Thanks for your reply.
Sorry, no I don't have a cause of death for Hannibal Sandys in 1835.
I didn't know about the 19 children - if it's true, then, Wow ! poor Mary ! I only have nine listed but there are gaps so could well have been others. In my previous note I gave dates for four of the nine; the other five I said died unmarried, but certainly survived childhood. These were:
Eliza Katherine Speer (1789-1859)
Maria Speer (1791-1871)
Frances Speer (1792-1861)
Edward (1793-1859)
Constance (bet 1807-1812 - 1865)
Re the registers of St Margaret's Westminster; there are limited entries on
www.ancestry.co.uk from a few of these parish registers held at LMA, but as you know most of the St Margaret's registers would be at Westminster Archives - I have no access to them from Australia
We visited Thames Ditton briefly in 2010 but didn't get to Westminster Archives.
After much searching I did find an old map with Park Prospect marked on it - we must have walked past the site several times without realising it was the site of the former Speer home.
I have a copy of the will of William Speer (jr) and I was amused by the newspaper announcement of his death, viz., "by the death of Mr Speer one of the retired chief clerks of the Treasury, a pension of £1700 per annum is saved to the public" (London Times, Friday 12 April 1844) - couldn't say that sort of thing these days I shouldn't think. Another announcement stated "on 11th inst at Weston, Thames Ditton, Surrey, William Speer, Esq, late of Her Majesty's Treasury, in the 80th year of his age" (The Standard, Saturday, 13 April 1844).
There are a few burials at Thames Ditton for various Speer family members , some of whom I have so far not been able to place; some may be children of William Speer/Mary Jellico - some of the 19 perhaps
I know William Speer (who d 1844) was son of William Speer and Katherine Wilson who married c 1758 (this info from a summary of documents at Surrey Record Office - another place we didn't have time to visit - but I imagine you've been through the vast quantities of Speer and Litchfield papers held there)
William Speer senior died 1805 and his wife Katherine pre-deceased him, dying in 1780. I don't know where the Speer family came from but it seems his wife's family had originally owned the Park Prospect place.
Re Rev Wilfred - I didn't know he had been officiating minister at St Margaret's; wish I had access to the pr's; perhaps one day they'll be put on-line - I wish ! I did find a report of his misdemeanours online.
In my note I mentioned one of Rev Wilfred's sons (Wilfred Dakin Speer) was murdered in the US - it was an interesting case, there's quite a bit online about it. I have a copy of his will. Even though he was killed in the US, he's buried at Woking. Newspaper says "The remains of Captain Wilfred Speer who was shot on board the steamer "Octavia" near Fort Buford, Missouri River in June last, were yesterday interred in the family vault at the Necropolis, Woking, Surrey" (Pall Mall Gazette, Tuesday, 3 September 1867). That's another place on my list of things to do if I get back to UK !
Hope all this is useful.
Genial
Sydney Oz 18 February 2012