Christening of Henry Huskisson
Henry Huskisson
Henry Huskisson was
born in 1817 at 23 Porter Street, St. Anne's, Soho, Westminster and was christened at St. Giles in the fields, Middlesex on July
20, 1817.
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|
Christening of Henry Huskisson |
Though he spent most of his life as a
'Surgical Instruments Maker' he trained to be a 'Spur Maker'. This had been the
occupation of his Father, John Huskisson, who'd died in 1820.
According to Henry 's apprenticeship indenture - transcribed below, he was taught by Alfred Greener who was undoubtedly related to Henry's mother; her maiden name also being Greener.
Henry's father John Huskisson may well have worked with, or for, Alfred Greener.
Henry's indenture indicates:
-
His apprenticeship was to be with Alfred Greener of 13, Denmark Street, St.
Giles in the Fields, Spur Maker
- The term of the apprenticeship was to be
(backdated) from February 13, 1829 for a period of nine years. The indenture was
signed by Henry and 'his master' Alfred Greener on October 8, 1829.
- He was living with his mother at 7, Chapel Place, (*Crown Street), Soho,
Westminster. *Chapel Place began at
- He was 'one of the poor boys lately of the Charity School of St Anne'. His
apprenticeship was financed by the school.
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| This indenture witnesseth
that Henry Huskisson (now living with his
mother at No 7, Chapel Place in the Parish of St Anne within the liberty
of Westminster in the county of Middlesex), one of the poor boys lately
belonging to the Charity School of the said parish by and with the
consent and approbation of the trustees of the said school doth put
himself Apprentice to Alfred Greener of No 13 Denmark Street in the
Parish of Saint Giles in the Fields in the County of Middlesex, Spur
Maker, to learn his Art of a Spur Maker and with him (after the manner of
an Apprentice) to serve from the Thirteenth day of February now last
past unto the full end and Term of Nine Years from thence next
following, to be fully; complete and ended. During which Term, the said
Apprentice, his said master faithfully shall serve, his Secrets keep, his
lawful Commands every where gladly do. He shall do no Damage to his said
Master nor see it to be done of others, but that he to his power shall
let or forthwith give warning to his said Master of the same he shall
not waste the Goods of his said Master nor lend them unlawfully to any,
he shall not commit Fornication nor contract Matrimony within the said
Term he shall not play at Cards, Dice, Tables, or any other unlawful
Games whereby his said Master may have any loss with his own Goods or
others during the said Term without licence of his said Master he shall
neither buy nor sell he shall not haunt Taverns nor Play-houses nor
absent himself from his said Master's Service Day nor Night unlawfully.
But in all things as a faithful Apprentice he shall behave himself
towards his said Master and all his during the said Term. And the said Alfred Greener in consideration of the faithful services of the said Henry Huskisson and also in consideration of the sum of Two Pounds now paid him out of the funds of the said Charity School by The Reverend Dr McLeod the Treasurer the Receipt whereof he doth hereby acknowledge and also in consideration of the Sum of Two Pounds to be paid him when the said Henry Huskisson shall have served half the term of his apprenticeship his said Apprentice in the Art of a Spur Maker which he useth by the best means that he can shall teach and instruct or cause to be taught and instructed Finding unto his said Apprentice sufficient Meat, Drink, Clothes, Washing, Lodging and all other necessaries during the said Term. And for the true performance of all and every the said Covenants and Agreements either of the said Parties bindeth himself unto the other by these presents IN WITNESS whereof the Parties above named to these Indentures interchangeably have put their Hands and Seals the Eighth Day of October in the Tenth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Fourth by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King Defender of the Faith and in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and twenty nine. Henry Huskisson Alfred Greener Signed Sealed and delivered in the presence of William F. Martyn Clerk to Messrs Allen & Co Solicitors 17 Carlisle Street, Soho. |
The Christening records for six of the children of Alfred Greener (all on November 25, 1838) indicate that Alfred, recently deceased, had been a Surgical Instrument Maker. Though Henry trained to be a Spur Maker, he inevitably also learned Surgical Instrument Making from Alfred; maybe even taking over the entire business after Alfred's death in about 1838.
Henry was a witness to a crime and made a statement at the Police Office, Great Marlborough Street on 26th June 1835. A scan of the original file can be downloaded below, and is followed by a transcript of the original handwriting.
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| MIDDLESEX to wit. ) The
Information of Henry
Huskisson - Ann Mary Penney and Thomas Stewart Roger taken before Me John Edward Conant Esquire One of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace in and for the County of Middlesex, at the Police Office, Great Marlborough Street, this 26th Day of June One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five, upon the Examination and in the Presence and Hearing of JOHN MORGAN then and there charged with Felony. And the said Henry Huskisson being Sworn says that I am a Spur maker and lodge at No 7, Chapel Place, Crown Street, Soho. On Monday the 8th instant between 12 and 1 o'clock at noon I was walking in Porter Street, Soho when I saw the prisoner cross the road and walk up to the shop of Mrs Penney and he took a brass shovel, tongs and poker from inside the shop and put them on this shoulder and walked away with them into Princes Court and then ran away and I lost sight of him and then went and informed Mrs Penney. Henry Huskisson Statements by Ann Mary Penney and Thomas Stewart Roger follow (see scan of original document - above) |
Henry's First Marriage
Henry married Catherine Barrick (daughter of James Barrick)
on October 20, 1839 at the Parish Church of St. Andrew, Holborn. Catherine
died within 4 years of the marriage at Kent Lunatic Asylum.
| Establishing Catherine's date and cause of death has proved
to be very difficult. For a long time I had been aware of a Catherine
Huskisson who, according to her death certificate, had died on June 28, 1843 in
the Kent Lunatic Asylum. Her
age at death was 32 and she was the wife of a 'Cutter', though her
husband is not identified on the certificate. A 'Cutter' could be the occupation of anyone who works with scissors, knives or any tool that involves cutting. Our Henry Huskisson's occupation is always indicated in original documents to be a 'Surgical Instrument Maker', so I presumed that the Catherine Huskisson on this death certificate was not Henry's wife at all. Indeed, the KENT location of her death also didn't sit comfortably with the 1841 census which shows Catherine and Henry living in St Giles in the Fields, London. Nevertheless, I decided to investigate further; reasoning that Surgical instruments are likely to be knives and scissors and that there could have been some confusion as to Henry's occupation when his wife's death certificate was issued in Maidstone. Henry may have been at their London home at the time and unavailable for consultation. Kent County Lunatic Asylum was located at Barming Heath in East Barming, Maidstone, Kent. In more recent times, it became known as Oakwood Psychiatric Hospital but has since been converted into residential property. Miraculously, many of the original patients' admission registers from the Lunatic Asylum survive including that which applies to the Catherine Huskisson whose death certificate I had examined.
Much of what is written in the document convinces me that this is indeed OUR Catherine, the 1st wife of Henry Huskisson. The evidence is set out below: - Unlike on her death certificate, Catherine's husband is actually named as HENRY Huskisson. - His occupation is shown to be a "Cutler" (not 'Cutter'). On closer examination of the death certificate, the word 'Cutler' can easily be misread as 'Cutter' because the line that crosses the 't' in Cutler also crosses the next letter 'l' . There are many references to the trade of "Cutler & Surgical Instrument Maker" in trade directories and census returns from the 19th century. - The dates fit well for this to be OUR Catherine. Only one Catherine Huskisson is recorded in the Civil registration death indexes and the possibility of there being another Catherine Huskisson with a husband by the name of Henry who had the same trade as our own Henry Huskisson seems almost impossible. Consider the sequence of events from the marriage of Henry Huskisson & Catherine Barrick to the death of Catherine and the subsequent marriage of Henry to his second wife, Jemima Greener...
However, some questions remain: - WHY were Henry and Catherine in Kent when their home was in St Giles in the Fields? - Knowing that Catherine had previously spent 6 months in a Hanwell Asylum (also very far from her home), why did she not return to the same asylum after the 2nd 'attack' instead of going to Maidstone? - The admission details to the Kent Lunatic Asylum also suggest some confusion as to Catherine's true Parish of origin. She was previously 'confined to Greenwich Union' (Why?) but a note reads: "W. Stronger R. C. states that he has every reason to believe the above patient's parish is St Mary, Lambeth....." furthermore, Henry's address is clearly shown as No 5, Randall Place, Roan Street, Greenwich. But Henry spent his life before and after these events in London, (Soho, St Giles in the Fields, and St Pancras). - Only 3 months after Catherine's death, Henry was back in Soho where he married Widow Jemima Greener on September 24, 1843. Jemima's husband had died sometime between July - September 1842. |
Henry's Second Marriage
Henry married Jemima Greener (born 1812) at the Parish Church of St. Anne, Soho, Westminster, Middlesex on September 24, 1843. Jemima's maiden was 'Cooke', and she already had five children from her first marriage to George Greener, a french polisher, born in London about 1811. Again, George Greener surely must have been related to both Henry's mother (maiden name, Greener), and Alfred Greener with whom Henry had served his apprenticeship.
George Greener and Jemima's children were:
| Harriet Ann Greener
(b. December 6, 1832 and
married William Palmer on April 20, 1854 in St Pancras) George James Greener (b. October 5, 1834 and married Emily Carpenter bet. April - June 1860 in Holborn) William Thomas Greener (b. September 18, 1836 and married Emma Gilderson on February 16, 1864 at Old Church, St Pancras) Charles Henry Greener (b. August 2, 1838) Ann Rosomond Greener (b bet. April - June 1840 and died bet. April - June 1842 in Pancras) Mary Jemima Greener (b. March 17, 1842). |
Henry was step-father to the surviving children and with Jemima had six more of their own.
Shortly after Henry and Jemima's marriage, the family moved to 8 Brill Place, Somerstown, St Pancras. The earliest reference to this address is on the death certificate of Henry and Jemima's first daughter, Elizabeth Hannah Huskisson who died on December 10, 1845. The latest reference is the 1871 census. 8 Brill Place was therefore the family home for at least 25 years.
In the 1861 census, Jemima was working as a nurse to a new born baby in the household of Robert D. Bennett, 49 Judd Street, St Pancras.
Henry died at 22 Charrington Street, Somerstown, St. Pancras on April 20, 1881. According to his death certificate, he died of chronic gout/ articular chronic bronchitis, and cerebral effusion.
Jemima died of 'Senile Decay' on May 10th 1897 at 1 Rodney Place, Islington (the home of her illegitimate grand-son, Albert Henry - son of Catherine Emma Huskisson).
Parish Church of St. Anne, Soho where Henry married his 2nd wife, Jemima Cook in 1843.
