This is the fourth part of our multipart series on the two-generation study of the Charles Hall Shearn family and the family of his father, Mark Hall Shearn. If you like, you can also read parts one, two, and three.
Eliza Smith was Charles' third and last wife. They were married for over thirty years. Eliza gave birth to two children and helped raise Charles' two oldest sons.
Charles Hall Shearn and Eliza Smith
Civil registration records showed Eliza Smith was born in late 1843 in Crediton, Devonshire.[1] The parish marriage record showed her father was a labourer named Thomas Smith. Eliza and Charles Hall Shearn were married on 3 June 1879 by banns in the parish church of Paddington, Middlesex.[2] Elizabeth Shearn, perhaps Charles sibling or sister-in-law, was a witness. Charles’ father Mark Hall Shearn was listed as a farmer. Charles’ occupation was house steward. His residence was Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square where he still worked for the Marquess of Lansdowne. Eliza’s occupation was not listed, but she was shown living at 15 Hyde Park Gardens, the same house where Charles had been the butler in 1861. If Eliza worked for the Sandemans she was not in the house on census day in 1861. A search for her, and a search for her father in the 1861 census did not return a record. She was found with her father and family in Morchard Bishop, Devonshire in the 1851 census.[3] She was 7 years old. The family lived at 32 Sharland. The household included Thomas, born about 1821; Mary, Thomas’ wife, a weaver serge, born about 1820; son George, born about 1840; son John, born about 1842; daughter Jane, born about 1846; and daughter Mary A, born about 1849. It is possible, maybe even likely, that at the age of 17, as Eliza would have been in 1861, she was working. Her connection with the Sandemans or 15 Hyde Park Gardens was unknown. When she began working there, and whether or not she was in the home at any time when Charles was butler, was not determined.
Eliza and Charles had two children together daughter Lilian and son Albert Henry.
Eliza and Charles had two children together daughter Lilian, born 1881; and Albert Henry, born 1882.[4] Lilian was baptized 6 August 1881 in the parish of Christ Church, Derry Hill, Wiltshire.[5] The family’s abode was Bowood and Charles was a steward. Albert Henry Shearn was born 1882 in Hanover Square.[6] Albert Henry’s baptism record was searched but not found. Lilian died in 1887 in the March quarter in Hanover Square.[7]
By 1881 Eliza was living with the kids and running a lodging house.[8] The house was at 17 Half Moon St, Hanover Square, Middlesex. The members of the household were
| Name | Age | Relationship to head of household |
|---|---|---|
| Eliza Shearn | 37 | Head |
| Charles J. H. Shearn | 22 | Step-son |
| Robert A. Shearn | 3 | Step-son |
| Joseph Smith | 28 | Boarder |
| Fanny Smith | 19 | Boarder |
| Eliza J. Skelton | 23 | Boarder |
| Patrick Budd | 28 | Boarder |
| Florence Budd | 19 | Boarder |
| Austin A. Walock | 38 | Boarder |
| Charles L. Grard | 44 | Boarder |
While Charles was running the house on Berkeley Square, Eliza and Charles James Hall Shearn were maintaining a sizeable boarding house.
By the census of 1891, Charles Hall Shearn was no longer working in service.[9] Perhaps he had retired. He was 61 years old and a lodging house keeper. Eliza was 47 years old, and Albert Henry was 8 years old. The house was at the same address as the 1881 census, 17 Half Moon Street, St Georges, Hanover Square. While there were seven boarders in 1881, there were no lodgers in the house in 1891, but there were four servants. They were Alice Trope, a 19 year old female; Ada Bibby, a 17 year old female; Henri Lause, a 23 year old male; and Thomas Head, a 14 year old male. There is no indication of the work they were doing.
Charles owned the property at 17 Half Moon Street and 34 Clarges Street, St George, Hanover Square, Westminster. The properties were in the same block sitting back to back.
If Charles owned the property at Half Moon Street he may have paid a poor law rate against it. Poor Law and Parish Chest records were searched for Charles Hall Shearn and the address 17 Half Moon Street. The search resulted in two properties that were owned by Charles. One property was at 17 Half Moon Street, St George, Hanover Square, Westminster.[10] The other property was at 34 Clarges Street, St George, Hanover Square, Westminster.[11] These properties are both in the same block. They sit basically back to back with Half Moon Street to the east and Clarges Street on the west. The “rateable value” was assessed at 184 each, presumably that was pounds sterling, though the record does not make it clear.
By 1901 the family had moved again.[12] What came of the properties on Clarges and Half Moon streets is not mentioned in the census record. Other records may offer some indication. In 1901 they lived at 46 Melford Rd, Camberwell, London. Charles was 68 years old, and Eliza was 57 years old. Albert Henry remained in the household, and he was 18 years old. Charles and Eliza’s niece Edith Smith was also living in the home. She was 15 years old. She was born in Bath, Somerset. The family was listed as living on their own means, which likely means they were living on savings or other income.
In the census of 1911, the family still lived at 46 Melford Rd, East Dulwich, Camberwell, London.[13] Charles was 78 years old and had been in his present marriage for 32 years. Eliza was 67 years old. Both were listed as retired. There was a visitor in the home on census day, Linda Newman, who was a 23 year old, single woman working as a shop assistant in a confectionary. She was from Surrey. Charles and Eliza also had a servant girl named Lucy Elizabeth Goldfinch. She was single and 18 years old.
Eliza died in 1912, Charles in 1921.
Eliza died about a year after the census in 1912 in Camberwell.[14] She was 67 years old. Charles Hall Shearn lived another nine years. There was no indication that he married again. He died on 23 December 1921 at 46 Melford Rd, Camberwell.[15] He was 91 years old. According to the doctor, he died primarily of old age, but he also had bronchitis at the time. The informant on his death certificate was his oldest son, Charles James Hall Shearn who lived at 35B Laudon Road, Forest Hill.
We can help you find your ancestors. When you're ready, get in touch!
Citations
[1] "FreeBMD Entry Information," index database with digital images (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?r=7349724:8170&d=bmd_1588661647 : accessed 15 May 2020), birth entry for Eliza Smith, December, 1843, Crediton, volume X, page 90, document 23.
[2] "London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 May 2020), Charles Hall Shearn and Eliza Smith, marriage 3 June 1879, document 41.
[3] 1851 census of England, Devon, Crediton, reference HO107/1886/F?, Eliza Smith, TheGenealogist.co.uk (thegenealogist.co.uk : accessed 20 June 2020); "HO107 1841/1851 Census Returns," The National Archives document 60.
[4] "Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 May 2020), Lilian Shearn, document 43. 1891 census of England, London, Hanover, St George, Registration District Mayfair, Enumeration District Christ Church, folio 131, page 30, Charles H. Shearn; imaged, “1891 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 May 2020); citing RG 12, piece 69, GSU roll 6095179, 1891 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 7.
[5] "Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 May 2020), Lilian Shearn, document 43.
[6] "FreeBMD Entry Information," index database with digital images (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?r=69442866:3376&d=bmd_1588661647 : accessed 15 May 2020), birth entry for Albert Henry Shearn, September, 1882, Hanover Square, volume 1a, page 399, document 17.
[7] "FreeBMD Entry Information," index database with digital images (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?r=78121456:7926&d=bmd_1588661647 : accessed 15 May 2020), death entry for Lilian Shearn, March, 1887, Hanover Square, volume 1a, page 307, document 28.
[8] 1881 census of England, London, Hanover, St George, Registration District Chelsea, Enumeration District 4, folio 96, page 46, Eliza Shearn; imaged, “1881 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 May 2020); citing RG 11, piece 95, GSU roll 1341021, 1881 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew document 6.
[9] 1891 census of England, London, Hanover, St George, Registration District Mayfair, Enumeration District Christ Church, folio 131, page 30, Charles H. Shearn; imaged, “1891 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 May 2020); citing RG 12, piece 69, GSU roll 6095179, 1891 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 7.
[10] "Valuation," Westminster, Poor Law And Parish Administration, database, FindMyPast (findmypast.co.uk : 13 June 2020), Charles Hall Shearn, 17, Half Moon Street, document 54.
[11] "Valuation," Westminster, Poor Law And Parish Administration, database, FindMyPast (findmypast.co.uk : 13 June 2020), Charles Hall Shearn, 34, Clarges Street, document 53.
[12] 1901 census of England, London, Camberwell, St Peter, Registration District Camberwell, Enumeration District 57, folio 70, page 39, household number 236, Charles H. Shearn; imaged, “1901 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 May 2020); citing RG 13, piece 503, 1901 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 8.
[13] 1911 census of England, London, Camberwell, Registration District 27, Enumeration District 04, Charles H. Shearn; imaged, “1911 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 May 2020); citing RG 14, piece 2454, 1911 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 9.
[14] "FreeBMD Entry Information," index database with digital images (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?r=129173735:7755&d=bmd_1588661647 : accessed 15 May 2020), death entry for Eliza Shearn, December, 1912, Camberwell, volume 1d, page 786, document 22.
[15] The National Archives Vital Records, death certificate, Charles Hall Shearn, 23 December 1921, document 34.
