Lavinia Maria Curtis born 1858 in Castle Cary, Somerset

Summary

Yet to be summarised.

Parents and family

Based on the 1861 Census these were Henry and Eliza CURTIS.

Birth

About 1857-8 and in Castle Cary, Somerset, based on Census dates. The registration is almost certainly that under Wincanton of a Lavinia Maria CURTIS in the Dec Q. of 1857 (5c 510)

Childhood and education

On the 1861 Census she is listed at Fore Street, Castle Cary, Somerset with her family, which at that time comprised -

Henry CURTIS, Head, Mar[ried], 33, Ag Lab, Somerset, Shepton Mallett
Eliza CURTIS, Wife, Mar, 33, , Wilts, Maiden Bradley
William CURTIS, Son, 7, Scholar, Somerset, Castle Cary
Mary Eliza CURTIS, Daughter, 5, Scholar, Somerset, Castle Cary
Lavinia M CURTIS, Daughter, 3, Scholar, Somerset, Castle Cary
Mary YEATES, Visitor, W[idow], 64, , Wilts, Maiden Bradley

On the 1871 Census she is listed at Ansford Lane, Castle Cary, Somerset. She and her siblings Mary, 16, and John, 9, are on their own.

Mary CURTIS, Daur, Un[married], 16, , Somerset, Castle Cary
Lavinia CURTIS, Daur, Un, 13, , Somerset, Castle Cary
John CURTIS, Son, Un, 9, , Somerset, Castle Cary

Her parents and younger sister are listed a few dwellings further on at Ansford House where they are in service.

Grace SNOOK, Head, Wid[ow], 58, Annuitant, Wilts, Maiden Bradley
Henry CURTIS, Serv[ant], Mar[ried], 44, Gardener, Somerset, Shepton Mallet
Eliza CURTIS, Serv, Mar, 45, General Servant, Wilts, Maiden Bradley
Fanny CURTIS, Serv, , 5, , Somerset, Castle Cary

Employment

I currently have no evidence concerning any employment prior to marriage.

Marriage to John McIntosh

Her marriage to her first husband, John Allan McINTOSH, was registered in the June Quarter of 1880 at St Georges, Hanover Square in London. The names given were Lavinia Maria CURTIS and John Allan Mac INTOSH. The register entry provides the following details

Marriage solomnized at The Parish Church in The Parish of St Andrews Westminster after Banns

[no] 91 May 19 1880 John Allan MacIntosh 30 Bachelor Gentleman's Servant [of] Down Place Compton [son of] Alexander MacIntosh [a ] Gamekeeper & Lavinia Maria Curtis 24 Spinster [no rank or profession, and of] 16 Victoria St Westminster [daughter of] Henry Curtis [a] Gardner. Witnessed by Peter Brooker & Mary Eliza Booker. Both signed, he as 'Mac Intosh'

On 19 Oct 1880 their son Alexander John McINTOSH was born. The family referred to him as 'Aleck'. There is a registration for Alexander John McINTOSH from the Dec quarter of 1880 and registered in Guildford, Surrey (2a, 86). He was christened in the Parish of Compton in Surrey, the register giving the following details

1880 Nov 28, born Oct 19 1880, Alexander John [son of] John Allan & Lavinia Maria M^cIntosh [Abode] Down Place Compton [profession] Butler

On the 1881 Census the family are listed at Down Place, Compton, Surrey (near Guildford). Her husband was the butler there. The house's owners do not appear to have been in residence at that time of the Census as the MCINTOSHs were only sharing the place with a kitchenmaid, a housemaid, and a footman.

John A. MC INTOSH, Serv (Head), M[arried], 31, Butler (Domestic), Scotland
Lavinia M. MC INTOSH, Butler's Wife, M, 24, , Castle Carey, Somerset
Emma A. HUNT, Serv, U[nmarried], 29, Housemaid (Domestic), Lamarsh, Essex
Ellen M. GUILDER, Serv, U, 21, Kitchenmaid (Domestic), Turnham, Essex
Thomas HARTWELL, Serv, U, 18, Footman (Domestic), Tamworth, Warwick
Alexander MC INTOSH, Butler's Son, , 6m, , Compton, Surrey

Down Place is a large country mansion set on the northern slops of the Hogs back, near Guildford, Surrey. These days (2004) it is just outside the suburbs of Guildford, but in the 1880s it was country estate set amidst smaller villages. At that time the house was owned by one William F FAVIELL who then rebuilt it. I suspect that this was William Frederick FAVIELL (1822-1902) the railway engineer who helped build the Great Indian Peninsular Railway and later built the Colombo-Kandy railway in Ceylon. FAVIELL is not a very common name and it is interesting to note that in 1882 the Essex and England Batsman William Frederick Oliver FAVIELL was born in Loughton. William Frederick Oliver FAVIELL was christened on Jul 16 1882 at St Nicholas, Compton, [son of] Frederick Henry & Emily Anderson Dewar FAVIELL [of] Loughton Essex, Esqrs. The entry notes alongside 'Loughton Essex' that they were 'staying at Down Place Compton' Thus the FAVIELL family link is likely to have assisted in Lavinia's move to Loughton.

She later became known as 'Ethel MAC' to differentiate her from Ethel HICKS.

On 1 May [1886] their daughter Wallacina May MCINTOSH was born in Guildford, Surrey. She was christened on 23 May 1886 (at St Nicholas, Compton). She was probably named in honour of William WALLACE, the famous Scottish resistance leader, however the family later chose to use her second name! The parish register gives the following details

1886 May 23, born May 1 [1886] Wallacina May [daughter of] John & Lavinia Maria MacIntosh [of] Compton [fathers profession] Butler (Down Place)

There are vague family recollections that there may have been other children, one who died in infancy, possibly called Jack. However, no evidence has been found of these. There are no further baptisms at Compton between 1886 and 1896, or likely birth registrations from Guildford.

Time as a widow

John Allan MCINTOSH died on 14 Feb 1888. There is a death registration in Steyning, Sussex that year for a 37 year old John Allan MCINTOSH (Mar quarter, 2b, 207), and the London Standard of 29 Feb carried the following obituary in its DEATHS column:

McINTOSH. - Feb. 14 at Brighton, after a short illness, -
Mr Jo[hn?] A, many years a valued and much respected servant of
Mr. W. F. Faviell, of Down-place, Guildford

The Standard (London, England), Tuesday, February 29, 1888; pg. [1], col 1; Issue 19855. 19th Century British Library Newspapers: Part II.

The 1891 Census has her at 6 High Beech Road, Loughton, Essex. She is shown as a widow and 'Head' of the family, which consisted of several of her children and two boarders, one of which, Arthur H F BULL, was to become her next husband.

Lavinia M MCINTOSH, Head, Wid[ow], 32, needlewoman shirt, Somerset, Castle Cary
Alicke, Son, 10, Scholar, Surrey, Guildford
Violet, Daughter, 9, Scholar, Surrey, Guildford
May, Daughter, 5, Scholar, Surrey, Guildford
Frederick S. WRIGHT, Boarder, 23, Print Agent Assist & Journalist', Cambs, Newmarket
Arthur H. F. BULL, Boarder, 23, Postman's Mess, London, St. Pancras

Marriage to Arthur Frederick Henry Bull

On 30 May 1892 she married her second husband. Arthur Bull in Epping, Essex.. The details of their life together may be found in the biography of Arthur Henry Frederick BULL.

Lavinia appears on an undated WWI Pension index card, Form A.P. 54. It gives her name as Bull, Lavina[sic] Maria, her address as 5 Kings Green, High Road, Loughton, Essex. Soldiers regiments is Rifle Brigade, rank if Rfm, and official number 206773

Life after Arthur's death

The 1921 Census shows the family a 5 Kings Green, Loughton, Essex. At that time the family comprised:

Lavinia M. BULL, Head, [aged] 63 [years and] 8 [months], F[emale], Widow, [born] Castle Carey, Somersetshire, Home Duties, [number of children under sixteen] none
Ivy L.a BULL, Daughter, 26 5, F, Single, Loughton, Essex, Sorting Clerk & Telegraphist [employed by] Postmaster General [at] Post Office, Loughton, Essex
Gladys E. BULL, Daughter, 21 10, F, Single, Loughton, Essex, Milliner [employed by] Messers Kilpin & Kilpin [of] 14 & 15 Conduit Street, London W 1
Ethel M. MacIntosh, Visitor, 38 8 , F, Single, Guildford, Surrey, Shop Assistant [employed by] Miss Mcnaghton [at] Picadilly Arcade, London]

Last Will and Testament

Unknown.

Death

The family never mentioned her re-marrying, and she could not be found on the 1939 Register, so she probably died before then. There are two possible registrations that might be for her death, but little to tell between them, and neither seem in appropriate places

1924 Lavinia Bull aged 68 Wycombe district (i.e. born abt 1856)
1938 Lavinia Bull aged 81 Medway district (i.e. born about 1857).

Probate records list the Lavinia Bull who dies in 1924 as a spinster, so that is not Lavinia Maria. The UK and Ireland FindAGrave site lists a grave in Chatham's Maidstone Road Cemetry, for a Lavinia Maria Ba[sic]ll, born 1857 and died 10 Mar 1938.

In 1924 there is an Lavinia M BULL marriage to Ivor DAVIES registered in Bridgend, Glamorgan.

Burial

Not known.

Descendants and notable relations

Alexander John McIntosh & Harriet Matilda Tapsell

Known to the family as Alick and Netta, this couple married on 9th March 1916, by License and at the Parish Church in the Parish of St Clement, Hastings [Sussex]. The register shows the following details

Alexander John McIntosh of full age Bachelor Master at Arms Royal Navy [of] 3 Exmouth Place [son of] Alexander John McIntosh [a] Butler (deceased) & Harriet Matilda Tapsell of full age Spinster [no rank or profession, and of] 3 Exmouth Place [daughter of] William John Tapsell [a] carman. Both signed, in the presence of L.M. Bull [probably his mother], John Watkins, A Tapsell, May E. Reeves, Edith Dray

In his wedding picture he is wearing the uniform of a Naval Policeman. At this point he would have been about 36. An old sketched family tree notes that John & Netta had two children, John and another who is marked simply as 'died,' implying a very early death.

There appear to be two children from the MCINTOSH/TAPSELL marriage, Alexander J., birth registered Tendring 1920, and John A., birth registered Hastings 1921. There is an Alexander J. MACINTOSH death was registered in Tendring 1920, aged 0.

On the 1939 Register his service number is given as 19657

May McIntosh

This picture is believed to be of May MCINTOSH. Christened 'Wallacina May MCINTOSH,' she seems to have been known by either name according to occasion. On the 1891 Census she is 'May MCINTOSH,' but on the 1901 she is 'Wallaceina MCINTOSH.' Here death certificate has 'Wallaceana MCINTOSH.' Nobody ever seems to have got to grips with her first name.

Nancy and Margaret

On 26 Mar 1952 Violet MACINTOSH married William Rock MURRAY. These were the parents of Nancy MURRAY. Nancy inherited a family cottage, Braefoot, in Ringford, Kirkudbrightshire, Scotland (north of Kirkudbright, SW of Castle Douglas). Nancy was often accompanied by her cousin Margaret Jack, and the family archive contains a slip of paper explaining their relationship. William MURRAY married Agnes CALDEW and they had six children: Robert who died; Mary; Jessie (who married W. JACK); William (who married V. MACINTOSH); Charles (who died in the First World War); and Agnes (who died in infancy).

Sources

'Parishes: Compton', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 (1911), pp. 16-24. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42923. Date accessed: 21 September 2006.
Cricinfo, England players and officialsDate accessed: 21 September 2006.
Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library, Faviell Collection of Ceylon [i.e. Sri Lanka] Railway views, 1867, Y303A. http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0115%2FY303A. Date accessed: 21 September 2006.

Lavinia Maria Curtis born 1857 in Castle Cary, Somerset