Elizabeth Sandell

Transcript of will of Elizabeth Swingbourn

This is the last will and testament of me Elizabeth Swingbourn of Kidlington in the County of Oxford, Widow, made this twenty fourth day of June in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty nine.

First I will and direct that all my just debts funeral and Testamentary Expenses and the cost of proving this my will be paid and discharged by my Executors herinafter mentioned. I give and bequeath unto William Scroggs of Kidlington aforesaid, Miller, and Robert Burgoyne of the same place, Tailor, the sum of six hundred pounds, new three and one half per centum Bank Annuities, upon trust, to pay the dividends thereof to my niece Phillis Sandell, of the City of Oxford, for her sole and separate use independent of her husband, whether present or future, and not subject to his debts, control or engagements and, so that she shall not anticipate or assign the same or any part thereof, and from and after her decease upon trust to assign and transfer the said capital sum unto, and equally between, each of her children as shall be living at her decease. But in case of the death of either in her lifetime leaving issue, then upon trust, to assign and transfer the share of him, or her, so dying, unto his, or her, children. I give and bequeath unto the said Phillis Sandell, all my household furniture, linen, books and wearing apparel, for her sole, and separate use.

I give and bequeath unto my niece, Charlotte Pointer, now or late of Edgeware Road, in the County of Middlesex, one hundred pounds of the like stock, for her separate use and whose receipt for the same shall be a sufficient discharge.

I give and bequeath unto my niece Mary Head of Marston in the County of Wilts, fifty pounds of the like stock.

Unto my niece Ann Pointer, of Edgeware Road, aforesaid, one hundred pounds of the like stock.

Unto my niece Sarah Pullen, of Hinton in the County of Wilts, one hundred and pounds of the like stock.

Unto my nephew John Cox, of Bletchington in the County of Oxford, one hundred pounds of the like stock.

Unto my niece Martha Cox, of the City of London, one hundred and fifty pounds of the like stock, and to Rebecca, the wife of Stephen Cox, of New Woodstock in the County of Oxford, one hundred and fifty pounds of the like stock.

I give and bequeath to each of the daughters of my late nephew, Charles Warner, of Bletchington aforesaid, as shall be living at the time of my decease, nineteen pounds sterling, and to each of the children, as shall be then living, of a daughter, or daughters, of the said Charles Warner, who shall have died in my lifetime, a like sum of nineteen pounds.

I give and bequeath unto my niece Martha Upcott, of the City of London, nineteen pounds. Unto my niece Rebecca Smith of the same city, nineteen pounds.

Unto Ann, the daughter of the aforesaid Rebecca Cox, the sum of fifty pounds and unto Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Gibbs, of Warbrough in the County of Wilts, the sum of fifty pounds.

I give and bequeath to each of the children of my late nephew Thomas Cox, of Blechington aforesaid, the sum of ten pounds, to be paid to each on his or her attaining the age of sixteen years.

I give the sum of ten pounds to be distributed in bread to poor widows and widowers of Kidlington aforesaid at the discretion of my executors. I give and bequeath unto the said William Scroggs and Robert Burgoyne, the sum of nineteen pounds each as a small remuneration for the trouble they will be put to in executing this, my will. All the rest and residue of my estate and effects, whatsoever, and wheresoever, I give and bequeath unto the said William Scroggs, and Robert Burgoyne, upon trust, to pay and divide the same unto, and amongst themselves, and all, and every other the legatees, in my said will, mentioned, rateably and in proportion to the amount of their respective, and several, legacies, by me hereinfore bequeathed. And I hereby nominate and appoint the said William Scroggs and Robert Burgoyne to be executors of this my will, and, hereby revoking all former wills by me, heretofore made, do declare this to be my last will and testament, and I empower my said executors to alter, vary and transpose my said trust funded property as it may appear best, to them, but so that nevertheless, the sum may be secured on some real or Government Security or Securities, upon trust, aforesaid. And I devise all mortgaged and trust estates which may be vested in me unto the said William Scroggs and Robert Burgoyne, subject to, and upon, the equities and trusts affecting the same. And I declare that their receipt and the receipt of the survivor and his heirs shall be a good discharge for all monies, which, in such receipt, shall be expressed to be received, and that all persons paying any monies for the purposes of this my will, and, taking a receipt from them or him, accordingly shall not be obliged to see to the further application of the same monies, nor be accountable for the misapplication, provided lastly. And I hereby declare that on the death, refusal, or incapacity to act, of either of them, the said William Scraggs and Robert Burgoyne, or any trustee or Trustees, to be appointed in his or their place or stead, it shall be lawful for the acting trustee, or trustees, for the time being, of this my will, or the executors or administrators of the last acting trustee, to appoint a new trustee, or trustees, in the place as stead of such trustee so dying, refusing or becoming incapable, to act as aforesaid and thereupon, the said trust monies and premises shall be transferred so that the same may vest in such new trustee, jointly with the continuing trustee upon the trust hereinbefore declared. And that every such new trustee shall have the same power, as if he had been appointed by this my will. And my will and mind is that my trustees and executors shall not be answerable the one for the other of them, or for signing receipts for the sake of conformity, or for involuntary lapses, but each for his own acts, receipts and defaults only. And that it shall be lawful for them to reimburse themselves, and to allow each other all losses, costs, charges and expenses, which they, or either of them, shall be put unto, or sustain for, or by reason of, this my will, or the trusts hereby reposed in them. In witness whereof, I the said Elizabeth Swingbourn have to this, my last will and testament, contained in this and the two preceding sheets of paper, set my hand the day and year first above written.

Elizabeth Swingbourn

The writing contained in this and the two preceding sheets of paper was signed by the above mentioned Elizabeth Swingbourn the testatrix in the joint presence of us who in her presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses.

J. V .Harrison

Batten Harrison

Copy of will of Mrs Swingbourn. Dated 24th June 1839

Taken from the copy of the will made by Harrison and Son.

At the age of 11, Edward was awarded Oxford University privilegiatus as an apothecary. This gave him special rights in the city and he wouldn't have had to complete an apprenticeship. See attached image and www.headington.org.uk/oxon/mayors/government/1_privilegiatus.htm for more details.

Apothecary and Man Midwife, who was bankrupted in 1837. He had some kind of relationship with Mr Paget who re-established the Dorchester School in 1801 (see attached image). This is probably the origin of Joesph’s middle name.

From British History Online:

Dorchester:

Schools.

There had been an endowed grammar school in Dorchester since 1652, but by the middle of the 18th century it had ceased to provide effective education. (fn. 623) In 1801 a Mr. Paget advertised that he would re-establish 'Dorchester School' which had long been vacant, and offered to board 8 young gentlemen at 20 guineas a year, with dancing and French included in the curriculum. (fn. 624) By 1833 the school had 50 pupils. (fn. 625)

From: 'Parishes: Dorchester', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 7: Dorchester and Thame hundreds (1962), pp. 39-64. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63767 Date accessed: 19 April 2011.

“There is a family tradition that the Sandells descended from a Norman knight, John de Sandell, who came over with William the Conqueror. Joseph was a school master who founded a school in Oxford which closed only in 1975. Joseph died in 1866 and Leah then brought her young family to Hackney.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Hadajsah “married John Jones, a builder, in 1878, and hence was always known as "Auntie Jones". In 1881, they were living in Lower Clapton. From 1905 she lived first at Southwall Road, Deal, and finally at de Burgh Hill, Dover”

- Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

John “and his wife Eunice kept a draper's shop in High Street, Dover, for many years before the 2nd World War. Members of the family staying at Beach Crest always made a point of buying something in their shop. Bert was very fond of music but of somewhat limited tastes; he loved Handel and Haydn but could not see much in Bach or Mozart. At the beginning of the War they had to give up the shop as it did not pay and, in late middle age, Bert managed to obtain an uncongenial clerical job in the post office in Birmingham, where they lived in unsatisfactory lodgings. Eunice died suddenly of a stroke in May 1941, leaving Bert all alone in a strange land. However, in December 1943 he married Anne Sumner, the supervisor in the post office where he worked. They lived at Sparkbrook and he died four years later.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

“Ernest Jones lost his job and his home and he and his wife lived in a hotel room while looking for lodgings. After a hard day's searching they came back to their hotel room and sat on the floor exhausted and she died in his arms. He died soon afterwards.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Keturah “was an energetic, determined woman of incisive personality. After her husband’s death she remained at 8, Tudor Road for two years until Donald was married, but in 1923 moved to 17, Sandringham Road, Leyton, immediately opposite Kate and Tom. I stayed with her there for some time in 1926 while my mother was in hospital. She later paid for my music lessons at the Metropolitan Academy of Music in Leytonstone.

She continued right up to 1928 to spend most of the summer at Beach Crest, as she and her husband had done. During 1929 she was too ill to travel and Beach Crest was hardly used by anybody that year. She usually had a maid at Beach Crest. A notable one during the 20s was Hilda Spicer, who also came back with her to Leyton. The Spicers were a big family of fisher folk who lived at 11, Golden Street, Deal. Hilda's elder sister Irma Spicer was at one time a particular friend of Edward Thomas Middlemiss.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

On her death she was living at 17 Sandringham Road and left £1838 7s to Donald Boyd Bearman according to probate records.

Thomas “was brought up as heir to his father’s business and took it over when he was only 22. His father had taken a lot of care over his education and used to take him travelling, including a tour of Ireland during which he actually kissed the Blarney Stone. Under Thomas Bearman III the shop prospered as a high class bakery and confectionary. Hackney had many wealthy inhabitants at that time and Bearmans catered for what was called "the carriage trade". It was also his practice to serve lunch daily to a select group of customers in the back room of the shop. Some blue-rimmed Wedgwood soup plates from this room have been passed down in both my family and Kate’s family.

“He married Keturah Sandell on 3rd June 1873 and for the first five years of their married life they lived in rooms at Fremont Street, Hackney. By 1878 he was able to buy a fine big house, Melbourne House, 8, Tudor Road, Hackney. His mother continued to live over the shop until her death in 1888. By about 1894 he was able to sell the shop and retire and during the next few years came to acquire property all over London, as well as "Beach Crest" (bought in 1897) and "The Moorings" both at Deal and a house in Sandwich Market Place. A photograph of Beach Crest, as it is now, is at the top of the Contents page of this website.

“He was a noted numismatist, specialising in mediaeval English and Scottish coins. Bernard Roth's book "Ancient Gaulish Coins" was dedicated to him. When he died, his collection was sold for £600, a considerable sum in those days. His whole estate was left to a family trust, the Bearman Trust. The original trustees were his sons-in-law, Tom Stutchbury, Charlie Carrington and Edward Middlemiss, with Tom as Secretary. On Tom's death in 1941 his son Tom became Secretary. Among many other things, the Trust administered Beach Crest as a holiday home for the family until 1975, when they sold it to Frank and Florence Middlemiss. Also in 1975 Donald Bearman, the last Tenant for Life of the Trust, died and the Trust was then broken up and the assets distributed among the family.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Probate records show Thomas left £16,079 14s 1d.

Thomas “died shortly after the move from Fremont Street to Tudor Road and on the very day of the birth of his sister Edith, who was said to have been born "sobbing and sighing" as a result.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Kate “was in many ways a daintier version of her mother, from whom she inherited her flaming red hair. As a child she hated her red hair because the rude urchins used to shout "carrots" after her, but her husband later particularly admired it. Kate was educated at Lady Eleanor Holles' School, which was at that time situated in Mare Street, Hackney. She loved music and played both piano and violin. Her husband Tom bought her a piano when they married (8th October 1904) and this same piano was still very much in use by Kate's Merkin great-grandchildren ninety-four years later. She also loved animals, especially cats, of which she nearly always had one. In 1934 the family got a Chow dog called Ruff, which can be seen in many photos taken in the 1930s. Ruff was a splendid big dog, very strong; unfortunately he pulled Kate over, causing her to break her hip in 1938.

Like her mother, Kate was a woman of strong opinions and precise and proper ways. She lived all her life after her marriage at 16, Sandringham Road, Leyton even though this involved sleeping in the coal cellar during the Blitz of the 2nd World War. Before her marriage she had been a rather reserved person; afterwards, when she was stuck out at Leyton with nobody to talk to, her sisters were astonished at her flood of conversation when she visited the family home in Hackney. However, in 1911 her sister Hilda also moved to Leyton.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Edith “was the intellectual one among the Bearman girls. She was an impressive person to meet with her level gaze, deep well-modulated voice and beautiful articulation. Charles Carrington (12th Dec. 1877-30th April 1946) was an accountant. Charles and Edith married on the 22nd August, 1903 and from about 1911 they lived in an elegant house at 11, Willifield Way, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Golders Green. London.

They had been medically advised to move there from Clapton for the sake of Edith's health, which had never been very good. Charles lost his job early in the great depression (about 1929) and they invested in a book shop, The Temple Fortune Book Shop, 1071, Finchley Road, Golders Green, London, which they ran successfully until Edith died. Several of the books in our collection were bought there. They had to leave Willifield Way for two months, September-November 1940, as there was an unexploded German bomb in the ground just behind the house. The very day after they had arrived back home the house in which they had been staying temporarily was flattened by a bomb. When Elsie Bearman was admitted to a mental hospital in 1922 Charlie took on the thankless job of Receiver of her property under the Court of Protection. When Charlie died I took on this job until Elsie died in 1970. Edith died in November 1945, of pneumonia after getting soaked in a rain storm. I met Charlie that Christmas, when he seemed quite lost without his wife, and he died only four months later.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Hilda “was educated at the Misses Pitman’s school in Hackney until 1890, then at Lady Eleanor Holles’ School, which she left in 1895. In 1894, 1895 and 1896 the family went on holiday to Margate (by "Eagle" steamer from Tower Bridge). These were the first family holidays they had had, which suggests that Thomas Bearman probably retired from the shop in 1894.

About 1900 Hilda met Edward Middlemiss, as the Middlemiss family was at that time living next door at 10. Tudor Road. They became engaged in 1901 and married in 1907. Hilda, having a clear soprano voice, was in the choir at Mare Street Baptist Church, took part regularly in the Nonconformist Union Choir Festivals at the Crystal Palace, and sang in several Handel and other oratorios. This was with her fiance, who had a good baritone voice. In addition she was a fairly competent pianist. She was also an excellent draughtswoman and was often employed by her father to make detailed drawings of his coins. She was a keen tennis player and, in the winter, a skater on the lake in Victoria Park.

After their marriage, Hilda and Edward lived for 3½ years in rooms at 32, Poole Road, Hackney, London, and here their first child, Edward Thomas Middlemiss, was born. They moved to 38, Canterbury Road, Leyton on the 11th March 1911. Here Edward was able to indulge his interests in gardening, carpentry, photography and in having a dog - the Airedale Bob was the first.

Hilda was a less assertive person than her sisters Kate and Edith but was a woman of strong principles and knew her own mind. She was more concerned with fundamentals than with more trivial matters; she was not worried if the house was a bit untidy or about such details as the precise time of meals as long as her children grew up with the right principles in life. Like her husband and like her sister Kate, she was very fond of animals and we grew up in close contact with dogs, cats, tortoises, etc. Many of her letters from the time of the second World War have been preserved and shed a vivid light on what housekeeping, shopping and travelling were like in the dark days of the Blitz. On reading them, the word "indomitable" comes to mind as descriptive of her.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Elsie was “educated at Lady Holles’ School. She was the artistic one among the Bearman girls. She had a thorough training, including a painting tour of Holland, and was excellent at both drawing and painting. Several of her pictures have been handed down through the family, although one of the best, a still life with oranges, was destroyed when 38, Canterbury Road was bombed in 1940. When the Middlemiss family were living next door, about 1900, and Hilda and Edward became engaged, Elsie and Edward's younger brother, Alec , were very interested in each other; this was during 1900 - there was no mention of it in 1901. It is said that an engagement was vetoed by Mrs. Bearman. Elsie never did marry, but continued to live at Tudor Road. In 1921 she suffered the unpleasant shock of finding her father dead. About that time she was becoming progressively more withdrawn and peculiar and at the beginning of 1922 she was diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and committed to Horton Hospital, Epsom. She remained in hospital for the rest of her life, for many years in Garden Villa 3, Horton Hospital, but during the 2nd World War she was transferred to West Park Hospital, where she eventually died. She was not an unreasonable patient; she was always helping with the chores at the hospital and in the 1940s took up drawing and painting again quite successfully. Under modern ideas she would never have been kept in hospital all her life.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Donald “was educated at the Parmiters' School, Bethnal Green, and became a Chartered Accountant, although he once said that he would rather have done something literary with his life, like Charlie Carrington in his latter years (and cf. Tom Stutchbury Jnr.). Don was a keen Quaker and, like Tom Stutchbury Snr., a Fabian socialist.

During the 1st World War he was an absolute conscientious objector and spent much time in prison. In prison (1916-1919) the regime was very tough and he disliked recalling such unhappy memories in later life. He was severely restricted in how often he could write home, what he could write and how much. The letters survive and are written in minute writing to get more on a page. They say nothing about life in prison and consist entirely of his own philosophical thoughts.

Quakers hold meetings rather than services, so on a Sunday he was always off to meeting, where he would take his little notebook to remind him of the thoughts that had come to him during the week, which he would then share with others at the meeting. He was a colourful figure - six feet five inches tall and slim, quite a health fanatic and a strong believer in homeopathy. Most days, right up until his late seventies, he could be seen high up on his specially designed two-barred bicycle cycling down to the River Lea at Broxbourne, summer and winter, to swim. (It is only fair to add that the water was warmed by discharge from the power station upstream). He was keen on nudism - perhaps as a reaction against Victorian stuffiness towards sexual matters. The large extended garden and pool at Noonsun enabled him and his children (not his wife) to swim and sunbathe in the nude, and later in life he liked to visit nudist camps.

He had a tendency to have his head in the clouds - a trait which could be infuriating when practical family matters needed attention. His wife was the extreme opposite in this respect - very down-to-earth. As a young man after the War he travelled much in Europe and met Ethel Webb in Paris.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Lived at 25 Churchfields, Broxbourne - Ancestry have phone records from 1941-1960. At death was living at 52 Hertford Road, Hoddesdon according to probate records.

“Ida ... married William Malcolm on the 25th July 1908. From early in the 2nd World War they were living at 3, Sandringham Road, Leyton, opposite the Stutchburys, where William died in 1949. My wife Florence and I inspected the house in 1954 with a view to buying it, but we decided not to. Ida and William had three children, Frank, Alan and Kathleen.”

Bearman Family tree by Dr. Frank Middlemiss

Probate 28 May 1908, John Barraclough Howson of 134 Hollydale-road Peckham, Surrey died 10 April 1908 at the Charing Cross Hospital Middlesex, to Rhoda Howson widow. Effects £184 19s.

Rhoda “married Ernest Southernwood in 1904. They lived at 158, Waller Road, New Cross, South-east London. They had no children.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Emily “married Mr. Mitchell (died 1937), a man a good deal older than herself and she was a widow for many years, living at Lee, south-east London. They had no children. She died suddenly in November 1961. I was told that this was the result of being caught between two trams and crushed (but were there any trams in the London area in 1961? Another story is that she was knocked down by a car).” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Winifred “married Basil Banks and they lived in a house called Winbas at 18, Exford Road, London, SE12. (Note that nearly all this part of the family was concentrated in south-east London). In later years Winnie moved to Hythe. She suffered with arthritis and was not very mobile. Winnie and Basil had two children, Winifred Jnr. and Beryl. Winifred Banks married a man named Cooke, and they had a son Clive Vincent Cooke, born 29th August 1943. Beryl Banks, with her sister and parents, used to stay at Beach Crest in the 20s.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

“Wilfred emigrated to Canada on the 8th March 1913. He married and had two daughters.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Kezia “was born at Headington, near Oxford. In 1911, she married a Thomas Coles and they lived in Newbridge, Monmouthshire. Sadly, before they had been married long, he had an accident. I was told that he walked in the dark into a machine - I think it was a lawn mower - and suffered injuries from which he died. Auntie Kiz, as she was always called, spent the rest of her life in domestic jobs and lodgings. According to the 1881 and 1901 censuses, she was living with the Bearmans at 8, Tudor Road on both these dates. She had a room in our house at Canterbury Road, Leyton, for a time, when I was a small child. In her last years she had rooms in Granville Road, Walthamstow.

“Like most of her sisters, she was a woman of forceful personality and strong opinions, fiercely conservative in her views. Like so many people originating in the 19th century, and like some characters in Dickens, she had a special dread of having to go into the workhouse. In 1934, when for some illness she had to spend some time in St. Margaret's Hospital, Epping, we had to be very careful that she did not find out that it had formerly been the workhouse. For some reason she always seemed particularly fond of me. In February 1941 it was reported that she was using her precious ration coupons to buy extra food ready for my next leave.”

Frank Middlemiss wrote in his family notes online

Frank Middlemiss wrote in his online notes: Clara “was the only one of Joseph and Leah's children who was not given a biblical name. As they already had a Kezia, named after one of the daughters of Job, they intended to call their youngest after another of Job's daughters, Keren-Happuch, but when they arrived at the font neither of them could remember the name. So, quite on the spur of the moment, looking at his daughter's typical Sandell red hair, Joseph decided to call her Clara Bright. Clara Sandell later, as a young woman, emigrated, quite alone, to Canada and then the USA. There she married three successive husbands, of whom the last was a wealthy orange grower at Anaheim, California. She died in California in 1952.”

I have not been able to find any evidence of middle name Bright or of 3 husbands, however the meaning of the name Clara is taken to be bright so possibly the story got mixed up over the years.

Emigrated 1st July 1911 to Halifax, Canada, on board the ship Carthaginian. When Clara crossed from Canada to US in 1912 she apparently had 25 dollars in her possesion and was described as being 5'5" tall, fair complexion, brown hair and green eyes.

Death record of Clara Long online at vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com confirms her identity with mother’s maiden Davis, father Sandell and birth date of 26th Sept 1863.

Clara can be seen in the 1920 census in Los Angeles as widow Tagg. The following year she married William J. Long. From the time of her crossing the Canada - US border in 1912 when she gave her age as 38 (48), 1920 census 45 (56) Clara understated her age. In her death record she is recorded as being the widow of William Tagg (her first marriage) but the dates were at least correct.

Was a builder according to the 1916 voter registration lists attached. 

Mother was Elizabeth Hunt, father James according to marriage record on familysearch.