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Unwanted Certificates & Artefacts / Re: Found: Gower-Rees Family Photo, from Bradford, Yorkshire
« on: Saturday 25 August 12 22:07 BST (UK) »
I can give you a bit more of Sarah Emily's story from what I've discovered about her own family, the Atkinson-Jowett's of Bradford. One of my great great grandmother's, Fanny Thornton, married Sarah Emily's father after his first wife died, and was Sarah Emily's step-mum.
Sarah's father was Nathan Atkinson-Jowett [abt 1841-1899] (not John as stated in the newspaper clipping), a gentleman,stone-merchant and farmer who lived at the Clock House, Manningham, Bradford. Nathan was the eldest son of James Atkinson-Jowett (1817-1886), who himself was the son of another Nathan. Both Nathans and James were actually born as Atkinsons. They changed their family name to Atkinson-Jowett by Royal Licence in the 1860's in order to claim a large property inheritance that had originally been owned by their Jowett ancestors and passed down another branch of the family until that line died out. That inheritance, collectively known as the Clock House estate, came to them as a result of a famous case in the Court of Chancery (where another descendant branch of the Jowett family was challenging the inheritance). Nathan senior was a farmer and milkman who died not long after his inheritance was confirmed but it made his son James instantly one of the wealthiest individuals in Victorian Bradford. He became one of the growing city's movers and shakers, investing in canals,railways and new universities, buying and selling land for development, building grand houses and churches, serving on the City Council and various charitable trusts as was customary for the leading businessmen of the day. James' eldest son Nathan married Mary Ann Booth in 1865 and they had seven children; Sarah Emily was the last-born circa 1881/2. Her mother died in 1885. Although Nathan and his family lived at the Clock House, Manningham (now part of Bradford Grammar School) he was not its owner. His father owned the property and paid his son an allowance from the estate income, which was vast. Under the terms of James' Will Nathan held the estate in trust until his own eldest surviving son John Atkinson Jowett (1871-1944) reached the age of 21 in 1892. John then inherited Clock House from his grandfather whilst his own father Nathan and his three youngest and unmarried children (Mary Ann, Alice Elizabeth and Sarah Emily) moved to a farm at Bentley, near Doncaster. My great great grandmother became the family's housemaid/nanny in 1886, shortly after Mrs Atkinson-Jowett had died, and moved to Doncaster with Nathan and the girls.
In 1893 Nathan and Fanny married and a son, James Atkinson-Jowett (Sarah Emily's step-brother) was born. Sarah's two older sisters married in 1894 (Mary Ann) and 1895 (Alice Elizabeth) leaving just Sarah and her step-brother James at home with Nathan and Fanny. Nathan died in 1899 and thereafter Fanny raised the children by herself until Sarah married Rev. Gower-Rees. Sarah and Albert would have met in Anglican Church circles when he was a young preacher in the Doncaster area, but they got married in the Parish Chuch at Bolton, Bradford, that her grandfather had built in the 1870's, and Rev. Gower-Rees then worked in the Bradford Diocese before moving to Canada.
Sarah' step-brother James went to Giggleswick School in 1906, an Anglican public school favoured by wealthy West Yorkshire families, and from there to Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1912 to read Theology with the intention of taking Holy Orders. He never completed his degree. The great war intervened and he was commissioned into the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI). He was killed on the Somme in 1916. By all accounts Sarah and James got on well together and Sarah was a beneficiary of his Will. Likewise Sarah,who had been raised by her step-mum from the age of four until shortly before her marriage, and her daughters were beneficiaries of Fanny's Will after she died in 1929.
If there are any Atkinson-Jowett's alive today they will be descendants of Sarah's uncle John Hodgson Atkinson-Jowett. Although she had four brothers and one step-brother they all died without issue. James (b.1868) died in an accident when three years old. Nathan (b.1869) died in an asylum in 1903. Samuel (b.1870/1) married and farmed in Nottinghamshire but died in 1909 leaving one daughter. Her step-brother James was killed in WW1. Only her older brother John (and her two married sisters) remained alive after 1918. John mainatained the lifestyle of a wealthy Edwardian gentleman, bred champion bulldogs, travelled the world and died unmarried in 1944.
The death of Mary Gower-Rees last year probably brought the story of this particular Atkinson-Jowett and Gower-Rees line of descent to a close. Sarah's sisters both had children (their married surnames were Sutcliffe and Denby) but I've not researched those lines yet.
Thank you for putting the picture of Sarah and her children on the internet. I can see a distinct family likeness with pictures I've got of her step-brother James. Pictures bring history alive.
Sarah's father was Nathan Atkinson-Jowett [abt 1841-1899] (not John as stated in the newspaper clipping), a gentleman,stone-merchant and farmer who lived at the Clock House, Manningham, Bradford. Nathan was the eldest son of James Atkinson-Jowett (1817-1886), who himself was the son of another Nathan. Both Nathans and James were actually born as Atkinsons. They changed their family name to Atkinson-Jowett by Royal Licence in the 1860's in order to claim a large property inheritance that had originally been owned by their Jowett ancestors and passed down another branch of the family until that line died out. That inheritance, collectively known as the Clock House estate, came to them as a result of a famous case in the Court of Chancery (where another descendant branch of the Jowett family was challenging the inheritance). Nathan senior was a farmer and milkman who died not long after his inheritance was confirmed but it made his son James instantly one of the wealthiest individuals in Victorian Bradford. He became one of the growing city's movers and shakers, investing in canals,railways and new universities, buying and selling land for development, building grand houses and churches, serving on the City Council and various charitable trusts as was customary for the leading businessmen of the day. James' eldest son Nathan married Mary Ann Booth in 1865 and they had seven children; Sarah Emily was the last-born circa 1881/2. Her mother died in 1885. Although Nathan and his family lived at the Clock House, Manningham (now part of Bradford Grammar School) he was not its owner. His father owned the property and paid his son an allowance from the estate income, which was vast. Under the terms of James' Will Nathan held the estate in trust until his own eldest surviving son John Atkinson Jowett (1871-1944) reached the age of 21 in 1892. John then inherited Clock House from his grandfather whilst his own father Nathan and his three youngest and unmarried children (Mary Ann, Alice Elizabeth and Sarah Emily) moved to a farm at Bentley, near Doncaster. My great great grandmother became the family's housemaid/nanny in 1886, shortly after Mrs Atkinson-Jowett had died, and moved to Doncaster with Nathan and the girls.
In 1893 Nathan and Fanny married and a son, James Atkinson-Jowett (Sarah Emily's step-brother) was born. Sarah's two older sisters married in 1894 (Mary Ann) and 1895 (Alice Elizabeth) leaving just Sarah and her step-brother James at home with Nathan and Fanny. Nathan died in 1899 and thereafter Fanny raised the children by herself until Sarah married Rev. Gower-Rees. Sarah and Albert would have met in Anglican Church circles when he was a young preacher in the Doncaster area, but they got married in the Parish Chuch at Bolton, Bradford, that her grandfather had built in the 1870's, and Rev. Gower-Rees then worked in the Bradford Diocese before moving to Canada.
Sarah' step-brother James went to Giggleswick School in 1906, an Anglican public school favoured by wealthy West Yorkshire families, and from there to Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1912 to read Theology with the intention of taking Holy Orders. He never completed his degree. The great war intervened and he was commissioned into the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI). He was killed on the Somme in 1916. By all accounts Sarah and James got on well together and Sarah was a beneficiary of his Will. Likewise Sarah,who had been raised by her step-mum from the age of four until shortly before her marriage, and her daughters were beneficiaries of Fanny's Will after she died in 1929.
If there are any Atkinson-Jowett's alive today they will be descendants of Sarah's uncle John Hodgson Atkinson-Jowett. Although she had four brothers and one step-brother they all died without issue. James (b.1868) died in an accident when three years old. Nathan (b.1869) died in an asylum in 1903. Samuel (b.1870/1) married and farmed in Nottinghamshire but died in 1909 leaving one daughter. Her step-brother James was killed in WW1. Only her older brother John (and her two married sisters) remained alive after 1918. John mainatained the lifestyle of a wealthy Edwardian gentleman, bred champion bulldogs, travelled the world and died unmarried in 1944.
The death of Mary Gower-Rees last year probably brought the story of this particular Atkinson-Jowett and Gower-Rees line of descent to a close. Sarah's sisters both had children (their married surnames were Sutcliffe and Denby) but I've not researched those lines yet.
Thank you for putting the picture of Sarah and her children on the internet. I can see a distinct family likeness with pictures I've got of her step-brother James. Pictures bring history alive.