Louisa HARRIS (1828 - 19xx)
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Louisa was the grand-daughter of John Tilsed (1747 - 1834) and his wife’s sister, Jane Lambert (1760 - 1801). Her parents were Elizabeth Lambert and Aaron Harris, who married at Christchurch in Hampshire on 18th February 1812.
In Louisa's time, a woman's life normally revolved around that of her husband - looking after his children and either working in his business or moving around the country with him as he followed the work. The problem for us is that, with the exception of the census, most of what women did, or were, was undocumented.
For these reasons, Louisa's narrative contains a lot more of what her husband, children and siblings did, rather than she herself did, than I'm particularly comfortable with, but we can at least infer from their doings where she was at various times, and something of her family situation.
1828 : BIRTH OF LOUISA
From her christening record, Louisa was born on 8th March 1828. At the time of her birth, she had six older siblings:
1813 John
1815 Eliza
1817 Anthony Tilsed
1820 Susan
1822 Mary
1825 Henry Tilsed
1829 : CHRISTENING OF LOUISA
Louisa was christened on 16th August. Like most of her siblings, Louisa’s ceremony took place in a Wesleyan Independent Chapel in Christchurch.
1830 : BIRTH AND CHRISTENING OF BROTHER JOSEPH HARRIS
John was christened on 12th October 1830. He was “supposed dead” in the 27th June 1888 will of their brother John Harris, which suggests at the least that he hadn’t been heard of for some time, but I have as yet no further information.
1831 : LIVING AT PYTHOUSE NEAR CHRISTCHURCH
On 28th February 1831, Louisa’s grandfather, John Tilsed, made his will. In it, he describes Louisa’s father Aaron and brother John as “of Pythouse in the parish of Christchurch”.
1834 : DEATH OF GRANDFATHER JOHN TILSED
Grandfather John died on 30th July, and was buried on 3rd August in the churchyard of Wimborne Minster, where the Great Bell was rung for his funeral.
1835 : LOUISA’S BROTHER JOHN GRANTED PROBATE OF JOHN TILSED’S WILL
Louisa’s eldest brother John Harris was granted probate of their grandfather’s will on 30 Apr 1835. Louisa received no cash under the terms of the will, but presumably she received her one-eighth share of John Tilsed’s “plate” soon after this date. I currently have no information as to the value of this.
1839 : MARRIAGE OF SISTER SUSAN TO HENRY SAYER RUMBLE
Susan’s marriage took place at St Trinity Church, St Mary Newington, London, on 8th December 1839. Susan was 19 years old, and brother Anthony Tilsed Harris signed his name as a witness. I have no further information yet as to why the marriage took place in London.
1841 : CENSUS
Louisa was aged 12, at Upper Street in Ringwood in the household of her mother, Elizabeth. Also present were her brother Joseph aged 10, and strangely, her sister Susan Harris aged 20, although Susan had been married for two years by this point, but has been listed as Harris, with no sign of her husband. Henry Sayer Rumble is perhaps the 25-year-old Cab Driver in the household of one John Towne in London.
Louisa’s brother John Harris, as Inspector of Police, was aged 25 and lodging with the family of a James Allen at Raffin Lane, Pewsey in Wiltshire.
1845 : BROTHER JOHN HARRIS APPOINTED INSPECTOR OF POLICE AT HINDON
This is relevant because by 1851 Louisa was acting as John’s housekeeper.
1851 : CENSUS IN WILTSHIRE
By 1851 Louisa’s brother John Harris had been promoted to Superintendent of Police and acquired his own establishment. He was living at Fonthill Gifford, Tisbury in Wiltshire, with 22 years old Louisa listed as his Housekeeper. Both were shown as born in Christchurch.
1853 : WITNESSED THE MARRIAGE OF HER BROTHER JOHN
John Harris, Police Superintendent, married Emily Blundell Shipman, daughter of Thomas Osmond Shipman, on 20 Jul 1853, stating that his father was Aaron Harris, a farmer. Louisa and her brother Anthony Tilsed Harris signed the register as witnesses.
It strikes me as reasonable to suppose that this event is when Louisa first met her future husband, Erastus Beckett who was, or was soon to become, a policeman, and whose family lived in Hindon.
1854 : MARRIAGE OF BROTHER HENRY TILSED HARRIS
On 16th March 1854 at Carbonear in Newfoundland, Henry Tilsed Harris married Olivia Noel in a Wesleyan chapel. Olivia was born at Freshwater, Carbonear, in 1829. The witnesses were both named Noel and there is no reason to suppose that any of Henry’s family were present.
1855 : MARRIAGE TO ERASTUS BECKETT
Louisa married Erastus Beckett, a railway policeman, on 19th August 1855 at St Pancras Church in Paddington. Both said they were of full age, stated their residence as Liverpool Street and signed their names. Their fathers were named as James Beckett, cordwainer, and Aaron Harris, dead (but I’m not convinced that he was). The witnesses were George Smith and ?William? Buckeridge. Paddington seems a reasonable place for a railway policeman to be based - the term often meant a signalman or pointsman, and Louisa may not have been actually living in the area before the marriage.
1856 : BIRTH OF SON JOSEPH
Louisa’s first known child, her son Joseph, was born early in 1856 in the registration district of Kensington. Both Louisa and Erastus had younger brothers named Joseph, but to my knowledge both were still alive at this time so perhaps we need to assume that this is evidence of the decreasing importance of family naming traditions.
1856 : MOVING TO OXFORDSHIRE
At some point during 1856, Louisa’s husband Erastus Beckett entered the police force, aged 22. Residing in Paddington at the time, he was noted as being of Hindon in Wiltshire, and was posted to Long Wittenham in Oxfordshire where he was the first Constable. (TNA ref Q/APE/1/1/104)
From “The parish of Long Wittenham 1800 - 1920" by Kathleen Burk Jewess. First published 1984, revised edition 2009.” “By the passing of the County and Borough Police Act of 1856, all local authorities were compelled to set up police forces, and Long Wittenham received its first new police constable in 1856, Erastus Beckett.” In Beckett's time, the constables lived in a house on the north side of the west end of the High Street.
http://longwittenham.com/wp-content/uploads/History_Group/The_Parish_of_Long_Wittenham_1800-1920.pdf
Erastus’ cousins 1829 William Beckett and 1834 Luke Charles Beckett also entered the police force in 1856. They were both sons of the Hindon parish clerk John Forward Beckett and his wife Mary Eaton, William aged 25 of Hindon and residing there (Q/APE/1/1/153) and Charles aged 23, of Hindon but residing Paddington (Q/APE/1/1/120). I haven’t yet worked out the exact relationship between Erastus and John Forward Beckett.
1856 : CHRISTENING OF SON JOSEPH
Joseph was christened on 5th October 1856 in Long Wittenham. I have only seen a transcription and therefore have no information about Erastus’s occupation - though we can be reasonably sure about this - or where the family were living.
1860 : MARRIAGE OF BROTHER JOSEPH HARRIS
On 4th April 1860, Louisa’s brother Joseph married Fanny Louisa Green at Hindon. Joseph gave his name as Joseph Peter Harris, and named his father as Aaron Harris, Farmer. He gave his address as Claverly in Shropshire and his occupation as Grocer.
The witnesses to Joseph’s marriage were William George Green (possibly Fanny’s father) and Susanna Zinzan, who was step-daughter to Fanny’s sister Mary Ann. Mary Ann Green had in 1855 married Robert Comport Zinzan, a much older man whose four children were only a few years younger than Mary Ann. We shall see a little later why this maybe wasn’t such a good idea.
1860 : BIRTH AND CHRISTENING OF TWINS WILLIAM AND ANNE
Annie Louisa and William Henry were born in the registration district of Wokingham in Berkshire, and their births were registered in Q3 of 1860. Their mother’s maiden name was noted as Harris. They were christened at the church of St Nicholas in Hurst on 4th October, when Erastus’s occupation was given as “constable in the County Police”. Erastus’ older brother William Beckett died in May 1860 so it is possible that William Henry was named for him.
1861 : CENSUS
By the time of the 1861 census Louisa and Erastus had moved again, presumably due to Erastus’ promotion. He was now 28 and a Police Sergeant, and the family were one of three households living at Hutchins Yard, off the High Street in Hungerford, Berkshire. Louisa was 31 and with them were Joseph aged 5 born Paddington and the twins William and Anne aged 9 months born Hurst.
Numbers 12 & 13 Hungerford High Street were at the time occupied by a butcher named Thomas Hutchins, as seen in this picture from Hungerford Virtual Museum. This picture from the same source shows the entrance to the Yard behind the street - the shops have changed, and still are changing, but we can see on Google Maps that the buildings remain the same.
Louisa’s brother Joseph was at Victoria Boulevard Street in Mancester, as Shopman to William Budden, a Gcocer Master. William was only 22 which seems very young to have gained his Mastery, but perhaps it was different in the newer trades. William Budden was born in Wimborne.
Louisa’s future son-in-law John (jr) Beckett was a 17-year-old Basket Maker, living with his parents and siblings in Hindon. John jr’s father, also a Basket Maker, was a son of John Forward Beckett, the parish clerk of Hindon.
1862 : DEATH OF SON WILLIAM
William Henry’s burial record states that he was 1 year and 9 months old when he died. He was buried at St Lawrence’s, Hungerford, which is away from the town centre, down in the water meadows next to the Kennet & Avon canal.
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Louisa was the grand-daughter of John Tilsed (1747 - 1834) and his wife’s sister, Jane Lambert (1760 - 1801). Her parents were Elizabeth Lambert and Aaron Harris, who married at Christchurch in Hampshire on 18th February 1812.
In Louisa's time, a woman's life normally revolved around that of her husband - looking after his children and either working in his business or moving around the country with him as he followed the work. The problem for us is that, with the exception of the census, most of what women did, or were, was undocumented.
For these reasons, Louisa's narrative contains a lot more of what her husband, children and siblings did, rather than she herself did, than I'm particularly comfortable with, but we can at least infer from their doings where she was at various times, and something of her family situation.
1828 : BIRTH OF LOUISA
From her christening record, Louisa was born on 8th March 1828. At the time of her birth, she had six older siblings:
1813 John
1815 Eliza
1817 Anthony Tilsed
1820 Susan
1822 Mary
1825 Henry Tilsed
1829 : CHRISTENING OF LOUISA
Louisa was christened on 16th August. Like most of her siblings, Louisa’s ceremony took place in a Wesleyan Independent Chapel in Christchurch.
1830 : BIRTH AND CHRISTENING OF BROTHER JOSEPH HARRIS
John was christened on 12th October 1830. He was “supposed dead” in the 27th June 1888 will of their brother John Harris, which suggests at the least that he hadn’t been heard of for some time, but I have as yet no further information.
1831 : LIVING AT PYTHOUSE NEAR CHRISTCHURCH
On 28th February 1831, Louisa’s grandfather, John Tilsed, made his will. In it, he describes Louisa’s father Aaron and brother John as “of Pythouse in the parish of Christchurch”.
1834 : DEATH OF GRANDFATHER JOHN TILSED
Grandfather John died on 30th July, and was buried on 3rd August in the churchyard of Wimborne Minster, where the Great Bell was rung for his funeral.
1835 : LOUISA’S BROTHER JOHN GRANTED PROBATE OF JOHN TILSED’S WILL
Louisa’s eldest brother John Harris was granted probate of their grandfather’s will on 30 Apr 1835. Louisa received no cash under the terms of the will, but presumably she received her one-eighth share of John Tilsed’s “plate” soon after this date. I currently have no information as to the value of this.
1839 : MARRIAGE OF SISTER SUSAN TO HENRY SAYER RUMBLE
Susan’s marriage took place at St Trinity Church, St Mary Newington, London, on 8th December 1839. Susan was 19 years old, and brother Anthony Tilsed Harris signed his name as a witness. I have no further information yet as to why the marriage took place in London.
1841 : CENSUS
Louisa was aged 12, at Upper Street in Ringwood in the household of her mother, Elizabeth. Also present were her brother Joseph aged 10, and strangely, her sister Susan Harris aged 20, although Susan had been married for two years by this point, but has been listed as Harris, with no sign of her husband. Henry Sayer Rumble is perhaps the 25-year-old Cab Driver in the household of one John Towne in London.
Louisa’s brother John Harris, as Inspector of Police, was aged 25 and lodging with the family of a James Allen at Raffin Lane, Pewsey in Wiltshire.
1845 : BROTHER JOHN HARRIS APPOINTED INSPECTOR OF POLICE AT HINDON
This is relevant because by 1851 Louisa was acting as John’s housekeeper.
1851 : CENSUS IN WILTSHIRE
By 1851 Louisa’s brother John Harris had been promoted to Superintendent of Police and acquired his own establishment. He was living at Fonthill Gifford, Tisbury in Wiltshire, with 22 years old Louisa listed as his Housekeeper. Both were shown as born in Christchurch.
1853 : WITNESSED THE MARRIAGE OF HER BROTHER JOHN
John Harris, Police Superintendent, married Emily Blundell Shipman, daughter of Thomas Osmond Shipman, on 20 Jul 1853, stating that his father was Aaron Harris, a farmer. Louisa and her brother Anthony Tilsed Harris signed the register as witnesses.
It strikes me as reasonable to suppose that this event is when Louisa first met her future husband, Erastus Beckett who was, or was soon to become, a policeman, and whose family lived in Hindon.
1854 : MARRIAGE OF BROTHER HENRY TILSED HARRIS
On 16th March 1854 at Carbonear in Newfoundland, Henry Tilsed Harris married Olivia Noel in a Wesleyan chapel. Olivia was born at Freshwater, Carbonear, in 1829. The witnesses were both named Noel and there is no reason to suppose that any of Henry’s family were present.
1855 : MARRIAGE TO ERASTUS BECKETT
Louisa married Erastus Beckett, a railway policeman, on 19th August 1855 at St Pancras Church in Paddington. Both said they were of full age, stated their residence as Liverpool Street and signed their names. Their fathers were named as James Beckett, cordwainer, and Aaron Harris, dead (but I’m not convinced that he was). The witnesses were George Smith and ?William? Buckeridge. Paddington seems a reasonable place for a railway policeman to be based - the term often meant a signalman or pointsman, and Louisa may not have been actually living in the area before the marriage.
1856 : BIRTH OF SON JOSEPH
Louisa’s first known child, her son Joseph, was born early in 1856 in the registration district of Kensington. Both Louisa and Erastus had younger brothers named Joseph, but to my knowledge both were still alive at this time so perhaps we need to assume that this is evidence of the decreasing importance of family naming traditions.
1856 : MOVING TO OXFORDSHIRE
At some point during 1856, Louisa’s husband Erastus Beckett entered the police force, aged 22. Residing in Paddington at the time, he was noted as being of Hindon in Wiltshire, and was posted to Long Wittenham in Oxfordshire where he was the first Constable. (TNA ref Q/APE/1/1/104)
From “The parish of Long Wittenham 1800 - 1920" by Kathleen Burk Jewess. First published 1984, revised edition 2009.” “By the passing of the County and Borough Police Act of 1856, all local authorities were compelled to set up police forces, and Long Wittenham received its first new police constable in 1856, Erastus Beckett.” In Beckett's time, the constables lived in a house on the north side of the west end of the High Street.
http://longwittenham.com/wp-content/uploads/History_Group/The_Parish_of_Long_Wittenham_1800-1920.pdf
Erastus’ cousins 1829 William Beckett and 1834 Luke Charles Beckett also entered the police force in 1856. They were both sons of the Hindon parish clerk John Forward Beckett and his wife Mary Eaton, William aged 25 of Hindon and residing there (Q/APE/1/1/153) and Charles aged 23, of Hindon but residing Paddington (Q/APE/1/1/120). I haven’t yet worked out the exact relationship between Erastus and John Forward Beckett.
1856 : CHRISTENING OF SON JOSEPH
Joseph was christened on 5th October 1856 in Long Wittenham. I have only seen a transcription and therefore have no information about Erastus’s occupation - though we can be reasonably sure about this - or where the family were living.
1860 : MARRIAGE OF BROTHER JOSEPH HARRIS
On 4th April 1860, Louisa’s brother Joseph married Fanny Louisa Green at Hindon. Joseph gave his name as Joseph Peter Harris, and named his father as Aaron Harris, Farmer. He gave his address as Claverly in Shropshire and his occupation as Grocer.
The witnesses to Joseph’s marriage were William George Green (possibly Fanny’s father) and Susanna Zinzan, who was step-daughter to Fanny’s sister Mary Ann. Mary Ann Green had in 1855 married Robert Comport Zinzan, a much older man whose four children were only a few years younger than Mary Ann. We shall see a little later why this maybe wasn’t such a good idea.
1860 : BIRTH AND CHRISTENING OF TWINS WILLIAM AND ANNE
Annie Louisa and William Henry were born in the registration district of Wokingham in Berkshire, and their births were registered in Q3 of 1860. Their mother’s maiden name was noted as Harris. They were christened at the church of St Nicholas in Hurst on 4th October, when Erastus’s occupation was given as “constable in the County Police”. Erastus’ older brother William Beckett died in May 1860 so it is possible that William Henry was named for him.
1861 : CENSUS
By the time of the 1861 census Louisa and Erastus had moved again, presumably due to Erastus’ promotion. He was now 28 and a Police Sergeant, and the family were one of three households living at Hutchins Yard, off the High Street in Hungerford, Berkshire. Louisa was 31 and with them were Joseph aged 5 born Paddington and the twins William and Anne aged 9 months born Hurst.
Numbers 12 & 13 Hungerford High Street were at the time occupied by a butcher named Thomas Hutchins, as seen in this picture from Hungerford Virtual Museum. This picture from the same source shows the entrance to the Yard behind the street - the shops have changed, and still are changing, but we can see on Google Maps that the buildings remain the same.
Louisa’s brother Joseph was at Victoria Boulevard Street in Mancester, as Shopman to William Budden, a Gcocer Master. William was only 22 which seems very young to have gained his Mastery, but perhaps it was different in the newer trades. William Budden was born in Wimborne.
Louisa’s future son-in-law John (jr) Beckett was a 17-year-old Basket Maker, living with his parents and siblings in Hindon. John jr’s father, also a Basket Maker, was a son of John Forward Beckett, the parish clerk of Hindon.
1862 : DEATH OF SON WILLIAM
William Henry’s burial record states that he was 1 year and 9 months old when he died. He was buried at St Lawrence’s, Hungerford, which is away from the town centre, down in the water meadows next to the Kennet & Avon canal.
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