Barker - Humphrys Family Tree
Notes
Matches 51 to 76 of 76
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| 51 | Never married. In 1861, Elizabeth and sister Harriet were living at Farley Hall, Farley, Staffordshire. They are both described as 'Gentlewoman'. Their other sister, Sarah, was married to John BILL whose home was Farley Hall, but neither Sarah nor John is there at the time of this Census. Elizabeth and Harriett were left 'a diamond ring each' in the WIll of John BILL, father of the John Bill who was married to their sister, Sarah. (dated 16 Feb 1846.) Notice The Times (London) Monday July 07 1879, p.1, Issue 2 9613 Death. On the 3d inst, suddenly, at Oldfields, Uttoxeter, Miss Elizabeth Humphreys, last susrviving child of the late Abel Humphreys, Esq, of Philadelphia, U>S> aged 73. | Humphrys, Elizabeth (I107)
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| 52 | Notice in Worcester Journal, 23rd March 1872 Marriage Williamson-Humphrys, March 16th at Cheddleton, Staffordshire, Capt William John Williamson, Bengal Staff Corps, Depurty Commissioner, Garo Hills, eldest son of Samuel Williamson, Esq of Pendre, Holywell, to Mary Harriet, 3rd daughter of Geo Humphrys, Esq of Asscombe Park. | Humphrys, Mary Harriet (I40)
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| 53 | OPR 685/03 0331 Canongate Burial Record 1841 April p.166 Fiddes or Murray (#77) Isabella, widow of James Murray, Spirit Dealer, Canongate, died at no.1 Roseburgh Street, Edinburgh on the 15th and interred on the 20th. Buried 10 feet south of Douglas's Stone and 8 feet East of Balfour's Tomb. Aged 60 yrs Water in the Chest. Marriage record for Canongate, Edinburgh City, Midlothian 685/03 0170 0298 (But not in Marriage Register of Marriages of Scottish Record society) Bell Felles | Fettes, Bell (I4219)
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| 54 | Provost of Dumfries 1817 | Barker, John Esq (I173)
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| 55 | Q3, Huntly, #51 | Source (S72)
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| 56 | Rector of Chelvey & Brockley, Somerset, UK. Died unmarried. "A wonderful man" according to his nephew, AFW Humphrys | Humphrys, Herbert (I78)
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| 57 | Senior Puisne judge of the High Court of New Zealand | Barker, Justice Sir Richard Ian (I62)
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| 58 | Served as Sergeant in 5th Field Ambulance, #9432. Served in Crete and Egypt.Taken prisoner briefly in Egypt. Invalided home in 1843 after contracting yellow fever. Married Mary Barker in august of that year, to whom he became engaged before embarking for war in 1939. Post-war, Jim attended Auckland University with the aim of qualifying as a doctor, but found settling back to education, and with a family to support - son, David, ws born in 1944 - was too difficult, and he returned to being a pharmacist (then known as a chemist.) Educated at Thames High School, then was apprenticed to a chemist. In 1935 (Electoral roll for Grey Lynn, #11567) he was a chemist's assistant, llving at 31A Third Avenue, SW1, with his mother, Lizzie Anne, and father (William, Moulder.) By 1938 Jim and his mother had moved to Manukau road Pukekohe where Jim was a chemist.(Electoral roll for Franklin, #1539). Will is not with them. | Clark, James Gilmour (I9)
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| 59 | Sir Francis, Lt.Col.,who was the British Minister at Kabul in the 1920s. He and Gertie, his wife, managed the evacuation of the British from there in the uprising and for that were both awarded gongs by the King of Afghanistan on a visit to London in 1928. Frank got GCVO and Gertie DBE in her own right. He went on to become KBE, CIE, KCMG. Gertrude was the daughter of Sir Harold Deane and died in 1982. | Humphrys, Sir Francis Henry (I70)
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| 60 | Solicitor in St Austell & Fowey, Cornwall, UK. According to his nephew-in-law (AFW Humphrys) Walter and Norah had "4 splendid children" | Graham, Walter (I77)
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| 61 | Some doubt about Kitty's second name: was it Louisa or Lyons? According to her birth registration it was Louisa. According to her death certificate it was Lyons According to her marriage certificate it was Lyons. According to her entry in the 1893 Electoral Roll, it was Lyons. (In fact, she is listed there as Kate Lyons Humphrys) Did she change it at some time? If so, why? Family connections? It seems more likely that it was Lyons, as that is the name she used as an adult (ie at her marriage, and for the Electoral Roll.) Family correspondence suggests she was known as Kate. Did Kitty go to The Ladies' Classical School, Turakina? Given that she was orphaned as a small girl and reared by her various aunts and uncles, it is quite possible that she spent time with her Aunt Anne (McDonell) in the Rangitikei. It is also likely that it was while she was there that she met her future husband, George Herbert Humphrys, who became a cadet on Mr N. Fitzherbert's farm in the Turakina Valley for three years from 1884. In 1887 he visited England returning to NZ the following year, and subsequently purchased 625 acres which he improved, fenced, and grassed, and on which he erected a substantial dwelling. In 1890 he and Kitty were married. [Source of info on GHH: Cyclopedia of New Zealand, Vol,1, Wellington, 1897, pp1289-90] The Cyclopedia has the following entry for The Ladies' Classical School (p.1336-1337 with picture): Obviously after Kate's time... "Principal, Reverend John Ross, assisted by Mrs Ross and Miss Christie and Miss Mary Ross. " [NB. The Rev Ross was a Scot who was first appointed to Masterton where he was the first resident minister of the Presbyterian Church for five years {1866 - 1871] before being transferred to Turakina district. In other words, another sound reason for Kitty to be sent to this school - he would certainly have been well-known to the Presbyterian Cameron family.] "The LCS is beautifully situated on the North Western Road, Turakina. It is a large building and occupies a charming situation, nestling among the trees. The building has been from time to time enlarged, so as to afford ample accommodation for fourteen or fifteen young ladies, in addition to the principal, his family, and his staff. Every necessary accommodation in the shape of large and airy bedrooms, comfortable school-rooms, parlors, sitting-rooms, bath, and every convenience required in a large establishment is available. The course of instruction includes English, Latin, Greek, German, French, mathematics, music , drawing, singing, painting, calisthenics, and plain and fancy needle-work. The principal aim is to impart a thorough sound education, whilst the general and physical training of the pupils is carefully attended to, and every effort is made to make the school-life as homelike as possible. The LCS has been established about seventeen or eighteen years, and during this time a large number of pupils have passed through the college, many of whom are now occupying important offices as teachers, and in many other positions of trust and responsibility. The success which has been attained by pupils who have gone up for the university examination has been considerable, and all previous successes have been crowned by the results of the 1894 examinations when a young lady from the college (Miss Flora D Ross) obtained a junior university scholarship, being the fifth on the list for the whole of the Colony, and the first for the North Island, and the first girl in New Zealand to distinguish herself in this way in that year..." | Cameron, Catherine Lyons (Kate) (I73)
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| 62 | Source Medium: Book | Source (S39)
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| 63 | Source Medium: Book | Source (S12)
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| 64 | Source Medium: Other Cemetery Records, Akatarawa Cemetery | Source (S51)
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| 65 | Source Medium: Other | Source (S90)
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| 66 | The 1881 Census for Durham County has, (living at 5 Argyle St, Bishopwearmouth with a domestic servant) Jane Bacon, Head of House, age 69, Annuitant, born at Chester-le-Street. This address is also given for Arthur H Bacon, in Whellan's 1894 Durham Directory. The Newcastle Journal of 10 October 1835: At St Oswald's, Durham, on the 6th inst, William Bacon, Esq, of Chester-le-Steet. Jane's Death certificate has G (J) E Henderson, Son in Law, In attendance, 16 Framlington Place, Newcastle. | Smith, Jane (I952)
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| 67 | The following piece of writing had this postscript: "This script was broadcast from 2YA over all stations during the morning when New Broadcasting House, Wellington was opened. I recorded it previously in 1YA Studio. It received favourable comment in the 'Listener' Read for taping 1YA, Aug. 13th 1963 Broadcast through 2YA Sept. 1963" (I found it ironic - or poignant - that I was typing this onto the computer with the knowledge that this year (1997) "New Broadcasting House" is scheduled for demolition to make room for more Parliamentary offices.) BACK COUNTRY NEWS by DOROTHY BARKER Now I watch eagerly for the postman each morning and if he is late, I think I am harshly treated. What a contrast to the mails that came twice a week to our home in the back-blocks fifty years ago on horse-back and carried in big saddle bags. What a mail it was! Papers, letters, bills, parcels. The papers - always a point of consideration if you should read the last-dated first, or the first-dated lats! Mail day was a big event. Then came the telephone. The P & T would erect the line a certain distance from the township, provided the settlers would put up and maintain the remainder. This often meant the farmer had to put up some miles of line over rough bush-clad country. They cut the poles for it from the fallen trees in the bush. What excitement when at last the phone was really installed in the house. That large ungainly bow-type phone was really more wonderful to us than the latest automatic one nowadays. It was, of course, a party-line with six or seven subscribers - some of them were definitely "chatty". The men considered the phone should be theirs at night. often two of them would take possession for half an hour or longer, while they queried "Had Bob seen that roan shorthorn cow that was missing?" or "Why were there wild bullocks of Tom's on Bob's, a place where they had no right to be?" Of course we women were not exactly dumb, while we compared how many teeth our respective babies had, or told how we had found the old black hen "Broody" under a log, and had set her there. The phone was really indispensable, especially in case of sudden illness when we could 'ring up' the doctor in the township some miles away. Sometimes the line would go dead and one of the farmers had to ride and climb through the bush to find the fault. Often a bullock had rubbed the line off a pole and earthed it. Then whispers reached us of radio. At first the wonders told seemed too marvellous to be true. However, first one and then another ventured to get a set. Our first battery set was an American one, and you'll find it hard to realise the great thrill when first we got news and music from 2YA. We received that station better than 1YA, in the King Country. To run the radio, we used a 'wet' A batrtery, two 45 dry B batteries and a small C battery. Woe betide if any battery became 'flat' but some excuse could always be found to go the long trip to the township to get a new one. The announcers from 2YA, Mr John Ball and Mr Clive Drummond were soon valued members of our household, and the radio became of paramount importance in our daily life. The news was, of course, a 'must' with our infrequent mail service: it was wonderful to hear the very latest news each day. The weather report - great things depended on that: whether or not the sheep should be mustered or that fence at the back of the farm could be mended, given the promise of a fine day. Mr Clive Drummond's closing down "Goodnight all, goodnight all" from 2YA sounded so friendly on that lonely farm. Just the right touch of informality to bring him almost into our home. I had a family of seven; to those old enough, the children's session was a great delight. 'Aunt Molly' of 2YA was a real friend and what a very great thrill when a child had its birthday called over the air. One 'Uncle' - his name has exc aped me - brought the birthday presents in a plane. At least the shirring of a plane could be heard as the child was directed to "look under the front step for a parcel". There would be shrieks of delight and a rush to find the parcel and a look up to see if there really, really was a plane, so real had the broadcast been. For, of course, a real plane was never heard or seen in that part of the country. Often the children's session ended with a "Merrily we'll roll along, roll along from 2YA" set to a well-known old tune, and I would hear it drowsily hummed as the children went off to sleep. Then came the napier earthquake. I was hanging clothes out when suddenly the ground seemed to tilt up, children cried, horses galloped round in the paddock, and thewater tanks outside the house and woolshed splashed their contents over the top. I realised that if the Quake was so unpleasant with us, it must be very severe further south. My first thought was 2YA - would it tell where the earthquake was? Presently, news came over that Napier had experienced a terrible earthquake, much damage had been done and communications were out. Then a ring on the phone from a distant neighbour whose relations lived on Bluff Hill. Had I heard anything on the radio? After a whilenews from Napier began to come through, then news of loss of life and names of some of the victims. A great relief when we heard our friends on Bluff Hill were safe, and sympathy for all those who had suffered so much. Truly 2YA had again proved its value as a friend. On another day and night, the magic of Kingsford-Smith's flight in the "Suthern Cross" over the Pacific was ours - the faint morse signals picked up and relayed by 2YA. Then, when he flew the Tasman, we just sat up all night until he reached Christchurch safely. Again, we heard Admiral Byrd speak after his return from the South Pole. So much more we heard on a winter's night with a big log fire: news, music and talks came right into our rooms on that isolated backblock farm. We erected an 80 foot vertical aerial, dropped from a wire across (slung) a gulley from the tops of two ridges. We found an old piece of copper, sunk it in the ground, then soldered several earths to it. A piece of iron pipe down the centre kept the earth moist. Our results were surprising: stations from USA and Australia became quite an accepted thing, and soon our wall was decorated with QGE cards recevied in reply to reports of reception. These cards were pleasant to receive, but it was on 2YA we depended; it was our 'lifeline' with the outside world. Today 2YA is very powerful and its transmission reaches all over New Zealnad and overseas, but to no one can 2YA mean as much as it did to us as it did in those early days. We owe Mr John Ball, Mr Clive Drummond, 'Aunt Molly', and all the other announcers, programme arrangers, staff and radio technicians of 2YA very real gratitude for the pleasure, help and interest they gave to us on our backblock farm in the King Country. | Humphrys, (Kate) Dorothy (I57)
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| 68 | The marriage of Davidann Thomson and John Barker is recorded in the 'Carlisle Patriot' of 27 June 1818, she being the second daughter of William Thomson Esq of Castledykes. Her Will shows that she left £10,570/10/3 in Scotland. | Thomson, Davidann (I174)
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| 69 | The second son of Arthur and Jane (nee Bacon) Humphrys. His father died when George was 8 years old (October 1874) and when his mother married again, to John Jones in London in October 1876, the 3 boys were taken by his father's family because the new husband was 'in trade' [family story]. According to the Marriage Certificate of Jane and John Jones, he was an Upholsterer, and his father (deceased) , Robert Jones, was a farmer. An entry in the 1881 Census has the household of John Jones and his wife, Jane J. Jones. (See FamilyTreeMaker entry for Jane Isabella Bacon) George entered Oswestry School, Salop, on 27 August 1875 and left in 1876 and spent a year in the school of Miss Palin of Colwyn. In September 1877 he returned to Oswestry School as a boarder and stayed until Christmas 1883. His guardians were a Mrs Williamson and Mr M S Forster who was Headmaster of the School from 1873 to July 1887. [Letter to Ruth Hill from Headmaster 31 August 1983; also from A History of Oswestry School, by Richard R Oakley, 1959] Mrs Williamson was his Aunt Mary Williamson, nee Humphrys, and Michael Seymour Forster was the husband of his Aunt Bessie (Elizabeth) Humphrys. The letter to Ruth Hill also gives details of George's brothers' schooling at Oswestry.(qv) Cyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1897, Vol 1, Wellington, pp 721 -1526. Page 1289 has the following entry: Humphry, G. H. Farmer, Wentworth, Hunterville. Born in Manchester in 1866 and educated at Oswestry Grammar School, Mr Humphry came to Wellington in 1884 and became a cadet on Mr N. Fitzherbert's estate in the Turakina Valley, where he remained for three years. He visited England in 1887, returning the following year, and subsequently purchased 625 acres, which he has improved, fenced and grassed, and on which he erected a substantial dwelling. In 1890 Mr Humphry married Miss Cameron of Wairarapa and has two daughters. A further entry,[p.1341] for Taurimu Farm, Turakina: "the property of Mr Norman Fitzherbert, is under the management of Mr John Gibson" [since1891]. On p.1253 is the entry for Anthony FitzHerbert," farmer, 'Norbury' near Pakihikura...a son of the late Colonel FitzHerbert, was born in Derbyshire in 1863, and was educated at Malvern College, Worcestershire. He landed in NZ in 1879, and settled in the Rangitikei Districts, where he joined his brother, and engaged in farming...married a daughter of Mr Chas Bull of Aorangi, Feilding and has one daughter." 10Mar2002 From 'Who's Who in NZ & the western Pacific" 4th ed. 1941, p.145 - an entry for LtCol Norman Fitzherbert, CMG, CBE, says he was born 1858, son of Lt Col R H Fitzherbert of Somersal Herbert, Derby. (See more in Notes for him) From Palmerston North Cemetery's database: Catherine Lyons Humphries, died 30 January 1908 aged 41 years, and was buried on 1 February 1908 in Terrace End Cemetery, area TE, Block 202, plot 011. Plot was bought by George Herbert Humphries. Funeral directors were Bett & co. George Herbert Humphrys, Farmer, of 144 Russell Street, died 29 November 1940 aged 74 years, buried 2 Decmber 1940 in Kelvin Grove Cemetery, area F, block 001, plot number 012. The plot was bought by Marion Isabel Humphrys, and the funeral directos were Griggs. NOTES TO PONDER: George's cousin, Charles BILL of Farley Hall, Cheadle, had married Miss Ellen Fitzherbert of Somershal Herbert, Derbyshire. Is there a connection a) with Norman Fitzherbert of Turakina? [See above] Ellen's father was Colonel Richard FitzHerbert - were Norman and Anthony her brothers and therefore GHH's second cousins? YES! (Norman) b) with George's second name being Herbert? Who was George Henderson, supposedly an uncle who lived in Newcastle and who was very rich. He left money to George's daughters, Dorothy and Ida. Was he on the Humphrys side or the Bacon side? Probably Bacon, given their connections with Co Durham. Researching George Edward Henderson, he was married to George Herbert's aunt, Lucy Bacon, sister of his mother, who died childless. He was at various times, according to Censuses, a Shipowner, a merchant, and a Dock owner, who died in 1916. | Humphrys, George Herbert (I72)
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| 70 | Thomas Henry FRS (c. 1734-1816) Thomas Henry was one of the founding members [1] of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society and later its president. He had trained as a surgeon-apothecary at Wrexham and was assistant to Mr. Malbon, a visiting apothecary in Oxford. He then settled in Knutsford for five years. There is a record of the marriage of Thomas Henry to Mary Kinsey at Knutsford Parish Church on 16 June 1760. Phoebe described as "the daughter of Thomas Henry, apothecary of Nether Knutsford" was baptised at the same church on 3 June 1763. Henry moved to King Street, Manchester where he was in business as a surgeon-apothecary. At that time few medical men had university training. Surgeons and apothecaries qualified by apprenticeship. They provided most of the medical care in the kingdom. They were in effect the forerunner of the modern general practitioners. Physicians were educated at university but there were few of them and they were mainly in London. Henry discovered a new way of making magnesium carbonate which he used as an antacid. It became known as Henry's Magnesia, a popular medicine of the time. He presented a paper on its preparation to the Royal College of Physicians in London in 1771. This earned him the name of Magnesia Henry. He was pressed by friends to make the medicine and it was manufactured in East Street, Bale Street until at least 1881. The business, which also made soda water, proved to be profitable. Thomas Henry published [2] a paper on the preservation of sea water from putrefaction which showed the importance of magnesium salts in the process of putrefaction. This paper also had an account of a newly invented machine for impregnating water with fixed air (carbon dioxide) communicated to Mr Henry by I Haygarth MB FRS and read on 21 November 1781. The latter describes how fixed air could be made by the action of acid on lime and the gas bubbled into water. This was clearly a forerunner of his own manufacture of soda water and probably led to his son's quantitative studies on the absorption of gases by fluids culminating in Henry's Law. Thomas Henry was an apothecary to Manchester Infirmary and became [3] a trustee of Cross Street Unitarian Chapel. This is interesting in view of the record found at Knutsford of the baptism of his daughter in an Anglican church. Thomas Henry died in 1816 aged 82. His son William Henry wrote [4] an appreciation of his father in 'Manchester Memoirs'. https://www.thornber.net/cheshire/ideasmen/henry.html | Henry, Thomas (I96)
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| 71 | Waikato Hospital | Barker, Dorothy Mary Ella (Mary) (I10)
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| 72 | Was Agnes the sister of Sarah, eldest daughter of William Johnston of Round-Stonefoot, Provost of Sanquhar, who married Thomas Barker? Or was her father Melvil Johnson (that being the name she and William gave to their eldest son?) | Johnson, Agnes (I2674)
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| 73 | Willaim Bacon was an enlightened man, whose daughters in December 1853, were all foundation pupils of Cheltenham Ladies' College, 'admitted' when Jane Isabella was 10, Lucy 9, Fanny, 7, Elizabeth 8. (Source: Minutes of a meeting held in the rooms of the Hon. Sec). The School offered an education of much more than the traditional music, emboridery, etc and was not without controversy. Birth Certificate of daughter Jane Isabella, gives William's occupation as Gentleman, and his residence as Chilton Hall. The registration district was Stockton and Sedgefield in the Sub-district of Sedgefield in the County of Durham. From 'History, Topography & Directory of the County Palantine of Durham', pub.1894: (page 280) Chilton Hall, an old and pleasantly situated house, one and a half miles from the station, is the residence of John Charles James Fenwick Esq, M.D. Samuel Lewis, in his Topographical Dictionary of England, 1845 (page 582) says: CHILTON, a township in the parish of MERRINGTON, union of SEDGEFIELD, S.E. division of DARLINGTON, containing 189 inhabitants. (There is more detail in the entry) Various correspondents on the Internet responded to my April 2000 enquiry about Chilton Hall. From them, I learned: Pevsner's 'County Durham' (Buildings of England seried) says: CHILTON HALL (C18, much altered and enlarged in the C19; Foric porch on the main front, rusticated door surround on the south front) is all that remains on the site of a deserted mediaeval village. (Thanks to Drew Reed) Howard Chadwick says that Chilton is now one place, although there used to be Great and Little Chilton which were mediaeval sites in that area. He says that the Chilton that now stands is a relatively modern place attached to the older Windlestone, and that the Hall is still there, having had a varied career: used during and after WW2 as a home for wounded/disabled servicemen. Lynn Knowles said that Chilton Hall is on the road which leaves Chilton going NE towards Chilton Lane, then Ferryhill Station. According to the book 'Memories of Chilton' by Barry Richardson, pub.Durham County Council, 1996, records show that in 1351 the Hall was owned by the Heron family. By the 1950s it was fairly decrepit when it was a home for wayfarers. Lynn added that the house was rather large but plain and set in parkland which had deteriorated, and that there was a big pond which was useful for collecting newts and tadpoles. Chilton itself, she said, is like a lot of places in the area - a pit village largely consisting of colliery and council houses. According to Kev Duncan, boring operations started on 'Great Chilton estate' in 1828m and on 'Little Chilton estate' in 1834. (OS grid reference for Little Chilton Hall is NZ301314 approx) Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 (per Ancetry.com) Bacon, William College: SIDNEY Entered: Michs. 1837 Adm. Fell-Com at SIDNEY, Aug 23, 1837, from Oxford. Matric. (Worcester College) May 3, 1831, age 18. 2nd s, of George, Esq., deceased, of Elvet, Durham. B. there Nov 2, 1812. School Kirk Hammerton, Yorks. (Mr Metcalfe). Matric. Michs. 1837. (Al. Oxon.) 1841 Census Township of Chilton, parish of Merrington (FHL film #0241350) ED 1 (Address indecipherable) William Bacon 25 Ind Yes (born in County) Jane Bacon 25 Yes John Bacon 1 Yes William Bacon 3 mths Yes Mary Bewley 15 Ind Yes Edward Hedley 25 M.S. Yes Elizabeth ? 30 F.S. Yes Jane Coulter (?) 21 F.S, Yes Hannah Lonsdale 19 F.S. Yes Elizabeth Graham 17 F.S. Yes NB This is from a very faint copy - the names of the servants may not be correct. 1861 'Census RG9/3737 ED.8b, Fol 32, p.8, sch.43 Crossgate, Durham (St Oswald) Brancepeth Road, (West House) Robert D Smith Head Marr 42 Fundholder DUR, Chester-le-Street (wife's brother) Margaret J Smith Wife Marr 46 LDN, Islington William Bacon Visitor Marr 48 Landed Proprietor Durham Brother-in-law Mary Marley Serv Unm 26 House serv DUR, Aycliffe 1871 Census RG ED.12, Fol.59, p.7, sch.27 East Coatham, Kirkleatham, Guisborough 19 Newcomen Tce William Bacon Head Marr 58 Iron Refiner, Head of Firm, Durham Employing 18 men & Landed Proprietor Jane Bacon Wife Marr 59 DUR, Chester-le-Street R C J Bacon Son Unm 20 Clerk to Wm Bacon & Co DUR, Chilton Hall R T Bacon Son Unm 19 Medical Student DUR, Chilton Hall Smith Croudace Neph Unm 19 Clerk to Wine Merchant NBL, Newcastle Ellen Noppy Serv Unm 21 (Domestic) Servant DUR, Hamsterley Mary A Muers Serv Unm 21 (Domestic) Servant NBL, Shoregate | Bacon, William (I951)
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| 74 | William Henry (1774-1836) Thomas Henry's son, William was born in Manchester on 12 December 1774. There is a record of the baptism of a Wm. Henry on 10 January 1775 at St Ann's Manchester, when his parents were named as Thomas and Mary Henry. The account which follows of William Henry's life is drawn largely from the biography [5] written by his son William Charles Henry. It is in the very formal style of the times and contains few details of his personal life. William sustained a serious injury as a boy when a heavy beam fell on him. This injury gave him pain all his life and limited his physical activity. As a consequence he was drawn to reading and study as his son relates: "His fortitude, while yet a child, in supporting the sudden paroxysms of pain, which were often so intense as to oblige him to rest in the streets, was most remarkable. In his efforts to banish the perception of his physical sufferings by an absorbing mental occupation, he manifested that energy of resolution and purpose, which throughout life compelled a feeble bodily frame to keep pace with the exertions of an ardent and unfatigued spirit." William's early education was from the Rev. Ralph Harrison who taught Latin and Greek. When an Academy was established in Manchester, Harrison was offered the chair of classical literature and William Henry, although under the usual age of admission, followed him there. Although competing with older pupils, in due course William won as a prize a copy of the works of Vergil. On leaving the academy he took an apprenticeship with Dr. Percival a physician and scholar. Dr. Percival suffered from poor eyesight and violent headaches. William Henry would read aloud to Percival and then take dictation. In this way he became familiar with Percival's correspondence with numerous men of science and literature. Percival guided William Henry in his reading of philosophy. In later life William looked back with great affection on his time with this eminent mentor. William remained with Dr. Percival for five years. Towards the end of this period he began to study disease at Manchester Infirmary under Dr. Ferriar. Teacher and pupil developed a strong relationship, so much so that in later years Ferriar asked William Henry to be his medical attendant in his final illness. In the winter of 1795-6 William went to Edinburgh to study medicine. In the 18th century only Anglicans could attend Oxford and Cambridge. Nonconformists able to afford university education in medicine went to Leiden in the early 18th century to study in the school made famous by Boerhave, a pioneer of clinical medicine. In the late 18th century Edinburgh provided the most modern medical education in Britain. Oxford and Cambridge remained in the classical tradition of learning the works of Galen, who had been physician to the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Contact with patients was not essential. The Royal College of Physicians was established to regulate the profession in London and restricted its membership to fifty fellows and fifty associates who had to be educated in Oxford or Cambridge. This measure was to counter the threat of Edinburgh educated men. When William Henry went to Edinburgh it was well known to be the premier university for medicine and science. As related by his son: "The chair of chemistry was still occupied by the venerable Dr. Black, whose discovery of the facts that establish the existence of heat in a latent form, and whose successful discrimination between the caustic earths and their carbonates, had raised him to the highest rank among chemical philosophers." Although attending primarily as a medical student, William Henry went to Black's lectures and his love of science was strengthened. He was also influenced by Dr. Gregory who held the chair of Practical Medicine. Following his time in Edinburgh, William joined his father, in medical practice in Manchester. He also helped to run the chemical business his father had established. His first contribution to science was made when he communicated a paper to the Royal Society in 1797. This was to try to establish that carbon was an element. In 1800, William published in the Philosophical Transactions some work on muriatic acid gas (hydrogen chloride). At that time it was believed that all acids must contain oxygen. Oxygen was named from the Greek for acid maker. By 1800 it was known that muriatic acid gas was produced when common salt was heated with sulphuric acid. This gas dissolved readily in water to produce muriatic or marine acid. By analogy with sulphuric and nitric acids, it was assumed that this must contain oxygen. Many attempts were made to remove the supposed oxygen from muriatic acid gas and William Henry came close to solving the problem some years before the matter was clarified by Humphrey Davy in 1810. William Henry experimented with muriatic acid gas by exposing it to repeated electrical discharges. When he conducted the experiment over mercury he obtained a reduction in volume. Hydrogen was produced together with a white solid which proved to be calomel (mercury I chloride). He repeated the experiments with a mixture of muriatic acid gas and oxygen when he obtained a greater reduction of volume. We can interpret this as caused by the decomposition of hydrogen chloride and the reaction of the hydrogen with oxygen to give water while the chlorine liberated combined with the mercury. When he performed the same experiment in the absence of mercury he found that chlorine was formed. As his son recounts: "It is manifest that these experiments, had they been justly interpreted, were sufficient to establish the true view of the composition of muriatic gas. Yet governed by the theory of acidification then universally prevalent, Dr. Henry referred the disengagement of hydrogen to the decomposition of water which was supposed to be still present in the muriatic acid gas even though it had been dried by a weeks' contact with fused chloride of calcium." However, when Humphrey Davy finally proved that muriatic acid gas was a compound of only hydrogen and chlorine, William Henry was quick to support him and in a paper written in 1812 supplied some supporting evidence. He showed that the same amount of hydrogen was produced from electrolysing muriatic acid gas whether it was dried or not. Moreover he found that if the gas was electrolysed in the absence of mercury and any unreacted hydrogen chloride removed by allowing it to dissolve in water, he obtained one hundred parts of chlorine and one hundred and forty parts of hydrogen. We now know that the volumes should have been equal but the solubility of chlorine in water is sufficient to account of the discrepancy. However, William went on to show that in the electrolysis of the gas over mercury, for each part by volume of hydrogen produced, two parts by volume of hydrogen chloride were consumed [6]. In 1803, William Henry reported his experiments on the absorption of gases by water at different temperatures and pressures. Initially he performed all his experiments at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. He showed that at higher temperatures less gas was absorbed. When he experimented at different pressures he discovered the law [7] that now bears his name. He showed for example that if the gas was compressed to twice the normal atmospheric pressure, twice as much was dissolved. William's physical health made it difficult for him to work in general practice and so he returned to study in Edinburgh in 1805 and was awarded the diploma of Doctor in Medicine in 1807. In addition to his medical studies he attended lectures on physical science and took in moral philosophy. At this time Edinburgh was attracting a wealth of talent among both teachers and students and the atmosphere was very stimulating. Among William's contemporaries was Roget, a medical man now best known for his Thesaurus and who, along with William Henry, became a member of the Portico Library in Manchester. On his return to Manchester, he continued his research into gases and in 1808 described in Philosophical Transactions equipment that would allow the combustion of larger quantities of gas than had been possible in the early tubes. In that year he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1809 he received the Copley medal from the Royal Society. The records of the Portico Library show that William Henry lived at 44 King Street at this period. He continued the type of experiments performed earlier to investigate the constitution of ammonia. He showed that dry ammonia when exposed to electric discharges doubled [8] in volume. By averaging the results from eight experiments he found the ratio was 100 to 198.78. He also found a way of analysing ammonia by subjecting it to an electric discharge with addition of oxygen in two stages to consume the hydrogen liberated in the production of water [9] . He found that if the whole of the oxygen was added at once, ammonium nitrate was produced and this prevented the complete breakdown of the ammonia charge. William Henry was very interested in the gases produced by the destructive distillation of coal and oil. He analysed their constituents and studied their suitability for lighting. He showed that such gases were a mixture of carbonic oxide (carbon monoxide), carburetted hydrogen (methane), hydrogen, olefiant gas (ethene) with some carbonic acid gas (carbon dioxide) and sulphuretted hydrogen (hydrogen sulphide). As a result he found himself at variance with some other authors who maintained that olefiant gas was the sole compound of carbon and hydrogen and that coal gas contained only a mixture of olefiant gas and hydrogen. In 1821 William Henry published in the Philosophical Transactions a proof of his original views. John Dalton, Humphrey Davy, Dr. Thomson and himself had all examined the gases bubbling to the surface in marshes and from coal mines and found them to be the same substance which they called carburetted hydrogen. William Henry then proceeded to show that carburetted hydrogen was different from olefiant gas by examining their reactions with chlorine. Carburetted hydrogen, in the absence of light, was not attacked by chlorine, whereas olefiant gas under the same circumstances was completely consumed. He thus had a means of removing olefiant gas from mixtures and after performing a set of experiments with known mixtures of various gases was in a position to perform analyses on unknown mixtures of coal and oil gases. In the best oil gas, forty percent was removable by chlorine while the best coal gas was reduced by only thirteen percent. He was not able at first to analyse in detail the composition of the remaining gas - a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. However he followed the work of Dobereiner who had shown the use of finely divided platinum in catalysing reactions of gases. William showed that at 340 degrees Fahrenheit, platinum would catalyse the reaction of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. There was no reaction under these conditions with his carburetted hydrogen (methane). By measuring the water and carbon dioxide produced he could estimate the original quantities of carbon monoxide and hydrogen and the remaining gas was methane. This he detonated in oxygen and showed that the products were water and carbon dioxide, thus proving that the gas was made up of carbon and hydrogen. During the course of this work he found that some gases reduced the power of the platinum catalyst. This was first observed about this time and first made public by Turner. In 1824 he published in Manchester Memoirs an essay on compounds of nitrogen in which he described an improved method for showing the constitution of nitrous oxide by detonating it with carbon monoxide. His son recalls very eloquently in his biography how the work on gases at this time was the cutting edge of chemistry. "At the period when Dr. Henry's interests were first awakened for philosophical pursuits, the rapid discovery by Priestley of several new gases, and the sanguine hopes inspired by Beddoes (discovery of nitrous oxide) of detecting in these subtle and hitherto concealed forms of matter powerful remedial agents, urged both physiologists and chemists to engage with ardour in pneumatic researches. Subsequent experience has demonstrated it is true, the unsoundness of these projects for enriching with new resources, the art of practical medicine. But the beautiful law, unfolded by the genius of Gay Lussac, that the gases combine in volumes which are either equal or multiples by an integral number, by establishing, when interwoven with the Daltonian philosophy, the existence of some simple relation between the number of atoms existing [10] in equal spaces of aeriform matter, has almost elevated the pneumatic chemistry to the dignity and exactitude of a mathematical science. It may be safely affirmed that Dr. Henry's habits of extreme mental accuracy, his unrivalled manual expertise and the general tendencies of his tastes towards elegance and precision, peculiarly qualified him to excel in conducting such delicate enquiries." William Henry did not entirely restrict himself to the chemistry of gases. He undertook analysis of various sources of salt. As his son admits, his views on the nature of heat as a form of matter had been eclipsed but his views on the decomposition by electricity were recognised by chemists such as Berzelius. The extent of his knowledge of general chemistry was shown by his text book [11] of chemistry, which became a standard work for students. The book was dedicated to John Dalton, the president of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. By 1829 it had passed through eleven editions. As a medical man, William Henry worked as a physician to the Manchester Infirmary and contributed articles to medical journals. He was particularly interested in diseases of the urinary tract. In connection with this he studied uric acid, analysed bladder stones and wrote an essay on diabetes. Although he had given up active participation in medicine towards the end of his career, his interest was stimulated by the arrival of Asiatic cholera in Europe. He showed the destruction of certain types of contagion by heating and communicated to the British Association his preliminary findings and ideas he had formed about contagious diseases from his extensive reading. Like many scientists in this period he was enthusiastic about classification. He was interested in botany and mineralogy and formed a collection of minerals specimens. This led him to the study of geology and shortly after the formation of the Geological Society of London he was elected a fellow. He was not engaged in original research in the field but had a keen interest in the field and continued to collect minerals and fossils in his later years. As he grew older he was less able to continue with active experimentation in chemistry but continued to maintain an interest in the science and in literature. He enjoyed travel books, biographies particularly of philosophers, poetry and music. In his later years when he was less able be active in research and his son records: "One of his designs was a work that should assemble the beneficent provisions in the Chemical Economy of Nature, which establish the existence and attributes of an All-wide Governor of the Material Universe." He also had in mind a project on the history of chemical discovery since the middle of the 18th century and collected notes on Scheele, Cavendish, Black, Priestley and Lavoisier. He published a biographical note on Priestley in the first volume of the reports of the British Association and intended it to be the first of a series on notable chemists. William Henry and John Dalton helped to found the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1831. In the final section of his account William Charles Henry states that it is not necessary to describe to his many friends a detailed portrait of his moral excellencies. However, we form the impression that he was somewhat shy and reserved with strangers, who often thought him cold. This is perhaps not surprising in a man with such physical infirmities since his youth. He appears to be a man who could not be induced to relax. He regretted that his lifelong struggle with pain and digestive disorders had reduced his capacity for scientific and literary creativity. Through the polished formal prose of his son, in the year that Queen Victoria succeeded to the throne, we glimpse William Henry but imperfectly. We learn nothing of his marriage or his family life. "In the general intercourse of society, Dr. Henry was distinguished by a polished courtesy, by an intuitive propriety, and by a considerate forethought and respect for the feelings and opinions of others - qualities issuing out of the same high-toned sensibility, that guided his tastes in letters, and that softened and elevated his whole moral frame and bearing. His comprehensive range of thought and knowledge, his proneness to general speculation in contradistinction to detail, his ready command of the refinements of language and the liveliness of his feelings and imagination rendered him a most instructive and engaging companion." In summing up his father's scientific achievements, William Charles Henry notes that his greatest contribution may have been his ingenuity in devising instruments and methods of research and by his skill in using them. He was tempted to speculate what his father might have achieved had he enjoyed more robust health and if he had not divided his efforts between medicine, chemistry and running the family business. However, such speculation is without value for had William Henry been more robust he might not have devoted his life to intellectual pursuits. Moreover his business interests in making soda water almost certainly led to his studies on the absorption of gases by liquids. William Henry's experiments with hydrogen chloride were sufficient to explain its chemical constitution but it was Humphrey Davy in 1810 who took the prize. Henry's work on gases might easily have led him to formulate the law that when gases react they do so in simple proportions by volume but it was Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850) the French chemist who grasped this truth. This principle, together with Dalton's work on atomic theory, led the Italian chemist, Amedeo Avogadro [12] (1776-1856) to his hypothesis that equal volumes of all gases under the same condition contain the same number of molecules. Avogadro then created the modern system of chemical formulae by appreciating that the formula for water must be H2O not HO as first imagined by Dalton. If William Henry did not stand in the first rank of the scientists of his age, he was close behind them. His work is still commemorated in Henry's Law and his text book influenced a generation of chemists in the first part of the 19th century. When we look at the summation of William Henry's interests in chemistry, botany, geology, medicine, literature and business, together with his role as one of the founders of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and as Vice Chairman of both the Literary and Philosophical Society and the Natural History Society of Manchester, we perceive that he was at the forefront of intellectual life in Manchester in a period when it becoming the first industrial city in the world. | Henry, William (I95)
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| 75 | Williamson was Captain Williamson at the time of the marriage. He became Major. He was CIE, ICS Bengal (according to the 1881 Census) | Williamson, William John (I41)
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| 76 | Wrote poetry | Hill, Richard John (I134)
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