Tuesday.

*Drunken townspeople –

There were several cases of drunken behaviour this week on the streets of the town –

v  Robert Bridget a fruiterer of Chesterfield was charged with being drunk and riotous in New Square on 3^rd July.  He was fined 5s and costs

v  Alice Davies a tramp was accused of being “drunk and incapable” in Knifesmith-Gate on 11^th July.  She was fined 5s and costs or 5 days hard labour.

v  Elizabeth Foy aged 32 years old of Sheepbridge was drunk and riotous in Low Pavement on 10^th July.  She was fined 5s and costs or 7 days hard labour.

v  Martin Foy also of Sheepbridge a 38 year old mason was also in trouble on 10^th July.  He was fined 5s and costs of 7 days hard labour.

v  James Dunn a 35 year old Hawker was found guilty of behaving drunk and riotous in Cavendish Street on 10^th July.  He was fined 5s and costs of 7 days hard labour.

*Elder Yard Beerhouse –

The respectability of the beerhouse at Elder Yard was put into question this week when Thomas Backhouse the keeper was accused of housing prostitutes at his establishment.

The Bench did accept that Thomas may not be aware of the business that was going on under his roof between the ladies and a cottage close by.    But they were of the opinion that he would be aware that the ladies were in the beerhouse and so he was fined 5s and 15s 6d costs.

MARRIAGES –

*Mr John Ward to Harriett Wragg both of Newbold at the Parish Church on 13^th July

*Mr William Foster to Sarah Ann Hazard of Mansfield at the Wesleyan Chapel on 6^th July

DEATHS –

*Eliza Ward aged 39 years, wife of Thomas Ward at Nottingham Road, Mansfield on 6^th July

*Martha Seagrave aged 68 years, wife of William Seagrave at Mansfield on 6^th July

*Annie Allen aged 11 years, daughter of Mr Jabez Allen at Mansfield on 7^th July

*William Bramwell aged 27 years at the Rookery Mansfield on 8^th July

SPORT –

*Foot Racing –

The Angel Inn at Clay Cross was the host to the sporting event of foot racing.  A good number of people turned out to cheer on their fellow neighbours.

Mr F Hewitt was the referee and the races were started by Mr George Ledger.

There was said to have been “some good running”.

The winners of each heat were –

v  R Martin 12 ½ yards

v  Chas Cooper 17 ½ yards

v  William Blant 16 yards

v  George Randall 23 yards

v  B Pritchard 19 yards

v  J Evans 10 yards

v  G Ward 13 yards

v  John Gritich 17 ½ yards

AND FINALLY…

*Summer reading –

If you were lucky enough to be able to read then you would most certainly have made a visit to the Derbyshire Times Branch Office in the Market Hall. 

They were selling a huge range of book titles as “cheap” prices; in fact they claimed to have “the largest stock of children’s picture books in the country”.

Six penny novels included – The Royal Highwayman, The Rovers daughter and Black Monks Curse.  One Shilling novels – My Lady, A Tale Of Modern Life, An Old Debt and Who Breaks Pays.  If you had more money to spare then for 2 shillings you could acquire a copy of The Macdermots by Anthony Trollope, History of a Flirt or The Pirate Of Soam by Captain Armstrong.

 

Update of the Past NEWS.......... 4th July 1874

Catch up on the full story of last weeks NEWS.............

 

*Reverend Walker –

The death of the Reverend Walker was incorrectly published as his initials “J H” should be “T H” – Thomas Harrison Walker.

Thomas was born at Hecknondwike in Yorkshire around 1878.

He was a Wesleyan Minister and we can see from census returns that he travelled around the country for his calling.

In 1851 Thomas is aged 62 years old and he and his wife Sarah were living at Union Street, Horncastle.  They have a servant lady named Ann Wilson who was from Dronfield, Derbyshire. 

Ten years on and in 1861 Thomas is now living in Chesterfield at Saltergate.  Sadly Thomas is now a widower as Sarah had passed away.  

Obviously not one to sit about in 1871 and aged 81 years old Thomas had moved home again.  Now he is living at Chorlton On Medlock near Manchester, still recorded as a Wesleyan Minister.

 

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*Albert Bone –

Young Albert sadly appeared in this week’s deaths as he passed away aged only 5 years old on 30^th June 1874.

He was born in 1869 at North Waltham, the son of Henry and Lucy Bone.  On the 1871 census Albert and his family are still living at North Waltham in Hampshire.  He has 3 elder siblings; George, Daniel and Mary and a younger brother 7 month old Walter.  Henry is an agricultural labourer and so it would appear that he brought his family to Derbyshire in order to find work.

Things didn’t get much better for Albert’s mother as a few years later in 1878 she lost her husband Henry, his death is registered in the Worksop Registration District.

In 1881 Lucy is living in the village of Clowne in between Chesterfield and Worksop.  She is only 41 years old but is a widow with 4 children; Henry, Daniel, Mary and Lucy.  Little Lucy is only 3 years old so she may well have been born just after the death of her father, poor Lucy snr would have been heavily pregnant at the time of her husband’s death.

 

An article in the Derbyshire Times dated 21^st September 1878 p.6 tells us how Henry met his young untimely death.  He was working for Staveley Coal and Iron Company at Barlborough Colliery when he was “hanging-on” at an incline.  He was “accidently crushed between a colliery waggon and a post” on 21^st August.  He received serious injuries but did appear to be getting better until his situation worsened and he died from his injuries.  The inquest was heard at the Angel Hotel, Clowne.

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Echoes of our Past NEWS ... 4th July 1874..............

Read all about it……. Echoes of our past NEWS

What was in the local news this weekend in 1874?

MAIN NEWS –

*Staveley Grammar School Examination Results –

The following list is of the names of the boys who achieved the best marks in the summer examinations at the Staveley Grammar School for boys –

v  Mathematics – Form 1; H Knighton and F Wells

                           Form 2; J H Turner and Webster

                           Form 3; Littlewood and Longden

v  Latin – Form 1; F Wells and Dutton

v  French – Form 1; H Knighton and Howard

v  Grammar Essay and Roots – Form 1; F Wells, A Wells and Knighton

                                                    Form 2; J H Turner and Green

v  Scripture – Form 1; J Haslam and Knighton

                    Form 2; Green and C Slack

v  History and Geography – Form 1; Dutton and knighton

                                              Form 2; D Carnegie and Green

                                              Form 3; H Turner

v  Spelling, Reciting and Reading – Form 1; Howard and Knighton

                                                          Form 2; D Carnegie and H Wells

                                                          Form 3; C Ludlam

 

Well done to all the boys!

OTHER ITEMS –

*Assault –

George Nadin was said to have been set upon by John Deardon and James Deardon on 15^th June around 9pm.

It was a summers evening and George was working out in his garden when the two men came along with a group of other men.  They began to climb on to his railings, to which George asked them to get down.  All of the men apart from John Deardon got down and so George got hold of his sleeve and removed him.  John was not to be told what to do by George and so he climbed back on to the railings.  George once more pulled John off of the railings and at this point John began to hit George.

George’s wife came from the house and helped her husband off of his offender, but James Deardon began attacking both George and his wife. 

Mrs Nadin told the court that her husband would have been killed if she had not been there to help.  This opinion was backed by a young girl named Anna Smith. 

The Deardon men claimed that George began the assault and that he had hit John Deardon after he had removed his from the railings.  This sequence of events was backed by a young girl named Lydia Peel, Wm Cropper and James Stims.

The defendant’s father was also called to the Bench where he told the jury how the railings around the garden of George Nadin were regularly used as a resting place by passers-by.

John Deardon was fined 5s and costs and James Deardon was fined 1s and costs.

*Quitting his job –

David Stevenson was in court after he had left his service with Elijah Houghton of Boythorpe without giving proper notice or being granted leave.

He was fined 10s and costs.

*Public House fracas –

The Half Moon Inn at Brampton was a popular place, so much so that on the 19^th June Daniel Ensor would not leave the place after having being asked.

The pub was run by Mary Proctor and around 12 pm Daniel had arrived at the house using bad language. 

P. C Johnson was called to the Half Moon to remove Daniel from the premises.

Daniel was fined 10s and costs.

*Gamekeeper attacked –

Christopher Evans a gamekeeper in the employ of S Manlove of Stubbing Court, Wingerworth was brutally attacked by three men whilst he lay watching young pheasants in a field at Holymoorside. 

When they had finished beating Christopher they turned their attention to the young pheasants; catching about 20 of the birds they pulled their heads off and threw their remains around the field. 

Christopher was in such a bad state that the local magistrate, Mr A Barnes Esq was called immediately to take his deposition, but luckily he recovered fairly swiftly.  The criminals remained at large at this time.

BIRTHS –

*A son to William Henry Rangeley of the Rookery, Dronfield on 2^nd July

MARRIAGES –

*Mr Herbert john Marsden eldest son of Mr John Marsden Esq of Williamthorpe Hall to Miss Annie Bolsover eldest daughter to Mr Thomas Bolsover Esq of High Lane Works nr Sheffield on 1^st July at Ridgway Parish Church

*Mr John Parsons to Miss Eliza Bradley at Chesterfield Parish Church on 29^th June

*Mr Thomas Amatt to Miss Hannah Smith at the Chesterfield Parish Church also on 29^th June

*Mr Joseph Fletcher to Miss Ellen Stevenson at Ashover on 22^nd June

DEATHS –

*Rev J H Walker aged 86 years at Southport on 26^th June

*Charles Gulliver aged 26 years at the Union Workhouse on 30^th June

*Miss Ruth Johnson aged 7 months on 27^th June at Ilkeston

*Master Henry Lee Barber aged 16 months son of Joseph Barber at Stanton on 20^th June

*Mr John Smedley aged 78 years on 22^nd June at Stapleford

*Mrs Maria Sharp aged 53 years at Far Hill, Ashover on 18^th June

*Master Albert Bone aged 5 years at Marsden Moor, Staveley on 30^th June

*Master Frederic Widdison aged 6 months at Marsden Moor, Staveley on 30^th June

SPORT –

*Races –

The Chesterfield Races 1874 were being advertised to the townsfolk of Chesterfield in this week’s NEWs.  They were to be held on Tuesday 21^st and Wednesday 22^nd July. 

AND FINALLY…

*Seaside fun –

Fancy a trip to the seaside?

Then this advertisement would have caught your eye……..

“On the sands! On the sands at Scarbro! The sea! The sea!! The open sea!!!”

What a picture the words must have conjured up in the minds of the folk of Chesterfield.

The trip was being run by Palmers and would leave Chesterfield at 5.40am on Wednesday 22^nd July.  To travel first class would cost 8s, third class was 4s and that was a return fare.

Once at Scarborough the holiday makers could treat themselves to refreshments at the Grand Hotel and listen to the Scarborough Band on the Grand Promenade.  What more could the people of Chesterfield wish for on a summers day?  I wonder how many of them had ever seen the sea in 1874? Being virtually central inland on the island of Great Britain I would imagine a high proportion had no idea what to expect.

 

Update of the Past NEWS... 30th June 1860...............

Catch up on the full story of last weeks NEWS.............

*Thomas and Sylvia Hacking -  Last week’s NEWS told of the wedding of a Thomas Hacking to Sylvia Stephenson.  The couple tied the knot at the Holy Trinity Church on Newbold Road, across from the Chesterfield Union Workhouse on Sunday 24^th June 1860.  The marriage may have taken place in Chesterfield but the couple were to move all around the British Isles -

Thomas was born in Glossop, Derbyshire around 1833.  Sylvia was born in the Black Country, Wolverhampton around 1837. 

A year after the couple was married they appear on the 1861 census with another family member; baby James Cordon Hacking who was born in Sheffield the month earlier.  The family are living at Furness Buildings, Newton, Ashton Under Lyne.  Thomas is employed as a boiler maker.

Ten years on and the family have moved again, they are now living Maindee, Newport, Wales.  Their little brood has grown considerably; James is now 10 years, Alice 8 years, Elizabeth 6 years, Margaret 4 years, Thomas 3 years and baby girl Mary aged just 1 year old.  Thomas has a slightly different occupation; he is now working as a boiler inspector.  The births of the children can map the movement of the family; up to the birth of Thomas jnr in 1868 the family were still living in Newton, Cheshire but youngest child Mary was born in 1870 at Dukinfield, Cheshire.  The family looks to have moved across to Wales at some point in between 1870 and the 1871 census. 

Another daughter is born to Thomas and Sylvia in 1872 Sarah E at Newport, Wales.  It looks as though they all then moved back to England as sadly Sylvia dies aged just 38 years old in 1875 at Ashton Under Lyne.

On the 1881 census Thomas is living with another lady named Amelia, there is a likely marriage in 1877 at Stockport for Thomas Hacking and Amelia Heywood.  Thomas and Amelia are living at 204 Audley Range in Blackburn with Thomas’s three daughters; Margaret aged 14 years, Mary aged 11 years and Sarah E aged 9 years. 

All change again over the next 10 years as by 1891 Thomas is recorded as a widower.  I have found one possible death for Amelia in 1888 at Blackburn, but her age is given as 53 and if we go on the 1881 census information she would only be 38 years old in 1888.  Thomas is left living with his youngest daughter Sarah E who is now 19 years old and is employed as a cotton weaver.  They live at 40 Charles Street, Blackburn.

I have not found Thomas on the census returns after 1891, or a death record for him.  Does anyone know what happened to Thomas and his family?

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