Category: Palmer

RIP Easy IGI Searches Online

I found this unfinished post just ‘laying around’ which reminded me just how much I miss the old IGI search on the Family Search website.  Not quite sure about their reasoning but in their attempt to improve, they basically made it worse.  I’m not going to moan about something that is provided for free but I just… miss it.  

Here is the old post (with a couple additions) which seemed to be a HOW TO FIND ANCESTORS BORN BEFORE 1837 or a recount of how I came to a conclusion but I’m not sure what I was trying to prove. It may be of some use to someone:

Thomas PALMER is listed on his son’s marriage certificate 1848 as a ‘Bookseller’:

A search of the IGI online (after census searches of son George’s approximate age) now identifies his wife as Ruth (and locale as Portsea):
The original baptism entry in the Saint John’s Chapel, Portsea parish registers gives further confirmation these are the correct people, as Thomas’ occupation is listed as ‘Book Binder’ (same field of work – books):
Back to the IGI to search for the marriage of Thomas and Ruth, which gives her maiden name as Ruth WRIGHT (married in Saint Mary’s Portsea):
This makes it easier to search the census records which then give me approximate birth dates for Thomas and Ruth.  Parish records can now be searched for the marriage (possibly more information); their own births/baptisms and other children of the marriage.
Next Steps:
Find copy of Thomas & Ruth’s marriage entry in the Saint Mary’s, Portsea parish registers
Find copy of Thomas & Ruth’s baptism entries in Chichester, Sussex (church unknown)

Murder in the Family II

(See original post here.)

Another message from my husband’s aunt seems to indicate the belief that Eliza Tharm is the ancestor in question:

“this Eliza Tharm isn’t a direct ancestor but down the line from either a brother or sister of one of our direct ancestors.”

I had come across Eliza in my initial research as she was famously the maid living at Dr. Palmer’s house who became Palmer’s mistress after his wife’s death.
Staffspasttrack.org.uk says that Eliza gave birth to an illegitimate son in the Palmer House and this child was sent to be cared for by a ‘nurse’. It was claimed that Palmer sent for the young child saying that he wished to see that the child was well.

Sounds very much like the story originally given to me (see here) but that seems far too easy.  If Palmer really was the rogue he was rumoured to be, there was sure to be other mistresses and possibly more illegitimate children.  Google Books have available a copy of Illustrated Life and Career of William Palmer of Rugeley.  I have yet to read it but a skim through revealed this snippet on page 55:

Some time after his marriage, William Palmer had an illegitimate child by a Rugeley woman, of the name of Jane Mumford, and he had, in consequence, to pay for its keep. It is related that this child, a little girl, was brought to him that he might satisfy himself that it was still alive; he saw the child, and sent her home again. Shortly afterwards she died.

Sounds tragically familiar…

Murder in the Family

I’ve just returned from an impromptu family history journey to the midlands (which I’ll post about later) and found a message from my husband’s aunt:

I was telling Dad about the mistress of Dr Palmer the poisoner being one of our rellies. The one that had a child by him and sent him to stay with Dr Palmer and the unfortunate child was killed by him. Do you have any information on that?

I certainly do not but I’m keen to know more!

Dr. William Palmer was born in Rugeley, Staffordshire in 1824.  He was hanged for the murder of John Parsons Cook, but is also believed to have poisoned his mother-in-law, wife and four of their five children as well as many others.  He became known as “The Rugeley Poisoner” and “The Prince of Poisoners” but there is still some doubt as to whether he was guilty of any of these crimes.
When I asked my husband if he knew anything about this, he said that his grandfather told him that his grandfather was taken by his father to see the hanging but he wasn’t 100% certain.  I did some immediate checking of facts and if that story is true (about seeing the hanging), it would have been his great grandfather, Charles, who was taken by HIS father, Jonathan RICHARDS.  This Charles was born in Rugeley, February 1851 and would have been 5 years old when taken on this grisly day trip –  Dr Palmer was hanged at Stafford on the 14th June 1856.
If the ‘mistress story’ is true, then she may have been a sister of Jonathan or his wife Ann LEES but I don’t have any other information at hand so at this stage it could refer to anybody.  The Staffordshire Past-Track website seems to acknowledge that Dr Palmer was “overly fond of the ladies” so this story has some merit.

 

I had come across Dr Palmer before – close followers of my blog will recognise my ties to the PALMER surname and I had previously come across ‘the good doctor’ in my search but found no connection.  It would be very interesting to find a family connection after all – even through the back door (so to speak).

If you would like to know more about Dr Palmer, please visit the Staffordshire Past-Track website (also the source of the above image) and WilliamPalmer.co.uk.

(image on the right of Dr Palmer’s prison cell from the National Library of Medicine site).

Workhouse Call

Read 1st part here and 2nd part here.

It took some time (and a bit of money) for me to find the right George PALMER’s death certificate. I am now quite sure this is the correct one as the age, occupation and location fit.

George Palmer’s death certificate – 29th October 1896

After an eventful life, George died in Westminster Union Workhouse. How did he end up there?

Note that George died of ‘Senile Decay’. Does this mean I have another lunatic on my hands?

Ancestry UK now has London Poor Law records available to view online. I searched the Westminster Union ‘Register of Lunatics’, which thankfully has a surname index and found there were no PALMER lunatics between the years of 1890 and 1898.

Unfortunately the ‘Admission and Discharge Book’ does NOT have a surname index. Using George’s date of death, I found his ‘discharge’ (death).

October 1896 Westminster Union Workhouse ‘Admission and Discharge Book’

George died on Thursday, October 29th 1896. His last meal was breakfast and his diet was described as ‘class 2’ (The Workhouse site explains the class of diet from 1900 onwards but I have yet to find a key to the Westminster Union classes in 1896).

The 1891 census for Westminster Union Workhouse contains a George Palmer of the same age, occupation and county of birth as mine:

George PALMER on the 1891 census in Westminster Union Workhouse

Presuming the George on the 1891 census is mine (the town of birth is listed as Winchester, Hampshire whereas all the other information that I have, states that George was born in Portsea, Hampshire), I have a window of 10 years in which to search for his admission.

Considering there is no surname index, this is a bit of a tedious task as I have to trawl through each page in the book for his surname – wish me luck!

Future House Call (Using Google Street View)

Read 1st part here.

After his second wife died, George seemed to move around, lodging at various places in London. His marriage to second wife Emily FELLA was so short that it didn’t feature in any of the censuses (they married in 1873 – she died in 1875). Luckily for me, Emily’s death certificate lists George as the informant and his residence as 54 Swinton St, London (Emily also died here).

Death Certifcate of Emily Jane FELLA -1875

A quick search of Rumsey’s site informs me that houses still exist at this site:

I am aware that house numbers changed at some time in the past and need to check that number 54 Swinton St today is the same number 54 Swinton Street of 1875. Even so, it’s another address for me to visit when I’m in London. I like being able to get a feel of how my ancestor’s lives may have lived.

I used Google’s street view for a quick peek at the area. (Click and drag the orange man on to the map and use the on screen tools to have a look around.)

Did the PALMERs live (and in Emily’s case, die) in these buildings:

Or these?

 

Read 3rd part here.