© Picture by Charles Drakew Wikepedia Commons and licensed for reuse in the public domain.
1. Joseph Christopher (1774-1863) was baptised on 24 July 1774, in Wareham, Lady St Mary parish, the son of Simon Christopher (1730-1798) by his third wife Elizabeth Punch (1748-1800). His occupation is variously listed as shepherd and labourer and he married Ruth Bussell (1776-1857) in Cheselbourne on 10 October 1796. Ruth was the eldest of six children of William Bussell (1749-1830) and Sarah Legg (1752-1828) who had married in Dewlish in 1775 and then settled in Cheselbourne to raise their family. Ruth had been baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 23rd Nov 1776 so was a couple of years younger than Joseph. Her immediate ancestry is given below.
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Ruth's paternal grandparents were William Bussell the elder (1708-1780)
and his first wife Ruth Baker (1714-1755), who had died when she was still only 41 years old. It was in memory of his mother that her father named her Ruth. Her grandfather had been born in Stourton Caundle in Dorset and baptised in St Peters church on 12th March 1708. He had married her grandmother Ruth Baker at East Stoke of all places but thankfully the marriage registration confirmed that his place of settlement was Stourton Caundle and hers Cheselbourne. After the death of his first wife William Bussell the elder re-married at St Martins church to Elizabeth Reeks (1719-1773).(11) She was born in Cheselbourne and buried there in 1773. After her death William appears to have moved to live at Long Bredy which lies about 6 miles West of Dorchester. When he died in 1780 her father as the eldest surviving son was granted administration of her grandfather's estate and his body returned for burial at Cheselbourne with his wives which took place on 22nd March 1780.
Ruth's father William Bussell junior was born about 1749 (12) and baptised a bit late at Melcombe Horsey in Dorset on 4th June 1750. He became a helier and married Sarah Legg (1752-1828) in Dewlish on 8th July 1775. Sarah was the daughter of Richard Legg (1716-1781) a cordwainer by trade by his wife Sarah Vincent (1711-1781). Her father had been born in Milton Abbas but came to Dewlish in 1731 to serve an apprenticeship under the master cordwainer there called Thomas Rodnor who also for some reason used the surname of Kingsbury. It was here in Dewlish that he met Sarah Vincent who had been born in the village. When he completed his 7 year apprenticeship he married her there on 27th July 1738 and they raised a family of 3 children the youngest being Sarah Legg. He must have done well as by 1742 he had taken on his own apprentice and appears to have served as parish clerk between 1751 and 1755 as he was a witness on all 8 marriages that took place in the village during that period. In 1781 when his son-in-law William Bussell junior had to take on administration of his fathers estate he and his son Joseph Legg were also named as being bound to the court in the sum of £32 to ensure correct administration.
The Militia listing on the right is dated 3 years later and taken on 17th November 1799. This time Joseph's name has been deleted as by 1799 he has a wife (Ruth) and 2 young children to support (his sons Richard b.1797 and James Bussell who was only baptised in March 1799). Immediately above his name is that of Thomas CHRISTOPHER (1761-1819) his 2nd cousin who also lived in Cheselbourne and was married to Sarah DUCK alias MORRIS (1761-1799) and had 5 children.
Several of Joseph and Ruth's seven sons were either baptised, married or adopted the use of their mothers' maiden name as a second name at some point in their lives(1) :-
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1.1. Richard Christopher (1797-1879) was baptised in St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 30 Jul 1797 as Richard Christopher, but when he later married Emma Potter (1800-1855) on 25 Sep 1828 he used his full name of Richard Bussell Christopher. He worked as a shepherd or agricultural labourer and he was buried as Richard Christopher on 24 Feb 1879 at Cheselbourne, aged 84. Link to separate account of his life.
1.2. James Bussell Christopher (1799-1877) was baptised 24 Mar 1799 in Cheselbourne and married twice. First as James Christopher to Emma Mullet (1802-1832) who died in childbirth and then to his 3rd cousin once removed Sarah Christopher (1825-1899). He had a total of 11 children and was buried 28 May 1877. Link to separate account of his life.
1.3. Joseph Christopher (1801-1803) was baptised in Cheselbourne 11 Jan 1801, but died an infant being buried in St Martins churchyard on 26th July 1803.
1.4. Maria Christopher (1802-1859) was baptised in Cheselbourne 7 Nov 1802 and was a witness at her sister Sarah's wedding in 1838 and her younger brother Joseph's wedding in 1845. She never married and seems to have spent her life at home caring for her parents. Her mother died in 1857 and Maria was buried aged 56 on 4 Feb 1859, in St Martin's churchyard.
1.5. Sarah Christopher (1804-1888) was baptised in Cheselbourne 19 Aug 1804, and married Robert Baker (1809-1887) a labourer in Cheselbourne on 14 Aug 1838, witnessed by her sister Maria. Robert was the son of a farmer John Baker by his wife Ann. They had a son Levi, born in 1839, who died in 1870. Robert was buried at Cheselbourne 12 Mar 1887 followed by Sarah 16 May 1888.
1.6. William Bussell Christopher (1806-1807) was baptised in Cheselbourne 19 Jan 1806 and buried 18 months later on 10 July, 1807, in Cheselbourne.
1.7. William Bussell Christopher (1808-1848) was baptised 17 Apr 1808 in Cheselbourne and married Elizabeth Arnold (1814-1863) on 5 Feb 1837 in Cheselbourne. They had 4 children and he was buried in August, 1848. Link to separate account of his life.
1.8. Ann Christopher (1810-1887) was baptised 16 Dec 1810 in Cheselbourne and married a local farmer called Esau Baker Junior (1808-1886) on 19 Sep 1846.
Esau was the 3rd child from the marriage of Esau Baker ((1779-1826) to Eleanor Harris (1777-1855) who had married in the village in 1802. His father had steadily progressed from being a general labourer to owning a smallholding in Cheselbourne of about 25/30 acres which became known as 'Bakers Farm'. His father was churchwarden in 1825/6 and died at the young age of 47. He left a will bequeathing everything to his widow Eleanor who continued to run the smallholding and raise her 8 children.
Esau junior had an older brother John Baker who became a sawyer by trade and married Mary Ann Stickland at Frome Whitechurch in Dorset the year after their father died. Within a couple of years however they had moved near Yeovil to live and around 1843 onto Bath. Their mother Eleanor died in 1855 leaving a will and with Esau having run the farm since 1827 and John having moved away she named him as the main beneficiary. By 1844 Esau had sufficient wealth to be assessed for the Church rate and had to pay 1 shilling and six pence. He was assessed each year after that and the churchwarden accounts for 1847 are interesting as they actually give a ratable value for the property and Esau's smallholding was rated as £35. It remained at this value for the rest of his life but the amount he actually paid each year varied from one to over six shillings. They had one child, a daughter they named Fanny Baker born in 1846 and Esau was listed in the Post Office Directories for 1855 & 1859 as a farmer. Esau died at the age of 77 being buried at St Martins Church in Cheselbourne on 29th May 1886 followed by Ann at the age of 75 on 25th April 1887.
1.9. Charles Christopher (1813-1895) was baptised 30 Apr 1813 in Cheselbourne and married Elizabeth Riggs (1814-1889) 23 May 1836. They had 8 children and he was buried 22 Aug 1895. His occupation varied from labourer to shepherd. Link to separate account of his life.
1.10. Joseph Christopher (1815-1892) was baptised 9 Jul 1815 in Cheselbourne and married Elizabeth (Betsy) Palmer (1820-1911) from Little Bredy in Cheselbourne, 31 Jan 1845. They had 8 children and he was buried 26 Oct 1892. Link to separate account of his life.
St Martin's Church - Cheselbourne
© Picture Copyright Miss Steel and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence.
2. Richard [Bussell] Christopher (1797-1879) (Eldest son of Joseph Christopher (1774-1863) and Ruth Bussell (1776-1857)
Joseph and Ruth's first child was baptised in St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 30th July 1797 and given the name of Richard Christopher.
In June 1841 Cheselbourne was a small agricultural village of just over 340 souls, of which about 60 were male and within the ages of 18 to 45. The village seems to have been even smaller when Joseph and Ruth settled there as the Militia return for 1796, the year they married, lists only 14 males within that age band living within the parish of Cheselbourne. By 1799 it had still only grown to 37. With such a small community Richard and his siblings grew up in the village knowing everybody and almost inevitably this led to a great deal of intermarriage between the main family groups. Over the next two decades the population slowly grew with one or two new families moving into the village when work became available.
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One of these was Joseph Porter (1751-1828) and his family. When Joseph had married his wife Jane Davis (1768-1841) in the parish of Winterbourne Whitchurch, he gave their place of settlement as Abbey Milton (2), although I cannot trace him being baptised there. They were described as sojourners (of temporary residence) on the return and it's clear from subsequent baptism registers that Jane was already seven months pregnant when they married in St Mary's church on 21st March 1791. A marriage this late was often at the behest of the Overseers of the Poor. Those for Abbey Milton may well have precipitated their return to Winterbourne Whitchurch out of a fear that they could become liable for the costs involved in her lying in and employing a midwife etc. Perhaps of more importance in this case was the possibility of having to support the child until the age of 7, as an illegitimate child's place of settlement was where they were born.
Jane who was the daughter of John & Anna Davis had been baptised in Winterbourne Whitchurch on 14th September 1768, so she was 23 years old when pregnant with her first child. She had a younger brother Joseph Davis (1775-1830) who was to live his whole life in the Winterbourne Whitchurch . Women traditionally worked well into their pregnancy and it was common practice for a daughter to return to her family for support for the birth of their first child as it was always a risky business. Joseph Porter must have found work there however as he and Jane went on to raise four children in the parish [Francis (1791-1833), Richard (1793-1871), Josiah (1797-1850) and Emma (1800-1855) ] Sometime after the turn of the century (between 1801 and c1820) Joseph moved all six of them to live in Cheselbourne and by working there for more than a year Cheselbourne became his new place of settlement.
Richard and Josiah were clearly close friends and Richard would have known Josiah's younger sister Emma PORTER from the time that they moved into the village. Being of a similar age they clearly grew up together. Emma had been baptised in Winterbourne Whitchurch on 29th June 1800 so she was 28 years old when her father Joseph died and was buried in St Martins churchyard on 29th July 1828. Two months later on 25th September 1828 she married Richard, who again signed his name in full as Richard Bussell Christopher. Their marriage was witnessed by Richard Porter (1793-1871), Emma's older brother, and Sarah Christopher (1804-1888) who was her husbands younger sister. Close family ties continued a month later when Emma's brother Richard Porter also married in Cheselbourne to Maria Bussell (1806-1868) on 26th Oct 1828. Maria was the niece of her husbands mother Ruth Bussell (1776-1857). To round off the Porter Family, Emma's eldest brother Francis Porter (1791-1833) never married and died at the age of 42 being buried in Cheselbourne.
Richard generally worked as a farm shepherd although he is often just referred to in documentation as a labourer. He seems to have spent most of his life in Cheselbourne although the 1851 Census shows that he did move the family for a time to Stoke Wake where he worked as a farm shepherd. This was on either 'Rideouts Farm' or 'Skinners Farm' which sit in the countryside right next to each other west of the village.
Picture © Miss Steel taken 2008, licenced for reuse under the creative commons licence
Richard and Emma had seven children together who were all baptised in the above Font in St Martins church Cheselbourne:-
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2.1 Joseph Christopher (1828-1829) Emma at her marriage to Richard was even more pregnant than her mother had been. Joseph was born barely a month later in October 1828, but was not baptised until 18th January 1829. He died aged 5 months and was buried in the churchyard at St Martins on 14th March 1829.
2.2 William Christopher (1830-1912) Baptised on 25th February 1830 he married Julia Carter (1834-1898) a native of Parkgate in Hazelbury Bryan in 1854 and raised a family of 11 children in Cheselbourne. Pre-deceased by his wife in 1898 he lived to the age of 82 being buried at Dewlish in Dorset on 12th Feb 1912 where he was living in Shails cottage. Link to separate account of his life.
2.3 James Bussell Christopher (1832-1835) Baptised on 8th April 1832 he lived to the age of 3 being buried at St Martins churchyard on 22nd Oct 1835.
2.4 Josiah Christopher (1834-1909) Baptised on 19th January 1834 his name was incorrectly recorded in the baptism register as 'Josiah Porter' by the Rector Revd TW Birch. 'Porter' was of course Emma's maiden name. He grew up with his siblings in the village and from a young age worked as an agricultural labourer in the fields surrounding Cheselbourne. On 30th July 1863 he was one of the witnesses at his younger brother Charles Christopher's wedding to Elizabeth Trash at St Martins church. Josiah remained a bachelor living in 1861 in lodgings but by 1871 he was back living with his widowed father who was by then aged 73. By 1881 he had found work in Hilton at Ansty Pleck where he had lodgings with a local carpenter called William House. He remained with them throughout the following decade but we have not been able to locate him in the 1901 census. From GRO death registrations he appears to have died at the age of 76 in the 2nd quarter of 1909 within the district of Blandford but we need the death certificate to be sure.
2.5 Mary Christopher (1837-1900) Baptised on 8th Jan 1837 Mary grew up with her siblings in Cheselbourne and moved to Stoke Wake with them in the early 1850's. They soon returned however as her brother William married Julia Carter in 1854. Julia's younger brother Felix Carter (b.1840) was a sawyer by trade and Mary married him in Cheselbourne on the 29th March 1859. Although Felix made his mark on the certificate Mary was able to sign her name. Their marriage was witnessed by Mary's elder brother William Christopher (1830-1912) and Felix's sister Cordelia Carter (b.1836) . Mary like her mother and grandmother before her was 6 months pregnant at her marriage and they settled in Cheselbourne to live and raised a family of 4 children (Emma Jane 1859; Sidney James 1861; Arthur Edwin 1865 and Florence Lillie in 1871). We have been unable to trace Felix after the 1871 Census. By 1880 however Mary has moved herself and all the children to live in Lancashire. In 1881 Mary herself is living with her brother Charles Christopher (1839-1928) in Oldham and has her youngest daughter Florence with her. Her son Sidney has married in Stockport in 1880 and settles in Heaton Norris where he dies in 1926. Emma working as a hatter and Arthur are also in Heaton Norris and Mary joins Emma before 1891. Mary dies there in 1900.
2.6 Charles Christopher (1839-1928) Baptised on 21 Jan 1839 his mother passed away in 1855 so he lived with his widowed father working as an agricultural labourer around Cheselbourne until at the age of 24 he married. His bride was Elizabeth Trash (1844-1932) who came from another of the long standing families of Cheselbourne. Elizabeth was 5 years his junior having been baptised in St Martins church on 2nd June 1844 as the daughter of John Trash (1812-1896) and Jane Mitchell (1817-1845) his first wife. They had married in Puham in Dorset in 1833 and produced 5 children of which Elizabeth was the youngest. Her mother died a year later at the age of 30 in 1845 so possibly in another childbirth. Her father was to remarry twice, the last time to Sarah Christopher (b1825) her husbands 4th cousin.
After marriage in St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 30th July 1863 Charles & Elizabeth lived at Manor Farm on Drake Lane in the village where they raised a family of 4 children between 1864 and 1871. Here Charles learnt his trade but wages were so low in farming generally that they were barely at subsistence level. Charles decided to head north with his family settling in Lees Road in Oldham in Lancashire where he worked for a time as a bricklayer. Two more children were added to the family but with much better wages they were able to save and in 1882/4 they rented or bought a farm at Crown Point in Saddleworth. Another two births on the farm produced a family of 8 children:-
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2.6.1 Frank Christopher (1864-1887) - died unmarried aged 23 at Quickview Mossley & buried Friezland, Christ Church Lancashire
2.6.2 Henry John Christopher (1866-1876) - died aged 9 at High Knowles, Lees buried Hey, Lees Lancashire
2.6.3 Walter Frederick Christopher (1869-1953) - married Sarah Alice Greaves (1874-1922) in 4th quarter of 1893 and lived at Under Lane close to Crown Point Farm where his father lived and he ran a grocers shop. They had 2 girls:-
2.6.3.1 Annie Christopher (1894-1940) born on 1st April 1894 in the district of Saddleworth Yorkshire but baptised at Leesfield Lancashire on 13th May that year. She married on 27th August at St Paul's church in Scouthead to a 27 year old bachelor called Fred Nield who lived on Huddersfield Road and worked in a Cotton Mill as a wining overlooker. Annie died at the age of 46 in December 1940 in the district of Ashton in Lancashire.
2.6.3.2 Doris May Christopher (1897-1997) Born on 5th December 1897 she was also baptised at Leesfield on 16th January 1898. Doris married at St Thomas's Church in Leefield at the age of 23 on 8th Jan 1921 to Archibald Potter a 24 year old bachelor who worked in a local cotton mill as a winder. Doris almost made her 100th birthday, passing away in June 1997 at Oldham in Lancashire.
2.6.4 Caroline Jane Mitchell Christopher (1871-1952) - married William Rhodes 1891, a son Ethelbert 1891, emigrated to Massachusetts 1902 died 1952 Bristol County MA
2.6.5 Clara Eveline Christopher (1874-1954) - married William Parr 1899 4 children, died 1954 Ashton Lancashire
2.6.6 Rosa Lily Christopher (1879-1961) - married Joseph Royle 1900 2 children died 1961 Upper Agrigg West Riding Yorkshire
2.6.7 Annie Christopher (1884-?) - emigrated unmarried to Falls River 1910 to live with sister Caroline - fate unknown
2.6.8 William Christopher (1887-1962) - Died Upper Agrigg West Riding of Yorkshire 1962
By 1901 Charles & Elizabeth were running 'Butt Farm' in the Colne Valley. By 1911 he had retired to Lees Road, Mossley in Lancashire where he died at the age of 89 on 28th March 1928. Charles left an estate of £470. 11s to his widow Elizabeth. She died on 15th June 1932 leaving £501. 4s. 1d with administration granted to her son Walter Frederick Christopher.
2.7 Jane Christopher (1842- 1902) Baptised on 22nd May 1842 she was 12 years younger that her eldest surviving brother William. As she grew into womanhood the families expectations were growing and they decided that she should head for Dorchester and the prospect of higher wages. By April 1861 when she was 19 years old she had gained employment as a house servant working at the 'Chequers Inn' in High East street. Here she met a soldier in the Royal Horse Artillery stationed at Fordington Barracks called Henry Sheath (1846-1904) . They married back at St Martins Church in Cheselbourne before her family in 30th May 1868. The marriage was witnessed by her sister Mary and her husband Felix Carter. Henry was from Ballysax in Ireland(4) the son of John Sheath a baker by trade. After he left the army they settled at Dedworth near Windsor in Berkshire where Henry followed his fathers trade and set up a business as a baker. By 1881 they were living on Dedworth Green and running the pub called 'The Wolf' where Henry still operated as a baker. They had 5 children between 1869 and 1877. Jane died there at the age of 59 in 1902 and Henry aged 58 in 1904
St Martin's Church in 2008 surrounded by fields - Cheselbourne
© Picture Copyright Nigel Mykura and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence.
3. James Bussell Christopher (1799-1877) (2nd child of Joseph Christopher (1774-1863) and Ruth Bussell (1776-1857)
He was baptised on 24th March 1799 in St Martins church in Cheselbourne (which can just be seen through the trees in the above picture). This is the earliest record of them using Ruth's maiden name as a second Christian name. Although James does not seem to have used it after his baptism others in the family did and it was also adopted by some descendants.
Even today the village is relatively isolated and from an early age James laboured in these fields to supplement the family income. On 28th Sep 1824 he was a witness at the wedding in Cheselbourne between William Bussell and Mary Foot. The other witness was Ellen Mullet (1802-1832) whom he later married in St Martins Church on 29th Oct 1829, signing his name simply as 'James Cristever' . Ellen was also able to sign her name and the marriage was witnessed by his brother Richard and sister Sarah. Ellen was baptised on 25th March 1802 as Eleanor the daughter of Henry Mullet (1751-1833) and Joyce Vivian (1759-1831) and was the 12th of their 13 children who were all baptised at St Martins between 1788 and 1804. James & Ellen had two children as shown below. Ellen's burial is recorded at St Martins on 14th June 1832 and is quickly followed on 28th of the same month by her 3 week old daughter also named Ellen. It seems highly likely therefore that she died from complications which arose giving birth to Ellen which affected both of them.
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(3.1) Charles Christopher (1831-1907) Baptised on 6th March 1831 in the June 1841 Census he is shown as living with his widowed father and Ann Christopher (1810-1887) his aunt. Clearly when Ellen died James youngest sister moved in to look after Charles. In 1841 he married his 4th cousin Rhoda Christopher (1836-1897) raised a family of 11 children and died at the age of 76 in Tarrent Hinton in 1907. Link to separate account of his life.
(3.2) Ellen Christopher (1832-1832) Baptised on 10th June 1832 and buried aged 3 weeks on 28th of the same month.
(Her Ancestry)
On the 30th April 1844 James Bussell Christopher (1799-1877) who was now 45 years old married for a second time at St Martins church. This time to his 3rd cousin once removed Sarah Christopher (1825-1898) who was only 19 and therefore 26 years younger. This must have raised a few eyebrows when the banns were read out in church on 14th, 21st and 28th April 1844 and I notice that the marriage certificate only refers to James as being of 'full age'. Sarah is recorded as 'a minor' so her parents consent would have been needed. When someone is under age the accepted practice was to state their age so this is a clear attempt to cover up the disparity. Sarah was the 7th of 9 children of David Christopher (1794-1851) and Jane Galton (1795-1883) and her elder sister Amelia Christopher (1821-1899) was one of the witnesses. The other witness was William Christopher (1808-1848) who was James brother.(5)
After their marriage James worked as a shepherd in the fields surrounding the village. James & Sarah had 8 children together(6) as shown below all baptised at St Martins. Although James spent most of his life in Cheselbourne, and we can trace them in the village up to 1847, we know they were living in Milton Abbas by 2 May 1850 when their son William was born but they were back in Cheselbourne by Oct 1854. James died at the age of 78 (although his burial record wrongly gives his age 77) being interred on 28th May 1877. Their children were:-
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3.3 Joseph Christopher (1845-1918) married Jane Elizabeth Webber (1855-1931) raising a family of 9 children. He was buried at Hinton Parva in Dorset 18th July 1918
3.4 John Christopher (1847-1927) was baptised at St Martins in Cheselbourne on 22nd Feb 1847. He became a stoker in a brewery and married by Banns on 21st March 1870 at All Saints Church in Dorchester to Amelia MARKS aged 25, a widow and tailoress, also resident at All Saints parish in Dorchester. Amelia had been baptised on 25th Jun 1844 at Blandford Forum the daughter of David Roberts by his wife Elizabeth nee Pike. Amelia had previously married Walter Marks and they had a daughter Laura Kate Marks born at Bristol in 1863. Walter appears to have died as she describes herself as a widow. .After marriage to John they lived for a time with her father David Roberts who was publican of the Swan Inn in Friary Lane in Dorchester and a hostler by trade. By 1873 John was working on the Railways as an Engine Driver and based in Poole. They moved to End Lane in Saddleworth where he worked in a woolen mill and then for many years a driver of a Stationary Engine. He died in Saddleworth Dec Qtr 1927 at the age of 80 years. John and Amelia had 7 children.
3.5 William Christopher (1850 - aft 1873) Born 2 May 1850 Cheselborne Dorset; he appears to have become a butcher and joined the Royal Navy serving on HMS Warrior in April 1871 still single aged 20. The ship was birthed on the Tamar in Devon. His service number was 43370 and his service record shows him to have been 5 feet two and three quarter inches tall with Light brown hair, light brown eyes, a ruddy complexion and to have a scar on his right hand. he is recorded as serving on the HMS Serapis from 1st Jan 1873 to 10 May 1873; good conduct and unmarried in 1873 when he was discharged to shore at Portsmouth & we then loose track of him.
3.6 Maria Christopher (1854-1911) married George Marsh, they had no children and Maria died in 1911 at Winterbourne Kingston.
3.7 Emma Christopher (1856-aft 1911) married Henry Jones (1863-aft 1911) at Cheselbourne in 1889 and lived at Sampford Arundle Somerset both working as servants, Emma as a cook in 1911
3.8 Richard Christopher (1858 - 1933) worked as an agricultural labourer at Cheselbourne from before age of 12, became a groom moved to Lechdale and Tetbury working as a groom, married Zoe Allaine Furley (1863-1948) about Apr 1900 in district Stroud Gloucestershire & had 2 girls Ellen Sarah (Nellie) 1900 & Millicent Emma 1905. Buried Minchinhampton Gloucestershire 1933
3.9 Sarah Christopher (1861-1861) baptised Cheselbourne 10th Feb and buried 14th March 1861
3.10 Robert Christopher (1863-1924) went to Saddleworth Yorkshire with brother John in 1876 and married Harriet Hopkinson (1863-1913)there in 1888 and had 4 children
View of Cheselbourne from St Martin's Churchyard
© Picture Copyright Miss Steel and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence.
4. William Bussell Christopher (1808-1848) (7th child of Joseph Christopher (1774-1863) and Ruth Bussell (1776-1857)
He was baptised on 17th April 1808 in St Martins church in Cheselbourne and married Elizabeth Arnold (1814-1863) there on 5th Feb 1837. His sister Sarah Christopher (1804-1888) was one of the witnesses. Elizabeth was the daughter of William Arnold (1781-1819) of Cheselbourne and Elizabeth nee Riggs (1777-1851) of Melcombe Horsey where they had married in 1802 before settling to live in his parish and raise their family. Her widowed mother lived with them from prior to 1841 until her death in 1851. Elizabeth like William was baptised in St Martins church on 6th March 1814. As listed below they had five children all born in Cheselbourne, which is where they both spent their entire lives. William died at the age of 41 being buried in the above churchyard on 4th Aug 1848 as William Christopher and Elizabeth joined him aged 49 on 18th March 1863.
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4.1 James Christopher (1838-1906) married twice firstly in 1859 to Charlotte Jane Christopher (1839-1877) (his 4th cousin once removed) by whom he had 8 children and secondly to Mary Cleal (1847-aft 1901) in 1879 by whom he had another four. Large number of descendants. James was buried at Cheselbourne on 10th May 1906. Link to separate account of his life.
4.2 Charles Willoughby Christopher (1840-1909)(7) married Sarah Ann Jeanes (1840-1884) in 1861 and they had 11 children(8) between 1861 and 1884; they moved to Chorley in Lancashire in 1873 where Sarah Ann died at the relatively young age of 44 followed by Willoughby in 1909.
4.3 Emily Christopher (1842-1865) died unmarried at the age of 22 buried Cheselbourne 22 July 1865
4.4 John Christopher (1844-1911) married Ellen Channing (1855-1924) in 1873 and they had 11 children between 1874 and 1894; They lived at Middle farm in Cheselbourne until the late 1880's when they moved to Piddlehinton and then Puddletown and by 1911 Winterbourne St Martin where John & Ellen lived the rest of their lives. John died in Hospital in Bristol in 1911 and Ellen aged 70 at Winterbourne in 1924. Follow link provided for a separate more detailed account of his life with pictures.
4.5 Edith Christopher (1847-1939) married Christopher Trash (1847-1921) in Cheselbourne in 1868 and raised a family of 8 children. They lived initially at Kingcombe in Cheselbourne but moved to Melcombe Hornsey about 1878
View of Cheselbourne Cottages taken from St Martin's Churchyard
© Picture Copyright Mike Russell FIPD OPC for Fordington
He was baptised on 30th April 1813 in St Martins church in Cheselbourne and married Elizabeth Riggs (1814-1889) there on 1st May 1835. Elizabeth was the daughter of Samuel Riggs (1772-1856), who was the Parish Clerk of Cheselbourne, by his wife Elizabeth Barnes (1781-1870) so they had grown up together in the village since infancy. Like his siblings Charles started working in the surrounding fields as an agricultural labourer but soon became a shepherd. They had 8 children as listed below Elizabeth surviving until she was 75 when he was buried in the churchyard at St Martins on the 7th Mar 1889 followed by Charles at the age of 82 on 22nd Aug 1895.
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5.1 Ruth Bussell Christopher (1836-1884)
She was baptised at Cheselbourne on 18th Sep 1836 with her grandmothers full maiden name. Having grown up in Cheselbourne with her siblings she married at the age of 20 into another agricultural labouring family from the village of Hilton which lies just 4 miles north, north east of Cheselbourne. Banns were duly read in St Martins church on 4th, 11th and 18th May 1856 and Ruth married Charles Tucker (1829-1896) there on 17th June. Ruth is shown seated in the picture on the left with her eldest daughter Elizabeth Tucker (1858-1930) standing next to her. Elizabeth married in 1877 and appears to be wearing a wedding ring on her left hand so I suspect the picture was taken in the early 1880's. Charles Tucker was a native of the small hamlet of Ansty within the parish of Hilton and the son of John & Rosanna Tucker. He had been born on 'Rawlesbury Farm' in the north of the parish and baptised in All Saints church in Hilton on 1st day of March in the year 1829 and was therefore about 7 years older than Ruth. Charles is shown seated in the picture on the right, standing next to him is his son Charles Tucker (1865-1956)
After marriage Charles & Ruth returned to his home parish of Hilton to live. Charles found work labouring on the farms in the immediate area and the baptisms of their children enable us to have some idea of where he found work and how often it proved necessary for the family to move to a cottage on a different farm. In 1858 when Elizabeth was born they are recorded as living at 'Ansy'. In 1860 when Maria was baptised they were at 'Crockers farm' which sits about half way up the road that runs from Hilton to Mappowder. The following year when the 1861 Census was taken on the night of 7th and 8th of April they were at nearby 'Rawlsbury Wood' although their 3 year old daughter Elizabeth was staying with Ruth's parents. By September 1862 when their daughter Ellen was baptised they had moved north a few miles to live at Hazelbury Bryan where Charles worked on 'Parkgate Farm'. By November 1865 when Charles Tucker junior was baptised they were back in Hilton living in the tiny hamlet of Aller where they remained for the baptisms of Levi in 1867, Rosanna in 1870, and Lilly in 1872. On 1st Sep 1870 Ruth was one of the witnesses at her younger sister Fanny Sarah Christopher's wedding to Charles Christopher in St Martins church back in Cheselbourne. They then moved to Bere Regis with Charles working at Woodbury Hill and had Arthur James in 1875, Kate in 1877 and Christopher in 1880.
Having given birth to 10 children Ruth died at the still relatively young age of 48 in Nov 1884. Charles lived to be 67 passing away in January 1896.
5.2 Fanny Bussell Christopher (1838-1843) Baptised at St Martins on 23rd Sep 1838 she died still an infant at the age of 4 being buried on 15th Aug 1843
5.3 Willoughby [Charles] Christopher (1841-1909)(7) Reputedly born in Dewlish on 6th March 1841 his birth was registered simply as Willoughby Christopher and this was how he was baptised at St Martins on 11th April 1841 and reported in that years Census on 6th June. Having grown up in Cheselbourne by 1861 he moved to live with his married elder sister Ruth and was working on Rawlesbury Wood Farm with her husband Charles Tucker. From there he seems to have left Dorset and started calling himself Charles Christopher or Charles Willoughby Christopher. He may have gone to Newport on the Isle of Wight to work as a groom as a Charles Christopher from Cheselbourne is recorded as being out of work there in the 1871 Census(9). He appears to have married about February 1873 in Petersfield Hampshire to Louisa Pratt (1837-1924). (10) Louisa was the daughter of Henry and Mary Pratt and had been baptised at Froxfield in Hampshire on 20th August 1837 so was 36 years old when she married and Willoughby 32.
They had three children in Petersfield (William Charles Christopher (1873-1936), Annie Christopher/Tuck (1876-1966) and Agnes Christopher (1879-1956). By 1891 Willoughby or Charles as he now firmly referred to himself had moved away from agriculture and become a platelayer on the Railways and by 1911 when he gave his age as 67 [actually 70] he has become a watchman for the Railway. Willoughby/ Charles lived to the age of 78 [stated 70 on death registration] passing away on 10th Nov 1919 followed by Louisa on 24th Oct 1924.
5.4 Ellen Christopher (1843-1909) Baptised at St Martins on 2nd July 1843 she married a thatcher by trade called William [Samuel] Hopkins (1846-1914). William was the son of Samuel Hopkins (1823-1899) and Mary Anne Lydia Caines (1821-1897) and had been baptised in St Andrews Church in Melcombe Horsey in Dorset on 27th Sep 1846. Their Banns of marriage were read on the 2nd; 9th and 16th July and they married on 31st July 1871 in St Martins Church in Cheselbourne. They had 7 children and Ellen was buried on 20th Aug 1909 in St Martins churchyard and joined by William on 11th March 1914
5.5 Fanny Sarah Christopher (1845-1924) Baptised 9th Nov 1845 at St Martins she was generally known within the family as Sarah and as a teenager she worked in the village as a domestic servant for Levi Riggs (1810-1886). Levi ran 'Waterside' a 385 acre farm where he employed 10 men and 5 boys but in his spare time he was also a Miller and a Wesleyan Preacher so must have been quite a character. Levi later moved to Piddlehinton but was obviously wealthy by local standards as when he died he left an estate of £2328.
On 1st September 1870 when she was 25 years old Sarah married her 1st cousin Charles Christopher (1845-1925) who was the same age and the son of Joseph Christopher (1815-1892) and Elizabeth Palmer (1820-1911).Charles like his father before him was a shepherd and they had six children together which were all baptised at St Martins in Cheselbourne and are listed in his entry at paragraph 6.1 in the next section below. Probably around the end of 1891 or early 1892 they moved to live at Stinsford and Charles is described as a farm labourer in the 1901 Census. In 1912 they moved to live at Lower Bockhampton where Charles worked as a gardener and Sarah died in 1924 and Charles the following year. They were both buried at St Michael's church in Stinsford, Sarah on 13th November 1824 and Charles on 29th October 1925. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) the novelist and poet had been born in the next hamlet of High Bockhampton in 1840 and many of his immediate family attended St Michael's and are also buried in the graveyard as was Thomas Hardy's heart in 1928.
5.6 Ethel [Ethelreda] Christopher (1849-1935) She was baptised simply as Ethel Christopher on 30th day September 1849 at St Martins in Cheselbourne. She grew up in the village but as a teenager found work in the nearby parish of Stoke Wake where she worked as a house servant and came into contact with Thomas Best (1841-1906) . Ethel was probably born a few months prior to her baptism because she is said to have been of full age when she married Thomas on 26th February 1870 in his home parish of Hazelbury Bryan. She was actually following in the footsteps of her 4x great grandfather Humphrey Christopher (1627-1703) who had married Ann Scammel (1624-1668) in Stoke Wake in 1656 and moved to Hazelbury Bryan to raise their family in 1658.
I can see how Ethel was attracted to Thomas as he was the son of Thomas Best (1807-1892) a tailor by trade by his wife Jane and had been born in Scorton in Yorkshire, a foreign land as far as Ethel was concerned who had never been outside Dorset. Thomas was born on 9th Feb 1841 and had several brothers with impressive names like Dixon Best and Wheelhouse Best (1839-1901) . His eldest brother John became a miner, his brother James followed his father to become a tailor and Wheelhouse became a quarryman. This seems to have impressed Ethel who immediately started to call herself Ethelreda Christopher. Thomas was a bit different from his siblings and possibly more adventurous as he became a gardener and by the age of 20 was already employed at Swinton Hall in Yorkshire as a gardener where he was also entitled to a cottage within the grounds where he lived. When he met Ethel he had moved to Hazelbury Bryan and been working there a while as he gave this as his home parish when they married. They settled in the hamlet of Wonston and the 1871 Census taken on the night of 2nd and 3rd April shows them living in 'Violet Cottage' next door to the Parish Clerk James Elsworth. The village of Hazelbury Bryan consists of seven hamlets, namely Droop, Kingston, Parkgate, Pidney, Pleck, Wonston and Woodrow. The church is situated in nearby Droop and several 400 year old cottages still exist right next to the church. Miss Violet Cross from the Manor House, a benefactor of the church, gave these dwellings to provide homes for widows and daughters of the clergy and I think that Thomas probably worked in the gardens of the Manor House so this cottage probably belonged to the estate. Old cottages from this time still exist in Wonston but I have no idea whether these are like Ivy Cottage.
They had seven children the first two being born in Hazelbury before they moved back to Cheselbourne (1875) and onto Parkstone (1878-1887) where they lived in Brunswick Cottage. In 1888 settled in Lady St Mary's Parish in Wareham at West Walls where Thomas died in 1906 followed by Ethelreda on 24th May 1935.
5.7 Fanny Christopher (1852-1886) was baptised at Cheselbourne on 4th August 1852 and grew up in the village surrounded by her family. As a teenager she worked at home making gloves and at the time of the April 1871 Census when she was 18 years old was looking after her father and younger sister Mary. Her mother was away in Hazelbury Bryan visiting with her elder sister Ethelreda Best who had just given birth to her first child Lillie. Fanny's great grandfather Simon Christopher (1730-1798) came from Hilton in Dorset and they appear to have retained contact with relatives or friends in the village as Fanny met Arthur Charles Riggs (1852-1907) a farm labourer who was also aged 18. Arthur had been baptised at Melcombe Horsey in Dorset on the 11th July 1852 as the son of George & Bethia Riggs but had lived in Hilton since he was a few years old.
As a young man he appears to have been a non conformist and when he obtained the opportunity of a job as a fireman in Reddish in Stockport Cheshire, Fanny went with him. Inevitably she fell pregnant and according to the GRO Marriage register they married in Stockport in the 2nd quarter of 1874. It would be interesting to see the marriage certificate as I suspect that this would have been in a non conformist chapel, possibly the Bethsheba Primitive Methodist Chapel at Heaton Norris where on 20th Oct 1874 Fanny had their 1st child Arthur Edwin Riggs baptised. The baptism record gives his date of birth as 5th June 1874 so she was heavily pregnant when they married. Unfortunately Arthur's job does not seem to have lasted as by July 1876 they were back in Dorset living at Longfleet. Arthur Charles & Fanny had 4 children together (Arthur Edwin (1874) Agnes Maria (1876) Ernest (1879) and Reginald G (1885) before Fanny died at the young age of 34, possibly as a result of her next pregnancy. She was buried at Longfleet on 15th Jan 1886.
Arthur now widowed with 4 young children re-married about Feb 1889 to Sophia Wareham who was 37 at the time. Arthur continued to work locally as a gardener until sometime after 1901 he became ill and was sent to the County Asylum at Charminster where he died at the age of 52 in 1907. His body however was returned to Longfleet for burial which took place on 8th March 1907.
5.8 Mary Christopher (1856-1921) Baptised at St Martins church on 14th Sep 1856 she married there at the age of 22 on Christmas day 1879 to George James Marsh (1858-1941) a carpenter by trade who was also 22 years old. He was often known by his second name of James and was the son of a shoemaker Morgan Marsh by his wife Sarah nee Barnes and had been baptised at Dewlish in Dorset on 30th March 1857. A Carpenter by trade They lived either at Dewlish or Cheselbourne most of their lives and it was at Dewlish that Mary was buried at the age of 64 on 12th Nov 1921. George James lived to be 83 passing away in 1941 within the district of Sturminster Marshall so possibly moved after Mary's death.
Baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 9th July 1815 he followed his father to become a shepherd and when he was 29 years old married Elizabeth Palmer (1820-1911) in the same church on 31st January 1845. Elizabeth had been baptised on 11th June 1820 in the parish of Littlebredy in Dorset as Betty the daughter of an agricultural labourer William Palmer (1792-1875) by his wife Sarah nee Turner (1786-1862). They had seven children together as shown below and remained in Cheselbourne until Joseph died at the age of 77 years and was buried in St Martins churchyard on 26th Oct 1892. After his death Elizabeth/Betsey moved to live in St Peters Parish in Dorchester with her married daughter Ruth Barrett. She lived to the age of 89 and was probably buried in the Civic Cemetery about February 1911.
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6.1 Charles Christopher (1845-1925) Baptised at St Martins on 10th Aug 1845 as a young man he worked with his father, a shepherd, or labouring in the fields surrounding the village. On 1st September 1870 he married his 1st cousin Fanny Sarah Christopher (1845-1924) and I have already covered their life together in paragraph 5.5 above. They had six children all baptised at Cheselbourne:-
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6.1.1 Joseph George Christopher (1871-1954) He was baptised at St Martins on 27th Aug 1871 and during his youth, like his forebears, worked labouring in the fields around Cheselbourne. In the 1901 Census aged 29 he is still living with his parents who have moved to Stinsford and working as a labourer on the Southampton & Dorchester Railway, presumably lured by the prospect of higher wages. This does not however seemed to have lasted very long and on 30th May 1905 he married in St Michael's church in Stinsford to Fanny Gibbard (1881-1964) They settled after marriage in Upwey and had three children that I know of (Walter Stanley 1910-2003; May Georgia 1912-1994 and Beatrice O born 1914) Joseph died at the age of 82 and was buried at Broadway on 7th July 1954. Fanny lived another ten years before she joined him on 14th Oct 1964
6.1.2 Ada Sarah Ethel Christopher (1873-1940)
She was baptised at St Martins in Cheselbourne on 9th March 1873, and grew up in the village with her siblings and surrounded by her extensive family. As a young teenager however she chose to go into service and headed for Dorchester where wages were higher than could be obtained from working on the land. By April 1891, still only 18 years old, she had secured a job working for Mary Elizabeth Hannah who ran a Fancy Goods business out of the house they lived in at 55 High West Street in Dorchester in conjunction with her sister-in-law Emily Westbrook. Mary had given birth to a son in January of that year and Ada was employed to help look after the house and family whilst her husband James Hannah operated a partnership with Robert Holland which they had named as 'Hannah & Holland'. Quality furniture bearing the company name and address at 8 Cornhill in Dorchester can still be purchased today.Ada's tenure with them however was cut short by her marriage to Arthur John Swatridge (1866-1931) in St Michael's church at Stinsford. Arthur was born in Godmanstone Dorset on 11th April 1865 the son of a widow Jane Pryce nee Golden (1829-1881). Her first husband Evan Pryce was buried at Godmanstone at the very young age of 28 on 16th July 1856. Arthur's father was John Swatridge (1836-1894) an agricultural labourer and he married Jane Pryce a couple of months after his baptism on 9th July 1865. By Aug 1869 they had moved to live at Charminster and by March 1873 Mill Street in Fordington where his mother died aged 51 from heart disease in March 1881.
On 3rd July 1884 Arthur enlisted as a gunner in the Royal Artillery (Soldier 43374) which is possibly when the picture right was taken. The following year he was posted to India with the Regiment, serving there for just over 3 years. From Nov 1888 he was at Aden before returning to Dorchester and being transferred to the reserves on 22nd Dec 1891. Having left the Army he joined the Police force as a Constable and met Ada. They married in her home parish of Stinsford on 29th Dec 1892 when she was still only 19 years old. Her younger sister Rosa and brother Charles acted as witnesses.
They lived for a time at Langley Road in Branksome a suburb of Poole where Arthur was stationed and had three children baptised at St Aldhelm Church before they moved to Puddletown in Kings Arms Street by 1901 when his occupation was described as a Superintendent of Dorset Constabulary. In 1907 they were living in Alexandra Road, Dorchester moving to Weymouth Avenue shortly before transferring in the early months of 1911 to reside at the Police station in Digby Road in Sherborne. During this period they added another two children before finally arriving at Thornford in Dorset in 1921. Arthur died at the Police Station in Lyme Regis on 24th August 1931 although the family lived at Inglewood Tatnam Road in Poole. He left a modest estate of £121 to his widow and after his death Ada moved again but stayed in Poole living at 2 St John's Road where she died aged 68 on 22nd January 1940 leaving an estate of £290.
6.1.3 Rose Christopher(1875-1961) Baptised at St Martins Church on 21st March 1875 she grew up in Cheselbourne and at the age of 17 in 1892 was a witness with her brother Charles at the wedding of her sister Ada Sarah Ethel Christopher. She variously used Rose or Rosa as her Christian name and by 1901 like her elder sister Ada had obtained work as a servant, having moved to Aldbury in Bournemouth. She married there in the 3rd quarter of 1902 to a railway engine driver by the name of Brinsley John Horton (1878-1957) and they moved to live at 14 Clayton Road in Plymouth where they had raised a family of 3 children by 1911. Her husband died in Plymouth aged 79 leaving her an estate of £739. Rose died at the age of 86. Probate is most helpful and states "Rosa otherwise Rose of 33 Staddon Park Plymouth widow died 27 July 1961 at St Martin's Hospital Bath probate Exeter 11th Sep to Francis Walter Reynolds Territorial Army clerk and Elsie Reynolds (wife of Francis Walter Reynolds) Effects Ł2,491. 18s 6d"
6.1.4 Emily Ann Christopher (1877-1952) Baptised at St Martins Church on 2nd Sep 1877 she also went into service as a housemaid but worked locally in the village until she married Fred Parson Wills (1874-1938) a Lance Corporal in the Dorsetshire Regiment at St Michael's church in Stinsford on 16th May 1905. her eldest brother Joseph George Christopher was one of the witnesses. Fred who was the son of Robert and Mary Wills had been baptised at Holy Trinity Church in Dorchester on 28th Feb 1875 and worked in the town as a porter before attesting for the Dorsetshire Regiment (Soldier 3666) on 27 Dec 1892. From his enlistment record we know he was 5 feet 7 and a quarter inches tall, weighed 121 lbs, had a dark complexion, pallid hazel eyes and dark brown hair. After being posted to Belfast (1893) he sailed on the Britannia in 1897 to Malta and served in South Africa in the Boer War from 24th Nov 1899 to 12th Sep 1902. He re-enlisted and served at the Depot in Dorchester until he was discharged on Christmas day 1913. They had four children during this period (13) before Fred died at the age of 63 on 18th Feb 1938 when they were living at a house at 26 Edward Road in Dorchester which they had named 'Tugela' in memory of his service in South Africa. He left Emily an estate of £496 and she lived another 14 years until she passed away on 24th May 1952 in the same house aged 74. Her daughter Mrs Nellie Annie Inkpen was granted administration of her estate of £1,535 on 6th Aug 1952.
6.1.5 Charles Christopher (1879-Aft 1921) Baptised at St Martins Church on 16th March 1879 he became a gardner by trade and by 1901 at the age of 22 had employment in the parish of Kinson in Dorset. Today Kinson has become a suburb of Bournemouth and it was whilst her was there that he met his future wife. Gertrude May Toogood (1881-1962) who was 21, was the daughter of John and Mary Ann Toogood and was a native of Donhead St Andrew in Wiltshire. Charles had their banns for marriage read in his home parish of Holnest in Dorset which lies about 5 miles south east from Sherborne and this married at donhead st Andrew in the 3rd quarter of 1903. They settled at Hampreston in Dorset where they had a daughter Laura Bessie Christopher in 1906. I have not so far been able to identify when Charles died but the electoral registers show that they were still living at Victoria Road Ferndown in Hampreston in 1921. Unfortunately records after that date are not yet (2015) available. Gertrude died at the age of 83 on 17th Dec 1962 when she was described as a widow and her address was given as The Firs Award Road Staplehill Wimborne. She left an estate of £754 to be administered by Barbara May Rabbetts.
6.1.6 Walter Christopher (1883-1953) He was born about Nov 1883 in Cheselbourne but so far we have not been able to locate a baptism for him. He moved to Stinsford with the family where he started work as a farm labourer and became a gardener. I am not at all sure how he met his wife but he married Annie Hooper (1883-1967) in the district of Wincanton in Somerset about November 1909. Annie was the daughter of Joseph William Hooper (1839-1899) a master baker by trade by his wife Emily nee Crockett (1850-1937). They ran a bakers shop in Bakers lane off Main Street in Templecombe and prior to her marriage Annie worked as a housemaid in the Mansion at Over Compton. After marriage Walter brought his bride to live at 15 Alington Road in the parish of All Saints in Dorchester. According to the electoral registers they lived in Steam Plough Cottages and were still there in 1915 before moving back to Stinsford to live with his parents. They had no children and Walter died at the age of 69 being buried in St Michael's churchyard in Stinsford on 18th Feb 1953. Annie joined him there at the age of 84 being buried on 22nd Feb 1967.
6.3 William Christopher (1850-1851) He was baptised at St Martins on 3rd Nov 1850 but only survived for 10 months being interred there on 12th Aug 1851
6.4 Ruth Christopher (1852-1933) Baptised at Cheselbourne 25th July 1852 in her youth she worked at home making gloves until at the age of 20 when she married James Barrett (1850-1877) at St Martins Church on 25th Sep 1872. After marriage they settled in Piddlehinton for a time where a daughter Florence Louisa was born in 1873. Another daughter Dora Beatrice was born at Wyke Farm (1876) which is where James Barrett died at the very young age of 27. He was buried at Thornford on 11th Oct 1877. After his death Ruth lived with her widowed mother-in-law Maria Barrett until her burial at the age of 85 in Piddlehinton on 1st march 1898. Ruth had an illegitimate son Alfred Barrett born in Piddlehinton in 1885. He subsequently became a Police Constable at Dorchester and Poole. After her mother-in-laws death Ruth moved back to Dorchester living at 29 Olga Road in the parish of St Peters with her own widowed mother Betsey Christopher. She died there in March 1933 and was probably buried in the civic cemetery.
6.5 Fanny Christopher (1855-1930) Was baptised at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 10th Oct 1855 together with her twin sister Maria (see 6.6. below). They obviously grew up together and being twins were very close. Both went into general domestic service locally before they married at St Martins church together on 30th Dec 1875 to two brothers. Fanny married Joseph Beck (1856-1950) and Maria his elder brother Henry Beck (1854-1917) They were two of 10 children of an agricultural labourer William Beck by his wife Charlotte. Joseph had been baptised at Bincombe on 5th Oct 1856 by the Revd Frederick Fisher the curate at Holy Trinity church. Joseph was a farm carter and as a consequence he moved the family to where he was hired to work and this led to their six children being born in different parishes:- Henry George c1880 Melcombe Horsey; Bessie c1882 and Frederick William c1885 both at Kingston, Stinsford; Albert Charles Christopher 4 Dec 1888 at Puddletown; Reginald c1891 and Arthur c1894 both at Fordington. Fanny appears to have died about Dec 1930 when she was 75 and was probably buried in the Civic Cemetery. Joseph lived to the grand old age of 94 and lived at 2 Milford Road, Dorchester but died in Damer's House in Dorchester on 17th Dec 1950. Probate for his modest estate of £213 was granted to his sons Henry & Frederick who had themselves by then both retired.
6.6 Maria Christopher (1855-1931) - See 6.5 above - Maria was a twin sister to Fanny and they married two brothers on the same day the 30th Dec 1875 in St Martin's church in Cheselbourne. Henry Beck (1854-1917) was baptised in All Saint's church in the parish of Piddletrenthide on Christmas Eve 1854. After marriage Henry and Maria continued to live in Cheselbourne where they had two children (Joseph William c1879 and Albert John Edgar c1884) before moving to Cerne Abbas where their third and last child Southie George Beck was born in 1890. Between 1891 and 1901 they moved again to live at Charminster where Henry worked as a carter on a farm and by 1911 they were living in St Peters parish in Dorchester where Henry had a job working for the Borough Council as a caretaker at the cattle market. Henry died at 5 Leicester Villas Alexandra Road in Dorchester on 1st June 1917 with his estate of £331 being administered by his son Joseph William Beck who was described as a grocers warehouseman. Maria lived to the age of 75 and died in the district of Dorchester in March 1931.
6.7 William George Christopher (1859-1924) baptised at St Martin's church on 22nd May 1859, lived at home with his parents until married in St Martins on 14th October 1882 to Kate HOWE (1861-1924) . She was the daughter of Charles Howe by his wife Mary Ann nee Riggs and Kate, born in December 1860, had been baptised at Melcombe Horsey in Dorset on 6th Jan 1861. They had 5 children:-
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6.7.1 William George Christopher - bap 5th Apr 1891 at Puddletown who was in Willesdown Middlesex working as a gardener in 1911
6.7.2 Rosannah Christopher (1884-1946) - born at Fordington and baptised at St Georges church on 15th June 1884 she married Evan William Samways (1882-1957) at Turners puddle in Dorset on 20th April 1908. They had a daughter Ivy Beatrice Samways (1910-1998). Rosannah died on 3rd Aug 1946 at 7 Langley Court Road in the district of St Anne's Park in Bristol leaving a modest estate of £176 to her husband a goods guard.
6.7.3 Anna Christopher - born at Puddletown in Dorset abt Feb 1887 she witnessed her elder brothers wedding and in her youth worked in Dorchester as a domestic servant to a chemist before marriage at St George's church in Fordington to Albert Edward Allen on 15th April 1915
6.7.4 Beatrice May Christopher - born at Tolpuddle in Dorset circa Aug 1892 she was working as a domestic servant and living at 51 South street in Dorchester in 1911 when she was 18.
6.7.5 Agnes Amelia Christopher - born at Tolpuddle abt Nov 1894 in 1911 aged 16 she was working as a domestic servant on the Great Western Road in Dorchester for a retired Jeweller.
William Christopher and his Family - c1882
Back Row: Deborah Ellen (1865-1938) and Elizabeth (Bess) (1856-aft1901)
Frederick John (1872-1963); Julia Christopher nee Carter (1834-1808); Emily Jane (1870-1937) William Christopher (1830 -1912) and Rosa (1875-1958)
Cyril Bertram (1877-1970)
William was baptised in Cheselbourne in St Martins Church on 25th February 1830 in the same font used to baptise his father in 1797 and subsequently all his siblings. By the age of 21 William was still living with his parents and as already related in the account of his fathers life had moved with them to reside in 'Foley House' between 'Rideouts' and 'Skinners' farm houses at Stoke Wake. It was while he was working here as an agricultural labourer that he met Julia Carter (1834-1898) a native of Hazelbury Bryan which lies only about two and a half miles northwest of Stoke.
Julia was the 4th of nine children of James Carter (1805-1884) and Anne House (1804-1879) who had married in the village in 1828. Hazelbury Bryan is in fact comprised of seven small hamlets namely 'Droop, Kingston, Parkgate, Pidney, Pleck, Wonston and Woodrow'. After marriage James found work in 'Droop' the hamlet situated right next to the church of St Mary and St James and it was in 'Droop' that their first 4 children were born between 1829 and 1834. Julia the youngest of the four was duly baptised at St Mary & St James Church on 18th May 1834. By 1836 her father had moved the family to the next hamlet to the west called 'Wonston' but by 1839 they were more permanently settled at 'Park Gate' the hamlet to the south. 'Park Gate' was simply a small group of cottages used to house labourers who worked in the surrounding fields. It is still in very much a rural setting even today and you can find these hamlets on modern maps 'Park Gate' being situated a little over half way along the road between Stoke Wake and Hazelbury Bryan.
Marriage Certificate of William Christopher to Julia Carter - 1st August 1854
Cordelia Carter (1836-1905) the witness was Julia's sister
William Christopher (1830-1912) was 24 years old when he married Julia Carter ( 1834-1898) in St Mary and St James church in Hazelbury Bryan. As required by church law banns for their marriage had been read out on three preceding consecutive Sunday services on the 4th; 11th and 18th June and as seen above they married on 1st August 1854. The first of their 11 children was born at Hazelbury Bryan but by July 1856 they had returned to William's home parish of Cheselbourne to settle and raise the next 10 children as listed below. I can only trace baptisms for the first three children raised after they returned to Cheselbourne. This was a time of high religious fervour and it's possible that they joined some other non conformist church, or just stopped going altogether. Julia lived to the age of 64 and her burial at Cheselbourne is annotated so say that she was buried 'without the rites of the church by a layman' which hints at non-conformity.
By April 1901 when William was 71 years old, he was still working as an agricultural labourer in Cheselbourne but had moved in with daughter Emily Jane who had married William Curtus in 1899. In the house with him was his two grandchildren by his daughter, namely Mabel Emily Christopher aged 6 and Walter George Curtis aged 8 months. Ten years further on we find William living in Brownden Terrace in Dorchester with his married daughter Rosa and his son-in- law Joseph Riglar. Joseph worked in Dorchester as a chemists porter and they had two children in school there. William died at the age of 82 in Feb 1912 when his abode was recorded as Shails Cottage in Dewlish. This was the house that by 1911 his daughter Emily Jane Curtis had moved to from Cheselbourne. William was buried in All Saints churchyard in Dewlish on 12th Feb 1912
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The eleven children of
William Christopher & Julia Carter:-
(7.1) Mary Ann Christopher (1854-1919) was born at Hazelbury Bryan abt August 1854 and married a carpenter by trade called James Vacher (1845-1912) at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 25th May 1872. They moved up North permanently to live initially settling at Stockport and moving to Hauton in Lancashire in 1875. In 1891 they were living at Gee Cross, Werneth in Cheshire; in 1901 at Denton in Lancashire and by 1911 at Hyde in Cheshire. They had four children 3 of them surviving to adulthood. Her son Cyril Bertram Vacher(1884-1947) served in the first world war. James Vacher died about February 1912 in Stockport aged 66 and Mary Ann at Ashton under Lyne about February 1919 at the age of 64.
(7.2) Elizabeth Christopher (1856- Aft 1901) who was known throughout the family as 'Bess', was baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 13th July 1856. She was one of the witnesses at her elder sister Mary Ann's wedding to John Vacher at St Martin's on 27th May 1872 and married herself there on 8th Dec 1887 to Walter Loader (1861-1901) a shoemaker by trade. Another of her sisters Emily Jane Christopher was one of four witnesses that day. After marriage they lived in Milbourne Stileham until Walters death there at the age of 41 in August 1901. They had no children but we lose track of Elizabeth after his death.
(7.3) William James Christopher (1859-1936) was baptised at Cheselbourne on 17th July 1859 and became a blacksmith. As a teenager he moved to live in the North of England almost certainly staying with his sister Mary Ann who after her marriage to James Vacher had settled at Haughton in Lancashire to live and it was here that William met his first wife. He married firstly to Louisa Ford (1856-1883) the daughter of a coal cart driver Stephen Ford by his wife Jane. Louisa lived with her parents at 143 Stockport Road in Hauton and like so many in the area worked in a cotton mill looking after the cotton frames. They married in nearby St Marks church in Dukinfield on 2nd March 1879. Louisa's father died in the first quarter of 1878 and by 1881 they were living with her widowed mother Jane at 241 Stockport Road Haughton. They had no children and Louisa tragically died at the age of 25 in Feb 1883.
William married for a second time to Ada Hopwood (1865-1925) she was also a native of Haughton living on Stockport Road. Ada was the daughter of William Hopwood a master plumber and house painter by trade and his wife Eliza. William worked at a colliery often shoeing horses and they had eleven children all born in Denton Lancashire between 1897 and 1911(14). Their 4th child William Christopher (1893-1917) was a soldier in the first world war having joined the Manchester Regiment as private 30442 he transferred to become Soldier 10244 in the 23rd Machine Gun Corps and was killed at Flanders in France on 29th July 1917 and buried at Etaples Military Cemetery. Ada died at Denton aged 60 in May 1925 followed by William at the age of 76 in June 1936.
(7.4) Charles Edwin Christopher (1861-1864) Baptised at Cheselbourne on 6th Oct 1861 but died an infant aged 2 years being buried in St Martins churchyard on 6th April 1864
(7.5) Julia Kate Christopher (1863-1957)
She was born at Cheselbourne on 16th March 1863 and her birth registered at the GRO as Kate Christopher. She does not appear to have been baptised but the April 1911 census, when she was 8 years old, gives her full name as Julia Kate Christopher. As a teenager she worked locally as a domestic servant and in April 1881 is still living with her parents in Cheselbourne, again recorded as Julia Kate Christopher aged 18.
Domestic service seems to have taken her much further afield however as she obtained a job working as a servant to a Mrs J.J.Agnew.On the 3rd April 1886 a Mrs J.J. Agnew left on board the S.S.Polnesian (picture left) from Liverpool to Halifax in Canada when her destination was given as being Winnipeg Manitoba. She was obviously a wealthy lady as she had with her an infant and two servants. She hired a cabin for herself and her child and paid for the passage of her two servants who are named as being an Ellen Richer aged 21 and Kate Christopher then aged 22. The SS Polynesian was a Royal Mail steamer of 3,983 tons run by the Allan shipping company and by 1880 was the worlds largest privately owned shipping company. They arrived at Halifax Nova Scotia at 5am on 11th Feb 1886.
Julia Kate Christopher decided to stay in Canada and on 18th May 1886 she married at Whitewater Manitoba to a presbyterian silver miner William Anderson (1860- 1931) who was born in Ontario Canada but of Scottish parents. They had no children living in the district of Turtle Mountain in Selkirk Manitoba in 1891 and Kootenay in 1901. By 1921 they were living at Enderby in British Colombia which is where William died at the age of 71 on 30th October 1931. Kate died in Nelson British Colombia at the age of 93 on 30th January 1957 and was buried at Trail Kootenay Boundary Regional District British Colombia in Canada.
(7.6) Deborah Ellen Christopher (1865-1938) born abt May 1865 in Cheselbourne she does not appear to have been baptised and as a teenager went into service in Dorchester. In April 1881 she is living at No. 4 High East Street working as a domestic servant for George Mutford, a Plumber and Painter by trade, helping his wife look after the house and their two children. George Mutford also acted as an agent in Dorchester for the Reliance Life Insurance Company so they were reasonably well off. She married in Eastbourne in Sussex at the age of 25 in the third quarter of 1890 as Ellen Deborah Christopher to Albert Edward Baulcomb (1869-1934). Albert was the son of William & Ann Baulcomb and had been born in Eastbourne so I suspect she applied for and obtained a better paid job there sometime in the mid 1880's. In the 1891 Census returns they are each staying with their respective parents, Deborah Baulcomb now being shown as married and a dressmaker, and Albert also now married and a porter by trade. From before 1901 they were living at 55 Asford Square in Eastbourne and have a son Cyril Bertram Baulcomb (1895-1928) who on out break of hostilities in the first world war joined the Royal Navy [service No. F9552] in Nov 1915 serving at HMS President II. Unfortunately he appears to have died unmarried at the young age of 34 leaving his estate of £203 to his father. Albert died at their home in 1934 aged 65 and Deborah followed on 26th Dec 1938. With no living children she left her modest estate of just £66 13s 7d to his married sister Rosa Riggs.
(7.7) Charles Edwin Christopher (1867-1870) Born about August 1867 at Cheselbourne he died an infant aged 2 years being buried in St Martin's churchyard on 27th May 1870
(7.8) Emily Jane Christopher (1870-1937) Born on 14th Feb 1870 at Cheselbourne, at the age of 17 she was one of the witnesses at the wedding of her elder sister Elizabeth Christopher to Walter Loader in St Martins Church. Soon after this she seems to have followed her elder sister Mary Ann and brother William James to find work in Lancashire. In April 1891, aged 21, she is working as a general domestic servant for a Duncan Webb a glass manufacturer based in Droylsden a suburb of Manchester and not that far from Haunton in Denton where her brother lived. In February 1893 she fell pregnant and this appears to have prompted her return to Cheselbourne as on 29th November 1893 she gave birth there to a baby girl she named Mabel Christopher. Mabel does not appear to have been baptised. In the 3rd quarter of 1899 Emily married William Emanuel Curtis (1875-1960) which I suspect was a civil marriage as I have been unable to locate a church registration. William was the 4th child of George Curtis (1844-1888) a farm carter by his wife Elizabeth Riggs (1848-1903). His mother had re-married after his fathers death to Robert Saint (1867-1940) who was 19 years her junior and by whom he gained a step sister and brother.
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Mabel Christopher (1893-1986), Emily's illegitimate daughter is recorded as being in domestic service in 1911 when she was 17 years old and working for a local farmer in Cheselbourne called Richard Cave Bennett. He was a 62 year old widower with two adult sons who ran the farm whilst Mabel looked after the house. The following year on 31st October 1912 she married in All Saints Church Dewlish to her 2nd cousin once removed Charles Warr Christopher (1889-1916) another carter by trade. Charles was the son of Henry Christopher (1854-1933) by his wife Caroline nee Warr (1859-1933) and had been baptised in St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 8th sep 1889. His sister Rotha Augusta Christopher (1894-1985) was one of the two witnesses to their marriage. The other was Mabel's step father William Emanuel Curtis. At the outbreak of WW1 Charles joined the 4th Gloucestershire Regiment (Service No. 5314) and unfortunately died on 22nd Sep 1916 at Pewsey Military hospital from a disease he caught whilst serving in the trenches. His body was returned to All Saints Churchyard for burial where there is still a monument to him in the North East corner of the graveyard. Mabel remarried about Feb 1922 to
Sidney A Hunt and died at the age of 92 in May 1896 in North Dorset.
William and Emily had four children in Cheselbourne before moving to live at Shails Cottages in nearby Dewlish late in 1905 where they had 3 more children by 1910. One of the reasons we lack normal baptism records etc may be because William & Emily appear to have been Primitive Methodists and their registers have not so far (Nov 2015) become available to view. Certainly one of their children Laura Gertrude Curtis (1905-1980) who was born at Cheselbourne on 17th April 1905 was baptised on 19th April 1905 at Kingston (part of the Sturminster Methodist Circuit). Also Emily's youngest brother Cyril Bertram Christopher became a primitive Methodist Minister. By 1918 William and Emily had moved their family again to live at Swanway Cottages in Shapwick which is where Emily died at the age of 67 and was buried on 30th August 1937. William retired to Bournemouth where he died at the age of 84 on 27th Aug 1860
(7.9) Frederick John Christopher (1872-1963) he was born about February 1872 in Cheselbourne and at the age of 19 was working in the village farmhouse at Tincleton in Dorset as a farm servant. Tincleton lies about 7 miles south of Cheselbourne and in those days would have been considered within daily walking distance although he probably had lodgings with the farmer Ellis House who had been born in the village. He appears to had an adventurous spirit because he married in Christchurch Hampshire in the1st quarter of 1895 to Emily Netta Hilsdon (1877-1911) the daughter of William Hillsdon and his wife Eliza nee Taylor. After marriage they lived at Boscombe in Hampshire where they had their first two children and then Springbourne before in 1901 living at 37 Malmesbury Road in Bournemouth when Frederick's occupation was described as being that of a 'hawker of oil'.
Emigration to Canada: In 1906 they emigrated to Canada, assisted by the Salvation Army and taking their three surviving children William Cyril, Minnie and Stanley with them. They sailed in steerage class from Liverpool on 5th April 1906 in the SS Kensington a ship of the Dominion line. It arrived at Halifax Nova Scotia on April 15th at 4.15pm landing a total of 1089 passenger who all underwent a medical examination.
Unfortunately Emily died at the age of 35 being buried at Vancouver in British Colombia on 17th March 1911. In the Canadian Census taken later in June that year we find Frederick now a widower living at City Heights in South Vancouver British Colombia with his son William aged 15; and daughters Minnie aged 13 and and Queenie aged 2. Interestingly we know from two border crossing records at Northport Washington that Frederick paid a weeks visit to Washington twice, first on 21st Sep 1931 and secondly on 14th Jan 1934. These records are very detailed and for example show that he was living in 'Trail' in British Colombia and was employed as a smelterman. Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada and Frederick named his next of kin as Minnie Owens his married daughter who also lived at Trail where there was a huge smelter works. Frederick lived to the age of 91 being buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver. They had five children :-
(7.9.1) William Cyril Christopher (1896-1966) On 20th July 1916 enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (Soldier 1257509) married Alice May Montague in 1st quarter of 1918 at South Stoneham Hampshire by whom he had 6 children. (15) Settled in UK and died aged 70 Bournemouth Hampshire
(7.9.2) Minnie Christopher (1898-1992) married 6 Jan 1920 to William Arthur Emanuel Owen (1900-1977) who was born on 20th July 1900 in Boscombe Hampshire abt Feb 1898 and emigrated with his parents on 18th Aug 1910 aged 8 the family settling in Vancouver. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary force on 11th Aug 1916 lying about his age by 2 years to get in. They had a daughter Murial in 1921. William died at the age of 77 being buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver on 23rd Nov 1977. Minnie lived to be 94and joined him on 11th March 1992
(7.9.3) Netta Alexandra Christopher (1900-1904) born about Oct 1900 at Spingbourne in Hampshire she died an infant aged 3 years and was buried at Christchurch.
(7.9.4) Stanley Christopher (1904-1923) born about April 1904, the youngest of their children to emigrate with them he died at Vernon in British Colombia at the young age of 18 on 23rd March 1923
(7.9.5) Queenie Christopher (b.1908) born in British Colombia about 1908 all we know about her comes from the 1911 and 1921 Canadian Census returns. We have not located a birth registration which suggests that Queenie may be a nickname.
(7.10) Rosa Christopher (1875-1958) born about February 1875 in Cheselbourne she does not appear to have been baptised. At the age of 16 she was working as a cook for a local farmer Richard Bennett at Eastfield Farm which was not far from the church in Cheselbourne. She married at the age of 22 to Joseph Riglar (1871-1950) abt Nov 1897 in Dorchester, possibly as a civil registration. Joseph worked as a chemists porter and after marriage they lived at 35 Dukes Avenue in the parish of All Saints. By 1911 they have moved to live at 4 Brownden Terrace in Dorchester and Rosa was looking after her widowed father who was then 83. Sometime between 1911 and 1919 they moved to live in Park Road Mitcham Surrey, initially at Number 49 but by 1938 at number 63. He died there at the age of 78 in 1950. After his death Rosa moved to kent possibly to live with one of her children and died in the district of Bromley aged 84 about June 1958.
(7.11) Cyril Bertram Christopher (1877-1970) (16) born on 28th March 1877 in Cheselbourne he left as a young man to join the Primitive Methodist Missionary Society and in 1901 was living in lodgings in Shoreditch in London. In the 4th quarter of 1906 he married Ellen Louisa Verlin Bailey (1882-1973) in Shoreditch. Ellen was the daughter of Alfred Bailey a butcher by trade and had been named after her mother Ellen Lucy nee Verlin. In 1901 Ellen was working as a housemaid in Bromsgrove at the Congregational Chapel called the Mount. After marriage and they settled to live in Harewood Road in Wimbledon initially in number 13 where they had a daughter Gwendoline born around April 1910. From 1912 until at least 1930 they lived at number 20 in the same street. We then loose track of them until their deaths both in Salford Manchester when Cyril died in June 1970 aged 93 and Ellen died there in Dec 1973 aged 91.
Sr Martin's Church Cheselbourne
©Picture by Michael Russell FIPD - 2004
Charles Christopher was baptised in St Martins church Cheselbourne on the 6th March 1831. He was the eldest son of James Bussell Christopher by his first wife Ellen nee Muffett. In the June 1841 Census he is shown as living with his widowed father and Ann Christopher (1810-1887) his aunt. Clearly when his mother, and 3 week old sister died in June 1832, his father's youngest sister Ann moved in for a time to look after Charles. In 1844 his father re-married to Sarah Christopher (1825-1898) and worked in the fields surrounding Cheselbourne as a shepherd. As soon as he was old enough he joined his father to become a shepherd himself and by 1851 at the age of 20 was living with his grandparents Joseph & Ruth Christopher.
On the 11th November 1854 he married in St Martins church to his 4th cousin and step mothers younger sister Rhoda Christopher (1836-1897). As already explained in the account of his fathers life his step mother was 26 years younger than his father and the 5th child and daughter of David Christopher (1793-1851) and Jane nee Galton (1795-1883). Sarah's ancestral line is already outlined in genealogical note 5 below. Rhoda being the 9th of 10 children of David & Jane was actually 11 years younger than her sister Sarah, and only 18 years old when she married Charles having been baptised in the same font as him at St Martins on the 18th March 1836. Their marriage was witnessed by her elder brother George Christopher (1833-1900) and the 1st Cousin of Charles, Mary Christopher (1837-1900) who later married Felix Carter in the same church in 1859.
Chebbard Farm in Dewlish & in the distance the Cottages Charles & Rhoda lived in
Charles and Rhoda raised a family of 9 children in Cheselbourne before moving in 1874 to live in one of the cottages shown in the distance in the above picture. They were owned by Chebbard Farm in Dewlish. The 400 acre farm lies just to the west of the village and even today is still surrounded by fields. Here they added another two children to their family. The April 1881 Census shows that there were 12 of them living in the cottage. Charles was employed on the farm as a shepherd whilst Rhoda and her 17 year old daughter Ellen looked after the house. Their sons Henry (27), Levi (22) and George (20) were all still single and employed on the farm as agricultural labourers whilst their younger sister Emily worked at home making gloves. The four younger children Mary Ann (12) Mercy (10) Fanny (8) and Ada (6) were all in school in the village whilst Esau who was only one was still tied to his mothers apron strings.
A decade later Charles (now 67) & Rhoda (62) are still living in the same cottage but most of their children have grown up, married and left home (see below). George (now 30) is still single and working at Chebbard's as a farm labourer and is listed as being in the Army Reserve. Esau (11) is still at school and they have Ellen their granddaughter living with them(17). Shortly after this they moved and Rhoda died at the age of 60 and was buried in the churchyard at Milborne St Andrew on 4th January 1897. After her death Charles moved to live with his married daughter Ada Andrews in Bere Regis and lived to be 76. His body was returned to Milborne St Andrew to be buried with his wife on 27th March 1907. Their eleven children were:-
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(8.1) Henry Christopher (1854-1933) [1st child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Baptised Cheselbourne 2nd April 1854 he married Caroline Warr (1859-1933) at St Martins church on 22nd Nov 1888. His brother Levi and sister Mary Ann were the two witnesses. After marriage they lived next to the River Arms Inn in Cheselbourne but by 1901 had moved to Dewlish living in Shails Cottages. They both died here in 1933, Caroline being buried in All Saints churchyard in Dewlish on 6th January aged 73 quickly followed by Henry aged 79 on 15th August 1933. They had five children:-
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(8.1.1) Charles George Warr Christopher (1889-1916) Baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 8th September 1889 he married his 2nd cousin once removed Mabel Christopher (1893-1986) in All Saints church Dewlish on 31st October 1912. At the outbreak of the 1st World War he enlisted in the 5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment (Soldier 5314). Unfortunately he caught a disease whilst in the trenches and returned to England in 1916. He died, still only aged 27, in Pewsey Military Hospital on 18th September 1916 but his body was returned for burial at All Saints where there is a memorial to him.
(8.1.2) Ellen Joan Lane Christopher (1892-1965) Baptised at St Martin's church on 10th January 1892 as a teenager she headed for Dorchester and in 1911 was working as a general domestic servant for a provision and coal merchant called Reginald Lock. He had a premises at 18 South street in Dorchester but the family lived at the main offices in North Square in the centre of town. On 26th November 1917 Ellen married at St Georges Church in Fordington to Lionel George Watts (1893-1970) a 24 year old leading stoker in the Royal Navy. At the time of their marriage Ellen was already living in Fordington at 1 Weymouth Avenue and Lionel was serving on board HMS Syren a destroyer which had been launched in 1900. He served on HMS Iron Duke from 3rd March 1921 to 23rd Oct 1923 and was discharged to shore having completed his 12 years on 9th Nov 1925. He died 19th Jan 1970 aged 77 and was buried at All Saints church in Dewlish. Ellen pre-deceased him having died at 43 St Georges Road in Fordington but was buried at Milbourne St Andrew on 19th July 1965 aged 73
(8.1.3) Rotha Augusta Christopher (1894-1985) Born in Dewlish on 8th March 1894 she was baptised at All Saints church on 12th April. On 5th March 1912 she was confirmed at Puddletown by the Bishop of Salisbury attending her first communion on 26th May. She married in Dewlish parish church on 23rd June 1915 to Joseph Giles (1892-1965) when her younger sister Jesse was one of the witnesses. After marriage they lived in Shails cottages in Dewlish up to at least 1920. Joseph died at the age of 73 being buried at Tarrent Hinton on 20th April 1965 and was joined by Rotha when she was 91 years old in November 1985.
(8.1.4) Jesse Olive Christopher (1896-1974) born in Dewlish on 23rd August 1896 she married by licence on 9th Feb 1918 when she was 22 to Edwin Gale who was 30 and in the Dorset Yeomanry Reserve. He was a resident of Fordington and his father William Gale of Nottington(18) was described as an Agricultural Holder. Her married sister Ellen Joan Lane Watts was one of the two witnesses. Little is known about them except that Jessie appears to have died in Carmarthenshire in Wales
(8.1.5) Reuben Christopher (1902-1950) Born about November 1901 the only fact to so far emerge is his death on the 4th August whilst living in Dorchester at 43 St Georges Road at the age of 48 and subsequent burial on the 8th at Tolpuddle in Dorset.
(8.2) David Frederick Christopher (1856-1893) [2nd child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Born on 17th April his birth was registered as Frederick Christopher. He was baptised however at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 18th May 1856 as David Fred Christopher. Just to add some confusion Henry and Caroline called him simply David Christopher and he is recorded as such whilst living with them in the 1861 (age 4) and 1871 (age 14) census returns. So, properly prepared it comes as no surprise that when his banns of marriage to Louisa Riggs ( 1855-1945) were read in his brides parish of Hilton on 7th; 14th and 21st January 1877 the vicar there the Revd John Marsh was told that his name was David George Christopher and this is also how his name was recorded when they marry in Hilton on the 17th March 1877 and hence how it was entered at the General Registry Office. David, as I will call him for the sake of simplicity, was illiterate but must have decided to change his middle name.
Louisa Riggs was baptised in St Andrews church at Melcombe Horsey in Dorset on 24th September 1855 the daughter of Frederick Riggs a carter and his wife Mary House who had married in the village on 7th May 1855. The family had moved to Cheselbourne by 1871 by which time Louisa who was 15 was working at home making gloves to supplement their income. After marriage they raised a family of ten children as listed below moving about the countryside in search of regular employment. Initially they lived in 'Common Cottage' on Lowes Farm in Cheselbourne, moving in 1880 to Milton Abbas for about a year before moving again to live at 'The Island' Dewlish around March 1881. They were still there in August 1882 but were probably back in Cheselbourne 1884-1886 before having arrived by 1888 at Upton near the coast in the Parish of Osmington. They were still there in April 1891. Their final move was to Clifton Maybank by June 1893 which is where David died still only 36 years old and was buried at St Mary the Virgin Church in Bradford Abbas.
After her husbands death Louisa remained in Clifton Maybank until around 1899 when she moved the family to Rhyme Intrinsica near the border with Somerset. Around 1907 when she was 52 years old she moved in with a 34 year old labourer called Frederick Marsh and lived at Evercreech. In the 1911 Census she maintains that they have been married for 4 years but they actually married about October 1914 in Shepton Mallett in Somerset. She appears to have died in Sep 1945 in the district of Yeovil when her age was given as 88 although she would have been about 90.
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(8.2.1) Frederick Charles Christopher (1877-1950) Born at Cheselbourne on 15th July 1879 he was baptised at St Martin's church on 9th Sep 1877 and confirmed by the Bishop of Salisbury at Clifton Maybank on 2nd June 1895. Having worked as a labourer in the fields surrounding the village he decided to enlist in the Royal Navy as a stoker 2nd class (Service number 287180) on 24th January 1898. From his service record we know he was 5 feet 5½ inches tall with brown hair grey/blue eyes and a fair complexion. Three years later when the 1901 Census was taken on the 31st March he was a stoker 1st class on HMS Quail a 30 knot destroyer based at Bermuda. It carried a 12 pounder main gun and had 5 6 pounder guns and two torpedo tubes as its other armament. During his career he served on a number of different ships. From 7th Nov 1908 until 1st August 1910 he was on board HMS Repulse when he was promoted to leading stoker. From 4th October 1910 and throughout WW1 until 7th January 1916 he was on HMS Gloucester for which he was awarded The British War and Victory Medals and 1914/15 star. He was discharged 1st March 1920 and married the following September to Eveline Sarah O'Carroll (1885-1953) . They both died at Yeovil Somerset Frederick aged 72 in June 1950 and Eveline aged 68 in Sep 1953
(8.2.2) Alice Maude Mary Christopher (1879-1975) She was born in the 1st quarter of 1879 in Cheselbourne and moved with the family. From an early age she adopted the name of Ida Alice Mary Christopher and was confirmed together with her elder brother by the Bishop of Salisbury at Clifton Maybank on 2nd June 1895. She married Ernest Bruce Norris in Yeovil Somerset in 4th quarter of 1904 . They lived in Yeovil at 4 Mary Street and Ernest was employed as a sheet metal worker at an oil engine works. They both died at Yeovil Ernest at the age of 58 in Sep 1940 and Alice aged 96 in Dec 1975.
(8.2.3) Beatrice May Christopher (1881-1882) She was actually born at Milton Abbas in Dorset but baptised at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 16th Jan 1881. She died aged 19 months being buried at All Saints church in Dewlish on 5th August 1881
(8.2.4) Ellen Kate Christopher (1882-aft 1901) She was born in Dewlish Dorset about May 1882 and moved with the family being at Upton aged 9 in 1891. By March 1901 recorded simply as Kate Christopher she was working at Sun House Farm in Yeovil as a general domestic servant after which we lose track of her.
(8.2.5) Charles Henry Thomas David Christopher (1884-1932) Born in Cheselbourne on 2nd Feb 1884 enlisted in the Royal Navy for 12 years service 4th Oct 1904 (Service No. 307673) under the name Henry Thomas David Christopher served until 14th Nov 1919. From 7th Oct 1910 to 2nd May 1911 he was based on HMS Tamar and stationed in Hong Kong as a stoker 1st class. the April 1911 Census refers to HMS Tamar being in China. In August 1913 he married whilst on shore leave at Plymouth in Devon to Agnes O'Carrol (1893-1955) and left to serve on HMS Suffolk where he served in WW1 from 16th Sep 1913 to 25th Aug 1916. Henry died at the age of 47 in Sep 1932 at Yeovil Somerset followed by Agnes aged 62 in Sep 1955.
(8.2.6) Beatrice May Christopher (1886 - after 1911) Named after her sister who died in 1882 she was born at Cheselbourne about Feb 1886. At the age of 25 in April 1911 she was working at Sommerlands in Yeovil ion Somerset as a Domestic Servant after which we lose track of her.
(8.2.7) Albert Arthur Christopher (1888-1898) Born at Upton in the parish of Osmington near the coast about Feb 1888 he died at the age of 10 at Clifton Maybank and was buried at Bradford Abbas on 14th Feb 1898
(8.2.8) Joseph Christopher (1890-1893) Born at Upton in the parish of Osmington near the coast about June 1890 he died at the age of 4 at Clifton Maybank and was buried at Bradford Abbas on 31st July 1893
(8.2.9) Eva Ann Christopher (1891-1988) Born at Clifton Maybank in Dorset about May 1891 she lived with her widowed mother at Park Cottages in Evercreech in April 1911 where she worked locally as a domestic servant. She married at the age of 32 to Theophilus Eli Roberts Stembridge (1900-1976) about Dec 1923 at Beaminster in Dorset. Her husband died at the age of 76 in Yeovil somerset and was joined by Eva when she was 97 years old in Sep 1988.
(8.2.10) Louis Christopher (1893-1978) Born at Clifton Maybank about August 1893 he was baptised at Bradford Abbas on 3rd Dec 1893. In April 1911 aged 17 he was living with his mother and sister Eva and working as a cowman on a local farm at Evercreech. The only other record so far located is his death at the age of 85 in Sep 1978 at Bridport in Dorset.
(8.3) Levi Charles Christopher (1858-1939) [3rd child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Rivers Arms in Cheselbourne
Baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 5th Sep 1858 he moved with the family to live at Chebbard Farm in Dewlish working on the farm as an agricultural labourer. He acted as a witness at his sister Ellen Christopher's wedding to Harry Burden at St Martin's church on 1st Nov 1884. By the age of 29 he was working as a shepherd and married on the 22nd Dec 1887 at St Martin's church to his 24 year old 1st cousin once removed Emily Jane Christopher (1863-1929) . Emily was the daughter of James Christopher (1838-1906) by his first wife Charlotte Jane Christopher (1839-1877). After marriage they settled to live at Badger's Knapp in Cheselbourne close to Waterside Farm and the Rivers Arms Inn (picture above) and by 1901 he was working in the area as a domestic gardener. They were still living at Badger's Knapp in 1915 but by the end of 1917 had moved to Burleston. They had no children and Emily died at Burleston at the age of 66 being buried at St John's church in Athelhampton on Christmas Eve 1929. Levi died at the age of 81 at Tarrent Hinton but probate confirms that he was living in Burleston. He passed away on 7th Nov 1939 and left a modest estate of £195. 6s. 0d and a Will in which he named Walter William Paul a sub post master at Puddletown as executor, whom he gave £5, with the balance going to his sister Mrs Fanny Lane. He was buried on the 11th at St John's church.
(8.4) George Christopher (1861-1941) & his wife Eveline Jane Beck (1872-1959) ( personal account and more pictures available on ancestry.com for members) [4th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Born about Nov 1860 George was baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 20th Jan 1861. Like his siblings he moved with the family to live at Chebbard Farm in Dewlish working on the farm as an agricultural labourer. On the 9th March 1882 when he was 21 years old he attested at Dorchester Barracks as a private in the Dorsetshire Regiment (Service No. 290) when he was described as being 5 feet four and a half inches tall, with a fresh complexion, weighing 121 lbs , hazel eyes and brown hair. The barracks had only been operational since October 1879 so being still relatively new was no doubt quite an attraction in the town. He was posted in August to Aldershot for training and reputed to have been athletic, winning the long jump. He sailed on 'HMS Malabar' with the Regiment to the East Indies on 18th Dec 1883. They landed in India on 16th Jan 1884 and he arrived at Peshwar on the North West Frontier (Now Pakistan) on 5th February 1884. -
Peshwar is situated in a large valley near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass and was the British frontier headquarters. It is noted as a hot and malarious valley and in years of heavy rainfall it can assume a very deadly form, death often occurring within a few hours. It's not surprising therefore to discover from George's medical record that he contracted malaria whilst at Peshwar generally being hospitalised for 5 to 8 days at a time. During this period he was twice sent to Cherat an important hill station used as a sanitarium and health station in hot weather. He was admitted to the hospital twice both for a period of 5 days, the first from 17th Oct 1884 and the second from the 18th June 1885. Once he left Peshwar his health dramatically improved, although as is often the case, malaria reoccurred later in his life.
Descendants maintain that he 'marched with full kit through the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan and onto Kabul - supposedly the last regiment to march fully kited through the pass'. This is of some personal interest to me as my father was in the Army serving in the Royal Artillery and his unit was the first fully mechanised unit in the army (They were later to become in 1942 part of what is today is called the REME). As such they were posted in February 1937 to the Khyber Pass to build a proper road through the pass to Kabul. Even 50 years after George was there it was still a dangerous place with the troops being shot at by sniper's each night, forcing them to recess the floor of their tents and surround them with walls of stone for protection.
On the 1st Dec 1885 George transferred to the Royal Lancaster Regiment (Soldier 1460) and served in 1886 at Poona in India (now Pakistan); in 1887 at Quetta Balochistan, and in 1888 at Hyderabad Sind. He returned to England on HMS Malabar on 28th Nov 1889 and discharged from the Army on 27th January 1890. He returned to live with his parents at the cottages on Chebbard Farm and he is working there aged 30 as a farm labourer in April 1891 when it also records that he is part of the Army reserve.
On 08 Nov 1892 George Christopher married in All Saints Church in Dewlish to Eveline Jane Beck (1872-1959) . Eveline had been baptised at Dewlish on 17th November 1872 the 5th of 10 children of Francis John Beck (1847-1933) and Susan Ann Tucker (1845-1930) . Her farther was a methodist lay preacher for over 40 years, walking long distances to preach. He was greatly respected in the community and church, later shown by a large congregation at his funeral in 1933 which included 14 other lay preachers. He was greatly involved in the Chapel in the village and as well as preaching he was a Class Leader and a Steward for the Weslyan Methodist Society. Although her father was a native of Cerne Abbas her parents had married in Cheselbourne in 1864 but moved to live in Dewlish in 1868. In 1881 when Eveline was 8 the family was living next door but one to George's married elder brother David Frederick Christopher and his wife Louisa Riggs so it's easy to see how close the families were. Chebbard where George lived at that time was in any case only a mile west of Dewlish village center.
George, as detailed below, was a witness at the wedding of each of his 3 sisters (Mercy in 1894; Fanny in 1897 and Ada in 1899) who all married in St Andrews church in the nearby parish of Milborne St Andrew. By January 1901 they had moved the family to live at New Road in Puddletown, by July 1904 onto Perry in Netherbury, and in 1911 were living in Hayden Cottage in Cattistock. During the next 4 years they continued to move around Dorset before leaving the County for Wales. They moved to Wales where their daughter had married and settled at Pontnewydd living in Grange cottage a gardeners house in the grounds of Llantarnam Grange. George died aged 80 on 11th April 1941 followed by Eveline when she was 86 in June 1956.
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(8.4.1) Evelyn Elsie Christopher (1894-1941) Born at Dewlish on 26th April 1895 she married Edgar Esau Larcombe Case (1888-1960) in Bargoed Wales in 1915 she died at Gloucester March 1941
(8.4.2) Gerald Victor Christopher (1901-1976) Born 14th March 1901 at Puddletown & baptised 2nd June in the parish church of St Mary's married in Pontypool Wales in 1927 to Maud Matilda Charles. Died Dec 1976 in South Glamorgan
(8.4.3) Jeffrey Herbert Christopher (1904-1991) Born 21st May 1904 and baptised at St Mary's church in Netherbury Dorset 10th July. A mechanical engineer by trade he married Elizabeth Jenkins 10th Nov 1935 at St Luke's Church Abercarn Wales and ran the Woodland Garage at Croesyceilog Cwmbran. Died 11th March 1991 aged 86.
(8.4.4) Arthur Bernard Christopher (1906-1975) Born 22nd May 1906 he had a private Baptism at his home in Waytown the same day, which is recorded in the parish registers of St Mary's Parish Netherbury. He moved with the family and died aged 69 at 14 Plas Twyn Northville Cwmbran in Wales on 1st Sep 1975.
(8.5) Ellen Christopher (1863-1888) [5th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Said to have been born on 28th May 1863 at Cheselbourne she was baptised at St Martins church on 21st June that year. From Cheselbourne she moved to live in the cottages on Chebbard Farm with her parents where as the eldest girl in the family she helped her mother look after the house and her younger siblings. On 1st November 1884 she married in All Saints church in Dewlish to Henry [Harry] Burden (1862-1890) a 22 year old labourer who also worked on Chebbard Farm and lived with his brother John Burden (1852-1929) and his wife Rachel Arnold nee Burden (1848-1926) in one of the other cottages. They were both sons of John and Maria Burden, a family that originated from Winterborne Kingston. Her elder brother Levi was one of the witnesses.
After marriage Henry and Ellen had a daughter whom they named Ellen Rhoda Burden (1888-1939) who was born at Wool in Dorset in April 1888 which was where Henry's brother John and his wife Rachel had moved to by then so perhaps they were all living together there. There must however have been some complications with the birth as Ellen died and was buried in the churchyard of All Saints church at Stoke Wake on 9th April 1888. After her death their newly born daughter Ellen Rhoda was handed over to her parents and brought up initially as another of Charles and Rhoda's children. By the time she reached her teenage years Ellen Rhoda had come under the wing of her deceased mother's younger sister Emily Christopher who had married Joseph Lane in 1891. They had no children so they steered her into adulthood and found her a job working for the Reverend henry Edmond Leigh who was Rector of Bishops Caundle in Dorset. On 13th May 1913 Ellen married Edwin Chaffey in her employers parish church. She also died relatively young at the age of 50 on 29th September 1938 at Church Farm Child Okeford.
It's not clear whether Henry had much to do with his daughter after her birth as 4 months after the death of Ellen he re-married at East Stoke to Louisa Hood on 25th August 1888. He too died very young passing away at the age of 29 and being buried at Winterbourne Kingston on 3rd August 1890. After his death louisa re-married.
(8.6) Emily Christopher (1865-1948) [6th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Baptised at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 27th Aug 1865 she also moved with the family to live and grow up on Chebbard Farm . As a teenager she worked from home making gloves to help supplement the families income. She married Joseph Lane (1866-1945) at All Saints church in Dewlish on 24th March 1891 when they were both 25 years old. They had no children and as explained above they took in Emily's niece Ellen Rhoda Burden when she reached her teenage years until she married. Joseph worked at a variety of jobs ranging from Agricultural labourer, to gateman; Groom; and gardener. He died at the age of 79 at The Bungalow in Bishops Caundle on 9th Nov 1945 with administration of his estate of £350 being granted to his widow on 21st June. Emily died on 14th March 1948 at the age of 82 at the same address and was buried with him at Bishops Caundle 3 days later.
(8.7) Mary Ann Christopher (1868-Aft1901) [7th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Hindlip Hall Worcestershire
Where Mary Ann Christopher worked as a housemaid
Baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 2nd August 1868, like her siblings she grew up at Chebbard Farm in Dewlish and witnessed the marriages of her brother Henry in 1888 and sister Emily in March 1891. The following moth we find her aged 22 still unmarried and employed as a housemaid at Woolland House in Dorset. Woolland Manor was purchased in 1852 by Montague Williams who died on 3rd Dec 1890 only a few months prior to the Census. Mary Ann is therefore employed as a housemaid by his son and heir Montague Scott Williams. She must have gained a good reputation as ten year later she is still unmarried but now moved on to become one of 12 servants at the much more prestigious Hindlip Hall in Worcestershire. The 1901 Census records her as Mary Christopher single aged 31 years a Housemaid and born in Cheselbourne. This however is the last record that we have been able to locate that relates to her. In all probability she married but we could not find her in the 1911 Census. [If anybody knows her fate I would be grateful if you can make contact via the email address given on the Dorset OPC main page for Fordington]
(8.8) Mercy Christopher (1870-1939) [8th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Grave of Mercy Keats nee Christopher & her husband Walter John Keats
Mercy was baptised at St Martins church in Cheselbourne on 18th Sep 1870, like her siblings she grew up at Chebbard Farm in Dewlish. She also went into service becoming by 1891 a housemaid for a brewer Henry Godwin and his family in Durweston. She married at the age of 23 on 20th June 1894 at Milborne St Andrew to Walter John Keats (1868-1953) a miller by trade who had been baptised on the 6th Nov 1868 at Upwey as the illegitimate son of Hannah Keats (1845-1874). After marriage they settled at The Cross Stourpaine where their two children (Ella Marion in 1899 and Vera Jessie in 1903) were born. By 1911 they had moved to live in the High street at Grantchester in Cambridgeshire. Here Walter worked as a rollerman in a flour mill and it's where they both died. Mercy died on 28th Oct 1939 aged 69 followed by her husband Walter at the age of 84 in March 1953.
(8.9) Fanny Christopher (1873-1951) [9th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
The 'Blue Raddle' was originally a private house, but converted in 1850 to become the 'Dolphin Inn'
It was later renamed 'The Gun Room' and then
'The Country Gentleman' and finally 'The Blue Raddle'
Fanny Christopher was born in Cheselbourne on 3rd January 1873 and baptised at St Martins church on the 7th of the same month. By the time of the April 1891 Census Fanny aged 18 was already working as a domestic servant at the 'Dolphin Inn' in Dorchester. It was located in Church Street which runs down the side of All Saints church into High East street and as shown in the picture above joins onto the churchyard at the back. The Inn had originally been a private house but had been converted and called the 'Dolphin Inn' since 1850. When Fanny worked there the Dolphin Inn was run by Charles Vallens his wife and daughter and they had 4 lodgers and two families resident.
In June 1894 Fanny, together with her brother George, were witnesses at St Andrews church in Milborne St Andrew at the wedding of their sister Mercy Christopher to Walter John Keats. On Wednesday 14th April 1897 Fanny married Frank Lane (1868-1939) in the same church and their marriage was witnessed by Fanny's two siblings George and Ada Christopher.
Frank Lane (1868-1939) had been born at Woodcutts in the parish of Sixpenny Handley in Dorset in the 2nd quarter of 1868 the son of James Lane a groom and his wife Mary nee Raymond. In the late 1870's he and his family had moved to live in Durweston a small parish situated 2 miles north of Blandford on the main road to Sturminster Newton. As a young man he worked locally as a gardener and the 1891 Census shows him as still living with his parents in the village. Whilst Fanny was working in Dorchester she was still very close to her sister Mercy who was working as a housemaid in Durweston and this appears to be how the two families got to know one another. By the time they married in 1897 Frank now aged 29 had progressed from being a gardener to running a grocery business. They settled in the parish of Pimperne to live raising a family of 4 children (Namely:- Louis Frank Lane (1899-1918); Eric Sydney Lane (1902-1978); Reginald James Lane (1906-1968) and Cyril Walter Lane (1909-2001). The first three children were all born at Pimperne before they moved to live at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset about 1907/8. Here Frank continued to trade as a grocers and appears in most editions of Kelly's Directories as a shopkeeper up until his death on 17th August 1939 at the age of 71.Administration of his estate of £260+ was granted to his widow Fanny on 24th January 1940.
Fanny re-married in the 4th quarter of 1942 to George William Hobbs and with him continued to run 'The Stores' in Tarrent Hinton. Fanny Hobbs died on 15th May 1951 and probate of her estate of £1710+ was granted on 28th July 1951 to her husband and son Cyril Walter Lane by then a general engineer.
(8.10) Ada Christopher (1875- Aft 1911) [10th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Ada was the first of Charles and Rhoda's children to actually be born in the workers cottages at Chebbard Farm in Dewlish on 15th June 1875. Although born in Dewlish he was baptised on 18th July 1875 in St Martin's church in Cheselbourne. As a teenager she lived with her elder brother David Frederick Christopher (1856-1893) at Osmington helping his wife Louisa nee Riggs (1855-1945) look after their 6 children. On the 5th April 1899 she married (as her sisters Mercy and Fanny had before her) at St Andrews church in Milborne St Andrew. She married a blacksmith called George Andrews (1878- Aft 1911) the son of Frank Andrews who was also a Blacksmith by his wife Emma Farr. George had been born about Feb 1878 in West Knighton although his parents emanated from Winfrith Newburgh in Dorset. They had him baptised at West Knighton on 2nd June 1878 and about 1890 they moved to Chaldon Herring to live. Osmington is only about 3 miles away from Chaldon Herring as the crow flies and about 6 by road so they probably met during the early 1890's. After marriage they settled in Bere Regis to live where their first two children, namely Gladys Adelaide Andrews (1900-1930) and Christopher Gerald Andrews (1902-1973), were born. The Electoral Register for Bere Regis for the year 1901 states that George Andrews qualification for entry on the register was a dwelling house 'successive Milborne St Andrew and West street in Bere Regis'. We know from Gladys birth that they were living in Bere Regis by the 2nd quarter of 1900 but the electoral register suggests that George Andrews was actually living in Milborne St Andrew immediately prior to 1900.
By the birth of their 3rd and last child on 1st Nov 1904, namely Violet Stella Andrews (1904-1985), they had moved again this time to live at 'The Deane' in Hindon Wiltshire where George was still shown as a blacksmith in the April 1911 census. Unfortunately we loose track of both George and Ada after this date. Their eldest daughter Gladys died in the district of Tisbury Wiltshire in 1930 and Violet married there in the 1st quarter of 1933 suggesting that the family remained in the area but we have not so far located any supporting documentation.
(8.11) Esau Christopher (1880-1915) [11th child of Charles Christopher (1831-1907) & Rhoda nee Christopher (1836-1897)]
Esau like his elder sister Ada was born in the workers cottages at Chebbard Farm in Dewlish in the second quarter of 1880. He was to prove to be the last of Charles & Rhoda's 11 children. On 9th May 1880 like Ada he was baptised in St Martin's church in Cheselbourne. As an adult he worked as a jobbing gardener but so far we have not been able to locate him in the 1901 census. Information from the family suggests that he worked at 'Yelverton House' in Everton in Hampshire and that he cycled there to work from Bournemouth each day. We do know that he married in the district of Christchurch in Hampshire (which embraces Bournemouth) when he was 24 years old to Alice Russell (1883-1956) (picture right) After his marriage on 6th August 1910 Esau (picture left) joined the Salvation Army when his address was given as being at 28 Shaftesbury Avenue in Bournemouth which was part of Hampshire until a local Government reorganisation in 1974 made it part of Dorset. Esau and Alice had four children there as shown below before Esau died aged 38 in April 1915. Alice continued to live in Bournemouth until she died there at the age of 73 in Jun 1956.
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8.11.1 Daisy Alice Christopher (1905-2009) Born in Bournemouth 25th March 1905 she married Albert Parkin a Major in the Salvation Army in 4th quarter of 1955. She lived to be 104 years old and there is a lovely eulogy to her on the Kennett Family Tree on Ancestry.com. She died on 31st March 2009.
8.11.2 Charles Thomas Christopher (1908-2001) Born at Bournemouth on 11th Nov 1908 he married in the 4th quarter of 1932 to Gladys Louise Vatter (1909-2001) and they had 2 children.
8.11.3 Freda Alexandria Christopher (1911-2004) Born at Bournemouth on 22nd March 1911 she was married in the Salvation Army Temple in Bournemouth on 30th April 1938 by her sisters husband Major Albert Parkin S.A. to Reginald Victor Kennett (1914-2989) a house painter and decorator by trade. Freda died in Bournemouth on 26th Sep 2004 aged 93
8.11.4 Winifred G Christopher (b1915) Private
In Loving memory of Charlotte Christopher
died January 15th 1877 aged 36 years
also
James husband of the above
died May 10th 1906 aged 68 years
James Christopher was baptised at St Martin's in Cheselbourne on 18th Feb 1838. He grew up with his 5 younger siblings and his widowed maternal grandmother in the village. His father died when he was 10 years old which immediately placed a strain on the family. By the time of the April 1851 Census it is clear that this forced the children into early employment. Elizabeth still only 37 years old, James aged 12 and his younger brother Willoughby aged 11 are all recorded as being Farm Labourers and Elizabeth's mother Elizabeth Arnold is 75 years old and in receipt of Parish Relief. With 3 younger children (aged 8; 6 and 3) also in school they must have been at bare subsistence level. James was therefore probably employed as an Agricultural Labourer from the age of 10 when his father died and it was not to be until late in his life that he could turn his hand to anything more profitable.
James married twice, first at St Martin's church on 8th March 1859 to his 4th cousin once removed Charlotte Jane Christopher (1839-1877) . Charlotte was the illegitimate daughter of Jane Christopher (1818-1894) the 2nd of 10 children of David Christopher (1793-1851) and Jane Galton (1795- 1883), as such she has the same ancestry as her sister Sarah Christopher(1825-1898) as set out in genealogical note 5 below. Charlotte had been baptised in St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on Christmas Day 1839 and grown up with James in the village. After marriage they continued to live in the village and raised a family of 8 children together (detailed below) before Charlotte died at the young age of 36. She was interred in the graveyard behind the church on 15th January 1876. See her gravestone above.
James Christopher married for a second time about May 1879 to Mary Cleale (18471908). (19) Mary was the daughter of William Cleal (1816-1890) and Harriet nee Lane (1825-1880) and had been baptised at St Mary's church in South Perrott" on 25th April 1847 so was 9 years younger than James. In 1869 Mary had an illegitimate son she named Frank Peter Cleal who was born in Blandford workhouse around November 1869 and does not appear to have been baptised. He was just under 10 years old when his mother married James Christopher.
After marriage Mary and her son lived in Cheselbourne with James and his remaining family and the April 1881 Census shows them living next to the River's Arms. James two eldest unmarried girls (Emily Jane aged 17 and Edith aged 15) were working from home making gloves whilst their 12 year old brother William James was working in the fields surrounding Cheselbourne as an Agricultural Labourer. This still left the three youngest children from James 1st marriage (Martha aged 9, Stephen John aged 7 and Charlotte Anne aged 4 ) at school plus Mary had by then a son Joseph by James who was only 11 months old. In all James and Mary had 4 children together (as detailed below). By the end of the century James had learned a trade to become a stone mason and is shown as such in the 1901 Census and as a builder on his son Joseph's marriage in 1904. He died on 10th May 1906 at the age of 68 and was buried with his first wife Charlotte 3 days later. Mary had his death added to the inscription on Charlotte's gravestone and moved to Surrey to live with her son Walter in Redhill which is in the borough of Reigate. Mary died there aged 60 and was buried at St Bartholomew's Church Horley on 3rd Feb 1908.
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Children by his 1st wife Charlotte Jane nee Christopher (1839-1877):-
(9.1) Elizabeth Christopher (1859-1939) James eldest child she was baptised at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 10th July 1859. As a teenager she entered domestic service and by the age of 21 was living at 7 Alexandra Terrace in Holy Trinity Parish in Dorchester where she worked for Sydney Charles Burt a Railway agent and his wife Eliza and 2 young children. On 20th December 1881 she married Walter Claudius Neal ( 1861-1930) a native of Sydling St Nicholas and the son of Uriah and Elizabeth Neal. He became a Farm Bailiff. They had one son George Theophilus Neal (1884-1911) about Aug 1884 at East Morden in Dorset and lived for a while in the parish of Langton Long and then Charlton Marshall before settling in Pimperne by 1911. Their son married in Winterbourne Whitchurch on Boxing day 1905 to Mabel Annie Riggs the daughter of a carpenter George Riggs and they in turn had one son Walter George Neal (1907-1993). Unfortunately George Theophilus became ill (probably with something like TB) and in 1911 was sent to the Royal Victoria Hospital at Lower Lowther Road in Bournemouth where he died about May 1911. Walter died at Pimperne on 22nd June 1930 leaving a modest estate of £78+. Elizabeth died there in March 1939 aged 79
(9.2) Louisa Christopher (1860-1925) Born on the 17th and baptised at St Martins on 22nd September 1860 she grew up in the village with her siblings. When she was aged 14 her cousin once removed Charles Christopher (1831-1907) was working as a shepherd in Cheselbourne on Lower Farm. The owner of this 384 acre farm was Levi Riggs and his daughter Eliza Ann Riggs who was then aged 21 accepted a proposal of marriage from the Wesleyan Minister Revd William Dunstan (1844-1928) and they married in St Martin's on 12th April 1874. Sometime after their marriage they moved away from Cheselbourne and Eliza Ann appears to have taken Louisa Christopher with her as a domestic servant. By April 1881 all three are living at 8 St Anne's Crescent in Lewes in Sussex. This must have been quite a revelation for Louisa after having grown up in a small village in Dorset. It's not clear how she then came into contact with her husband but she married back in her home parish of Cheselbourne on 12th April 1887 to Henry Sale (1864-1958). Henry who was known as Harry had been born on 12th Feb 1864 in Aylesbury the son of a carpenter Edward Sale and his wife Emma nee Landon. After marriage they returned to his home parish where Henry worked at home as a cabinet maker. Henry and Louisa had 5 children all born in Aylesbury between 1887 and 1899 before Louisa died there at the age of 65 in December 1925. Harry Sale died at 41 Fleet Street in Aylesbury on 19th December 1958 at the ripe old age of 94. He left an estate of £5375+ in the care of a Solicitor for the benefit of his children.
(9.3) Emily Jane Christopher (1863-1929) Baptised at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 26th June 1863 she grew up in the village next to the Rivers Arms Inn and was a witness at the wedding of both her elder sisters. On 22nd December 1887 she married her 1st cousin once removed Levi Charles Christopher (1858-1939). Follow link for more information about their life together.
(9.4) Edna Christopher (1866-1928) Baptised in St Martin's church Cheselbourne on 18th March 1866 as a teenager she worked from home making gloves. At the age of 18 she married on Christmas Eve in All Saints church in Dewlish to William Old (1863-1922) . William had been baptised at Cerne Abbas in Dorset on 3rd May 1863 the son of an agricultural Labourer James Brewer Old (1832-1875) by his wife Hannah Hart (1838-1922). After marriage they settled in Piddletrenthide to live where they had 4 children before moving in 1893 to Broadmayne where they added another and then onto Bere Regis where they lived on Bere Down and had their 6th and final child Reginald Henry Old who was sadly killed in 1918 in Flanders. William Old died at the age of 59 being buried at Charminster on 25th Nov 1922. Edna died aged 62 in the district covered by Dorchester in Dec 1928. Neither appears to have left a will.
(9.5) William James Christopher (1868-1950) Born about May 1868 he was baptised at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 31st Jan 1869 and like his siblings as a young man laboured in the fields surrounding the village. At the age of 29 he married in St Martin's church on 12th January 1898 to Edith Mary Whitty ( 1877-1962) the daughter of a Railway Porter Edwin Whiity(1847-1877) by his wife Jemima Baker Rogers. Her father unfortunately died before she was born being buried in St Martin's churchyard on 12th May 1877 whereas she was baptised there on 20th August that year. In effect she was raised by her maternal grandparents Henry & Fanny Rogers and her mother Jemima Baker Whitty remarried in the last quarter of 1888.
William and Edith had 5 children together in Cheselbourne as detailed below between 1900 and 1910 before moving to live at Ansty in the Parish of Hilton in Dorset. They were still living there in 1922 but William James died at the age of 81 and was buried at Melcombe Horsey on 8th Feb 1950. He was joined by his widow Edith Mary when she was 84 on 6th March 1962. Probate for her estate of £538 was granted on 1st March with administration to her son Edwin Claude Christopher described then as a farm labourer.
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(9.5.1) Amelia Jesse Christopher (1900-1964) she married Frederick Lowe (1883-1952) at All Saints church in Hilton on 12th Dec 1918. Her father and her younger sister Linda acted as witnesses. He was a private in the New Zealand Army (Regt No. 2995) who had been a farmer with his father Henry at Aparara, Karamea in Westland New Zealand prior to his enlistment and embarkation in 1916. Having served in the First World War in May 1919 they embarked on the ship Kigoma when their destination was given as Lyttelton in New Zealand. Its clear from electoral register entries that they lived at Oparara on the West Coast which is where Frederick died in 1952 and Amelia on 21st Feb 1964.
(9.5.2) Edwin Claude Christopher (1901-1966) he married Laura Upshall (1897-1973) about June 1926 and they had a son they named William the following year. Edwin was granted administration of his mothers estate on 21st June 1962 and later died in the district of Weymouth about June 1966. laura lived to be 75 years old and passed away in September 1973
(9.5.3) Ivy Lilian Christopher (1902-1971) she married George Drake (b.1897) on 17th Sep 1924 in All Saints Church at Hilton in Dorset and was buried at the age of 69 at Milton Abbas on 4th November 1971
(9.5.4) Linda Charlotte Christopher (1904-1968) she married in Bournemouth to Albert Percy Padfield (1889-1958) a cheese maker by trade and they had a daughter Dorothy in 1928. They lived at Sturminster Newton where Albert died aged 69 in September 1958 and Linda at the age of 68 in December 1968.
(9.5.5) Jemima Doris Christopher (1910-1934) born in Cheselbourne in May 1910 she died at the age of 24 being buried at Melcombe Horsey on 2nd January 1935
(9.6) Martha Helena Christopher (1871-1952) Born in Cheselbourne in the 2nd quarter of 1871 by the age of 19 she was working for a farmer Joseph Riggs in Piddlehinton Village Dorset as a domestic servant (with her was Jane Christopher spinster daughter of David Christopher & Jane Galton aged 72); by 1901 she had progressed to being a parlour maid for a George Holmer at Baxdolf Manor Puddletown; He was a Farmer; landowner and land agent for Dorset. After Banns of Marriage were read on 19th and 26th April and 3rd May 1903 Martha married 3 days in St Martin's church in Cheselbourne to William Dix OLD (1875-1959) who was a gardener by trade and 27 years old. William had been baptised at Piddlehinton on 7th Nov 1875 the son of another gardener John Old (1830-1900) by his wife Elizabeth nee Dix (1837-1910) from whence he gained his second name. When Martha met him he was living with his parents in a cottage attached to the Rectory in Piddlehinton. As a teenager William worked in the village as a groom but learnt his trade working with his father and they married when he was offered employment as a gardener in Hampshire. The April 1911 Census shows William living on Johnson's Farm at Sheet, Petersfield in Hampshire. They had 4 children(20) one of which died in infancy. Martha lived to the age of 80 and died on 30th March 1952 in St Mary's Hospital Portsmouth when their address was given as 28 Stakes Hill Road Waterlooville Hampshire. She left an estate of £230 to her husband. William died at the age of 83 in March 1959.
(9.7) Stephen John Christopher (1873-1939) born in Cheselbourne about May 1873 like his siblings as a teenager he worked in the fields surrounding Cheselbourne as an agricultural labourer. He joined the prison service transferring to Parkhust Prison where he worked as an assistant warder. Whilst living at Whitchurch in Hampshire he met Mary Ann Kercher (18709-1912) the daughter of a farmer John and Maria Kercher whom he married in Feb 1895. They moved to Newport on the Isle of Wight and raised a family of 5 children (namely 1. Stephen Harold Christopher (1896-1942) 2. Ethel Christopher born 1898 who in 1925 married Raymond Ellis 3. Dorothy Christopher born c1902 4. Mabel christopher born c1905 and Maude Christopher born c1907). Mary died quite young at Whitchurch in Hampshire at the age of 42 in Oct 1912. Stephen died at Deane Down Farm in Oakley Hampshire on 10th March 1939 when administration of his estate of £473+ was granted to his daughter Ethel Ellis.
(9.8) Charlotte Annie Christopher (1876-1948) born in Cheselbourne about May 1876 she became a school teacher and moved to London where she met William Grimes ( 1875-1943) a coach builder by trade. Her Banns of marriage were read at St Martin's church in Cheselbourne on 12th; 19th and 26th Nov 1899 and they married in early Dec at St Georges Church in Hanover Square in London. They lived in Battersea in London and had a son Lewis Christopher Grimes (1902-1973) who married in Battersea in Sep 1930 to Kathleen E Turner (1901-1973). William Grimes died in Dec 1943 aged 68 and Charlotte on 12th May 1948 aged 72. Administration of her modest estate of £223 was granted to her son Lewis Christopher on 28th May 1948.
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Children by his 2nd wife Mary nee Cleal (1847-1908):-
(9.9) Joseph Christopher (1880-1939) Born about May 1880 in Cheselbourne he trained as a groom from an early age and migrated to Lambeth in London prior to April 1901 when he was living at 58 Solon Road with a retired pawn Broker and his widowed daughter. On 24th July 1904 he married Nellie Woodcock (1881-1953) the youngest daughter of Charles Woodcock (1827-1881) and Sarah Preece (1838-1911). Nellie was born in Brixton Lambeth in London about the 14th March 1881 which is also very close to when her father Charles died, so she never knew him. Her mother Sarah quickly re-married - on 29th January 1882 - to the widower James Henry Garwood (1841-1904)(21) and they combined their respective families. Nellie grew up with her siblings in Stockwell at 37 Bedford Road within the division of Brixton and Civil Parish of Lambeth. By the age of 20 she was working for a greengrocer at 120 High Street Nottinghill Kensington. After marriage Joseph and Nellie lived at 30 Vicary Street in Brixton and were still there in 1935. By 1939 they had moved locally to 68 Blenheim Gardens in Brixton which was Joseph's address when died aged 68 on 20th March 1939 in Dulwich Hospital. Probate of his estate of £333+ was granted to his widow Nellie on 17th April that year. Nellie lived to be 72 and died at the same address in March 1953. Joseph and Nellie had 6 children as listed below.
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(9.9.1) Millicent Christopher (1907-1985)
Millicent was born at Clapham in London and grew up from before the age of 4 at 30 Vicary Street in Brixton. This street was demolished in 1968 and now forms part of the Blenheim Gardens Estate but in 1955 the Church Hall on Vicary Street was used for exterior footage of Hitchcock's fictional "Ambrose Chapel" so I have provided this link to more information which includes a map of the area taken in 1952 and shows the street layout. Millicent remained with her family living in this street until her marriage in the 3rd quarter of 1933. She was then 26 years old and married John Gordon Eric Barr (1904-1970). John had been baptised at St John the Evangelist church in Finsbury Park in Hackney the only child of John Gordon Barr (1876-1940) and Ida Beatrice Gertrude Butterworth (1864-1950). His grandfather Isaac Barr (1840-1908) a grocer by trade had been the one to move out of Ireland to live in Cheshire in Birkenhead in the mid 1880's. His father as a young man had moved from Cheshire to Hornsey in London and became a teacher. Ida his mother was also a school mistress who had been born at Bow in London and married his father in Hackney in 1903.After their own marriage Millicent and John lived with his parents at 114 Station Road in Hendon London NW4. John died here on 3rd Dec 1970 at the age of 66 leaving an estate of £7961 to Millicent. John & Millicent had 2 children John A Barr born 1936 and Michael Gordon Barr born 10 years later in 1946 who died at the age of 6 and was buried at St Mary;s church in Hendon on 10th May 1952. Their son John appears to have emigrated to Tasmania as after her husbands death Millicent is said to have emigrated there where she died in 1985 aged 78.
(9.9.2) Hilda Christopher (1910-1997)
Hilda was born on 6th Feb 1910 when the family was still living at 30 Vicary Street in Brixton and like her elder sister lived there for many years with her parents until they moved in 1936 to 68 Cornwall Road (still in Brixton). She married the following year to Arthur Earnest Duke (1902-1959) the son of Alfred James and Annie Jane Duke who had been born on 2nd October 1902 at 114 Poplar Walk in Herne Hill in Southwark.After marriage they lived at 46 Milton Road in Tulse Hill. Arthur died at the relatively young age of 56 at Queens Hospital in Croydon on 22nd January 1959 when their address was given as 12 Yew Tree Way Croydon. Hilda was granted administration of his estate of £1,065 on 11th March and remained in Croydon until her death in Dec 1997 when she was aged 87.
(9.9.3) Lily Christopher (1913-2006) was born at Brixton in London on 3rd Feb 1913 and married at the age of 26 to Frederick William Coles (1902-1962) the son of Alfred Coles (1862-1933) and Ellen Haden. Frederick's father worked in the Hotel trade in London, in 1901 as a waiter and in 1911 as a hotel porter. His father died in 1933 whilst living at 48 Loughborough Road in Brixton, leaving an estate of £1,219 to his widow. Frederick continued to live with his mother at that address until he married Lily in June 1939 when Lily was 26 and he was 37. Frederick died in June 1962 aged 60 whilst living at 213A Atherton Street in Battersea London SW11. Lily live to the ripe old age of 93 passing away on 18th March 2006. Administration of her will was granted on 6th Dec.
(9.9.4) Walter Christopher (b.1917) Nothing is known about Walter other than his birth about Nov 1917 in Lambeth and that in 1939 according to the electoral register for Brixton he was living with his mother Nellie at 68 Blenheim Gardens in Brixton.
(9.9.5) Vera Christopher (b.1921)
Vera was also born whilst they lived at 30 Vicary Street in the 4th quarter of 1921. She married in Lambeth about March 1943 to Edward C Richards. Given that the marriage was during the 2nd world war it's not surprising to find Vera living with her Mother in the 1945 and 1946 Electoral Registers but nothing else is known(9.9.6) Betty M Christopher (b.1929) Born in Brixton she lived with her mother at 68 Blenheim Gardens in Brixton until her mothers death in March 1953. She married in June that year to Leslie Stephens living initially at Secretan Road Peckham in London SE5 where they still were in 1959. By 1963 they had moved to live in Hanover Gardens in Vauxhall in the Borough of Lambeth. Nothing else is known
9.9 Walter Christopher (1883-1948) born about May 1883 he moved as a teenager to live in London. At the age of 17 (recorded in the census wrongly as aged 19) he was in lodgings in Clarence Road in Lambeth and working as an 'oil man's shopkeeper'. On 6th December 1906 aged 23 he married at St John's church in Redhill Surrey to Nelly Bashford (1886-1942). His occupation then was given as being a 'groom and a gardener' and they both gave their place of residence as 5 Somerset Road, Mendvale Reigate in Redhill. Nellie was the illegitimate daughter of Emily Bashford (1868-1946) and had been born on Earlswood Common on 21st March 1886. She was baptised at St John's church in Redhill on 2nd May and brought up in Reigate by her maternal grandparents Henry Bashford and Amelia Herbert as their own daughter. Her mother married in Sep 1897 to Eli Jonathan Curd (1871-1930). They had no children and lived at various address in Surrey including Denshot Cottages Reigate in 1909; Yew Bank Henly in 1911 and 173 Chaldon Road Caterham from before 1920 which is where Nellie died in July 1942. Walter died at the age of 65 in 1948 being buried at St Mary's church in Caterham on 1st October.
9.10 Godfrey Christopher (1886-1959) born about May 1886 in Dewlish in Dorset as a teenager he worked as a stone masons labourer in Cheselbourne but both his parents died whilst he was still young. His father James died in Cheselbourne in 1906 and he and his mother both moved to Reigate where his elder brother Walter was already well established. He found work as a carter but his mother Mary died in Reigate in 1908. He married on 24th November 1913 at St Paul's church Lorrimore Square in Newington to Ada Humphrey (1891-1964). Godfrey died at the age of 72 at 1 Albany Cottages in Felbridge in Surrey in 1959 and was buried at St John's church on 13th March. Ada also died there at the age of 73 in Dec 1964. I am not aware of any children but there may well be.
9.11 Levi Christopher ( b1888) born about November 1888 in Cheselbourne in Dorset on the death of his father on 1906 he also migrated to Surrey. In April 1911 he was aged 22, unmarried and working as a cowman on a farm at Horley in Surrey. We also know that he emigrated to to St John's Halifax in Canada on SS Grampian which left Liverpool on 7th March 1913. On arrival on the 17th March he gave his destination as being the 'Gilbert Plantation' where he had work as a farm labourer. Unfortunately nothing else is known
(1). The use of 'Bussell' which was Ruth's maiden name as a second name by their children:- Only their second child, James (in 1799) , their sixth child William (in 1806) and seventh child also William (in 1808) were actually christened with 'Bussell' as a second name. Richard however also used it when he married Emma Potter in 1828 so it appears to have been used over a long period within their family. Many of their children continued to use 'Bussell' as a second name but it led to a lot of confusion in records as for example some bishops transcripts omitted the second name even when it was given in the original parish register.
(2). Abbey Milton is today known as Milton Abbas.
(3). Joseph & Jane's Marriage: Jane was actually 7 months pregnant when they married and if they had not done so the burden of her lying in, expenses of a midwife and subsequent care of the child would have fallen onto the overseers of the poor of her place of settlement which was Winterbourne Whitchurch. Marriage being so late it's likely that her pregnancy became obvious and the Overseers of Abbey Milton engineered their return to her parish, Jane Davis was baptised at Winterbourne Whitchurch on 14th Sep 1768 so was 23 years old.
(4) Ballysax is a parish situated partly in the barony of West Ophaly, but chiefly in that of East Ophaly, county of Kildare, and province of Leinster. It is located a little over two miles southwest of Killcullen-Bridge. The parish is situated within a mile of the great southern road from Dublin to Corka, and adjoining the parish is the celebrated race-course called the Curragh
(5) Sarah Christopher (1825-1898) - Because of intermarriage relationships are complicated. Her ancestry is:-
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Parents - David Christopher (1794-1851) and Jane Galton (1795-1893)
Grandparents - Thomas Christopher (1761-1819) and Sarah Duck alias Morris (1761 -1799)
Great grandparents - John Christopher (1734-1804) and Elizabeth Trask (1722-1785)
Great x2 grandparents - Charles Christopher (1705-1791) and Elizabeth Allen (1705-1792)
Great x3 grandparents - Humphrey Christopher Junior(1665-1724) and Ann Unknown (d1756)
Great x4 grandparents - Humphrey Christopher Senior(1627-1703/4) & Ann SCAMELL (1624-1668)
Great x5 grandparents - Robert CHRISTOPHER (1597-1635) & Elizabeth TOP
Great x6 grandparents - Charles CHRISTOPHER (c1569 - 1629) & Anna (c1570-1627/8)
(7) The life of Charles Willoughby Christopher (1840-1909) the son of William Bussell Christopher (1808-1848) & Elizabeth Arnold (1814-1863) is particularly complicated as he called himself either Willoughby or Willoughby Charles Christopher. This led to much confusion with the life of Willoughby Christopher (1841-1919) the son of Charles Christopher (1813-1895) and Elizabeth Riggs (1814-1889) as he also called himself Willoughby Charles Christopher. To add confusion to Chaos they both lived in Cheselbourne. The former married Sarah Ann Jeanes in 1861 and lived in Cheselbourne until migrating to Chorley Lancashire in 1873. The latter moved to Hilton and onto Hampshire where he married Louisa Pratt in Petersfield also in 1873.
(8) Charles Willoughby Christopher and Sarah Ann Jeanes had 11 children before she died in 1884. Another daughter Ada Alice is listed in the 1891 census who was born as Ashton under Lyne in 1888. She was actually their grandaughter being the illegitimate daughter of Mary Jane Christopher (1861-1899) who the year after the census married Richard Strange (1867-1949) . Ada is recorded in the 1901 census living with Richard Strange and his family, and gives no father on her marriage certificate to John Griffiths in 1908.
(9) If it is Willoughy [Charles] Christopher the son of Charles Christopher & Elizabeth Riggs his age is wrongly recorded as being 24 when it should be 30. I have checked for other Charles Christophers born within between 1840 and 1853 on our Dorset database and in the GRO and they are all accounted for in the 1871 Census so he may simply have not known his age and underestimated it by about 6 years. He is single, born in Cheselbourne and we know he left Dorset and turns up in Hampshire in 1873 so seems more than likely to be him. He clearly did not like the name of Willoughby as he started calling himself Charles immediately he left home and the age difference seems to have followed him from this point. He would not have remembered that he was actually born in Dewlish so quite reasonable that when he became responsible for giving Cheselbopurne to the enumerators. The most positive identification that we have is that he names himself as Charles Willoughby Christopher at marriage and Charles W Christopher at death. Apart from these two (See 7 above) there are no other Christophers born with the name of Willoughby in Dorset from 1527-1900.
(10) To be sure we need sight of thier marriage certificate recorded at the GRO 1873 as Charles Willoughby Christopher to Louisa Pratt 1st quarter district of Petersfield in Hampshire Ref 2c 191.
(11) Elizabeth Reeks :- Few people have managed to locate her baptism as this is recorded in the Baptism Registers of Cheselbourne ( where she married) but for the year 1719 making her 40 years old when she married. Her family surname has also been recorded as Ricks:- "RICKS/ Elizabeth ye daughter of Humphrey RICKS and Mary his wife was baptised November 17th 1719". This was William's second marriage and they appear to have had 2 children John Bussell who was baptised on 31st March 1760 but died 3 weeks later being buried on 20th April 1760. A second son Isaiah is recorded as being baptised on 4th July 1766 but I cannot trace any other reference to him so he may have died as well.
(12) William Bussell junior's burial took place at Cheselbourne on 30th May 1830 when he was said to be already 81 years old making him born circa 1749 but also his younger brother James was also born that year and baptsied at St Andrew's church on 14th January 1750/51 only 7 months later
(13) Children of Fred Parson Wills (1874-1938) and Emily Anne Christopher (1877-1952):- (1) Charles Fred Wills a twin born 3rd Jan 1906 (2) Nellie Annie Wills a twin born 3rd Jan 1906 (3) Bertram Robert Wills born 21st July 1908 and (4) Reginald George Wills born 25th Oct 1909
(14) Ten of Eleven known Children of William James Christopher (1859-1936) and his second wife Ada nee Hopwood (1865-1925)
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(1) Samuel Christopher b.1887; living to two trees lane Denton working as a firebeater at a colliery age 24 in 1911
(2) Emily Christopher b 1889; married Sam Harley at St lawrence church Denton 6 Feb 1915
(3) Fred Christopher (1891-1937) died south manchester aged 45 no known marriage
(4) William Christopher (1893-1917) Killed WW1 unmarried
(5) Ada Christopher (1895-1917) died unmarried aged 21
(6) John James Christopher (1898-1968) married Emily Brindley St Lawrence Church Denton 21 Apr 1928 had at least 1 son Vincent Christopher (1932-19809)
(7) Ethel Christopher (1900-1921) married Gordon Wilde St Lawrence church Denton 6 Nov 1920 and they had a daughter Ethel Wilde in 1921. Unfortunately Ethel nee Christopher died as a result of an infection contracted during Childbirth and was buried on her 21st birthday.
(8) Harold Christopher (1902-1965) married Hilda Fox St Lawrence Church Denton 14 Jan 1928 died aged 62 no issue
(9) Cyril Bertram Christopher (1905-1933) named after his fathers brother - married Minnie Dale at Pendleton St Ambrose Lancs, 7 July 1928, died aged 28. They had 2 children (a) Derek Chriostopher born 2nd qtr 1929 at Ashton in Lancs who married Joyce Hulme in 1952 at Barton in Lancashire where they had 3 children, Lesly A Christopher in 1955; David W Christopher in 1956 and John C Christopher born in 1958.. Cyril and Minnies second child (b) Cyril Christopher born 4th qtr 1931 who married Dorothy M Woodward in Ashton in 1958 and reportedly had 2 children.
(10) Lena Christopher b. 1909 witness at 2 of her brothers weddings she married Sidney Whelam Jun 1933 Denton
(16) Cyril Bertram Christopher (1877-1970) - Information about the Primitive Methodists is very hard to come by. He is not listed as a Minister on the List of Methodist Ministers maintained by Manchester University but shown as such in the 1901 and 1911 Census returns and we know that other members of his family were Primitive Methodists.
(17) Ellen Christopher aged 3 years born at Wool : She has been incorrectly recorded in the census as their daughter. She is in fact their grandaughter and should have been recorded as Ellen Rhoda Burden as she is the daughter of their daughter Ellen Christopher (1863-1888) who had married Harry Burdenin Dewlish on 1st Nov 1884. Unfortunately Ellen died, probably from complications giving birth to her daughter so they took her in and raised her as one of their own.
(18) Nottington, is a hamlet, in the parishes of Broadway and Buckland-Ripers, union of Weymouth, hundred of Culliford-Tree, Dorchester division of Dorset, 3 miles (N.) from Weymouth.
(19) Marriage of James Christopher (1838-1906) to Mary Cleal (1847-1908) Have not been able to locate a church marriage - Does anybody have the marriage certificate for Mary Cleal registerd 1879 2nd quarter Dorchester Districtb oof Dorset Ref 5a/630?
(20) Children of William Dix Old (1875-1959) and Martha Helena Christopher (1871-1952) were:- (1) William Horace Old (1904-1960) who married Ena CM Pragnell in 1929 at Portsmouth (2) Leslie James Old (1907-1907) (3) Helena Elizabeth Old 1909-1977) a spinster (4) Gladys Mary Old (1914-1995) who married Ronald Selby in 1937 in the district of Gosport<
(21) The first wife of James Henry Garwood (1841-1904) was Mary Ann Wright (1842-1878) by whom he had a number of children