The Diary of Nathaniel Bryceson (Part 8)

[dee-jay]

Am I glad I didn't trip over this thread until yesterday?  You bet I am!  As a consequence I've been able to access the diary from the start and I couldn't put it down - so to speak!

I've only a couple of observations to make:  those trysts in public were hardly likely to raise an eyebrow, other than of police officers suspicious of physical interaction between a young man and a middle-aged woman, but in days when chaperons were usually in attendance to protect virtuous women, I find it hard to believe that Nathaniel would have been so innocent to think his nefarious activities were unknown by relatives living in the same house .....

[alpinecottage]

Nathaniel always "has Ann up" on a Sunday afternoon, and it has crossed my mind before now that maybe his Granny and other close relatives were always out on a Sunday afternoon, say at chapel, and he knew the coast would be clear then.  On the couple of occasions when Ann has bumped into granny on the stair, I wonder if chapel or whereever finished a few minutes early or Nat and Ann were running a few minutes late 

[dee-jay]

Hmmm - my understanding was Sunday evenings and a close encounter firstly with his mother and Mattie, in July, and not until October with Granny ... 

Can't wait for Sunday .... 

[dee-jay]

Please excuse a newcomer if it's already been 'discussed' but has anyone else picked up on the subservient role revealed:
Fri 06-Feb   Took walk with Ann in the evening through Clare Market etc.  Old Granny Shepard has been at her today about so many small matters.

With all your wonderful findings, it now seems likely that Granny Shepard operated her own mangle, possibly passed on to Mary Kennington, and that Ann Fox was gainfully employed in laundry work initially for Granny and then Mrs Kennington?  There is a possible Ann Fox in 1861 at Marylebone Workhouse [RG09 piece 76 folio 115 page 17] recorded as a widow with the occupation of laundress and birthplace Welwyn Hertfordshire.  Worthy of more 'sleuthing'?

The diary reveals that Nat and Ann were already 'walking-out' at the beginning of the year.  At that stage all the main characters appear to be located in Stephen Street:  had Granny got wind of it and could that be why she opted to move into rooms with Nat?

[Siamese Girl]

I'm not sure that there is any evidence that Granny Sheppard was a laundress 

I like today's entry. This is a real slice of everyday - if funerals and births can be described as everyday-  life.

The Mitchell baby had a very odd name Deaines (Deanies on Free BMD)  Elizabeth Mitchell d/o George and Eliza of Richmond Buildings. He was described as a plasterer. Baby born 15 November and baptised 19 November 1846 at St Pancras Camden. There is a death registered for a Deanies Elizabeth Mitchell aged 40 St Georges Hanover Square March 1889 , so perhaps she never married. I can't find Joseph Richards burial in the Ancestry records, but perhaps that's because he was buried in St Giles Cemetery not churchyard, and I'm not sure about cemetery records being on Ancestry.  His death is registered on FREE BMD.

Carole

[dee-jay]

I'm sure I read in one of the threads that Granny Shepard was found in the workhouse in 1851 with occupation 'mangler'?

[Ruskie]

I don't recall Nat making any comment about Granny Shepard being a laundress/mangler, however dee-jay, you are correct that she is listed as one in the 1851 census. I suppose it is possible that this is something she took up after 1846 to make ends meet. 

1851 census
Tottenham Court
Strand Union Workhouse
Mary Shepard, wid, 80, mangler b Warwickshire, Birmingham
(There are 26 pages of inmates in this institution)

1851 census
27 Stephen Street
Cock Family
John Burns
Mary Elizth Kennington, unm 63, mangling, b Middlesex, St James Piccadilly
Ann Fox, 49, Charwoman, b Middlesex, Queen St

Nov 20th 1851
Parish of St Pancras
Mary Shepard buried, age 80, abode: Infirmary

There does seem to be some manglers within the circle of friends/family, so I would say any lead on Ann Fox would be worth chasing up.  I would think that many of these women's occupations would be interchangable eg charwoman/mangler? Also thinking about a couple of the gifts that Ann gave Nat - a handkerchief for example, may have been pilfered from the laundry basket. Jumping to conclusions here of course, but stranger things have happened. 


I also loved Nat's 'Sunday' entry - with the precise details about the coffin etc.

[Ruskie]

TODAY'S ENTRY!!!! 

What a revelation!

[Daisy Loo]

agghhhh!  Haven't been receiving notifications, so  missed out on loads I see...off to see today's entry Ruskie!