The Hissem-Montague Family

Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of Gyles Heysham and Elizabeth Thornton. She was born in about 1667 in Lancaster. "Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica" says 1699.

On 9 February 1695 Elizabeth Heesham married Edmd. Thornton, of Oxcliffe near Lancaster, gent., at St. Mary's, in Lancaster. Elizabeth's mother had been the daughter of Robert Thornton of Oxcliffe, so Edmund was probably her cousin. I think he was the son of (18) Thomas Thornton (c1635), Robert Thornton's eldest son. Thomas and his mother were co-executor's of Robert's will.

Elizabeth Heysham's brother, Robert, had twice married Thorntons. The first was the daughter and co-heir of Edmund Thornton and the second the daughter of Thomas Thornton, both drapers of London, as was Robert. If this is right then Robert's second wife was the sister of Edmund Thornton, his sister's husband. It was fairly common, after all, for sets of siblings to marry. By the way,

"Elizabeth w. of Edmd Thornton of Ostcliffe [sic]" died and was buried on 06 May 1709 - from "Lancaster Parish Register, 1691-1748." When Elizabeth died her sons would have been from 4 to 12 years old. That's awfully young to lose your mother.

"Here lyeth the Body of John Thornton of Oxcliff who Died February the 18th 1671 Aged 38 years; And also Robert son of John Thornton who Died June ye 6th 1672 aged 11 years; And also Elizabeth the Wife of Edmond Thornton of Oxcliff who Died May ye 3. 1709 in ye 40th Year of her age." - from "Remains, Historical and Literary Connected with the Palantine Counties"

"Edmd Thornton gen : Oxcliff" died and was buried on 04 August 1713 - from "Lancaster Parish Register, 1691-1748." When Edmund died his sons would have been from 8 to 16 years old. The boys got hit the worst way with both of their parents' deaths. So young to lose a mother, then to lose a father just when they hit an age where his guidance was needed. I suspect they were subsequently raised by their uncles, Robert, who died in 1723, and William Heysham, who died in 1716.

Contrarily, they may have been raised by their uncle Robert Carter, who had married Elizabeth's sister, Anne. He remained in Lancaster and was the executor of Elizabeth's will. There was a dispute over the administration of this will.

"1724/3 John Thornton, gent. c. Robert Carter, gent., of Lancaster, executor of Elizabeth Heysham, widow, of Lancaster, dec.
ARCH.CT.RICHMOND, Carter appellant [1723]
Failure to exhibit inventory of goods of Elizabeth Heysham" - from "Borthwick Texts and Calendars"

In the will of Elizabeth's brother, Robert Heysham, of 1722 Robert noted that ". . . John, Giles, and Robert Thornton the three children of my brother in law Edmund Thornton and Elizabeth his wife," were still living Edmund and Elizabeth's children were,
(20) John Thornton (1697)
(20) Giles Thornton Heysham (1699)
(20) Robert Thornton Heysham (1700)

"John s. of Edmond Thornton of Oxcliffe" was baptized on 09 Sep 1697 - from Lancaster Parish Register. He outlived his mother and father, who died in 1709 and 1713, respectively, but himself died before he was very old, some time between 1724 and 1736. John married Elizabeth, the daughter of Robert Haydock of Pheasant Ford, gent., on 7 October 1720.

John was mentioned in the will of his cousin, Elizabeth Heysham, the daughter of William Heysham of Barbados, which was signed in January 1720.

"To my cousin John Thornton I give one hundred pounds
To my cousin Giles Thornton his Brother the life [Issue?] of One hundred pounds
Item I give and bequeth to my Cousin Robert Thornton their younger Brother one hundred pounds in Money
. . .
Item I give to my Cousin John Thornton and his Wife ten pounds each for Mourning."

John was also mentioned in the will of his Uncle Robert Heysham, signed on 20 October 1722. John would have been 25 years old at the time.

"Item, I give and bequeth unto John, Giles and Robert Thornton the three children of my brother in law Edmund Thornton and Elizabeth his wife both deceased the sume of twenty pounds apiece for Mourning."

He was mentioned again later in the same will.

"Item, as for and concerning my Real Estate both Free hold and Copyhold I give devise and bequeth unto my said Nephew John Thornton All that Messauge or Tenement called Castlehill house and a Field called Kellett's Croft and the Barn there with the Appurtenances Situate and being in the Town and parish of Lancaster formerly my late wife's Father's Estate [that is, Edmund Thornton of Little Munden, draper of London], now in the Occupation of my said Brother Robert Carter, or his Assignes To hold the said Croft and Barne with the Appurtenances from and immediately after my decease to my said Newphew John Thornton his heirs and Assignes for ever which premisses being part of the Estate settled on my said late wife my Will is that my said son Robert and his heirs shall confirme this my Bequest to the said John Thornton and his heirs And in default thereof my Will is that there be paid to my said Nephew John Thornton his heirs and Assignes the sume of five hundred pounds."

Robert Carter was John's uncle, who had married Anne Heysham. He did well by his connection with Robert and William Heysham, becoming mayor at one point.

Kellett's Croft was also mentioned in Charles Richard Thornton's will of 1738, below. "and 1 close in Fishwick called the Fishwick Field formerly 2 closes called the Intack and Kellet wife Croft, 2ac.1r., the inheritance of John Bostock, now in the possession of G.T.H. [Giles Thornton Heysham], . . ."

In 1724 there was a dispute over the administration of the will of John's mother, Elizabeth Heysham Thornton.

"1724/3 John Thornton, gent. c. Robert Carter, gent., of Lancaster, executor of Elizabeth Heysham, widow, of Lancaster, dec.
ARCH.CT.RICHMOND, Carter appellant [1723]
Failure to exhibit inventory of goods of Elizabeth Heysham" - from "Borthwick Texts and Calendars"

John was also mentioned in the 1736 will of his younger brother, Giles Thornton, but was identifed as deceased by that time. According to Angela Heysham, John died in 1720, but this must be a mistake. John could not have died before 1724.

John's wife, still living in 1736, was Elizabeth Haydock. Apparently John had inherited the Oxcliffe estate of his father, Edmund Thornton of Oxcliffe, which had devolved to Elizabeth. Giles Thornton expected to receive the estate upon Elizabeth's death, so she must have had no heirs.

Giles Thornton of Aldgate. He was baptized in September 1699 - from the "Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica". The son of Edmund Thornton and Elizabeth Heysham, which I infer through his inheritance as a "cousin" of Robert Heysham. His mother, Elizabeth, died when he was 9. When his father, Edmund, died Giles would have been only 13 and his brother, Robert, 8. I suspect Giles and Robert were subsequently raised by their uncles, Robert Heysham, who died in 1723, and William Heysham, who died in 1716.

As an adult he was living in St. Botolph’s, Aldgate, London. I suppose his residence there had something to do with his uncle's success as London merchants and Members of Parliament. He may have been given a position in the firm, perhaps as a clerk in the compting house, or a government office. Giles' cousin, Robert Heysham, lived on Billiter Square, off Fenchurch avenue, just three blocks away. His cousin, William Heysham, lived downriver in Greenwich, but also had a townhouse in Bloomsbury. Note that William had married into the Perry family in 1719, making Micajah Perry, an important tobacco merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1738, his brother-in-law.

St. Botolph’s, Aldgate The parish of St. Botolph Without Aldgate was part in the City of London and part in the County of Middlesex, the East Smithfield Liberty. It extends from Aldgate High Street to the junction of Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Street and gets its name as one of the eight gates to the walled City of London.

The grant of arms William Heysham received in 1723 would have applied to Giles as a descendent of Gyles Heysham, via the female line.

On 7 December 1726 Giles' cousin, William Heysham, was the plaintiff in a trial for forgery against William Rhodes held at the Old Bailey. Giles was a witness, though when he deposed that William was out of town when a contested power of attorney was supposedly drawn up, written evidence was entered contradicting this. Did Giles perjure himself or was he simply mistaken?

Giles married Anne Beckerton in about 1726 in St. Dionis, London. A daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1727, and a son, Robert, in 1729. Both were baptized in St. Dionis Backchurch, on Fenchurch street, in London.

In 1732 a son, Giles, was born in St Botolph Without Aldgate, London, but he soon died.

Giles' cousin, William Heysham, had died in 1727, but his wife, Sarah Perry Heysham, undoubtedly inherited his estate. Giles' other cousin, Robert Heysham, who had no family, died in 1734, at the age of 22. Robert's will, dated 6 July 1734, gave Stagenhoe, Hertfordshire, with other estates, which included those at Little Munden and Weston, to Giles Thornton of St. Botolph’s, Aldgate, for life, with the remainder to his son, Robert [I believe that to be (21) Robert Thornton Heysham, below], for life, remainder to the first and other sons of the last named Robert successively intail male, remainder to Robert Thornton the elder, Giles Thornton's brother, upon his taking the additional name of Heysham.

Note that by 1734, when Robert Heysham Jr. died, the surviving descendents of (18) Giles Hyshame (1635) were,
- Anne's daughter, Margaret Carter (1687), who married Foster Cunliffe, a wealthy Liverpool merchant, and received a 1000l portion from her uncles.
- Geyles' daughter, Elizabeth (1691). who married William Robinson, the heir to the Lytton fortune and Knebworth house.
- Hester's daughter, Jane Barker (1703), who married Matthew Hall, a "woollen draper in ye Strand," in 1721. Their daugther, Susan Hall (1722), would marry Fitz-William Barrington, the son of Sir John Barrington, Baronet, and great-grandson of Sir William Lytton, of Knebworth. So many connections . . .
- Robert Heysham's children had all d.s.p.
- William Heysham's children had all d.s.p.
- Elizabeth's surviving sons, Giles and Robert Thornton, John having died by this time, who inherited Robert Heysham's fortune.

Giles Thornton Heysham thereafter resided at Stagenhoe in the parish of St. Paul’s Walden.

Stagenhoe Park The village of Stagenhoe is in the parish of St. Paul's Walden, south of Hitchen, in Hertfordshire. In the Domesday book referred to as Stagnehou. The name means "a spur of land frequented by stags." Ironically, Hertfordshire means "hind's field." There are two great 18th century mansions in the village, St. Paul's Walden Bury, home to the Bowes Lyon family since 1725 and birthplace of the late Queen Mother, Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, and Stagenhoe Park. The Stagehoe estate was owned by the Pilkington family during the 15th century. The old manor house was built in the 17th century by Sir John Hale. He was a younger son of William Hale, Esq., whose father, Richard, had made the family fortune in London as a grocer and bought an estate in King's Walden. John's only daughter and heir, Rose, married Sir John Austen, the eldest son of Sir Robert Austen, baronet, of Hall Place, in 1661. They inherited the estate upon Sir John Hale's death in 1672. Rose died in 1695 and John died in 1699, when the manor passed to their son, Robert. Note that John's London residence was in Bloomsbury Square. William Heysham also lived in Bloomsbury Square. Could this be the same place, procured at the same time as the Stagenhoe estate? Robert Austen sold the estate in 1703 to Giles Thornton Heysham esq. when the Austen family fell into debt. The old house was consumed by fire on 29 November 1737 "occasioned by the carelessness of some workmen employed thereon in leaving some shavings in a room in which was a fire." The present house, in the Georgian style, was built by Giles Thornton Heysham in 1740. Originally of two storey's, it was later extended with a third floor on top. Giles' grandson, Robert, sold the manor of Little Munden to Nathaniel Snell Chauncy, Esq., in 1816, and in 1833 he sold Stagenhoe to Richard Sparkes. Of the many family's that owned the estate another researcher has observed that, "they had a tendency to die without heirs or be killed before their time in wars." Captain Arthur Duncombe (1806-1889), later Admiral, RN, Member of Parliament and, in 1852, Civil Lord of the Admiralty, was in possession of the manor when he sold it to Henry Rogers in 1843. Henry died in 1866 and was succeeded by his son, Henry Jr., who sold the manor to James Sinclair in about 1869. James Sinclair (1821-1881), made 14th Earl of Caithness in 1856, and his wife, Marie de Pomar, were the owners of record in 1871/2. James was succeeded by his son, George, 15th Earl from 1881 to 1889, who was succeeded by his cousin, James Alexander Sinclair. John Sutherland Sinclair, who became 17th Earl of Caithness in 1891 when his father, James Alexander, died, wrote a lecture while living at Stagenhoe Park in 1875, apparently while a guest of his uncle. By the way, before he became Earl John lived in North Dakota where he ranched 3040 acres near Lakota. Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame, rented the home as a summer retreat between 1884 and 1886 and wrote one of his "serious" operas, "Golden Legend," there. He tried to buy the estate when it was put up for sale 7 years later, in 1893, but was outbid. The estate was sold to William B. Hawkins. During World War II Stagenhoe Park was used as a maternity hospital and afterwards it was a boys prep school. The philanthropist Sue Ryder then bought the estate in 1969 and established it as a nursing home. Today it comprises only 8 acres, but I believe it was originally of 567 acres, including a farm and adjacent cottages. Below are some photos of the mansion under repair.

I can't be certain where this fits, but in 1735 Alexander Pope wrote a poem, "A Sermon Against Adultery," with the following closing lines,

"Me, naked me, to posts, to pumps they draw,
To shame eternal, or eternal law.
Oh Love! be deep tranquility my luck!
No mistress H-ysh-m near, no lady B-ck!
For, to be taken, is the devil in hell;
This Truth, let L-l, J-ys, O-w tell."

Another son named Giles, perhaps in honor of the earlier one that died in 1732, was born at Stagenhoe in 1736 in Saint Pauls, Walden, Hertford, England. Other children followed.

Giles also inherited Robert Heysham's properties of Little Munden and Weston.

There is a court case in 1737, Heysham and Bowyer v. Trubey, in which it was held that a bankrupt had no interest and that his assignees only could oppose a will. So what do we think this means?

From the UK Archives are the records of Houghton, Craven and Co., Solicitors of Preston, Lancashire:

24 September 1738 - "Release for £140:
(i) Giles Thornton Heysham of Stagenhoe in the parish of St. Paul's Walden, co. Hertford, esq., cousin and heir of Charles Richard Thornton, late of Preston, gent., decd., who was the only son and heir of John Thornton late of Preston, esq., decd., Anne his wife and Robert Thornton of Stagenhoe, gent., his brother,
(ii) Charles Gibson of Preston, gent.,
(iii) John Walshman of Preston, innkeeper
-- 2 closes called the Marfield or Narfield and further field, 6ac., in Preston, on the north side of a lane leading to a place called the two yates formerly in the possession of Agnes Patten, widow, William P., her son and John Melling, late in the possession of John Thornton
-- also Release for £600:
-- a dwellinghouse with a dyehouse and stable in Preston and near a place called the Schoolhouse, 1 close at the back of the messuage called the Millfield, 1ac., in the tenure of John Sturzaker, the above two closes and 1 close in Fishwick called the Fishwick Field formerly 2 closes called the Intack and Kellet wife Croft, 2ac.1r., the inheritance of John Bostock, now in the possession of G.T.H. [Giles Thornton Heysham], also a pew in the Gallery on the South side of the parish Church of Preston adjoining E. to a pillar that separates the same from another pew belonging to the Rev. Samuel Peploe, clerk, Vicar of Preston, and adjoining W. another pew late belonging to Robert Chaddock of Preston, esq., decd.
-- Witn. Thomas Starkie, Robert Bridge, Ralph Assheton. Seals."

"Gray's Inn Admission Register," 1 December 1691 - "John Thornton, second son of John T., of Oxcliffe, parish of Lancaster, gent."

On 27 January 1753 the following was signed,

"Lease for a year at peppercorn rent: for 5/-: Giles Thornton Heysham of Stagenhoe, co.Hertford, esq., Fitzwilliam Barrington of Lilley, co. Hertford, esq., & Elizabeth Barker of Lilley, gentlewoman, to John Loxham of Kirkham, gent. -- Wesham Hall alias Wesham House, & closes as 81 & cottages as 80 called Lawsons, Southworths, & Greenalghs -- Witn: William Townsend, John Pierce. Heraldic seals"

1755, George II. "Sheriffs Appointed for the Present Year . . . Hertfordshire, G. T. Heysham, esq. . . ." - from "The chronological historian; or A record of public events illustrative of the history of Great..." by William Toone. The following is from the list of Sheriffs.

"Hertfordshire
. . .
31 January 1754 Fitz William Barrington of Lilley, esq.
29 Jan. 1755 Giles Thornton Heysham of Paul's Walden, esq." - from "Lists and Indexes" of 1897

A Giles Thornton Heysham, esq., of Hertfordshire had a subscription to the Gentleman’s Magazine.

A listing of Parks in Hertfordshire was taken in 1725 with Robert Heysham listed as the owner of Stagenhoe, St. Pauls Walden. In 1766 Giles Thornton Heysham was listed as the owner of Stagenhoe, an estate of 250 acres. In a listing of parks in 1799-1812, Robert Thornton Heysham was listed as the owner of Stagenhoe, but the property had shrunk to 100 acres. In 1821 it had recovered to 140 acres - from "Parks in Hertfordshire Since 1500" by Hugh Prince.

Giles died on 14 December 1767, per "Musgrave's Obituaries," and was buried at Stagenhoe on 20 December 1767. His will was proved in January 1768. In the will he was named as Giles Thornton Heysham of Saint Paul's Walden, Hertfordshire.

"In the Name of God Amen,
Giles Thornton Heysham of Stagenhoe in the parish of Saint Pauls Walden in the county of Hertford Esquire being in perfect health and of sound Mind, Memory and understanding blessed be God and considering the uncertainty of human life and being desirious to settle my temporal affairs do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following.
Whereas I am intitled to the Reversion in fee expectant upon the Death of Mrs. Elizabeth Thornton Widow of my late Brother John Thornton deceased of and in a certain freehold Estate at Oxcliffe in the parish and County Palantine of Lancaster and Whereas I have lately purchased to me and my heirs of and from Joseph Gregoy certain freehold and Copyhold Lands situate in or near Bendish in the parish and Manor of Saint Pauls Walden in the said County of Hertford and have also lately purchased to me and my heirs of and from Thomas Hurst Esquire and Jane his Wife and Thomas Hurst their son a certain freehold Estate situate in the several parishes of Harvard, Stork, Butterbury, East Harringfield and West Harringfield or some or one of them in the County of Essex and also a small Copyhold held of the Manor of East West Harringfield aforesaid Which several Copyfholds I have surrendered to the use of my Will And whereas such purchases where so made by me for the convenience and Advantage of my other estates which I now enjoy in the said Countys of Hertford and Essex and by which means the same are and will be considerably increased in Value and,
Whereas I being Tenant for Life only of my said other Estates which I enjoy under the Will of my kinsman Robert Heysham Esquire deceased and at my coming into possession thereof I found greatest part of the Houses, Devises and Buildings belonging to several of the farms at Hoddeston, Munden, Weston, Stevenage and Harringfield in the Countys of Hertford and Essex aforesaid in a ruinous and decayed condition some of which I was necessarily obliged to rebuild and others to repair at a very great Expense which I did nevertheless which I did nevertheless [repeat in original] in full expectatin that my first Son Robert Heysham and on whose Issue Male such the said Estates whereof I am Tenant for Life as aforesaid are entailed by the said Will of the said Robert Heysham and whom I hope will reap the full Benefit of my Improvements shall reimburse such my Expenses to my dear Wife and children in manner hereinafter mentioned.
Wherefore my Will is and I do hereby Give and Bequeth unto my said Son Robert all and Singular my aforesaid Estates Lands Tenements and Hereditainments both freehold and Copyhold in the said several Countys of Lancaster Hertford and Essex with their and every of their Rights Members and Appurtenances whatsoever and all other my Lands Easements and hereditainments whatsoever and wheresoever whereof I am any ways seized in possession Reversion Remainier or expectation to hold the same unto my said Son Robert and his Heirs for ever and,
I also Give and Bequeth unto my said Son Robert his Executors and Admrs [Administrators] all my personal Estate whatsoever and wheresoever which I shall dye possessed of or interested in Under this Restriction and the said Devises of my said Real and personal Estate are so made unto my said Son Robert as aforesaid upon this express Condition that he my said Son Robert shall and do within one Calendar Month after he shall have attained his age of One and Twenty years pay or secure to be paid unto his Mother my dear Wife Ann Thornton Heysham and unto his Brother and Sisters my dear Children Giles Ann Elizabeth and Jayne the Sum of One Thousand five hundred pounds apiece which I do hereby Give and Bequeth unto them respectively for their respective portions and for their better support and Maintenance in the world together with Interest for the same in the mean time at and after the Rate of four pounds per cent per annum to be computed from the Time of my Death and in Case my said Wife or any of my said last named Children shall happen to die before my said Son Robert shall have paid or secured their respective Shares portions of Interests in manner before mentioned Then I will order and direct that the Share portion and Interest of him her or them so dying shall go and be divided unto and amongst the Survivor and Survivors of them equally, each Survivor and Survivors to take as Tenants in Common and not as joint Tenants,
But in case my said Son Robert shall as soon as he shall have attained his said Age of One and Twenty years or within one Calendar month afterwards neglect or refuse to comply with this my Will Then the Devises and Bequests hereby made unto him as aforesaid shall and I do hereby declare the same to be absolutely void And In that Case I do hereby Give devise and Bequeth all and whatsoever I have hereby given or intended to have given unto him as aforesaid unto and amongst my said dear Wife and other children or unto such and so many of them as shall be then living equally to be divided amongst them share and share alike and,
I do hereby make ordain constitute and appoint my said Wife and my dear Brother Robert Thornton Executors and Trustees of this my Will for the purposes before mentioned to whom I also this Guardianship [Cgreane] Management of the persons fortunes and Education of all my said Children during their respective Minoritys.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this Eighteenth Day of September in the year of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and thirty six
--
Giles Thornton Heysham
--
Signed Sealed published and declared by the said Giles Thornton Heysham as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who in the said Testators presence and at his request have set our hands as Witnesses thereto --
Wm. Townsend, Edmd. Wilson, Willm Daniell

On the Eighth day of January in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and sixty eight Administration with the Will [amexed] of all and Singular the Goods Chattles and Credits of Giles Thornton Heysham late of Stagenhoe in the county of Hertford Esquire deceased was granted to Robert Thornton the Natural and lawful son of the said deceased and residuary Legatee named in the said Will he having been first sworn ready to administer Ann Thornton Heysham the Wife of the said Deceased and Robert Thornton the Brother of the said Deceased and Executors named in the said will dying in the Life Time of the said Testator.

The following are children of Giles and Ann Thornton Heysham,
(21) Elizabeth Thornton Heysham (1727)
(21) Robert Thornton Heysham (1729)
(21) Anne Thornton Heysham (c1730)
(21) Jane Heysham (c1730)
(21) Giles Thornton (1732), who was born on 10 July 1732 at St Botolph Without Aldgate, London and died on 20 September 1732.
(21) Giles Thornton Heysham (1736), the first child born after the "great inherititance."
(21) Sarah Heysham (1737), born after the will, above was written
(21) Edmund Heysham (1740), born after the will, above was written

"Elizth Thornton, dau. of Giles & Anne Thornton." - from the parish register of the St. Dionis Backchurch, "Christenings Since John Smith was Parish Clerk." She was born on 4 September 1727 and baptized in St. Dionis Backchurch, on Fenchurch street, London on 29 September 1727. It is interesting to note that in 1726 Robert Heysham, who was to die in 1734 and leave Elizabeth's father a fortune, lived in London at Billiter Square, just off Fenchurch avenue [not street]. That would be about three blocks from the church.

"Elizabeth Thortnon Heysham, dau. of Giles Thornton, H, of Stagenhoe Coftan [Cottam?]; married" Frederick Young, Esq on 5 October 1765 at St. Pauls Walden, Hertfordshire, England. Frederick was born in June 1732 in Welwyn, the only son of Edward Young, the poet. Welwyn is a village 22 miles north of London.

"MARRIED. -- A few Days since, Frederick Young, Esq. only Son of the late celebrated Dr. Young, Author of Night Thoughts, to Miss Hessham, of Hertfordshire." - from London, Tuesday, October 22, "Some Selected Reports from Berrow's Worcester Journal"

Her father died in 1768 and she would have inherited her share of the estate, probably about 2000l by that time.

They had a single child, Elizabeth, baptized on 20 October 1767 at Welwyn. Elizabeth Heysham Young died on 16 October 1774 - from "The Correspondence of Edward Young" and the "Annales de Bretagne". Frederick died on 28 May 1788.

Frederick and Elizabeth had a single child, Elizabeth, who was born on 18 October 1767 in Welwyn. She married Joseph Hankins on 26 December 1781 and had a single child, Anne, who lived only a day. Elizabeth, died on 11 April 1794.

"Robert Thornton, son of Giles & Ann Thornton." - from the parish register of the St. Dionis Backchurch, "Christenings Since John Smith was Parish Clerk." Robert was born on 11 August 1729 and baptized on 4 September 1729 at St. Dionis Backchurch, in London, the son of Giles and Ann Thornton. Subsequently of Stagenhoe Park, Hertfordshire. In one reference named Robert Thomas Heysham, but I think that's a mistranscription for Thornton.

His father died on 14 December 1767 and Robert inherited all of his father's estates, including Stagenhoe.

"496 Hertfordshire.--Admission of Robert Thornton Heysham, Esq. to a Copyhold Messuage and Premises in the Manor of Paul's Walden in the County of Hertford, on Vellum, signed [ ]. - 25 May, 1768.
497 Hertfordshire. -- Admisssion of Robt. T. Heysham, Esq. to Lands in the Manor of Paul's Walden in the County of Hertford, upon Vellum, 5s. - 25 May, 1768." - from "The Established Church of England"

He married Hannah Harriet Jepp, the daughter of Jonathan Jepp of St Paul’s Walden. In a listing of subscribers to the Gentleman's Magazine, September 1768, a Robert Hysham [sic], Esquire, is the husband of Miss Chipp [error for Jepp?], married 18 September 1768, address Paul's Walden, Herfordshire. Hannah was born in about 1745, according to her obituary, below.

There is a coat of arms listed as borne by Robert Thornton Heysham, esq, of Stagenhoe Park, Hertfordshire, that is the same as for William Heysham of Greenwich, Kent. He would have inherited these arms along with the estates.

"[Robert] Heysham v [William] Hampson: Exhibits A-C: Hampson's accounts with Thornton Mar 1769-Dec 1773; deed between Robert Heysham of Harpenden, Herts, and William Hampson of Luton, Beds, for securing money owing to Hampson. [Robert] Heysham v [William] Hampson. Date range: 1771 - 1774." - from "Court of Chancery: Examiner's Office: Town Depositions.

I also have the following subcriptions to books & magazines under his name. These are for a Robert Heysham, sometimes identified as living in Stagenhoe, Hertfordshire.

Robert wrote and signed his will on 17 October 1775.

"I Robert Thornton Heysham of Harpenden in the County of Hertford in the Kingdom of Great Britain But now at St. Omer in French Flanders Esquire being in perfect health of body and of sound and disposing Mind Memory and Understanding but considering the uncertainty of this life Do make and publish and declare this to be my last Will and Testament as follows
I devise and direct that all my just debts be paid and satisfied and from and after payment thereof and as to all the rest residue and remainder of my Estate and Effects that I have a Right or Power to give devise or dispose of both real and personal copyhold or customary that I am seized or possessed of or in or to which I am any ways interested in whither unto either in Possession Reversion Remainder or Expectancy or in or to which any person or persons hath or have or may have in In Trust for me or for my use I give devise wave and bequeth the same and every part and parcel thereof unto my dearly beloved wife Hannah Harriot Heysham and to her heirs Executors Administrators and Assigns absolutely for ever
and I hereby constitute and appoint my said dear wife sole Executrix of this my last Will and Testament and also Guardian of my son Robert Thornton Heysham during his minority
and I hope and expect that he will behave in a Dutifull and respectfull manner to his Mother and that in consideration of the many great Improvements I have made to the several Estates that will descend to him on my decease whereby the yearly value will be considerably increased I hope and desire that he will on his attaining the age of twenty one years allow or repay his Mother all such Sum and Sums of Money as she may [insert: or be liable to pay] pay in discharge of any debt or debts I may owe or be engaged to pay at the time of my decease
and I do and hope and desire that my said Son will also allow to his said Mother and make her such a yearly addition to the Finance of the Estate and Effects I have above devised and bequethed to her as will enable her to liver genteely and comfortably and support maintain and Educate my Daughter Elizabeth Thornton Heysham and any other Child or Children I may have at the time of my decease and advance her or them in Marriage or any Trade of Business she or they may choose or be fit for
and I also hope and expect my said Son will make my said wife a further genteel Allowance for managing and taking care of his Estates during his Minority
and Lastly I do hereby revoke and make void all former or other Wills by me at any time heretofore made and do declare this only to be my last Will and Testament in Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this seventeenth Day of October in the fifteenth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith and in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy five

[signed] R. T. Heysham (L.L) Signed Sealed published and declared by the above named Testator Robert Thornton Heysham as and by his last Will and Testament who of his request and in his presence and in the presence of each other have subsribed our Names and witnesses thereof

James Jepp, Tho. Fowler, A. Corbett

This will was proved at London on the twentieth Day of February in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty two before the Right Worshipfull Peter Calvert Doctor of Laws Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury constituted by the Oath of Hannah Harriot Heysham Widow the Relict of the deceased and sole Execturix named in the said will to whom administration was granted of all and singular the Goods Chattells and Credit of the said deceased -- she having been first sworn by Commission duly to administer."

Robert died at Yarmouth, in Norfolk and was buried at Paul’s Walden on 15th September 1781. I suppose he was vacationing at the beachside resort. In a will in the national archives, he was named Robert Thornton Heysham of Harpenden, Hertfordshire. Harpenden is a parish just southwest of St Paul's Walden. The will was proved on 20 February 1782.

On 15 March 1785 a lease was drawn up for the property at Harpenden.

"Jenkyn Reading and Francis Pym to Robert Prescott of Mortimer Street. Term 21 years. Rent £40. Messuage formerly occupied by Robert Thornton Heysham now the Rt Hon Lady Leonora Wimston. With schedule of fixtures, includes wall paper and garden seats" - from Title Deeds and estate papers of the Pym Family of Norton Bury

There was a court case involving Robert's will that indicates Robert Jr. was not happy with the short leash his mother kept on him.

Heysham versus Heysham
At the Rolls
March 17,
1785.

The plaintiff, who was an infant, filed his bill for an account of the rents and profits of real estates, to which he was entitled, and for a proper allowance to be made for his maintenance and education.

By order of 2d day of May 1783, it was referred to the Master to inquire, what was proper to be allowed for the maintenance and education of the plaintiff for the time past from the death of his father and for the time to come, and the Master was to state the same with his opinion thereon to the court.

The Master, by his report of 22d March 1784, certified that a proposal had been laid before him for the maintenance of the plaintiff, the infant, whereby it was set forth, that the plaintiff's father died on the 31st of August 1781, having by his will appointed the defendant Hannah Harriet Heysham executrix thereof, and also guardian of the plaintiff and his estate during his minority : and that he left the plaintiff his only son and heir at law, and Elizabeth Thornton Heysham an infant, his daughter, him surviving : that the plaintiff attained his age of 14 years, on the 15th of October 1783, that the plaintiff was seized in tail male of several estates in the counties of Hertford and Essex, of the clear yearly value of 1600l. or thereabouts; and the Master found that the sum of 315l 6s 5d theretofore expended for the maintenance and education of the infant by the defendant Hannah Harriet Heysham his mother, ought to be allowed her, and that considering the circumstances and situation of the said defendant, Hannah Harriet Heysham (a), and of the said infant, the said Master conceived the sum of 250l. per annum was proper to be allowed for his maintenance and education, from the 25th day of December 1783 to that time, and for the time to come.

On the 5th of April 1784, this report was confirmed.

By an order made in the cause, dated the 18th day of June 1784, it was referred to the said Master to appoint a proper person to have the care of the maintenance and education of the infant, and that he should inquire in what manner the plaintiff had been maintained and educated, and also to consider what part of the said sum of 250l. per annum, allowed for the maintenance and education of the plaintiff, would be necessary to be applied to that purpose, and that so much of the said sum of 250l. per annum, as the Master would find necessary for the maintenance and education of the plaintiff, should be applied for that purpose accordingly; and that the residue of the said 250l. per annum should be paid to the said Hannah Harriet Heysham, until further order.

In pursuance of this order the Master, by his report of 14 November 1784, certified that he approved of Nehemiah Winter esquire to have the care of the maintenance and education of the plaintiff and that he conceived the sum of 130l. per annum, part of the said sum of 250l. per annum, to be necessary to be applied for that purpose.

By order of 17th March 1785, this report was confirmed, and it was ordered "that 130l. per annum, part of the said 250l. per annum, should be paid to the said Nehemiah Winter, for the maintenance and education of the plaintiff and that the residue thereof should be paid to the said Hannah Harriet Heysham, till further order."

Footnote: (a) It appeared by the proceedings that Hannah Harriet Heysham was insolvent, and she had on that ground been objected to as guardian.

"In Heysham v. Heysham the father of a female [sic] infant was dead, and her mother was living. The Court had passed over the mother and appointed another person to be the guardian of the infant. An order was made that 130l. should be paid to the guardian for the maintenance of the infant, and that 120l., part of the infant's income, should be paid directly to the mother." - from "The Law Journal for the Year 1832-1949"

"In Heysham v. Heysham (x), where the mother was insolvent, out of 250l maintenance allowed [a year], 130l was paid to the guardian of the infant and the remainder to the mother till further order." - from "A Practical Treatise on the Jurisdiction of the High Court of Chancery" by John David Chambers

On 21 March 1822 "At Hinton-house, aged 77, the relict of Rob. Thornton Heysham, esq. of Stagenhoe Park, Herts" died - from "The Gentleman's Magazine." Hinton House was where Hannah's son, Robert Jr., lived so if there had been any animosity deriving from the court case above, it had been by then resolved.

While I used to think that Robert and Hannah had three children, the case of Heysham v. Heysham, above, clearly says there were only two, Robert Jr. and Elizabeth.
(22) Robert Thornton Heysham (1769)
(22) Edmund Heysham (1771)
(22) Elizabeth Thornton Heysham (1772)

He was christened on 2 November 1769 in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertford, England, the son of Robert Thornton and Hannah Heysham, per the LDS database.

His father died in September 1781, when Robert was only 12 years old. When he was 14 years old he was involved in a court case against his mother in which his guardianship was, in 1784, transferred to a Nehemiah Winter, esquire. I believe he was one of the six Clerks in Chancery.

Robert's guardian sent him to Oxford College.

"Heysham, Robert, s. Robert Thornton, of Stagenhoe, Herts, arms. Magdalen Coll., matric. 12 April 1788, aged 18; of Weston Lordship, near Baldock, Herts." - from "Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886"

Robert Thornton Heysham, Esq., of Stagenhoe Park, Hertfordshire, married Sarah Hawkins on 10 November 1790 in South Warnborough, Hampshire, England - from "Hertfordshire 1731 to 1800" by Arthur Jones. Sarah, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Hawkins of Harpenden, Hertsfordshire, was christened on 18 September 1770 in Harpenden [or "of William and Sarah Hawkins, was christened on 31 July 1772 in Harpenden"]. Harpenden is a parish just southwest of St Paul's Walden. Yet another source says, "Sarah, daughter of William Hawkins, of Byrlands, Hertfordshire, who married Robert Thornton Heysham, of Stagenhoe Park, Herts, on 10 November 1790 at South Warnborough, Hants . . ." - from "Studia Neophilogica."

On 15 October 1792 Robert's attorney, James Willey, delivered seisen, i.e. possession, of the "Manor of Weston Free Lands and a cottage near Church Close, opposite Red Lion." In a lease dated 1 August 1799 he was referred to as "Robert Thornton Heysham, esq, of Stagenhoe Park, Lord of the Manors of Weston and Weston Argentine." The latter name refers to the de Argentine family that owned the manor in the 12th/13th centuries. Robert may have also inherited these lands through his wife. In 1636 a James Hawkins, gentleman, bequethed the lands in Weston to his children, James Jr., Matilda, Anne and Mary, which he held of the manor of Weston of Henry the Earl of Kent.

The following probably fits here. It relates the activities of the Hitchin [Hitchen] Loyal Volunteers, a home guard unit raised to defend the country during the Napoleanic Wars. Hitchin is a village in Hertfordshire.

"Hitchin and the Threatened Invasion of 1803
. . . and one man were 'sent in search of deserters.' Those offenders who were apprehended were, of course, court-martialled. Private Halsey, 'when approached by Lieutenant Heysham for being out of his place, tossed his head and whistled in a contemptuous manner . . . imprisoned for two months. Private Sanders was accused of inciting forty other men of the Regiment to rescue Thomas Mayes, private soldier of the same company, then lawfully imprisoned for misbehavior." - from "Relics of an Un-common Attorney" by Reginald Leslie Hine and Richenda C. Scott, page 109

At some point Robert moved to Marcham Park, in Berkshire, and then, in 1810, moved to Hinton House, in Hampshire.

"Then, in 1807, Mr. Robert Thornton Heysham, who then lived at Marcham park, bought the hounds from his friend Mr. Symonds, after dining together at the Old Hummums in Covent Garden, and kept them for three seasons. Will Harrison was his huntsman; and the whip was a very long, thin man. On Mr. Heysham leaving Marcham in 1810 to reside at Hinton House in Hampshire, he resold the hounds to Mr. R. Symonds . . . " - from "Bally's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes"

There are a number of references to Robert, Frederick and William Nunez Heysham in Bally's Magazine, at the hunt, selling horses and other hunt-clubish stuff. All very tony, in a country way.

Note that in 1808 Robert Thornton Heysham was still shown as the owner of Stagenhoe Park, though undoubtedly renting it out.

In 1813 Mr. Robert Thornton Heysham of Hinton House, Hertfordshire was elected a member of the Hampshire Hunt during the term "when Mr. Villebois was master." - from "Sporting Reminiscences in Hampshire" by Aesop [William Nunez Heysham].

In 1816 Robert sold and conveyed the manor of Little Munden to Nathaniel Snell Chauncy, Esq. This included Green End House and Dane End House.

Dane End House This country house, located in the village of Dane End in Hertfordshire, near Munden, was listed as having been owned by the following families: Woodhall, Thornton, Heysham and Chauncy. The Thornton-Heyshams sold it in 1816 to Nathaniel Snell Chauncy. Nathaniel, in financial trouble in the mid-1840's, sold the house to his brother, Charles, who was holding it in 1855. Its rose garden was included in “Rose Collections of Merit” in 1850. In the recent past it was used for a time as a boarding school and now may have been converted into apartments.

The following is from a discussion of the Hambledon Hunt, of Hampshire, a fox hunting club.

"In 1816 Mr. A. F. Nunez, of Warnford Park, became the Master, and removed the kennels from East Meon to Warnford, where he began with Will James first, and them Will Reeves as huntsmen, with whom the subscribers were not satisfied; who was followed by John Neal, a stout, big man, who hunted the hounds during the rest of the time that Mr. Nunez was Master . . . Hunting with these hounds in this period were . . . Mr. Robert Thornton Heysham of Hinton House, and his three sons--Robert, who had just left Oxford, where he kept a pack of harriers, William and Frederick . . ." - from "Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes"

While Robert moved to Hinton House, Hampshire in 1810, oddly, his eldest daughter was wed in Saint Pauls Walden in 1819. This estate was the best "backdrop" for a wedding and they did still own it. Robert resided at Hinton House from 1810 to 1826, and was listed as a gentleman. His mother, the widow Hannah, was apparently living with him.

21 March 1822 "At Hinton-house, aged 77, the relict of Rob. Thornton Heysham, esq. of Stagenhoe Park, Herts" died - from "The Gentleman's Magazine."

"Thomas Brand, having overspent on improvements to his seat at the Hoo, went and lived abroad for a time, while his wife stayed at home and retrenched. Similarly his neighbor Robert Heysham let [rented out] his seat at Stagenhoe and went to live in France for a time, for the same reason." - from "An Open Elite?: England 1540-1880" by Laurence Stone, Jeanne C. Fawtier Stone

Robert was undoubtedly a tenant at Hinton House, renting the house, since the Duttons, and their ancestors, appear to have an unbroken record of ownership.

"At the annual Melon Feast, held at the Bell Inn, Alresford, on Tuesday, the first prize was awarded to Mr.John Merryfield, gardener to Mr.Dunn, Alresford; the 2d to Mr.Wright, gardener to Lord Craven ; and the 3d to Mr.Hedges, gardener to --- Haysham, Esq. Hinton House, near Alresford." - from "Some Selected Reports from the Salisbury and Winchester Journal," 18 July 1825

"At the annual Melon Feast, held at the Bell Inn, in New Alresford, on Tuesday last, the prizes were awarded as follow :- 1st prize to Mr.Hedges, gardener to Rt.Heysham, Esq. Hinton House."

In 1828 Robert was residing at New-place, Alresford.

"Mr. Robert Thornton Heysham, Hinton House, afterwards, in 1828, New-place, Alresford." - from "Sporting Reminiscences in Hampshire from 1745 to 1862"

In 1833 Robert and Sarah Heysham conveyed Stagenhoe manor to Richard Sparkes. - from "British History Online." By this time they had apparently decided that they would never be moving back.

In 1836 "Robert Thornton Heysham of Paulswalden" was listed under "Land Tax Commissioners Names" for the County of Hertford - from "A Collection of the Public General Statutes."

A Robert Thornton Heysham was referred to as "Lord of Weston Manor" on 10 April 1840.

In the 1841 census of St. Mary, Marylebone, Middlesex as Robert Heysham, 60 [seems young for our man who should be 72]. Living with him were his wife, n.r. [name "not recorded" I assume], 55, and children, Harriett, 39 [?], Charlotte, 34, Sarah, 25, and Frederick, 35. All of these ages seem a little off.

"In Upper Berkeley-st. aged 70, Sarah, wife of R. T. Heysham, esq." died on 29 September 1841 - from "The Gentleman's Magazine." This was in Marylebone, London, Middlesex. Upper Berkeley street defines the north side of Portman Square and is just a block away from Marble Arch. A darn fine part of town.

In a reference to his daughter Sarah's marriage in 1846 it refers to her as "youngest daughter of Robert T. Heysham, esq., late of Stagenhoe-park, and of Weston Lordship, Herts." That is, he had sold Stagenhoe, and Little Munden, but still possessed Weston manor. What does this mean? Was Robert eating through his inheritance or was he simply moving his capital from real estate to some other form of investment?

A will was signed in 1849 by Robert Thornton Heysham of No 21 Montague Street, Portman Square, Middlesex. This is in the Marylebone area in the northwest of London and is one of the finest squares in the city, close to Marble Arch and Hyde Park. The will makes clear that Robert's wife, Sarah, had predeceased him, as had his children, Arabella Elizabeth, Robert Thornton Jr., and Sarah. By the way, this will is in a script that is truly difficult to read.

"This is the last Will and Testament of Mr. Robert Thornton Heysham, late of Weston Lordship in the County Of Hertford but now of Number 21 Montague Street, Portman Square in the County of Middlesex, Esquire.
Whereas I am entitled to certain manors, messuages, farms, lands, tenements and hereditaments situated in the County of Hertford aforesaid subject to certain mortgages and to certain Annuities of Two hundred pounds charged thereon.
And whereas it is alleged that by Judicature [a court action?] dated on or about the [blank] day of November One thousand eight Hundred and forty three and expressed to be made between myself, of the first part, John Hawkins, of the second part [Note that Robert's wife was Sarah Hawkins, the daughter of William Hawkins. This was probably a relative.], my daughters Anna Maria Harriot Heysham, Charlotte Augusta Heysham and Sarah Heysham, and my son Frederick Heysham, of the third part, and James Gibbons the elder, of the fourth part, I granted certain Annuities and charged the same upon the said manors, messuages, farms, lands, tenements and hereditainments.
And that by Judicature dated on or about the twentieth day of October One thousand eight Hundred and forty three and expressed to be made between myself, of the first part, James Gibbons the younger, of the second part, and my late son Robert Thornton Heysham the younger, of the third part, I appointed and released unto the said James Gibbons the younger his heirs and assigns the said manors, messuages, farms, lands, tenements and hereditainments subject as therein mentioned.
To hold the same with their appurtenances unto and to the use of the said James Gibbons the younger his heirs and assigns As trusts thereinafter declared and that I by the same Judicature assigned unto the said James Gibbons the younger his executors, administrators and assigns, All and singular, the surplus rents, issues, and profits which should remain after satisfying the trusts of the thereinbefore [cited?] Judicature of [devise?] of the twenty fifth day of March One thousand eight Hundred and thirty nine subject to the thereinbefore [cited?] mortage services affecting the same and the therein mentioned four annuities of Thirty six pounds each when they should become payable To hold the same unto the said James Gibbons, his executors, administrators and assigns before the Trusts thereinafter declared [concerning?] the same and that I did by the same Judicature assign unto the said James Gibbons the younger, his executors, administrators and assigns the surplus to arise and be produced by any sale or sales under the trusts of any of the Judicatures thereinbefore recited or referred to after answering and satisfying the trusts thereby respectively declared To hold unto the said James Gibbons, his executors, administrators and assigns upon the trusts therein mentioned.
And whereas my [expectation?] of the said [cited?] Judicature was improperly procured and I intend to take proceedings to set aside the same and I am desirious of recording my instructions to [meet] the [cost] of my [seat] before I am enabled to do so and of disposing of my other property Now I therefore give, devise and bequeth the said manors, messuages, farms, lands, tenements and hereditaments subject to the said mortgages and to the said Annuity of Two Hundred pounds and all other my property, estate and effects both real and personal and of what nature or kind soever which I may die siezed or possessed of or entitled unto after the payment of all my first debts, funeral, and testamentary expenses unto and equally between my three children namely the said Anna Maria Harriot Heysham, Charlotte Augusta Heysham and Frederick Heysham, their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns share and share alike as Friends in [cousins?] Thus I hereby appoint the said Anna Maria Harriot Heysham, Charlotte Augusta Heysham and Frederick Heysham my Executrixes and Executor and Hereby revoking all other Wills or Codicils by me at any time made So declare this to be and contain my last Will and Testament In witness whereof I have set my hand to this and the preceding sheet of paper this first day of October in the year of our Lord One thousand eight Hundred and forty nine.

[signed] Robt. T. Haysham

Witnesss
William Francis Low Solt. [solicitor]
of Wimpole Street Cavendish Sqe.

Wiiliam Dawn
16 Bridport Street Blandord Square
Clerk to the said William Francis Low."

Robert died in "Jan 1850" in the Marylebone district of London, in Middlesex - per the Civil Registration Index.

Obituary. 18 January 1850. "Aged 81, R. T. Heysham, esq. formerly of Hinton House, hear Alresford." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine."

Marylebone Marylebone, or St. Mary le Bon [the Beautiful], is the fashionable West End of London, just southwest of Regents Park. Marble Arch defines it southern border. The fictional sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, lived in Marylebone, at 221B Baker street. A museum and pub named for him are also located here. Portman Square The will of Robert Thornton Heysham has his address as No. 21 Montague Street, Portman Square, Middlesex. Portman Square, pictured below, is in the Marylebone district. The square was built between 1674 and 1684 on the land of Henry William Portman. The garden square is a distinctively British style of urban design, used as a device for linking green spaces with residential areas. It is a particular feature of London, where there are now around six hundred squares. Montague street is only a block long. It is one block west of Portman square, behind Montague House, which is on the northwest corner of the square. Montague House was replaced by the Radisson Portman Hotel. Charles Darwin stayed in London at 16 Montague St., Portman Square. Note there is a more famous Montague street in London, next to the British Museum, in Bloomsbury. Portman Square, north side, 1813

James Gibbons Who were James Gibbons the elder & younger? A guess are the locksmiths of "James Gibbons Ltd., Wolverhapton, England." They are the right time period, of the necessary succession, and were successful enough to fund Robert Thornton Heysham's mortgages and annuities. Wolverton is near Birmingham in the West Midlands. See James Gibbons Ltd for more information about them and their company. Left: James Gibbons (1790); Right: James Gibbons (1820)

The manor of Weston, or Weston Lordship, in the family since 1703, was sold by a "Robert Thornton Heysham" to Samuel Adams in 1852 - from "British History Online." This must be the grandson, home from India, or upon his written request. Robert probably sold the estate to clear his grandfather's debts.

Robert's will has proved on 9 February 1857. How could this be since Robert had died seven years prior? I think what happened is, either, the will was probated in 1850, but that a second probate was instigated in 1857, or that this was a misreading of the will. I admit that it looks like 1857, but it probably meant 1851. A 7 and a 1 do look very much alike.

"In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury
In the Goods of Robert Thornton Heysham Esquire deceased.
Appeared Personally William Dawn of Nr. 20 Shroton Street Blandford Square [this is in Marylebone] in the County of Middlesex Gentleman and made Oath that He is one of the subscribed Witnesses to the last Will and Testament of the said Robert Thornton Heysham late of Montague Street Portman Square in the County of Middlesex Esquire deceased bearing date the first day of October One thousand eight Hundred and forty nine and . . . [attested?] And He further made Oath that on the first day of October One thousand eight Hundred and forty nine aforesaid the said Testator duly asserted His said Will by signing His name at the foot [ordered?] thereof in manner as . . . appears thereon in the presence of this [Appearer?] and of William Francis Low the afore subscribed Witnesses thereto both of which were produced of the same time and both of whom also at the same time too attested and subscribed the said Will in the presence of the said Testator and of each other -- William Dawn. -- On the 24th day of January 1857 [or 1851] (the said William Dawn was duly sworn to the truth thereof before me --
[signed] F. T. Pratt Sec Pres -- Reginald Appach Not. Pub. [notary public]

Proved at London the 9th February 1857 [or 1851] before the worshipful Maurice Charles Merttins Swabey Doctor of Laws and Surrogate by the Oaths of Anna Maria Harriot Heysham Spinster the daughter and Frederick Heysham Esquire the son the surviving Executors to whom Administration was granted having been first sworn duly to administer.

Robert's sister, Elizabeth, lived until 1861, the wife of the Reverend John Benn.

Robert had the following children,
(23) Arabella Elizabeth Heysham (1792)
(23) Anna Maria Harriett Heysham (1794)
(23) Robert Thornton Heysham (1795)
(23) Charlotte Augusta Heysham (1796)
(23) John-William Henry Heysham (1797)
(23) William Henry Heysham (1798)
(23) Frederick Heysham (1800),
(23) Sarah Heysham (1803)

She was christened on 6 June 1792 in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertford, England. Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Robert Thornton Heysham, of Stagenhoe Park, Hertfordshire, married the Reverend Charles Fox Winnington on 10 April 1819 in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertford, England. He was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Edward Winnington, of Stanford Court, the second Baronet, and the Honorable Anne Foley, the youngest daughter of Thomas Lord Foley. Charles was the Rector at Stanford-on-Teme, Worcestershire and Vicar of Clifton-0n-Teme. He took the degree of B.A. at Christ church, Oxford and was presented to both his livings by his brother; to Clifton in 1817, and to Stanford in 1822 - from "The Gentleman's Magazine" by Sylvanus Urban. He d.s.p. in June 1841, aged 49. She died in February 1842.

The Winnington Family (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) temp Charles I. (18) Sir Francis Winnington (1635) (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) A lawyer of the Middle Temple. Solicitor General for England, 1674-1679, left. (19) Francis Winnington of Broadway (c1665) (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) (18) Sir Francis Winnington (1635) The second son. His elder brother, Salwey, held Stanford Court and was a Member of Parliament. Francis married Anne, the daughter of Thomas Jackson of London. (20) Edward Winnington of Broadway (c1695) (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) (18) Sir Francis Winnington (1635) (19) Francis Winnington of Broadway (c1665) He married Sophia Boote of Wantage. (21) Sir Edward Winnington, Bart. (1728) (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) (18) Sir Francis Winnington (1635) (19) Francis Winnington of Broadway (c1665) (20) Edward Winnington of Broadway (c1695) Created first Baronet of Stanford Court in 1755. Member of Parliament for Bewdley, Worcestershire. He married Mary, the daughter of John Ingram of Ticknell. (22) Sir Edward Winnington, Bart. (1749) (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) (18) Sir Francis Winnington (1635) (19) Francis Winnington of Broadway (c1665) (20) Edward Winnington of Broadway (c1695) (21) Sir Edward Winnington, Bart. (1728) He was born on 14 November 1749. Second Baronet. He married Anne, the daughter of Thomas Foley, first Baron Foley, and Grace Granville, on 12 September 1776. Member of Parliament and Storekeeper of the Ordnance 1762-1765. He died on 9 January 1805 at the age of 55. His children were Thomas Edward, Edward, Charles Fox, Sophia, Elizabeth, Harriet, Francis, Henry Jeffries, Mary Anne, and Annabella. (23) Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, Bart. (1780) (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) (18) Sir Francis Winnington (1635) (19) Francis Winnington of Broadway (c1665) (20) Edward Winnington of Broadway (c1695) (21) Sir Edward Winnington, Bart. (1728) (22) Sir Edward Winnington, Bart. (1749) He was born in 1789 and died on 24 September 1839. Third Baronet and Member of Parliament. The fifth Baronent married the grand-daughter of the Duke of Marlborough, a Churchill. The sixth Baronet, Sir Francis Winnington, died in 2003 without a male heir and the baronetcy passed to a nephew, Anthony Edward Winnington. (23) Charles Fox Winnington (c1785) (17) Colonel Francis Winnington (c1600) (18) Sir Francis Winnington (1635) (19) Francis Winnington of Broadway (c1665) (20) Edward Winnington of Broadway (c1695) (21) Sir Edward Winnington, Bart. (1728) (22) Sir Edward Winnington, Bart. (1749) The Rector of Stanford. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Robert Thornton Heysham of Stagenhoe Park, on 16 April 1819. He d.s.p. in June 1841. She died in February 1842.

She apparently went by the name Harriett. She was christened on 21 January 1794 in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertford, England. In the 1841 census of St. Mary, Marylebone, Middlesex as Harriett Heysham, 39 [?]. She was a single woman, living at home with her parents. Mentioned in her father's will of 1849, and still living at the time it was proved in 1857 [or 1851]. Apparently she never married.

In the 1861 census of Paddington, Middlesex as Harriett Heysham [Keysham in Ancestry.com], 61 and unmarried, of Hertfordshire, England. Her occupation was listed as "Independent" and she kept one servant.

He was born at Stagenhoe Park and christened on 23 March 1795 [I have another document that indicates 23 November 1800] in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertfordshire, England, the son of Robert Thornton and Sarah [Hawkins] Heysham.

Like his father and brothers, he went to Oxford.

"Heysham, Robert Thornton, s. Robert Thornton, of Walden, St. Paul's, Herts, arm. Brasknose [Brasenose] Coll., matric. 7 Feb., 1812, aged 17." - from "Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886"

In 1816 his father sold the Little Munden estate and moved to Southampton in about 1820. Robert would have been about 21 years old at the time of the sale and 'probably' accompanied his family on the move.

Circa 1816. Robert had "just left Oxford, where he kept a pack of harriers," which refers to hounds since the citation was about hunting. - from "Bailys Magazine."

Robert married Frances Price on 12 August 1824 in Haslemere, Surrey, England. The marriage licence was recorded 6 August 1824. She was born on 4 May 1796 and died in 1871, the daughter of Colonel Barrington Price and Lady Maria Jane Bowes-Lyon, who was the eldest daughter of John Bowes-Lyon, the 9th Earl of Strathmore. This is the family of the old Queen Mother. Frances Price was the niece of the Right Reverand the Honorable Shute Barrington, the Bishop of Durham. The Bishop's will:

June 1826. "He gives 4000l. to be laid out in the stocks, in trust for all the children of Barrington Price (except the before named and Frances wife of Wm. Heysham [sic], Esq.) to be divided in equal shares and paid on their coming of age, accumulating in the mean time . . . To Frances Heysham 500l. only, he having already given 500l. to her father for her use on her marriage." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine"

The Viscount Barrington Family (17) Sir Francis Barrington The first Baronet Barrington, was uncle by marriage to Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England. Their seat was Barrington Hall, in Hertfordshire. His sons were Sir Thomas, his heir, Robert, an MP, Francis, who settled in Jamaica, and John, a gentleman of Oliver's bedchamber and MP who retired to Germany. (18) Sir Thomas Barrington (17) Sir Francis Barrington His second wife was Joan, the daughter of Sir Rowland Lytton of Knebworth House [small world]. By his first wife, Joan Gobert, he had sons Sir John, his heir, Oliver, and Sir Gobert, of Tofts. (19) Sir Gobert Barrington (17) Sir Francis Barrington (18) Sir Thomas Barrington His surviving sons were Thomas, his heir, and Francis. (20) Francis Barrington (17) Sir Francis Barrington (18) Sir Thomas Barrington (19) Sir Gobert Barrington His brother, Thomas, "injured his fortune" in the Civil War and requested Francis, who was a rich merchant of Tunis, to purchase it, meaning I suppose his estate. Francis married the daughter of Samuel Shute, an Alderman of London, in 1681. A proviso of the marriage was that if Francis d.s.p., which he did, his brother-in-law, John Shute, would inherit. The Shute-Barrington's (20) John Shute-Barrington (19) Samuel Shute Of Hertfordshire, was the son of Benjamin [Samuel?] Shute, a merchant. He inherited the estate of Francis Barrington, of Tofts, and assumed his name by an act of Parliament. He also inherited an estate in Becket and considerable property in Berkshire from a John Wildman. A member of Parliament, on the accession of George I John was raised to the peerage as the 1st Viscount Barrington. John Swift called him "the shrewdest head in England." The elder Pitt had no use for him. (21) William Wildman Shute Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington The 2nd Viscount, left. Lord of the Admiralty, Master of the Wardrobe, Secretary of War, Chancellor of the Exchequer. (21) Major General the Honorable John Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington Major General and governor of Berwick. He served several campaigns in Flanders and commanded the force that took Guadaloupe in 1758. His sons assumed the title after his elder brother died dsp. (22) William Wildman Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington (21) Major General the Honorable John Barrington The third Viscount. (22) Richard Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington (21) Major General the Honorable John Barrington The fourth Viscount. (22) George Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington (21) Major General the Honorable John Barrington The fifth Viscount, Prebendary of Durham and Rector of Sedgfield [you can tell they never expected him to be Viscount]. His son and heir was William Keppel Barrington, sixth and last Viscount. (21) The Honorable Daines Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington Marshall of the High Court of Admiralty, Secretary of Greenwich hospital, and Judge of Chester. (21) Admiral the Honorable Samuel Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington Admiral of the Blue in 1787 and of the White in 1794, right. (21) The Right Reverand the Honorable Shute Barrington (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington Bishop of Durham, left. (21) Sarah Barrington (c1715) (19) Samuel Shute (20) John Shute-Barrington She married Robert, the son of Uvedale Tompkins Price, of Foxley estate, Hertfordshire in June 1746. She died on 17 March 1759.

The Price Family (21) Robert Price (1717) (19) Robert Price (1655) (20) Uvedale Tompkins Price (1685) Esq., of Foxley estate, Hertfordshire, left. A Baron of the Exchequer and, later, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, he was also a collector, musician and gentleman artist. He married Sarah Barrington, the daughter of the first Viscount Barrington, in June 1746. He may have also married Catherine Wroughton. He made extensive improvements to his estate at Foxley, always emphasizing the natural qualities of the existing landscape. Sarah died on 17 March 1759. Robert died in 1761. (22) Sir Uvedale Price (1747) (19) Robert Price (1655) (20) Uvedale Tompkins Price (1685) (21) Robert Price (1717) Eldest son of Robert Price was Sir Uvedale Price (1747-1829), right, the Baronet of Foxley, and a famous early landscape architect and theorist of the "Picturesque" movement. He had a son and heir, called not surprisingly, Robert. There's a pattern here. (22) Colonel Barrington Price (1757) (19) Robert Price (1655) (20) Uvedale Tompkins Price (1685) (21) Robert Price (1717) A seventh son. Barrington married Lady Maria Jane Bowes-Lyon, the eldest daughter of John Bowes-Lyon, the 9th Earl of Strathmore, on 11 May 1789. Their daughter was Francis Price. Maria died in 1806. Her brother, George Bowes-Lyon, died the same year dsp and his widow, Mary Thornhill, married Barrington Price in 1811. Clerk of the Peace for Durham county. He died on 5 April 1839 at Sparsholt House, aged 82. His children included Samuel [RN Captain], George, Maria [who married Cholmeley Edward John Dering, prebendary of St. Paul's, chaplain to Queen Victoria], Ann [who married John Lyon], Francis [who married Robert Heysham]. (23) Captain Barrington Price (19) Robert Price (1655) (20) Uvedale Tompkins Price (1685) (21) Robert Price (1717) (22) Barrington Price A Captain Barrington Price, an aide-de-camp to Sir Thomas Picton, was mortally wounded at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, ridden over by a charge of French cuirassiers. He died a few months later. (24) Barrington Price (1841) & George Barrington Price (19) Robert Price (1655) (20) Uvedale Tompkins Price (1685) (21) Robert Price (1717) (22) Barrington Price (23) Captain Barrington Price A later Barrington Price, perhaps a son of the above, settled in British Columbia. He ran a store at an old Hudson Bay trading post, then built the Grist Mill, which has been restored by the Canadian governmentt as an historic site. This Barrington eventually returned to Portsmouth and lived with his brother, Captain George Barrington Price, of the Royal Scots Greys. (23) Francis Price (19) Robert Price (1655) (20) Uvedale Tompkins Price (1685) (21) Robert Price (1717) (22) Barrington Price She married Robert Thornton Heysham on 12 August 1824 in Haslemere, Surrey, England.

The next two items are from the UK Archive, the Correspondence of Thomas Tilbury, of Edward Tilbury and Company, Marylebone High Street, who maintained storerooms for warehousing:

- "Heysham, Mr. R.J. [I'm assuming the J is a transcription error] of Brighton. His waggon will be in town next Tuesday to collect remainder of his furniture. Advance notice given so that waggon may be loaded as quickly as possible. Mr. Heysham wants his man to get as far as possible on return journey to Brighton on Tuesday. - date: 12 July 1829"
- "Heysham, Mr. R.J. of Brighton, regrets he has just returned to find two letters asking for payment of an account he thought paid. Inclement weather prevented him visiting London and he encloses a draft for the amount dated six days ahead to avoid loss. P.S. says that he has observed that the limit for a draft is £20. 17/6 will therefore be sent at the first opportunity. - date: 17 Feb. 1830."

The next reference may be for Robert. The square named is in Brighton.

"Haysham, R. Esq. 33, Brunswick-square, Hove" - from "The Watering Places of Great Britain" of 1831

Robert seems to have moved around a lot. He had children born in London, Brighton, Hampshire (3 of them) [I may be overstating the case; Brighton is in Hampshire.], and on the island of Guernsey. Their three boys went to secondary school on the island of Guernsey, from at least 1833 to 1844. Did Robert have a government posting there or was he just trying to conserve the family resources?

Robert and his family moved to the Channel Islands in about 1834. His son, Russell Henry, was born in Hampshire in 1834, while his eldest son, Robert Jr., entered the Elizabeth College, at St Peters Port, in the 1834 term, at the age of 8. I assume the term began in the fall. Interestingly, his two other sons, Barrington and Charles, did not enter the school until the 1844 term, when they were 13 and 12 years old, respectively. Why the delay? Robert's daughters, Maria and Rosa, were born on the island in 1836 and 1837.

This was just a year after Robert's father sold Stagenhoe. Was this move out of England an attempt to husband their resources? I have to think that the family fortunes were suffering, at least to a degree. Two of Robert's sons, Robert Jr. and Barrington, joined the army of the East India Company, while the third, Charles Augustus, joined the Royal Navy. These are all normally the professions of sons not inheriting. Was there little left to inherit by that point? If the family were living just off their dividends, or annuities, their condition may have been some what straightened.

Did Robert die before 1841? In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, his wife was reported as Francis Heissham, 35, of Independent means. Living with her were Francis [this would be Frances Mary], 13, Caroline, 15, Robert, 14, Georgina, 11, Barrington, 10, Charles, 8, Russell, 7, Maria, 5, and Rosa, 4. Maria and Rosa were born in Guernsey while everyone else was from England. Ann Bennet, Matilda Suanders, Jane Knowles, and Eliza Le Gruet were F.S. [female servants], Sophia Bonifield was the Governess, and John Hughes was an M.S. [male servant]. While the family may have moved to Guernsey to save money, they weren't suffering greately.

Robert Jr. left Elizabeth College in 1841, aged 15, to join the HEIC school at Addiscombe. Charles left in 1845, at 13, to join the Royal Navy, and Barrington left in 1846, at 15, also going to Addiscombe. I assume Robert Sr. and family lived on the island at least through that time.

Robert died before October 1849, when his father's will reported him as his "late son." Robert's daughter, Caroline Arabella, was also noted in 1851 to be the daughter of the "late R.T. Heysham, esq., of Bath." Does the latter mean that after 1846 he had moved to Bath? Or, was he vacationing at Bath at the time of his death? Or, was that an English address, held while he actually lived on the Channel Islands?

In the 1851 census of Devonport, Stoke Damerel parish, Devonshire was Robert's widow, Frances Heysham, 56 years old, of Srivenham, Berkshire. Her occupation was listed as Landed Proprietor & Fund Hold. I assume that means she inherited some property and had deposits "in the five percents", as they used to say. Her address in 1851 was 3 Park Place, Devonport, Devonshire, England. Residing with her were four servants, a lady’s maid, cook, house maid and parlour maid. So, though the family fortunes may have sunk somewhat, they were by no means "broke." With her were also her children, Caroline A., 25, of St. James, London, Frances M., 23, of Somerset, Bath, Barrington F., a 20 year old Ensign E.I. [East India] Company Service, of Farringdon, and Maria J. B., 15, of St. Peter, Isle of Guernsey.

Note that Frances' son, Charles, was a Midshipman in the Royal Navy at this time. Living in Devonshire, near the great naval base of Plymouth, may have kept Frances near her son. However, I can't confirm where Charles was assigned prior to 1852, when he was on the AGAMEMNON, out of Portsmouth, which is further to the east.

In the 1861 census of West Teignmouth, Devonshire as Frances Heysham [Harpham in Ancestry.com], a 64 year old Fund Holder, of Strivenham, Berkshire. Living with her was her daughter, Maria, 25, unmarried, of Guernsey. Frances had 5 servants living in the house. Teignmouth is about 25 miles northeast of her previous home in Stoke Damerel, just north of Torquay.

Frances Heysham died in January-March 1871 in Newton Abbot, Devonshire at the age of 75. Newton Abbot is just upriver from Teignmouth.

From the tomb of a servant (Ann Bennett was a lady’s maid for Frances Heysham in the 1851 and 1861 census, above.):

Northam, Devonshire, England monument inscriptions:
Yj 12: (Upright - Thick Cross With Square, Stepped Base), (Gap Of 1 Then This Stone), Ihs (On The Cross)

In Loving Memory Of
Anne Bennett,
For Over 60 Years The
Faithful And Devoted
Servant And Friend In The Family
Of The Late
Robert Thornton Heysham, Esq.
Died At Quarry House, March 25th
1885 Aged 85

(On The North Face Of Base)

"He That Is Faithful In That Which
Is Least, Is Faithful Also In Much."
Luke Xvi C. 10 Verse.

Robert and Frances had the following children:
(24) Caroline Arabella Heysham (1825)
(24) Robert Thornton Heysham (1826)
(24) Frances Mary Heysham (1828)
(24) Georgina Heysham (1830)
(24) Lieutenant General Barrington Frederick Heysham (1831)
(24) Charles Augustus John Heysham (1832)
(24) Russell Henry Heysham (1834)
(24) Maria Jane Bowes Heysham (1836)
(24) Rosa Heysham (1837)

The eldest daughter of Robert Thornton. She was born in 1825 in St James, Middlesex. In the LDS database she is shown as christened on 14 May 1825 in Saint James, Westminster, London, England.

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Caroline Heissham, 15, of England. She was living with her mother, Francis.

In the 1851 census of Stoke Damerel, Devonshire as Caroline A. Heysham, 25, of St. James, London. She was living at home at 3 Park Place, Devonport.

She married Fleetwood Patten [sic] Drury, Captain H.E.I.C.S. [Honorable East India Company Service], at Stoke, Devonshire on 12 September 1851. Her widowed mother, Frances, had settled in Devonshire after her father's death. In the announcement of the wedding Caroline's father was referred to as "the late R. T. Heysham, esq., of Bath."

Fleetwood was born on 15 January 1824, the son of Captain Henry Drury, Royal Navy.

Caroline's younger brother, Barrington, was in the Madras Army. Did Caroline and Fleetwood meet through him, or did Barrington get his assignment through Fleetwood?

Caroline was probably living in India at the time of the 1861 census. Caroline and Fleetwood had two daughters, Rosa Fanny Barrington Drury and Alice Marion Drury. Fleetwood Drury died in 1866.

In the 1871 census of England as Caroline A. Drury, a 45 year old widow and annuitant, of East India. She and her two daughters, Rosa F., 17, and Alice M., 15, also of East India, were living with her brother, Barrington, and his wife in Paddington parish, in the borough of Marylebone, in London. Could this be the old Marylebone home in which Caroline's father and brother died? Interestingly, old Mrs. Anne Bennett, the servant of Barrington's mother, above, was serving Barrington's family at this time.

In the 1881 census of Bideford district, Devon as Caroline A. Drury, a 54 year old, of independent means, of St. James, London. Living with her was her daughter, Alice M., 25, of East Indies [sic], Carmonore [?]. Her brother, Charles Augustus John, also lived in this district. I assume Rosa married, but I haven't found that reference yet.

Their children were,
(25) Rosa Fanny Barrington Drury, married H. A. Burrowes of Dangan Castle, Meath, and had a son.
(25) Alice Marion Drury

Robert Thornton IV was the eldest son of Robert Thornton Heysham III, of Stagenhoe Park. "1826. Births. May. 21. At Redbourne [Redburn] House, Herts, the wife of Robert Thornton Heysham, jun, esq. a son and heir." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine." What happened to Hinton House? Redbourn[e] is in the region of Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

In 1834 Robert entered Elizabeth College, a secondary school on the island of Guernsey. Note that Robert's youngest sister, Maria, was born in Peters Port, the capital of Guernsey, and his two younger brothers also attended the College at a later date. Did Robert's father have a post there?

Elizabeth College The school was founded in 1563 with a grant from Elizabeth I, who gave the school her name. The school had its ups and downs and nearly went out of business a number of times, but was rechartered in 1824. The school's main building was built between 1826 and 1829.

St. Peter Port, Guernsey Guernsey is the second largest of the Channel Islands, and the most Western. It is 30 miles from France and 125 miles south of England. Guernsey is about nine miles long by five miles wide, comprising just 24 square miles in area. St Peter Port, on the island's east coast, is the capital and chief city of Guernsey. It was, during a period of revolutionary turbulence in France, the home of the novelist, Victor Hugo. He once described the Channel Islands as "little pieces of France fallen into the sea and scooped up by Britain." Describing St Peter Port, he wrote, "A gothic church, streets ancient, narrow, uneven, odd amusing, intersected by steps, clambering up and tumbling down, the houses piled on top of one another so that they all have a view of the sea. And a little harbour where the vessels are stacked together, where the yard-arms of the schooners ever risk smashing into the windows that overlook the quay."

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Robert Heissham, 14, of England. He was living with his mother, Francis. Robert left Elizabeth college in 1841 - from "Elizabeth College Register, 1824-1873: With a Record of Some Earlier Students. A Chapter of..." by Charles James Durand, Edward Charles Ozanne, Elizabeth college, Guernsey, Kentish Brock, Guernsey Elizabeth College.

Robert attended the East India Company military school at Addiscombe - Cadet Papers: Robert Thornton Heysham 1841-1842. He would have been 15-16 years old at this time. The reason for the short stay at this school was probably related to the recent loss of an entire 16,000 man HEIC army in the mountains of Afghanistan. So great was the need after this military disaster that the Company was ready to take almost anyone into their army and hastened the training of those already in the pipeline.

After graduating from the school Robert was posted to Bengal in India. "Heysham, Robert Thornton" - from "The India Office and Burma Office List." His parents would have been victimized by the outfitters that preyed on the new recruits. They sold the new uniforms and equipment that Robert would have needed, but pushed more gear on the men than they really required, and much of that of poor quality. The same thing occurred in the Royal Navy, which you can read about in the novels of Patrick O'Brian.

At this same time Richard Burton, the great explorer and linguist of the Victorian era, also joined the Company. He did not attend Addiscombe, but was given a direct commission (at the cost of 500 pounds). Note that while he had attended Oxford, he did not finish his degree (he was expelled), so a University education was not a requirement for service. Many of the comments to follow were taken from Burton's travels and observations as a young Ensign.

The voyage to India took about four months, rounding Africa at the Cape of Good Hope. The new Ensigns, known as "Griffs," short for Griffons, a military slang of the day, would have smelled the port of Calcutta before they could see it. The smell was a combination of the pervasive aroma of curry and the sour stink of untreated sewage. The shock of coming upon an Asian slum is profound, as I can testify. Robert would have met squalor unlike anything he had seen before, even in the worst parts of London. It was, however, exciting as well; exotic, and erotic, in ways he had never experienced.

I have a reference to Robert's arrival in India in a book for which no preview is available. In the Google search it reads as,

January 1843.
:Military Appointments, Promotions, Changes, &c.
. . .
Nov. 1.--Admitted to the service, as cadets of art. and inf., and prom. to 2d lieut. and ensign from dates assigned to them
Artillery.--Mr. G.S. Dundas, date of arrival at Fort William, 28th Oct. 1842.
Infantry.--Messrs H. Baring, E.J. White, W. Irwin, R.T. Heysham, and T.H. Chamberlain, date of arr. Fort William, 8th Oct. 1842."
- from "The Asiatic Journal" of 1818.

Robert's first disappointment would have been that the disaster in Afghanistan had already been avenged by an army under Lord Ellenborough. The prospect of immediate action taken care of, Robert would have spent some time in Calcutta, perhaps 4 to 6 weeks, before he was assigned to his regiment. In Robert's case that was an an Ensign in the Second Bengal Regiment of Native Infantry (BNI).

1842. "RT Heysham (do.) to 2nd (do.)" - from "The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India"

1843, Calcutta. "Aug. 2. Examinations.--The undermentioned officers have been pronounced by committees, which assembled at Agra, Neemuch, and Khyouk Phyoo, to have acquired colloquial proficiency in the vernacular language.
Ensigns R. T. Heysam and M.A.F. Thomson, 2nd grenadiers; . . ." - from "The Indian Mail"

Note that the BNI were classified as The Second Bengal Regiment of Native Infantry were classified as Grenadiers, that is, assault troops.

Upon getting his regimental assignment, Robert headed upriver to his new post, probably in the northwest territories, near the frontier at Punjab. The cantonment at Ambala in Haryana is a good guess. This camp was new, founded to replace the cantoment at Karnal which had been abandoned in 1841 due to an outbreak of malaria. Robert would have traveled as a true mensahib, laden with trunks and accompanied by as many servants as he could afford.

Upon checking into his regiment Robert would have been introduced to its officers at the Regimental Mess. This dining hall/officer's club would have been a welcome relief. A long cool hall, fanned by punkahs, its tables set with clean linen and polished silver, a servant behind the chair of each officer, it was quite a contrast to the noisy, squalid Indian cities beyond the cantonment's walls. The officers themselves were cocky and confident. Richard Burton said of his messmates "there was not a subaltern in the 18th regiment who did no consider himself capable of governing a million Hindus."

As a bachelor Robert would have been set-up in a small bungalow of his own and he would have had a large staff of servants. I don't know anything about Robert's proclivities, but it was usual for the hawaldar, the regimental sergeant, to find the new officers a bubu, termed a "black wife." White women, especially single ones, were scarce outside the large cities, even as late as 1843. When the regiment moved these women were normally left behind. Much of the native language a man learned came from conversations with his "black wife" and it was for this reason that they often learned only the feminine version of words, to the great amusement of the locals.

Life in the cantonment started early, the men rising before dawn to get as much accomplished in the cool of the day as possible. The 2nd BNI had to be relentlessly drilled, both in the march and in rifle drill, to achieve the level of training that allowed the small Company armies to overawe the native levees. During the torrential rains of the monsoon season little training could be accomplished.

The regiment Robert joined in 1842 would essentially have been a new unit, its terrible losses made good with green troops that would need much training.

January 1843. "Register.--Calcutta
. . .
Postings to Ensign:--Ensigns A.M. Turnbull to 13th N.I. at Bandah; F.W.A. Hamilton (not arrived) to 12th do.; E.J. White (do.) to 2nd Eur. regt.; W. Irwin (do.) to 49th N.I.; R.T. Heyshan [sic] (do.) to 2nd ditto; . . ." - from the "Asiatic Journal"

Despite the need for continual drill, the officers had much free time. They filled this during the day with hunting, pig-sticking, and polo. During the evenings they would play whist or billiards at the club. A more exotic pleasure were performances of the nautch, an erotic dance performed by native women.

A diligent officer might spend time learning more of the language, culture and religion of the people he was meant to rule. There were government examinations in languages that, if passed, could result in an increase in pay and assignment as the regimental interpreter. A man had to be careful, though, not to go jungli, that is, go native. If he did he would be ostracized by his messmates.

The regiment arrived at their new station at Agra, in north central India, in March 1843. They were under the command of Colonel T. Wilson, C.B., and Lieutenant Colonel C. Hamilton, C.B. Lieutenant R. T. Heysham, who had joined the regiment in 1842, had been made Lieutenant on 24 January 1845. Contrarily, I have a document showing his promotion being in 1844. Perhaps the 1845 date was when he actually pinned on his new bars. Robert was the junior Lieutenant, but there were 5 Ensigns junior to him. - from "The East-India Register and Army List for 1845" by F. Clark. Agra is the location of the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. It was the capital of the Moghul Empire.

In 1845 the 2nd BNI joined in the Sutlej Campaign during the First Sikh War, 1845-1846. This war was fought between the Kingdom of Punjab and the HEIC. It was caused by disorder inside Punjab following the death of Ranjit Singh, the rise in power of a fanatical Sikh military, the Khalsa, Company fears for their territory bordering the kingdom, and Company desire to expand its influence. It resulted in the partial subjugation of the Sikh Kingdom.

The war began when the Company moved an army, under Sir Hugh Gough, up to Ferozpur, on the border. The Sikh crossed the Sutlej river into Company territory on 11 December 1845. The armies first met at an untidy encounter battle at Mukhi.

Mukdi, 18 December 1845. "Late in the day, after a full day’s march, the British Army consisting of approximately 12,000 men whilst in the process of forming camp were attacked by a strong probing Sikh force consisting of approximately 10,000 irregular cavalry and 2,500 infantry. With dusk approaching, there followed a short but fierce battle. The British were to suffer high casualties amongst its officers whereas the Sikh’s were to lose a large proportion of its artillery, with Sikh gunners often fighting to the death in defence of their guns. As darkness fell, the Sikh Army withdrew in general good order once the superior number of the British infantry and the gallant charge of the British 3rd Light Dragoons began to tell."

Ferozeshah, 21-22 December 1845. "Following Mukdi, the British Army proceeded northwestwards with a view to joining forces with the besieged British garrison of Ferozepore. The Sikh Army did not prevent the meeting of the two forces around its main defensive position centred around the village of Ferozeshah in the early morning of 21 December 1845. Around 4.00pm in the afternoon, the British proceeded to attack the Sikh Army entrenched in the village. The majority of fighting took place in darkness and continued throughout the night with the British succeeded in capturing and securing parts of the Sikh encampment despite fearing Sikh counter-attacks. The British position was precarious. During one stage of the battle, orders were given by the Governor General, Lord Hardinge, who was present throughout the campaign, to destroy all state papers left at Mukdi should the Army be defeated. The next morning, the British attacked and were able to dislodge the remainder of the Sikh Army from the village. By this time, the British Army were exhausted having fought without respite for in excess of 16 hours. By midday, sizeable Sikh reinforcement appeared to the east of the village under command of the Sikh Commander-in-Chief, Tej Singh. The Sikh attack that followed was uncoordinated and lacked direction, which otherwise would have led to victory against the exhausted and depleted British. By 4.00pm in the afternoon, the Sikh Army was ordered by its Commander-in-Chief to withdraw. As at Mukdi, both sides suffered heavy casualties. The two Armies proceeded to disengage, the next notable engagement being some five weeks later."

Aliwal, 28 January 1846. "The direction of offensive operations by the Sikh Army moved eastwards towards the end of January 1846 with a strong Sikh concentration appearing in the area around Ludhiana. A British force under the able leadership of Sir Harry Smith moved to deal with the threat that the Sikhs now presented to the British supply lines. The Battle of Aliwal witnessed a Sikh force consisting of approximately 7,000 cavalry and 17,000 infantry, half of which were regular troops, in a defensive formation with a river to its rear. Sir Henry Smith was able to direct well co-ordinated attacks using cavalry, artillery and infantry in such a manner resulting in the most decisive outcome for the British during that stage of the war. By late afternoon, the Sikh Army withdrew out of range having been dislodged from the two villages, which formed its main line of defence."

Sobraon, 10 February 1846. "Following the arrival of heavy artillery from Delhi and the rejoining of forces engaged at Aliwal, the British proceeded towards the Sikh fortified position at Sobraon. Despite being the Commander-in-Chief of the Sikh Army, Tej Singh proceeded to secure the destruction of the Sikh Army by placing his forces behind fortifications with its rear to a wide fast-flowing river, severely inhibiting the Army’s manoeuvrability and affording no means of effective withdrawal. Following a punishing two hour bombardment by the British siege artillery, the lines of British infantry began their assault. Initially, the Sikhs were able to repulse the attacks, however having deployed further men, the British was able to exploit the weak east wing of the Sikh defences. As with the previous engagements, the fighting was bitter, with close hand to hand fighting; the Sikhs preferring to rely on their tulwars whilst the British pressed forward with their bayonets. The ferocity of the battle was evidenced by the veteran Sir Henry Smith who described it as ‘A brutal bulldog fight’. Tej Singh fled across the single and feeble bridge of boats which afforded the sole means of withdrawal. Shortly after his flight, the bridge broke. With the British Army driving forward, thousands of Sikhs were to be killed either fighting to the end alongside the resilient Sikh commander, Sham Singh Attariwala or otherwise drowning whilst seeking to reach the other side of the river. The Sikh Army was decimated at Sobraon and would not ever fully recover. Approximately 10,000 were killed and wounded, many being regular troops. British losses were also high, 23,003 killed and wounded, approximately one-seventh of its total strength. The Battle of Sobraon ended the First Sikh War. A peace treaty followed, the Lahore Court remained intact, Tej Singh retained a place in the Council at Lahore working under a British protectorate and the Sikh Army who had underpinned the security and independence of the Lahore Court, had been critically wounded." - from The Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail

I believe Robert was a Mason.

"Agra, Dec. 6. [1844] -- A dinner was given at the Metcalfe Testimonial by the Brethren of Lodge Star of Hope to Capt. J. Ramsay, A.C.G. and J.W. of the Lodge, on his approaching departure from this station. Brethren present.-- . . ., Lieuts. Boswell, Lister, Cureton, Thompson, Heysham, &c." - from "The Freemason's Quarterly Review; New Series--March 31, 1845"

Based on information found in a coin-collectors website [which I can no longer locate], Robert was for some years the Director of the Madras Mint, one of the major Mint's in the Indian sub-continent, thus serving along side Barrington, his younger brother. The Madras Mint was established in the 1643 and run by the East India company out of Fort St. George. After 1858 coinage was minted in the name of the British Empire. The mint was closed in 1867. What was Robert, of the Bengal Establishment, doing in the Madras Mint? The only thing I can come up with is that the Bengal Establishment was subordinate to Madras.

I think Robert was the Director of the Madras Mint for the period between 1846 and 1851. This makes sense if he was on detached service, perhaps accruing "time in service" and maintaining his position on the promotion ladder. I think the term I'm looking for here is that he was "seconded" to the Mint. This is primarily a British term referring to a temporary transfer, usually of a military or law enforcement officer. For example, a Colonel John Hainsworth, who was posted to India in 1922 as a Royal Engineers officer, was later "seconded" to the Public Works Department to do civilian engineering projects.

In 1848 "Heysham, Lieut. R.T. 2nd N.I. passed exam, in Hindustani." - from "Allen's Indian Mail" of 1848. In the same year his brother, Barrington, arrived in Madras to begin his Indian Army service. I have an odd reference in the United Services Magazine of 1848, "R. Heysham, to Vernon." The VERNON was a 50-gun ship which he may have ridden.

Between 1837 and 1841 Robert's father died and, in 1850, his grandfather passed away as well.

Per the Bengal Service Army Lists, Robert served in the "2nd NI" [Native Infantry] from 1843 to 1858, but there is a notation, "res Dec 51." That apparently meant he had resigned the service, but why do the records show a continuation through 1858?

The manor of Weston, or Weston Lordship, which had been in the family since 1703, was sold by a "Robert Thornton Heysham" to Samuel Adams in 1852 - from "British History Online." This must be our Robert. I think he came back to England in 1850, garnered his inheritcance, and then sold the Weston estate to clear his grandfather's debts. Contrarily, this may have all been accomplished by his lawyers via the mail allowing Robert to stay in India.

Robert "resigned [the HEICS] in 1851 and settled in Australia, where he died in 1868." - from "Elizabeth College Register, 1824-1873: With a Record of Some Earlier Students. A Chapter of..." by Charles James Durand, Edward Charles Ozanne, Elizabeth college, Guernsey, Kentish Brock, Guernsey Elizabeth College. He would have been 42 years old.

The following are notices reported in 1852.

"Bengal
. . .
Medical.
Appointments, &c.
. . .
Heysham, Lieut. R.T. 2nd N.I. permited to resign.
. . .
Military.
Appointments, &c.
. . .
Gucht, Ens. B.G.V. 2nd N.I. to be lieut. fr. Dec. 1, 1851, v. Heysham, resigned."
. . .
Leave of Absence.
. . .
Heysham, Lieut. R.T. 2nd NI fr. Oct. 28 to Dec. 1, to Bombay, prep, to resign, the service.
. . .
Shipping
. . .
Passengers Departed
. . .
Per [steamer] Nith. Mr. R. T. Heysham." - from "Allen's Indian Mail" by W.M.H. Allen and Company, 1852

Robert may have returned to India, enroute from England to Austrlia.

"Passengers Arrived
. . .
Per Walmer Castle (Aug. 20), from London.--for Madras.--
. . .
Mr. Heysham, Lieut." - from "Allen's Indian Mail" by W.M.H. Allen and Company, 1852

There is a Heysham Way in Templestowe, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, but since it is next to Morecambe Court I have to assume this was named for the village not the man.

I have finally found indications of where Robert spent his final days.

"Daylesford, Co. Talbot
. . .
Heysham, R.T., accnt., Vincent s[treet]" - from "The Victoria Post Office Directory" of 1869

Was Robert really an accountant or did "accnt." mean something else? Say, living on his accounts?

The town of Daylesford, below, is in the state of Victoria, Australia, northwest of Melbourne in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. This mountain range is Australia's most substantial and the 4th longest in the world. The lands to the southeast of it are relatively well-watered and verdant. Gold was found there in 1852 which may explain Robert's settling there. The region is also home to a large number of hot springs, which may have been as strong a pull to our aging Robert. Vincent street looks today to be the main street of this town of about 2,000 inhabitants.

I have no further information for Robert. There is no record of a marriage or a wife. I assume Robert had no male children since his younger brother, Charles, took up the Robert Thornton family name for one of his sons, who did not survive to adulthood.

Known as Fanny. She was born in Bath, Somerset and christened on 30 July 1828 in Saint Nicholas, Brighton, Sussex, England.

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Francis Heissham, 13, of England. She was living with her mother, Francis.

In the 1851 census of Stoke Damerel, Devonshire as Frances M. Heysham, 23, of Somerset, Bath. She was living at home at 3 Park Place, Devonport. Fanny Mary Heysham died in January-March 1854 at Newton Abbot, Devon, only 26 years old.

1854, Obituaries. "At Teignmonth, aged 26, Frances-Mary, second dau. of the late R. Thornton Heysham, esq. of Bath." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine"

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Georgina Heissham, 11, of England. She was living at home with her mother, Francis. I don't see her after this.

The son of Robert Thornton Heysham, he was named for his grandfather, Colonel Barrington Price. He was born on 5 Febraury 1831 in Farrington, Hampshire, England. In 1844, at the age of 13, he and his brother, Charles Augustus John Heysham, were students at Elizabeth College, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands. This is a secondary school, or high school, with grades 7-8-9-10-11. Both boys were listed in the College register as non-Channel Island residents. I wonder why they were sent here? Note: in 1834 Robert Thornton Heysham attended this school and that his youngest sister was born on Guernsey, so the whole family was probably living on the island.

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Barrington Heissham, 10, of England. He was living with his mother, Francis.

Barrington left the Elizabeth College in 1846.

Barrington, like his older brother, Robert Thornton, joined the East India Company. From - "Cadet Papers 1789-1859": Barrington Frederick Heysham, 1847-1848 [age 16-17]. Cadet Entry Papers denote entry into service with the East India Company Army, 1753-1861, or, from 1861-1940, the Indian Army. That is, about six years after his brother, Robert Thornton Heysham. While a commission in the British Army had to be bought and the pay was low, as an officer in Company service Barrington would have been able to send money home to support his widowed mother and provide dowries for his sisters. After receiving a gentleman's education in mathematics and the classics, he would have applied for admission to Addiscombe, the Company school for young officers. With the proper recommendations and upon passing the entrance examinations, he would have been accepted as a Cadet.

Upon graduation Barrington would have been commissioned as an Ensign. I've noted that some graduates of the Company school were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants. Why the difference? From the 18th century Ensign was the lowest commissioned officer rank in the infantry. In 1871 the rank was abolished and replaced by Second Lieutenant. Ensigns were named for the Ensign or Colour which they carried. By the way, during the same period the lowest officer rank in the cavalry was Coronet.

"Cadets for the Madras Engineers, Artillery, Cavalry, and Infantry.
. . .
For the Infantry.
To rank from the date of the sailing from Gravesend of the ship by which he proceeded, viz.--
Barrington Frederick Heysham, [steamer] Plantagenet, 3rd April." - from "Allen's Indian Mail and Register of Intelligence" of 1848

Barrington was an Ensign in the HEICS Madras Army in 1848. He served in the 1st European Madras Fusiliers and the 18th [sic] Madras N.I. - from "Elizabeth College Register, 1824-1873: With a Record of Some Earlier Students. A Chapter of..." by Charles James Durand, Edward Charles Ozanne, Elizabeth college, Guernsey, Kentish Brock, Guernsey Elizabeth College.

Madras. "Military Appointments, &c.
. . .
Heysham, Ens. B.F. 13th N.I. to cont. to do duty with 1st Mad. fus. until the 18th N.I. enters the limits of the ceded districts, to which point he will proceed to join." - from "Allen's Indian Mail and Register of Intelligence" of 1849.

"Heysham, Ens. B.F. to do duty with 1st fusil. and to join with detach. of that corps under ch. of Capt. Babington . . . Heysham, Ens. B.F. doing duty with 1st fusil, removed to 13th N.I. as 5th ens.; to rank fr. April 3, 1848." - from "Allen's Indian Mail" of 1848.

Thirteenth Regiment Madras Native Infantry While the regiment had fought at the battles of Sholinghur, Carnatic, Mysore, and Seringapatam, these had occurred years before Barrington Heysham’s tour in the 1850’s. However, while there were no major battles in southern India at this time, the peace was punctured by the Sepoy Mutiny, 1857-1859. Elements of the Madras Army, including the 1st Fusiliers, were engaged in the relief of Cawnpore and Lucknow, both in the Ganges valley. There is no evidence that the 13th took any part, however. Duty in the second half of the 19th century would have included dusty patrols showing the flag and pursuing bandits. Above, a sepoy of the Madras Infantry, circa 1887.

From the "Madras Service Army Lists" - 1849-1858, Heysham, Barrington F., 13th Native Infantry. From “Officers of the Thirteenth Regiment Madras Native Infantry, Madras Army of the Honorable East India Company, Stationed at Cuddapah” as listed in the East-India Register, 1850: “Barrington Frederick Heysham, appointed to the Army in 1848, commissioned as an Ensign on 8 November, currently on furlough.” Also as,

Officers of the Thirteenth Regiment Madras Native Infantry Stationed at Cuddapah; arrived February 1849.
Col Lewis Wentworth Watson
. . .
Ensigns -
Year of appointment to Army: 1848
Officer's name: Barrington Frederick Heysham
Date of commission to current regimental rank: 8 November 1848
Date to rank in the Army: 3 April 1848
on furlough
- from the East-India Register, 1850

In 1849 Barrington's grandfather wrote his will (Barrington's father had already died, probably in 1841). Was he already ill-to-death at that point? Regardless, Barrington hopped a ship for home.

"Leave of Absence.
. . .
Heysham, Ens. B. F. 13th NI, to Europe, on m.c." - from "Allen's Indian Mail" of 1849

In the 1851 census of Stoke Damerel, Devonshire as Barrington F. Heysham, a 20 year old Ensign in the East India Company Service, unmarried. He was residing at 3 Park Place, Devonport. He was home on leave [furlough]. This was probably related to the death of his grandfather and the reading of the various wills. Barrington's brother, Robert Thornton, resigned the service at about the time.

Barrington took part in an amateur theatrical while home.

"Plymouth.--(From a Correspondent.)--On Monday the 10th inst., the gentleman amateurs of the neighborhood sustained the principal parts of the well known drama, Don Caesar de Bazan . . . after which, the amateurs again presented themselves in the farce, You can't Marry your Grandmother. Lieutenant Warren, R.N., as Algernon Bloomly, and Lieutenant Heysham, 13th M.N.I., as Ready, displayed self possession rarely to be met with in amateurs; and kept the house in a ceaseless roar of merriment." - from "The Musical World" of 1851

In 1852 Barrington returned to Madras, India.

"Passengers Arrived
. . .
Per Walmer Castle (Aug. 20), from London.--for Madras.--
. . .
Mr. Heysham, Lieut.
. . .
Permitted to Return to Their Duty.
Military.
Madras Estab.--
. . .
Ens. B.F. Heysham, 13th N.I.
. . .
" - from "Allen's Indian Mail" by W.M.H. Allen and Company, 1852

"To be Lieutenants.
. . .
Lieutenant Barrington Frederick Heysham, of the 13th Native Infantry. Dated 15th April, 1853." - from "Bulletins and Other State Intelligence" of 1863

Barrington married Charlotte M. Nicholls in 1853 in Madras - from the Madras Marriage Index. She may have been one of those young women who took a tour of India in hopes of finding a husband. The ships that carried these hopeful women to the colonies were known as the "fishing fleet." Alternately Barrington may have met her while home on leave in 1851 - that may, in fact, have been the reason for his returning home. She was born in London, Middlesex, England. Her father may have been Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Nicholls, of the Madras Staff Corp., 1873. From 1849 to 1858 Barrington was on the Madras Service Army List, still in the 13th Native Infantry.

Barrington took and passed his examination in Hindustani.

"Heysham, Lieut. B. F. 13th N.I. exam. in Hindustani; cred-. prog." - from "Allen's Indian Mail" of 1854

How did the Sepoy Mutiny affect Barrington? The rebellion found few adherents among the native population in Madras. This does not mean that the people of the south were docile, but they did not identify with the Hindustanis of the Gangetic plains who were at the center of the mutiny. Administration of Madras by the East India Company had produced peace and security. There were cases of individual mutiny in the Madras Cavalry, but these were isolated incidents having more to do with the high proportion of Hindustani Muslims in their ranks. As a regiment no unit of the Madras Army was disbanded or disarmed.

Within the British community, however, the mutiny would have engendered widespread panic. As news of the atrocities in the north spread, Barrington's wife would have begun to distrust her own servants and to wonder if she was going to be murdered in her sleep.

The Madras Army was, instead, employed in putting down the rebellion. The 1st Fusiliers were engaged in the relief of Cawnpore and Lucknow, in the Ganges valley, but it is not clear if Barrington was still in this unit at the time, or whether he had transferred to the 13th Madras N.I. The latter took no part in putting down the rebellion.

Barrington Frederick Heysham made Captain on 15 September 1861. - from "Elizabeth College Register, 1824-1873: With a Record of Some Earlier Students. A Chapter of..." by Charles James Durand, Edward Charles Ozanne, Elizabeth college, Guernsey, Kentish Brock, Guernsey Elizabeth College. Also,

"To be Captain.
. . .
Lieutenant Barrington Frederick Heysham,
Dated 15th September 1861." - from "Bulletins and Other State Intelligence" of 1863

"Barrington Frederick Heysham
Ensign 8/11/1848 Q.M. and Int. 27/4/1857
Lieutenant 5/3/1853 Transferred 25/11/1867
Captain 29/5/1865
" - from "Historical Records of the XIII Madras Infantry" by Robert Pilkington Jackson

From the Madras Army Records - Heysham, Barrington Frederick was in the Madras Staff Corps from 1862-1863, 1869-1871, and 1877-1878. That is, he was no longer with the 13th Native Infantry as a front-line commander of troops. He was, to the contrary, in charge of support operations behind the lines. From records of a report submitted to the Commisary General, Madras (that is, the chief Supply officer), we discover that Barrington was on active duty from 1848 to 1880. In 1900, the date of the report, he was a Lieutenant Colonel. He retired as a Major General.

The British counsel to Abyssinia, Charles Duncan Cameron, was imprisoned in the fortress of Magdala by the African Emperor. The British government, unable to win his release, responded by declaring war in July 1867. Sir Robert Napier led a force made up of units from the Indian army. Barrington Heysham went along with the commissariat.

"Resolution of the Bombay Government
Bombay Castle, 30th September 1867.

The following establishement is approved for the Commissariat Department of the Abyssinian expedition:

. . .
Deputy Assistant Commissaries-General, 1st class, Captain Clarke, Captain Heysham (Madras Staff Corps), Major Thacker and Captain Phelps." - from "Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons"

"Attached to Zoolla depot. Charge of Bunder, landing and shipping stores. Visited ports in the Red Sea, on Special duty."

Scientific experts were also brought on the expedition, much as Napoleon did on his conquest of Egypt, who made geological and zoological observations.

"The true Gazelle of the Abyssinian coast-land appears to differ in no essential character from that of Northern Africa . . . The figures of G. dorcas are from specimens shot by myself near Zulla, that of G. arabica from a head for which I am indebted to Captain Heysham of the Commissariat, who obtained it at Mochas." - from "Observations on the Geology and Zoology of Abyssinia: made during the progress of the British Expedition to that Country in 1867-68" by William Thomas Blanford

Captain B. F. Heysham was promoted to Major on 3 April 1868. - from "United Service Magazine"

In the 1871 census of England, Barrington, aged 40, and Charlotte, aged 36, are living in Paddington parish, in the borough of Marylebone, in London. He was shown as a Major in HMS Madras Staff. Living with them are Caroline A. Drury, Barrington's widowed sister, along with her two daughter's, Rosa and Alice. There is also a Lady's maid listed, Anne Bennet, aged 69, of Wiltshire. I assume this is the same maid that was part of Barrington's mother's household. This was probably a short stay in England after which Barrington returned to India.

There is a Major Barrington Frederick Heysham, a Madras Staff Corps Officer in Hart’s Army List of 1873. After the mutiny the army of the East India Company was absorbed into the British Army as the Indian Army.

In 1874 he was made Lieutenant Colonel, and in 1879 Brevet-Colonel. Quarter-Master and Interpreter to his regiment in 1857. Commissariat Department, 1857 to 1880. Abyssinian Campaign, 1867-68 (medal); deputed to visit the ports in the Red Sea to obtain supplies (highly commended for his services); Executive Commissariat Officer at Bellary during the great famine of 1876; received the special thanks of the Major-General Commanding for his exertions on that occassion; retired as Major-General in 1880; residence, Godalming - from "Elizabeth College Register, 1824-1873: With a Record of Some Earlier Students. A Chapter of... " by Charles James Durand, Edward Charles Ozanne, Elizabeth college, Guernsey, Kentish Brock, Guernsey Elizabeth College

In the United Kingdom National Register of Archives, British Library, Oriental and India Office Collection: Papers of Lieutenant Colonel Barrington Frederick Heysham, c1880: Copies of reports submitted to the Commissary General, Madras by the Acting Assistant Commissary General [Barrington] at Madras (d1900), Madras Army 1948-1880, concerning details of army transport and provisioning. Was this written after his retirement?

Barrington showed a previously unsuspected breadth of knowledge and scientific interest in elephants,

"Elephas indieus. Some notes by Capt. Heysham on the period of gestation of this species are recorded in Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 731." - from "The Zoological Record."

On 8 October 1880 he was promoted to Major General and retired, per the Indian Army Quarterly List. In the 1881 census as Barrington F. Heysham, Major General of Her Majesty's Indian Army, retired, living at Nightingale road Netherwood, in Godalming, Surrey. His wife Charlotte was living with him, aged 46. No children are shown and there are no indications they ever had any on their long years of service in Madras. The "Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal" indicates Charlotte died s.p., sine prole, without issue. Isabella M. Avery, Barrington's 33 year old sister-in-law, and Fanny C. Pinckle, Charlotte's 20 year old niece, were living with them.

In the 1891 census of Godalming, Surrey as Barrington Heysham, a 60 year old retired Major General. Living with him was Charlotte, aged 56.

In the 1901 census of Hove, Sussex [this is near Brighton] as Barrington Fredk Heysham [Heysham Smith in Ancestry.com], a 70 year old retired Major General of HMS [?] Madras Staff Corps, of Farringdon. Living with him was his wife, Charlotte Mary, 61, of West Molasey, Surrey, and his sister-in-law, Isabella Marion Nicholas, 53, of Islington.

From records related to the administration of service and family pension funds of the East India Company and India Office: Madras Military Fund: Roll of subscribers: "Barrington Frederick Heysham 1831-1913
Madras Army, b 5 Feb 1831, d 30 Dec 1913
Retired 8 Oct 1880
m Charlotte Mary 20 Jun 1853 (b 26 Aug 1834, d 4 Jan 1914)" Barrington F. Heysham died in January-March 1914 in Steyning, Sussex. Charlotte M. Heysham died at the same place and time.

The son of Robert Thornton Heysham. He was born on 4 October 1832 in Ropley, Hampshire.

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Charles Heissham, 8, of England. He was living with his mother, Francis.

He attended Elizabeth College, a secondary school on Guernsey Island, in 1844 and left in 1845 to join the Royal Navy. This was a year before his older brother, Barrington, left the school.

He entered the Royal Navy in 1845, right out of Elizabeth College. He was 13 years old. In the early 19th century boys as young as 12 would join as Midshipmen.

Circa 1845-1849. "CAJ Heysham to Hastings" - from "The United Services Magazine," 1849. This would have put Charles into the Far East.

"Chas. Augustus John Heysham" was advanced from Midshipman to Mate on 1 December 1851 - from the "Royal Navy List" of December 1852.

12 October 1852 Chas. Augustus John Heysham, Mate, reported onboard HMS AGAMEMNON, a 91-gun line-of-battle ship. His Captain was Sir Thomas Maitland - from the "Navy List" of December 1852. Based on the information below, Charles may have been part of the commissioning crew, that is "plank owner."

Charles left AGAMEMNON about the same time Captain Maitland did, in 1853.

"C.A.J. Heysham (1851 [his date of rank to Mate]) to Plumper;" - from "The United Service Magazine" 1852

Charles quickly moved on, however, to the HMS PLUTO, but apparently still on anti-slavery patrol. Charles A. J. Heysham was listed as Mate of HMS PLUTO on 17 August 1853 under Command Norman B. Bedginfeld. Articles of Agreement between the Chiefs and Headmen of the Congo river and Her Majesty's goverment were negotiated by Lieutenant Commander Norman B. Bendingfeld and the officers of Her Majesty's ship, PLUTO, on 20 June 1854. C.A.J. Heysham was listed as Mate of the PLUTO, and a signatory. The Master of the brig SABRAON, John Cheesman, also signed. Charles undoubtedly met Doctor Livingston - of "Dr Livingston, I presume" fame - when the great man visited the PLUTO at St. Paul de Loanda, Angola, in 1854- from "Dr. Livingston's Cambridge Lectures" by David Livingston. The Doctor had selected Captain Bedingfeld as his naval officer on an expedition.

Charles made the significant step to Lieutenant on 9 November 1854, when he would have been transferred off his old ship. The Captain of the PLUTO, Bedingfeld, had left his ship in October 1854 to return to England to recuperate from an illness.

Charles A.J. Heysham, Lieutenant, reported aboard HMS LINNET in 1855 - from the "Navy List" of December 1855. LINNET was a packet brig, of 8-guns, operating off the west coast of Africa on the anti-slavery patrol. Her Captain was Commander Henry Need. He was an amateur artist and created several excellent watercolors,

"Capture of the Mellidon Slaver in the Bay of Kabenda West Coast Africa by the boats of HMS Linnet, April 30 1854"

"Shark Caught off the Mud Bar - Rio Ponga - 23 June 1853"

"Linnet's Prize Condemned at Sierra Leone, 14 May 1853"

"Freetown, Sierra Leone, 9 June 1853"

"Capture of the Slaver Brigantine PAULINA, 30 April 1853, in the Rio Ponga, ... Africa by the Boats of HMS Linnet"

". . . Lieutenant Charles Augustus John Heysham, RN, to command a Station . . ." - from "The United Service Magazine" of 1857.

Circa 1859 Charles came back home for service in the Coast Guard. "CAJ Heysham, 1854 [date of rank to Lieutenant], to Ajax" - from "The United Service Magazine" of 1859. Considering the frequent changes in commands seen previously, and subsequently, I'm assuming we're missing a ship here. His time at this assignment may have been a holding action while a new sea-going command was available.

Circa 1860 Lieutenant Heysham reported onboard the sloop HMS MUTINE, commanded by William Graham, operating in the Pacific.

The MUTINE sailed for the Pacific after February 1860 and was based out of Esquimalt, in British Columbia. She cruised the western shores of North and Central America.

Lieutenant Chas. A. J. Heysham the reported onboard BACCHANTE - from the "Navy List" of December 1862. In 1862 BACCHANTE was operating in the Pacific, out of Victoria, British Columbia. His Captain was Donald McL Mackenzie.

While onboard BACCHANTE Charles was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Humane Society for saving life. He also received from the Admiralty a letter of approbation of his "gallant conduct on that occassion" - from "Elizabeth College Register, 1824-1873: With a Record of Some Earlier Students. A Chapter of..." by Charles James Durand, Edward Charles Ozanne, Elizabeth college, Guernsey, Kentish Brock, Guernsey Elizabeth College.

"Heysham, C.A.J., Lieutenant, 2nd September, 1863 (Silver Medal), J. Bowen [sic], boy of H.M.S. "Bacchante," fell into the sea; Lieutenant Heysham jumped overboard, and supported him until a boat arrived." - from "The Royal Navy List"

C.A.J. Heysham, Lieutenant, R.N.
On the 2d of September 1863, Lieutenant Charles A. J. Heysham, of H.M.S. under my command, jumped overboard on the passage from Mazatlan to Le Pay, and saved the life of Joseph Bower, first-class boy, who had fallen into the sea from the hammock-netings. Although the life-buoy was instantly let go and a boat lowered, the boy, from being unable to swin, must have been drowned had it not been for the gallant conduct of Lieutenant Heysham, who was afterwards assisted in keeping him up Samuel Staples, first-class boy, who also jumped overboard and assisted in rescuing him.
- from "Acts of Gallantry" by Lambton Young

In 1862 Lieutenant Charles A. J. Heysham was acting commander of HMS DEVASTATION, a paddle-wheel sloop, on station in British Columbia. Devastation island is named for the ship. - from "British Columbia coast names, 1592-1906" Commander John William Pike was listed as her captain in 9 May 1862. Presumably Charles took this acting command while still assigned to BACCHANTE.

On 25 July 1864 Charles was advanced in rank to Commander. Another source, Biography, claims that he did this as early as 1 October 1860. He was then assigned to HMS IRRESISTIBLE under the heading, "The following Officers are borne Additional for Coast Guard Service." - from the "Navy List" of 1865. He was in the Coast Guard service from 1865 to 1868, and from 1869-1878. IRRESTISTIBLE was in the Newhaven district and was responsible for the region from Folkestone to the Isle of Wight. Her captain was John Borlase, CB. Charles was listed as an additional officer for coast guard service.

Charles was listed as "Inspecting Officers of Divisions" at Folkstone. Folkestone was in the Newhaven District, which ran from Folkestone to Lymington Division, inclusive, and the Isle of Wight. This was the south coast of England. E.J. Lawson was the Inspecting Commander and Charles was the Vice Commander. His commanding officer was Captain John Borlase, CB. In another reference is the following.

". . . E.J. Lawson to be Inspecting Commander in the Coast-guard, vice Commander CAJ Heysham . . . Inspecting Commanders--Commander William Spratt, from Southend to Folkestone, vice Heysham, appointed to the Lord Clyde." - from "The United Services Magazine" of 1866

LORD CLYDE HMS LORD CLYDE, a 36-gun iron-screw ship, was built at Pembroke Dockyard. She was laid down on 29 September 1863, launched on 13 October 1864, and completed on 2 July 1866. The LORD CLYDE, and her sister the LORD WARDEN, were the last Broadside ships to be built for the Royal Navy. She served for 2 years with the Channel Fleet. Her sea-keeping characteristics were found to be very poor, rolling excessively. She was then sent to the Mediterranean and stationed at Malta. However, she had problems with her engines which had worn badly and was sent back to England for an engine refit. In 1869 she was sent into reserve at Devonport. In 1871 she was again sent to Malta where she served for 6 months. She went aground Pantellaria, but was pulled free by LORD WARDEN. She had structural damage and had to be towed back to Malta. Temporarily repaired at Malta she was again sent back to England. It had been planned to give her a major overhaul at Plymouth, but her hull was found to be baldy rotted. They tried to save the ship over a period of 3 years, but at the end she had to be sold for scrap in 1875.

On 20 April 1867 Charles took command of his own ship, HMS FAWN.

"Fawn, sc., 17, Capt. A. J. Heysham, 1864 [date of rank for Commander], N America and West Indies." - from "The United Service Magazine"

"In 1867, His Majesty's ship FAWN, under the command of Commander Haysham [sic], visited St. Mary's [Newfoundland] from June 7th to 10th." - History of St. Mary's 1597 - 1949 by Michael McCarthy.

The Royal Navy's main task on the Newfoundland Station [this may better be called the North American Station] was in protecting the coast and the fishing fleet. Other ships and commanders in the area included Captain Parish of HMS Sphinx in 1868, Captain Malcolm of the HMS Danae in 1871 [an ECLIPSE class sloop of 6 guns that operated on the North American and West Indies station], and, in 1874, HMS Spartan [another of the ECLIPSE class]. Other naval J.P.'s included Lieutenant Bellett, R. N., Captain Parish, R. N., Lieutenant Musgrave, R. N., Captain Russell, G. T. Pasley, R. N., and Lieutenant Henry St. Vincent Jenkins, R. N.

A Court of Inquiry was ordered by Vice Admiral Sir G. R. Mundy to investigate a death onboard the ship FAVOURITE caused by the gagging of a disruptive sailor. Captain Hamilton of the SPHINX and Captain Heysham of the FAWN made the report that absolved the captain involved.

Charles was "highly commended, on paying off [of the FAWN], by the Admiralty."

In November 1868 Charles was assigned as the Executive Officer, that is the number two officer onboard, to HMS BLACK PRINCE. While this was a come-down from being the commanding officer of his own ship, BLACK PRINCE was one of the fastest, largest and most powerful ships in the world.

"68 BLACK PRINCE, 41.
S.Iron Ship. Armour-plated.
6109 Tons. 1250 H.P.
Coast Guard Service.
Greenock [20 miles west of Glasgow, on the Clyde river]
Captain . . . Alexander C. Gordon 9 Sept 68
Commander . . . Charles A.J. Heysham 27 Nov 68" - from "The Navy List" of 20 December 1868.

On 20 November 1869 Commander Heysham was again assigned to the Coast Guard as an Inspecting Officer of Divisions, serving at Brighton.

Charles married Ellen Augusta Stirling on 17 [11?] August 1870 in Okehampton, Devon. Ellen was born in 1840 in Dawlish, Devonshire and died after 1881 in Iddlesleigh, North Devon. She was the daughter of Commander Charles Stirling of Buckridge, who was born on 7 June 1793 in Marylebone, London, and Mary Elizabeth Harrison, who was born on 2 July 1833. Commander Stirling was the son of Vice Admiral Charles Stirling. Note that by 1870 both of Ellen's parents had died. Her father in 1868 and her mother in 1863. It is probably not too much to assume there was a naval connection here. I find it odd that Charles and Elizabeth shared a middle name, Augustus and Augusta. I suspect one of them assumed this name later in life in honor of their mate.

Charles probably left the BLACK PRINCE at about this time.

Charles probably took his new wife to Newfoundland where he, now a Captain, was a Justice of the Peace for that island in 1871. The Royal Navy had a long tradition of administering justice for this remote region. It is important to remember that the governorship of Newfoundland had been a post in the Royal Navy from 1729 to 1825 and the governor was simultaneously the commander-in-chief of the Newfoundland Station. While the island gained a civil governor after 1825, the naval influence remained strong.

In the 1871 census . . . in Newfoundland?

"Charles Augustus John Heysham" retired as a Captain on 1 October 1873 - from the "Navy List" of 1874. I suspect his wife didn't like the Navy life.

In the 1881 census of Glenburnie, Northam, Devon as Charles A.J. Heysham, of Ropley, Hampshire. He was a Captain, Royal Navy, retired, aged 48. Living with him were his wife, Ellen A., 40, and children, Mary F., 8, Ellen M., 5, Lily B., 3, and Charles F.T., 2. Agnes L. G. Stirling, Ellen's sister, was also living with them. They had six servants.

Charles Augustus J. Heysham died in October-December 1886 in Iddlesleigh, Bideford district, Devon. In the spring of 1887 the death of his son, Edmund, was recorded in Wareham, Dorset which presupposes that Charles' widow, Ellen had moved their after his death.

In the 1891 census of Hammersmith, London was Charles' widown, Ellen A. Heysham [Haysham in Ancestry.com], aged 50. She was living with her daughters, Mary F., 18, and Ellen M. Heysham, 15. She was shown as a widow, living on her own means. She kept a single servant. Her son, Charles F.T., was away at school in nearby Surrey.

In the 1901 census of Paddington, London as Ellen Heysham, a 60 year old widow living as a boarder in what appears to be a nursing home. The house was run by Maude R. Forster, a "Sick Nurse," and her "partner" Elizabeth C. Roy. There was also a Dr. Robert B. Ferguson, listed as a visitor.

Ellen Augusta Heysham died in September 1902 in Eastbourne, Sussex. Note that only Mary, Ellen (Nellie) and Lily (Lillie) were mentioned as children of Charles and Ellen in "The Blood Royal of Britain." I show their children to be,
(25) Robert Thornton Heysham (1872)
(25) Mary Frances Ellen Heysham (1873)
(25) Ellen Margaret Heysham (1876)
(25) Lily Barrington Heysham (1878)
(25) Charles Frederick T. Heysham (1878)
(25) Rosa Dorothea Heysham (1881)
(25) Edmund Thornton Heysham (1882)
(25) Dora Heysham (1884)

The son of Charles Augustus John and Ellen Augusta Heysham according to the Parish records, St Peter's Church, Brighton. He was christened on 28 April 1872 in St Peter, Brighton, Sussex, England. The Civil Register shows his birth was registered in June 1872 in Brighton, East Sussex. By 1868 his namesake, his uncle Robert Thornton, had died in Australia. Young Robert died in September 1872 in Brighton.

She was born in June 1873 in Brighton, Sussex, England. Living with her father in 1881. Living with her mother and sister in London in 1891, aged 18.

In the 1901 census . . .

There was a medal given to a Mary Francis Heysham in World War I for her war work. This would imply that she did not marry.

She was born in June 1876 in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Known as Nellie. Living with her father in 1881. She was living with her mother and older sister in London in 1891, aged 15.

From the UK Archives, Bedfordshire Deeds, Stratton Park Estate Biggleswade, recites a "will dated [18 December] 1902 of L.J. [Lucy Jane] Barnett, appointing John Croft Deverell esq of Dorking, Surrey, John Richards Croft Deverell esq of 9 New Square, Lincolns Inn and the Revd Henry St John Stirling Woolcombe executors and trustees. LJB devised the Stratton Park estate to the use of Ellen Mary [sic] Heysham for life." In another file of the deeds of Biggleswade it refers to her as "Ellen Margaret Heysham (now Sarel)."

From the same source, it recites "26 June 1907 EM Heysham was married at Biggleswade parish church to WGMS." Biggleswade is in Bedfordshire. In another file from the same source it makes clear that this was William Godfrey Molyneux Sarel. He was born on 15 December 1875 in Dover, Kent, the son of Lieutenant General Henry Andrew Sarel, CB.

"Sarel, Mrs., of Stratton Park, Bedfordshire. Ellen Margaret, 2nd dau. of Capt. Charles Augustus John Heysham, RN, . . . 1887, by Ellen Augusta, who d. 1902, dau. of the late Charles Stirling, Esq., of Buckeridge, Teignmouth, Devonshire; m. 1907 William Godfrey Molyneux Sarel, Esq., Lieut, ret., late 5th Northumberland Fusiliers, and Capt. 5th Batt. Rifle Brigade. Mrs. . . ." - from "Walford's County Families of the United Kingdom"

"Marriage of Ellen Marg Heysham to William Godfrey Molyneux Sarel.26 June 1907 " "The estate was sold to the County Council by Mrs Sarel in 1919 [see SH 182 for deeds and correspondence early C 20th], then parts of it were sold off privately by the CC [see SH 244, 267, 339 and 340]" "Ellen Margaret Sarel of Primrose Hill, Hawkhurst, Kent, wife of William Godfrey Molyneux Sarel, a Captain in HM Reserve of Officers" "Henry Walter Molyneux Sarel esq of Heatherhurst Grange, Frimley Green, Surrey [Trustees of the will of LJB]" "Recites agreement for sale by E M Sarel for £1275" - from the National Archives

"Major William Godfrey Molyneux Sarel was the son of the late Lieutenant-General HA Sarel, CB He was born on 15th December, 1875, . . . The Times for 17th April published a letter from BD, in which the writer records of Bill Sarel : ". . . Had all the qualities that make a good secretary . . . " - from "The Rifle Brigade Chronicle"

The Sarel Family (23) Rev. Henry Rule Sarel (c1790) Vicar of Balcombe, Sussex. Circa 1867. "The living is a rectory, yearly value £450, with residence and 69 acres of glebe land, in the gift of the Rev. T. J. Torr, and held by the Rev. Henry Rule Sarel, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge" - from Genuki He married Janet Booth on 9 January 1823 at All Saints church, Rushton, Northampton. His children were Henry Andrew (1823), Janet Anne (1825), Laura Booth (1826), Charles Richard (1827), Frederick Rule (1828), and Caroline Matilda (1829) (24) Lieutenant General Henry Andrew Sarel C.B. (1823) (23) Rev. Henry Rule Sarel (c1790) Lieutenant General, C.B. [Knight Companion of the Bath], B.A. [?], F.R.G.S. [Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society]. He was born on 25 December 1823 in Balcombe, Sussex. He started off in the 9th Lancers in 1847. He fought at Cawnpore and Lucknow during the Sepoy Mutiny in India. He transferred to the 17th Light Dragoons as a Captain in 1858 and fought in the China War of 1860 under Sir Hope Grant. His published the results of his independent exploration of the country as "Notes on the Yang-tze-Kiang, from Han-kow to Ping-shan" in 1861. He commanded the 17th in 1869. He married Margaret Jane Phyllis, the daughter of George More Molyneux, Rector of Compton, on 7 February 1867 at Compton Near Guilford, Surrey. The More-Molyneux name dates back to the marriage of Sir Thomas Molyneux and Margaret More of Loseley Park in 1704. Henry left the regiment in 1869 and ended his career as a Lieutenant General in 1883. His home at that time was Rollesby Hall, Norfolk. Assistant Adjutant-General, Dover. In 1883-1885 he was Lieutenant Governor of the island of Guernsey. He died in 1887 at Garnavilla, Cahir, county Tipperary, Ireland. His children were Clement Vincent (1868), Janet Hope (1869), Phyllis (1870), Col. George Benedict, C.S.I., Army Honours for Central Kurdistan and Northern Iraq gazetted 20 January 1921, (1871), Olive (1872), William Godfrey Molyneux (1875), and his twin, Andrew Innes Molyneux (1875).

William G.M. Sarel was an Army officer and, as a Lieutenant, fought in the Boer War. On 6 September 1900 the London Times reported that,

"The Tagus left Southampton yesterday with drafts numbering 28 offices and 1,301 men. The officers listed were:
. . .
Royal West Surrey Regt. - 2nd Lts. Thornton, Bueban, & Sarel
. . ."

"The Orotava left for England Aug. 22 with the following on passage home:
. . .
Northumberland Fus. - Lt. W.G.M. Sarel
. . ."

"Lucy Jane Barnett died 22 July 1908, will & codicil dated 1902 proved at Principal Registry 20 August 1908, and devised Stratton Park Estate to use of Ellen Margaret Sarel (then Heysham) during her life." - from UK Archives, Bedfordshire Deeds, Stratton Park Estate Biggleswade. Weren't Ellen and William married on 26 June 1907? I assume Ellen was a close friend, or perhaps even a "paid companion," living on the estate, keeping company with the old lady in the period before Ellen's marriage. The National Archives contains another version of the above,

"Will of Lucy Jane Barnett 22 July 1908
Appointed John Croft Deverell, John Richards Croft Deverell and Reverend Henry St John Stirling Woollcombe, executors and trustees devises Stratton Park to Ellen Margaret Heysham (now Sarel). made 18 December 1902
Codicil appoints W M Sarel in place of the Reverend Woollcombe 12 June 1908
Proved Principal Probate Registry 29 Aug 1908."

Stratton Park & the Barnett Family An Elizabethan manor house, Stratton Park was bought from the Cotton family in 1764 by Barnett family. Ownership passed through her son, Squire Charles Barnett, and his son, Captain Charles FitsRoy Barnett, whose wife was Lucy Jane (Gregory) Barnett. Lucy died on 22 July 1908. In 1910 Stratton Park estate with 1070 acres of land was sold by auction and converted into the Parkfield School for Boys. The building was demolished in 1958.

Ellen Marg Sarel, beneficiary, and H W M Sarel, trustee, owned the estate and paid principal and interest on a mortgage at least through 13 August 1910. It was sold circa 1910.

"Conveyance between
(1) Ellen Margaret Sarel of Primrose Hill, Hawkhurst, Kent, wife of William Godfrey Molyneux Sarel, a Captain in HM Reserve of Officers [vendor]
(2) John Croft Deverell esq of Pixham Firs, Dorking, Surrey, John Richards Croft Deverell, solicitor of 9 New Square, Lincoln's Inn, London and Henry Walter Molyneux Sarel esq of Heatherhurst Grange, Frimley Green, Surrey [Trustees of the will of LJB]
(3) Thomas Bath, farmer of Stratton Park Farm, Biggleswade [purchaser] from (1) to (3), paid via (2) for the purposes of the Settled Land Acts, for £1275, of
(a) 2 enclosures containing 27a 3r 3p in hamlet of Stratton, Biggleswade described in the 1st schedule and delineated on the attached plan and edged with pink [see below for schedules]
Recites at the date of the mortgage, Lucy Jane Barnett, widow of Stratton Park, now deceased, was seized in fee simple of Stratton Park Estate which included among other lands the lands intended to be conveyed
Recites mortgage 1903 between LJB and Louisa Maria Dawkins
Recites death of LMD and admons
Recites transfer of mortgage 1907
Recites will of LJB
Recites 26 June 1907 E M Heysham, spinster, married WGMS
Recites codicil to will of LJB
Recites executors assented to the devise
Recites transfer 1909
Recites reconveyance of 1910
Recites agreement for sale by E M Sarel for £1275
Recites the documents mentioned in the 2nd schedule relate not only to lands intended to be conveyed, but also to lands subject to limitations under the will of LJB which EMS will retain along with the said documents
Proviso restricting covenants by EMS
Acknowledgment by EMS to produce documents of title for TB
1st schedule
1st part: 27a 2r 3p enclosure of arable in hamlet of Stratton, Biggleswade no. 262 on OS plan, bounded N by Biggleswade-Dunton road, occ by TB
2nd part: 14a 0r 3p enclosure of arable in same, no. 26- on OS plan, bounded N by N by Biggleswade-Dunton road, occ by TB 2nd schedule
Recites 18-0 transfer of mortgage between WHW and JCMcG
Recites 1864 marriage settlement [see above]
Recites 1877 mortgage
Recites 1880 receipt
Recites 1883 transfer of mortgage
Recites 1883 mortgage
Recites 1888 transfer of mortgage
Recites 1888 transfer of mortgage
Recites 1890 submortgage between LJB and WHD
Recites 1896, 1897 & 1898 further charges
Recites 1903 conveyance
Recites 1903 transfer of mortgage
Recites 1903 transfer of mortgage
Recites 1903 between Viscount Bridport and LJB
Recites 1903 mortgage
Recites 1907 indenture
Recites 1909 indenture
Recites 1910 reconveyance"

"Reconveyance between
1) Henry Walter Molyneux Sarel esq of Heatherhurst Grange, Frimley Green, Surrey, Albert Hamilton Godfrey, solicitor of 23 Queen Anne's Gate, London, Rev Henry St John Stirling Wollcombe, Clerk in Holy Orders, c/o Church of England Missionary Society, Deans Yard, Westminster and John Richards Croft Deverell esq of 9 New Square, Lincolns Inn, London - the lenders
2) Ellen Margaret Sarel, wife of William Godfrey Molyneux of Primrose Hill, Hawkhurst, Kent, a capt in HM Reserve of Officers
3) John Croft Deverell esq of Pixham Firs, Dorking, Surrey, JRCD and HWMS, the trustees
(3) pay off the debt from money in their hands being capital money under the Settled Land Acts, at the request of (2) Recites Lucy Jane Barnett died 22 July 1908, will & codicil dated 1902 proved at Principal Registry 20 August 1908, and devised Stratton Park Estate to use of Ellen Margaret Sarel (then Heysham) during her life
Recites £5000 remains due to the lenders"

William went on retired pay and in 1909 was gazetted Captain in the 5th (City of London) Bn., The Rifle Brigade, stationed in the city. He served in the battalion through the First World War. He then retired as a Major. In 1927 W. Sarel, Esq. was a member of the Noblemen and Gentlemen's Catch Club. Founded in 1761, this was a musical society dedicated to the performance of mass-singing.

William died on 5 April 1950 in Whitechapel, London. He had been a noted cricketeer, playing for Surrey (1904-1909), Trinidad, Kent (1912-1914), Marylebone (1914) and Sussex (1919-1921). For those who want to know, his batting style was 'Right Hand Bat' and bowling style was 'Right Arm Off Break,' whatever that means. He played in 35 "first class" matches. His twin, Andrew Innes Molyneux, was also a noted cricketeer in the West Indies. He, however, died on 2 August 1903 in St. John's, Newfoundland.

She was born in March 1878 in Iddlesleigh, Okehampton parish, North Devon. Known as Lillie. Living with her father in 1881 in Iddlesleigh. Note her middle name which is probably in honor of her ancestors amongst the Viscounts Barrington, as well as for her uncle. I do not see her in the 1891 census with her mother and two older sisters.

In the 1901 census of St. Margaret, London, Middlesex as Lillie Barrington Heysham [Keysham in Ancestry.com], 23, a single woman, of Iddlesleigh, Devon. She was living at 66 Victoria street, parenthetically noted as 2 Princes mansions. She was listed as the daughter of the head of the family, but the previous page has that that as Edward George Lovelake. His wife was Kate, of Byfleet, Surrey. This is clearly a different household, numbered 176, while Lillie's was 177. What gives?

He was named Charles, for his father, Frederick, perhaps for his uncle, and T. was probably for Thornton. He was born in June 1879 in Iddlesleigh, Okehampton, North Devon. Living with his father in 1881 in Iddlesleigh. In 1891 Charles, a scholar, aged 12, was a boarder, living in Waterford Lodge at a school in Richmond, Surrey. William Mathias was the Head. This may be the Queen's School, at Kew, a Church of England primary school in the London Borough of Richmond, England.

In the 1901 census of Tixall Villa, St. John the Baptist parish, Staffordshire as Charles Heysham, a 23 year old jockey/groom [!], of Iddesleigh, Devon. He was a visitor. Tixall Villa was one of the smaller homesteads based in the village of Tixall.

The Uttoxeter racecourse is in Staffordshire, about 12 miles northeast of Tixall. I suspect that Charles was what is known as a "gentleman jockey," an amateur who rode for the sport of it. This could imply either that he had independent means and did not need to get a "real job," or that he hadn't yet sorted out what he wanted to do with his life. Note others of the family [William Nunez Heysham, William Sarel] who were "famous" cricketeers during this period. Playing hard at sports was the fashion in Edwardian England. The author Theodore White slammed this behavior as "game madness" in his Arthurian novel "The Once and Future King." It was if all of English society had taken to heart the Duke of Wellington's statement that the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.

In March 1902 Charles died in Reigate, Surrey at the age of 22 [sic]. Reigate is today a "bedroom" community of London, near Gatwick airport. Nearby is the famed Epsom Downs racecourse. While this is only surmise, I would guess that Charles died in a riding accident at Epsom, probably breaking his neck in a fall.

Rosa Dorothea Heysham was born in January-March 1881 in Bideford, Devon. Probably the daughter of Charles Augustus John Heysham, who had died in Bideford in 1886. She died in the same period in 1881 in Bideford.

Edmund Thornton Heysham was born in October-December 1882 in Bideford, Devon. Probably the son of Charles Augustus John Heysham, who had died in Bideford in 1886. Young Edmund died in Wareham, Dorset between April and June 1887, at the age of 4.

Dora Heysham was born in April-June 1884 in Bideford, Devon. Probably the daughter of Charles Augustus John Heysham, who had died in Bideford in 1886. Dora died in April-June 1886 in Bideford.

He was christened on 17 June 1834 in Ropley, Hampshire, per the LDS database, the son of Robert Thornton and Frances Heysham.

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Russell Heissham, 7, of England. He was living with his mother, Francis.

I know little about this supposed fourth son. He probably died young. Not in later databases.

She was born in 1836 in St Peter Port, Guernsey. Her name commemorates her grandmother, Lady Maria Jane Bowes-Lyon.

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Maria Heissham, 5, of Guernsey. She was living with her mother, Francis.

In the 1851 census of Stoke Damerel, Devonshire as Maria J. B. Heysham, 15, of St. Peter, Isle of Guernsey. She was living at home with her widowed mother in Devonport.

In the 1861 census of West Teignmouth, Devonshire as Maria Heysham [Harpham in Ancestry.com], 25, unmarried, of Guernsey. She was living at home with her widowed mother, Frances.

In the 1871 census . . . Maria's mother, Frances, died in the beginning of 1871, in Newton Abbot, Devon.

In the 1881 census of West Teignmouth, Devon as Maria Heysham, a 45 year old unmarried woman born in Guernsey. She was living alone, with a cook and housemaid, living off her "dividends," residing at 17 Gloucester road. This is clearly 'our' Maria.

Maria Jane B. Heysham married Captain Francis Paul in September 1882 at Newton Abbot, Devon. She was 46 years old. Maria's older brother, Charles Augustus John, was a Captain in the Royal Navy. Is this another case of a brother introducing his sister to a shipmate? Captain Paul and Maria d.s.p.

In the 1841 census of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, the Channel Islands, as Rosa Heissham, 4, of Guernsey. She was living with her mother, Francis. I know nothing more of her.

She was christened on 15 June 1796 in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertford, England. In the 1841 census of St. Mary, Marylebone, Middlesex as Charlotte Heysham, 34. She was a single woman, living at home with her parents. She was mentioned in her father's will of 1849, still living at home. I don't see her in the census of 1851. She had died by the time her father's will was probated in 1857 [or 1851].

Second son of Robert Thornton Heysham. Probably a confusion with William-Henry, below. Interestingly, however, I have a quote from a book I haven't been able to otherwise access on Google Books which says,

". . . now at Yale, to "Charlotte Augusta Heysham / The gift of her brother Fredrick". Fredrick Thornton Heysham was the fourth son, and Charlotte Augusta the . . ." - from "Studia Neophilogica" by Bengt. Hesselrot and Robert Eugen Zachrisson.

The son of Robert Thornton Heysham, Esq, and Sarah, his wife, of Hinton-house. He was born on 31 December 1797 and baptized on 17 February 1798 at Stagenhoe Mansion House in St Paul's Walden, Hertford. Of St. George's Bloomsbury, Middlesex, gentleman.

Oddly, he didn't attend Oxford.

He married Esther Nunez, of Warnford, the daughter of Aaron-Fernandez Nunez, Esq., & Rachael, his wife, of Belmont Park, Hants. She had been baptized (she had been Jewish) at Kintbury, on 30 December 1805. They were wedded on 27 December 1822 at Warnford. Robert-Thornton Heysham, of Hinton House, Southampton, gent., bondsman. This latter was probably (22) Robert Thornton Heysham (1769), his father, rather than (23) Robert Thornton Heysham (1795), his older brother. This marriage would have been a good one, Esther's father was very wealthy.

While it is no where else mentioned, William Henry was apparently a lawyer.

"August 21.
Partnerships Dissolved,
In and Near London.
. . .
Bedford, George, and William Henry Heysham, of Bedford-row, Middlesex, attorneys and solicitors . . . 19 Aug." - from "The Law Advertiser for the Year 1824"

Just before this time there was a match race for "50gs." set at the Woolwich Garrison Meeting of 25 June 1823 between Captain Price's horse, Waxy, and that of "Mr. Heysham's Lazarus," who came in second. "The winner won with considerable difficulty by half a length." - from the Sporting Magazine. I put this here based on William's racing, noted below.

"1837. Mr. Wm. H. Heysham, Ropley Cottage" - from "Sporting Reminiscences in Hampshire" by Aesop.

In the 1841 census of Martyr Worthy, Hampshire as William Heysham, 40 or 46 or 48 [its not clear], a man of independent means. Living with him was his wife, Esther, 50. There were no children living with them, though William Nunez should have been 12, and Henry, 9. Perhaps they were off at school? There were five servants.

At about this time, circa 1841, Mr. William Heysham arranged a match race at Soverton Races with a "Fatty" Morant. It was noted that they both weighed 24 stone, "but illness on the part of the latter [Heysham] prevented its coming off." - from Bailys Magazine.

In the 1851 census of Ropley, Hampshire as William Henry Hysham, a 52 year old annuitant, of St. Pauls Walden, residing on South street. Living with him were his wife, Esther, 60, of Amsterdam, and children, William Nunez, 22, an under graduate at Trinity College Oxford, of Farringdon, Hampshire, and Henry Nunez, 19, of Itchen Abbas, and William's brother, Frederick, 50, a man with no profession, of St. Pauls Walden. William also had four servants living in the house.

William was not mentioned in his father's will of 1849, though Frederick, who was living, and Robert Thornton, who was not, were. There isn't much question that William was the son of Robert Thornton Heysham, so why the oversight? I suspect he had already been looked after with an annuity.

William Henry Heysham, esq., died on 15 August 1852 at Ropley cottage, near Alresford, Hampshire, aged 54. - from the England & Wales Death Index: 1837-1983 & "The Gentleman's Magazine." Esther died in July-September 1859 at South Stoneham, Hampshire.

Their children were,
(24) William Nunez Heysham (1826)
(24) Henry Nunez Heysham (1832)

The eldest son of William Henry Heysham, esq., of Ropley, Alresford, Hants. He was born on 19 July 1826 in Marylebone, London. The year was 1828 per a Cricket Information web page. This is in the West End, close to Regent's Park. Alternately he was born in Farrington, Hampshire per later census returns. These were probably his two homes while growing up, in-town and in the country.

According to a court case [the Tichborne case] in which he took part as a witness, William was educated in the village of Tichborne.

William Nunez Heysham, related through his aunt to the Tichborne family, was a witness in the famous Tichborne case.

William Nunez Heysham's evidence in the case was his remembrance that the rightful Tichborne, probably due to his French upbringing, was unable to pronounce the "th" sound.

"Mr. William Nunez Heysham, sworn.
Examined by Mr. Serjeant Parry.

Are you a barrister by profession?--I was called to the Bar in 1853, and went the Western circuit in 1859.

And you have left the Bar now, and where you do reside?--London during the summer, and Rugby during the winter, and traveling about.

Are you by marriage connected with the Tichborne family at all?--I am. Mr. Robert Tichborne married my mother's sister--my aunt, Miss Nunez.

The uncle of Roger?--The uncle of Roger.

From 1845 to 1849 did you reside in Ropley?--My father did.

Did you?--No--partly; I lived in the village of Tichborne.

How far is Ropley from Tichborne?--Well, you can ride it in about three miles.

Where did you reside in those years?--From 1844 to 1847 I lived in the village of Tichborne itself, as I was a pupil of the Reverend Alfred Bishop, who was then curate of Tichborne before I went to Oxford.

. . .

Have you a brother resident in Paris?--He has been. I had a brother resident in Paris, in the Place de la Madeleine . . . He was there in 1867. I was living in Winchester then.

. . .

You never had your name spelt Asham before?--Not by anybody who ever knew me. I might have had a parcel directed by a shopkeeper so."

- from "The Trial at Bar of Sir Roger C.D. Tichborne"

The following reference of 1844 gives two addresses for William. One must be where he lived, that is his parent's house, and the other where he worked, perhaps as a law clerk previous to his matriculation from Oxford.

"Heysham William N. 13 King's bench walk, Temple EC
Heysham William Nunez, 26 Westbourne park road, Bayswater W"
- from the "Royal Blue Book" of 1844

William was sent to Oxford.

"Heysham, William Nunez, 1s. William Henry, of Farringdon, Hants, arm. Trinity Coll., matric. 1 Dec. 1847, aged 19; B.A. 1851, M.A. 1854, bar.-at-law, Inner Temple, 1853." - from "Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886"

In the 1851 census of Ropley, Hampshire as William Nunez Hysham, 22, an under graduate at Trinity College Oxford, of Farringdon, Hampshire. He was living at home with his parents at the time. He received his M.A. and on 7 May 1850, then aged 21, he entered the Inner Temple as a student of law. He was called the bar in 1853. He later road the western circuit.

An amateur sports writer. His biography is contained in "British and American Sporting Authors: Their Writings and Biographies" by A. Henry Higginson. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1951. A noted cricket player, he played for the Surrey Cricket Club. His scores from the nineteenth century are on the English Cricket league web site - everything gets on the web!

Author of a memoir of the hunt scene, “Sporting Reminiscences of Hampshire from 1745 to 1862,” London: Chapman & Hall, 1864. Published under the pseudonym "Aesop." There is a copy for sale on the internet that is interesting in that a lengthy contemporary obituary of W. Nunez Heysham is pasted on the title page verso and dated "Dec 16th 1905. Hampshire Chronicle." The author was for many years a correspondent for the Hampshire Chronicle, with his 'bachelor' headquarters at The Norfolk Hotel, Brighton. I assume the latter means he was married, but that he left his wife at home when he went on the road.

The following may fit here, but because I only have a snippet I cannot be sure. This could also refer to Frederick Heysham, who was a great sportsman.

". . . Lord Exeter's Ilex, Lord Exeter's Lens, Mr. Haysham's Domino, Mr. Hughes' Sophistry, Major Martyn's Lady Isabel, Lord Palmerston's Buckthorn, Mr. Payne's Glenluce, and Mr. Whieldon's Benta. 6 to 5 on Hobbie Noble, who won by a length." - from the "Sporting Magazine"

At about this time William joined the Alpine club, who were genteel moutaineers.

"William Nunez Heysham (27 Nov. 1858, resigned 1859 or 60) Born 19 July 1828. Son of William Henry Heysham of Ropley, Alresford, Hants. Married. Educated Trinity College, Oxford. BA 1851. Barrister (Inner Temple), 1853. Western Circuit. Author of 'Reminiscences of Hampshire'. Died 12 Dec. . ." - from the "Alpine Club Register" by Arnold Louis Mumm

In the 1861 census of Paddington, Middlesex as William Heysham, a 32 year old gentleman residing at Number 12, Cumberland Terrace. His occupation was listed as "Independent." He was born in Farrington, Hertfordshire. Living with him was his wife, Charlotte, 28, of Andover, Hants.

William was a member of the United University Club, left, which was located at 1 Suffolk street, Pall Mall, London. It was founded in 1821 and restricted to 1000 members, 500 each from Cambridge and Oxford. Lord Palmerston was a founding member. From a list of members: "1863. Heysham, William N., M.A., Trinity, Oxford." - from "Rules and Regulations of the United University Club" 1865. The Prince of Wales was the senior member. Eight years after its founding, the waiting list having become inconveniently long, the Oxford and Cambridge club was founded. A write notes:

"Club-land was a comparatively small country, people by a most exclusive race. There were twenty-five clubs in all, and, as many men had more than one club, and the average membership was less than a thousand, there were not more than 20,000 men altogether who belonged to clubs . . . Speaking generally, no City men at all, nor any who were connected in any way with trade, were admitted into the clubs of London. A barrister, a physician, or a clergyman might be elected, and of course, all men in the Services; but a merchant, an attorney, a surgeon, an architect, might knock in vain . . . Thackeray describes the dullness of the club, the pride of belonging to it, the necessity of having at least one good club, the habitues of the cardroom, the talk, and the scandal." - from "Fifty Years Ago" by Walter Besant

In the 1871 census of Christchurch, St Marylebone, London as William Heysham, a 43 year old barrister-at-law. He was residing at Number 6 Alpha road [N.W.]. He had been born in Farrington, Hampshire, England. Hampshire is where (22) Robert Thornton Heysham moved after selling Stagenhoe, in Hertfordshire and where Robert's son, Barrington, was born. Living with him was his wife, Charlotte, 40. She was born in Andover, Hampshire, England. They had no children.

An inveterate sportsman, the following lists five fox hunts from the 1877-8 season taken from the columns of the "Daily Telegraph" and "Bell's Life in London."

With The Pythchley. "Whilst the hounds were drawing the cover--which they did carefully, only finding a vixen, which, of course, was not followed--I had time to look over the field. Amongst the number who hailed from all quartes I found . . . Mr. Heysham, who managed to find time to canvas--successfully, too--for the "Hunt Servants' Benefit Society," adding thereby the names of several ladies to the already long, but no long enough, list of subscribers to this admirable institution . . ."

With the Warwickshire. "On the Thursday the Warwickshire Hounds met at Shuckberg . . . Amongst those present . . . Mr. Heysham . . . "

A Good Time as Rugby. "On looking over the list I found the names of . . . and Mr. Heysham, whose name is a pass-word to every hunt in the kingdom, by reason of his disinterested extertions on behalf of that admirable institution--which I especially commend to the notice of the sportswomen of the day--the Hunt Servants' Benefit Society. [Late identified as W. N. Heysham]"

The North Warwickshire. "Amongst those present . . . Mr. Heysham . . . Had it not been for the gloominess of the day, this would have been a most enjoyable run . . . but whither we ran it is impossible for me to say, as the atmosphere was denser than ever. I therefore pulled up, and, falling in with Mr. Fitt, who is so well known to all hunting in these parts, and Mr. Heysham, who appeared to know every stone in the road, I was enabled to find my way back to Rugby."

A Merry Time in the Midlands. ". . . a host of well known riders . . . with a large party hailing from the George [a hotel], consisting of the well-known and widely-esteemed Mr. W. N. Heysham . . ." - from "Tallyho, Sketches of Hunting, Coaching, etc." by Fred Field Whitehurst.

William married Charlotte Bath. She was baptized on 28 March 1830, perhaps the daughter of James and Anne Bath. From all indications this was a poor match for William, the Bath's being from quite a low station in life. Charlotte's sister, Emma Jane Bath, was apparently a servant in William's Marylebone home. - all per Maxie. Perhaps this was a love match or the result of a tryst between master and servant.

In the 1881 census I have a W.N. Heysham, a 52 year old barrister, who had been born in Faringdon [sic], Hampshire, England. He was living at 6 Alpha road. His wife was Charlotte, 50. They had no children living with them.

March 1889. ". . . and drove in a hansom to 4 Albert Street, to visit Mr. Heysham (honorary treasurer of the Hunt Benefit Soceity). A very nice old man, but suffers terribly from gout. He fend us sumptously on tea, cold chicken and tongue." - from "Eighty Years' Reminiscences" by Colonel John Anstruther-Thomson, 1904.

In the 1891 census of Brighton, Sussex as William N. Heysham [Herpham in Ancestry.com], a 62 year old barrister at law, of Farington. Oddly he was shown as single. He was staying at the New Ship hotel, on Ship street. On separate vacations I suppose, Charlotte Heysham [Heystam in Ancestry.com] was at home at 6 Alpha Street, in Marylebone, a 60 year old living on her own means, of Verham, Hants. This was probably the village of Vernham Dean, in Hampshire.

16-17 January 1896, "W. N. Heysham" was listed as a Commissioner for the Division of Godalming - from "Tax Cases Reported Under the Direction of the Board of Inland Revenue" of 1899.

In the 1901 census of Paddington, London as William Heysham [Hyesham in Ancestry.com], a 72 year old living on his own means, of Farringdon. Living with him were his wife, Charlotte, 70, of Vernham.

William died on 12 December 1905 in Paddington, London [this is near the West End], of Farringdon. Other addresses given for William are 7, Crown Office Row, Temple, E.C. [an office address, this was just off Middle Temple Lane, between Fleet Street and the Thames Embankment], and 4, Albert Street, Rugby. - from "Men-at-the-bar: a biographical hand-list of the members of the various Inns of court, including..." by Joseph Foster.

Shown as a son of John-William Henry. In the 1851 census of Ropley, Hampshire as Henry Nunez Hysham, 19, of Hitchen Abbas. He was living at home with his parents. Henry Nunez [_Uney in Ancestry.com] Heysham married Anna Josephine Marcol in July-September 1860 in Southampton, Hampshire. According to a descendent, Guy Boocock, this was actually Anna Josephine Marcel, born in Cork, Ireland to Claude Marcel, the French consul.

In the 1861 census of Millbrook, Hampshire as Henry Nunez [Minez in Ancestry.com] Heysham, a 29 year old gentleman. He had been born at Itchen Abbas, Hampshire. Living with him was his wife, Anna J., 22, and his mother-in-law, Ann Marcol, 50. They were from Ireland.

"Heysham--April 12, at Ankerwyke house, Shirley, Southampton, wife of Henry Nunez Heysham, Esq, of a son." - from "The Monthly Record of Births, Deaths, . . ." It is hard to tell the year of publication, but I think the book covers the year 1861.

"Heysham, Henry Nunez, of Riverside, Waltham Cross ; formerly of Aylesford," was listed under "The Nobility and Gentry" in the book "Converts to Rome" by W.G. Gorman. Did his Irish wife (and mother-in-law) convert him?

Henry and Anna divorced in 1869.

"Divorce Court File: 1289. Appellant: Anna Josephine Heysham. Respondent: Henry Nunez Heysham. Type: Wife's petition [wx]. . Divorce Court File: 1289. Appellant: Anna Josephine Heysham. Respondent: Henry Nunez Heysham. Type: Wife's petition [wx]. Date: 1869." - from Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes

In the 1871 census . . .

In the 1881 census . . .

In the 1891 census . . .

In the UK Archives, from the East Sussex Record Office: Deeds deposited by the Official Receiver in Bankruptcy,

Conveyance, date 20 September 1893,
"Consideration: £850
(a) Walter Francis Eldridge of Bedford Row, co. Middx
(b) Jane Charlotte w. of Richard Rudolf Paul Kreutzberger of Barretts Park Farm, Heathfield;
(c) Mary Jane Matilda Mouat of Argyll Lodge, Castelnau, Barnes, co. Surrey
Barretts Park Farm (21a.) in Heathfield. Plan
(b) Conveys to (c) subject to mortgage recited (i)
Recites (i) Mortgage dated 15 July 1891 by (b) to Henry Nunez Heysham of premises for £750
(ii) Mortgage dated 1 July 1893 by (b) to (a) of premises for £100"

In the 1901 census of Walcot, Bath, Somerset as Henry Nunez [Anny in Ancestry.com] Heysham, a 70 year old boarder living on his own means. He was residing at a boarding house at Number 7 Duke street and shown as married, not widowed. He was born at Itchen Abbas, Hampshire.

Anna J. Heysham died in December 1902 in Edmonton, Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex [?]. Was this Henry's wife of the 1861 census? I don't know what became of his son. I recently received the following,

Dear Steve,

I received today a copy of Annie Josephine Heysam's death certificate. I believe that she may have been living with or near her brother Justin James Marcel in either Le Havre, France or Ceylon. I'm not sure where abouts he actually lived but I would say most likely Le Havre. I say this was where she was living because the informant of her death was Justin James' wife Jeanne who was present at the death.

Annie died on 22nd November 1902 at "Riverside" Turkey Street, Enfield, Essex of Cerebral Haemorrhage - 11 days. She was 64. The cert states that she is the wife of Henry Nunez Heysham which makes me wonder whether their divorce was finalised. With her being a Catholic it may not have been and they may have had a judicial separation instead. I will be visiting the National Archives in London and getting a copy of the divorce proceedings from there so will forward on once I have them.

Regards,

Guy Boocock

Hello Steve,

I have visit the National Archives and copied the divorce papers for Henry and Anna and was frankly shocked by the formers behaviour! Anna petitioned for Divorce on 30th September 1869. It states that they have had one child, Frederick Fernadez Nunez Heysham who is still living. (I found a Frederick N Heysham on your site that you can't identify. I think this maybe him).

Henry was accused of committing adultery on a number of occasions. In May 1867 at or in the neighbourhood of Paris with person unknown to Anna. In or about the month of May 1867 Henry wilfully communicated VD to Anna. In August 1867 at Genard, Switzerland adulterated with person unknown to Anna. In the years 1867 to 1869 at Naples and other places in Italy and elsewhere the said Henry Nunez Heysham constantly consorted with low characters indulging notoriously and frequently with them in acts of the grosest indecency and openly soliciting them to commit sodomy with him. In the years 1866-1869 at divers times and places in Italy and elsewhere the said HNH commited sodomy with divers persons. On several occasions between April 1869 and Ugust 1869 at Naples, commited sodomy with Pasquale Pizzello di Luca.

Henry later denies all charges and after several court hearings and witnesses being called including Anna's brother Justin James Marcel and Pasquale Pizzello the petition is dismissed.

What happened to Frederick after all this I do not know but I assume he lived with his mother until age, whether this be in France with her brother or elsewhere and that Henry continued to live in Naples with his"lover"? We will never know because the passenger records for England of that time were destroyed many years ago. They only start in 1888.

I hope this info is of use to you. It certainly shocked me when I read it. I will try and scan in the copies of originals I have but they are on A3 and the pages of the originals were larger than A4 so it could prove difficult.

Regards,

Guy

I think this may have been Frederick Fernadez Nunez Heysham, or so Guy Boocock thinks. Frederick for Henry Nunez' uncle, I suppose, and Fernandez Nunez for his grandfather.

"Heysham--April 12, at Ankerwyke house, Shirley, Southampton, wife of Henry Nunez Heysham, Esq, of a son." - from "The Monthly Record of Births, Deaths, . . ."

24 January 1887. S.S. LA BOURGOGNE, sailing from Le Havre, France. Arrival in New York City: 24 January 1887. Name: Frederick Heysham, Age: 26, Place of Origin: England. Nationality: English.

8 April 1905. S.S. LA SOVOIE, sailing from Havre. Arrival in New York City: 15 April 1905. Name: Heysham, Fred H., Age: 44, Sex: Male, Married, Occupation: Merchant, Nationality: England, Race: English, Last Permanent Residence: Southampton, Final Destination: New York, Address in New York: Hoffman House

2 June 1905, S.S. HAVANA, sailing from Vera Cruz. Arrival in New York City: 11 June 1905. Name: Heysham, Frederick N., Age: 44, Sex: Male, Married, Occupation: Merchant, Nationality: England, Race: English, Last Permanent Residence: Last Permanent Residence: Veracruz, Final Destination: London, Address in New York: Hoffman House

"I found the marriage notice in the New York Times archives. I agree, very strange they married over there. They both seem to vanish after 1909 which makes me wonder whether they stayed in Buenos Aires which seemed to be a favourite destination for them. Ancestry.co.uk are in the process of transcribing all the death indexes for the UK. They have completed the births and marriages for 1837-2005 and are all free of charge to view. The death indexes should be complete by the end of the year. Then I can search for Frederick and see if he died in the UK. I still can't find a birth record for him though. Whether he was never registered we will never know."

22 June 1907. S.S. LA TOURAINE, sailing from Havre. Arrival in New York City: 1 July 1907. Name: Heysham, Fred. N., Sex: Male, Age: 46, Married, Occupation: Merchant, Nationality: England, Race: English, Last Permanent Residence: Argentina, Buenos Ayres, Address of nearest relative or friend in country whence alien came: Phoenicia Hotel, Buenos Ayres, Final Destination: Japan, Yokohama.

Date of departure: 24 March 1909, S.S. LA LORRAINE, sailing from Havre. Arrival in New York City: 4 April 1909. Name: Heysham, Mr. & Mrs., Frederick & Ada Beatrice, Age: 47/35, Married, Occupation: Merchant/Wife, Nationality: England, Race: English, Last Permanent Residence: Arg. Buenos Ayr., Address of nearest relative or friend in country whence alien came: None, Final Destination: blank - from Manifest of Alien Passengers.

LA TOURAINE She was launched in 1890 and made Le Havre her home-port. LA LORRAINE LA SOVOIE HAVANA

He was christened on 23 November 1800 in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertfordshire, the youngest son of Robert Thornton Heysham. He attended Rugby school.

January 1816. "Heysham, Frederick, third son of Robert Thornton Heysham, Esq., Hinton House, Alresford, aged 16, October 6. Townsend.
Pembroke College, Oxford, 1820" - from the "Rugby School Register"

"Heysham, Frederick, 3s. Robert Thornton, of Walden, St. Paul's, Herts, arm. Pembroke Coll., matric. 23 March, 1820, aged 18." - from "Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886"

20 December 1833. Brighton Hurdle Race. "A Hurdle Sweepstakes of five guineas each, with a bonus added from the Subscription Fund, for horses not thorough-bred, and tht have never won any plate, match, or sweepstakes, 12st. each, over the New Course, one mile and three quarters, heats: the owner of the second horse to receive back his stake: the horses to be bona fide the property of Gentlemen, and to be rode by Gentlemen; . . . Second Heat.--Moonlight (rode by T.Tourl, Esq.), Sailor, and Lalla Rookh (F. Heysham, Esq.) all fell at the return hurdles; . . . " - from the "Sporting Magazine" by Anonymous

I believe the following fits here:

"Hertford Co. Eng. Sessions Records Vol. 10 p222 - George Swainston of Saundridge, Laborer, for embezzeling the property of his master, Frederick Heysham of Staghoe [sic], esquire - Transported for seven years -- Epaphany [sic] Session 1839."

"labourer, for embezzling £5 13s., the property of his master, Frederick Heysham of . . . " - from "Hertford County Records" by William John Hardy

"James Game and William Wiles, both of Little Munden, labourers, for stealing a bushel of potatoes, value 2s., from Frederick Heysham, gentleman. [Three wekks in gaol and . . ." - from "Hertford County Records" by Great Britain Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Hertfordshire), Hertfordshire (England). County Council, William Henry Clement Le Hardy

In the 1841 census of St. Mary, Marylebone, Middlesex as Frederick Heysham, 35. He was living with his parents.

Frederick was mentioned in his father's will of 1849 as an executor. Like his nephew, William Nunez Heysham, he was a perennial member of the hunt, per Bailys Magazine. In the Sporting Magazine of 1834 has F. Heysham riding horses Sailor and Lalla Rookh. It speaks rather kindly of Fred, saying that,

". . . here a genuine sportsman, in the person of Mr. F. Heysham;"

"Though there is a bruiser or two amongst them, I do not remember having seen much actual hard riding or determination to get to hounds with the Members of Mr. Craven's field. That merry and most gentlemanlike performer, Fred. Heysham, is much about the most forward of them . . ."

In the 1851 census of Ropley, Hampshire as Frederick Hysham [sic], a bachelor of 50, with no profession, of St. Pauls Walden. He was living with his elder brother, William Henry Heysham.

In the 1861 census of Winchester St Bartholomew Hyde, Hampshire as Frederic Heysham, a visitor at Highfield Lodge. He was an unmarried 60 year old with no profession, born in St Paul's Walden, Hertfordshire.

In the 1871 census of St Bartholomew Hyde, Hampshire as Frederick Heysham [Hoysham in Ancestry.com], a 70 year old unmarried man with no occupation. He was a visitor at the Highfield House of William Thomas Groome [?], the county magistrate. Of Hertfordshire.

In the 1881 census I have a Frederick Heysham, born in 1801 in St Paul's Walden, Hertford, who was 80 years old. Occupation: Esquire Independent. He was unmarried and living in the home of Ann Parsons as a boarder at 6 City road, Weeke, Hampshire, England.

Frederick Heysham died in July-September 1888 in Winchester, Dorset.

The youngest daughter of Robert Thornton and Sarah Heysham. She was born on 8 January 1803 in St Pauls Walden. In the 1841 census of St. Mary, Marylebone, Middlesex as Sarah Heysham, 25. She was a single woman, living at home with her parents. She was mentioned in a mortgage of her father's estates in 1843.

Sarah Heysham married James William Drake, esq., Royal Navy, on 29 January 1846 in Saint Nicholas church, Brighton, Sussex. He was the son of the Reverend John Drake of Northchurch, Hertsfordshire and Margaret Frances. He was born on 31 October 1809 and christened on 1 December 1809 at Great Berkhamnpstead, Hertfordshire. He was admitted to the Westminster school on 30 May 1823. He later entered the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of Mate on 3 August 1831. The Mate was an officer under the direction of the master, i.e. Master's Mate. He was especially concerned with navigation and keeping the log. It was a rank between Midshipman and Lieutenant. Fletcher Christian, of HMS BOUNTY infamy, was Master's Mate and Acting Lieutenant. To make Lieutenant an examination was required, but passing it did not ensure advancement. First a place had to be found, then influence acquired, both of which could be difficult for the son of a country parson. James was listed as a Mate, on half-pay, that is on shore without a ship, in "The Navy List" of 1848, 1850 and 1853.

Sarah had died by the time her father's will was signed in 1849. James died on 28 June 1862.

The LDS database claims, based on records of the church at Little Munden, that (21) Robert Thornton Heysham (1729) and his wife, Hannah, had a second son, Edmund, christened on 15 February 1771 in Saint Pauls Walden, Hertford, England, the locale of the family of (21) Edmund Heysham (1740). However Robert's will of 1775 shows that Robert and Hannah had only two children living at that time, neither of them Edmund. Apparently young Edmund died before 1775.

She was born in 1772. Elizabeth married the Reverend John Benn on 27 December 1790. He was born in 1765, the son of Anthony Benn, of Hensingham House, Cumberland, and Margaret Spedding. John was the Rector of All Saints church, Faringdon, Hants, from 1797 to 1857. They had 13 children.

The Benn's were particular friends with the family of the novelist, Jane Austin, and there was much visiting between them. One of the Benn daughters, Harriet, was mentioned repeatedly in the letters of Jane Austin. Harriet remained single, like Austen, and had to be supported by her relatives. John died on 6 May 1857. Elizabeth died in 1861.

There was a Frank Heysham Benn, the son of Edward Benn, Esq., born 6 August 1866. He attended Cheltenham College.

Entered January, 1879. "Benn, Frank Heysham, son of Edward Benn, Esq., 1 Lypiatt Terrace, Cheltenham; born 6th August, 1866." - from the "Cheltenham College Register"

Anne Thornton Heysham married John Shipton on 29 August 1757 [or 1765] in St. Pauls Walden, Hertford, England.

1757. "On Monday last was married at Paul's Walden in Hertfordshire to Miss Heysham, Daughter of Giles Thornton Heysham, Esq, of Stainho." - from "The London Chronicle"

Her father died in 1768 and Jane would have inherited her share of the estate, probably about 2000l by that time. There is a will for a Jane Heysham, spinster of Penn, Buckinghamshire dated 8 June 1796. In it she leaves all of her estate, real and personal, to her little brother, the Reverend Edmund Heysham of Little Munden who was also named the Executor. Note that her elder brother, Robert, had died in 1781. Her other brother, Giles, may have as well. The will was proved on 7 June 1798.

"This is the Last Will and Testabment of Miss Jane Heysham of [Pese] in the County of Burlingham Spinster.

I give devise and bequeth unto my beloved Brother Edmund Heysham of Little Munden in the County of Hertford Clerk all the property of which I shall be possessed and all my Estate and Effects both real and personal whether in possession Reversion or Remainder To hold the same to the said Edmund Heysham his heirs Executors Administrators and Assigned for ever according to the nature of the said Estates and

I do hereby constitute and appoint him my said Brother Edmund Heysham Executor of this my will.

I do most earnestly desire to be buried in the family Vault at Pauls Walden in the County of Hertford and in a Leaden Coffin.

I do hereby revoke all former Wills and declare this only to be my last Will in Witness wereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal the Eighth day of June in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and ninety six.

Jane Heysham

Signed sealed published and declared by the above named Jane Heysham as and for her last Will and Testament in the presence of us who in her presence at her request and in the presence of each other have subscribed our Names as Witnesses the words "and in a Leaden Coffin" being first interlined.

Sarah Graverseyn T. Middleton Saml Deacon

This Will was proved at London the seventh day of June in the Year of Our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety Eight Before the Worshipful Charles Coote Doctor of Laws and Surrogate of The Righ Honourable SirWIlliam Wynn Knight aslo Doctor of Laws Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prorogative Court of Caterbury lawfully constituted by the oath of The Reverend Edmund Heysham Clerk the Brother of the deceased and sole Exectuor named in the said Will to whom adminstration was granted fo all and singular Goods Chattels and Credits of the said deceased having been first sworn duly to administer."

He was christened on 4 April 1736 in Saint Pauls, Walden, Hertford, England. The son of Giles Thornton Heysham and Ann, his wife. He had an elder brother, also named Giles, who was born on 10 July 1732 at St Botolph Without Aldgate, London. This was before (20) Giles inherited and was still going by the name Giles Thornton. This child died on 20 September 1732.

Under the title "Inscriptiones Wiccamicae", Marbles, is "W. Wall . . . 2nd line . . . Giles Thornton Heysham, 1750 . . ." - from "Wykehamica: A History of Winchester College and Commoners, from the Foundation to the Present Day" by Henry Cadwallader Adams. Despite being called a College, Winchester was a prep school for the Universities. Today boys enter at the age of 13. By the way, the odd title of the reference derives from Winchester's founder, William of Wykeham.

Giles married Susanna, last name uknown.

Giles' father died in January 1768 and he would have inherited his share of the estate, probably about 2000l by that time.

The following, relative to a land transaction, places Giles near St. Pauls Walden, his parents home in Hertfordshire county.

9 July 1768. "(i) George Wharton of Sherington, yeoman, and Giles Thornton Heysham of Saint Tibbs in parish of St. Ippolitt [Ippollitts/Ippolyts], co. Herts., gent., and Susannah his wife." - from the UK Archives, Duncombe and Barton family transactions in Great Brickhill, Buckinghamshire.

". . . Gyles Thornton Heysham and Thomas Gape, esquire, did the like, in order to qualify themselves as deputy-lieutenants for the county of Hertford . . ." - from "Hertford County Records."

Giles probably died before 1798 since he was not mentioned in the will of his elder sister, Jane. His children may have been,
(22) Susanna Heysham (1764)

She was born on 17 July 1764 at St. Mary, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the daughter of Gyles Thornton and Susanna Heysham, per the LDS database. She probably died young.

She was born on 6 October 1737 in Saint Pauls Walden, the daugher of Giles Thornton and Anne Heysham, per the LDS database. She probably died young. Unlike her sisters, above, she was not mentioned in "The Correspondence of Edward Young," the father-in-law of Elizabeth Heysham. Contrarily, there is a will for a Sarah Heysham, spinster of Hatfield, Hertfordshire dated 14 November 1795 which may be for her.

The son of Giles Thornton and Anne Heysham of Stagenhoe, Hertfordshire, per the LDS database and the records of Oxford University. He was christened on 19 January 1739/40 in Stagenhoe, Kings Walden, Hertfordshire, England. He may have been named for his ancestor, (18) Edmund Thornton [see Thornton Family page], from whom the estate of Little Munden descended. He entered Trinity College, Oxford on 22 March 1759 at the age of 18. He matriculated on Michelmas 1759 and got his B.A. in 1763.

"VENN
Adm. pens. (age 18) at TRINITY, Mar. 22, 1759. S. of Giles Thornton, of Stagenhoe, Herts. ' Matric. Michs. 1759; Scholar, 1760; B.A. 1763. R. of Little Munden, Herts., 1771-1819. Married Sarah, dau. of – Smith, of Watford, Herts., and had issue (a son, Edmund, matric. from Exeter College, Oxford, 1796). Died Jan. 23, 1819, aged 79. M.I. at Little Munden. (Cussans, II. pt 2, 153; P. B. G. Binnall.)
Year Type Name as Recorded Location Office/Status VIEW
1763 Ordi(ordination) Heysham, Edmund / deacon
1766 Ordi(ordination) Heysham, Edmund / priest
1771 Appt(Institution) Heysham, Edmund Munden parva / Rector
1814 Appt(Licensing) Heysham, Edmund Great Munden / Stipendiary Curate
1819 Vac(Death) Heysham, Edmund Little Munden / Rector
- from www.theclergydatabase.org.uk

Edmund became a Priest on 23 February 1766 by letter from the Bishop of London.

His father died in 1768 and he would have inherited his share of the estate, probably about 2000l by that time.

Edmund was first Beneficed in 1771. His elder brother, Robert Thornton Heysham, in addition to inheriting the bulk of their father's estate also inherited the patronage of the church at Little Munden where Edmund was installed. Edmund became the Rector of All Saints church, Little Munden, Parish of Berkswich [?], Hertfordshire, right, from 1771 to 1819. Read the following as Parish - Population - County - Diocese - Archdeaconry - Incumbent - Value in the King's Books - Patron:

"Munden, Little R - 453 - Herts - Linen. - Hunts - Edm. Heysham - 15 0 0 - T. Heysham, Esq" - from "The Clerical Guide"

The Reverend Edmund Heysham, LL.D., married Miss Anne Maria Smith of Watford, Hertsfordshire, on 30 July 1772 in St. Marys, Watford, Hertfordshire, England - from "Hertfordshire 1731 to 1800: As Recorded in the Gentleman's Magazine" by Arthur Jones. The LDS database names her Sarah Smith. Edmund and Sarah had a large family, perhaps as many as six daughters and three sons. He died on 23 January 1819 at the age of 79, or,

"In his 78th year, the Rev. E. Heysham, 47 years rector of Little Munden, Herts." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine"

1838. Obituary: "Jan. 26. At Hertford, aged 91, Sarah, widow of the Rev. Edmund Heysham, Rector of Little Munden." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine"

She was born on 5 November 1773 at St. Marys, Watford, Hertford, England, the daughter of Edmund and Sarah Heysham. She died on died on 19 July 1850 in Hertfordshire.

1850. Obituary: "July 19. At Hertford, Sarah, eldest dau. of the late Rev. Edmund Heysham, Rector of Little Munden." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine"

She was born on 26 March 1775 and christened on 1 May 1775 in Little Munden, Hertford, England. She married Edward Green on 24 October 1797 in Little Munden. Edward was the son of Aaron Green (1735-1806), of Ware, Hertfordshire, and Susannah Fordham, Of Tundbrige. Edward was a partner in the banking firm of Dickinson & Green in Ware. Other partners included John and Thomas Green of Ware. The partnership was dissolved in 1813. Elizabeth's sister, Mary, married John Green in 1839, her second husband. He Was the brother of Edward Green.

Their children included Edward Heysham Green, who was baptized on 26 June 1802 in Tunbridge.

He was born on 10 April and christened 9 May 1777 in Little Munden, Hertfordshire, England, the son of Edmund and Sarah Heysham - from the LDS database. This data was derived from transcripts from the Church of Little Munden, 1609-1812. Young Edmund attended Oxford.

"Heysham, Edmund, s. Edmund, of Little Munden, Herts., cler. Exeter Coll., matric. 11 May, 1796, aged 19." - from "Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886"

The rest of Edmund's life is a quandry. Do we believe that after college he became a cadet with the East India Company? If so, what story could we weave from that? Edmund may have attended college, and perhaps studied theology, only to please his father. Or, he got in some kind of trouble while at school - drinking, rowdy behavior, a woman - and was forced to leave. Either way he was then forced to find his own way with no help from his family, so he joined the HEIC army.

The following indicates the Edmund entered the military service of the Honorable East India Company (HEIC) around 1799, when he was 22 years old.

UK Archives, India Office Records, East India Company:
- Cadet Register, 1775-1799: Heysham, Edmund
- Cadet Register, 1799-1802: Heysham, Edmund
- Cadet Papers, 1799-1800: Heysham, Edmund

Edmund joined the 1st Battalion of the 11th Bengal Regiment of Native Infantry. During Lord Lake's campaign against the Mahrattas that year, a detachment 5,000 Maratha horse, under a mercenary, Captain Fleury, came across a small British cantonment at Shikoabad. It was held by five companies of the 1st Battalion 11th Native Infantry commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Cuningham [also as Conningham]. After four days of very fierce resistance the outpost was forced to surrender. The only condition exacted was that the troops should not again be employed against Sindha during the campaign and the garrison marched out with all the honors of war. - from "A Particular Account of the European Military." Cuningham and 4 of his officers were wounded.

John Pester, a fellow officer of Edmund's in the 11th N.I., wrote a memoir of this period.

"In Cantonments at Shikoabad. June 13th to August 15th, 1803."

". . . Left my Mahratter [Mahratta] mare in care of Lieutenant Heysham, to whom also I gave the use of my bungalow whilst I should remain in the field."

". . . Captain Lamborne, Lieutenants Heysham and Stoneham were wounded, and a great number of men killed and wounded."

"Heysham, Lieut., 11th N.I. (wounded at Shikoabad). 1802-Nov. 24. 1803-Aug. 14, Sept. 7" - from "War and Sport in India, 1802-1806: An Officer's Diary" by John Pester

"The following are the names of the officers wounded in the attack on Shekoabad:
Lieutenant Colonel Conningham
Captain Lambourne
Captain Winbolt . . . Artillery
Ensign Heysham

The number of Sepoys stated to be killed and wounded, is sixty three." - from "Notes Relative to the Late Transactions in the Marhatta Empire" by Richard Wellesley Wellesley

"11th Native regiment . . . Ensign Edmund Heysham, to be a Lieut. do. [ditto, "from 7th May, 1803] vice, Jones, ditto [promoted]."- from "The Asiatic Annual Register" of 1806.

"Heysham, Edmund . . . [Cadet] 1799 . [Cornet, Ensign or Second Lietenant] Oct. 22, 1800 . [Lieutenant] July 13, 1803 . [Captain] . . . " - from "Alphabetical List of the Officers of the Bengal Army" by Edward Dodwell and James Samuel Miles, 1838

Edmund was promoted to Captain on 12 May 1811.

"Rank . . . Names . . . Date of Rank . . . Remarks
. . .
Captain . . . Edmund Heysham . . . 12 May 1811" - from the "East-India Register and Directory" of 1819

I used to think the next citation referred to Robert Thornton Heysham, in a much later period, but further research indicates this dates from around July 1817. It may relate to Edmund Heysham, or to William Heysham, of the John Heysham family, who was also in India through 1825.

"Lieutenant Heysham, late of the Bengal Establishment, has been restored to the service." - from "The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany," Wm. H. Allen & Co.

Edmund apparently took ill around 1819, if not before. Especially in this early era, the sub-continent was a graveyard for Europeans, who died from "fevers" at an alarming rate.

"Bengal Military Establishment, continued
Bengal Casualties Since Last Publication
Corps . . . Rank . . . Name . . . When . . . Where
. . .
11th nat. Inf. . . . Captain . . . Edmund Heysham (Pensioned) . . . 1819 . . . India" - from the "East-India Register and Directory" of 1819

1820: "Aug. 28.--Mr. Heysham, formerly a lieut. 11th NI is admitted to the pension establishment, and will draw the allowances of a capt. of inf." - from "The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany"

Then, just months later:

1820: "Deaths . . . [Dec] 20, at Kishuaghur, Capt. E. Heysham, Bengal army . . ." - from "The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany"

She was born on 11 June 1778 and christened on 8 July 1778 in Little Munden, Hertford, England. Frances Heysham of Little Munden, Herts, married John G. Wood in 1800 in St. Peter le Poer, the isle of Guernsey - from "Pallots Marriage Index for England 1780-1837."

Frances died on 17 July 1858.

1858. Obituary: "July 17. At Woodford, Essex, aged 80, Frances, relict of John Wood, esq., of Walthamstow, and dau. of the late Rev. Edmund Heysham, Rector of Little Munden, Herts." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine"

Edmund Heysham Wood, "eld. s. of J. Wood, of Elm House, Walthamstow . . . ", married Sophia, the third daughter of the late John Branton Esq. of Higham-hill, Waltahmstow on 25 October 1828. Edmund Heysham Wood, citizen and clothworker, was the Master of the Clothworker's Company of London in 1870. Was he in that trade, or was this, at this late date, more like the Rotarians?

Edmund had broad interests. In advertisements in "The Law Times" of 1871, "The Athenaeum" of 1874, and in "The Navy List" of 1887, Edmund H. Wood, Esq. or E. Heysham Wood, was listed as a Director of the Union Assurance Company. On 12 April 1889 "Stephen Soames, Esq., Edmund Heysham Wood, Esq., Sir John Whittaker Ellis, Bart., M.P., and John Mews, Esq." were chosen as Directors of the Union Society, a fire insurance company. Edmund's term was to expire in 1892, but in 1890, he died.

"Mr Edmund Heysham Wood-Besly Formerly Wood late of the Stock Exchange and of 37 Kensington Gardens Square" died - from "The Illustrated Londown News" of Christmas, 1890

Of the Indian Army. In the 1861 census of Cheltenham, Gloucesteshire as Herbert W. Wood, 52, Lieut-Colonel Indian Army. Living with him was his wife, Maria L., 41, and children Sophia E., 19, Reginald W., 13, and Frederick A., 6.

I have a Reginald Walter Heysham Wood, son of LCOL H. W. Wood, Lansdown Terrace, Cheltenham, who was born in July 1847. In the 1871 census of Hammersmith, London, as Reginald W. H. Woood, 23 [1848], a Government clerk, of Cheltenham, the son of Herbert W. Wood, 62 [1809], Lieut-Colonel late Indian Army, of Middlesex, London.

I also have a German text of 1908 that refers to,

"Reklamant: Die Filiale der Firma Jardine Matheson & Co., Hauptagentur der China Sugar Refining Company, vertreten durch ihren Prokuristen, den englischen Staatsangehörigen Reginald Walter Heysham Wood." - from "Das Japanische Prisenrecht in Seiner Anwendung im Japanisch-Russischen."
[Claimant: The branch of the firm Jardine Matheson & Co., head agency of the China Sugar Refining company, represented by its authorized signatory, the English citizen Reginald Walter Heysham Wood.]

Reginald died on 19 March 1906. A notice was put into the London Gazette by the firm of Crosse and Sons, Solicitors, attempting to locate a Herbert William Wood, a nephew of Reginald. While it's not quite clear, Herbert appears to be his heir.

"Pursuant to an Order of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, made in the Matter of the estate of Reginald Walter Heysham Wood, deceased . . . - from The London Gazette of 3 November 1914

The son of Thos. Edwd. and Sarah Heysham of Little Munden. I suspect his father was actually Edmund. I have never found a Thomas Heysham in Little Munden. Henry Heysham was christened on 29 February 1780 in Little Munden, Hertford, England - from the LDS database. He probably died young.

She was born on 1 February 1782 and christened on 27 May 1782 in Little Munden, Hertford, England. She died in April-June 1841 in Hertfordshire.

March-April 1841. Obituary: "Lately. At Hertford, Caroline, fourth dau. of the late Rev. Edmund Heysham, Rector of Little Munden." - from "The Gentleman's Magazine"

She was born on 26 April 1783 and baptized on 19 July 1783 in Little Munden. I have a Louisa Heysham Symons who died in 1884. That seems a bit old doesn't it? Probably the wife of William Arthur Symons, who died in 1889. - both from Ringmer Monumental Inscriptions. Ringmer is in East Sussex.

The son of Edw. [typo for Edm?] and Sarah Heysham. Frederick was born on 10 August 1786 and christened on 30 September 1786 in Little Munden, Hertford, England - per the LDS database. The following may be our Frederick - it is not the Frederick, born in 1800, who was the son of Robert Thornton Heysham.

Heysham, Frederick - 1816 - Probate of the will of Frederick Heysham, late of Little Munden Co. Herts., gent, proved by the executor, Rev Edmund Heysham, clerk, 6th April 1816." - from the Norris Museum

She was baptized on 25 January 1789. She first married John Brown on 20 April 1811 in Little Munden. Second, she married John Green on 4 December 1839 at St. Andrews, Herforforshire. He was the brother of Edward Green, above, the husband of her elder sister, Elizabeth Heysham.

He was the third son of Edmund, baptized in November 1700. The cousin and co-heir of (20) Robert Heysham (1713) and brother of Giles Thornton Heysham. His mother, Elizabeth, died when he was 4 years old. When his father, Edmund, died Robert would have been only 8. I suspect he and his brother, Giles, were subsequently raised by their uncles, Robert Heysham, who died in 1723, and William Heysham, who died in 1716.

The will of Robert Heysham Jr., our Robert's cousin, dated 6 July 1734, gave Stagenhoe, Hertfordshire, with other estates, which included those at Little Munden, to Giles Thornton of St. Botolph’s, Aldgate, for life, with the remainder to his son, Robert, for life, remainder to the first and other sons of the last named Robert successively intail male, remainder to Robert Thornton, Giles Thornton's brother, upon his taking the additional name of Heysham. The wording of this will leads me to believe that the estate went chiefly to the Giles Thornton Heysham line, for what reasons I don't know. Note there was no provision for Robert's children as there was for Giles'.

From the UK Archives are the records of Houghton, Craven and Co., Solicitors of Preston, Lancashire:

24 September 1738 - "Release of 140 pounds: (i) Giles Thornton Heysham of Stagenhoe in the parish of St. Paul's Walden, co. Hertford, esq., cousin and heir of Charles Richard Thornton, late of Preston, gent., decd., who was the only son and heir of John Thornton late of Preston, esq., decd., Anne his wife and Robert Thornton of Stagenhoe, gent., his brother, (ii) Charles Gibson of Preston, gent., (iii) John Walshman of Preston, innkeeper -- 2 closes called the Marfield or Narfield and further field, 6ac., in Preston, on the north side of a lane leading to a place called the two yates formerly in the possession of Anges Patten, widow, William P., her son and John Melling, late in the possession of John Thornton -- "

When, I wonder, did Robert assume the Heysham name? Or perhaps he never did. Robert apparently moved in with his brother, Giles, at the Stagenhoe estate. I have no record of children for him. Perhaps Giles named his eldest son for his brother for that reason.

In 1736 Robert had been named an executor of his brother's will. In 1768, when Giles died, Robert was noted to have already died.

The following is probably a confusion with Giles Thornton Heysham, the son of Elizabeth Heysham and Edmond Thornton, or of Giles Heysham, the son of Elizabeth Thornton and Giles Heysham.

"Gilbert Thornton Heysham . . . . . . . . . probably the younger son of Jane, daughter of the next member.
Robert Thornton . . . . . . . . . . of Little Munden."
- from "Hertfordshire 1731 to 1800: As Recorded in the Gentleman's Magazine" by Arthur Jones.

I believe that both the Giles Heysham line, of the Merchants of Lancaster page, and the Thornton-Heyshams died out completely in the male line. All of the Heyshams in England and America today are descendents of Giles' brother, John, either Mounsey-Heyshams, Heysham's of India, or Heysham's of Philadelphia. The rest of the family never really accepted this spelling of the name.

Who the heck is the following man? " second hand engine from the Caledonian Canal Co. had failed. On 1st December, 1837, it was ordered that the Rev. W. Heysham, a Director, and Mr Thompson . . ." - from "The Journal of the Trevithick Society."

Steve Hissem
San Diego, California