An 1870's burial of Alice KERSHAW, 69, formerly of 14, Charterhouse Square, in Sheffield

[Keith Sherwood]

Jomot,
This is all very interesting again...an advert in a local paper in Yorkshire - which could have been in many local papers of the time, drawing a young man to a friendly establishment in London at that time when he was trying to make his way in the world.  When you mentioned James, did you mean Alice's husband, who seems to disappear after the 1841 Census in Ely Place?  He was baptised by his father the Rev John Kershaw, who was the Methodist Minister there at the time,in 1803 in Bolton, but I've never discovered whether he died or moved away.
My gt-grandmother, also an Alice KERSHAW, b.1864, and grand-daughter to her namesake, carried on the landlady role, but at some stage 14, Charterhouse Square became termed a "hotel".  Some time before WW1 the family gave it up, and this part of Charterhouse Square was remarkably untouched by the Blitz of WW2, and are fine 18thC buildings used as commercial offices today...
Keith

[dobfarm]

Its possible Alice Kershaw was a housekeeper, cook or similar for Samuel Vaughan and travelled with his household moves with his job.

[Jomot]

Jomot,
When you mentioned James, did you mean Alice's husband, who seems to disappear after the 1841 Census in Ely Place? 

The 1840 & 1841 adverts for Ely Place mention Mr & Mrs James Kershaw, but the 1844 advert for Charterhouse Square doesn't say either way.  Playing around with the wording a bit brings up adverts in Hull & Staffordshire too, and by 1849 the advert is for "MRS. KERSHAW’S COMMERCIAL BOARDING HOUSE".  Trade directories for the 1850's also list just Mrs Alice Kershaw.

[Keith Sherwood]

Jomot,
You really have been very busy looking up in all those directories/local papers.  Thank you so much for this.
And all the time you're probably narrowing down the time frame within which James KERSHAW either disappeared  from the scene or died - so some time between 1841 and 1849, and quite possibly between 1841 and 1844.
And I've still not come across a reference to Alice KERSHAW (b.c. 1802/3) calling herself a widow between 1841 and her death in February 1871…
Keith
N.B. In case anyone else has come across this and wondered, James KERSHAW (b.1803) had a slightly older brother called Mark Freeman KERSHAW who died at 12, Baker Street Lloyd Square in 1845, in his early 40's.  His brief will can be downloaded from the TNA website, but gives no further clues apart from everything going to his wife Mary Jones KERSHAW.  FREEMAN was the two brothers' mother's maiden name.   Mark Freeman was in the employ of the Methodists, like his father Rev. John Kershaw, who gave one of the addresses at the opening ceremony of the Abney Park Nonconformist Cemetery in 1840...

[Jomot]

A little bit more on Samuel Kershaw, in case it helps.   Looks like he studied at Kings College, London, and was admitted to Holy Orders as a Deacon on 19 Dec 1852. Immediately after being ordained he was admitted to the curacy of St Thomas Charterhouse on the nomination of the Rev. William Rogers. He was ordained as a priest the following year (from the London Evening Standard 21 December 1853).

In Feb 1855 the Lord Bishop of Manchester licenced him to the curacy of St Thomas's, Ardwick, and the following year he was appointed to the curacy of St. Saviour Curacy, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Lancashire. The first I can find of him in Wrentham is 1860, and by 1864 he's conducting marriages at the parish Church, Huddersfield.

The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 25 May 1864, reports his appointment to 'the new church of St Mark, Dewsbury'.  The death of his wife, Hannah, was on 1st Feb 1870 at St Marks Parsonage, and she was described as the daughter of the late Samuel Swire Esq of Ashton Under Lyne.

Following his death there was some court case in 1883 about his assets, which had been taken by some creditors, and there is reference to a Charles Vaughan and a Mr Swire, his brother-in-law and also trustee.  No mention of Kershaw anywhere unfortunately, although Samuel is described as being 'of Dewsbury and Blackpool'.

[Keith Sherwood]

More remarkably painstaking research on my behalf, Jomot...
All of it fascinating, charting a young minister's life.  One must never forget that those Censuses are mere snapshots of where people were, but of course at ten year intervals.  So he moved around much more frequently than the Censuses indicated.
And that reference to St Thomas's Charterhouse is a very definite clue, also that he studied in London, in other words he probably forged quite a strong association/friendship with Alice KERSHAW, may indeed have lodged with her at 14, Charterhouse Square for several years.  She may have become something of a mother figure to him.
This is beginning to look a much more convincing case as to why she may have gone to Dewsbury, either to help him in his widowed state; or for her own support from him when she lost her eldest son so tragically.  This does point perhaps to this migration northwards perhaps taking place in 1870, but she may already have gone there for other reasons before then.
I wonder too whether her death was a sudden and unexpected one - will discover this hopefully when the death certificate arrives.  And I was wondering whether St Thomas Charterhouse is anything to do with The Charterhouse itself...
Keith

[dobfarm]

Hi Keith

Can you give clarity as below. ?

You say in the Subject above header

14, Charterhouse Square, in Sheffield

The Death in the Newspaper of Alice Kershaw says

14, Charterhouse Square,  London

[Keith Sherwood]

Hi again, Dobfarm,
Just to clarify, I started this thread because I came across a tantalising glimpse of a sentence in a Sheffield newspaper that gave the name of my gt-gt-gt-grandmother, who I knew lived at 14, Charterhouse Square, London, for at least 27 years, and was wondering why her apparent death notice was being posted in The West Riding.  I couldn't access the reference and therefore read it all, with the mention of The Parsonage, Dewsbury.  At the time I gave a subject heading to the thread, I had imagined that perhaps she had died somewhere in the Sheffield area, her death having being reported in the local newspaper.  Didn't discover that it was Dewsbury till Rootschatters came to the rescue on here!
Keith

[Keith Sherwood]

Right,
Have just received Alice KERSHAW's death certificate through the post this morning, and here are the details.  She did indeed die at St Mark's Parsonage, Dewsbury on 25th February 1871, and the informant of her death, a day later, was a James KERSHAW, who I take to be her surviving son, who was also living in Charterhouse Square, London at the time.  Alice is referred to as "Widow of James KERSHAW, shoe merchant".  So if we take this literally to be the truth, and the fact that she does not describe herself as "widow" in either the 1851 or 1861 Censuses, then presumably he has died some time between 1861 and 1871; though one can't be entirely sure of this, given the misrepresentation of facts on Censuses.
Cause of death is, 'Suppression of Urine", and above that an almost indecipherable medical word that looks like "Albuminuria", certainly I could vouch for the first eight letters, but not the last squiggle.  I presume this is some kind of kidney failure.
Quite a useful document, though of course the events surrounding the why and when of Alice's appearance in Dewsbury are still hidden in the mists of time!
I hope everybody who has helped me with this thread, and all other Rootschatters, have a really good 2016…
Keith