THE MUDDLE FAMILIES

THE LINEAGE & HISTORY OF THE MUDDLE FAMILIES OF THE WORLD

INCLUDING VARIANTS MUDDEL, MUDDELL, MUDLE & MODDLE

 

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THE KENT MUDDLE FAMILIES

THE HARRIETSHAM MUDDLES

 

Introduction

Andrew & Isabella Muddle’s Family

Richard & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

John & Rebecca Muddle’s Family

Arthur & Bridget Muddle’s Family

William & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

Edward & Ann/Alice Muddle’s Family

James & Ann Muddle’s Family

Nicholas & Susannah Muddle’s Family

Stephen & Eliz:/Eleanor Muddle’s Family

James & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

William & Christian Muddle’s Family

James & Susannah Muddle’s Family

William & Ann/Sarah/Jane Muddle’s Family

John & Mary Jane Muddle’s Family

Arthur & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

Edward & Mary Muddle’s Family

Index of Family Members

Charts

 

 

Edward & Ann/Alice Muddle's Family

 

Chart of Edward & Ann/Alice Muddle's Family

 

Edward Muddle married Ann Stevens at the Church of St Alphege in Canterbury, Kent on 16 July 1732 by licence. They first lived in Ramsgate (parish of St Lawrence on the Isle of Thanet) in Kent where they had one child in 1733. They then moved to Broadstairs (parish of St Peter the Apostle on the Isle of Thanet) because the Poll Book for the election held at Maidstone on 15 & 16 May 1734 for two Members of Parliament to represent Kent, records that one of the voters was Edward Muddle who lived at St Peter's Thanet and held freehold property at St Peter's Thanet. Edward and Ann's second child was born in 1735 while they were living at St Peter's Thanet.

By 1735 Edward must have had his own shipbuilding business, because he was described as being a ship carpenter of St Peter's in Thanet in an indenture dated 13 March 1735 when he was paid £5 to take John Nash as an apprentice for a term of 7 years from 29 September 1734, and out of this Edward paid 2s 6d in stamp duty on 24 April 1735.[1] Three years after the birth of their second child Ann died at the age of 35, and she was buried in Churchyard of St Lawrence in Ramsgate on 26 June 1738.

The following year Edward married Alice Austen at the Church of All Saints in Loose, Kent on 27 December 1739 by licence. The licence issued at Canterbury on 24 December 1739 described Edward as being a widower of St Peter’s in Thanet, and Alice as a maiden of Loose. Alice was the daughter of Henry and Mary Austen, she had been born at Loose on 31 December 1710 and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Loose on 7 January 1711. Edward and Alice lived at Broadstairs where they had six children born between 1740 and 1751, and where it is assumed Edward continued to operate his shipwright's business.

The Poll Book for the election held at Maidstone on 1 & 2 May 1754 for two Members of Parliament to represent Kent, records that one of the voters was Edward Muddle who held freehold property, consisting of a house, at St Peters, Thanet (Broadstairs) that was occupied by a family called Coward. In an indenture dated 29 March 1756 Edward Muddle, shipwright of St Peter's, was paid £1 10s to take Thomas Taylor as an apprentice for a term of 7 years from the date of the indenture, and out of this Edward paid 1s 6d in stamp duty on 9 June 1756.[2]

It was probably in 1756 that Edward moved his family and his shipwright's business from Broadstairs to Gillingham, because on 4 August 1756 Edward Muddle, shipwright of St Peters (Broadstairs) on the Isle of Thanet, purchased a shipyard at Gillingham called Plumpstead (or Plumstead) for £220.[3] The following month a notice was printed in the Kentish Post of the 8-11 September 1756:

To be LETT, and Enter'd upon at Michaelmas next,

THE Dwelling House and Wharf, with a large Warehouse, and two Hop-Kilns; with or without two large Brick-Kilns, and Lodges for making Bricks; Two Acres of Hops, and about nine Acres of Pasture Land. At Otterham in the Parish of Upchurch, now in the Occupation of Thomas Ady, Hoyman. For further Particulars inquire at the said Place.- Also two Hoys to be sold, one about sixty Tons, and the other about 28 Tons. To inquire of Mr. Ed. Muddel, Shipwright, at Gillingham.

From this it is not explicitly stated but seems likely that Edward was not only the maker of the two hoys but the owner of the property at Otterham (now Otterham Quay a mile west of the village of Upchurch at the head of Otterham Creek) as the Muddle family are known to have been involved in brickmaking and to have been owners as well as makers of Thames barges, which were hoys; a hoy being a sloop-rigged flat bottomed boat for carrying heavy loads in coastal and inland waters. If he did own this property he probably later sold it as it was not mentioned in his will.

Two years later when Edward made his will on 7 October 1758 he described himself as Edward Muddle the elder, shipwright of Gillingham. Then by an indenture dated 30 July 1759 Edward Muddle of Gillingham was paid £5 to take William Emerson as an apprentice for a term of 7 years from the date of the indenture, and out of this Edward paid 5s in stamp duty on 18 December 1759.[4] Was this possibly the William Emmerson who was to marry Edward's daughter Mary in 1771?

Edward died at Gillingham, at the age of 59, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 24 May 1761. Edward’s will, which described him as a shipwright of Gillingham, was dated the 7 October 1758, with a codicil dated the 13 May 1761, and was proved by Shoreham Deanery on 2 July 1761. The will made the following bequests: to wife Alice for her natural life and then to son Edward and daughters Alice, Ann, Mary and Jane to share equally as tenants in common, the premises at Sharpes Green in Gillingham, this is thought to have probably been the family home as the children named were those still unmarried at the time the will was made; to son Edward and his heirs, the shipwright’s yard with shop, warehouses, storehouses, other buildings and adjoining meadow land at Gads Hill in Gillingham; to wife Alice for her natural life and then to be equally divided as tenants in common between all seven children, all the other premises at Gads Hill and the two premises at Broadstairs; all Edward’s personal estate was to be equally divided between his wife and seven children. The will named sons Richard and Edward as joint executors.[5]

Alice died only four months after Edward, at the age of 50, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 17 September 1761.

 

Their children were:

Elizabeth 1733-?  Richard 1735-1779  Alice 1740-?  Edward 1742-1821

Anne 1744-?  Mary 1746-1746  Mary 1748-?  Jane 1751-1770

 

 

 

Edward and Ann’s eldest child was Elizabeth Muddle who was born at Ramsgate on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Lawrence in Ramsgate on 25 November 1733.

When her maternal grandmother, Sarah Stevens, died in 1745 her will bequeathed to Elizabeth, until she reached the age of 21 or married, the income from a £100 part of a mortgage originally given by Sarah's husband to William Jenkins on property at Ramsgate. Then when Elizabeth reached the age of 21 or married she was to receive the £100. The income and the £100 was to be paid to her by the will's executrix, Sarah's daughter Elizabeth Stevens.[6] By 1751 it seems that the income payments were not being made and Elizabeth's father was making demands on Elizabeth Stevens for payment. Elizabeth Stevens had not been making the payments because she had not been receiving rent from the current tenants of the property and as a result she had instructed a solicitor to see if she could obtain possession of the property. This information comes from a document in which Elizabeth Steven's solicitor sets out the facts as he sees them so that he can get the opinion of another lawyer.[7] It's not known what the outcome was; presumably Elizabeth finally got her money.

When she was 21 years old Elizabeth married 24-year-old Jeremiah Moverly at the Church of St Lawrence in Ramsgate on 17 July 1755 by licence. The licence issued at Canterbury on 9 July 1755 described Jeremiah as mariner and bachelor aged 24 of St Lawrence, and Elizabeth as a spinster aged 21 of St Lawrence. Jeremiah was the son of William and Elizabeth Moverly, and he had been baptised at the Ebenezer Independent Chapel in Ramsgate on 11 April 1731. He was also the brother of the Sarah Moverly who was to marry Elizabeth’s brother Richard. Jeremiah and Elizabeth had two children, born at Ramsgate in 1756 and 1758. When her father and stepmother died in 1761 Elizabeth inherited a seventh share of her father’s two premises at Broadstairs; a seventh share of her father’s premises at Gads Hill in Gillingham except for his shipyard; and also an eighth share of her father’s personal estate.

 

 

Jeremiah and Elizabeth’s eldest child was Jeremiah Moverly who was born at Ramsgate on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Lawrence in Ramsgate on 14 May 1756 .

 

Jeremiah and Elizabeth’s second child was William Moverly who was born at Ramsgate on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Lawrence in Ramsgate on 6 January 1758.

 

 

Edward and Ann’s second child was Richard Muddle who was born at Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 1 June 1735.

When his maternal grandmother, Sarah Stevens, died in 1745 her will bequeathed a half share of her real estate to Richard. This real estate probably consisted of the house Sarah lived in at Ramsgate as this had been left to her in 1730 by her late husband. The other half of the real estate was to go to Sarah's daughter Elizabeth Stevens (Richard's aunt) who was also executrix of the will.[8]

When he was 21 years old Richard married 19-year-old Sarah Moverly at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 13 July 1756 by licence. Sarah was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Moverly, and she had been born on 5 May 1737 and baptised at the Ebenezer Independent Chapel in Ramsgate on the Isle of Thanet on 15 May 1737 . She was also the sister of the Jeremiah Moverly who had married Richard’s sister Elizabeth. Richard and Sarah first lived at Ramsgate where they had one child in 1758. Then in about 1759 they moved to Gillingham, Kent, about three years after Richard's father, stepmother, and their children, had moved there.

Richard was a master shipwright, when, by an indenture dated 2 February 1759, he and Sarah were paid £6 to take William Cook as an apprentice for a term of 7 years from the date of the indenture, and out of this they paid 6s in stamp duty on 27 May 1761.[9]

When his father and stepmother died in 1761 Richard inherited a seventh share of his father’s two premises at Broadstairs; a seventh share of his father’s premises at Gads Hill in Gillingham except for his shipyard; and also an eighth share of his father’s personal estate. Richard was also joint executor with his brother Edward of his father’s will.

Richard and Sarah had four children born at Gillingham between 1760 and 1764, two of whom died when only a few months old. Then in about 1765 they moved to Dover, Kent where they had two more children in 1766 and 1768, the first of whom died when only about seven months old. Then in 1771 Sarah died at Dover, at the age of 34, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St James the Apostle in Dover on 2 June 1771. Eight years later Richard died at Dover, at the age of 44, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St James the Apostle in Dover on 4 October 1779.

 

 

Richard and Sarah’s eldest child was Ann Muddle who was born at Ramsgate on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Lawrence in Ramsgate on 5 February 1758. In about 1759, when she was about one-year-old, Ann moved with her parents to Gillingham in Kent. Then in about 1765, when she was about 7 years old, Ann moved with her parents to Dover in Kent, where her mother died in 1771 and her father in 1779; leaving her an orphan at the age of 21.

It's thought that by 1779 Ann had probably moved the 7 miles from Dover to Deal in Kent, possibly to work, and that this was where she met her future husband, a Private in a Troop of the 4th Regiment of Dragoons, who were recorded as being at Deal on 28 August 1779. This troop were then recorded as being at Canterbury in Kent on 10 March 1780, and 9 days later, on 19 March 1780, Ann, at the age of 22, married Thomas Adams at St Peter's Church in Canterbury by licence. The licence had been issued the day before, on 18 March 1780, by the Archdeaconry of Canterbury and described them both as living in St Peter's Parish, Canterbury, with Thomas being a bachelor and Private in the 4th Dragoon, and Ann being a spinster.

Thomas Adams had enlisted in the 4th Regiment of Dragoons on 24 August 1778, and as he joined a troop of the regiment that was recorded as being at West Stowe Camp in Suffolk on 10 August 1778 it seems likely that he came from this part of the country. The troop muster for the second half of 1778 records Thomas as being at the riding school and then the muster for the first half of 1779 records him as being on duty and the troop was at Aylsham in Norfolk on 6 March 1779. They had move on to Deal in Kent by 28 August 1779 and then Canterbury by 10 March 1780. After Thomas had married Ann the troop leaves Kent and on 22 August 1782 they were at Exeter in Devon, and then on 24 February 1783 they were at Worcester in Worcestershire. Thomas was discharged from the regiment on 31 May 1783, at the same time as four other men, having served 4 years and 9 months. He would have been discharged at Worcester as the troop was still there on 29 July 1783.[10]

 

Richard and Sarah’s second child was Richard Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 19 October 1760. Then in about 1765, when he was about 5 years old, Richard moved with his parents to Dover in Kent, where his mother died in 1771 and his father in 1779; leaving him an orphan at the age of 19.

 

Richard and Sarah’s third child was Sarah Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 30 November 1761. Sarah died when only a few weeks old, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 10 January 1762.

 

Richard and Sarah’s fourth child was William Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 2 March 1763. William died when only a few weeks old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 8 May 1763.

 

Richard and Sarah’s fifth child was Sarah Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 6 May 1764. Then in about 1765, when she was about one-year-old, Sarah moved with her parents to Dover in Kent, where her mother died in 1771 and her father in 1779; leaving her an orphan at the age of 15. She possibly then went to live with relatives at Gillingham.

When she was 23 years old Sarah married 25-year-old John Dunstall at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 5 November 1787. John was the son of Stephen and Sarah Dunstall, and he had been baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 31 January 1762.

 

Richard and Sarah’s sixth child was Edward Muddle who was born at Dover in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St James the Apostle in Dover on 24 August 1766. Edward died at Dover when only about two months old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St James the Apostle in Dover on 30 October 1766.

 

Richard and Sarah’s seventh child was Elizabeth Muddle who was born at Dover in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St James the Apostle in Dover on 6 November 1768. Elizabeth’s parents died at Dover, her mother in 1771 and her father in 1779; leaving her an orphan at the age of 11. It’s thought that Elizabeth probably then moved to Deal in Kent to live with her eldest sister, Ann.

When she was 18 years old Elizabeth married William Wilkins, who was about 22, at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 26 April 1787. They lived at Deal where they are thought to have had ten children born between 1789 and 1809. It’s difficult to be sure about their children because there was another couple also called William and Elizabeth Wilkins having children at Deal at this time. This couple had married in 1784 and there were a total of 17 children baptised at Deal between 1785 and 1809 as the children of William and Elizabeth Wilkins, none of whom died in childhood. Using the naming conventions normally used at this time and a few other clues these 17 children have been split into two families, but the ten listed below for this family have to be taken as just the most likely ones for this family.

In the census of 6 June 1841 William and Elizabeth were living in North Street, Deal and William was a mariner. They had two of their unmarried children, Susanna and James, who were now adults, living with them, and also 19-year-old Mary Adams, who was their granddaughter, the daughter of their daughter Sarah, who had married Leonard Adams. Two years later they were living at Beach Street in Deal when William died at the age of 78, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Leonard in Deal on 26 September 1843. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Elizabeth was a pauper living with her daughter, son and niece, Susanna and James Wilkins, and Mary Adams, at 2 North Street in Deal. The following year Elizabeth was still living in North Street when she died at the age of 83, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Leonard in Deal on 12 July 1852.

 

 

William and Elizabeth’s eldest child was  William Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 25 March 1789.

 

William and Elizabeth’s second child was Richard Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 13 August 1790.

 

William and Elizabeth’s third child was Elizabeth Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 18 April 1792.

 

William and Elizabeth’s fourth child was Harriett Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 25 August 1793.

 

William and Elizabeth’s fifth child was Sarah Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 9 June 1797.

 

William and Elizabeth’s sixth child was Robert George Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 23 February 1800.

 

William and Elizabeth’s seventh child was Susanna Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 28 May 1802. In the census of 6 June 1841 Susanna, at the age of 39, was working as a stay maker and living with her parents in North Street, Deal. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Susanna, still a spinster at the age of 48, was working as a corset maker and the head of the household at 2 North Street in Deal. Living with Susanna were her widowed mother, her bachelor brother James, and her 28-year-old niece Mary Adams, who was also a corset maker.

 

William and Elizabeth’s eighth child was Edward Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 2 September 1804.

 

William and Elizabeth’s ninth child was James Chapman Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 26 March 1807. In the census of 6 June 1841 James, at the age of 34, was working as a mariner and living with his parents in North Street, Deal. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 James, still a bachelor at the age of 44, was continuing to work as a mariner and living at 2 North Street in Deal with his spinster sister Susanna, his widowed mother, and his 28-year-old niece Mary Adams. This census recorded that James was deaf.

 

William and Elizabeth’s tenth child was Mary Ann Wilkins who was born at Deal in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Leonard in Deal on 17 February 1809.

 

 

Edward and Alice’s eldest child (Edward’s third) was Alice Muddle who was born at Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 19 November 1740. When her parents died in 1761 Alice inherited a fifth share of her father's premises at Sharpes Green in Gillingham; a seventh share of her father's two premises at Broadstairs; a seventh share of her father's premises at Gads Hill in Gillingham except for his shipyard; and also an eighth share of her father's personal estate.

When she was 23 years old Alice married Jope Chenoweth, who was about 23 years old, at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 3 August 1764. They lived at Chatham where they had nine children born between 1765 and 1779, three of whom, two being twins, died soon after birth in 1768 and 1769, before being baptised.

There is no definite proof of where Jope came from, there were no Chenoweths in the Chatham area, or even anywhere in Kent, before Jope. The Chenoweth name is concentrated in the South-West of England around the Plymouth area, and DNA testing of a descendent of Jope has given a close match to other Chenoweths whose ancestors are known to have come from the Plymouth area. Also the unusual Christian name of Jope is a surname commonly found around the Plymouth area. So was Jope possibly illegitimate with a Chenoweth father and a Jope mother, and being a charge on a parish in the area of Plymouth Naval Dockyard they had him apprenticed at the Chatham Naval Dockyard to remove him as a charge on their parish and well away from their area?

Jope was described as being a shipwright of Chatham when he was a bondsman for the marriage licence of his sister-in-law Mary Muddle in 1771. Jope had entered employment at Chatham Naval Dockyard on 22 June 1756 as the apprentice (called servants at the dockyard) of quarterman shipwright William Hall, and his pay was initially 14d per day which was paid to his master William Hall. During the 2nd quarter of 1757 his pay was 15d per day that during the 4th quarter of 1757 had risen to 16d per day. In 1761 Jope was on 20d per day that during the 1st and 2nd quarters of 1763 had risen to 24d per day and this was still paid to his master William Hall. Jope completed his 7-year apprenticeship on 21 June 1763, and from 22 June 1763 he was employed at Chatham Naval Dockyard as a fully qualified shipwright for which his pay was 25d per day, the normal rate for a shipwright, and this was now paid directly to him. He also received a lodging allowance of 2½d per week. During the 4th quarter of 1768 Jope worked 76 days, 1 night and 1 tide for which he was paid £8 1s with lodging of 2s 7d.[11] It's not known how long the standard working day was, but it was probably 10 hours, a night was a period of 5 hours overtime for which a day's pay was received, and a tide was a period of 1½ hours overtime for which a shipwright received 7½d.[12] When a description book of all employees at the dockyard was produced at the start of 1779 Jope had served 15½ years as a shipwright, was 37 years old, and his character as a workman was recorded as good.[13] During the 1st quarter of 1779 Jope worked 76 days, 3 nights and 152 tides for which he was paid £12 19s 7d with 2s 7d lodging. Then during the 2nd quarter of 1779, still on a daily rate of 25d, Jope worked 61½ days and 121 tides for which his pay was £10 3s 9d with 2s 1d lodging. The pay book for this quarter also recorded that Jope had died and his wages had been paid to his assign Thomas Landen.[14]

The shorter number of days worked during the second quarter of 1779 seems to indicate that Jope had probably been off work due to illness for just over a month before he died on 28 July 1779, when he was 37 or 38 years old, two days before his last child was born. This left Alice a widow with six surviving children, three boys and three girls, ranging in age from newborn to 13 years. Then nearly six years later Alice, at the age of 44, married John Walsh at the Church of St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, London on 8 March 1785. When her son John made a seaman's will on 28 February 1794 while a Midshipman on HMS Aigle he left everything to his mother Alice Walsh, whom he described as being a grocer living at Brompton in Kent.

 

 

Jope and Alice’s eldest child was Alice Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 24 December 1765, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 12 January 1766. When she was 18 years old Alice married Alexander Wall at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 1 November 1784 by licence. After Alexander's death Alice, at the age of 30, married Thomas Crockford at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 10 April 1796 by licence. Alice had been living in the Parish of St Margaret in Rochester when she died on 21 December 1808, just 3 days before her 43 birthday. She was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 23 December 1808.

 

Jope and Alice’s second child was Edward Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 4 September 1767, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 27 September 1767. On 24 March 1779, when he was 11½ years old, Edward started work at Chatham Naval Dockyard as an Ocham Boy, working six days per week for which he was paid 6d per day. This was about 3 months before his father stopped working at the dockyard as a shipwright and 4 months before his father's death. Ocham Boys carried ocham (oakum), which was the unpicked fibres of old rope, and hot pitch to the caulkers, who used it to seal the joints of a wooden ship. Edward worked as an Ocham Boy for nearly 2 years, his last day being 2 February 1781.[15] Edward had progressed to being a Quarter Boy and his pay increased to 8d per day. Quarter Boys were assistants to the Quarter Men, who were in charge of the work gangs of 20 men into which shipwrights and caulkers were divided. Edward was a Quarter Boy for 13 months, starting on 3 February 1781 and finishing on 19 March 1782, at the age of 15½.[16]

On the 20 March 1782 Edward became an apprentice (called a servant in the dockyard) to caulker William Bent and his pay increased to 14d per day but it was paid to his master William Bent. Edward's pay increased steadily during his 7-year apprenticeship until at the end he was on 24d per day, though this was still paid to his master. Edward completed his apprenticeship with William Bent on 19 March 1789 when he was 20½ years old. Then the following day, 20 March 1789, Edward started work at Chatham Naval Dockyard as a fully qualified Caulker for which his pay was 25d per day, the normal rate for a caulker, and this was now paid directly to him. He also received a lodging allowance of 2½d per week.[17]

Four months after he had completed his apprenticeship and become a qualified Caulker in the dockyard with secure employment, Edward, at the age of 21, married 23-year-old Phoebe Ramadge at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 6 July 1789. Phoebe was the daughter of William and Susannah Ramadge; she had been born at Brompton in Gillingham, Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 4 May 1766. Edward and Phoebe had eleven children born at Gillingham between 1790 and 1812. Five of these children died in infancy between 1797 and 1802, three of them in 1802, which must have been a very bad year for Edward and Phoebe.

During the 1st quarter of 1793 Edward worked 77 days, 146 nights and 26 tides for which he was paid £24 0s 10d with lodging allowance of 2s 8d.[18] It's not known how long the standard working day was, but it was probably 10 hours, a night was a period of 5-hours overtime for which a day's pay was received, and a tide was a period of 1½ hours overtime for which a caulker received 7½d. The nights were almost certainly partly Sunday work, so Edward was working continuously 7 days a week and over 15 hours a day but he was making very good money. All the other caulkers were working similar amounts of time, the dockyard was working flat-out, it was wartime and England needed ships repaired and new ships built, the French revolution had happened 4 years earlier and the country was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. Edward's younger brother John, who had been working in the dockyard, had just volunteered to join the Royal Navy and was soon to become a Naval Officer serving on ships that were seeing action against the French in the Mediterranean.

During the 3rd quarter of 1801 the Caulkers were only working half the overtime they were doing in 1793 and Edward's pay for that quarter had dropped back to £13 9s 4d with lodging allowance of 2s 2d. Then in 1st quarter of 1810 Edward was a master caulker with his own apprentice, Thomas Draycon. Edward and the rest of the dockyard were back working very long hours, Waterloo and the end of the Napoleonic Wars was still 5 years into the future. During this quarter Edward worked 78 days, 123½ nights and 23½ tides for which he was paid £23 5s 6d but he now had to pay £2 0s 6d tax out of that; the war was costing a lot of money and it had to be paid for, and the government had introduced income tax at 10% for all those whose income was more than £60 per year. Then during the 2nd half of 1815 Edward was back as a Caulker without an apprentice and his pay for that half year had dropped back again to £26 0s 9d.[19]

During the 2nd half of 1820 Edward was now 'Looking after Ocham Boys' and his pay for that half year was £18 11s 0d. Then in 1829 Edward had become Superintendent of the Ocham Boys and his pay for that year was £56 14s 2d.[20]

Edward retired at the end of April 1833, when he was 65½ years old, after a career of 54 years at Chatham Naval Dockyard. His Admiralty pension of £24 per year started at the beginning of May 1833 and was paid quarterly at Chatham and continued until his death ten years later.[21]

Edward and Phoebe probably always lived in the Brompton area of Gillingham, which was near the Chatham Naval Dockyard where Edward worked. The Wright's Topography (Directory) of Rochester, Chatham etc. of 1838 listed Edward Chenoweth as living at 5 Mansion Row, Brompton. Then in the census of 6 June 1841 Edward and Phoebe were living at Mansion Row in Brompton; Edward was described as independent, he would have been living on his Admiralty pension. Living with them, probably as lodgers, was the family of Thomas Rose, who was in the army, they were from Scotland as was male servant Valentine Smith; female servant Ann Wells was a local woman. It's difficult to tell but the male servant probably worked for the Rose family and the female servant for Edward and Phoebe. Mansion Row had been built in the late 18th century for dockyard workers, so if Edward and Phoebe had started living there when they married they had probably moved into a substantially built new Georgian house.

Edward died in Medway registration district, which included Brompton, on 13 December 1843, at the age of 76. It seems that some of his pension was unpaid when he died and that Phoebe applied to the Admiralty to be paid this as the next of kin and inheritor of her husband's estate. Admiralty records show that they sent an enquiry asking for a will, but when this was not forthcoming they asked for a marriage certificate, which they must have received because they record returning it on 12 January 1844. Presumably they paid Phoebe the £4 16s 6d of pension that they recorded was due.[22]

In the census of 30 March 1851 Phoebe, at the age of 85, was living alone at Mansion Row in Brompton. Two years later Phoebe died at the age of 87, her death being registered in Dartford registration district in Kent during the 3rd quarter of 1853. So she had moved from Brompton, possibly having had to end her days living with the family of one of her children or other relatives.

 

 

 

Edward and Phoebe’s eldest child was Alice Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 15 April 1790, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 2 May 1790.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s second child was Benjamin Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 12 May 1792, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 3 June 1792. Benjamin died at Gillingham on 22 April 1797, at the age of nearly 5, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 26 April 1797.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s third child was Phoebe Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 17 November 1794, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 21 December 1794.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s fourth child was John Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 21 February 1797, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 19 March 1797. John died at Gillingham on 7 May 1802, at the age of 5, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 11 May 1802.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s fifth child was Benjamin Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 29 January 1799, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 27 February 1799. Benjamin died at Gillingham on 16 March 1799, at the age of 6 weeks, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 19 March 1799.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s sixth child was Mary Ann Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 8 February 1800, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 9 March 1800. Mary Ann died at Gillingham on 17 October 1802, at the age of 2, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 21 October 1802.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s seventh child was John Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 22 September 1802. No baptism or burial records have been found for John so it’s assumed, as his parents used the name John again for their next son, that he died unbaptised soon after birth and was, as a result, not buried in consecrated ground.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s eighth child was John Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 18 November 1803, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 21 December 1803.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s ninth child was Eliza Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 19 September 1806, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 19 October 1806.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s tenth child was Laurentia Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 18 August 1809, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 3 September 1809.

 

Edward and Phoebe’s eleventh child was Edward William Chenoweth who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 28 January 1812.

 

 

Jope and Alice’s third child was John Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 20 August 1768. John died before he could be baptised and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 5 September 1768.

 

Jope and Alice’s fourth child, one of twins, was Mary Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 13 July 1769. Mary died before she could be baptised and was buried with her twin sister in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 17 July 1769.

 

Jope and Alice’s fifth child, one of twins, was Martha Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 13 July 1769. Martha died before she could be baptised and was buried with her twin sister in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 17 July 1769.

 

Jope and Alice’s sixth child was William Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 23 April 1771, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 12 May 1771. William's father died in 1779 when William was 8 years old. Then on 28 January 1783, when he was 11½ years old, William started work at Chatham Naval Dockyard as an Ocham Boy, working six days per week for which he was paid 6d per day. Ocham Boys carried ocham (oakum), which was the unpicked fibres of old rope, and hot pitch to the caulkers, who used it to seal the joints of a wooden ship. William worked as an Ocham Boy for just over 2 years, his last day being 16 April 1785.[23] William had progressed to being a Quarter Boy and his pay increased to 8d per day. Quarter Boys were assistants to the Quarter Men, who were in charge of the work gangs of 20 men into which shipwrights and caulkers were divided. During the 1st quarter of 1786 William worked 77 days, 2 nights and 77 tides for which he was paid £2 19s 1d with lodging allowance of 2s 8d. It's not known how long the standard working day was, but it was probably 10 hours, a night was a period of 5-hours overtime for which a day's pay was received, and a tide was a period of 1½ hours overtime. William was a Quarter Boy for nearly 4 years, having started on 17 April 1785 and finishing on 2 February 1789, at the age of 17½. William's wages for the last quarter year he worked were paid to his brother Edward, who was working at the dockyard as a caulker; indicating that William was no longer working at the yard and had not progressed from Quarter Boy to apprentice in one of the dockyard trades as most boys did.[24]

When he was 23 years old William married 23-year-old Frances Quarrinton at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 24 January 1795. Frances was the daughter of Robert and Frances Quarrinton; she had been born at Gillingham and baptised the Church St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 5 May 1771. William and Frances are thought to have been childless. In the census of 6 June 1841 Frances was living alone at Brook in Chatham. William was living at Chatham when he died at the age of 72 (not 73 as given on his burial record) and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 17 December 1843. His name on the burial record and registration of death was William James Chenoweth. In the census of 30 March 1851 Frances was a pauper with the occupation of charwoman in the Medway Union Workhouse in Chatham. Frances was living at Chatham when she died at the age of 83 (not 84 as given on her burial record) and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 14 May 1854.

 

Jope and Alice’s seventh child was Elizabeth Muddle Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 1 August 1773, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 12 September 1773. Family records have Elizabeth dying on 25 December 1792, at the age of 19, but this has not been confirmed by finding a record of her burial.

 

Jope and Alice’s eighth child was John Chenoweth who was born at Chatham Naval Hospital in Kent on 3 February 1776, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 25 February 1776. John's future career in the Royal Navy as a Purser and Agent shows that he was literate and the letters he wrote show a confident hand; so he must have had a reasonably good education before starting work at the dockyard at the age of 13, this might well have been paid for from his mother's inheritance from her father Edward Muddle.

On his 13th Birthday, 3 February 1789, John started working at Chatham Naval Dockyard as an Ocham Boy, working six days a week and being paid 6d per day. Ocham Boys carried ocham (oakum), which was the unpicked fibres of old rope, and hot pitch to the caulkers, who used it to seal the joints of a wooden ship. John worked as an Ocham Boy for 2½ years, his last day being 29 August 1791.[25] John had progressed to being a Quarter Boy and his pay increased to 8d per day. Quarter Boys were assistants to the Quarter Men, who were in charge of the work gangs of 20 men into which shipwrights and caulkers were divided. John was a Quarter Boy for 9 months, starting on 30 August 1791 and finishing on 31 May 1792, at the age of 16, when it seems he left employment at the dockyard.[26]

Eight months later, just before his 17th birthday, John joined the Royal Navy on 1 February 1793 as a volunteer at Sheerness, for which he was paid a bounty of £5, and he was appointed an Able Seaman on HMS Aigle on ticket A.Y.(404). That he joined the Royal Navy as an Able Seaman rather than a Boy seems to indicate that his service at the dockyard was taken to be equivalent to being a Boy and then an Ordinary Seaman in the Royal Navy. The Aigle was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate that had been captured from the French in 1782; Aigle being French for Eagle. The Aigle was under the command of Captain Andrew Sutherland when she sailed in April or May 1793 as part of a squadron for the Mediterranean Fleet that was to be based off Toulon on the French Mediterranean coast. As an Able Seaman John was paid £1 2s 6d per month and he received an advance of two months' wages, £2 5s 0d, when he joined the ship. He was promoted to Midshipman on 23 November 1793, but demoted back to Able Seaman on 31 December 1793 before being promoted again to Midshipman on 19 January 1794.[27] He was a Midshipman on the Aigle when he made a seaman's will on 28 February 1794 in which he left everything to his mother and made his uncle Edward Muddle sole executor.[28]

John was discharged from the Aigle on 13 March 1794 when he was appointed Master's Mate on HMS St Fiorenzo on ticket P.B.(512) of Vice-Admiral Lord Hood, who was then Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Station and had directed the capture of Corsica while in command of HMS Victory. The St Fiorenzo was originally the French ship Minerve that had been scuttled or sunk by gunfire when the British captured the town of San Fiorenzo (San Fiurenzu) in the Gulf of St Florent, Corsica; the British found her on 19 February 1794 and were able to re-float her. They took her into service as the 38-gun fifth rate frigate St Fiorenzo initially under the command of Captain Charles Tyler. While on the St Fiorenzo John was promoted to Clerk on 6 May 1794 and then on 27 June 1794 he was discharged at his own request from the St Fiorenzo so that he could join HMS Diadem. The St Fiorenzo was then at Mortella Bay, Corsica and command of her was being transferred from Captain Charles Tyler to Captain George Henry Towry.[29]

John was then a supernumerary on HMS Berwick from 28 June to 7 July 1794 with several other crew members from the St Fiorenzo, including her Captain, Charles Tyler, who were being transported to the Diadem at Leghorn, Italy.[30] Diadem was a 64 gun 3rd rate ship and part of the Mediterranean fleet that sailed from Leghorn on 9 March 1795, and sighted the French fleet the following day. At daylight on the 13th Admiral Hotham sent out a signal for a general chase which ended the following day with the capture of the French ships Ca-Ira and Censeur, after which the fleets headed off in opposite directions. The musters of the Diadem record that at least one crew member had been killed in this action on 14th. On the 8 July 1795 the fleet, including Diadem, was at anchor in San Fiorenzo Bay, Corsica when they became aware that the French fleet was close by and gave chase. The French fleet was sighted on the 13th and the order for a general chase was given, the French lost one ship but the outcome of this encounter was inconclusive. On 27 December 1795 the Diadem was part of Captain Troubridge's squadron sailing off Cape Matapan, the southern tip of Greece, when they chased the French ship Badine, which resulted in the Badine anchoring close off the town; and the next day HMS Lowestoffe anchored alongside her to accept her surrender. The rest of the squadron anchored in the harbour at Milo in the Greek Cyclades Islands on the 31 December and subsequently sailed for Smyrna (now Izmir), Turkey.

John served as Clerk on Diadem under Captain Charles Tyler from 8 July 1794 to 3 April 1796, while she was a part of the Mediterranean fleet.[31] Then with several other crew members from the Diadem John was a supernumerary on HMS Zealous from 4 to 11 April 1796 while being transported to HMS Aigle. There were no musters on the Zealous during the time John was on her as many of the officers responsible for taking the musters had become sick and died.[32]

John arrived on Aigle, which was the first ship he had served on back in 1793 to 1794, on 12 April 1796 as a Clerk on ticket P.B.(221).[33] While he was serving on her, again under Captain Charles Tyler, they captured five French privateers. On 12 June 1797 they captured a French privateer off the coast of Portugal; on 30 July 1797 together with HMS Boston they captured the French privateer Hazard off Cape Finisterre; on 13 August 1797 they captured the French privateer Mouche on the Lisbon station; on 1 December 1797 they captured the French privateer Minerve on the Lisbon station; and on 4 January 1798 they captured the French privateer Requin. From this it is assumed that John and the rest of the crew of the Aigle would have received a considerable bounty payment. John was still serving as Clark on the Aigle, under Captain Charles Tyler, when she was wreaked off Cape Farina, on the north-east coast of Tunisia on 18 July 1798. All the crew were saved and they were at Tunis when the crew musters where held on 22 July and 5 August. Most of the crew including John and the Captain were then transported to Gibraltar, being at sea for the muster of 19 August and at Gibraltar for the musters of 26 August and 3 September. John, Captain Charles Tyler and all the remaining crew were discharged as members of the crew of Aigle on 3 September 1798 so that they could join HMS Espoir.[34] Captain Charles Tyler and many of the other members of the crew of Aigle arrive on the Espoir for transport to HMS Ville de Paris but John was not with them.[35]

It seems that John instead returned to England; he must have resigned from the Royal Navy and spent just over a year back at home. Because on 24 November 1799 he again joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer, being again paid a bounty of £5. He was appointed an Able Seaman on HMS Woolwich on ticket S.L.(191), and arrived on board the Woolwich on 4 December 1799 while she was docked at Woolwich, London. The Woolwich moved to Spithead and then in early March 1800 sailed for Gibraltar, arriving in late March. On 30 March 1800 John was discharged from the Woolwich at Gibraltar so that he could join HMS Champion to be transported to HMS Queen Charlotte, though it turned out that he never did join the Queen Charlotte.[36]

John joined HMS Champion as a supernumerary at Gibraltar on 31 March 1800.[37] He was on Champion all though April and then joined HMS Speedy as a supernumerary at Leghorn on 1 May 1800 for transport to HMS Minotaur.[38] He joined Minotaur as a supernumerary at Genoa on 28 May 1800. The Minotaur stayed at Genoa for about three weeks and then sailed to Leghorn where she remained for about five weeks and was then back at sea when John was discharged on 15 August 1800 to join HMS Foudroyant.[39] For some reason John was also recorded in the muster books of HMS Guillaume Tell for this period, but was not actually mustered on this ship.[40]

John, at the age of 24, was now given a promotion that was to prove very lucrative, being appointed Purser on the 16-gun sloop HMS Cameleon by the Warrant of Admiral Lord Keith, who was Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, dated 16 August 1800 and confirmed by the Admiralty on 6 January 1801.[41] Pursers were warranted by the Admiralty, they were not examined for professionally competence but they did have to provide financial sureties. Their duties were to oversee the supply and issue of victuals, slops (clothes) and other consumable ship's stores, partly as officials responsible for government stocks, and partly as officially regulated private contractors selling their own goods to the ship's crew, which could be very profitable for someone who was a good businessman. The Purser might be assisted by the Purser's Steward and a Purser's Yeoman (or storekeeper), who were ratings that in practice were selected by the Purser and usually had their pay supplemented by him.

John actually arrived on the Foudroyant as a supernumerary on the 23 August 1800 and then six days later transferred to HMS Lutine, which was then holding a large number of prisoners of war while stationed at Mahon on the island of Minorca, where he was a supernumerary until 6 September 1800.[42]

 

 

John then joined the Cameleon as her Purser on 7 September 1800 when she was under the command of Captain Frederick L Maitland, who had taken command on 25 January 1800.[43] On 31 January 1801 the Cameleon was in Aboukir Bay (Abukir Bay) on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt when Maitland had to leave the Cameleon as a result of being ordered onshore to be with the British Army that had been landed to dislodge the resident French Army. Because of his hasty departure Maitland didn't have time to arrange the sending of the ship's accounts for his time in command to his agent in London and left them in the charge of the Purser, John Chenoweth, with directions to forward them at the earliest opportunity. It seems the accounts never arrived in London and in 1803 Maitland was trying to find out what had happened to them and wrote to John Chenoweth to ask him to investigate. This resulted in John writing from the Cameleon at Malta on 3 March 1803 to Messrs Ommaney and Druce in London, who were Maitland's agents, advising them that he had made every possible enquiry about them. The accounts had been boxed up and sent to HMS Trusty that was also in Aboukir Bay in 1801, to be forwarded to Mr Hore, Purser of HMS Kent, but the Clerk of the Cameleon in the haste had forgotten to get a receipt from the Trusty. Mr Hore, Purser of the Kent, had since died but his Captain and executor, Mr Davison, remembers seeing a memo amongst his papers mentioning Captain Maitland's accounts but this can no longer be found. Maitland, now Captain of HMS Loire, then wrote to Sir Evan Nepean, secretary to the Admiralty Board, on 2 September 1803 advising him of these details and requested that their Lordships grant a dispensing order for the passing of his accounts without the missing documents. Nepean referred the matter to the Navy Board on 16 September 1803 for consideration and a report, where it seems to have languished for several years, with the Navy Board replying to William Marsden, who was now the secretary to the Admiralty Board, on 14 March 1807, saying that they had no objections except that they needed the Muster Books so that the Victualling Board could pass the Purser's accounts. It seems that these things could drag on for many years in those days and presumably John's accounts as Purser had also not been passed.[44]

While John was Purser on the Cameleon it seems that he purchased tobacco at Lernica (Larnaca, Cyprus) at 8¼ pence per pound and was ordered by Edward O'Brian, the Captain of the Cameleon, on 22 May 1801 while off Alexandria, Egypt to sell the tobacco to the crew at that price, this order being the result of a similar order to O'Brian from Admiral Lord Keith the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean. It seems likely that John then complained about this to the Commissioners of Victualling as it would remove his profit, and they found that this order was contrary to the order of the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty on 4 August 1798 that tobacco be sold to crew members at 1 shilling 7 pence per pound as this was considered a rate that suitable compensated those supplying it. This resulted in the Navy Office ordering Lord Keith on 11 August 1801 to revoke his order to O'Brian and hence John and stated that on all ships tobacco was to be sold at 1 shilling 7 pence per pound.[45] From this it seems that John could potentially make substantial profits selling his own goods to the crew. John served as Purser on the Cameleon for four years, being discharged on 25 August 1804.[46]

John then became the Purser of HMS Narcissus, which was a 32-gun 5th rate frigate, arriving on board on 26 August 1804 but was immediately lent back to the Cameleon for three days, finally arriving permanently on the Narcissus on 29 August 1804.[47] Warrants for John to be Purser on the Narcissus were not issued by the Admiralty until 9 November 1804 and then by the Navy Board on 4 March 1805. While John was Purser on the Narcissus he had Alexander Robinson as his Steward, and in May 1805 the Narcissus was at Cork, Ireland due to sail to the West Indies. In late 1805 the Narcissus was part of the naval force under Commodore Sir Home Popham that went with the army commanded by Major-General Sir David Baird to re-capture the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch. On 24 December 1805 the Narcissus drove on-shore and wreaked the French privateer Napoleon near the Cape of Good Hope. The naval force arrived at Table Bay in early January 1806 and the capture of The Cape of Good Hope was easily achieved on 10 January 1806.[48] On the 4 March 1806 the Narcissus, while part of the squadron lying off the Cape of Good Hope, captured the French 40-gun frigate Volontaire, which than became a British ship of the same name.

After the Cape of Good Hope had been captured Home Popham convinced David Baird that an attack on Buenos Aires, then the capital of one of the Spanish colonies in South America, was in order, as he had learnt that it was lightly defended and Britain was now actively at war with Spain. David Baird ordered about a thousand troops of the Scottish 71st regiment of infantry under General William Barr Beresford to go with the naval force under Home Popham to capture Buenos Aires, and the convoy departed on 14 April 1806. At a meeting between Popham and Beresford on the Narcissus on 13 June when the ships were stationed off the River Plate the final decision to attack Buenos Aires was taken. The attack happened on 25 June 1806 and by the end of the day the city had surrendered. Popham then ordered that John Chenoweth was to be Agent Victualler at Buenos Aires and that his Steward Alexander Robinson was to accompany him as his assistant. They were both discharged from the Narcissus on 7 July 1806 to take up their posts in Buenos Aires.[49]

Popham's letter of 8 July 1806 appointing John as Agent Victualler stated that he was to use his utmost endeavours to procure all articles need by the squadron at Buenos Aires at the cheapest rates possible, and as soon as the country became more settled he was to enter into contracts for the same. Also he was to procure local money for any Government Bills he would draw to pay for these articles at the best rate of exchange possible.[50] An indication of the costs of the articles John was to procure and the amount of money he would be handling can be gained from his letter of 16 July 1806 to Home Popham that stated that he had been offered a tender to supply local money against Government Bills of £5,500 (approximately equivalent to £360,000 in 2008) at the rate of 4s 11½d per local dollar, which he considered a good rate, and Popham approved it.[51]

The British occupation of Buenos Aires did not last long as Spanish and Argentinean forces attacked in early August and Beresford and his men surrendered on 12 August 1806 when their retreat from the fort to Popham and the British ships in the harbour was cut off. The captured British were imprisoned and they included John's assistant Alexander Robinson, as a letter from the Victualling Office to the Navy Board on 22 April 1808 states that he was a prisoner in South America from 12 August 1806 to 7 September 1807. It's not known for certain if John Chenoweth was also a prisoner but it seems likely that he was as the same letter states that the Victualling Office's agent in Buenos Aires, John Chenoweth, had paid Alexander his wages of £11 5s due to him as Foreman of the Victualling Stores in Buenos Aires from 9 July 1806 to 12 August 1806. Also when John becomes Purser of HMS Saldanha on 18 January 1808 the last ship he had served on was given as the Narcissus, which he had been discharged from back on 7 July 1806, so the intervening gap in his naval record would be neatly filled by him being a prisoner from 12 August 1806 to 7 September 1807.

The Register of Officers Appointed records that after leaving Narcissus John was invalided and the Succession Book of Standing Officers records that a Warrant for his successor, Samuel Harvey, to be Purser on the Narcissus was issued by the Admiralty on 20 September 1806.[52] If, as seems likely, John as well as Alexander Robinson was taken prisoner when the Spanish recaptured Buenos Aires then the record of John being invalided probably refers to his condition after he was released from being a prisoner of war. Some of John's pay due to him from his time on the Narcissus, including some compensation for his servant, was only paid on 3 September 1808; some outstanding pay for Alexander from his time on the Narcissus had been paid on 16 February 1808.[53] This again indicates that John must have been a prisoner and only received some of his outstanding pay almost a year after arriving back in England.

After the loss of Buenos Aires Home Popham exchanged numerous letters with the Spanish Commanders in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, initially these were requests that the prisoners should be treated well as the British had been treating their Spanish prisoners well, and then the requests were that the prisoners be exchanged for those Spanish held by the British. These requests seem to have resulted in a fairly negative response from the Spanish Commander and by the middle of September Popham was giving the conditions for neutral shipping to leave Spanish ports around the River Plate before the British imposed a blockade.[54] The British had been sending additional forces to the River Plate and attacked and captured Montevideo on the northern shore of the River Plate in what is now Uruguay. General Beresford with the help of a local man escaped and joined the British at Montevideo; this being part of a sort of subplot in which the locals hoped that the British would help them to gain independence from Spain.

The British then attempted to retake Buenos Aires. On 28 June 1807 eight thousand British soldiers landed near Buenos Aires and a new battle for the city began. The British fought their way into the city but suffered very heavy losses and were finally surrounded and slain almost to the last man. The war was over and the final agreement to end the war was that the British would leave Buenos Aires and Montevideo and in return all of Beresford's men still held prisoner were freed on 7 September 1807.

On his return to England after his release Alexander Robinson wrote to the Admiralty requesting his pay for the time he was a prisoner, this was referred to the Navy Board who referred it to the Victualling Office; they replied to the Navy Board in the above mentioned letter of 22 April 1808 stating that they considered that Alexander should be paid as Purse's Steward from the time he was taken prisoner until his arrival back in England, but the Navy Board then passed this back to the Admiralty in a letter of 28 August 1808 stating that they considered he should be paid as Foreman of the Victualling Stores until he was liberated, as that was the position he held at the time of his capture; the Admiralty noted on the letter that his wages were to be paid.[55] This difference of opinion between the Navy Board and the Victualling Office being an example of different departments trying to get out of being the ones having to make the payment; a later letter by Alexander shows that he was actually paid by the Victualling Office at the rate of 7s 6d per day as Foreman of the Victualling Stores, so the Victualling Office didn't get out of making that payment.

Warrants for John to be Purser on HMS Saldanha were issued by the Admiralty on 18 January 1808 and by the Navy Board on 20 January 1808.[56] The Saldanha was then under construction at Chatham Dockyard so although attached to the ship John would have been working on shore in the dockyard and probably living with some of his relatives in Chatham or Gillingham, which seems a suitable not too demanding post for him if he had been an invalid during the latter part of the previous year. He arrived at the Saldanha in Chatham Dockyards on 29 March 1808 and his pay was 15 shillings per week, which was just over £39 per year.[57] The Saldanha was launched in 1809 and then commissioned during April 1810, but John never served on her after commissioning, because by January 1810, when he was 33 years old, John had been appointed by the Lords of the Admiralty to be Agent of the Royal Naval Hospital at the Cape of Good Hope.[58]

It seems that after they had returned to England John and Alexander Robinson had intended to continue working together and that the Admiralty had agreed that Alexander should be John's steward on the Saldanha after she was commissioned. In the meantime, John had obtained Alexander a position on HMS Winchelsea and was also making payments to him, presumably to make his pay up to that of a Purser's Steward. But the Admiralty's discharge of John from the service and their appointment of him to a Civil Establishment position as Agent of the Royal Naval Hospital at the Cape of Good Hope complicated things by meaning that Alexander would also have to be discharged from the service if he was to be John's steward at the Cape of Good Hope, as they now both intended. It seems that John thought the Admiralty was agreeable to this but the Captain of Alexander's ship would not discharge him. Alexander wrote to John about this and John in his reply from Portsmouth on 12 January 1810 said that there was now little he could do as he was about to leave England, but left £4 for Alexander as his payment to him for the months of November and December, which was the balance he owed him, and recommended that if he couldn't get discharge from the service to go as Steward to Mr Wheeler whose frigate was about to be commissioned. Alexander wrote to the Admiralty on 15 January 1810 pleading his case, but two days later they decided that his discharge would not be granted.[59] This presumably ended the connection between John and Alexander.

Sir Roger Curtis, Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, issued an order on 6 January 1810 that Mr John Chenoweth be given a passage to the Cape of Good Hope on board HMS Porcupine.[60] John boarded the Porcupine on 15 January 1810 and sailed on her to Rio de Janeiro, arriving on 11 March 1810. John was discharged from the Porcupine on 26 March 1810 while she was still at Rio de Janeiro as the Porcupine was not going to be sailing on to the Cape of Good Hope but staying in Brazilian waters, so John must have continued his voyage to the Cape of Good Hope on another ship.[61] John commenced work as Agent of the Cape of Good Hope Hospital on 10 June 1810, as did the other senior members of staff, so this seems to be the date the hospital opened. The head of the hospital was James Cairns as Surgeon and John as Agent was the next most important member of staff. The accounts of the Cape of Good Hope Hospital from 1810 to 1821 show that during this period John was paid an annual salary of £350 and in addition £10 10s per year for stationary and 3s 6d per day for subsistence; in the years to 1814 he also received £30 per year for house rent. The accounts also record that in 1815 John was employing four Negro labourers at the hospital and paid them each at the rate of 3 shillings per week.[62] Some memos attached to the 1817 pay lists from the commander at Simons Town Naval Yard instruct John to discharge the Assistant Surgeon and replace the Cook by one of the Negros, showing that John was effectively the hospital's administrator.

When he was 42 years old John married his first cousin, 26-year-old Elizabeth Muddle, who was the daughter of his mother's brother Edward, in the Cape of Good Hope in 1818. Elizabeth must have sailed out to the Cape of Good Hope where John was working so that their marriage could take place there. John and Elizabeth had six children born between 1820 and 1830, five daughters and a son. Their first two children would have been born at the Cape of Good Hope, probably in early 1820 and early 1822. The last of the accounts to show John as Agent at the Cape of Good Hope Hospital are for the third quarter of 1821, after which there is a gap in the accounts until 1825.[63] An 1822 letter from the Victualling Board recommending John for pension shows that John ceased to be Agent in 1821 as part of the reduction in size of the Establishment, possibly the hospital was even closed in late 1821 for a few years. It seems that after this John and his family remained in the Cape of Good Hope for a few months with John still employed by the Admiralty and receiving his salary. On the 10 May 1822 the Victualling Board wrote to the Admiralty recommending that £50 was granted to Mr Chenoweth towards his expenses in returning to England on an East Indiaman, which was approved. Then on 21 June 1822 the Victualling Board wrote to the Admiralty recommending for superannuation Mr John Chenoweth late Agent of the Naval Hospital at the Cape, from which situation he was discharged in 1821 on a reduction of the Establishment, after a service of altogether nearly 30 years as Clerk, Purser etc. and 12 years 4 months in his last situation. John's naval pension commenced on 10 May 1822, when he was 46 years old, though the authority for it was not granted until 1 July 1822; he was entitled to half his salary of £350, which was £175 per year, paid quarterly for the rest of his life.[64]

John and Elizabeth's other four children were born at Rainham near Chatham in Kent between 1823 and 1830, and at all four of their baptisms John gave his occupation as Purser in the Royal Navy, presumably he should have added 'retired'. After her mother's death in 1831 Elizabeth inherited from her father the house adjoining the house bequeathed to her sister Laurentia at the top of Gads Hill in Gillingham. John and Elizabeth probably then lived at Gillingham for a few years as their eldest child, daughter Laurentia, died there in 1836, at the age of 16. But soon after this they moved to Canterbury; their fourth child, daughter Frances, dying there in 1838, at the age of 11. An 1838 directory listed John Chenoweth, R.N. as living at 3 Saint John's Lane, Canterbury. In 1838 & 1839 John was being paid his quarterly pension of £43 15s at the Custom House in Faversham.[65] In the census of 6 June 1841 John and Elizabeth were living in Saint John's Lane in Canterbury with their four surviving children and they had 20-year-old Mary Cage as a live-in servant. John's occupation was given as 'Navy H P', meaning he was on Half-Pay, i.e. he was not on active service, he was retired. Sometime during the next six years they moved because Bagshaw's History, Gazetteer & Directory of Kent, Vol. II for 1847 listed John Chenoweth Esq. as living in Castle Street, Canterbury.

Their second child, daughter Elizabeth, died at Gillingham in 1849, at the age of 27. During the years 1849 to 1851 John's pension was being paid at Canterbury and he now had to pay income tax of £1 5s 6d per quarter out of his pension, as income tax had been re-introduced in 1842 at 7d in the £1. In the census of 30 March 1851 John and Elizabeth were living at 35 Castle Street in Canterbury with their now three surviving children, all young adults, and they had 24-year-old Eliza Berr as a live-in general servant. John occupation was given as 'Royal Navy'. The Post Office Directory of the Six Counties for 1851 listed John Chenoweth Esq. as living at 35 Castle Street, Canterbury. Later that year John died at Canterbury on 6 July 1851, at the age of 75, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 11 July 1851, in the grave that already contained three of his daughters, and was marked by an inscribed headstone. The last payment on John's naval pension for the 2nd & 3rd quarters of 1851, of £42 9s 6d and £2 15s 4d after tax, were paid on 25 September 1851, presumably to Elizabeth who was an executrix of John's will.[66]

So it seems that John would have lived the life of a Gentleman after he retired in 1822, at the age of 46. For the next 29 years he had his naval pension and he had probably amassed a considerable sum from his activities as a Purser and Agent that he would have invested, and he also had the property that Elizabeth had inherited from the Muddle family.

In his will made on 31 October 1848 and proved in London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 26 August 1851, John left £50 to be spent on his funeral, so he was expecting to have a lavish funeral. He also left £50 to be paid to his wife immediately after his death for the immediate support of herself and their family, and £10 10s to surgeon Henry Weekes for his care and trouble as the only non family member appointed as an executor and trustee of the will. To his wife and surviving daughters John left his leasehold premises at 35 Castle Street, Canterbury and all his household goods for their use during their lives and to be finally inherited by the last survivor of them, which turned out to be his daughter Jane Donnelly Chenoweth. John also put aside up to £600 to be spent on his son John Jope Chenoweth to pay for his studies at university and to enable him to take Priest's Orders, any unused balance to be paid to him if and when he actually took Priest's Orders, but it seems he never took Priest's Orders after gaining his M.A. in 1858, becoming a teacher instead. John left all the remainder of his real and personal estate in trust, with the trustees thereof to pay his wife £50 per year for the rest of her life as long as she didn't remarry, which she didn't, and the rest of the annual income to be divided equally between his surviving daughters and son. There are clauses about what was to happen if his daughters and son had children, but none of them married and had children, so as each one died the remainder had a greater percentage of the income. His wife, two of his daughters and his son were alive when John died; his wife died in 1874, his daughter Ellen in 1888, his son in 1895 and finally his daughter Jane in 1896. There now being no surviving descendents the will specified that the remaining estate was to be divided between any surviving grandchildren of John's brothers Edward and William; but William is not thought to have had any children and so no grandchildren, and the estate was finally divide between the fourteen grandchildren of Edward living in England, North America and Australia, and each is understood to have received $2200. The executors and trustees of the will were John's wife, his surviving daughters and his friend Henry Weekes, but not his son and one gets the impression that John didn't trust his son with these duties, and the son's later life seems to confirm this.[67]

The Post Office Directory of the Six Counties for 1855 listed Mrs Chenoweth as living at 35 Castle Street, Canterbury. Then sometime during the next five years Elizabeth and her surviving children moved to London, and in the census of 7 April 1861 Elizabeth and her three surviving children, now all unmarried adults, were living at 24 Sutherland Place, Paddington, London, and they had 25-year-old Ann Cheal as a live-in general servant. Then in the census of 2 April 1871 Elizabeth and her two surviving spinster daughters were still living at 24 Sutherland Place; Elizabeth was described as being an annuitant and they had 20-year-old Sarah Bell as a live-in general servant. Elizabeth's other surviving child, son John, was lodging in Shoreditch. Elizabeth was still living at Paddington when she died there at the age of 82, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 6 January 1874.

 

 

 

John and Elizabeth's eldest child was Laurentia Alice Chenoweth who was probably born in early 1820 at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and moved with her parents to England in 1822. Laurentia died at Gillingham on 2 June 1836 at the age of 16, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 6 June 1836. An inscribed headstone marked her grave, which also contains two of her sisters and her father.

 

John and Elizabeth's second child was Elizabeth Garden Chenoweth who was probably born in early 1822 at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and moved with her parents to England later in 1822. In the census of 6 June 1841 Elizabeth, at the age of 19, was living with her parents in Saint Johns Lane, Canterbury, Kent. Elizabeth never married, she died at Gillingham in Kent on 19 August 1849, at the age of 27, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 24 August 1849. An inscribed headstone marked her grave, which also contains two of her sisters and her father.

 

John and Elizabeth's third child was Jane Donnelly Chenoweth who was born at Rainham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Margaret of Antioch in Rainham on 29 October 1823. In the census of 6 June 1841 Jane, at the age of 17, was living with her parents in Saint Johns Lane, Canterbury, Kent. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Jane, now aged 27, was living with her parents at 35 Castle Street in Canterbury. Jane's father died on 6 July 1851 and in his will he left Jane, with her sister Ellen and their mother, the use of his leasehold property at 35 Castle Street in Canterbury and all his household goods, also Jane was to have a share of the income from the rest of his real and personal estate that had been left in trust, Jane being one of the trustees.

Sometime during the late 1850s the family moved to London and in the census of 7 April 1861 Jane, at the age of 37, was living with her widowed mother, sister Ellen and brother at 24 Sutherland Place, Paddington, London. When her uncle James Muddle died in 1865 Jane inherited £10 10s from him and also one fifth of the proceeds from the sale of her aunt Laurentia Muddle's property called Pockams and Dickens Mead. In the census of 2 April 1871 Jane, at the age of 47, was still living with her widowed mother and her sister Ellen at 24 Sutherland Place, and she was described as having no occupation.

Jane's mother died in 1874 and in the census of 3 April 1881 Jane and her sister Ellen, who were both described as being of independent means, were continuing to live at 24 Sutherland Place in Paddington, and they had 24-year-old Julia Bell as their live-in general servant. In an indenture dated 9 April 1885 Jane was made one of the trustees of the marriage settlement of her aunt Elizabeth Strover Canney. Then when her cousin Anna Searle Stunt died in 1888 Jane was left the annual income from £1,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities for the rest of her life.

Jane's sister Ellen died in early 1888 while they were both living at 24 Sutherland Place and Jane was the sole executrix of her will. In the census of 5 April 1891 Jane was still living at 24 Sutherland Place; she now had her bachelor brother John living with her, and they were both described as living on their own means. They had 37-year-old widow Ellen Cray as their live-in domestic servant.

In 1893 Jane was one of the executors and trustees of the will of her cousin Elizabeth Strover Canney. Jane never married; and her brother John was still living with her when he died in December 1895. As the last surviving descendent of her father Jane would have inherited anything that was left of her father's leasehold property at 35 Castle Street in Canterbury and the household goods, though the leasehold property had probably been sold many years earlier when the family moved to London.

Two months after her brother's death Jane was still living at 24 Sutherland Place when she died on 14 February 1896, at the age of 72 (not 68 as given on her death certificate and burial record), and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 18 February 1896. Administration (with will) of Jane's estate, which valued her effects at £122 16s 1d, was granted on 22 May 1897 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to widow Caroline Eliza Ramage.

 

 

John and Elizabeth's fourth child was Frances Iden Chenoweth who was born at Rainham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Margaret of Antioch in Rainham on 21 October 1826. Frances died at Canterbury on 29 March 1838 at the age of 11, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 4 April 1838. Her grave, which also contains two of her sisters and her father, was marked by an inscribed headstone, which described her as being the fourth daughter of John and Elizabeth Chenoweth.

 

John and Elizabeth's fifth child was Ellen Muddle Chenoweth who was born at Rainham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Margaret of Antioch in Rainham on 20 April 1828. In the census of 6 June 1841 Ellen, at the age of 13, was living with her parents in Saint Johns Lane, Canterbury, Kent. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Ellen, now aged 23, was living with her parents at 35 Castle Street in Canterbury. Ellen's father died on 6 July 1851 and in his will he left Ellen, with her sister Jane and their mother, the use of his leasehold property at 35 Castle Street in Canterbury and all his household goods, also Ellen was to have a share of the income from the rest of his real and personal estate that had been left in trust, Ellen being one of the trustees.

Sometime during the late 1850s the family moved to London and in the census of 7 April 1861 Ellen, at the age of 33, was living with her widowed mother, sister Jane and brother at 24 Sutherland Place, Paddington, London. When her uncle James Muddle died in 1865 Ellen inherited £10 10s from him and also one fifth of the proceeds from the sale of her aunt Laurentia Muddle's property called Pockams and Dickens Mead. In the census of 2 April 1871 Ellen, at the age of 43, was still living with her widowed mother and sister Jane at 24 Sutherland Place, and she was described as having no occupation.

Ellen's mother died in 1874 and in the census of 3 April 1881 Ellen and her sister Jane, who were both described as being of independent means, were continuing to live at 24 Sutherland Place in Paddington. Ellen never married. In early 1888 Ellen was living at 24 Sutherland Place when she was one of the executors and trustees of the will of her cousin Anna Searle Stunt. This will left Ellen the annual income from £1,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities for the rest of her life. But only a few months later Ellen died at 24 Sutherland Place on 5 April 1888, at the age of 60, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 10 April 1888. Probate of Ellen's will, which valued her effects at £553 18s 1d, was granted on 10 July 1888 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to her sister Jane Donnelly Chenoweth.

 

John and Elizabeth's sixth child was John Jope Chenoweth who was born at Rainham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Margaret of Antioch in Rainham on 14 April 1830. In the census of 6 June 1841 John, at the age of 11, was living with his parents in Saint Johns Lane, Canterbury, Kent.

John went to Cambridge University, entering Pembroke College on 3 July 1848, at the age of 18. In the census of 30 March 1851 John, now aged 21, was living with his parents at 35 Castle Street in Canterbury. John's father died on 6 July 1851 but had put aside £600 in his will to be used to pay for John's studies at university and to enable him to take Priest's Orders, out of which his father had recorded on his will that he had already paid out £155 13s 1d by 31 July 1850. John gained his B.A. in 1852 and then his M.A. in 1858. During this time the trustees of his father's will would have supported him with further payments from the £600 and he was due to have received any unused balance of this £600 when he took Priest's Orders, but it seems that John became a teacher and didn't take Priest's Orders.

In the late 1850s John's mother and her surviving children moved from 35 Castle Street in Canterbury to London, and in the census of 7 April 1861 John, at the age of 31, was living with his widowed mother and sisters Jane and Ellen at 24 Sutherland Place, Paddington, London; he had an M.A. and was working as an assistant master. Then in the census of 2 April 1871 John was lodging with the family of carpenter James Young at 49 Bookhams Street, Hoxton Old Town, Shoreditch, London, and he was a private teacher of music with an M.A. from Cambridge.

At the Surrey Quarter Sessions held at Saint Mary, Newington, London on 19 October 1880 John Jupe Chenowith (sic) was tried and acquitted of attempting to steal from the person.[68]

In the census of 5 April 1891 John was living with his spinster sister Jane at 24 Sutherland Place, and he was described as living on his own means. John never married. He was still living at 24 Southerland Place when he died at the age of 65, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 13 December 1895.

 

 

Jope and Alice’s ninth child was Patience Chenoweth who was born at Chatham in Kent on 30 July 1779, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 1 August 1779. When she was 27 years old Patience married Charles Chidwick at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 27 August 1806. Patience was living at Gillingham when she died on 17 March 1829, at the age of 49 (not 50 as given on her burial record, which also gave her surname as Chiddick), and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 23 March 1829.

 

 

Edward and Alice’s second child (Edward’s fourth) was Edward Muddle who was born at Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 30 August 1742. When his parents died in 1761 Edward inherited all his father’s shipwright’s yard at Gads Hill in Gillingham; together with a fifth share of his father’s premises at Sharpes Green in Gillingham; a seventh share of his father’s two premises at Broadstairs; a seventh share of his father’s other premises at Gads Hill in Gillingham; and also an eighth share of his father’s personal estate. Edward was also joint executor with his brother Richard of his father’s will.

When he was 26 years old Edward married Laurentia Holmden at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 8 October 1768 by licence with parental consent, Laurentia being a minor. They lived at Gillingham where they had fourteen children born between 1769 and 1791. Eight of these children died before reaching their fifth birthday, some being only a few days old when they died.

The vestry minutes of Gillingham record that Edward Muddle of Gillingham purchased an elm tree from the poor orchard in 1776; this was probably for use in the shipbuilding business that he had inherited from his father.[69] At the Court Baron of the Royal Manor of Gillingham on 20 January 1783 it was recorded that James Stephens had sold land, tenanted by Edward Chapman, to Edward Muddle.[70]

In the two books Ships of the Royal Navy Vol.1 by J.J.Colledge and Shipbuilders of the Thames and Medway by P.Banbury it’s recorded that shipbuilder ‘Muddle’, whose shipyard at Gillingham was just outside the present entrance to Chatham Dockyard Basins, built two warships for the Royal Navy. These were HMS Deptford, Tender 12, 158 tons, 64 x 21ft, delivered in August 1781 that served the Navy for 80 years, and HMS Opossum Brig-sloop 10, ‘Cherokee’ class, 237 tons, delivered 8 July 1808 and sold to commercial interests in 1819. This last ship would have the one recorded in the 18 February 1808 edition of The Star when it reported that of the eight new brigs ordered by the government on the 14 February one was to be built by Mr Muddle of Gillingham, so it took five months from order to delivery for Edward's shipyard to build this brig. The list of dockyard minor craft or vessels held at Chatham Historical Dockyard records that Muddle also built a mooring lighter of 93 tons in 1782, and a hoy (a flat bottomed boat for carrying heavy loads, particularly on canals) named Mary of 54 tons in 1801.

Edward was listed as a shipbuilder of Gillingham in Bailey’s British Directory of 1784, and Edward was a master shipwright, when, by an indenture dated 7 September 1784, he was paid £6 to take William Cook as an apprentice for a term of 7 years from 17 May 1784, and out of this he paid 3s in stamp duty on 13 October 1784.[71] Was this William Cook possibly the son of the William Cook who had been taken on as an apprentice shipwright by Edward's brother Richard back in 1759?

An advert published in the St James's Chronicle or the British Evening Post of 15 December 1787 announced the sale by auction, by Blenkinsop & Son, at the Ship public house on Gads Hill, on the 20th December, of a new sloop, of about 50-tons burthen, launched less than four months ago, laying at Gillingham Key, for which the particulars were to be had from Mr Muddle of Gads Hill.

The 1790 Kent Poll Book recorded that Edward Muddle of Gillingham, a freeholder of a house at Gillingham that was occupied by Towner and others, voted on the 1st day of the poll held on Penenden Heath, Maidstone between 28 & 30 June 1790 for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) for Kent, and that he voted for Filmer Honywood Esq. When his nephew John Chenoweth made a seaman's will on 28 February 1794 while a Midshipman on HMS Aigle he made Edward sole executor and described him being a shipbuilder and merchant living at Gads Hill in Gillingham.The 1802 Kent Poll Book recorded that Edward Muddle of Gillingham, a freeholder of a house at Gillingham that was now occupied by John Lash, voted on the 1st day of the poll held on Penenden Heath, Maidstone between 13 & 22 July 1802 for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) for Kent, and that he again voted for Filmer Honywood Esq.

There was a major fire at Chatham on 3 March 1820 and in An Account of the Dreadful Fire at Chatham, which happened on the 3rd of March 1820: and the Proceedings of the Committee appointed to distribute the Money Raised for the Relief of the Sufferers, &c. By William Jefferys, Secretary and Treasurer it was recorded that one of the subscribers living at Gillingham was Mr Muddle senior, who subscribed six shillings; this is assumed to be Edward as he was the senior member of the Muddle family alive at that time.

Edward died at Gillingham on 7 October 1821, at the age of 79, and he was buried in the second family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 13 October 1821. Edward's death was inaccurately recorded in the 1 December 1821 edition of The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal as died at Gillingham, Mr R Muddle, aged 79. Edward’s will, dated the 16 November 1819 and proved at London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 9 July 1822, describes Edward as being a shipwright of Gillingham. The will’s executors were Edward’s three surviving sons Edward, John and James. The will made the following bequests: everything to his wife for the duration of her life, and then after her death to be distributed to his six surviving children as follows; to his sons Edward and John to share equally his shipyard with wharf and hard (a hard is a jetty that slopes into the water for taking boats in and out of the water) at Gillingham, together with the house Edward occupied (this was Plumstead House), the house behind this house, and the meadow with blacksmith’s forge and kiln between Edward’s house and the shipyard; to son James the two houses adjoining the house Edward occupied; to daughter Iden four houses at the top of Gads Hill in Gillingham; to daughter Laurentia the house occupied by his son John that adjoined the east side the four houses bequeathed to daughter Iden at the top of Gads Hill; to daughter Elizabeth the house adjoining the house bequeathed to daughter Laurentia at the top of Gads Hill; all plate, linen and household furniture was left to be disposed of as his wife wished; and any residue of his estate was to be shared equally by his three executors.[72]

Laurentia died on 2 April 1831 at the age of 83, and she was buried with her husband in the second family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 11 April 1831. This second family grave was marked by inscribed head and footstones, which have since been moved.

 

Their children were:

Iden Alice 1769-1770  Elizabeth Sissell 1771-1771  Edward 1772-1857

John 1774-1859  William 1776-1780  Iden 1777-1854  George 1779-1780

Laurentia 1782-1861  George William 1783-1784  James 1785-1865

Jesse 1786-1786  Jope 1788-1788  George 1789-1792  Elizabeth 1791-1874

 

 

 

Edward and Laurentia’s eldest child was Iden Alice Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 20 August 1769. Iden died on 28 January 1770 when only six months old, and she was buried in the first family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 31 January 1770. This first family grave was marked by inscribed head and footstones, which have since been moved.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s second child was Elizabeth Sissell Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 29 May 1771. Elizabeth died on 21 June 1771 when only seven weeks old, and she was buried in the first family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 23 June 1771.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s third child was Edward Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 29 June 1772. Edward’s father died in 1821, and Edward, together with his two brothers John and James, was an executor of his will.

The following report in The Times of 21 November 1825 of the inquest into the deaths of those on a barge owned by Mr Muddle of Gillingham either refers to Edward or his brother John:

Inquests were held on Monday, at Rochester, on the bodies of Charles Jones, Mary his wife, and George Jones, their son, a child about four years old, who were drowned on Thursday last, together with their infant daughter, about two years old, whose body has not been found. Jones was master of a barge, the Richmond, of Rochester, Mr. Muddle, of Gillingham, owner. Jesse Osborn, mariner, who was employed on board the barge at the time of the accident, states, that she sailed from Grays in the forenoon of Thursday, having on board beside himself, his master, mistress, and the two children, the vessel being laden with manure; that during the day the weather was tolerably fair, but towards evening it came on to blow hard from the northward: that between six and seven o'clock the barge run aground on a place which his master called the Nore Sand: she lay there nearly two hours; the tide flowing, she got off; she then went nearly before the wind for about half an hour, when she again ran aground on Grain Spit: where she lay for about an hour, and then swamped. On Jones finding the barge sinking, he called his wife up from the cabin, and she came on deck with her two children: he (Jones) then hauld up the boat for the purpose of getting into her: witness got in first, with the youngest child in his arms; his master handed him the other child, and he placed them in the bow of the boat. Jones at this time was standing near the after-shrouds, where the painter of the boat was made fast, when a heavy sea came over the barge, and washed him on the bow of the boat; he succeeded in regaining the barge, and witness finding the boat was sinking under him, got back into the barge, and had scarcely time to save himself, the boat going down with the children, whom he never heard nor saw afterwards. His master was then lying on the deck, a sea having knocked him down, and the wife was hanging in the shrouds. The body of Jones, after being washed to and fro on the deck for some time, was at length swept overboard; and in a few minutes afterwards the wife shared the same fate. The tide came nearly two-thirds of the way up the rigging, and witness went up to the mast-head, where he remained five or six hours till the tide fell, and afforded him an opportunity of walking ashore. Verdict - "Accidentally drowned, and deodand of ls. in each case." - Kentish Chronicle.

 

After his mother’s death in 1831 Edward inherited from his father a half share in the following; his father’s shipyard and wharf at Gillingham, together with the house his father had occupied, the house behind this house, and the meadow with blacksmith’s forge and kiln between his father’s house and the shipyard, the other half share went to his brother John. The Muddle family were well known barge builders in the 1830s.

Edward was High Constable of Gillingham in 1830-1831, and also served as a Church Warden. He was also one of the first representatives of the parish of Gillingham on the Medway Board of Guardians that had been set up as a result of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, when he was described as having fruit and shipping interests.[73] Later wills show that the Muddle family had fruit orchards at Christmas Meadow in Gillingham. The West Kent Poll Books for 1835 and 1837, which recorded the electors for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of Kent, both listed Edward Muddle of Gillingham as one of the electors, which means that to qualify to vote Edward must have owned freehold property to at least the value of 40 shillings' annual rental within the Western Division of Kent. Wright’s Topography (Directory) of Rochester, Chatham etc. of 1838 lists E Muddle coal merchant of Gads Hill, Gillingham. Edward never married. In the census of 6 June 1841 he was a coal merchant and head of the Muddle family living at Gillingham Road in Gillingham, and his two unmarried sisters, Iden and Laurentia, were living with him.

The House of Commons, Minutes of Evidence given before the Select Committee on Railway Bills (Group A) on the North Kent Lines recorded that on 10 June 1845 Edward Muddle, a coal merchant of Gillingham, gave evidence in which he stated that his coal wharf was at a place called Gillingham Creek, just below the church, and that he thought the position of the station proposed by the South Eastern Line was more convenient for his trade and trade in general at Gillingham, than that proposed by the North Kent Line. The 14 June 1845 edition of Herapath's Railway and Commercial Journal reported that Edward Muddle was one of the witnesses examined in support of the South Eastern Line as opposed to the North Kent Line that were proposed to run through north Kent and were being investigated by a Parliamentary Committee.

The West Kent Poll Book for 1847 listed Edward Muddle of Gillingham Lane as one of the electors, which means Edward must have still owned freehold property within the Western Division of Kent to qualify to vote, and Bagshaw’s Kent Directory of 1847 list Edward Muddle as a coal merchant of Gads Hill.

Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Edward, still a coal merchant and head of the Muddle family, was living at Plumstead House, Gads Hill, Gillingham, and he now had his unmarried brother James, as well as his unmarried sisters Iden and Laurentia, and his unmarried niece Anna Muddle living with him. There was also a live-in house servant Susan Pierce. The Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties for 1851 listed Edward Muddle as a coal merchant of Gads Hill, Gillingham. The West Kent Poll Book for 1852 recorded that Edward Muddle of Gillingham Lane voted in the election held on 15 & 16 July 1852 for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of the County of Kent. When Richard Tanner was appointed to join the Metropolitan Police on the 25 September 1854 one of those who recommended him was Mr E Muddle of Gillingham.[74] In the Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties for 1855 Edward was no longer listed under traders but under the gentry as Edward Muddle of Gads Hill, Gillingham.

Edward died on 17 January 1857, at the age of 84, and he was buried in the second family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 23 January 1857. Edward’s will, dated 12 February 1855 and proved at London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 17 September 1857, bequeathed the property that had been bequeathed to him by his father to his brother James Muddle and sister Laurentia Muddle for their use during their lives, and then it was to go to his niece Anna Searle Muddle. This property was specified as:[75]

All that my one full and equal undivided half part or share of and in all that Messuage or Tenement called Plumstead House with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging now in my own occupation And the Cottage adjoining thereto at the last in the tenure or occupation of James Wellar And of and in all that piece of ground commonly called the Meadow now used as garden ground and containing about one acre And of and in All that Wharf with the buildings and appurtenances thereunto belonging now in the tenure or occupation of John Adams All which said premises are situated at or near the bottom of Gads Hill in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid And also my one full and equal undivided third part or share of and in All those five several tenements or cottages with the outbuildings ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging situate in Waterside Lane in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid and now in the several tenures or occupations of [blank] West & [blank] Hogwood & [blank] Hartington & [blank] Hogwood and [blank] Masters And of and in all that two tenements or cottages with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging situate on Gads Hill and in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid now in the several tenures or occupations of Isaac Linnett and [blank] Durling (all which said several parts or shares hereinbefore mentioned and hereby divided were devised to me in and by the will of my late father Edward Muddle deceased)

 

Edward and Laurentia’s fourth child was John Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 28 August 1774. When he was 34 years old John married Jemima Josepha Strover at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 24 March 1809 by licence. The licence was issued by the Archdeaconry of Rochester on 23 March 1809 and described John as a bachelor and coalmerchant of Gillingham and Jemima as a spinster of Chatham.

They lived at Gillingham where they had seven children born between 1810 and 1819. At the baptisms of four of their children between 1813 and 1817 John was described as being a shipbuilder. They were living in a house owned by John’s father at the top of Gads Hill in Gillingham when John’s father made his will in 1819. John’s father died in 1821, and John, together with his two brothers Edward and James, was an executor of his will. Then after his mother’s death in 1831 John inherited from his father a half share in the following; his father’s shipyard and wharf at Gillingham, together with the house his father had occupied, the house behind this house, and the meadow with blacksmith’s forge and kiln between his father’s house and the shipyard, the other half share went to his brother Edward. The Muddle family were well known barge builders in the 1830s.

After the death of spinster Elizabeth Strover in 1824 John and Jemima became Lords of the Manor of West Court in the Parish of Gillingham jointly with Samuel Rogers Strover until the manor passed to the Rev. Henry John Dawes in about 1847.

John was High Constable of Gillingham in 1831-1832, the year after his brother Edward held the post. The West Kent Poll Books for 1835 and 1837, which recorded the electors for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of Kent, both listed John Muddle of West Court Farm, Gillingham as one of the electors, which means that to qualify to vote John must have owned freehold property to at least the value of 40 shillings' annual rental within the Western Division of Kent. Wright’s Topography (Directory) of Rochester, Chatham etc. of 1838 lists John Muddle Esq. of Gillingham as one of the Chatham Guardians of the Poor.

It's thought that it must be John who is the Mr Muddle referred to in the following Sale by Auction published in The Times of 28 August 1839:

SALES BY AUCTION.

Kent - The Westcourt Manor and Manor Farm, in the parish of Gillingham, about three miles from the city of Rochester.

MESSRS. NASH and SONS beg to announce that they have received instructions to offer for SALE by AUCTION, at the Crown Inn,, Rochester, on Tuesday, the 10th day of September, at 3 o'clock, in four lots, the MANOR of WESTCOURT, held of the manor of Gillingham, by a trifling quit rent and fine on death or alienation, with all the rights, privileges, and immunities thereto belonging, and a valuable Freehold Estate, land tax redeemed, called Westcourt, comprising a substantial well built farm house, with convenient agricultural buildings, good garden and orchard, and 71a. 2r. 7p. of arable, meadow, and pasture land, divided into convenient enclosures, situate in the parish of Gillingham, in the county of Kent, adjoining the high road leading from Chatham to Dover and Canterbury. The farm-house is seated on an eminence, commanding extensive views of the highly ornamental scenery, forming a picturesque portion of the counties of Kent and Essex, and might easily be converted into a gentleman's residence, for which, from its situation, it is well adapted. Also 21a. 1r. 10p. of valuable fresh marsh land, with a cottage and garden, and large cow shed, lying a short distance from the farm, and contiguous to the river Medway, bounded on the north by a creek, separating the same from marsh land belonging to Mr. Muddle, on the east by St. Mary's-creek, and south by lands of the Hon. the Board of Ordinance; together with about 55 acres of salt marshes, lying near to the preceding fresh marsh, and adjoining the same river. Printed particulars, with a lithographic plan attached, may be obtained 24 days previous to the sale at the Crown Inn, Rochester; at the principal inns at Chatham, Strood, Gravesend, Maidstone, and Sevenoaks; of Mr. Muddle, upon the premises, who will show the property; of Messrs. Teesdale, Symes, and Weston, solicitors, 31 Fenchurch-street, London; of Mr. John Batton, auctioneer, &c., Rochester; and of Messrs. Nash and Sons, land agents and surveyors, Reigate, Surrey, and 1, Raymond-buildings, Gray's-inn-square, London.

In the census of 6 June 1841 John and Jemima were living at Green Street in Gillingham (the same area as West Court Farm) with four of their unmarried adult children. John was now described as being a farmer, as were his two sons that were living at home and presumably helping their father run the family farm. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 they were living at 12 Scrayfries Terrace in New Brompton near Gillingham and still had their two youngest, but adult and unmarried, daughters living with them. John was now a brickmaker, and the family had a live-in general servant. The Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties for 1851 listed John Muddle as a farmer at Scrayfries in New Brompton and also as a brickmaker at Cuxton. The West Kent Poll Book for 1852 recorded that John Muddle of Scrayfries Terrace in New Brompton voted in the election held on 15 & 16 July 1852 for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of the County of Kent.

Jemima died on 25 February 1853 at the age of 68 (not 69 as given on her grave) and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 4 March 1853. Jemima’s will, dated 5 May 1849 and proved at London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 3 May 1855, bequeathed property that is thought to have been given to her by her cousin Samuel Rogers Strover for her sole use, as defined in indentures specified in the will, to her husband if he survived her, which he did, or otherwise it was to have been distributed amongst her children. The property was specified in the will as:[76]

All those two pieces or parcels of land called ‘Scrayfries’ and ‘Little Scrayfries’ situate in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid and bounding towards the west in part to Fox Lane and in other part to the back yards or gardens of a certain row of houses called ‘Scrayfries Terrace’ which fronts the same lane together with the barn stable and lodge standing on one of the said pieces of land being that called ‘Scrayfries’ And also the three cottages called ‘Scrayfries Cottages’ with the gardens and appurtenances thereunto belonging standing on the same piece of land towards the southwest side thereof and on the righthand side of the footpath leading from Brompton to Gillingham now or late in the several tenures or occupations of George Hemsley and others And all that messuage or tenement with the outhouses and garden and appurtenances thereunto belonging lately erected built and formed by the said John Muddle on part of the said piece of land called ‘Scrayfries’ and forming part of the said row of houses called ‘Scrayfries Terrace’ And also all the piece or parcel of land called Little Wood with the erections (if any) standing and being thereon situate in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid

In the 1855 edition of the Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties and the 1858 edition of Melville & Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Kent John was no longer listed under traders but under the gentry as John Muddle of Scrayfries Terrace, New Brompton. John died at 13 Scrayfries Terrace in New Brompton on 31 March 1859 at the age of 84, and he was buried with his wife in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 9 April 1859. Their grave, which was marked by an inscribed large stone vault that has since been moved, also contains John’s sister Laurentia Muddle. Probate of John’s will dated 12 February 1855 was granted on 11 May 1859 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to his surviving executors; his son John and daughter Elizabeth.

John’s will made the following bequests: £800 of stocks in Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities was left in trust with the income to go to his son Edward then after Edward’s death to Edward’s wife Harriet and after Harriet’s death to Edward’s son Edward John, the capital to finally go to the estate of Edward’s brother John. The shares in the property that John had inherited from his father (see the will of brother Edward, who had an identical share, for a description of the property) was to be for the use of his sister Laurentia during her life and then to be inherited by his daughter Anna. £300 of stocks in Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities was left to his daughter Anna. Of the property John had inherited from his wife the land called ‘Scrayfries’ and ‘Little Scrayfries’ and ‘Scrayfries Cottages’ were to go to his daughter Laurentia, and the house that John had built as part of ‘Scrayfries Terrace’ and the land called ‘Little Wood’ were to go to his daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth was also to receive £300 of stocks in Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities. John’s household goods and personal items were to be equally divided between his three daughters. And finally any residue, left after paying all debts and expenses, of his live and dead farming stock and his stock in trade as brickmaker where to be equally divided between his son John and his three daughters.

That John had retained his brickmaking business until his death is shown by Blower's Architect's, Surveyor's, Engineer's and Builder's Directory of 1860 listing John Muddle of New Brompton as a brickmaker. Also the West Kent Poll Book for the election held on 6 May 1859 for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of the County of Kent recorded that qualifying voter John Muddle of Scrayfries Terrace in New Brompton had died.

 

Their children were:

Edward 1810-1861  Anna Searle 1811-1888  Laurentia Sissell 1813-1875

John 1814-1884  James 1816-1816  Elizabeth Strover 1817-1893

Iden Holmden 1819-1819

 

 

 

John and Jemima’s eldest child was Edward Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 21 May 1810, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 11 June 1810. In the census of 6 June 1841 Edward, still unmarried at the age of 31, was living with his parents at Green Street in Gillingham; he was described as being a farmer, so was probably helping his father run the family farm.

In May 1846 Edward was a porter when he had an illegitimate son by Harriet Breair who he was living with at 59 Whitecross Street, St Giles, Cripplegate, London. This child died at the end of 1846 when only 8 months old. Edward, at the age of 36, then married Harriet Breair at the Church of St Leonard in Shoreditch, London, on 17 January 1847. They were both then living at Chapel Street in Shoreditch and Edward was working as a labourer. The Post Office London Directory for 1848 listed Edward Muddle as a greengrocer at 1 Leathersellers Buildings, London W1. In the census of 30 March 1851 they were living at 3 King Street, Finsbury, London, and Edward was described as being an annuitant; he was probably receiving an income from his father. They had one child, another son, after they married, who was born in late 1851 in St Luke’s registration district, which includes Finsbury. But by the time this child was baptised in November 1852 they were living at Wellington Street, Bethnal Green, London, and Edward was again a greengrocer. When Edward’s father died in 1859 he left £800 of stock in Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities in trust for Edward to receive the income. In the census of 7 April 1861 Edward, Harriet and their son were living at 8 Aberdeen Terrace in Bethnal Green, and Edward was a general labourer. Then later that year Edward was a gardener living with his wife at 8 Park Place, Grove Road, Bethnal Green, when he died there on 8 December 1861, at the age of 51, from softening of the brain, which he had suffered from for ten weeks.

After Edward’s death Harriet was to received, until her death, the income, free of the control of any future husband, from the trust that Edward’s father had set up. Just over two years after Edward’s death Harriet married widower James Smith at the Church of St John in Bethnal Green on 4 April 1864. They were both then living at 28 Totty Street in Bethnal Green and James was working as a carver. In the census of 2 April 1871 they were living at 62 Harmood Street in St Pancras with three of James’ children, and James was described as being a carpenter. Then in the census of 3 April 1881 James and Harriet and Harriet’s son where living in the home of the Este family at 186 Queens Road, Hackney, London, and James was working as a wood carver. James and Harriet were both still alive when Anna Searle Stunt made her will in May 1884. When Harriet’s son Edward married in 1895 he stated that his mother was then dead.

 

 

Edward and Harriet’s eldest child was James Muddle who was born at 59 Whitecross Street, St Giles, Cripplegate, London on 3 May 1846 before his parents married. James died when only 8 months old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Giles at Cripplegate on 1 January 1847.

 

Edward and Harriet’s second child was Edward John Muddle who was born at Bethnal Green in London on 3 November 1851, and baptised at the Church of St Matthew in St Matthew's Row, Bethnal Green on 10 November 1852. In the census of 7 April 1861 Edward, at the age of 9, was living with his parents at 8 Aberdeen Terrace in Bethnal Green. Then in the census of 2 April 1871 Edward, now aged 19, was a live-in medical student and pupil of medical practitioner Henry Weekes at 1 Manson Row, Gillingham, Kent. The 1874 edition of the Post Office Directory of Middlesex listed Edward Muddle as living at 34 Richmond Road in Dalston, Hackney. Edward was stated to be a medical student living at Walsal in Staffordshire when he was made one of the trustees of the marriage settlement of his aunt Elizabeth Strover Muddle in an indenture dated 28 May 1875. The 1878 edition of the Post Office Directory of Middlesex listed Edward Muddle as living at 186 Queens Road in Dalston, Hackney. In the census of 3 April 1881 Edward, at the age of 29, was living with his mother and stepfather, in the home of the Este family at 186 Queens Road, Hackney, London, and he was still a medical student.

The 17 June 1882 edition of The Students' Journal and Hospital Gazette reported that Edward John Muddle of Guy's Hospital was one of the gentlemen who had passed their Primary Professional Examination at The Apothecaries' Hall in London on 1 June 1882. Edward, at about the age of 30, was licensed to be a doctor by the Society of Apothecaries in London later in 1882, and then registered in England by the General Medical Council on 18 April 1883. He was listed in the Medical Register of 1887 and 1891 as being at 186 Queens Road, Dalston, London. As Dalston is in Hackney this is the same address as the one he was at in the 1881 census, and as he was in Scotland in the 1891 census it seems likely that his address in the 1891 register reflects his address in 1890, especially as neither his mother nor stepfather nor the Este family are still at 186 Queens Road in the 1891 census.

When Edward’s aunt Anna Searle Stunt died in 1888 her will left Edward the annual income from £1000 invested in stock of Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities and the use of 186 Queens Road in Hackney for the rest of his life. Also under the terms of Anna’s will as other members of Anna’s generation of the family died other incomes and property uses passed to Edward for the rest of his life. These consisted of the income from £1000 of annuities when Ellen Muddle Chenoweth died just 3 months after Anna; the income from £3000 of annuities and the use of several properties at Gillingham when Elizabeth Strover Canney died in 1893; the income from £1000 of annuities when Jane Donnelly Chenoweth died in 1896; and the use of 64 St Charles Square at Notting Hill when Arthur Canney died in 1899. See the paragraphs below after Edward’s death for a full description of these properties.

In the census of 5 April 1891 Edward, at the age of 39, was a registered general practitioner living at Garplehead, Foveran Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Living with him was 32-year-old widow Annie Shaw, who was his housekeeper, and four of Annie’s daughters. But it seems that Annie was a bit more than Edward’s housekeeper as they had two children born at The Quay, Newburgh, Foveran Parish in December 1891 and September 1893.

On 4 November 1892 Edward was before Sheriff Brown at Aberdeen Sheriff Court charged with poaching fish. This was reported in the Aberdeen Weekly Journal of 5 November 1892:

THE YTHAN FISHINGS - A DOCTOR CHARGED WITH POACHING. - Before Sheriff Brown in Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday, Edward John Muddle, residing at the Quay, Newburgh, was charged, at the instance of George Davidson, merchant, Aberdeen, lessee of the Ythan Salmon Fishings, with having, on 15th October, wilfully taken, or attempted to take, sea trout or other fish from the river at a point within one mile of the water mark above the bridge at Newburgh, where the Burn of Tarty enters that river, without having received permission from John Henry Udny of Udny, proprietor of the salmon fishings at that part of the Ythan. Mr W. S. Foggo, solicitor, prosecuted and Mr Charles Ruxton, advocate, appeared for accused, who tendered a plea of not guilty. Mr Ruxton said he was to apply for a continuation of the case. He did not know that his information was correct, but it was to the effect that the offence was said to have been committed on the north bank of the river in the parish of Foveran, while, as a matter of fact, it took place at the Burn of Tarty on the opposite side of the river, and in the parish of Slains. Mr Foggo said he was prepared to prove that the accused had fished on both sides of the river. Mr Ruxton said that the fishings on the Ythan, as his lordship might know, were held on one side by Lady Gordon Cathcart and on the other by Mr Udny of Udny. Lady Gordon Cathcart had let her fishings to Mr Gordon Gilmour of Liberton, and the respondent in the present case was a retired army doctor, who resided at Newburgh, and who had applied for permission to fish from the brothers of Mr Gilmour. He had got that permission, and he (Mr Ruxton) had letters from them saying that that permission had been granted, and he asked for an adjournment to prove this, as Mr Gilmour's brothers could not be present that day. Mr Ruxton having explained a technical difficulty in regard to the Acts under which the complaint was made, remarked that he did not think the case should again come up in view of the information he had in the letters referred to. The Sheriff adjourned the case for a fortnight, and remarked that he hoped Mr Ruxton would prove a true prophet, and that the case would not again be heard of.

It's not known what the final outcome of this case was. Also the report states that Edward was a retired army doctor, but no record of him as an army doctor has been found, possibly he was doctor in a local volunteer force.

Edward, at the age of 43, finally married 36-year-old widow Annie Gordon Shaw at Newburgh, Foveran Parish, Aberdeenshire on 8 May 1895. Annie, whose maiden name was Grant, was the widow of Alexander William Shaw, and she had been baptised as Ann Grant at the Church of St Nicholas in Aberdeen on 19 February 1857, the daughter of James and Mary Grant.

In 1893 Edward was one of the executors and trustees of the will of his aunt Elizabeth Strover Canney. After his mother’s death (Edward stated that she was dead when he married in 1895) Edward inherited the capital sum of £800 invested in stock of Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities that had been in the trust fund set up by the will of his grandfather John Muddle and had been paying interest to his parents. It was probably this capital together with the annuity incomes and property uses that he was then receiving from the trust funds set up by his aunt Anna Searle Stunt that enabled him to marry and return to London to live. Then when Arthur Canney, the husband of Edward’s late aunt Elizabeth Strover Canney, died in 1899 Edward started to also receive the income from trust funds set up by this aunt.

In the census of 31 March 1901 Edward and Annie were living at 2 Seymour Gardens, Twickenham, Middlesex, with their two children and Annie's daughter Alice; and Edward was now described as being a retired medical man. Then in the census of 2 April 1911 they were living at 64 St Charles Square in North Kensington, London with just their son still living with them and Edward was continuing to describe himself as a retired medical man. The 1910, 1914 & 1915 editions of the Post Office London Directory all listed Edward John Muddle as living at 64 St Charles Square, North Kensington. Then when their son re-enlisted in mid-1920 he gave his next of kin as his father living at 76 West Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire.

They were living at 9 Fernbank Avenue, Sudbury Hill, Harrow, Middlesex, when Annie died on 20 December 1922, at the age of 65. Annie was buried in grave 581 of Eastcote Cemetery, the burial ground of Christ Church at Roxeth, a chapel of ease in the parish of Harrow on the Hill, on 27 December 1922. Annie died intestate and administration of her estate, which was valued at £72, was granted to her husband, who was then described as being a retired medical practitioner, by London Probate Registry on 7 February 1923. Four years after Annie's death Edward was living at 34 King's Avenue, Greenford, Middlesex when he died on 4 December 1926, at the age of 75. Edward was buried with his wife in grave 581 of Eastcote Cemetery on 8 December 1925. Probate of Edward's will, which valued his effects at £523 5s 10d, was granted on 23 December 1926 by London Probate Registry to his son Edward, and daughter Laurentia.

After Edward’s death his two children were to share equally the capital and income from the trust funds set up by Edward’s aunt Elizabeth Strover Canney that Edward had been receiving income from. The capital of these trust funds consisted of: £525 originally invested in two mortgages and the following properties: the three freehold tenements called Scrayfries Cottages in Church Road (formerly Church Path) in New Brompton that Elizabeth had inherited from her sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle; the three tenements formerly called 11, 12 & 13 Scrayfries Place and now called 22, 24 & 26 Church Road in New Brompton that Elizabeth had built on land she had purchased from her sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle; and the half part of land called Christmas Meadow with the fruit trees planted on it.

Also after Edward’s death his two children were to share equally the capital and income from the trust funds set up by Edward’s aunt Anna Searle Stunt that Edward had been receiving income from. The capital of these trust funds consisted of a total of £6000 originally invested in stock of Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities, and the property as described in Anna’s will as: all that leasehold messuage or tenement and premises situate No 186 Queen’s Road Dalston in the Parish of St John at Hackney in the County of Middlesex now in the occupation of Harriett Smith hereinafter mentioned (and which premises were by Indenture dated the fourteenth day of September one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six assigned for the residue of a certain term of forty-seven years less the last ten days thereof subject to the annual rent and lessee’s covenants therein mentioned upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement). Also all that tenement or dwelling house with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging situate in Green Street Lay Field in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid which I purchased of my late aunt Elizabeth Chenoweth and all that messuage or dwelling house situate in Green Street Lay Field aforesaid and at the south east end thereof with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging and the piece of garden ground adjoining thereto on the south east respectively devised to me and my sisters Laurentia Sissell Muddle (since deceased) and the said Elizabeth Strover Canney (then Muddle) by our late aunt Laurentia Muddle and the two equal undivided third parts of my said sisters therein I purchased of them And also all those two messuages or dwelling houses erected by me on part of the said piece of garden ground and now forming part of Green Street aforesaid together with the right of way on foot only over the passage way at the west side or end of the ground belonging to the said four cottages situate between the Ship Inn and the said dwelling houses and premises in Green Street aforesaid lastly set out and as excepted and described in part of the hereditaments firstly hereinbefore appointed by this my Will subject to the payment of a proportionate part of the expense of keeping the same in repair as hereinbefore more particularly mentioned And also all that piece of land and the messuage or tenement No 2 Medway Villas (formerly known as No 7) coach house and stable standing thereon situate in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid late in the occupation of myself and husband (which last mentioned premises I purchased since my marriage of Mrs Phoebe Rickon and others and the same were conveyed by my direction upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement) And also all those two freehold tenements or dwelling houses situate in Scrayfries Place Church Road New Brompton in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging erected and built by me on ground I purchased of my late sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle and all that my one full and equal undivided moiety or half part of and in all that piece of land called Christmas Meadow now plated with fruit trees and used as orchard ground containing about five acres situate in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid and of and in the fruit trees growing thereon (which said moiety or half part was lately held for the residue of a certain term of one thousand years heretofore granted in the said piece of land but which term as to the said undivided moiety or half part in the said piece of land I have recently by deed executed by me under the “Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1881” enlarged into a fee simple and which said two tenements or dwelling houses in Scrayfries Place aforesaid and undivided moiety or half part then leasehold but now freehold) of the said piece of land called Christmas Meadow respectively comprise part of the hereditaments in the said Indenture of Settlement described and thereby conveyed and assigned upon the trusts thereof therein declared. And all that leasehold piece of ground situate at Notting Hill in the Parish of St Mary Abbotts Kensington in the County of Middlesex and the messuage or tenement called Warminster House erected thereon and fronting Atheling Road and known as No 64 St Charles Square now in the occupation of my said sister Elizabeth Strover Canney (which said premises were by Indenture dated the thirteenth day of May one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five assigned for the remainder of a term of ninety-nine years granted by the Indenture of lease therein recited (subject to the rent and lessee’s covenants therein mentioned) Upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement).

 

 

Edward and Annie’s eldest child was Edward John Muddle who was born at The Quay, Newburgh, Foveran Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at 3.00pm on 10 December 1891. Edward’s birth was originally registered at Newburgh on 12 January 1892 as Edward John Muddle Shaw illegitimate son of widow Annie Shaw without any father being recorded. Then after he was legitimised by his parents’ marriage in 1895 he was known as Edward John Muddle and this was officially recorded on page 4 of volume 2 of the Foveran Register of Corrected Entries on 30 July 1903. In the census of 31 March 1901 Edward, at the age of 9, was living with his parents at 2 Seymour Gardens, Twickenham, Middlesex.

Edward was living with his parents at 64 St Charles Square, North Kensington and working as an assistant at furniture manufacturers Waring and Gillow when he enlisted in the Territorial Force for a term of four years as Private 1240 in the 9th Battalion of the London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) on 14 November 1910 at the age of 18 years and 11 months. He was then described as being 5ft 6ins tall with a 33½ins chest that expanded to 36ins and to be of good physical development. In the census of 2 April 1911 Edward, at the age of 19, was living with his parents at 64 St Charles Square. He attended annual training camps with the 9th London Regiment in 1911 and the following two years, and was appointed a Lance Corporal on 1 March 1914. He was given a free discharged on 17 July 1914 after having been with the regiment for 3 years and 246 days of his 4 year term.[77]

Edward's discharge had been a few days before the start of the First World War, and eight months later Edward, now aged 23, was still living with his parents at 64 St Charles Square when he enlisted on 12 March 1915 as Private 4531 in the 3/14th Battalion of the London Regiment (London Scottish). Before the war the London Regiment, which was part of the Territorial Force, had consisted of 24 battalions, each with its own name, the 9th being Queen Victoria's Rifles and the 14th the London Scottish. Then for the duration of the war each of these battalions raised additional 2nd and 3rd battalions, so the 3/14th Battalion of the London Regiment was the 3rd Battalion of the London Scottish. The 3rd Battalion was the Reserve Battalion and this was where Edward was first posted on 22 March 1915. As this was war-time and the Territorial Force normally only served in the United Kingdom Edward had signed a form the day before he enlisted agreeing to serve outside the United Kingdom.

On 13 May 1915 Edward was transferred from the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion to 'B' Company of the 2nd Battalion of the London Scottish, and then appointed a Lance Corporal on 17 July 1915. He was promoted to Acting Corporal on 11 September 1915 and confirmed in the rank of Corporal on 21 January 1916. Five months later, on 21 June 1916, he departed with the 2nd Battalion for France, where the Battalion formed part of the 179th Infantry Brigade of the 60th London Division.[78] While in France Edward attended an Anti Gas Measures course at St Pol from 30 July to 3 August 1916 and also attended a Musketry Instructors course.[79]

On 22 November 1916, after five months in France, Edward departed by sea with the 2nd Battalion for Salonica. They arrived at Salonica on 29 November 1916 and were then involved in fighting the Bulgars. When the Territorial Army changed its numbering system during late 1916 to early 1917 Edward's regimental number was changed from 4531 to 511139. Edward was appointed Lance Sergeant on 29 January 1917 and then Acting Sergeant on 31 March 1917. He was confirmed in the rank of Sergeant on 28 June 1917 and then the next day he embarked with the Battalion for Palestine, arriving at Alexandria in Egypt on 3 July 1917. While in Palestine the 2nd Battalion took part in the Capture of Jerusalem in December 1917 and Edward was ill with tonsillitis for just over a month from 22 January 1918 to 2 March 1918. He served with the Battalion in Palestine for a year until they departed for France on 17 June 1918.[80]

They arrived in France on 22 June 1918 where the 2nd Battalion formed part of the 90th Brigade of the 30th Division. Then just two months later, on the night of 21/22 August 1918, the 2nd Battalion was involved in the attack on Dranoutre Ridge and for his bravery in this action Edward was awarded the Military Medal (Immediate).[81] This award was announced in The London Gazette on 24 January 1919.[82]

A month after the Dranoutre Ridge action Edward was granted 14 days leave in the United Kingdom, from 23 September to 7 October 1918. While on this leave in London he went to the Military Hospital at Rochester Row on 4 October 1918 suffering from Venereal Disease and from there was transferred to the Military Hospital at Hemel Hempstead on 7 October 1918. Four months later, on 2 February 1919, while still at the Military Hospital in Hemel Hempstead Edward was severely reprimanded for overstaying his pass by 5½ hours. Then on 13 February 1919 he was discharged from the hospital, as cured and fit for duty, to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the London Scottish from where on 2 March 1919 he was granted 28 days leave. At the end of this leave, on 31 March 1919, he was taken off active service and put on the reserve for a year, until 31 March 1920. For his service during the war Edward received two campaign medals, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.[83]

 

 

Two months after coming off the reserve Edward was a 28-year-old furniture salesman living at 81 St Quintins Avenue, North Kensington when on 17 May 1920 he enlisted for three years as Private 6664666 in the 14th London Regiment (London Scottish), which was again, after the war, a single Territorial Force battalion. Edward was then described as being 5ft 7½ins tall and weighing 138lbs, with a 36½ins chest that expanded to 39½ins, a fresh complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. He was at training camp in 1921 and was discharged on 16 May 1923 having completed the three years he had enlisted for.[84]

In 1926 Edward was described as being a furniture salesman when he was one of the executors of his father’s will, and on the death of his father Edward inherited a half share of the capital and property in the trust funds set up by both Anna Searle Stunt and Elizabeth Strover Canney that had been paying income to his father. When he was 42 years old Edward married 39-year-old widow Edith Alice Heath, whose maiden name was Bruce, at Emmanuel Church in Margate, Kent, on 10 January 1933. They were both then living at 19 The Parade in Margate, Edward was a house furnishing company’s policeman and Edith was a restaurant proprietor. They didn’t have any children. It’s not known what happened to their marriage, no death or re-marriage has been found for Edith, and when Edward re-married he stated that he was a bachelor.

Edward’s second marriage, when he was 57 years old, was to 56-year-old widow Agnes Barbara Thornley, whose maiden name was Streater, at Kensington Register Office in London on 21 May 1949. Edward was then a clerk at the Inland Revenue living at 7 Peel Street, London W8, and Agnes was living at 59 Lancaster Road, London W11. Agnes was the daughter of baker John Charles Streater and his wife Elizabeth, and she had been born at Kensington in London on 6 January 1893. Edward and Agnes didn’t have any children, Agnes being too old.

Edward died at the age of 65 (not 64 as given on his death certificate), his death being registered in Paddington registration district in London during the 1st quarter of 1957. Twenty-four years later Agnes was living with her daughter Joyce Marjorie Dent at 35 Wentworth Avenue, Bournemouth, Dorset, when she died there on 9 April 1981, at the age of 88, from heart failure. Agnes’ death certificate states that she was the widow of Edward Muddle a clerk in the Post Office.

 

Edward and Annie’s second child was Laurentia Sissell Muddle who was born at The Quay, Newburgh, Foveran Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland at 6.45am on 30 September 1893. Laurentia’s birth was originally registered at Newburgh on 20 October 1893 as Hilda Shaw illegitimate daughter of widow Annie Shaw without any father being recorded. After she was legitimised by her parents’ marriage in 1895 she was known as Laurentia Sissell Muddle and this was officially recorded on page 5 of volume 2 of the Foveran Register of Corrected Entries on 30 July 1903. In the census of 31 March 1901 Laurentia, at the age of 7, was living with her parents at 2 Seymour Gardens, Twickenham, Middlesex.

When she was about 20 years old Laurentia married 23-year-old Raymond Heli Tratt in Kensington registration district in London during the 3rd quarter of 1913. Raymond was the son of Heli and Mary Tratt; he had been born at Hoxton in London and his birth registered during the 2nd quarter of 1890. Raymond and Laurentia had one child born in Kensington registration district in 1916. In 1926 Laurentia was one of the executors of her father's will, and on the death of her father Laurentia inherited a half share of the capital and property in the trust funds set up by both Anna Searle Stunt and Elizabeth Strover Canney that had been paying income to her father.

Laurentia died at the age of 46, her death being registered in North-East Surrey registration district during the 4th quarter of 1939. Twenty-one years later Raymond died at the age of 71, his death being registered in Thanet registration district in Kent during the 2nd quarter of 1961.

 

 

Raymond and Laurentia’s only known child was John H Tratt whose birth was registered in Kensington registration district in London during the 2nd quarter of 1916.

 

 

John and Jemima’s second child was Anna Searle Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 12 June 1811, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 10 July 1811. In the census of 30 March 1851 Anna, unmarried at the age of 39, was living in the household of her uncle Edward Muddle at Plumstead House, Gads Hill, Gillingham. When her father died in 1859 Anna inherited £300 of stock in Bank of England New 3% Bank Annuities. In the census of 7 April 1861 Anna, still unmarried at the age of 49, was still living at Plumstead House, where her uncle James Muddle now headed the Muddle family; she was now described as being a teacher of French and drawing. The following month Anna’s aunt Laurentia Muddle, who was also living at Plumstead House, died, and Anna acted as one of the executors of her will. Laurentia’s death also meant that Anna then inherited the shares in property that her father had left for Laurentia’s use during her life.

 

 

When she was 52 years old Anna married 51-year-old bachelor farmer John Stunt at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 1 July 1863. John was the son of John and Anne Stunt; he had been born at Gillingham on 6 December 1811 and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 3 January 1812. John had been living with his parents at Twydall Farm in Twydall Lane, Gillingham, and in the 1861 census John was a farmer of 170 acres employing 11 men and 2 boys, and his father was a landed proprietor and farmer of 450 acres employing 25 men and 4 boys. John's father died in early 1863 and John presumably inherited all this property that had been owned by his father, and just a few months later he married Anna.

When her uncle James Muddle died at the end of 1865 Anna finally inherited the shares in property at Gillingham that her uncle Edward Muddle had bequeathed to her. See the section on her uncle Edward Muddle for details of this property. The shares in property that Anna inherited form Edward were identical in description to those she had already inherited from her father, and meant that she was now the full and only owner of most of this property. Anna also acted as one of the executors of the will of her uncle James Muddle and when probate was granted in January 1866 Anna and John were living at East Court Farm in East Court Lane, Gillingham that was part of the estate that John had inherited from his father. East Court Lane (now Eastcourt Lane) runs parallel to and just 200 yards to the west of Twydall Lane. Anna was the main beneficiary of her uncle's will, inheriting £150 of shares in the Bank of Van Diemens Land at Hobart; £75 of New 3% Bank of England annuities; the property that he had inherited from his father and all the residue of his estate. James' death also meant that Anna then inherited shares in the property of her aunt Laurentia Muddle.

 

 

In the census of 2 April 1871 John and Anna were living at 7 Medway Villas in Gillingham, John was now a retired farmer and landowner, and they had two live-in domestic servants. In the Return of Owners of Land 1873, Kent Anna Stunt of 7 Medway Villas, Gillingham was described as owning jointly with her sisters Laurentia and Elizabeth, 5 acres, 0 rood, 7 perches of land with a rental value of £50. Then in the census of 3 April 1881 John and Anna were living at Twydall House, 2 Brampton Road, Bexleyheath, Kent. They had two live-in servants, 52-year-old Mary Hutchinson as cook, and 29-year-old Isabella Barker as housemaid. They had named this house after Twydall Farm where John had lived in Gillingham, and Twydall was also the name of the ancient manor for that area of Gillingham.

At Bexleyheath John and Anna had considerable property in addition to Twydall House and some of this was extensive gardens that included hothouses and vineries, see description in Anna's will quoted below. It seems that they brought William Mudge and his family, who had lived on the estate owned by the Stunt family in Gillingham, with them to Bexleyheath where William work for them as their coachman and gardener, and lived in a property they owned, Bala Villa, Pickford Road, Bexleyheath. After John and Anna's deaths William Mudge became a market gardener and florist on some of their property and a photograph of his son William's stall in Covent Garden was published in the January 1937 edition of the National Geographic Magazine.

 

 

Anna died at Twydall House on 8 January 1888 at the age of 76. She had made her will on 20 May 1884, and probate of this will, which valued her effects at £12,685, was granted on 22 February 1888 by the Principal Probate Registry in London jointly to her husband; her sister Elizabeth Strover Canney and husband Arthur Canney; and her cousin Ellen Muddle Chenoweth who had all been made executors and trustees of the will.

Anna’s very long (8510 words) and detailed will contained the following interesting information:

At the time of Anna’s marriage to John Stunt a marriage settlement was drawn up in the form of an indenture dated 18 June 1863, which put the many family properties and investments that Anna had inherited into trust, and then in another indenture dated 22 April 1884 these properties and investments and additional properties that Anna had since acquired were put into the trusteeship of the same trustees as those named in her will.

Anna’s will left £14,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities to her husband together with any of the household goods in their home at Twydall House and her articles of a personal nature that he wished to keep. The rest of her articles of a personal nature (clothes, jewellery, etc.) were to go to her sister Elizabeth Strover Canney.

All the rest of Anna’s property and investments where to continue to be held in trust and to be initially for the use of the following people:

1) For her husband John Stunt the use of their home and associated property at Twydall House for the rest of his life. After John’s death in 1895 the property was to be inherited in equal shares by the four surviving children of Anna’s nephew John James Muddle. This property was described in the will as: all that piece of land situate at Crook Log in the Parish of Bexley in the County of Kent and on the east side of and adjoining Brompton Road aforesaid and all that messuage or tenement called “Twydall House” with the coach house stable and other buildings erected and built thereon as the same are now in the occupation of myself and husband the said John Stunt (which last mentioned hereditaments were by Indenture dated the second day of October one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five conveyed upon trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement) And in all that piece of land with the hothouses vineries and buildings standing thereon situate at Crook Log and in the Parish of Bexley aforesaid adjoining the piece of land lastly described also now in the occupation of myself and husband and used as additional garden grounds to our said residence (which piece of land hothouses vineries and premises were by Indenture dated the twenty-ninth day of April one thousand eight hundred and eighty conveyed upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement) And also all that piece of land situate and adjoining Pickford Lane at Upton in the Parish of Bexley aforesaid and the messuage or dwelling house called “Bala Villa” with the outhouses and other buildings standing thereon (which last mentioned hereditaments by Indenture dated the seventh day of December one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five were conveyed upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement).

2) For her sister Elizabeth Strover Canney the income from £3,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities together with the use of a number of properties at Gillingham and also her home at 64 St Charles Square at Notting Hill for the rest of her life. Then after her death in 1893 her husband Arthur Canney was to continue to have the use of 64 St Charles Square for the rest of his life, with Anna’s nephew Edward John Muddle having use of all the other property and the income from the £3,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities for the rest of his life. After Arthur’s death in 1899 Edward also had the use of 64 St Charles Square for the rest of his life. Then after Edward’s death in 1926 all the property and annuities were to be inherited in equal shares by Edward’s two children. This property was described in the will as: all that tenement or dwelling house with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging situate in Green Street Lay Field in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid which I purchased of my late aunt Elizabeth Chenoweth and all that messuage or dwelling house situate in Green Street Lay Field aforesaid and at the south east end thereof with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging and the piece of garden ground adjoining thereto on the south east respectively devised to me and my sisters Laurentia Sissell Muddle (since deceased) and the said Elizabeth Strover Canney (then Muddle) by our late aunt Laurentia Muddle and the two equal undivided third parts of my said sisters therein I purchased of them And also all those two messuages or dwelling houses erected by me on part of the said piece of garden ground and now forming part of Green Street aforesaid together with the right of way on foot only over the passage way at the west side or end of the ground belonging to the said four cottages situate between the Ship Inn and the said dwelling houses and premises in Green Street aforesaid lastly set out and as excepted and described in part of the hereditaments firstly hereinbefore appointed by this my Will subject to the payment of a proportionate part of the expense of keeping the same in repair as hereinbefore more particularly mentioned And also all that piece of land and the messuage or tenement No 2 Medway Villas (formerly known as No 7) coach house and stable standing thereon situate in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid late in the occupation of myself and husband (which last mentioned premises I purchased since my marriage of Mrs Phoebe Rickon and others and the same were conveyed by my direction upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement) And also all those two freehold tenements or dwelling houses situate in Scrayfries Place Church Road New Brompton in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging erected and built by me on ground I purchased of my late sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle and all that my one full and equal undivided moiety or half part of and in all that piece of land called Christmas Meadow now plated with fruit trees and used as orchard ground containing about five acres situate in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid and of and in the fruit trees growing thereon (which said moiety or half part was lately held for the residue of a certain term of one thousand years heretofore granted in the said piece of land but which term as to the said undivided moiety or half part in the said piece of land I have recently by deed executed by me under the “Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1881” enlarged into a fee simple and which said two tenements or dwelling houses in Scrayfries Place aforesaid and undivided moiety or half part then leasehold but now freehold) of the said piece of land called Christmas Meadow respectively comprise part of the hereditaments in the said Indenture of Settlement described and thereby conveyed and assigned upon the trusts thereof therein declared. Also all that leasehold piece of ground situate at Notting Hill in the Parish of St Mary Abbotts Kensington in the County of Middlesex and the messuage or tenement called Warminster House erected thereon and fronting Atheling Road and known as No 64 St Charles Square now in the occupation of my said sister Elizabeth Strover Canney (which said premises were by Indenture dated the thirteenth day of May one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five assigned for the remainder of a term of ninety-nine years granted by the Indenture of lease therein recited (subject to the rent and lessee’s covenants therein mentioned) Upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement).

3) For her sister-in-law Mary Anne Muddle the use of property at Gads Hill including her home at Plumstead House, but as Mary had died before Anna the use of this property went directly to Mary’s son John James Muddle for the rest his life. Then after John’s death in 1917 the property was to be inherited in equal shares by John’s children. This property was described in the will as: all that messuage or tenement called Plumstead House with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging and all that cottage adjoining thereto at the back and all that piece of ground heretofore called the Meadow now used as garden ground and plantation and containing about one acre situate at the rear of and adjoining the above mentioned premises And all that wharf near or adjoining the said garden ground and plantation with the buildings and appurtenances thereto belonging all which several premises are situate at or near Gads Hill in the Parish of Gillingham in the said County of Kent and were devised to me in part by my late father John Muddle and in other part by my late uncle Edward Muddle And all those two freehold timber built tenements or dwelling houses situate at or near Gads Hill aforesaid and adjoining Plumstead House aforesaid on the north west side thereof with the appurtenances thereto respectively belonging and which were devised to me by my late uncle James Muddle And all those five several tenements or cottages with the ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging situate in Waterside Lane in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid And all those two brick tenements or dwelling houses with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging (erected by me on the side whereon a tenement or cottage lately pulled down thentofore stood and on the ground adjoining and thereto belonging) situate on Gads Hill in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid and all that tenement or cottage adjoining the gardens of the last mentioned dwelling houses with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereto belonging situate on Gads Hill Gillingham aforesaid (which said five several tenements or cottages with the one last mentioned and the one so pulled down with the gardens and ground thereto respectively belonging were devised to me by my said late father John Muddle and uncles Edward Muddle and James Muddle respectively) and also all those four several tenements or dwelling houses with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging situate on Gads Hill Gillingham aforesaid between the Ship Inn and Lay Field there (which I purchased of the heirs or devises of my late aunt Iden Muddle) (except and always reserved out of the premises lastly described unto the persons for the time being seized and entitled to the tenements in Lay Field Gillingham aforesaid herein after appointed and described and adjoining in part to the cottages and gardens lastly described a passage way of the width of three feet at the least on foot but not otherwise for the purpose of passing and repassing from the roadway in front to the rears of the same tenements in Lay Field aforesaid on paying an equal proportionate part of the costs of keeping the said passage way in repair according to the number of houses whose tenants shall use the same).

4) For her cousin Jane Donnelly Chenoweth the income from £1,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities for the rest of her life, she died in 1896. After Jane’s death the income was to go to Anna’s nephew Edward John Muddle for the rest of his life. Then after Edward’s death in 1926 the annuities were to be inherited in equal shares by Edward’s two children.

5) For her cousin Ellen Muddle Chenoweth the income from £1,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities for the rest of her life (see died 3 months after Anna). After Ellen’s death the income was to go to Anna’s nephew Edward John Muddle for the rest of his life. Then after Edward’s death in 1926 the annuities were to be inherited in equal shares by Edward’s two children.

6) For and her nephew Edward John Muddle the income from £1,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities and the use of 186 Queen’s Road in Hackney, where his mother Harriet Smith lived, together with half of any residue of Anna’s estate for the rest of his life. After Edward’s death in 1926 the annuities, property and any estate residue were to be inherited in equal shares by Edward’s two children. The property was described in the will as: all that leasehold messuage or tenement and premises situate No 186 Queen’s Road Dalston in the Parish of St John at Hackney in the County of Middlesex now in the occupation of Harriett Smith hereinafter mentioned (and which premises were by Indenture dated the fourteenth day of September one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six assigned for the residue of a certain term of forty-seven years less the last ten days thereof subject to the annual rent and lessee’s covenants therein mentioned upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement).

7) For her nephew John James Muddle the income from £1,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities and the use of 11 Alexandra Road in Croydon together with half of any residue of Anna’s estate for the rest of his life. After John’s death in 1917 the annuities, property and any estate residue were to be inherited in equal shares by John’s children. The property was described in the will as: all that piece of land situate in the Parish of Croydon in the County of Surrey and the semi-detached messuage or tenement erected thereon fronting Alexandra Road and known as No 11 Stagdale Villas with the outhouses and appurtenances thereunto belonging now in the occupation of the said John James Muddle (which same hereditaments were by Indenture dated the seventh day of September one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine conveyed upon trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement).

8) For the four surviving children of her nephew John James Muddle the income from £3,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities was to be used by Anna’s trustees for their support, maintenance, education and placing out in the world. Then after the youngest of them had attained the age of 21 in 1898 the annuities were to be inherited by them in equal shares.

Anna’s nephews Edward John Muddle and John James Muddle were the only surviving members of the next generation of the family, and as the members of Anna’s generation, Harriet & James Smith, John Stunt, Elizabeth & Arthur Canney, Ellen Muddle Chenoweth and Jane Donnelly Chenoweth died various of the properties and investments that they had the use and income of passed to the two nephews for them to have the use and income of them for the rest of their lives. Then after their deaths the various properties and investments were finally inherited by their surviving children as detailed above.

In the census of 5 April 1891 John Stunt was continuing to live at Twydall House where he had two spinster ladies as visitors, and his two live-in servants were now 22-year-old Elizabeth Pitt as cook and 39-year-old Marian Biddleswick as housemaid. Seven years after Anna’s death John died at Twydall House on 11 March 1895 at the age of 83. John died intestate and administration of his estate, which valued his effects at £8192 15s 6d, was granted on 10 June 1895 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to Walter Charles Stunt.

 

John and Jemima’s third child was Laurentia Sissell Muddle, known as Laura, who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 1 January 1813. Laurentia never married. In the census of 6 June 1841 Laurentia, at the age of 28, was living with her parents at Green Street in Gillingham. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Laurentia, now aged 38, was living with her parents at 12 Scrayfries Terrace in Gillingham. When her father died in 1859 Laurentia inherited land and property called ‘Scrayfries’ and ‘Little Scrayfries’ and ‘Scrayfries Cottages’ that had belonged to her mother. She also inherited a third share of her father’s household goods and personal items together with a fourth share of the remainder of her father’s live and dead farming stock and stock in trade as a brickmaker. In the censuses of the 7 April 1861 and the 2 April 1871 spinsters Laurentia and her sister Elizabeth were living at 13 Scrayfries Terrace in Gillingham, and they had the same live-in domestic servant, Harriet Sweetlove, on both dates. Laurentia was described in 1861 as being a proprietor of houses and land, and in 1871 as a landowner.

In The Times of 23 & 28 November 1865 Laurentia advertised the sale of 13 acres of land that seems from its description to be part of her 'Scrayfries' property, possibly the 'Little Scrayfries' section. The advert was as follows:

NEW BROMPTON, near Chatham. - To be SOLD, nearly 13 acres of very desirable FREEHOLD LAND, pleasantly situate, and within 10 minutes walk of the New Brompton Station of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, H.M. Dockyard, Chatham, and Brompton Barracks, and commanding extensive views of the River Medway and surrounding country. This land contains a great quantity of brick-earth and gravel, and is well adapted for building purposes. Further particulars may be had of L. Muddle, Scrayfries-terrace, New Brompton, near Chatham; and Mr John Longley, land surveyor, Rainham, Kent.

When her uncle James Muddle died in December 1865 Laurentia inherited from him £200 of shares in the Commercial Bank of Hobart together with his binnacle time keeper and sextant. James' death also meant that Laurentia then inherited a share of the properties of her aunt Laurentia Muddle. In the Return of Owners of Land 1873, Kent Laura Muddle of Gillingham was described as owning 12 acres, 0 rood, 19 perches of land with a rental value of £75 7s 0d. Laurentia died at 13 Scrayfries Terrace on 29 January 1875, at the age of 62, and a death notice for her was published in The Times of 2 February 1875. Laurentia was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 3 February 1875. Probate of Laurentia's will, which valued her effects at under £300, was granted on 1 March 1875 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to her sister Elizabeth as sole executor.

 

John and Jemima’s fourth child was John Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 23 May 1814, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 4 October 1814. In the census of 6 June 1841 John, at the age of 27, was living with his parents at Green Street in Gillingham; he was described as being a farmer, so was probably helping his father run the family farm. John had become a linen draper living at Gravesend in Kent, when at the age of 29 he married 30-year-old Mary Anne Sturla at the Church of St George in Gravesend, Kent on 25 February 1844. Mary Anne was from Milton by Gravesend; she was the daughter of shipwright John Sturla and his wife Lydia, and had been baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 25 December 1813.

John and Mary Anne initially lived at Gillingham where the first two of their four children were born in 1844 and 1846. In 1844 John was back to being a farmer, but by 1846 he had become a brickmaker. The West Kent Poll Book for 1847, which recorded the electors for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of Kent, listed John Muddle junior of 7 Layfields in Gillingham, (Layfield Road is just off Gads Hill), as one of the electors, though he didn't vote, which means that to qualify to vote John must have owned freehold property to at least the value of 40 shillings' annual rental within the Western Division of Kent, and Bagshaw’s Kent Directory of 1847 listed Mr John Muddle of Layfield in Gillingham. They then moved to London where in 1849 their third child was born and their eldest child died while they were living at Eagle Wharf Road in Hoxton New Town, London, which was in the Shoreditch registration district. Soon after this they moved again and when their fourth child was baptised in late 1852 they were living at 5 Frederick Place in Mile End Old Town, London, and John was a foreman of works. In 1859 when John was an executor of his father's will they were living at 4 Alma Terrace, Grove Road, Mile End Road, London, and John was a brickmaker.

By the census of 7 April 1861 they had moved back to Kent and they were living at Prentice Street in Strood with their two surviving sons and Mary Ann’s widowed aunt Mary Raven; John was now a brick manufacturer’s foreman, presumably in his father’s brickyard, and they had a live-in domestic servant. When his son married in 1869 John was described as being a gentleman.

In the census of 2 April 1871 John and Mary Anne were back in Gillingham living at Gads Hill and still had Mary Anne’s widowed aunt, Mary Raven, living with them; John was now described as being a house proprietor, and they had a live-in domestic servant Sarah Pierce. (Was Sarah a relative of the Susan Pierce who had worked for the Muddle family at Gads Hill for many years?) In the Return of Owners of Land 1873, Kent John Muddle of Gillingham was described as owning 1 acre, 1 rood, 26 perches of land with a rental value of £24. Cross’ mid Kent Court Guide and Gazetteer of 1874 lists a John Muddle of Gads Hill House, Gillingham. John was stated to be a gentleman living at Plumstead House in Gillingham when he was made one of the trustees of the marriage settlement of his sister Elizabeth Strover Muddle in an indenture dated 28 May 1875. In the census of 3 April 1881 they were still living at Gads Hill in Gillingham, and John was now described as being a retired brickmaker. Mary Anne’s old widowed aunt, Mary Raven, was still living with them, and they had a live-in nurse, probably for the aunt, and a young live-in domestic servant. The 1882 edition of Kelly's Directory of Kent listed John Muddle as living at Gads Hill, Gillingham.

They were living at Plumstead House, Gads Hill, Gillingham when John died there on 12 January 1884, at the age of 69. He was buried in Gillingham Cemetery. John’s will made on 25 June 1878 described him as a gentleman. Probate of this will valued his personal estate at £1405 6s 3d and was granted on 16 June 1884 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to his widow, Mary Anne, and his son, John James, as two of the executors. John left all his real and personal estate, with all money and securities to be held in trust, to Mary Ann for the rest of her life; after which it was to all go to his son John James Muddle. Two years after John’s death Mary Anne was still living at Plumstead House when she died there on 26 June 1886 at the age of 72. Her death was reported in the 5 July 1886 edition of The South Eastern Gazette. Probate of Mary Anne’s will, which valued her personal estate at £257, was granted on 26 July 1887 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to her son, John James, and his wife, Emily Louisa, as the executors.

 

Their children were:

Mary Michael Raven 1844-1849  John James 1846-1917

Edward 1849-1869  Henry George 1852-1853

 

 

John and Mary Anne’s eldest child was Mary Michael Raven Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 5 November 1844. Mary died at Hoxton New Town in Middlesex on 22 November 1849, at the age of five, and she was buried in the first family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 26 November 1849.

 

John and Mary Anne’s second child was John James Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 9 October 1846, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 5 November 1846. In the census of 7 April 1861 John, at the age of 14, was living with his parents at Prentice Street in Strood, and he was going to school. The July 1863 edition of The Educational Times, and Journal of the College of Preceptors recorded that J J Muddle of Chiswick Collegiate School had obtained a Third Class Certificate after being examined in London. Then the January 1864 edition recorded that he had now obtained a Second Class Certificate with a First Class Certificate in Drawing. Followed by the July 1864 edition recording that John, at the age of 17, had now obtained a Higher Commercial Certificate. The College of Preceptors (now The College of Teachers) is an examining body and learned society for teachers, professors and associated professionals working in education.

John was a clerk living at St Pancras when, at the age 22, he married 30-year-old Emily Louisa Richardson at the Church of St Peter in St Albans, Hertfordshire, on 24 July 1869. This marriage was reported in the Pall Mall Gazette of 28 July 1869 and The Pall Mall Budget of 30 July 1869, which recorded that Emily was the daughter of the late Mr T Richardson, J.P., of St Albans. John and Emily lived at Croydon in Surrey where they had six children between 1870 and 1877, all sons except the youngest. Their two youngest sons where identical twins; their eldest son died when only six months old, and their third son died at the age of ten.

In the census of 2 April 1871 they were living at 11 Alexander Road in Croydon; John was an insurance clerk and they had 16-year-old Ellen Osborne as a live-in general domestic servant. John was stated to be a gentleman living at Croydon when he was made one of the trustees of the marriage settlement of his aunt Elizabeth Strover Muddle in an indenture dated 28 May 1875. The 1878 edition of the Post Office Directory of Surrey listed John James Muddle as living at 11 Alexandra Road, Croydon. John and Emily were continuing to live at 11 Alexandra Road in the census of 3 April 1881 when they had only one of their children, their daughter, at home with them. Three of their sons were at boarding school in Chiswick, and the son who was to die in three years' time, at the age of ten, was staying with John’s aunt, Elizabeth Canney, in London. John was still working as an insurance clerk, and they had 23-year-old Elizabeth Alexander as a live-in domestic servant.

They were still living at 11 Alexandra Road when John was one of the executors of his father’s will in 1884, and also when both John and Emily were the executors of the will of John’s mother in 1887. In both instances John was described as being a gentleman. After his mother’s death John inherited all his father’s estate.

 

 

When John’s aunt Anna Searle Stunt died in 1888 she left the income from £3000 of annuities for the support and education of John’s children, together with the income from another £1000 of annuities and the use of 11 Alexandra Road to John for the remainder of his life. Anna’s will had also left the use of a number of properties at Gillingham, including Plumstead House, for the use of John’s mother, but as she was already dead the use of these properties passed to John for the rest of his life. The will described these properties as: all that messuage or tenement called Plumstead House with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto belonging and all that cottage adjoining thereto at the back and all that piece of ground heretofore called the Meadow now used as garden ground and plantation and containing about one acre situate at the rear of and adjoining the above mentioned premises And all that wharf near or adjoining the said garden ground and plantation with the buildings and appurtenances thereto belonging all which several premises are situate at or near Gads Hill in the Parish of Gillingham in the said County of Kent and were devised to me in part by my late father John Muddle and in other part by my late uncle Edward Muddle And all those two freehold timber built tenements or dwelling houses situate at or near Gads Hill aforesaid and adjoining Plumstead House aforesaid on the north west side thereof with the appurtenances thereto respectively belonging and which were devised to me by my late uncle James Muddle And all those five several tenements or cottages with the ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging situate in Waterside Lane in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid And all those two brick tenements or dwelling houses with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging (erected by me on the side whereon a tenement or cottage lately pulled down thentofore stood and on the ground adjoining and thereto belonging) situate on Gads Hill in the Parish of Gillingham aforesaid and all that tenement or cottage adjoining the gardens of the last mentioned dwelling houses with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereto belonging situate on Gads Hill Gillingham aforesaid (which said five several tenements or cottages with the one last mentioned and the one so pulled down with the gardens and ground thereto respectively belonging were devised to me by my said late father John Muddle and uncles Edward Muddle and James Muddle respectively) and also all those four several tenements or dwelling houses with the outhouses ground and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging situate on Gads Hill Gillingham aforesaid between the Ship Inn and Lay Field there (which I purchased of the heirs or devises of my late aunt Iden Muddle) (except and always reserved out of the premises lastly described unto the persons for the time being seized and entitled to the tenements in Lay Field Gillingham aforesaid herein after appointed and described and adjoining in part to the cottages and gardens lastly described a passage way of the width of three feet at the least on foot but not otherwise for the purpose of passing and repassing from the roadway in front to the rears of the same tenements in Lay Field aforesaid on paying an equal proportionate part of the costs of keeping the said passage way in repair according to the number of houses whose tenants shall use the same).

In the census of 5 April 1891 they were still living at 11 Alexandra Road, John was still an insurance clerk, and living with them were their three surviving sons; Emily’s 75-year-old spinster sister, Hester Richardson; and their live-in domestic servant, 50-year-old widow Elizabeth Powell. The 1891 edition of Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex listed John James Muddle as living at 11 Alexandra Road, Croydon. In 1893 John was one of the executors and trustees of the will of his aunt Elizabeth Strover Canney.

The terms of Anna Searle Stunt’s will meant that when John Stunt died in 1895 the four surviving children of John and Emily inherited quarter shares of the property described in the will as: all that piece of land situate at Crook Log in the Parish of Bexley in the County of Kent and on the east side of and adjoining Brompton Road aforesaid and all that messuage or tenement called “Twydall House” with the coach house stable and other buildings erected and built thereon as the same are now in the occupation of myself and husband the said John Stunt (which last mentioned hereditaments were by Indenture dated the second day of October one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five conveyed upon trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement) And in all that piece of land with the hothouses vineries and buildings standing thereon situate at Crook Log and in the Parish of Bexley aforesaid adjoining the piece of land lastly described also now in the occupation of myself and husband and used as additional garden grounds to our said residence (which piece of land hothouses vineries and premises were by Indenture dated the twenty-ninth day of April one thousand eight hundred and eighty conveyed upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement) And also all that piece of land situate and adjoining Pickford Lane at Upton in the Parish of Bexley aforesaid and the messuage or dwelling house called “Bala Villa” with the outhouses and other buildings standing thereon (which last mentioned hereditaments by Indenture dated the seventh day of December one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five were conveyed upon the trusts of the said Indenture of Settlement).

John was a heavy drinker who became violent when drunk, which resulted in John and Emily finally separating, this probably having happened by the time Emily made her will on 1 July 1895 when she was still living at 11 Alexandra Road. The Kelly's London Suburban Directory of 1896 listed Mrs Muddle as living at 11 Alexandra Road, Croydon. When Arthur Canney, the husband of John’s late aunt Elizabeth Strover Canney, died in 1899 Emily started to receive the income from a trust fund that Elizabeth had set up. In the census of 31 March 1901 John was a retired insurance clerk boarding with spinster Betsy Edwards at 16a St Johns Road in Croydon. And in the same census Emily and her three youngest children, who had now all changed their names from Muddle to Strover, were living at 21 Alexandra Road in Croydon, and they had 15-year-old Lucy Bashford as a live-in general domestic servant. The Kelly's London Suburban Directory of 1901 listed Mrs Muddle as living at 21 Alexandra Road, Croydon. In an indenture dated 24 June 1902 Emily sold 6 acres and 34 perches of the 12 acres and 3 roods of land called Scrayfries in Gillingham that was part of the trust fund set up by her aunt Elizabeth Strover Canney. This would have been with the agreement of the trustees and was probably to provide money for her children who were the ultimate beneficiaries of the trust. Emily was still living at Alexander Road in 1903 when she wrote a letter from there to her daughter.

Emily was living at Twydall House, Bexleyheath, Kent, which had been the home of John’s aunt Anna Stunt and had been inherited from her by Emily’s children when John Stunt died in 1895, when she died there on 20 April 1909 at the age of 70. She was buried in Queens Road Cemetery in Croydon. Probate of Emily’s will, which valued her estate at £176 6s 11d, was granted on 16 October 1909 by London Probate Registry to her sons Francis James Strover and Sydney Strover Muddle. Emily’s estate was to be divided equally between her four surviving children. Also after Emily’s death her four surviving children were to share equally the capital and income from the trust fund set up by Elizabeth Strover Canney that Emily had been receiving income from. The capital of this trust fund had originally consisted of the following properties: the 12 acres & 3 roods of land in Gillingham called Scrayfries with the stable and coach house standing on it that Elizabeth had inherited from her sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle; the messuage of 30 rods [30 perches] that had been known as 13 Scrayfries Terrace and was now known as 61 Mill Road in New Brompton within Gillingham Parish where Elizabeth had lived; and the piece of arable land called Little Wood in Gillingham that Elizabeth had inherited from her father. But some of this property had been sold.

The 1913 edition of Kelly's Directory of Surrey listed John James Muddle as living at 23 Alexandra Road, Croydon (the house that was formerly known as 11 Alexandra Road). John was living at 23 Alexandra Road in Croydon when he died there on 30 October 1917 at the age of 71. Administration of John's will, which gave the gross value of his estate as £325 2s 10d and the net value of his personal estate as £11 5s 1d, was granted on 11 July 1918 by London Probate Registry to his son Francis James Strover. John had made his will on 23 September 1887, when he described himself as a gentleman of 11 Alexandra Road. This will named a number of properties that John than owned at Bow in London, Chatham in Kent and at Croydon, some of which he had inherited from his father. The terms of the will meant that as Emily had pre-deceased him John's estate was to be split four ways between his surviving three children, Francis, Sydney and Laura, and his grandchild Iris Emily Strover. When John died his children also inherited the annuities and property that John had been having the income and use of under the trust funds set up by the will of his aunt Anna Searle Stunt.

 

 

 

John and Emily’s eldest child was Perry John Muddle who was born at Croydon in Surrey on 28 April 1870, and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Croydon on 11 June 1870. Perry died on 11 November 1870 at Croydon when only six months old.

 

John and Emily’s second child was Francis James Muddle, known as Frank, who was born at Croydon in Surrey on 25 September 1872, and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Croydon on 26 October 1872. In the census of 3 April 1881 Francis, at the age of 8, was a scholar at a boarding school at 4 The Terrace, Chiswick, Middlesex; also there with him were his younger twin brothers, Sydney and Arthur. Then in the census of 5 April 1891 Francis, now aged 18, was living with his parents at 11 Alexandra Road in Croydon, and he was now working as an artificer accounts clerk.On 25 October 1893, when he was 21 years old, Francis changed his name by deed poll to Francis James Strover.

When John Stunt died in 1895 Francis inherited a quarter share in property at Bexleyheath under the terms of the will of Anna Searle Stunt, see section above on Francis’ parents for a description of this property. Francis was a chartered accountant of 11 Alexandra Road when he was made one of the trustees of the marriage settlement of his great-aunt, Elizabeth Striver Canney, in an indenture dated 28 February 1896. In 1898 Frances inherited a quarter share of £3000 of annuities that had been left in a trust fund by Anna Searle Stunt for the support of him and his siblings.

When he was about 25 years old Francis married Florence Selina Riotte, known as Florrie, in St George Hanover Square registration district in London during the 3rd quarter of 1897. In the census of 31 March 1901 Florence was living at 13 Wellington Mansions in Fulham, and she had 41-year-old Helen Hobson as a live-in lady’s help. As Florence was described as ‘wife’ and not as ‘head of household’ in this census it probably means that Francis was just away from home on census night. Francis and Florence had two children born at Croydon in 1904 and 1905.

Francis was described as being a accountant living at 14 Thomsett Road, Anerley, Surrey in 1909 when he acted as one of the executors of his mother’s will. On the death of his mother Francis inherited a quarter share of the trust fund that Elizabeth Strover Canney had set up and had been paying income to his mother. Francis was described as a chartered accountant of 16 Tokenhouse Yard in the City of London in an indenture dated 8 December 1910 by which the four inheritors of the trust fund of Elizabeth Strover Canney sold part of the land called Scrayfries that fronted onto St Georges Road to builder Walter Croneen for the sum of £1150, Francis' share being £287 10s.

On the death of his father in 1917 Francis inherited a share of the annuities and properties that had been left in a trust fund by Anna Searle Stunt for the use of his father. In 1918 when he was granted administration of his father’s will Francis was described as an accountant of 16 Tokenhouse Yard in the City of London. Francis was a chartered accountant when he was granted administration of the estate of his sister-in-law Edith Emily Strover in 1925. Francis became a partner in a firm of accountants, and he was also a Mason and a Freeman of the City of London.

Florrie died at Croydon on 26 October 1936 at the age of 72 . Francis died at 45 Warminster Road in South Norwood near Croydon on 7 March 1938 at the age of 65. Francis had been living at 25 Warminster Road in South Norwood when he made his will on 8 July 1930, probate of this will, which valued his effects at £1959 2s 11d, was granted by London Probate Registry to his two children who had been made joint executors and trustees of the will. As Florrie had pre-deceased Francis his will left all his estate in trust for the income to be shared equally by his two children.

 

 

Francis and Florrie’s eldest child was Hester Kathleen Strover who was born at Croydon in Surrey on 25 March 1904. When her father died in 1938 Hester was a spinster when she acted as one of the executors of his will, and she started to receive half the income from the trust that held her father’s estate. Hester died in October 1974 at the age of 70.

 

Francis and Florrie’s second child was Francis Richard Strover who was born at Croydon in Surrey on 3 August 1905. When his father died in 1938 Francis was a chartered accountant when he acted as one of the executors of his will, and he started to receive half the income from the trust that held her father’s estate.

 

 

John and Emily’s third child was Stanley Raven Muddle who was born at Croydon in Surrey on 26 February 1874, and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Croydon on 9 May 1874. In the census of 3 April 1881 Stanley, at the age of 7, was staying with his father’s aunt Elizabeth Canney and her husband Arthur at 64 St Charles Square in Kensington, London. Stanley died at 11 Alexandra Road in Croydon on 8 November 1884, at the age of 10, from Rheumatic Fever and Pericarditis (inflammation of the membrane around the heart).

 

John and Emily’s fourth child, the eldest of identical twins, was Sydney Strover Muddle who was born at 11 Alexandra Road, Croydon, Surrey, at 2.10pm on 12 June 1875, and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Croydon on 10 July 1875. In the census of 3 April 1881 Sydney, at the age of 5, was a scholar at a boarding school at 4 The Terrace, Chiswick, Middlesex; also there with him was his twin brother, Arthur, and elder brother, Francis. Then in the census of 5 April 1891 Sydney, now aged 15, was living with his parents at 11 Alexandra Road, and he was still going to school. When John Stunt died in 1895 Sydney inherited a quarter share in property at Bexleyheath under the terms of the will of Anna Searle Stunt, see section above on Sydney’s parents for a description of this property. On 20 January 1898 Sydney changed his name by deed poll to Sydney Strover, dropping the name Muddle and making his second Christian name his surname; this also being the year that he inherited a quarter share of £3000 of annuities that had been left in a trust fund by Anna Searle Stunt for the support of him and his siblings.

In the census of 31 March 1901 Sydney, at the age of 25, was living with his mother at 21 Alexandra Road in Croydon, and he was now working as a solicitor’s clerk. Then in 1909 Sydney was described as being a florist living at Bala Villa, Pickford Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, when he acted as one of the executors of his mother’s will. Bala Villa was part of the property that Sydney and his siblings had inherited from Anna Searle Stunt in 1895.

On the death of his mother Sydney inherited a quarter share of the trust fund that Elizabeth Strover Canney had set up and had been paying income to his mother. Sydney was described as a gentleman of Bala Villa, Pickford Road, Bexleyheath in an indenture dated 8 December 1910 by which the four inheritors of the trust fund of Elizabeth Strover Canney sold part of the land called Scrayfries that fronted onto St Georges Road to builder Walter Croneen for the sum of £1150, Sydney's share being £287 10s. Bala Villa was where Sydney's spinster sister Laura was also living at this time. Then on the death of his father in 1917 Sydney inherited a share of the annuities and properties that had been left in a trust fund by Anna Searle Stunt for the use of his father.

When he was 45 years old Sydney married 32-year-old widow Rosina Grace Edith Brazier at Croydon Register Office on 26 June 1920. Rosina’s maiden name was Whale; she was the daughter of Ernest and Hannah Whale and had been born on 12 May 1888 . Rosina already had three children from her first marriage. Sydney and Rosina had two children born at South Norwood in London in 1920 and 1922. Sydney was a nurseryman; he died in Dartford registration district in Kent on 18 May 1946, at the age of 70. Five years later Rosina died in Dartford registration district on 12 October 1951, at the age of 63. They were both buried at Bexleyheath in Kent.

 

 

 

Sydney and Rosina’s eldest child was Dorothy Laura Strover who was born at South Norwood in London on 19 October 1920. Dorothy died on 12 October 1996 at the age of 75.

 

Sydney and Rosina’s second child is Beatrice Emily Strover who was born at South Norwood in London on 23 November 1922. Beatrice went to Canada as a War Bride in 1945.

 

 

 

John and Emily’s fifth child, the youngest of identical twins, was Arthur Searle Muddle who was born at 11 Alexandra Road, Croydon, Surrey, at 2.30pm on 12 June 1875, and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Croydon on 10 July 1875. In the census of 3 April 1881 Arthur, at the age of 5, was a scholar at a boarding school at 4 The Terrace, Chiswick, Middlesex; also there with him was his twin brother, Sydney, and elder brother, Francis. Then in the census of 5 April 1891 Arthur, now aged 15, was living with his parents at 11 Alexandra Road, and he was still going to school.

When John Stunt died in 1895 Arthur inherited a quarter share in property at Bexleyheath under the terms of the will of Anna Searle Stunt, see section above on Arthur’s parents for a description of this property. On 20 January 1898 Arthur changed his name by deed poll to Arthur Searle Strover, this also being the year that he inherited a quarter share of £3000 of annuities that had been left in a trust fund by Anna Searle Stunt for the support of him and his siblings. In the census of 31 March 1901 Arthur, at the age of 25, was living with his mother at 21 Alexandra Road in Croydon, and he was now working as an accountant’s clerk.

When he was 31 years old Arthur married 27-year-old Edith Emily Lamburd at the Church of St John the Baptist in Croydon on 12 January 1907. Arthur was then an accountant’s clerk living at 4 Church Road, Croydon. Arthur and Edith had one child born in Croydon registration district in 1907. On the death of his mother in 1909 Arthur inherited a quarter share of the trust fund that Elizabeth Strover Canney had set up and had been paying income to his mother.

They were living at 98 Estcourt Road, Woodside, Surrey, when Arthur died at University College Hospital, Gower Street, Bloomsbury, London, on 20 April 1910 at the age of 34. Probate of Arthur’s will dated 23 February 1910, which valued his effects at £2673 9s 4d, was granted by London Probate Registry to his wife and solicitor William Herbert Dickson on 25 June 1910. This will made them guardians of his daughter and trustees of his estate, the income from which was to go to his wife during her lifetime and then his estate was to go to his daughter when she attained the age of 21 or married.

The four inheritors of the trust fund of Elizabeth Strover Canney, with Arthur being represented by the trustees of his will, in an indenture dated 8 December 1910 sold part of the land called Scrayfries that fronted onto St Georges Road to builder Walter Croneen for the sum of £1150, Arthur's share being £287 10s.

Fifteen years after Arthur's death Edith was living at 81 Upper North Street in Brighton when she died at Haywards Heath in Sussex on 11 October 1925, at the age of 46. Edith died intestate and limited administration of her estate, which valued her effects at £81 11s 8d, was granted by London Probate Registry to her brother-in-law Francis James Strover.

 

 

 

Arthur and Edith’s only child was Iris Emily Strover who was born in Croydon registration district in Surrey on 3 December 1907. Iris inherited her father’s estate when she became 21 as her mother had already died in 1925. Iris died in Zimbabwe during the 1990s.

 

 

 

John and Emily’s sixth child was Laura Sissell Muddle who was born at Croydon in Surrey on 23 December 1877, and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Croydon on 2 February 1878. In the census of 3 April 1881 Laura, at the age of 3, was living with her parents at 11 Alexandra Road in Croydon. Then in the census of 5 April 1891 Laura, now age 13, was visiting the family of veterinary surgeon Mark Tailley at 17 Vicarage Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Warwickshire. When John Stunt died in 1895 Laura inherited a quarter share in property at Bexleyheath under the terms of the will of Anna Searle Stunt, see section above on Laura’s parents for a description of this property.

On 10 March 1899, when she was 21-years-old, Laura changed her name by deed poll to Laura Sissell Strover, this also being the year that she inherited a quarter share of £3000 of annuities that had been left in a trust fund by Anna Searle Stunt for the support of her and her siblings. In the census of 31 March 1901 Laura, at the age of 23, was living with her mother at 21 Alexandra Road in Croydon. On the death of her mother in 1909 Laura inherited a quarter share of the trust fund that Elizabeth Strover Canney had set up and had been paying income to her mother. Laura was described as a spinster of Bala Villa, Pickford Road, Bexleyheath in an indenture dated 8 December 1910 by which the four inheritors of the trust fund of Elizabeth Strover Canney sold part of the land called Scrayfries that fronted onto St Georges Road to builder Walter Croneen for the sum of £1150, Laura's share being £287 10s. Bala Villa was where Laura's bachelor brother Sydney was also living at this time. Then on the death of her father in 1917 Laura inherited a share of the annuities and properties that had been left in a trust fund by Anna Searle Stunt for the use of her father.

 Laura never married; she continued to live at Bala Villa, 19 Pickford Road, Bexleyheath where she taught piano and mandolin. She was a silver medallist of the Guildhall School of Music. In the 1960s Laura sold the properties that she owned at Gillingham, presumably these were the properties inherited from her great-aunt Anna Searle Stunt. Laura is remembered by one of her great-nieces as being a very straight laced lady who seemed quite scary to a young child. Laura died on 14 October 1967 at the age of 89, and she was buried in her mother’s grave at Queens Road Cemetery in Croydon.

 

 

 

John and Mary Anne’s third child was Edward Muddle who was born at Hoxton in London on 22 August 1849, and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in New North Road, Hoxton, Shoreditch, London, on 26 October 1849. In the census of 7 April 1861 Edward, at the age of 11, was living with his parents at Prentice Street in Strood, Kent and he was going to school.

It is thought that Edward was then sent to a boys' boarding school called North Grove House in Portsea, Hampshire, which generally took about two dozen boys aged 11 to 15, and in 1861 was run by clergyman and schoolmaster Joseph Burrows. Edward's attendance at this school is assumed from reports in the 21 May 1864, 27 May 1865 and 26 May 1866 editions of the Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle on three cricket matches at the East Hants Ground in Southsea where Muddle played for the North Grove House team scoring 3 runs in 1864 and then in 1865 Muddle scored 0 runs but bowled out one of the other team. In 1866 E Muddle scored 11 runs, the highest scoring batsman of his team. The initial E was recorded with the name Muddle in 1866 from which this is assumed to be Edward as the dates and place seem to only fit what is otherwise known about Edward.

Edward probably continued going to the North Grove House School until, at the age of 17, he took the examination to be an Assistant Clerk in the Royal Navy on board HMS Victory at Portsmouth on 12 September 1866. The Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle of 15 September 1866 and The Times of 17 September 1866 reported that at the quarterly examination of candidates for appointments as assistant clerks in Her Majesty's Navy, held on board HMS Victory at Portsmouth during the past week, of the 24 candidates 12 past the examination, one being Mr Muddle. As he had passed the examination on the 12 September 1866 this was recorded as being Edward's date of entry into the Royal Navy, he was paid a monthly advance of £2 7s 6d and sent on 16 days leave.[85] He returned to the Victory on 28 September and the 5 October 1866 edition of The Times and the 6 October 1866 edition of The Liverpool Mercury and Lancashire, Cheshire and General Advertiser reported that Edward Muddle had been appointed an Assistant Clerk on HMS Zealous, as a supernumerary for disposal. This means that he had been appointed as a temporary extra Assistant Clerk on the Zealous until a vacancy in a permanent position on another ship could be found for him. Edward was on Victory for nine days before reporting on board the Zealous on 7 October 1866 to serve under Captain Richard Dawkins.[86]

 

 

While on the Zealous Edward was appointed, on 1 May 1867, to be Assistant Clerk on HMS Malacca , but it was not until 28 July 1867, after just over 9 months on the Zealous, that he was able to actually transfer to the Malacca to serve under Captain Radulphus Bryce Oldfield. The Malacca had been in the Pacific since 1866 and it would have been while he was on the Zealous that Edward had sailed from England to the Pacific. About 7 weeks after Edward joined the Malacca she went aground twice, on the 16 and 17 September 1867, while sailing through the South Passage of the San Lorenzo Channel near La Paz in the Gulf of California. It seems that the charts of the area were inaccurate; in both cases she grounded on sand and pulled herself off with her steam winch. She was not thought to have sustained any significant damage but it was considered necessary that she should go into dock for inspection and repair.[87]

While on the Malacca Edward was promoted to Clerk on 1 October 1867.[88] A few months later Edward did something that was considered to be misconduct and this was reported to the Admiralty by Rear Admiral George Fowler Hastings, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet, in a letter dated 20 February 1868. The Admiralty's response in a letter of 3 April 1868 was to deprive Edward of one month's time, this is the time served that would count towards promotion, pension etc. Unfortunately we don't know what the misconduct was as the letters referring to this misconduct don't survive, only the indexes and service records referring to them.[89]

This loss of one month's service time was not to affect Edward because just over a year later while he was still serving as a Clerk on Malacca he died at 6pm on the 5 July 1869, at the age of 19.[90] Family tradition has it that he died of Yellow Fever on his way back from the Far East. This fits the facts that the Malacca was then returning from the Pacific Station and was in the South Atlantic at latitude 3.13 South and longitude 29.59 West, off the coast of Brazil, when Edward died. Edward's death was reported in the 15 September 1869 editions of the Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle and The Edinburgh Evening Courant after the Malacca had arrived back in England on 9 September.

A photograph of Edward taken at Chatham, probably during the mid-1860s, shows him in the uniform of a Sub-Lieutenant that was introduced in 1863, and his cap badge looks to be a crown and anchor, which would mean that he was in the Royal Navy. The lack of a curl on his Sub-Lieutenant's single stripe on the cuffs of his uniform indicates that he would have been in the Civil Branch of the Royal Navy. The Civil Branch consisted of the non-fighting men such as surgeons, pursers, chaplains, naval instructors, engineers and clerks, the fighting men were in the Executive Branch and had a curl on their stripes.

 

 

John and Mary Anne’s fourth child was Henry George Muddle who was born at Mile End Old Town, Stepney, London and privately baptised by the Church of the Holy Trinity in Mile End on 2 November 1852. Henry died in Stepney registration district in London on 6 February 1853 when only 5 months old, and he was buried in the first family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham, Kent on 13 February 1853.

 

 

John and Jemima’s fifth child was James Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent during February 1816. (No baptism has been found for James, but his Christian name and date of birth indicate that he most probably was John & Jemima’s child.) James was only three weeks old when he died at Gillingham and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 15 March 1816.

 

John and Jemima’s sixth child was Elizabeth Strover Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 4 September 1817. In the census of 6 June 1841 Elizabeth, at the age of 23, was living with her parents at Green Street in Gillingham. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Elizabeth, now aged 33, was living with her parents at 12 Scrayfries Terrace in Gillingham. When her father died in 1859 Elizabeth inherited £300 of stock in 3% Bank Annuities together with the house that her father had built as part of ‘Scrayfries Terrace’ and the land called ‘Little Wood’ that had belonged to her mother. She also inherited a third share of her father’s household goods and personal items together with a fourth share of the remainder of her father’s live and dead farming stock and stock in trade as a brickmaker. Elizabeth was living at 13 Scrayfries Terrace in Gillingham when she was one of the executors of her father’s will 1859.

In the censuses of the 7 April 1861 and the 2 April 1871 spinsters Elizabeth and her sister Laurentia were living at 13 Scrayfries Terrace, and they had the same live-in domestic servant Harriet Sweetlove on both dates. Elizabeth was described in 1861 as being a proprietor of houses and land, and in 1871 as having no occupation. In 1866 Elizabeth acted as one of the executors of the will of her uncle James Muddle. She inherited from him £200 of shares in the Commercial Bank of Hobart together with his watch with guard and seals and his spy glass. James’ death also meant that Elizabeth then inherited a share of the properties of her aunt Laurentia Muddle.

Both Elizabeth and Laurentia were still living at 13 Scrayfries Terrace when Laurentia died there on 29 January 1875, and Elizabeth acted as sole executor of her will. Four months after her sister’s death, Elizabeth, at the age of 57, married a distant cousin, 46-year-old bachelor Arthur Canney, at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 1 June 1875. Arthur was then a Clerk in Holy Orders from Marylebone in London. Their marriage settlement on 28 May, a few days before their marriage, stated that Arthur was then living at 25 Upper Gloucester Place, Dorset Square, London and Elizabeth was living at 13 Scrayfries Terrace. Their marriage was reported in the Clergymen Married section of the 5 June 1875 edition of Jackson's Oxford Journal. Arthur was the son of Thomas and Ann Noakes Canney, he had been born at Islington in London on 10 June 1828 and baptised at the Church of St Mary in Islington on 29 June 1828.

In the census of 3 April 1881 Arthur and Elizabeth were living at 64 St Charles Square, Notting Hill, Kensington, London; they had Stanley Muddle, the grandson of Elizabeth’s brother John, staying with them, and they also had 22-year-old Annie Wilson as a live-in general domestic servant. Arthur was then Curate of St John’s Church at Kensal Green in London. He married his servant Annie Wilson to John William Mudge of Gillingham at St John's Church, Kensal Green on 4 November 1882 and gave them, as a present, a Family Bible in which he had written and signed an inscription. John and Annie Mudge lived in Gillingham and in 1917 they purchased and went to live in East Court Farm, Gillingham where Elizabeth sister Anna and her husband John Stunt had been living in the 1860s when it was part of the estate owned by the Stunt family.

 

 

In 1888 both Elizabeth and Arthur were two of the executors and trustees of the will of Elizabeth’s sister Anna Searle Stunt. This will left Elizabeth the annual income from £3,000 of stock in New 3% Bank of England annuities together with the use of a number of properties at Gillingham and also her home at 64 St Charles Square at Notting Hill for the rest of her life. In the census of 5 April 1891 Arthur and Elizabeth were continuing to live at 64 St Charles Square, Arthur was still a Clerk in Holy Orders, and they had 22-year-old Mary Mudge as a live-in general domestic servant. Mary was the daughter of William Mudge the elder brother of the John William Mudge that Arthur had married in 1882. William Mudge and his family had moved from Gillingham, where they had lived on the estate owned by the Stunt family, to Bexleyheath where William work for Elizabeth's sister Anna and her husband John Stunt as their coachman and gardener, and lived in a property they owned, Bala Villa, Pickford Road, Bexleyheath.

Elizabeth died on 29 March 1893 at the age of 75. Elizabeth had made her will on 17 April 1885, and probate of this will, which valued her effects at £909 15s 3d, was granted on 13 May 1893 by the Principal Probate Registry in London jointly to her nephews John James Muddle and Edward John Muddle; her cousin Jane Donnelly Chenoweth; and her friend Henry Weekes a physician, who had all been made executors and trustees of the will.

Elizabeth’s long and detailed will (3369 words) contained the following interesting information:

At the time of Elizabeth’s marriage to Arthur Canney a marriage settlement was drawn up in the form of an indenture dated 28 May 1875 which put the family property and investments that Elizabeth had inherited into trust with the trustees being her nephews John James Muddle and Edward John Muddle and her brother John Muddle. When her brother John died in 1884 an indenture dated 9 April 1885 named her cousin Jane Donnelly Chenoweth and her friend Henry Weekes as trustees in place of John, so the trustees had now become the same as those named in Elizabeth’s will. An indenture dated 24 September 1884 had changed the one thousand year lease on the half share in the property in Gillingham called Christmas Meadow that Elizabeth had inherited from her aunt Laurentia Muddle (partly via her sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle) into a fee simple. Also Elizabeth had requested her marriage settlement trustees to sell the £200 of shares in the Commercial Bank of Hobart that she had inherited from her uncle James Muddle, which realized a sum of £525 that was then invested in two mortgages of £300 and £225.

Elizabeth’s will gave each of her executors £20 and all the rest of her ready money, after payment of all debts and expenses, and all her household goods, clothes and jewellery were to go to her husband for his absolute use. All her property and investments that were held in trust as a result of her marriage settlement where to continue to be held in trust and the income distributed as follows:

1) The income from the £525 then invested in two mortgages was to go to her husband during his life (died 1899), then to her nephew Edward John Muddle for his life (died 1926), then as Edward’s wife had died before him the capital and income was to go in equal shares to Edward’s two children.

2) The income from the following properties: the 12 acres & 3 roods of land in Gillingham called Scrayfries with the stable and coach house standing on it that Elizabeth had inherited from her sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle; the messuage of 30 roods that had been known as 13 Scrayfries Terrace and was now known as 61 Mill Road in New Brompton within Gillingham Parish where Elizabeth had lived; and the piece of arable land called Little Wood in Gillingham that Elizabeth had inherited from her father, was to go to her husband during his life (died 1899), then to Emily Louisa Muddle the wife of her nephew John James Muddle for her life (died 1909), and then the property and income was to be shared equally between the four surviving children of John James Muddle.

3) The income from the following properties: the three freehold tenements called Scrayfries Cottages in Church Road (formerly Church Path) in New Brompton that Elizabeth had inherited from her sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle; the three tenements formerly called 11, 12 & 13 Scrayfries Place and now called 22, 24 & 26 Church Road in New Brompton that Elizabeth had built on land she had purchased from her sister Laurentia Sissell Muddle; and the half part of land called Christmas Meadow with the fruit trees planted on it, was to go to her husband during his life (died 1899), then to her nephew Edward John Muddle for his life (died 1926), then as Edward’s wife had died before him the property and income was to go in equal shares to Edward’s two children.

Two of the trustees of Elizabeth's marriage settlement died in 1896, Henry Weekes on 26 January and June Donnelly Chenoweth on 14 February, so in an indenture dated 28 February 1896 they were replaced by Francis James Strover (formerly Francis James Muddle), who was the grandson of Elizabeth's brother John, and solicitor Adolphus Frederick William Stephens.

The will of Elizabeth’s sister Anna Searle Stunt had stipulated that Arthur was to continue to have the use of 64 St Charles Square after Elizabeth’s death. So six years after Elizabeth’s death Arthur was still living at 64 St Charles Square when he died on 10 January 1899, at the age of 70, and was buried in All Souls Cemetery at Kensal Green in London. Probate of Arthur’s will, which valued his effects at £562 13s 2d, was granted on 2 February 1899 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to spinster Elizabeth Gertrude Allen.

 

 

John and Jemima’s seventh child was Iden Holmden Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent during January 1819. (No baptism has been found for Iden, but her Christian names and date of birth indicate that she must have been John & Jemima’s child.) Iden was only six weeks old when she died at Gillingham and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 13 March 1819.

 

 

Edward and Laurentia’s fifth child was William Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 9 June 1776. William died on 26 September 1780 at the age of four (not five as given on his grave), and he was buried in the first family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 29 September 1780.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s sixth child was Iden Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 26 May 1777. After her mother’s death in 1831 Iden inherited from her father four houses at the top of Gads Hill in Gillingham. Iden never married, and in the census of 6 June 1841 she was living with her unmarried brother and sister, Edward and Laurentia, at Gillingham Road in Gillingham. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Iden was still part of her unmarried brother Edward’s household living at Plumstead House, Gads Hill, Gillingham. Iden died on 15 January 1854 at the age of 76 (not 77 as given on her burial record), and she was buried in the second family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 21 January 1854. Iden's death notice was published in the 24 January 1854 edition of the Kentish Gazette, when her age was correctly given as 76.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s seventh child was George Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 4 March 1779. George died on 9 November 1780 when only one year and eight months old, and he was buried in the first family grave in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 12 November 1780.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s eighth child was Laurentia Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 21 April 1782. After her mother’s death in 1831 Laurentia inherited from her father the house occupied by her brother John that adjoined the east side the four houses bequeathed to her sister Iden at the top of Gads Hill in Gillingham. Laurentia never married, and in the census of 6 June 1841 she was living with her unmarried brother and sister, Edward and Iden, at Gillingham Road in Gillingham. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Laurentia was still part of her unmarried brother Edward’s household living at Plumstead House, Gads Hill, Gillingham. When her brother John died in 1859 Laurentia had the use, until her death, of the property shares that her brother had inherited from their father, this included a half share of Plumstead House. In the census of 7 April 186 1 Laurentia was part of her unmarried brother James’ household (her brother Edward having died) at Plumstead House, Gads Hill, Gillingham, and she was described as being a landed proprietor.

Laurentia died at Gillingham on 15 May 1861 at the age of 79, and she was buried in the grave of her brother John and his wife in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 22 May 1861. Probate of Laurentia’s will, which valued her effects at under £600, was granted on 2 July 1861 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to her executors, who were her brother James Muddle, and her niece Anna Searle Muddle. Laurentia had made her will on 17 February 1851 and had instructed that her estate was to be for the use of her bothers Edward and James and her sister Iden during their lives, but only James had survived Laurentia so he alone had the use of Laurentia’s estate until he died in 1865. Then Laurentia’s instructions were that her estate was to be divided between her nieces; half of a property of 5 acres called Christmas Meadow in Gillingham that was planted with fruit trees and bushes and contained a house was to go to Anna Searle Muddle, and the other half to Laurentia Sissell Muddle and Elizabeth Strover Muddle; a house at Layfield was to go jointly to Anna Searle Muddle, Laurentia Sissell Muddle and Elizabeth Strover Muddle; the farm called Pockams and the land called Dickens Mead that were plated with fruit trees were to be sold and the proceeds divided between Anna Searle Muddle, Laurentia Sissell Muddle, Elizabeth Strover Muddle, Jane Donnelly Chenoweth and Ellen Muddle Chenoweth.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s ninth child was George William Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent in late December 1783 or early January 1784. George died when only three weeks old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 23 January 1784.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s tenth child was James Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 31 January 1785, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 13 March 1785.

James probably went to sea at a fairly young age and worked his way up to become a master mariner. The first record we have of him at sea, at the age of 25, is as the master of the small single mast sloop Boston sailing in coastal waters, when it was reported in Lloyd's List of 3 April 1810 that the Boston, master Muddle, had arrived at Wexford in Ireland on 24 March 1810 from London. Then The Edinburgh Advertiser of 5 October 1810 reported that Muddle was in command of the Boston sailing in ballast up the east coast of England from Rochester to Sunderland, when it run foul of a collier and sunk near Cromer, Norfolk on 22 September 1810.

 

 

James then purchased his own ship, which had been newly built in Sussex and was a 109-ton sloop with a single deck, copper bottomed, armed with 4 guns and A1 rated. He named this ship Plumstead after the name of the family's shipyard and home at Gads Hill in Gillingham. This ship was first registered at Rocester in 1811 and first recorded in Lloyd's Register for 1812. What was probably James' first voyage as master and owner of the Plumstead was recorded in Lloyd's List of 2 August 1811 when he sailed from Gravesend on 1 August 1811 bound for Dublin, then the Lloyd's List of 23 August 1811 recorded that the Plumstead had arrived at Dublin on 17 August 1811.

The Lloyd's Register for 1812 recorded James as the master and owner of the Plumstead sailing from London to Dublin and then on to Lisbon, Portugal. The 1812 edition of The Register of Shipping recorded that the Plumstead had first been surveyed in 1810 and then re-surveyed at Dublin during February 1812 when she was recorded as being a single deck Sloop of 109 tons, of 10ft draught when loaded, to be copper bottomed and armed with four 4-pounder guns. She was classified as a vessel of the First Class built of First Quality materials. Her owner and master was J Muddle and she was due to sail for Lisbon.

The Lloyd's Register for 1813 again recorded James as the master and owner of the Plumstead sailing from London to Lisbon. The Lloyd's List of 23 April 1813 reported that on 21 April the Plumstead had arrived at Gravesend from Seville, Spain. The Lloyd's List of 3 December 1813 reported that on a later return voyage from Seville to London the Plumstead, with James as master, was captured and sunk by the French Privateer Lion off Cape St Mary (Cape Santa Maria), southern Portugal on 15 October 1813, and that the crew had arrived at Cadiz, Spain.

It seems that James then became master of the 356-ton ship Leng that was owned by Nicholl; she was armed with six 6-pounder guns and had recently been built at Ipswich, as the 1815 edition of The Register of Shipping recorded that Muddle was master when she was surveyed in September 1814 and that she was then bound for the West Indies.

The Lloyd's Register for 1815 recorded that by January 1815 James had become the master of the 156-ton brig Robert, an A1 rated, single deck, copper bottomed ship, owned by R Nicholl, that had been built at Chatham in 1814. and that the Robert, with James as master, was to sail from London to Smyrna (now Izmir) in Turkey. The Lloyd's List of 11 April 1815 records the Robert, with James as master, arriving at Gravesend on 7 April from Nantes, France.

Later in 1815 James became master of the newly built 238-ton barque Orwell, an A1 rated, single deck, copper bottomed ship, also owned by R Nicholl. The Lloyd’s List of 30 June 1815 reported that the Orwell, with James as master, had sailed from Gravesend on 29 June bound for Trieste, Italy. They called in at Deal, Kent and the Lloyd’s List of 4 July reported that they had sailed from Deal for Trieste on 1 July. Then the Lloyd’s List of 5 September 1815 reported that they had arrived at Trieste from London on 14 August. This was also reported in the Caledonian Mercury of 9 September 1815. The Lloyd’s List of 12 January 1816 reported that they had arrived at Barcelona from Trieste. Then the Lloyd’s List of 7 May 1816 reported that they had arrived at St Vincent from Barcelona. The Lloyd’s List of 16 July 1816 reported that they had arrived at Stangate Creek on the River Medway in Kent from St Vincent on 14 July. Then the Lloyd’s List of 19 July 1816 reported that they had arrived at Gravesend in Kent on 17 July. From where the Lloyd’s List of 13 September 1816 reported that they sailed for New York on 10 September and the same list reported that two days later they were at Deal in Kent. They stopped off at Lymington in Hampshire because the Hampshire Telegraph & Sussex Chronicle of 7 October 1816 reported that the Orwell, with James as master, had sailed from Lymington on 4 October for New York, and the Lloyd’s List of 1 April 1817 reported that the Orwell, with James as master, had arrived at Barbados from New York. The Lloyd’s Register for 1817 recorded that the Orwell, with James as master, was sailing to St Vincent, and the Morning Chronicle of 19 November 1817 reported that the Orwell had arrived at Deal in Kent on 17 November bound for St Vincent. The Morning Chronicle of 30 November 1818 reported that the Orwell, with James as master, had arrived at Deal in Kent on 27 November bound for St Vincent. The Lloyd’s List of 16 February 1819 reported that the Orwell, with James as master, had arrived at St Vincent on 5 January from London. The Lloyd’s List of 11 May 1819 reported that the Orwell, with James as master, had arrived at Gravesend on 9 May from St Vincent. The Lloyd’s Register for 1819 recorded that the Orwell, which had been re-surveyed during October 1819, was still rated A1, and with James as master was again sailing to St Vincent. The Lloyd’s List of 23 November 1819 reported that the Orwell, with James as master, had sailed from Deal on 22 November for St Vincent. The Lloyd’s List of 7 December 1819 reported that Captain Lowry of the Sally had spoken to Captain Muddle of the Orwell on its way to St Vincent on 2 December at latitude 49ºN, longitude 7ºW. The Lloyd’s Register for 1820 recorded that the Orwell, with James as master, was yet again sailing to St Vincent, and that later that year James was replaced by Bryant as master.

The Lloyd's Register for 1820 also recorded that during that year James took over from W Gunner as master of the 410 ton convict ship Lord Sidmouth, which had been built at South Shields in 1816, registered in London, carried 6 guns and 31 men, and was owned by William Stoveld. So James, at the age of 35, had progressed from being master of ships sailing in coastal waters in 1810, to ships sailing to the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic, and now to ships sailing to the other side of the World. The 1 August 1820 edition of The Morning Chronicle reported that the Lord Sidmouth captain Muddle had sailed from Portsmouth on 30 July 1820 for New South Wales. Though it seems she initially sailed to Cork in Ireland from where she sailed on 4 November 1820 with 175 male prisoners, stores, and a detachment of the 1st Regiment. After a voyage of 107 days they arrived at Sydney in Australia on 19 February 1821, where 160 male prisoners were disembarked, presumably fifteen had died on the voyage; the ship’s surgeon was Thomas C Roylance.[91]

The 3 March 1821 edition of The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser printed a notice from Captain James Muddle and the officers of the Lord Sidmouth that they would be leaving the Colony and for claims be presented, presumably meaning outstanding bills incurred during their time in harbour. The 24 March 1821 edition of The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser reported that the Lord Sidmouth had departed Sydney on Tuesday 20 March 1821 for Madras. She was bound for South Shields via Batavia (now Jakarta in Indonesia) and Madras.[92] The 19 January 1822 edition of The Morning Chronicle reported that the Lord Sidmouth captain Muddle had sailed from Calcutta on 8 August 1821 for Mauritius but on the 10th struck an anchor, which went through her bottom, while passing James and Mary's Sand, resulting in her taking in a great deal of water and having to go into dock.

 

 

James’ father died in 1821, and James, together with his two brothers Edward and John, was an executor of his will.

After arriving back in England, from his convict carrying voyage on the Lord Sidmouth, James had by October 1821 became master of the 393-ton A1 rated trading ship Andromeda, which had been built at Sunderland three years earlier.[93] The Andromeda was registered in London, carried 2 guns and 24 men, and, like the Lord Sidmouth, was owned by William Stoveld. The Andromeda, commanded by James, departed Leith/Portsmouth on 31 October 1821, and sailing via Rio arrived at Hobart Town in Van Dieman’s Land on 4 May 1822.[94]

The following notice was placed in The Edinburgh Advertiser of 30 July, 6 August and 20 August 1822:

FOR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND AND NEW SOUTH WALES,

(With liberty to land Passengers and Goods at the Cape of Good Hope, and under engagement to be despatched from Leith in August.)

The

ANDROMEDA

A. 1. 650 tons burden,

JAMES MUDDLE, Commander.

The ANDROMEDA is a beautiful ship, copper-fastened and coppered to the bends: height between decks 6 feet ten inches; has a commodious poop; her cabins are spacious and elegantly fitted up, and the steerage accommodations superior to any vessel that has yet sailed from Scotland on the same voyage.

Captain Muddle is just returned from New South Wales, and will give every information respecting that Colony to intending settlers.

There will be an experienced surgeon on board.

For freight or passage apply to

JOHN BROADFOOT, Quality Street, Leith

The same notice, but with the ship's name as Lord Sidmouth instead of Andromeda had been placed in the Caledonian Mercury on 27 May and 10 June 1822 and The Edinburgh Advertiser of 25 June 1822, presumably this was an error as James was already master of the Andromeda. and had given up command of the Lord Sidmouth in 1821. A modified notice stating that the sailing had been delayed was placed in The Edinburgh Advertiser of 10 and 13 September 1822:

AT LEITH, FOR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND

AND NEW SOUTH WALES,

The

ANDROMEDA

JAMES MUDDLE, Commander.

A. 1. 650 tons burden,

The Sailing of this Ship has been postponed until the 28th September, when she positively clears at the Customhouse, and will proceed on her voyage the first fair wind thereafter; as a considerable part of her Cargo is already on board, and only a few births remain disengaged, an early application is requested.

For freight or passage apply to

JOHN BROADFOOT, Quality Street, Leith

 

 

At the same time the following notice was placed in The Times of 6, 9, 11, 13 and 18 of September:

FOR VAN DIEMEN's LAND and NEW SOUTH WALES, to SAIL from Leith the end of September, and to call at Portsmouth, the ANDROMEDA, A 1, burden 650 tons JAMES MUDDLE, Commander. The Andromeda is a beautiful ship, copper fastened, and coppered to the bends; height between decks 6 feet 10 inches, has a commodious poop, her cabins are spacious and elegantly fitted up, the accommodation for steerage passengers extremely roomy and comfortable, and will be provided with an experienced surgeon. For freight or passage apply to John Broadfoot, Leith; or Richard King, 8, Hart-street, Mark-lane, London.

The Edinburgh Advertiser of 18 October 1822 recorded that the Andromeda had finally sailed on 14 October:

On Monday, 14th instant, the ship Andromeda of London, JAMES MUDDLE, master, sailed from Leith Roads for New South Wales, with 68 passengers, all of whom are very respectable people. The vessel has on board a full cargo of merchandise, and a great number of agricultural implements.

A notice in The Times of 11 October 1822 noted that the Andromeda was on her way from Leith to Portsmouth and had room for a few more passengers:

FOR VAN DIEMEN's LAND and NEW SOUTH WALES, now on her passage from Leith to Portsmouth, where she will remain a few days, the ANDROMEDA, A 1, burden 650 tons 3 years old. This vessel has 2 cabins disengaged, and room for six steerage passengers, who may go on board at Portsmouth; the accommodations are equal, if not superior to any vessel that has loaded for New South Wales. Captain Muddle has just returned from that settlement and will give every information respecting the colony. An experienced surgeon is on board. For passage apply to Richard King, 8 Hart street, Mark lane. N. B. A very fine A 1 ship of 500 tons, is engaged to succeed the Andromeda at Leith.

A modified version of this notice was repeated in The Times of 14, 16 and 18 October 1822, now with only one cabin free and room for four steerage passengers. The Edinburgh Advertiser of 5 November 1822 recorded that the Andromeda had arrived at Portsmouth on Thursday 31 October. The Andromeda sailed from Portsmouth and The Edinburgh Advertiser of 19 November recorded that it had arrived at Falmouth on 11 November. The Edinburgh Advertiser of 22 November recorded that the Andromeda, commanded by Muddle, had sailed from Falmouth on 16 November 1822. But it seems that the Andromeda didn't get far because The Morning Chronicle of 7 December 1822 reported that due to winds from the west that the Andromeda had returned to anchor at Falmouth on 4 December 1822. It seems that there were finally favourable winds because the Andromeda was at Rio on 7 February 1823, and arrived in Hobart Town on 4 May 1823 carrying merchandise and 67 passengers.[95]

One of the passengers that James had safely transported to Van Diemen's Land was settler, Mr Leake of Hull, together with his family and livestock, and a report on his letters back to England was published in the Caledonian Mercury of 1 March 1824:

Letters have been received from Mr Leake, formerly of Hull, up to the beginning of August last, announcing the safe arrival of himself and family, live stock, &c. in Van Diemen's Land, on 4 May; since which, the Governor has granted him 2000 acres of land on the confluence of two rivers, which is the largest grant any individual can receive unless by special orders from Government at home. Wheat is 6s. to 7s. per bushel; tea, hyson skin, 3s.; East India sugar 4½d. per lb.; beef, mutton, &c. 7d. to 10d. per lb. but milk, eggs, butter, poultry, beer, spirits, wine, clothing, rent, firing, horses, and labour of every kind, is enormously high. Rapid and large fortunes have been made by those who keep stores, and purchase investments from England, but there is little produce that can be returned with a prospect of profit, which keeps the exchange high. Mr Leake and family sailed from Leith in the Andromeda, Captain Muddle, in Oct. 1822.

The Andromeda departed Hobart on 24 July 1823, with 282 tons of elephant oil and 2 passengers, and arrived in Sydney on 31 July 1823. It departed Sydney on 4 September 1823 for Calcutta in ballast and with some passengers.[96] Lloyd's List of 8 June 1824 reported that the Andromeda had arrived off Bengal (Calcutta) on 20 January 1824 with her bowsprit sprung, having been at sea for 138 days. Then the Lloyd's List of 6 July 1824 reported that the Andromeda had arrived at Calcutta on 29 January 1824. While docked at Calcutta a 35-year-old seaman on the Andromeda died and was buried at Fort William, Calcutta on 3 February 1824. The burial record gives the seaman's name as James Muddle, but it seems very unlikely that there was a seaman on the Andromeda that had the same name as her captain and much more likely that whoever recorded the burial mistakenly took the captain's name to be that of the seaman, and the true name of this unfortunate seaman will almost certainly remain forever unknown.[97] The Edinburgh Advertiser of 24 September 1824 reported that the Andromeda had sailed from Calcutta on 29 March 1824 and then Sands Head (near Calcutta) on 11 April 1824, she experienced very bad weather off the Cape on 7 July 1824, but didn't stop at either the Cape or St Helena, and has now arrived off the Lizard, Cornwall, England. The October 1824 edition of The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and its Dependencies reported that the Andromeda was off Portsmouth on 20 September 1824 and Lloyd's List of 24 September 1824 reported that the Andromeda had arrived at Gravesend on 23 September 1824.

 

 

The following notice was placed in The Times of 26 November 1824 and repeated in the issues of 1, 10, 14, 23 and 28 December:

FOR VAN DIEMEN's LAND and NEW SOUTH WALES, to sail in all January, 1825, the remarkable fine fast sailing coppered SHIP ANDROMEDA, A 1, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander: burden 400 tons: lying in the London Dock. This vessel, having a poop and being lofty 'tween decks, has superior accommodations for cabin passengers, and will carry an experienced surgeon. The commander has made two voyages to Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales and can give all necessary information to passengers respecting the state of those colonies. For freight or passage apply to Captain Muddle, at Lloyd's coffeehouse; to Mr. John Binmer, 19, Nicholas-lane; or to Anstice and Thornhill, Old South Sea House, Broad-street.

It seems that this sailing of the Andromeda was delayed because she hadn't attracted a full complement of freight and passengers, and the following modified notice was placed in The Times of 24 January 1825 with the start of the notice modified as follows:

FOR VAN DIEMEN's LAND and NEW SOUTH WALES, is under engagement to sail on or before the 12th of March, or forfeit freight, the remarkable fine fast sailing coppered SHIP ANDROMEDA, A 1, JAMES MUDDLE, ...

The Andromeda had probably attracted more cargo during February as the notice was repeated in The Times of 9 March 1825 with the start of the notice again modified as follows:

FOR VAN DIEMEN's LAND and NEW SOUTH WALES, is under engagement to sail on or before the 12th of March, or forfeit freight, having the greater part of her cargo engaged and shipping, the remarkable fine fast sailing coppered SHIP ANDROMEDA, A 1, JAMES MUDDLE, ...

But the Andromeda didn't sail by 12 March as the notice was again repeated in The Times of 6 April 1825 with the start of the notice again modified as follows:

FOR VAN DIEMEN's LAND and NEW SOUTH WALES, to sail in a few days, having the greater part of her cargo engaged and shipping, the remarkable fine fast sailing coppered SHIP ANDROMEDA, A 1, JAMES MUDDLE, ...

The Andromeda, under the command of James, finally departed London on 28 April 1825 with a cargo of sundries. She was chased by a pirate brig, manned by black men, in mid-Atlantic (3n, 24w) on 9 June 1825, and arrived in Hobart Town on 8 September 1825 carrying general merchandise and 25/30 passengers.[98] She departed Hobart on 6 October 1825, and arrived in Sydney on 14 October 1825 carrying passengers.[99] She departed Sydney on 8 December 1825, with cargo, and Thomas Wills, a Sydney ship-owner, as a passenger.[100] She arrived at Hobart Town on 26 December 1825, where she discharged part of her cargo, consisting of 20 axletrees, 400 hurdles, 25,000 bricks, 2 horses, bluegum cedar, redwoods, hides, oil etc. She departed for London on 19 February 1826 with part of her original cargo, and 315 bales of Van Dieman’s Land wool, bark, and extract, 119 casks of oil, whale bone etc. Then after a voyage of 4½ months the Andromeda was off Falmouth on 1 July 1826 then at Deal on 6 July 1826 and at Gravesend on 8 July 1826.[101]

It seems that Andromeda may have made all or part of the outward leg of the above voyage in the company of two other ships, because the ship news in The Courier of the 11 March 1826, in a reference to the above voyage, reported that:

The Security, Ross; Andromeda, Muddle; and the Medina, Briggs; from London, have arrived at Van Dieman’s Land.

And similarly Lloyd's List of 11 April 1826 and The Edinburgh Advertiser of 14 April 1826 reported:

SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES. Arrived previous to the 20th Oct. Medina, Briggs; Security, Ross; and Andromeda, Muddle; from London, but all last from Van Diemen's Land.

On returning from this voyage it seems that James and his brother Edward considered investing in land in either Van Diemen's Land or New South Wales. To this end James wrote a letter on 23 September 1826 to the Colonial Office, Downing Street, London, who replied in a letter dated 9 October to James at 19 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, stating that if James went to either of these colonies the Governor there had the power to grant him land to be used for agricultural purposes if he produced their letter and evidence that he had sufficient capital to fulfil the conditions of the grant of land contained in an enclosed printed memorandum. As proof that he had sufficient capital James' brother Edward wrote a letter to James dated 2 October, stating that he would make £1000 available at Sir R C Glynn & Co. Bank in London for James' use. It seems that James did at least contact the Governor's Office of New South Wales when he got to Sydney in March 1827 as copies of the letters to James from the Colonial Office and his brother Edward survive in their records.[102] There is no evidence that James took up a grant of Land in either Van Diemen's Land or New South Wales.

 

 

Later in 1826 James was still master of the Andromeda, when he made his second convict carrying voyage, the start of this voyage was reported in the Cinque Ports Herald of the 30 September 1826:

Deptford. The Andromeda convict ship being complete and having received on board a guard of 30 men of the 39th Foot will go down the river tomorrow to receive male convicts at Woolwich.

Then Lloyd's List of 17 October 1826 reported that the Andromeda had sailed from Gravesend on 16 October 1826, followed by The Edinburgh Advertiser of 24 October 1826 reporting that she sailed from Ramsgate on 17 October 1826 and Lloyd's List of 20 October 1826 reporting that she had sailed from Deal on 17 October 1826 bound for New South Wales. She was carrying 146 male prisoners, and after a voyage of 132 days, arrived at Hobart Town on 23 February 1827, where 143 male prisoners were disembarked, three having died on the voyage; the ship’s surgeon was William B Carlyle.[103] A detachment of the 40th Regiment under Lt. Queade was also landed. The Andromeda departed Hobart Town on 18 March 1827 for Sydney where it discharged a detachment of the 39th Regiment.[104] It was while he was in Sydney that James contacted the Governor's Office of New South Wales about a possible grant of land in the colony as detailed above. Later that year James and the Andromeda made the return voyage to England, stopping off at Batavia and then Mauritius, where they arrived in a leaky condition on 30 September. On 9 October they were discharging cargo so as to ascertain the defect, and on 25 October they were repairing topsides.[105] They sailed from Mauritius on 10 December 1827 and arrived at Portsmouth on 24 March 1828.[106]

James was still master of the Andromeda owned by William Stovell when The Register of Shipping for the Year 1828 reported that when she was surveyed at London she was in her 9th year and found to be in need of repairs. So it seems that James then found employment as captain of a newer ship with a different owner, as the same publication also reported James as the master of the Clarence owned by J Binmer when she was surveyed at London during September in her 1st year and passed as seaworthy. James was master of the 254-ton barque/whaler the Clarence, when she sailed from London on 26 November 1828, and then Portsmouth on 1 January 1829; arriving at Hobart Town on 11 May 1829 with general goods and 3 passengers. The Clarence, fitted out for the Sperm Fishery and bound for a whaling voyage in the South Seas, departed Hobart Town on 20/22 July under the command of Captain Lindsay.[107] The Oriental Herald and Journal of General Literature reported in its issue of January 1829 that the Clarence had departed Falmouth on 11 December 1828 for the South Seas, which does not seem consistent with her departing Portsmouth on 1 January 1829 as stated by Ian Nicholson unless she had to return to England for some reason such a bad weather.

 

 

The next record of James was as a passenger on the Persian, a convict transport, which departed Hobart Town on 7 November 1830, and arrived at Launceston in Tasmania on 3 December 1830, on the first leg of her return trip to England. James was not on the passenger list when the Persian left Launceston for London on 10 February 1831.[108] He must have returned to Hobart Town as he must be the Mr Muddle who was a passenger on the John that departed Hobart Town on 12 July 1831 bound for London.[109] The February 1832 issue of The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia reported that James Muddle was one of the passengers that had arrived on the John from Van Diemen's Land.

After his mother’s death in 1831 James inherited from his father the two houses adjoining the house that his father had occupied near his shipyard in Gillingham.

After his return to England the Lloyd's Register for 1832 recorded that in late 1831 James had become the commander of the 356-ton ship Lang, E1 rated and owned by J Binmer, that had been built at Ipswich in 1814 and carried 6 guns. The following announcement was printed in The Times of 12 and 26 December 1831:

FOR HOBART TOWN, Van Diemen's Land, direct, will be quickly dispached, having the greater part of her cargo engaged, the remarkably fine, fast-sailing, coppered Ship LANG, burden 360 tons, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander; lying in the London Dock-basin. Has very superior accommodation for cabin and steerage passengers, having 7 feet height between decks. For freight or passage apply the Commander on board; or to John Binmer, 1, Church-row, Fenchurch-street.

Then a modified version of the announcement was printed in The Times of 30 December 1831 and 4, 6, 11, 13, 18 and 20 January 1832:

FOR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND direct, will positively sail in all January, the remarkably fine, fast-sailing, coppered Ship LANG, burden 360 tons, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander; lying in the London Dock-basin. Has very superior accommodation for cabin and steerage passengers, having 7 feet height between decks. For freight or passage apply the Commander, on board; or to John Binmer, 1, Church-row, Fenchurch-street.

The Lloyd's List of 20 July 1832 reported that the Lang commanded by Muddle was in the mid-Atlantic at latitude 3N and longitude 27W on 30 May 1832 when she had contact with the Eleanor. The Lang commanded by James arrived at Hobart Town on 16/17 August 1832, from London, carrying general goods and 9 passengers, and then departed Hobart Town on 4/5 November 1832 bound for the Sperm whale fishery.[110] The Lang, under the command of James, is next heard of departing Hobart Town on 15 February 1834, to again go Sperm whaling in the South Seas. The Lloyd's List of 30 October 1835 reported that the William 4th commanded by Chamberlain had arrived at Hobart Town on 18 March 1835 carrying 1050 barrels of whale oil that had been produced by the Lang commanded by Muddle. The Lang arrived back in Hobart Town from this whaling voyage on 14 April 1835, carrying 300 barrels of Sperm oil. On this voyage James found an unrecorded shoal that sounded in 3¾ fathoms, running North-East/South-West about 3 or 4 miles long, with Volcano Island visible SSE from the masthead. This was reported in a letter dated 21 April 1835 to Lloyds from the agent in Hobart and published in the Morning Post of 21 October 1835 the day after it was received. The Lang departed Hobart Town on 23 June 1835 bound for London, with goods and a full cargo of colonial produce.[111]

 

 

Then ten years after his last convict voyage, James was master of the 410 ton convict ship St Vincent, which sailed from Deal in Kent on 13 August 1836 for Cork in Ireland.[112] The St Vincent left Cork on 13 September 1836 with 193 male prisoners, and after a voyage of 114 days, arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney Cove, Australia, on 5 January 1837, where 190 male prisoners were disembarked, presumably three had died on the voyage; the ship’s surgeon was Andrew Henderson.[113] The ship also carried; a guard consisting of, Lieutenant Stewart of the 3rd Regiment, Lieutenant Scully of the 80th Regiment, and 30 rank and file of the 28th and 80th Regiments; together with six women, seven children, and ten free boys. The St Vincent departed Sydney for Batavia on 5 February 1837. The December 1837 issue of The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia recorded the St Vincent commanded by Muddle had left Batavia on 4 June and arrived off Portsmouth on 11 November and was bound for Hamburg. The 15 November 1837 issue of The Scotsman also recorded that the St Vincent commanded by Muddle had arrived at Portsmouth on 10 November from Batavia. After sailing to Hamburg the St Vincent finally docked at London on 8 January 1838.[114]

James was still in command of the St Vincent when a notice in The Times of 30 January, 13 and 19 February 1838 stated that she was due to sail to China on 20 March:

FOR CHINA direct, will sail on the 20th March, the fast-sailing river-built ship St VINCENT, A1, 500 tons, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander; lying in the West India Docks. This ship has excellent accommodations for passengers, and carries a surgeon. For freight or passage apply to T. Haviside and Co., Sun-court, or 69, Cornhill.

The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia for June 1838 reported that the St Vincent commanded by Muddle had finally departed for China on 16 May 1838. Then the 13 June 1838 edition of The Morning Chronicle reported that on 28 May 1838 the Favourite had spoken with the St Vincent at 43N, 17W, which is in the Atlantic 400 miles west of the north-west tip of Spain. Sixteen months later The Morning Chronicle of 26 September 1839 reported that the St Vincent commanded by Muddle had sailed from China on 25 May 1839 for London. Then The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia for January 1840 reported that the St Vincent commanded by Muddle had sailed from China on 25 May 1839 and arrived off Deal in Kent on 14 December 1839. The St Vincent finally docked at London on 18 December 1839.[115]

James’ fourth and last convict voyage was as the master of the 425-ton convict ship Mandarin, which sailed from Spithead (Portsmouth) on 25 February 1840 with 212 male prisoners that included three Chartist convicts, but must have immediately encountered bad weather because the 6 March 1840 edition of The Hull Packet reported that the convict ship Mandarin captain Muddle had put in at Falmouth on 26 February, the day after leaving Portsmouth, because of the loss of her main and fore topmasts. Repairs must have quickly been made because two days later, on 28 February, she sailed from Falmouth. Two months later as the Mandarin neared the Cape of Good Hope it was reported to the Captain on 30 April that the convicts intended to take-over the ship and sail her to America with convict John Black navigating and that one of the guards was in the plot; this was reported when the Mandarin arrived at Simon Bay, Cape of Good Hope on 4 May.[116] The Mandarin then sailed across the Southern Indian Ocean, and after a voyage totalling 126 days arrived at Hobart Town on 30 June 1840, where 210 male prisoners, including John Frost a well-known leader of the Chartists, were disembarked; presumably two had died on the voyage.[117] The ship’s surgeon was Alexander McKechnie, and the guard was under the command of Lt. Nicholson and Ensign Hopper of the 96th Regiment.[118] The Mandarin then departed Hobart Town on 28 July for Sydney, where it arrived on 3 August 1840, carrying general goods/sundries, guard of the 80/51st Regiments and 6 prisoners bound for Norfolk Island. The Mandarin departed Sydney on 31 August 1840 bound for Singapore and Batavia.[119] After arriving at Batavia she left for Samarang on 6 October.[120] Then on 27 November she was back at Batavia loading so that she could sail for London on 1 December.[121]

 

 

After the Mandarin had arrived back in London James was still master of her when she was due to sail to New Zealand as detailed in this notice printed in The Times of 15 April 1841 and The New Zealand Journal of 22 May 1841:

FOR WELLINGTON and BAY of ISLANDS, New Zealand, a regular trader, the fast-sailing British-built ship MANDARIN, A1, 500 tons, coppered and copper fastened, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander; lying in the St. Katharine Dock. This splendid vessel has most elegant and commodious accommodations for passengers, having a full poop, and upwards of seven feet height in her between decks; is well ventilated, and will carry an experienced surgeon. For terms of freight or passage apply to Messrs. R. Gordon and Sons, 23, Billiter-street; or Marshall and Edridge, 15, Fenchurch-street.

The New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator of the 4 September 1841 reported that it had been advertised in the London papers that the Mandarin, 500 tons, Captain James Muddle, had been laid on as a freight ship for Port Nicholson, which was the original name for Wellington Harbour. But James didn't sail to New Zealand as master of the Mandarin because just a month after the first notice in The Times, another notice in The Times of 17 May 1841 stated that he was now master of the Glenbervie and due to sail to Hobart Town:

FOR HOBART TOWN direct, a regular trader, for measurement goods and passengers only, and is warranted to sail on the 1st of June, the fast-sailing, British-built, first-class ship GLENBERVIE, 350 tons, coppered and copper fastened, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander; lying in the London Docks. This fine vessel has excellent accommodations for passengers. For terms of freight or passage apply to Messrs. R. Gordon and Sons, 23, Billiter-street; or Marshall and Edridge, 15, Fenchurch-street.

James was master of the Glenbervie, a barque of 380 tons, when she departed London on 8 July 1841, with general merchandise and 14 passengers; arriving at Hobart Town on 10 November 1841. The Glenbervie departed Hobart Town on either the 4 December 1841 or the 6 February 1842 bound for London with oil, wool, and 3 passengers.[122] The Morning Chronicle of 24 June 1842 reported that the Glenbervie had arrived off Falmouth on 22 June 1842 and after landing her mail she proceeded to London.

After arriving back in London the Glenbervie was due to make another voyage to Hobart Town with James as master. This voyage was first advertised in The Times of 16 June 1842, just before the Glenbervie had arrived back from her last voyage:

For HOBART TOWN direct, expected daily to arrive, and will meet with her usual despatch, the fast-sailing British-built first-class ship GLENBERVIE, 450 tons, coppered and copper fastened, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander; will load in the London Dock. This fine vessel has excellent accommodations for passengers.

By the 24 June the Glenbervie had arrived back in London and already engaged a considerable quantity of cargo as detailed in a modified version of the above notice placed in The Times of 24 June, 2, 4, 20 and 26 July, and 8 August 1842. It must have been soon after this that the Glenbervie sailed to Hobart and then back to London, because The Scotsman of 15 July 1843 reported that the Glenbervie captained by Middle [sic] had arrived off Falmouth from Hobart on 22 June 1843.

The Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping from 1st July 1843 to 30th June 1844 reported that James was master of the barque Roseanna of 397 tons that had been built at Liverpool in 1840 and was owned by McCalmont when it was surveyed during July 1843. James and the Roseanna sailed from London on 4 September 1843 bound for Pernambuco in Brazil, with a crew that consisted of a mate, 2nd mate, carpenter, steward, cook, 9 seamen and 3 apprentices. Then the Roseanna sailed from Pernambuco on 22 January 1844 with a cargo of sugar, cotton and hides and docked at Liverpool on 2 March 1844, where all the crew except the mate and the 3 apprentices were discharged.[123] The Lloyd's List of 26 April 1844 reported that the Roseanna commanded by Muddle had left Liverpool the day before bound for Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

 

 

After James returned to England he again became captain of the barque Glenbervie. The Manuel de l'Assureur ou Vade-Mecum du Commerce Maritime. Par M. Auguste Morel, No. 5. - Dix-huitième Année published in Paris in 1845 recorded J Muddle as the captain of the barque Glenbervie that had been built in 1815. So it must have been the Glenbervie that that James took out to Hobart but didn't return to London with, because as 'Captain Muddle' he was a passenger on the Mayflower when it departed Hobart Town on 8 May 1845, bound for London.[124] And Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping of 1 July 1845 reported that Russell had replaced J Muddle as master of the Glenbervie.

At the beginning of 1846 we have James, now aged 61, becoming master of the William Wilson and the first notice of the intended voyage was published in The Times of 12 February 1846:

FOR PORT PHILIP direct, a regular trader, has the greater portion of her cargo engaged and shipping, and will have immediate despatch, the fine fast sailing first class teak-built ship WILLIAM WILSON, register 407 tons, JAMES MUDDLE, Commander; lying in the London Docks. This fine ship has a full poop with first-rate cabin accommodations, and having above seven feet height between decks, presents a most excellent opportunity for intermediate and steerage passengers. For terms of freight or passage apply to the owner, Robert Brooks, Esq., St. Peter's chambers, Cornhill; or to Devitt and Moore, 9, Billiter-street.

Slightly modified versions of the above notice were published in The Times of 26 February, and 10 and 12 March 1846 stating that the William Wilson, with James Muddle as commander, had nearly completed loading and would sail in a few days' time. But for some reason James was not to sail as master of the William Wilson on this voyage as the Crew Agreement for this voyage, which left London on 25 March 1846, has William Elmslie Shaw as the master.[125] And though the Lloyd's Register for both 1846 and 1847 records James as the master of the 407 ton barque William Wilson owned by Robert Brooks that had been built in Calcutta in 1826, and in both years was to make voyages from London to Port Phillip, it seems that the information on the master was out of date and in early 1846 James had finally retired from the sea.

The West Kent Poll Book for 1847, which recorded the electors for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of Kent, listed James Muddle of Plumstead House in Gillingham as one of the electors, which means that to qualify to vote James must have owned freehold property to at least the value of 40 shillings' annual rental within the Western Division of Kent. James never married, and in the census of 30 March 1851 he was a retired ship’s master living as part of the household of his unmarried brother Edward, at Plumstead House, Gads Hill, Gillingham. The West Kent Poll Book for 1852 recorded that James Muddle of Plumstead House, Gillingham voted in the election held on 15 & 16 July 1852 for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of the County of Kent.

In the 1855 edition of the Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties and the 1858 edition of Melville & Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Kent James was listed under the gentry as James Muddle of Gads Hill, Gillingham. The West Kent Poll Book for 1859 recorded that James Muddle of Plumstead House, Gillingham voted in the election held on 6 May 1859 for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of the County of Kent. James’ brother Edward had died in 1857; so in the census of 7 April 1861 James was the head of the Muddle family at Plumstead House, and had his unmarried sister Laurentia, and unmarried niece Anna Searle Muddle, living with him. The family still had Susan Pierce as a live-in house servant. The following month James’ sister Laurentia died and James was described as a gentleman of Gillingham when he acted as one of the executors of her will, which left James the use of all Laurentia’s estate during the rest of his life.

James died at Plumstead House on 17 December 1865 at the age of 80, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 22 December 1865. Probate of James’ will, which described him as a master mariner and valued his effects at under £100, was granted on 4 January 1866 by the Principal Probate Registry in London to his two nieces, Anna Searle Stunt (née Muddle) who had been living with him until her marriage in 1863, and Elizabeth Strover Muddle. James had made his will on 18 November 1857 and left his estate to be divided between his nieces as follows: £150 of shares in the Bank of Van Diemens Land at Hobart, £75 of New 3% Bank of England annuities, the property that he had inherited from his father and all the residue of his estate to Anna Searle Stunt; £200 of shares in the Commercial Bank of Hobart together with his binnacle time keeper and sextant to Laurentia Sissell Muddle; £200 of shares in the Commercial Bank of Hobart together with his watch with guard and seals and his spy glass to Elizabeth Strover Muddle; £10 10s to Jane Donnelly Chenoweth; £10 10s to Ellen Muddle Chenoweth.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s eleventh child was Jesse Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent during August 1786. Jesse died when only six weeks old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 4 October 1786.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s twelfth child was Jope Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent during February 1788. Jope died when only two days old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 25 February 1788.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s thirteenth child was George Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 1 June 1789, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 28 June 1789. George died when not quite three years old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 10 May 1792.

 

Edward and Laurentia’s fourteenth child was Elizabeth Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 5 November 1791, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 11 December 1791. When she was 26 years old Elizabeth sailed out to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa where in 1818 she married her first cousin 42-year-old John Chenoweth, who was the son of her father's sister Alice and had been working as a Admiralty Agent in the Cape of Good Hope since 1810. When Elizabeth's father made his will in November 1819 he described Elizabeth as the wife of John Chenoweth an agent for His Majesty's Naval Hospital at the Cape of Good Hope. See the section on John Chenoweth for the rest of their lives and details of their family.

 

 

Edward and Alice’s third child (Edward’s fifth) was Anne Muddle who was born at Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 17 July 1744. When she was only 16 years old Anne married Charles Couves, who was about 26 years old, at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 12 April 1761 by licence. When her parents died later in 1761 Anne inherited a fifth share of her father's premises at Sharpes Green in Gillingham, a seventh share of her father's two premises at Broadstairs, a seventh share of her father's premises at Gads Hill in Gillingham except for his shipyard, and also an eighth share of her father's personal estate. Charles and Anne lived at Gillingham where they had eleven children born between 1762 and 1787, two of whom died in infancy. Charles died at the age of 73, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 25 June 1807.

 

 

Charles and Anne’s eldest child was Ann Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 5 September 1762.

 

Charles and Anne’s second child was Jemima Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 13 May 1764 .

 

Charles and Anne’s third child was Elisha Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 2 March 1766.

 

Charles and Anne’s fourth child was Mary Laurentia Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 7 February 1768. Mary died when only a year old, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 16 May 1769.

 

Charles and Anne’s fifth child was Charles Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 11 March 1770.

 

Charles and Anne’s sixth child was Laurentia Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 20 January 1773.

 

Charles and Anne’s seventh child was Elizabeth Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 3 December 1775.

 

Charles and Anne’s eighth child was Alice Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 31 January 1779.

 

Charles and Anne’s ninth child was Thomas Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 17 May 1782.

 

Charles and Anne’s tenth child was William Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 14 April 1784, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 9 May 1784. William died at Gillingham when he was only 2 years old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 17 September 1786.

 

Charles and Anne’s eleventh child was Jesse Richard Couves who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 25 August 1787, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 16 September 1787.

 

 

Edward and Alice’s fourth child (Edward’s sixth) was Mary Muddle who was born at Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 11 February 1746. Mary died only a few weeks after her baptism, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 31 March 1746.

 

Edward and Alice’s fifth child (Edward’s seventh) was Mary Muddle who was born at Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 9 August 1748. When her parents died in 1761 Mary inherited a fifth share of her father’s premises at Sharpes Green in Gillingham, a seventh share of her father’s two premises at Broadstairs, a seventh share of her father’s premises at Gads Hill in Gillingham except for his shipyard, and also an eighth share of her father’s personal estate.

When she was 22 years old Mary married 27-year-old William Emmerson at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 17 June 1771 by licence. The licence was issued by the Archdeaconry of Rochester on 10 June 1771, and described William as being a 27-year-old bachelor and shipcot [thought to be a ship's carpenter] of Chatham, and Mary as being 22-year-old spinster of Chatham. William was the son of Charles and Mary Emmerson, and he had been baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Sandwich, Kent on 26 March 1744. This was probably the William Emerson who had been taken on as an apprentice by Mary's father in 1759. William and Mary lived at Chatham and Gillingham where they had eight children born between 1777 and 1790, four of whom died in infancy.

 

 

William and Mary’s eldest child was Elizabeth Emmerson who was born at Chatham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 28 July 1777.

 

William and Mary’s second child was Charles Emmerson who was born at Chatham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 1 August 1779. Charles died when he was about 3 months old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 11 November 1779.

 

William and Mary’s third child was Jane Emmerson who was born at Chatham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 1 October 1780.

 

William and Mary’s fourth child was Richard Emmerson who was born at Chatham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 6 October 1782.

 

William and Mary’s fifth child was Edward Emmerson who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 29 August 1784, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 26 September 1784. Edward died at Gillingham when he was 1 year and 9 months old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 11 June 1786.

 

William and Mary’s sixth child was John Emmerson who was born at Chatham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 14 January 1787.

 

William and Mary’s seventh child was Joseph Emmerson who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 5 August 1788, and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 31 August 1788. Joseph died at Gillingham when he was only 7 months old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 26 March 1789.

 

William and Mary’s eighth child was Martha Emmerson who was born at Chatham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 24 October 1790. Martha died at Gillingham when she was 1 year and 9 months old, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 5 July 1792.

 

 

Edward and Alice’s sixth child (Edward’s eighth) was Jane Muddle who was born at Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Peter the Apostle in Broadstairs on 18 June 1751. When her parents died in 1761 Jane inherited a fifth share of her father’s premises at Sharpes Green in Gillingham, a seventh share of her father’s two premises at Broadstairs, a seventh share of her father’s premises at Gads Hill in Gillingham except for his shipyard, and also an eighth share of her father’s personal estate. Jane was still single when she died at the age of 19, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 1 August 1770.


[1] TNA IR 1/14 spread 7, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[2] TNA IR 1/20 spread 198, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[3] Medway Archives DE0824 Title deeds.

[4] TNA IR 1/22 spread 73, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[5] Lambeth Palace Library VIII 64 K19 Will of Edward Muddle proved by Shoreham Deanery.

[6] CKS PRC17/92/104 Will of Sarah Stevens proved by Archdeaconry of Canterbury.

[7] This document is privately owned, but the author has been given a copy.

[8] CKS PRC17/92/104 Will of Sarah Stevens proved by Archdeaconry of Canterbury.

[9] TNA IR 1/22 spread 213, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[10] TNA WO 12/622 General Muster Book of 4th Regiment of Dragoons 1774-1797.

[11] TNA ADM 42/203-214 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Shipwrights 1756 -68.

[12] James D Crawshaw The History of Chatham Dockyard Vol.II pp.3/36-37

[13] TNA ADM 106/2975 Chatham Dockyard Artificers' Description Books, 1779.

[14] TNA ADM 42/225 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Shipwrights 1779.

[15] TNA ADM 42/225-227 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Ocham Boys 1779-81.

[16] TNA ADM 42/227-228 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Quarter Boys 1781-82.

[17] TNA ADM 42/228-235 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Caulkers 1782-89.

[18] TNA ADM 42/239 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Caulkers 1793.

[19] TNA ADM 42/247-268 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Caulkers 1801-15.

[20] TNA ADM 42/276-284 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Ocham Boys 1820-29.

[21] TNA ADM 23/1 Artificers Register of Pensions 1830-33.

[22] TNA ADM 45/17/49 Officers' & Civilians' Effects Papers, No 49 Edward Chenoweth.

[23] TNA ADM 42/229-231 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Ocham Boys 1783-85.

[24] TNA ADM 42/231-235 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Quarter Boys 1785-89.

[25] TNA ADM 42/235-237 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Ocham Boys 1789-91.

[26] TNA ADM 42/237-238 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Quarter Boys 1791-92.

[27] TNA ADM 35/54 Pay Books of HMS Aigle 23 Oct 1790 - 10 Sep 1798 (1793) &

        TNA ADM 36/11888 Musters of HMS Aigle December 1792 - February 1794.

[28] TNA ADM 48/15 Seamen's wills, surname C, 1795.

[29] TNA ADM 36/11262 Musters of HMS St Fiorenzo February 1794 - December 1794.

[30] TNA ADM 36/11294 Musters of HMS Berwick February 1794 - March 1795.

[31] TNA ADM 36/11820 to 11822 Musters of HMS Diadem March 1793 - August 1796 &

        TNA ADM 35/492 Pay Books of HMS Diadem April 1785 - October 1797.

[32] TNA ADM 36/12504 Musters of HMS Zealous January 1796 - May 1796.

[33] TNA ADM 35/54 HMS Aigle Pay Books 23 Oct 1790 - 10 Sep 1798 (1796).

[34] TNA ADM 36/12945 Musters of HMS Aigle November 1797 - September 1798.

[35] TNA ADM 36/12715 Musters of HMS Espoir October 1797 - October 1799.

[36] TNA ADM 36/15252 Musters of HMS Woolwich August 1798 - April 1800.

[37] TNA ADM 36/14711 Musters of HMS Champion July 1799 - December 1800.

[38] TNA ADM 36/14931 Musters of HMS Speedy May 1799 - October 1800.

[39] TNA ADM 36/14420 Musters of HMS Minotaur June 1800 - November 1800.

[40] TNA ADM 36/13808 Musters of HMS Guillaume Tell May 1800 - December 1800.

[41] TNA ADM 11/67/2 Succession Book of Standing Officers on HMS Cameleon 1795-1803.

[42] TNA ADM 36/14633 Musters of HMS Lutine January 1799 - September 1800.

[43] TNA ADM 36/15057 Musters of HMS Cameleon July 1799 - December 1802.

[44] NMM ADM 354/225/357, 358 & 359 Navy Board Outbound Letters.

[45] NMM ADM 354/202/63 & 64 Navy Board Outbound Letters.

[46] TNA ADM 36/16044 Musters of HMS Cameleon January 1803 - August 1804.

[47] TNA ADM 36/15625 & 17392 Musters of HMS Narcissus January 1804 - August 1805.

[48] TNA ADM 36/17393 Musters of HMS Narcissus July 1805 - April 1806.

[49] TNA ADM 36/17394 Musters of HMS Narcissus May - December 1806.

[50] TNA ADM 1/4416 Pro C 177 Admiralty correspondence, various sources 1806.

[51] TNA ADM 1/58 Admiralty correspondence, Admiral's letters 1805-1806.

[52] TNA ADM 106/2903 Register of Officers Appointed to HMS Narcissus from 1800 &

        TNA ADM 6/192 Succession Book of Standing Officers on HMS Narcissus 1800-1812.

[53] TNA ADM 35/2339 HMS Narcissus Pay Book, 1 July 1804 - 31 December 1807.

[54] TNA ADM 1/68 r102 Admialty correspondence with Captain Home Popham 1806.

[55] NMM ADM 354/231/147 Navy Board Outbound Letters.

[56] TNA ADM 106/2903 Register of Officers Appointed to HMS Saldanha from 1800 &

        TNA ADM 6/192 Succession Book of Standing Officers on HMS Saldanha 1800-1812.

[57] TNA ADM 42/99 & 100 Admiralty Yard Pay Books, Chatham Ordinary for 1808 & 1809.

[58] James Stainier Clarke & Stephen Jones The Naval Chronicle 1810, p86.

[59] TNA ADM 1/4425 Letters to the Admiralty from various sources, Surnames C, 1810, nos 1-299.

[60] TNA 1/1147/A42 Letters from Commanders-in-Chief, Portsmouth, A1 - A100.

[61] TNA ADM 37/2377 Musters of HMS Porcupine February - September 1810.

[62] TNA ADM 102/127 Accounts of the Cape of Good Hope Hospital 1810-1820.

[63] TNA ADM 102/129 Pay Lists of the Cape of Good Hope Hospital 1816-1829.

[64] TNA ADM 12/206 & ADM 12/210 72.3, 56.23 & 99.3 Index & Digest of Admiralty Orders 1822.

[65] TNA PMG 24/1 Naval Establishment, Salaried Officers Civil Pensions, Sep 1836 -Dec 1839.

[66] TNA PMG 24/5 Naval Establishment, Salaried Officers Civil Pensions, Jan 1849 -Dec 1851.

[67] TNA PROB 11/2137 Will of John Chenoweth proved by Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

[68] TNA HO 27/187 page 120, Criminal Register for 1880.

[69] Medway Archives P153/8/1 Vestry Minutes of Gillingham.

[70] Ronald A Baldwin The Gillingham Chronicles (Rochester, 1998) p.177.

[71] TNA IR 1/63 spread 82, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[72] TNA PROB 11/1659 Will of Edward Muddle proved by Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

[73] Ronald A Baldwin The Gillingham Chronicles (Rochester, 1998) p.184.

[74] TNA MEPO 4/334 spread 487, Metropolitan Police Register of Joiners.

[75] TNA PROB 11/2257 Will of Edward Muddle proved by Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

[76] TNA PROB 11/2212 Will of Jemima Josepha Muddle proved by Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

[77] TNA WO 364/2618 Soldiers' Documents from Pension Claims, Edward Muddle.

[78] TNA WO 363/M1897 WW1 Soldiers' Service Records, Edward John Muddle.

[79] WW1 Orderly Room Logbook for the 2/14th London Regiment, privately held.

[80] TNA WO 363/M1897 WW1 Soldiers' Service Records, Edward John Muddle.

[81] London Scottish Regimental Gazette, pp 78 & 79, privately held &

        TNA WO 372/23 First World War Medal Card for Edward John Muddle.

[82] Supplement to The London Gazette 24 January 1919 p.1233.

[83] TNA WO 372/14 First World War Medal Card for Edward J Muddle.

[84] TNA WO 363/M1898 WW1 Soldiers' Service Records, Edward John Muddle.

[85] TNA ADM 38/7345 Musters of HMS Victory July 1866 - December 1866.

[86] TNA ADM 38/7424 Musters of HMS Zealous 12 September 1866 - December 1867.

[87] TNA ADM 1/6005 Y210-67 Letters of Rear Admiral Hastings to the Admiralty.

[88] TNA ADM 38/8510 Musters of HMS Malacca 9 November 1865 - 9 September 1869.

[89] TNA ADM 12/806 Index to letters to & from the Admiralty, and

        TNA ADM 196/12 & 78 Admiralty Officers' Service Records, Paymasters & Accountants etc.

[90] TNA ADM 53/9426 Ship's Log Book of HMS Malacca 19 May 1869 - 9 September 1869.

[91] Charles Bateson The Convict Ships (Glasgow, 1959) pp.294, 328.

        Ian Nicholson Log of Logs, Volumes 1, 2 & 3.

[92] J S Cumpston Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney 1733-1825.

[93] Register of Shipping for the Year 1822, London, p36.

[94] Ian Nicholson Log of Logs, Volumes 1, 2 & 3.

[95] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1803-1833.

[96] J S Cumpston Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney 1733-1825.

[97] BL India Office Records N/1/13 p254 Parish register transcripts from the Presidency of Bengal.

[98] Ian Nicholson Log of Logs, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 and Lloyd's List of 14 March 1826.

[99] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1803-1833.

[100] J S Cumpston Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney 1733-1825.

[101] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1803-1833 &

          Lloyd's List of 16 June & 4, 7 & 11 July 1826.

[102] NSWSA Item 2/7934, micofilm reel 1166, Colonial Secretary's Letters relating to Land.

[103] Charles Bateson The Convict Ships (Glasgow, 1959) pp.308, 330.

          Ian Nicholson Log of Logs, Volumes 1, 2 & 3.

[104] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1803-1833.

[105] The Edinburgh Advertiser 18 January 1828, 22 January 1828 & 25 January 1828.

[106] The Edinburgh Advertiser 28 March 1828.

[107] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1803-1833.

[108] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1803-1833.

          Launceston Advertiser 13 December 1830 & 14 February 1831.

[109] Archives Office of Tasmania CUS33/1/1 p362 Departures from Tasmainia.

[110] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1803-1833.

[111] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1834-1842.

[112] The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia

          of September 1836

[113] Charles Bateson The Convict Ships (Glasgow, 1959) pp.304, 335.

          Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney 1826-1840.

[114] TNA BT 112/49 Register of Seamen's Tickets 1835-1840.

[115] TNA BT 112/49 Register of Seamen's Tickets 1835-1840.

[116] Bristol Mercury 25 July 1840.

[117] Charles Bateson The Convict Ships (Glasgow, 1959) pp.314, 337.

          Ian Nicholson Log of Logs, Volumes 1, 2 & 3.

[118] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1834-1842.

[119] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney 1826-1840.

[120] The Scotsman 10 February 1841, Naval Intelligence, East India Shipping.

[121] The Scotsman 20 March 1841, Naval Intelligence, East India Shipping.

[122] Ian Nicholson Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Tasmania 1834-1842.

[123] TNA BT 98/378 Crew Agreements for Ships registered at Port of London 1835-1844.

          Glasgow Hearld of 8 March 1844 and Liverpool Mercury of 8 March 1844.

[124] http://www.blaxland.com/ozships/ Website of Australian Shipping 1788-1968.

[125] TNA BT 98/1336 Crew Agreements for Ships registered at Port of London 1847.

 

Copyright © Derek Miller 2005-2016

Last updated 13 August 2016

 

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