Whatever Happened to Jane?: Part 2

An advertisement in the local newspaper helps us to pick up the story of Jane and the Barton family as they moved with Robinson's work to a new parish. Having had a period of "time off" from his previous parish in Alconbury in Huntingdonshire, the first the record has for us in the new appointment is possibly evidence that the Bartons had been living in this area during a period of recovery "from the illness of his wife and children" as revealed in Part One of this blog.

This To Be Let notice indicates that the Bartons had been living in this villa lately and gives an excellent description of what life might have been like for Jane and her children for it was a home of ample proportions. " . . . a beautiful marine villa, delightfully situated on a promontory on Morecombe Bay at Hammerside Hill." It gives us a clear glimpse of the scale of the home with ". . . a dining room, 26 feet by 15, [approx. 8m x 4.5m] a drawing room and a suitable number of lodging rooms, with a stable and coach-house, garden and pleasure grounds." This notice appeared in "The Liverpool Mercury" in May 1839.
The notice of appointment of the Rev Barton to the Heysham parish seems to lend some credence to this being where the family was living, as it clearly gives Hammersmith Hill as where the Rev Barton is from. Assuming that Hammerside Hill, from the "To Be Let", is the same place as Hammersmith Hill in the announcement in the "Lancaster Gazette" of Saturday 28 July 1838 about the induction of the Rev Robinson Barton, we learn that the Barton family was in all likelihood living in the villa atop the promontory overlooking Morecombe Bay at this time. From the detail below, it would appear that Robinson was inducted to the Rectory on Tuesday 24 July 1838. The physical state of the Rectory, after the family had lived in the villa as described above, seems to have led to Robinson beginning a process of renovation and to have landed him in serious hot water, as will be outlined below.

As was recorded in Part 1 of this blog, by this time Jane was 45 years old and it was on 27 October 1839 that their last child was born at 10 to five in the morning. He was a son and they baptised him Henry. 

The 1841 census, taken on June 6, reveals that the whole family was by now living in the Rectory along with three domestic servants. We can conclude that the renovations that took place in August 1839 because the "rectory was very much dilapidated" probably took place while the family still lived in Hammerside Hill prior to them moving in to the renovated Rectory. 

The 1838 Heysham Tithe Map, above, shows the ancient church at 388 and the Rectory at 389 to demonstrate the significant size of the parish buildings at the time the Barton family arrived in July 1838. The image below shows the church as it may have looked for the children as they settled in to life in the newly renovated Rectory.

It is just three months after the 1841 census was taken that we find Robinson taking centre-stage in the first of many disquieting pointers to the future. It would seem that despite his being appointed as a local magistrate in Heysham, it was not long before Robinson's style and demeanour was met with stern opposition from Heysham locals from all classes! In a host of local newspapers around the middle of September 1841, when Henry was barely three months old, we read of another local magistrate, Mr T. J. Knowlys taking a case against the Rector for "lewd and immoral conduct, profane cursing and swearing, and intemperance." The case was heard on 14 September 1841 but referred back to the conduct of Mr Barton two years previously, not long after his arrival in the parish. The Commission of Inquiry was held amid great public excitement, in the local hotel in the village of Halton which we are told "was crowded with visitors from the adjacent townships."

While the witnesses' evidence was widely reported in local newspapers, it was a lot more difficult to find a report of the outcome of the Inquiry. The Stamford Mercury did hold a very small article on 29 October 1841 that reported "that Mr Barton's conduct was free from all blame, and his character unsullied, as it had always previously been esteemed, and that there was not a prima facie ground for further preceedings."

Knowing what we now know about the conduct of some clergy in some churches with respect to modern day enquiries, one might be forgiven for retaining a small level of disquiet abut the charges levelled at Rev Barton. Is it possible that there was some level of "cover up" with respect to this situation? Further research may reveal more.

For now all we can find in the records is that a short 16 months later there is more trouble associated with the Rectory at Heysham. This time there are two suspicious fires in the house. On Tuesday 21 February 1843 there were two fires reported in different parts of the Rectory and then two days later on the Thursday, a further set of fires were lit in the house:

The telling words in this report state that the fires were deliberately lit by someone "well acquainted with the premises". As can be well imagined in a small community, "Of course these occurrences were the subject of general conversation and comment in Heysham and the neighbourhood, and reports were current, to which we do not choose to give publication." The article goes on to divulge that the insurer of the Rectory, the Sun fire office, had made application to the County magistrates "to have these suspicious circumstances fully and closely investigated." There were to be 22 witnesses called to the private proceedings which began in the Town Hall on Monday 27 February, 1843. The results of this inquiry have not, as yet, been located, but will be interesting to read. It is worth reporting here that the following notice appeared in The Lancaster Gazette, placed by the Rev Robinson Barton on Saturday 25 February, two days after the second fire.

It would seem that he placed the advertisement PRIOR to the fires of the evening of February 23, 1843. It will be most interesting to try to locate the details of the inquiry into these fires to see who was considered to be responsible for them!

A year later in February 1844, it would seem that the parish considered that the Rectory was no longer required by the parish as we find the following advertisement of a private sale prior to a planned March Auction of the buildings:

One can only speculate as to the reasoning behind this move by the Parish Council who had been advertising the auction of the Rectory for much of January 1844. 

The final primary source details come in the form of a series of no fewer than six admissions for the Rev Robinson Barton, to private "lunatic" asylums. The first admission takes place on 5 September, 1846. Each admission and discharge reveals a period of confinement of between two months and five months and ends with his discharge on 18 September 1854. At the time of the 1851 census, which was conducted on March 30, 1851 the family can be found living together at 22 Milverton Cres, in the parish of Milverton in Warwickshire. Although Robinson is recorded as being a clergyman with a Bachelor of Divinity, there is no mention of him being the Rector of Heysham. He was admitted to Kensington House in London on the first occasion and his discharge notes read "relieved". He is then confined to Moorcroft House on four occasions, each time upon discharge he is recorded as being "cured". Hayes Park Asylum was also one of the private institutions where he spent time from 9 January 1853 until 4 June 1853.  It is during this time that Robinson and Jane's first child, Anne Jane Barton died on 21 February 1853 in Worcester. She was aged just 21 and it must have been very hard for Jane to have managed all the arrangements for Annie's burial in Claines without the help and support of her husband. By 1853 we find that the Rev Barton has resigned from the living of Heysham and been replaced by the Rev John Royds.

We next discover that Robinson Barton has died in Bastonford, Worcester on 4 June 1858. One can only speculate on the reason for his treatment in private asylums and to the reason for the fires and his swearing etc early in his time at Heysham. I have ordered a copy of his Will and that of his wife Jane in order to shed further light on the lives of John Baron's sister and brother-in-law and this will be my next research direction.         

Whatever Happened to Jane? Part One of a Two Part Story

Sometimes the most colourful characters in our family history research reveal themselves when searching outside the direct line ancestors . . . and so it is with this "off shoot" family in the Baron family story.

James Baron's Will (see "James Baron's Will Revealed", the blog from January 2015) was a goldmine of family detail and one of details that he shared related to his daughter Jane Baron  b 9 June 1794 in Wigan. Jane had been born 13 months before John Baron who is the New Zealand Barons direct line ancestor and little is known about her early life. I was keen to learn more about her and who she married and if there were any possible living relations from her line. James Baron's will, written and signed on the 8 March 1830, made a few mentions of his daughter Jane that led me to believe that despite her being well on the way towards celebrating her 36th birthday at the time he penned his will, that she was unmarried at this time. Despite extensive searching for a marriage I was really just floundering around. A better line of enquiry was to locate the death information for Jane and John's mother Ellen (nee Jackson) which I thought might be found in or around Wigan where James had died and where one could reasonably assume that she might stay living after James' death. 

A good place to start is often in historical newspapers and the British Newspaper Archive has a search engine that can search across the country rather than be misled by the researcher's preconceived notions! Straight away I did score a hit with the following entry recorded in the Huntingdon, Bedford and Peterborough Gazette of 3 August 1833.:

The obvious next step was to find out who this new character, Mrs Barton, was and if this Mrs Baron was, in fact, OUR Mrs Baron, so a search of the burial records for Lancashire, where the Barons were originally from, revealed that an Ellen Baron who had been living in Alconbury, Huntingdonshire was buried in Standish aged 68 years. We had the right mother for Mrs Barton so now just needed to work on revealing who Mrs Barton was. . . 

The Church of England has excellent records that hold really good detail about individuals who have served in the Church. The following clip clarifies that one Robinson Shuttleworth BARTON was the Vicar at Alconbury cum Weston at the time that Ellen Baron died at the Vicarage there. So, it would seem that Jane Baron, daughter of James and Ellen Baron, sister of John Baron married Robinson Shuttleworth Barton some time between the writing of her father's will and the death of her mother, and was our Mrs Barton from her mother's death announcement from the newspaper.

From here the detail of the marriage is easy to locate and paints a confusing picture that pulls up further questions about what was happening for Jane prior to the marriage. The bare bones of the story are that in 1830, after her father James wrote his Will but before he died on January 3, 1831, Jane was married to the Rev Robinson Barton at the parish church in Flixton, Lancashire. The licence issued indicates that Jane Baron resided in the Parish of Flixton at the time of her marriage and her husband to be gave the Parish of Alconbury as his own Parish. What was Jane doing in Flixton at the time of her marriage? Why did James not change his will to reflect his only daughter's new status? Jane was 36 and Robinson 44, on the date of the marriage: 16 August 1830. The two witnesses were R. Wright and Maria Stevenson. Just 41/2 months later Jane's father was dead and his will provided that "one other of his best bedsteads and one other of his best beds, together with all necessary and suitable bedding" was provided for Jane in his last will and testament. One can only wonder if this is the bed that she and her new husband used in the vicarage in Alconbury, or perhaps his wife died in,  just a bare 21/2 years later. 

What the record does say is that at the time of her mother's death, on 24 July 1833 Jane had given birth to one daughter - Anne Jane Barton b 25 May 1831 and was five months pregnant with the pregnancy that became Sarah Parr Barton b 11 November 1833. The death of her mother and the removal of her body for burial back in Standish on 3 August 1833, ten days after the death, must have been a time of great stress for Jane, for she was now 38 years old with a 15 month old child to care for and a new baby on the way. The cause of Ellen's death is unknown at this time but that, too may have been a cause of some stress for Jane if the illness was something that could have been contracted by her young daughter.

Jane and Robinson had two further babies born to them, this time both boys. James was born in 1835 on August 22 and Henry was born in their new parish of Heysham on 28 October 1839. By the time this last child was born Jane was now 45 years of age which even today is relatively old to be giving birth. It is worthy of comment that in a document dated 7 September 1836, when their children would have been 5, almost 3 and just turned 1, the Bishop of Lincoln licensed Robinson Shuttleworth Barton to be absent from his "benefice" until 31 December 1838 on account "of the actual illness of your wife and children". It is possible that the length of time between the births of James and Henry was due to this ill health, but it is also open to conjecture that Jane had suffered a miscarriage between these last two children. Of this the record tells us nothing at all. What we do know is that when she was 45 years old Jane gave birth to her last child after the family moved to the new parish of Heysham, Lancashire where Robinson Barton became Rector and the family lived in the Rectory.

Once they arrive in Heysham the story of Jane and her husband Robinson Shuttleworth Barton becomes truly fascinating, and a little sad but that will have to be a story for another time.

And finally Ellen has revealed herself!

It has been many years of on again, off again work, but I am delighted to share with everyone, that with the help and guidance of many people along the way, Ellen has finally been found!
To be fair and honest it was never Ellen that was lost -- she always maintained that her native place was Hogganfield, Scotland and even though I could not ever locate her there, it turns out she was speaking the truth all along! Locating Ellen has required much patience and lots of leaps of faith and suppositions -- but these conjectures have proven their worth in the long term and I am so happy for everyone in the family to meet Ellen, who has been lost for a while and is finally found!

Ellen McQuillan told us, in the birth entries of two of her children -- Alfred Edward b 1881 and Robert Walter b 1883 -- that her "native place" was Hogganfield, Scotland. A letter from Auntie Sybil from way back in the late 1980's told me that Ellen McQuillan was from Glasgow, so that must have been information she had gleaned from family stories.

What the family did not know, well at least not Auntie Sybil, for whom the revelation was an interesting one, was that Henry William Baron did not marry Ellen until she was pregnant with their third child. The birth entries of  the first two children, Jane b 1865 and Henry b 1867, were recorded as "illegitimate" and then overwritten on 10th January 1895 as "legitimated" as a result of an Act of Parliament called the 1894 Legitimation Act.

This Act made provision for the registration of the birth of any child born out of wedlock where the parents had subsequently married. In such cases the father of the child was required register the birth and make a declaration that at the time of the birth there was no legal impediment to his marriage to the mother. What this meant was that Henry Baron registered these two births when his children were well into adulthood and declared that about thirty years earlier there had been no reason for him not to have married Ellen ie. neither he nor Ellen had been married to someone else at the time of the births of both Jane and Henry. They were married in a Registry Office ceremony in Dunedin on 21 April 1868 and their third child, Annie, was born in Tuturau, Mataura, Southland on 14 November of that same year.

Some time ago I was able to locate an Ellen McQuillan who arrived in Timaru on 24 December, 1862 aboard the immigrant ship "Echunga". She was listed as being a 20 year old dairymaid from Lanarkshire. Given that Henry Baron had Crown grant land in Timaru, it is highly likely that a dairymaid was someone of great use to him in the young colony. Also, given that the barracks, for the 121 people who disembarked at Timaru, had not yet been completed, it is possible that Henry recruited Ellen down at the port area and took her back to his land to begin work, almost immediately, as a dairy maid on his farm. What we do not have to assume is that just 27 months later Ellen was giving birth, in Dunedin, to Henry and Ellen's first child, Jane.

Extensive reading of contemporary newspapers in and around Hogganfield, where Ellen tells us she was from, revealed not even a whisper of the name McQuillan, and I could find no record in the 1841 Hogganfield census of a McQuillan family.

Where to next?? The question that begs itself is why, in Victorian times in the colonial outposts of southern New Zealand, did Henry and Ellen not marry at the first sign that a baby was on the way? They were clearly enamoured of each other on some level as they were producing offspring on a regular basis, yet Henry had not "made an honest woman of her" until she was already well aligned with him and expecting a third child? Given what I know of the more modern Barons, I decided that I needed to explore much wider than the baptism records of Hogganfield or Lanarkshire Church of Scotland records, where Ellen was nowhere to be found.

It was time to consider the potential reasons that the last child of the Anglican Vicar of Walsall in England, and grandson and great-grandson of a long line of Prescot religious figures, would not marry the mother of his children in colonial New Zealand. It was time to consider the concept that perhaps Henry had married a Roman Catholic!
 It certainly did not take too much time to find a "Helen McQuillan", the daughter of one Charles McQuillan and Helen Doran, who was baptised at St Andrew's Catholic Church, Glasgow on 31 October 1841 having been born on 23 October, just a week earlier. The two "sponsors" or godparents for the young Helen were named as Michael Rush and Sarah Campbell. When our Ellen boarded the "Echunga", for the more than three month journey to New Zealand, on September 10, 1862 she would have been 20 years old which matches perfectly with the Ellen from Lanarkshire who arrived in Timaru. She would have had her 21st birthday on board the immigrant ship. Also worthy of note is the fact that Ellen's son, Henry, recorded his mother's birth date, in some papers relating to the Will of her late husband in 1915 in Mossman, Sydney, as being 31 October. Surely this is much more than a coincidence?

Slowly but surely Ellen was revealing herself to us! A look at the Census records for Lanarkshire proved to be a real challenge as the spelling and/or transcription of the name was different for every Census.
Because Ellen was not born for the 1841 Census I searched first for the McQuillans in 1851.

And I found a Charles McQuille with his wife Eleanor and children James, Helen, Charles, Elisabeth and Eleanor in Garnkirk in the parish of Cadder - just up the road from Hogganfield! Charles was working as a limestone miner and his birth place and that of his wife and son James was given as Ireland. 

By the time of the 1861 Census a search for the family reveals that Helen/Ellen has left home so needs to be located somewhere else! Is this her living and working in Glasgow as a . . . dairy servant?

Hard to believe this is the same name but there is a Helen McIlquham living with Donald and Agnes Black in Brown Street, Glasgow and she is listed as a dairy servant. Her age is give as 18 but given the way this name is spelled maybe they got the age wrong by a couple of years as well?  The most important detail here after her occupation, which makes her eminently employable in colonial New Zealand, and her place of birth, Hogganfield, is that there is another servant living in the house and working as a dairy servant and her name is Isabella Campbell. Remember the sponsor at Ellen's baptism was one Sarah Campbell -- maybe they are related? 

By 1871 one Ellen McQuillan has given birth to four children, and is married to Henry William Baron in the South Island of New Zealand, so the Census records can tell us nothing more about this person Helen/Ellen in the northern hemisphere.

So, a look at the 1841 Census was an important step in the search for the origins of this family. It was so hard to locate this entry because, as you will see, the name is recorded as McQuaken!!  

The census of 1841 took place on 7 June and the baby Helen was born on October 23 and baptised just 8 days later at St Andrew's in Glasgow. 

This census detail reveals that one Charles McQuillan is working as a day labourer in Millerston. He is living not just with his wife Hellen and a son James but also with an Edward and Sarah Campbell and, perhaps, their children Jean and Thomas. It is highly likely that this Sarah Campbell is the same Sarah Campbell who is the godmother of Helen McQuillan four short months later. The final piece of significant detail to be gleaned is that all but one of the household were recorded as having been born in Ireland. 

So, somewhere between the birth of one year old James in either late 1839 or early 1840 and the census of June 1841 the McQuillan family moved from Ireland to Millerston near Glasgow. Given that there is a clay works that was situated in Millerston at this time, one might draw a conclusion that Charles was able to find work in this mine, for his occupation in 1851 at Garnkirk is as a limestone miner. 

And then look what we learn about exactly where Millerston is!!  Right there on the edge of Hogganfield Loch and 3 miles NE of Glasgow!  

All along Ellen had maintained that she was from Hogganfield but because I was not looking for an Irish Catholic girl I could not find her! 

There is much more to tell, for many of Ellen's siblings and her mother emigrated to Ohio after Charles' death in 1876, but that is a story for another time! 

For now it is enough to say that we have found Ellen. . . now we just need to follow the leads back into Ireland to find where her roots in Ireland are. I have some hints in a birth entry for one of her siblings (this is apparently the marriage date for Charles McQuillan and Helen Doran). . . . and the McQuillans tend to tell the truth about where they are from!

James Baron's Will Revealed

It is high time I posted an update of the search for James Baron. . . this time I have found the right man. Do read on!!!

The film of James' Will that I ordered on January 14, 2014 finally arrived exactly one year later on January 14, 2015!! It had been sitting on a shelf in the courier's office for all those months and by the time I had the call to come and view it, there had been time for a second copy of the film to wing its way to the Family History Centre on Pah Road in Royal Oak, me to read that film and for it to be returned! I was disappointed to discover that it was the exact film that I had already viewed back in November!  Ah well, that did not decrease the huge significance of all that the film revealed. 
James, unlike his future grand daughter-in-law Ellen McQuillan, was careful to ensure that he left a wonderful trail for his descendants to follow. Despite the fact that there are some words that it is hard for me to read, I was able to painstakingly transcribe the following Will of James Baron, Attorney at Law, Wigan:

The first page of the Will of James Baron of Wigan

This is the last Will and Testament of me, James Baron, of Wigan in the County of Lancaster, Attorney at Law, made and published the eighth day of March in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty as follows –

Discharged from the payment of the whole and every part of my debts, my funeral expenses and the charges of proving this my will --  

·        I give and devise unto my brother in law William Darbyshire, during his life, the messuage, or dwelling-house and premises in School Lane in Standish, in the said County, which are now, or lately, were in his own occupation, with the appurtenances, and from and immediately after his decease,

·        I give and devise the said messuage or dwelling-house and premises with the appurtenances unto John Lord, of Wigan aforesaid, Attorney at Law, and his heirs. In trust to sell the same for the best price and most money that can be reasonably obtained for the same, and to pay, distribute and divide the clear monies which shall arise from such sale and from the rents and profits thereof in the meantime until sale thereof be made unto and amongst such of the children of my late sister Ann, the late wife of the said William Darbyshire and the lawful issue of such of her children as shall be then dead, equally share and share alike, the issue of each deceased child to stand in the place of such deceased child and to take and equally amongst them. If more than one, the shares which such deceased child would if living have taken – and discharged as aforesaid.

·        I give and devise the messuage or dwelling-house and premises in School Lane, aforesaid, where my late sister Mary lived with the appurtenances unto the said John Lord and his heirs in trust to sell the same for the best price and most money that can be reasonably obtained for the same and to pay distribute and divide the clear monies which shall arise from such last mentioned sale and from the rents and profits of the same premises in the meantime until sale thereof be made unto and amongst such of the children of my said sister Mary as were living at her death and the lawful issue of such of her children as were then dead equally share and share alike the issue of each deceased child to stand in the place of such deceased child and to take and equally amongst them if more than one the share which each deceased child would if living have taken – and discharged aforesaid.

·        I give and devise unto my sister Peggy and her husband Edward Brooks during their joint natural lives and to the survivor of them during his or her natural life, the messuage or dwelling-house and premises in School Lane aforesaid, where they now live with the appurtenances and from and immediately after the decease of the survivor of them, my sister Peggy and her husband,

·        I give and devise the same messuage or dwelling-house and premises with the appurtenances unto the said John Lord and his heirs, in trust to sell the same for the best price and most money that can reasonably obtained for the same, and to pay, distribute  and divide the clear monies which shall arise from such last mentioned sale and from the rents and profits of the said last mentioned premises until sale thereof be made unto and amongst such of the children of my said sister Peggy, as shall be living at the death of the survivor of her and her said husband Edward Brooks and the lawful issue of such of her children as shall be then dead, equally share and share alike the issue of each deceased child to stand in the place of such deceased child and to take and equally amongst them if more than one the share which such deceased child would if living have taken –

·        And I hereby direct that each of the said Houses shall be charged with and bear and pay one equal third part of the yearly ground rent two pounds five shillings which from the whole of the premises is now payable – And I hereby declare that the receipts or receipts of the said John Lord or of his heirs shall be a good and sufficient discharge to any purchaser or purchasers of the said several messuages or dwelling-houses and premises or any of them or any part thereof and to his or their heirs, executors, administrators and assignees for so much of his, her or their purchase money or respective purchase monies as in such receipt or receipts respectively shall be expressed or acknowledged to have been received. And that no purchaser or purchasers or his, her or their executors, administrators or assignees shall be obliged to ?? to the application of the whole or any part of the purchase monies behind? in such receipt or receipts respectively shall be expressed or acknowledged to have been received nor be ascribable or accountable for the misapplication or non-application thereof or of any part thereof –

·        As a trifling compensation to my late respected friend Thomas Houghton late of Ormskirk in the said County, Attorney at Law, deceased for the trouble I from time to time gave him respecting my Close of land in Aughton in the said County, commonly called and known by the name of the Lady Acre and which is now and has been for several years past been in the occupation of Widow Swift as my Tenant thereof, I gave him in his lifetime the small piece of common land which was allotted to me in respect of the said Close, called the Lady Acre and I meant him to have the fee simple and inheritance of such allotment but I did not execute to him in his lifetime or to any part of his family since his decease and conveyance thereof – He did, I understand, erect in his lifetime, a messuage or dwelling-house and other buildings upon the said allotment but how he has disposed of the said allotment or the same messuage or dwelling-house and other buildings or any part thereof I am at present wholly uninformed. In order, however, the better to perfect the title of the family of the said Thomas Houghton to the said allotment and to the said messuage or dwelling-house and the other buildings erected thereon, I do hereby give and devise the said allotment and the said messuage or dwelling-house and any estate or interest therein unto such and the same person or persons and for such estate and estates interest and interests and in such and the same or the like parts, shares and proportions manner and form as the same are now held by and belong to the widow and children, or any of them, of the late Thomas Houghton under any deed or title or other instrument in the law executed by the said late Thomas Houghton in his lifetime, and if he made no disposition thereof by any deed or title or other instrument in the Law then I give and devise the same with the appurtenances to his widow in fee and if she die in my lifetime then I give and devise the same to the said Thomas Houghton’s eldest son in fee –

·        I have in part provided for my daughter Jane Baron by having, before the making of this my will, purchased or directed to be purchased in her name and on her own account ten thousand pounds new four percents stock [See the following link for some information of the meaning of this “new four percent stoc https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=WCsIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA69&dq=What+is+four+percent+stock,+1830&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RNeNVLuUEIHLmwWZ54HwCA&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=What%20is%20four%20percent%20stock%2C%201830&f=false  k: 

and I have applied the thirty pounds principal which I owed her and the interest due for the same towards the purchase of the said stock and have thereby paid or satisfied the said thirty pounds principal and the interest thereof –

·        And in order to make a suitable provision for my wife Ellen Baron and some further provision for my said daughter I give to my said wife, the sum of two hundred pounds to be paid to her immediately after my decease. I also give to my wife, to and for her own proper use and benefit, all the monies which, at the time of my decease, shall be standing in her name in the Books of Mossicars, Thicknesse and Woodcock, Bankers in Wigan. I also give to my wife her gold watch and all the other ornaments of her person. I also give her one of my best bedsteads and one of my best beds together with all necessary and suitable bedding thereto and so much and such part and parts of my household furniture as she shall make choice of and as shall be sufficient to furnish a house for her after my decease. And I likewise give her all my plate, linen, china and glass and all the wine and spirituous liquors that shall be in my house at the time of my decease, together with all the casks, bottles and other vessels containing the same. And I also give her all my cloaths (sic) and weaving apparel.

·        I give to my said daughter one other of my best bedsteads and one other of my best beds, together with all necessary and suitable bedding thereto.

·        I also give to my wife the several principal sums of money now owing to me as herein after mentioned.

§  That is to say the principal sum of nine hundred and twenty pounds now owing to me from or upon security of certain premises in Pemberton, now or late belonging to one Peter Barlow;

§  the principal sum of three hundred and fifty pounds now owing to me from, or upon security, of certain premises in Wigan now or late belonging to one Robert Barlow;

§  the principal sum of eight hundred pounds now owing to me from or upon security of certain premises in Wigan, now or late belonging to Mr Battersby of Wigan, Solicitor;

§  the principal sum of nine hundred and fifty pounds now owing to me from or upon security of certain premises in Coppall, now or late belonging to one William Fisher, now deceased;

§  the principal sum of seven hundred pounds now owing to me from or upon security of an estate in Ince near Wigan, called Fogg’s;

§   the principal sum of four hundred pounds now owing to me from or after security of certain premises in Lowton and Golborne, now belonging or reported to belong to one Mrs Worthington who was heretofore Miss Collier, spinster;

§  the principal sum of two hundred and sixty four pounds now owing to me from or upon security of certain premises in Skelmersdale which belonged to Robert Marsden late of Wigan, tinplate worker, deceased;

§  the principal sum of one hundred and fifty pounds now owing to me by part of the family of the late John Sim from or upon security of their share or interest in certain premises in Pemberton heretofore belonging to Bryan Molyneux, Esquire, deceased and;

§  the principal sum of three hundred and one pounds or thereabouts now owing to me from a certain Estate in Rivington called Hamer’s

§  which said principal sums amount altogether to the sum of four thousand eight hundred and thirty twenty five pounds

§  And I also give and bequeath unto my said wife all the interest which at the time of my decease shall be owing to me for or upon the said several and respective principal sums, amounting altogether as aforesaid to the said sum of four thousand eight hundred and thirty twenty five pounds, and also all such interest thereof as aforesaid unto my wife, her executors and administrators upon the trusts and to and for the intents and purposes hereinafter mentioned, expressed and declared of and concerning the same. That is to say, upon trust to place or continue the said several and respective principal sums amounting altogether as aforesaid to the said sum of four thousand eight hundred and thirty twenty five pounds at interest and when and as often as needs may require to call in or receive the same or any part or parts thereof and again place the same at interest and upon further trust that she, my said wife, do and shall out of the interest which she shall from time to time during her life receive therefrom, pay or retain to herself to and for her own proper use and benefit yearly and every year during her life the sum of two hundred pounds the first yearly payment or retention to be made at the end of one year from the time of my decease and do

§  and shall pay the surplus, if any, of such interest unto my son John Baron to and for his own proper use and benefit and from and immediately after the decease of my said wife,

§  then upon further trust that the executors or administrators of my said wife, do and shall pay the sum of three thousand pounds, part of the before mentioned sum of four thousand eight hundred thirty twenty five pounds, unto my said daughter Jane, to and for her own proper use and benefit

§  and the sum of one thousand eight hundred and thirty twenty five pounds residue of the said sum of four thousand eight hundred and thirty twenty five pounds unto my said son John to and for his own proper use and benefit and not to, for or upon any other use, trust, intent or purpose whatsoever

§  and the better to enable my said wife to execute the trust aforesaid I do hereby give, devise and bequeath to her and to her heirs, executors and administrators all such estates and interests both at law and in equity as I may have at the time of my decease in the whole or any part or parts of the several and respective principal sums amounting altogether as aforesaid to the said sum of four thousand eight hundred and thirty twenty five pounds are now owing to me as aforesaid and I hereby declare that the provision hereby made for my wife shall be and that the same shall be by her accepted as in lieu bar and full satisfaction of and for all dower and thirds right and totle of the Common Law of England or otherwise howsoever she, if she survive me may, can, might or could claim of, into, out of or from my real and personal estates respectively or any part thereof

§  And as for and concerning all the rest, residue and remainder of my real estates and effects whatsoever and wheresoever, and of what nature, kind or quality secure with their and every of their respective appurtenances (so charged and chargeable as hereinafter is mentioned) I give, devise and bequeath the same and every part or parcel thereof unto the before mentioned John Lord and his heirs to the uses upon the trusts and to and for the intents and purposes herein after mentioned, expressed and declared of and concerning the same that is to say to the use and behoof of such person and persons for such estate and estates, uses, ends, intents and purposes and in such parts, shares and proportions, manner and form and with under and subject to such powers, provisions, charges, limitations, restrictions and agreements with or without power of revocation as my said son John Baron by any his act or acts or deed or deeds in writing to be sealed and delivered by him in the presence of and attested by one or more credible witness or witnesses shall grant, bargain, ?ll alien role as enfooss, convey, demise, give, devise, direct, limit or appoint and in default of such appointment to the use and behoof of my said son John and his assigns for and during the term of his natural life without impeachment of or for any manner of waste and from and immediately after the determination of that estate by forfeiture or otherwise during the lifetime of my said son, then to the use and behoof of the said John Lord and his heirs during the natural life of my said son John but in trust for my said son during his life and to prevent dowore ??

§  And from and immediately after the decease of my said son then to the use and behoof of the heirs and assignees of my said son John forever and not to for or upon any other use trust intent or purpose whatsoever

§  And as for and concerning all the rest residue and remainder of my personal estate and effects whatsoever and wheresoever and of what nature, kind or quality socoor not herein before by me otherwise disposed of I give and bequeath the same (so charged and chargeable as herein after is mentioned) unto my said son John, his executors administrators and assignees to and for his and their own proper use and benefit forever.

§  But I hereby charge and make chargeable the real and personal estators and effects herein before given to or in trust for my said son John with the payment of all my just debts, my funeral expenses and the charges of proving this my will

§  And I hereby revoke all former and other wills and testamentary papers by me at any time or times heretofore made and of this which I publish as and declare to be my only true last will and testament do constitute and appoint my wife, so far as concerns the personal property hereby given to my wife whether to her own use or upon any trust and also so far as concerns the property hereby given to my said daughter, to be the executrix and so far as concerns the residue of my personal property and any outstanding term or terms for years which I may stand professed of or interested in at the time of my decease in trust for any person or persons I do hereby constitute and appoint my said son to be executor of this my will. In witness whereof I, the said James Baron, the testator have to each of the first six sheets of this my will contained in seven sheets of paper set my hand and to the seventh (being the last) sheet thereof my hand and seal the day and your first before written.

§  Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said testator, James Baron, as and for his last will and testament in the presence of us, who at his request and in his presence, and in the presence of each other have hereto subscribed our names as witnesses. The words “before the making of this my will” having been first interhand in the third sheet.

§  Jane Newsham; Ann Newsham, Samuel Newsham

·        The eighteenth day of January 1831 – John Baron and Ellen Baron, the Executor and Executrix in this will named were sworn in common form and they further made oath that the personal estate and effects of the testator within the Diocese of Chester was under the value of eight thousand pounds.  Before me: J. Bromitors The testator died the third day of January 1831

·        Probate issued Dated: 18 January 1831

The last page of the 1830 Will and 1831 probate for James Baron, Wigan

  The information that this Will provides for us as we move to the next step in researching the life and times of James Baron is simply amazing. We now have the names of his sisters and the names of two of their husbands. We know that these sisters had children. He confirms that he had a wife called Ellen and that he had two children called Jane and John. We have a positive link with Standish to confirm his place of burial as well as an inkling that he died on January 3, 1831 with a considerable estate of eight thousand pounds. This very roughly means his estate was worth around $NZ13,000,000.00 in current financial terms!! He not only cared for his wife and daughter upon his death but with this kind of accumulated wealth was able to ensure that his living sisters and their offspring had houses to live in during their lifetimes. 

   The next task is to piece together this family by locating a family around Standish with these siblings and, thereby, get back another generation to discover their parents. It is staggering to realise that from Malcolm, Hamish and Samuel it is possible to trace back 7 generations just by locating a few relevant documents and using them as a base for finding proof of the links between the generations!

   Watch out for more detail as I continue to unravel the past to bring meaning to the here and now!

A Tribute to Francis Arthur Baron aka Great Uncle Frank

Papers Past is a brilliant resource for all those interested in history in general, or in family history, for the life and times of one's ancestors are often very well documented in real time in contemporary newspapers. A number of years ago I found an image of one Francis Arthur Baron in the pages of the Dunedin based publication called the "Otago Witness". This newspaper has 3056 issues online from 11 January 1851 - 24 November 1909. According to Papers Past the Witness began in Dunedin in January 1851 as a four page, fortnightly newspaper. It became a weekly in August that year. At this time illustrated weekly newspapers were a popular and important form of publication in New Zealand and the paper continued to be published until 1932. I sincerely appreciate that this was the nature of the way some newspapers operated back then,  as it became the source of a significant find some years back when I located a grainy and rather indistinct image of one of Henry William's sons, Francis Arthur Baron. Francis Arthur Baron is recorded as having been born on 3 May 1877 in North East Valley in Dunedin. His birth entry, which I accessed in March 1993, reveals that his parents were Henry William Baron and Ellen McQuillan and that it was his Dad who registered his birth on 13 June 1877. There is nothing more to be found, as yet, about this, the eighth child and third son, in the family until he appears in the local paper the "Otago Daily Times" of 2 January 1900 as having made a donation to the Patriotic Fund of one pound. A couple of weeks later, on January 19, he is recorded as heading off from Dunedin for the south on a through train.                         The next thing that the local newspapers reveal about Francis, whom everyone called Frank, is his death in South Africa during the Boer War and it is the obituary image of him that I decided to pursue to see if I could locate a better one than the one digitised on Papers Past. I wrote to the Otago Daily Times, who hold the archive material of the Witness requesting a better copy of the image that appeared in the Otago Witness, just two years after he was on that train for the south, on January 22, 1902. The resulting digital image is a very much crisper and clearer image and I am indebted to the staff of the Otago Daily Times who worked so hard to provide this for me. Francis had succumbed to enteric fever in Kroonstadt on December 16, 1901. Even though he had enlisted out of Dunedin, New Zealand for the Boer War, he was not a member of the local contingents established here in New Zealand. Rather, he travelled up to South Africa and joined the South African Light Horse as a Sergeant. He lies in the Kroonstadt Garden of Remembrance in the Orange Free State, far from his family and friends in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is of passing interest that his name is spelled incorrectly on the metal monument at this cemetery and the date of his death is recorded as 17 December when all other records indicate that he died on 16 December 1901.

            

His name and sacrifice is also commemorated in at least three places around New Zealand. One is at the War Memorial Museum in Auckland where his name is carved in the granite slabs in the special Boer War Memorial there:

    

Another is in Timaru where his name is on the Boer War Memorial there:                                                 And the third place where he is confirmed as being immortalised is at the Ranfurly Veterans' Home in Three King's, Auckland. 

 
          

One can only imagine the sense of loss that Henry William and Ellen must have experienced upon the death of their precious son so far from his home and a peek at the official record for Frank on his military record on Archway indicates that Henry William spent many years trying to locate the War medals and clasps that were due to Frank for his war service. It took at least two years for these to be forwarded to the family after their initial request. 

        

My research indicates that the image below is what they were seeking as their final tribute to a son lost in what we now refer to as the South African War 1899-1902. The New Zealand History Online website defines this war thus:"The South African War (or Second Anglo-Boer War) was the first overseas conflict to involve New Zealand troops. Fought between the British Empire and the Boer South African Republic (Transvaal) and its Orange Free State ally, it was the culmination of longstanding tensions in southern Africa." 

                       

The image of Francis Arthur Baron, now in the hands of his family 100 years after his untimely death, is uncanny for the resemblance he bears to living descendants. When I asked Trevor last night who he thought the photograph looked like, he agreed with me immediately!  I wonder if others in the family can see the likeness also?