Provenance, A George IV Ladies Box and Aunt Evelyn

A very special box arrived on Sunday. Researching the provenance of the family heirloom, dating back to George IV, opened up a very welcome family detective mystery. 

The ladies travelling box, containing a writing compartment, jewellery draw, and ink pots, has been handed down to me by my paternal grandmother. Before then it was in her mum's attic for years in the 1940s. She had been given it by her Aunt Evelyn (Georgiana Evelyn Mary Cancellor, born in Reading 1867), my three times great-aunt.

And thats where the mists of time fog over and the mystery begins. Who gave Aunt Evelyn the box? Who first had the box when it was made during the reign of King George IV (1820-1830)? And who is the illusive H.E.P. of the initials on the box? Watch this space while I get my Scooby-Doo gear on and phone Velma for some help! 

Read the original blog post on my Lifestyle and Beauty Blog at:

http://cupcakesandcosmeticsbyclare.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/makeup-monday-time-travel-in-beauty.html

Happy Hunting!

Material Culture: Family History through Heirlooms, German Character Dolls and Great-Granny

'George', 20-inch Kammer & Reinhardt mold 100 Baby doll

German character doll

1909 market the 'most significant event' in the history of the German doll industry in the 20th century. It was the year that Kammer and Reinhardt launched their character dolls with bisque heads, and at around this time my paternal great-granny, born 25th February 1901, was given one. Hers was named George and is in the photos above. In April of that year, New York importing firm and distributor of German dolls Strobel and Wilken Co. ran its first adverts in Playthings magazine for the character dolls. The dolls were inspired by the Munich Art Dolls of Marion Kaulitz, which had hand-painted composition heads. Kammer and Reinhardt trademarked the term Charakterpuppe, which became used industry-wide. The Character Dolls were advertised as 'produced from life models' and were 'modeled from living subjects' by famous artists. With 'real child-like faces', in contrast to the traditional 'dolly faces' of the time. 

The time is also significant in the life of my great-granny, whose father left the country after her mum died of cancer in 1906. She was shipped between relatives and family friends with her two brothers for the rest of her childhood. She would later write a scathing memoir called 'Living With Aunts'. Heirlooms like this can bring to life genealogical research in a way that black and white records often cannot.

Moving On: Amateur Archaeology and Victorian Rubbish

Who says moving on, moving house or growing up has to be difficult? So it turns out the Victorians had a thing for turning the ends of their gardens into their own personal landfills, which is remarkably convenient for amateur archaeologists. Before I moved out of my Victorian house I had the opportunity to dig up this fascinating assortment of pottery and glasswear, which provides a great snapshot of the lives of the early residents of the house. My finds included a souvenir Eiffel Tower lemonade bottle from 1909! Now, packed up in plastic storage in my new house, the results of my expedition into amateur archaeology serves as a perfect souvenir of my old house.

Old rubbish really can be an untapped historical resource!

Secret Millionaire: In The Family!

So, I don't live in a mansion or take tea with the queen, but the other day I made a very interesting discovery about one of my ancestors. As far as I was aware none of my ancestors have every been particularly rich. That was until I found the 'England and Wales National Probate Calender', which records how much money people left in their will when they died, and discovered that one of them had left a lot of money. My three times paternal great-grandfather William Albert Stratton (1824-1893), who  was born and lived in Sussex, England, was a landowner and left £91,295 19s 2d (the equivalent of £5,467,714.94 in today's money) to his family in his will. I was pretty amazed as it seems he wins the prize for my richest ancestor. I wonder where my share is?!

My Family in 1911!

Here's some of my family history, told through the stories of three of my ancestors living in different classes in 1911.

Upper Class:

My paternal great-grandmother Agnes Grace 'Jan' Cancellor (10) living in Kensington with her brother, aunt, and uncle, my paternal great-great uncle Henry 'Harry' Lannoy Cancellor (49). Her mother had died and her father had was exiled abroad for fraud, and she spent most of her childhood living with different 'aunts'. 'Uncle Harry' was a wealthy barrister and kept three servants. His wife, Lily 'Aunt Lil', ran a bookshop and was involved in the suffragette movement.

'Jan' Bateson (nee Cancellor), in her 80s

Middle Class:

My maternal great-grandfather Albert Miller (10), living with his parents Richard (67) and Sarah (49), sister Ruth (9) and housekeeper Ellen Message (41). His parents ran a laundry in Hailsham, Sussex.

Albert Miller, 1989 (aged 88)

Working Class:

My maternal great-grandmother Clara Wright (14), living with her parents William (37) and Clara (37), brothers Frank (9) and Frederick (3), and sister Ida (7). The family were poor and lived in the East End of London; the census shows that Clara gave birth to 2 children who later died.  Her father was a bricklayer and possibly Jewish. I believe that my grandfather Peter Wright was born illegitimately in Wandsworth in 1922, where he then was adopted and lived with a large family in Sussex.

Adoption and My Granpa

My maternal granpa Peter Wright was born in Wandsworth in 1922. His mum apparently pregnant 'out-of-wedlock', he was born in the house of Dorothy Cooper, who later adopted him. They moved to Sussex where the family included a stream of fostered and adopted children, and where he lived for the rest of his life. In the 1911 census his mum (my maternal great-grandmother) Clara Wright (14), is living with her parents William (37) and Clara (37), brothers Frank (9) and Frederick (3), and sister Ida (7). The family were poor and lived in South London; the census shows that Clara gave birth to 2 children who later died.  Her father was a bricklayer and possibly Jewish. The area where Clara's family lived, and where my grandfather was born, is now high-rise flats.

Blue Blood and 13th Century English Monarchy

Through some documents passed down to me by my granny I can trace my history to King Edward III of England (and Edward II and Edward I)! While it's exciting to be able to say that he is my 22nd great grandfather, given the 700 year history between us it also means that a lot of people can also claim the same relationship! He was born in Windsor, England on 13th November 1312 and married Philippa Hainault of France. So here are the links, beginning with my paternal great-grandmother Agnes Grace Cancellor.

Agnes Cancellor (1901-1994) daughter of Ada Radcliffe (1866-1906), daughter of

Rebecca Fenwick (1837-1923) daughter of Nicholas Fenwick (1802-1843), son of

Robert Fenwick (d.1829) son of Robert Fenwick (1716-1802), son of 

Elizabeth Clavering daughter of James Clavering (1665-1707), son of

John Clavering (1641-1688) son of James Clavering (1620-1702), son of 

John Clavering (1591-1648) son of James Clavering (1565-1630), son of 

Ann Grey (1532-1616) daughter of Dorothy Ogle (1515-1570), daughter of

Margaret Gascoigne (1473-1515) daughter of William Gascoigne (1445-1487), son of

Joan Neville (1431-1464) daughter of John Neville (1416-1482), son of

Mary Ferrers (1394-1457) daughter of Joan Beaufort (1379-1440), daughter of 

John Plantagenet (1340-1399) son of Edward III (1312-1377)

Ffew!! I'm exhausted at the idea of being related to all those people who lived through 700 years of English history!