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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Kent => Topic started by: dempstere on Friday 30 October 15 08:40 GMT (UK)
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Hi all
I have reached a dead-end in my search for the life story of Anna Maria Roby, daughter of Samuel Fasham Roby and Hester Reynolds. She was born in 1812, baptized in 1813, and her parents married in 1818. Her father died in 1823, leaving most of his considerable estate to Anna Maria, to be held in trust for her until she is 21.
She marries William Irwin Breslin in Dover in 1828, when she was 15 or 16 years old, and he about 10 years older. Thereafter, I can't find any records of children or her death. William Breslin died in November 1870, and I've found a record of a marriage of his daughter in June 1870.
Does anyone have records of descendants of Anna Maria and William Breslin, or a date of death for Anna Maria (Roby) Breslin?
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A William Irwin Breslin, 1 Fir Grove Place, Brixton Road, late Surgeon to the 46th Regt, died 20 December 1870, aged 70?
Is this "your" William?
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Yes, I think that is the correct William Irwin Breslin, although I didn't know his occupation. But I'm really looking for his wife, Anna Maria Roby.
Many thanks for replying
Edith
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If you didn't have his occupation I presume you haven't found him on the census ?
1851
William J Breslin MD , surgeon , b 1801 Femmnagh ( Fermanagh I think ) married
Emma L Breslin dau b 1834 Dublin
William is listed among the officers of the 46th Regt in the Garrison of Hull.
There is also an entry for him in the Probate Index so you could order his will to see what is revealed.
From the Dublin Observer 27 Apr 1833 :
" In Dublin , the 22nd instant, the lady of W J Breslin Esq , Queen's Royal Lancers , of a daughter "
If you Google him there are lots of references to his army career. Yes , I know you said it was his wife you were interested in , but in order to find her you may need to follow his movements.
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I've found something on TNA which I don't entirely understand :
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9074783
It appears to be to do with a lawsuit - Anna Maria Breslin the Plaintiff and William Irwin Breslin, Henry Wreight , Francis Roby Hammond and Emma Lockwood Breslin the Defendants ; dated 1837.
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If you have access to newspapers I should check for Breslin in 1834. It appears that Mr Breslin , an assistant surgeon of the 9th Lancers , brought an action against a Captain of the same Regiment , for seduction of his wife. I found a long report in 1834 detailing the case.The Captain was the son of a Scottish Baronet. I don't have time now to look further but the piece I saw was in the Wexford Conservative 13 Dec 1834.
Edit : Just to add quickly , she was said to be living with the Captain , as Captain and Mrs Campbell and to be expecting his child.
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This is very helpful, thank you. The court case would make sense, since the names are familiar to me, except the last defendant. Frances Roby Hammond is my 3g grandmother, and was half-sister to Anna Maria.
I will certainly follow up the newspaper article and the report of the court case. Many thanks for your help - this is getting more and more fascinating.
EdithSA
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You're welcome. The newspaper article I looked at was only one of many , so plenty to go at ! I also spotted an item on TNA when I searched just for Breslin which appeared to indicate that William petitioned to change his daughter's name to Irwin because of what had happened , but was refused !
Maybe the 1837 lawsuit was about Anna trying to get her inheritance released ? I couldn't find anything about that in the papers.
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Were Anna Maria and her father Samuel born or baptised in Deal? My records don't show either of them but there are Roby's and Robey's going back to the 1680's.
AJ
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Samuel was born in Deal, according to the Admission Records of the King's School in Canterbury, where he was a King's Scholar. Anna Maria was baptized in the Parish of ST George the Martyr in Middlesex. Samuel Fasham's father was also Samuel, which is a bit confusing. The family owned the manor house and estate of Great Mongeham, and I found a lot of detail about its history from searching Great Mongeham. I'm attaching the most helpful piece.
Samuel's will is very detailed, and gives explicit instructions in a codicil that he wanted to be buried in Faversham with his "dear Caroline". I haven't finished transcribing the will yet.
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Thanks for the attachment - I have a similar one with virtually identical information. It proves the Roby's moved in the higher circles - the Gentry - of the Crayfords and the Fashams.
I still cannot find Samuel Fasham Roby's baptism in Deal. That doesn't mean to say he wasn't born there, just baptised somewhere else.
I do have a marriage for what looks like his father. At St Leonard's 28/10/1756 Samuel ROBY to Anna Maria CHILD. There is also a marriage in 1728 for Edward ROBY to Elizabeth FASSOM (FASHAM) on 12/9/1728.
AJ
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I do have a record of Samuel Fasham's baptism in the Parish Church of Deal, which I found through ancestry.com. Likewise his sister, Frances Roby, who was baptized in the same church. Thank you for locating the marriages, these are indeed SF Roby's parents and grandparents. My opinion of SF Roby is seemingly confirmed by his mother's will (she died in 1808) in which she appointed her daughter Frances Roby as her executrix and left her entire estate to her. This despite the fact that SF was an attorney, as was his father.
I have finished transcribing SF Roby's will, apart from a section that is so badly damaged I can't read the words. Henry Wright and Edward Thompson were appointed executors, and had absolute control over his estate until Anna Maria turned 21. Thereafter, they had to hand over the estate to Anna Maria. I'm waiting for a quotation to get the transcript of the court case, because I'm sure it was related to the inheritance.
Your comment about Roby's being "gentry" is interesting - SF's conduct is anything but gentlemanly. Elizabeth Hammond, who was the mother of his first illegitimate child Frances Roby Hammond, was registered as a pauper in 1851. Frances Roby Hammond herself became housekeeper to a "gentleman" - Jacob Mills Davey - and had two illegitimate sons fathered by him. She baptized them at Ash in 1820, giving her name as Frances Roby and their names as Frederick Roby and Norris Fasham Roby. Her strategy (and her mother's strategy) of naming the children so as to identify them clearly as "Roby" did not work. She married Jacob Mills Davey in 1829, and the boys then took the surname Davey. They were very bright boys, both King's Scholars in Canterbury. Jacob, on the other hand, failed in business and was a declared insolvent. He spent time in jail early in the 1840's, and died in 1845, leaving all his possessions to Marianne Marshall, presumably his mistress. A year later, his elder son, Frederick, shot himself, leaving a suicide note with phrases scribbled on the outside including "Memories of childhood". I guess he grew up witnessing his mother's struggles. Norris Fasham Davey became a doctor in Romford, and had 10 children. The eldest, Norris Edward Davey, came to South Africa in the early 1870's after a furious row with his father. NE Davey's five children stayed in South Africa, and his eldest son, Norris Lewis Davey was my grandfather.
In the end, Frances Roby Hammond succeeded in breaking through the barrier between working class and professional class, and I admire her for her fortitude.
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That's a remarkably and extremely interesting family story to have. Thank you so much for posting it.
Kind Regards
AJ
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HI There,
Was researching Samuel Fasham Roby - died 1823 and I believe I have a picture of him as well as his wife, not sure how to contact you privately though.
With Kindest Regards
Colin