The following letters were sent to me in the 1990s by Eileen Luker, first cousin to Mabel Eleanor Read, They contain a great deal of genealogical and family history and legend. Close comparison of the letters is illuminating.
I don't know if you remember me — I'm your dad's cousin. Perhaps you remember "Aunt Ruth" my mother who died after years of senility some 12 years ago.
I heard from Roger last week & was kept up to date with my extended family. He did not give me your address but said you were doing something with computers at E.U. so I am chancing this may get to you.
Apart from old age (80) I am quite well although not as active as I once was. But my poor husband had a serious illness -- form of Parkinson's disease some six years ago & after a year when in the space of one day he started off to work a perfectly fit legal eagle with Taylor-Woodrow plc & by tea time had reverted to complete babyhood — a blow on the head getting into the car caused it. I had to cope for nearly a year when he was finally admitted to the Hospital for Nervous Diseases & had a brain operation. He is now mentally normal & can use the upper part of his body but his legs are badly affected & he can only shuffle about for short distances. But after all, he is 82 as we must be grateful for what we have — my family -- Sandra married 3 children (?) 19, 16 & 12 live at Billericay. Bernard (his daughter Victoria was befriended by Pamela when she was at Cheetham's Music School) She is hoping to be an opera singer & is finishing at the Guildhall School of Music. Bernard has two sons one farming & one in the Para's attatched to a Scottish regiment they live on the Isle of Arran. Pat, my baby (42!) has one son Matthew & they live in Herts. I am sorry to hear of Simon's problems. I had a friend who's son had the same complaint but she went, on my advice to the Homeopathic hospital & they put him on a controlled diet. He improved rapidly but if he eats anything "forbidden" he is all itches. There is an allergy history in my family on my mother's side & your grandmother was her sister. I don't know if that is anything to do with Simon's case & in any event, hereditary complaints come down through the females. So it would have been Peggy's (your Aunt) Children not your dad's.
This letter, really meant to wish you & family a happy Christmas, seems to have turned into a doctor's case book. If ever you find yourself this way, we'll be glad to see you. Sandra & her husband work with computers, she works for the W. Essex Health Authority & has floating responsibilty for a large area dealing with allocation of equipment. Martin works for the NSPCC — not on "cases" but collating material, etc. Well, all the best to you all --
Grandparents
William Charles Read m (2nd marriage) grandma (mine) 14 April 1884. His father was a builder of some repute -- built Bayswater Road House & Cumberland Hotel. WCR's first family:--
Edward & William Jnr. Bad hats, when grandfather went blind & his wholesale leather works (he made riding boots for "the nobs") started to fall off they laid their hands on as much as they could & William went to America, went from bad to worse & finally committed suicide about 1881. There were three daughters, Annie (Bucknell) lived in Westcliff about the time of World War I. Lucy (Bolt) also lived in Westcliff. I don't know when they married but he was named Phillip & was a Civil Servant. I know of this because they were Plymouth Brethren & my friend at school also belonged to this sect. Her elder sister Rosemary married Lucy's son Phillip who was a doctor — this came out in conversation as she was telling about the wedding & I knew I had a "step" cousin Phillip Bolt & we made enquiries. Phillip & Rosemary were killed together in the 1939 War by a bomb & left two children. I didn't know any more except I had kept in touch with that schoolfriend. The youngest sister May was the black sheep. After one still-born child out of wedlock about 1912, she married a sailor in 1915, had two children Percy & Lily. Family name McKenzie. They lived in Southend under rather squalid conditions as Amy's husband was killed in action in the 1st War & she lost a leg owing to an infection in childbirth. My own mother — her step sister, was the only one who would acknowledge her & we used to visit & help out financially.
Brothers Joseph builder & undertaker once lived 4 North St, Devizes, Wilts. son Jim daughter (?) married a missionary
William Plumber married daughter Ruby lived in High Road, Amersham Bucks, but not heard of for over 30 years
Mary m Frank Beavan. Antique dealer & furniture restorer lived until 1935 at Germayne St, Chesham, Bucks. Moved to Bedfordshire on retirement & both dead around 1940 & 1944.
I know I haven't come up with hard & fast dates & due to War etc it may be hard to trace but Devizes, Amersham & Chesham might produce results as long as established businesses were involved.
My Mother. Born 25th Feb 1885, died 2nd May 1989.
Bob (my husband) has traced his tree back to 5 generations but had the advantage of being part of a "brewing" family in Hampshire. Altogether we have a plan before & after Bob covering seven generations!
I came across your letter when having my (annual) turn out of all papers etc, I am sure I did answer it at the time but did I give you my mothers' dates (Ruth) 1885 — 1979 married Thomas Frederic August 22, 1912 one d. Eileen Audrey (me) b. 12 Aug 1913 & still going strong. I married Robert Arthur Luker 24 Aug. 1942 3 children. Bernard Jonathan b. June 30, 1944. Sandra Ruth b. 1st Nov. 1946. Patric James b. 22 Nov. 1948.
If you want further info. B married Ann Dorothy Mitchell 2 May 1969 d. Victoria Elizabeth b. 2nd Feb 1970. Gavin Vaughan b. 16 Aug 1972. Bruce Darnleigh b. 18 Jan 1975.
Sandra m. Martin Tipper Oct 18 1969. son Stephen Douglas b. 8 Aug 1972. d. Gail Ruth b. 25 Sept 1975. s. Robert Luke b. 23 May 1979 (Sorry about alterations, trying to take away respective ages from 1992.)
Patric m Teresa Cannon Sept 23, 1978. son Matthew b. 18 Aug 1979.
Reverting to William Charles Read. There were two other daughters Lucy m. Philip Bolt (no dates) Son Philip m. Rosemary Allen 1927. Both killed in bomb incident about 1943. I happen to know about this because it turned out that (young) Philip married the sister of my friend at school, which is how I got to know them.
William had a wholesale leather merchants business which was very profitable until one of his sons embezelled a lot of money, went to America & then committed suicide (date unknown but before he married Sarah Read).
There was another younger daughter Amy married name McKenzie who was a bit of a black sheep. My mother kept in touch with her as the husband was a sailor killed in the 1914 War. There were two children (supposedly) of that marriage. She died about 1929.
William Charles's (my grandfather) father was a builder & had something to do with building a Crescent of houses in Bayswater Road & also the Cumberland Hotel in London.
Sarah Elizabeth had several brothers & sisters who would be your great-aunts & uncles. Joseph was a builder & Undertaker & lived at 4 Northgate Street, Devizes Wilts around or up to 1926 when we lost touch. William was a plumber with a nice business in Amersham High Street Bucks. One daughter Ruby, died about 1934. May married Frank Bevan antique dealer & they lived in Germaine Street, Chesham Bucks round about the 1930s. No children. Joseph had several children, Gwen & Jim I knew as a child & they were older that I. Gwen married a missionary & went somewhere exotic like Samoa.
As I write this things come back to me. I can vouch for everything I have given you as to names & places & vaguely as to dates as my mother used to take me to Aunt Mary's (my & your great-aunt) several years running in the 1920's & we also went to Amersham.
Now my grandfather William (your ggf) had a sister & brother. There is an interesting sidelight on "Christian" ? morality. The Read family were members of a sect called Plymouth Brethren, an extremely ultra religious cult. Sometime at the turn of the century the Brethren had a doctrinal crisis. Some remained "Exclusive" which in effect forbade social contact with anyone not of that belief. Grandpa's sister Frances was Exclusive. Grandpa was "Open" — what nowadays is Elim Pentacostal. So it was a case of "The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans" as the Bible puts it. Frances (Newbeggin) had a daughter Winifred & round about 1930 my mother got in touch with them — they had mellowed. They then lived in Ilford, & Winnie was a teacher at Water Lane School Stratford (E London).
There might be sufficient clues in the jumble of information for you to trace William's & Sarah's descendants but not, I'm afraid, William's & Maria's.
I really have no information that is beyond things I overheard, or remarks my mother & your grandmother used to make — actually I have a total recall memory & what I know of Grandfather Reed's son who went to USA is from those hints. I do know that althouth William (grandfather) was religious, he drank heavily & gradually lost his sight so that his business declined. He had bought out his "boss" on marriage to Sarah, & made rather a name in handmade saddles, riding boots, etc. But by the time my mother was five he had practically lost his sight, and was totally blind when she was eight. It must have been about that period his son cheated him because mother used to say that when she was young they had a big house with servants, their own carriage etc, but "after the business lost so much money" things were bad, so that 3 years which you might work out from Mum's birthdate may be the time the son bolted.
You are right now I come to think of it. Annie Bucknell & Lucy Bolt were his two "posh" daughters. AMY was the blacksheep. I rather think grandfather was "Open" as his sister was, I know for a fact, "Exclusive" & always made him eat separately when he & grandmother used to visit. (Thou shalt not eat with unbelievers) & the Exclusives regarded the Open about the same as they did the heathen! Isn't Christian Charity wonderful! (Not knocking Christianity — I'm R.C.)
On Sarah's side did I mention her youngest sister Kate. From things I picked up as a child there was something odd about her death (when I was about five or six). She married an Alfred Morris & they lived in Romford. She never woke up after taking some sleeping tablets (double dose) but whether it was an accident or suicide (her husband was to say the least of it — unkind). They had two daughters, Gwen & Kate. Kate married someone called Earwaker, both rather mature so no children. I do know the Earwakers were living in Romford in the late 1940's as I visited them & they would have been in their late 40's early 50's. Incidentally, Kate was asthmatic, a complaint which has been passed down in the Stevens family, it missed my mother (Kate's niece) but I have it, also my eldest son has its mild form hay-fever. My asthma is "allergic". One of Sandra's Children also has the tendancy. I don't know if your grandmothers extended family has any signs.
I can dimly remember grandfather (William) as he was blind & Sara was by then very deaf. My parents moved into their house in Southend when the 1914 War broke out. After William had lost his sight, Sarah started a dress-making business & by the time my mother was eleven they had 25 workers & used to make rather higher class model gowns & Court presentation gowns for Debenham & Freebody's clients. Sara was losing her sight& my mother at eleven, but very tall & mature, left School to run the house. I think it was first of all in Forest Gate area. Your grandmother was "the clever one" and became a "pupil teacher" at Southchurch Road School progressing to be an "uncertified" teacher (no college education). She left after her marriage when your uncle John was expected. I know this family gossip doesn't get you much farther, but it is quite interesting & I don't know if your father ever knew any of it as Aunt Mabel was always conscious of the fact she was eight years older than Uncle Billy that a few vital years she conveniently obliterated. I'm sure she took some off her age to all except Billy. I suppose you have all "Stanier" information from your Dad.
I think I have dredged everything up from my subconscious except that I have a vague feeling that Sarah's sister Mary Beaven from Chesham moved to, died & was buried in Great Bedwin sometime between 1926 and 1930. But only a feeling. I know my parents went to the funeral & I was at the High School. I'm sure it was G Bed.
I don't know the exact date Aunt Mabel was fencing, but it must have been around 1920. She used to live with her Mother (Sarah Reed) in Southend & she taught in a local school. We moved in with them when I was about 2 (1915ish) & your Uncle John was born there. Mabel then went to B'ham when Uncle Bill left the Army because his job as a pipefitter took priority. He went as a civilian worker to Devonport. Mabel went to live in B'ham & I remember among some books she left with us, there was a fencing mask. I can always remember it from before I started school as I used to dress up in it. Mum told me Mabel won it for being a Champion Lady Fencer, & some silver foils. So that would have been about 1918 as I don't think she would have kept it up when John was on the way & they went to Brum first after.
I have snatches of recalling my mother mentioning my grandfather (your grandmother's father) William Charles had a father who was a master builder. Mother had an idea he was involved in building round the Bayswater Road (London) area, & also the Cumberland Hotel also in London. Grandfather has a sister Frances from whom he was estranged as they belonged to different sects of the Plymouth Brethren. Aunty was "closed" & grandpa was "open" which meant according to the old girl that he was "beyond the pale" & obeying the strict laws of her religion, she would not "sit down with sinners". So grandpa was banished to eat in the kitchen on the rare occasions they met. I do remenber as a child being taken to visit her in Empress Avenue, Ilford. There was another sister who lived in Stratford her daughter Winnie was a teacher and their surname was Newbiggen. I know they were there - at least Winnie was in the 1930's. Another sister was Annie (Bucknell) & another Lucy Bolt (Westcliff). Lucy had a son Philip who was killed in the 1914 War. There was a grand daughter Rosemary who married a doctor surnamed Allen. I know this as Lillah Allen was a schoolfriend of mine in Southend & we exclaimed over her brother marrying a second cousin of mine. Rosemary, husband & child (sex unknown to me) were killed in the bombing in WW II.
Grandma Sarah Elizabeth was his second wife, & I don't know how they met but I do know that to the best of my knowledge the marriage sertificate gave the same address for both of them, so whether they were both in the same lodgings, or she was his housekeeper, I can only imagine. Grandma's brothers:
Uncle Joseph in Devizes had children Gwen & Jim. Gwen married a missionary.
Granma Read had another sister Kate (Morris) who died about 1927. She had a daughter Kate (Earwaker) & lived in Romford & was still there in 1950+.
Bits and pieces keep coming back, but as I say, the Read family were Ilford, Stratford, Southend & Grandma Sarah (Née Stevens or Stephens) Bucks and Wilts.
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