Descendants of
Andrew McDowell and Elizabeth Sansom
m. 1798, Isle of Sheppey, Kent
Generation#1
Andrew McDowell and Elizabeth
Sansom were married at Minster, Sheppey on 9 August 1798.
Andrew worked as a Painter at Sheerness Dockyard and pension records for the
Dockyard revealed that he
had gone to pension on 2nd August 1818.
His pension was 20 pounds per annum, paid quarterly in instalments of 5
pounds. On the pension record for 31st
March 1820, it was noted that Andrew had died on 22nd February 1820 and that the proportion of his pension due
was paid to his widow, Eliz. McDowell who signed for 2 pounds 18 shillings and
two pence with her mark. (Unlike Andrew who had been able to sign his name).
The family (as recorded in Sheerness Dockyard Chapel baptismal records) of Andrew and Elizabeth included:
2:1 Maria Mary McDowell, 1799
2:2 Samuel McDowal (sic), 1802 (My greatx2 grandfather)
2:3 Elizabeth Mary Ann McDuell, 1804
(Burial record of an infant Maria McDowall on Oct 23, 1798 was also noted.)
Generation#2:1
Maria Mary
McDowell married Joseph Sansom (? her cousin) and they raised a family at
Miletown. Baptismal records for 3 children were registered at Sheerness
Bethel Chapel but no further records were found.
Generation#2:2
Samuel McDowell was born in Sheerness on 25 May 1802 and later worked in
the Naval Dockyards of both Sheerness and Chatham as a Sawyer. He married
Elizabeth Walter Palmer on 3 February 1823 at Minster in Sheppey. Elizabeth Walter Palmer was born in Gillingham
on 20 May 1804 daughter of Herbert (Harbut) and Elizabeth Palmer. It appears that her father, Harbut was employed as a caulker
at the dockyard probably in early years at Chatham and later Sheerness. Spellings of Harbut’s name have varied in
records and it was indeed Harbut Palmer on his death certificate. Later generations however often used Herbert
as christian name.
By
1841 Samuel, Elizabeth and family had moved from Sheerness to
Chatham and at census they were living at Queen Street, Chatham.
Their last son William Henry was born at Chatham in September,
1845. At 1851 census, Samuel, aged 47 years was at 163 Queen
Street, Brook, Chatham and still a sawyer at HM Dockyard. His
sons, John (17), James (15), Joseph (13), Herbert (11) and William (4)
were with him. A search for his wife Elizabeth and other son
Samuel Seymour McDowell found them both as prisoners at Kent County
Prison at Maidstone. Records show they were convicted at assizes in Maidstone of "Receiving stolen goods" on the 17th
March 1851. Elizabeth was sentenced to 6 months and Samuel to 1 year
imprisonment.
At 1861 census E W
McDowell (presumably Elizabeth Walter McDowell) was recorded at
Slykate's Hill, Chatham. She was described as the head of the
household, married, aged 54 years and Housekeeper. The only
other occupant was listed only as BARNEY, an unmarried son aged
25 years (occupation indeciperable but possibly man-servant). Husband
Samuel McDowell was possibly incarcerated at Maidstone
Prison at this time. 1861 census listed S McD aged 59, born in
Sheerness and a sawyer, detailed as a "County Court Detter" (sic) at
Maidstone Jail. An entry in The London Gazette March 23 1858
reads "Whereas
a Petition of Samuel McDowell, late and now of the Front-row, Brook, in
the parish of Chatham, in the county of Kent, Grocer and General
Dealer, and during such time being a Sawyer in her Majesty's Dockyard,
Chatham, in the said parish and county,...... an insolvent debtor,
having been filed in the County Court of Kent, at Rochester, and an
interim order for protection from process having been given to the said
Samuel McDowell, under the provisions of the Statutes in that case made
and provided, the said Samuel McDowell is hereby required to appear
before James Espinasse, Esq., the Judge of the said Court, on the 15th
April next, at ten in the forenoon precisely, for his first examination
touching his debts, estate and effects, and to be further dealt with
according to the provisions of the said Statutes; and the choice of
the creditors' assignees is to take place at the time so appointed......"
Samuel McDowell died at the Union Workhouse, Chatham on 30
March 1867.
Details from death certificate:
Samuel McDowall; Male; 61 years, Sawyer;
Cause of Death: Disease of the Brain, Gradual Decay (Certified). Informant: Henry Sharp of Union Workhouse, Chatham, Present at
Death. Registered 30th March
1867.
Elizabeth Walter
McDowell died aged 84 years.
Details from death certificate:
19th April 1888, 27 King Street, Chatham,
U.S.D.; Elizabeth Walter McDowell,
Female, 84 years, Widow of Samuel McDowell, Sawyer H.M.D. Decay of Nature
(certified by W. Buchanan M.R.C.S.). Informant: X the mark of Elizabeth McDowell, Daughter in
Law ( Present at the death, 27
King Street, Chatham).
Registered 20th April 1888.
The Brook, Chatham
The
Brook was directly affected by the nineteenth century growth of
Chatham's population in a number of ways. As the Royal Dockyard
expanded, and as commercial wharves and jetties with their associated
embankments were built, The Brook became less subject to cleansing by
the tidal waters of the River Medway. Meanwhile the growth of
roads such as King Street and Queen Street, which led up to the Great
Lines, and Cross Street, which linked them, had created a problem of
sewage disposal. In the days before main drainage, gravity was
the driving-force for the removal of human and other effluent, and,
helped by rainwater flowing from The Great Lines, it found its way down
the hill. The slopes on the western side of Chatham High Street
also drained into The Brook, which became an open sewer.
Eventually The Brook was covered over, and a road laid on top of
it, but the damage had been done. It no longer attracted the
better-off; in fact, many of the houses which had originally been built
for the well-to-do in the eighteenth century, were being
sub-divided much in the same way as were those in Old Brompton.
Many of these large dwellings became lodging houses for
itinerants: others were partitioned into accommodation for more
permanent residents. Although it was not the only poor area
of Chatham, the entire Brook district was evolving into the
"plebeian haunt" and "slumdom" described by late nineteenth century
observers. The western side had direct access to Chatham High
Street via a network of side streets including Fullalove Alley which
was literally the lowest point in Chatham. The eastern side,
which led up to The Great Lines, became filled by a warren of courts,
side streets and alleyways. By the mid-ninteenth century, The
Brook was populated by the poorest of Chatham's inhabitants,
particularly once Red Cat Lane and much of the Holburn Lane area were
demolished. Its pubs and lodging houses became notorious as
centres of prostitution and crime, and when Chatham was hit by
outbreaks of typhoid and cholera, The Brook suffered more than the rest
of the town. By the mid-1890s, the mortality rate per
thousand people was considerably higher in The Brook area than in
Chatham as a whole; 27.2 per 1,000 as opposed to 17.1 per 1,000 in
1897, for example. "The Chatham Scandal" by Brian Joyce.
The family of Samuel and Elizabeth (* as baptised Bethel Chapel, Sheerness):
2:2:1 Maria Harriott McDowal, b. 7 Dec 1823, Mile Town, Sheerness*
2:2:2 Andrew McDowal, b. 6 June 1825, Mile Town, Sheerness*
2:2:3 Samuel Seymour McDowel, b. 7 Dec 1826(?), Mile Town, Sheerness*
2:2:4 John Thomas McDowel, b. 27 Oct 1833, Mile Town, Sheerness*
2:2:5 James McDowell, b. 1835, Sheerness
2:2:6 Joseph Samuel McDowell, b. 1838, Sheerness
2:2:7 Harbut William McDowell, 1839, Sheerness
2:2:8 William Henry McDowell, 16 Sept 1845, Chatham (My great grandfather)
2:2:1 Samuel and Elizabeth's only daughter, Maria McDowell,
married Jacob Hunt, a labourer, in 1843 at Shoreditch. The couple appear to have lived at St Lukes,
Finsbury, Middlesex. Maria
Hunt, 27, born in Sheerness, was visiting her maternal grandmother,
Elizabeth Palmer at her lodgings 3 Queen Street, Brook, Chatham at 1851
census. No
records of children for Maria and Jacob were found and Maria possibly
died before 1861.
2:2:2 Andrew McDowell at
1841 census was with his widowed grandmother, Elizabeth Palmer (listed
as a woodcutter), at Seymours Court , Minster, Sheppey. At 1851
census he was visiting his brother-in-law, Jacob Hunt at Wellesley
Street, Finsbury, Middlesex. The entry shows Andrew MacDonnell (?
by design or enumerator's error) , 25 years, labourer, born Sheerness.
Andrew McDowell was buried at Chatham in 1863.
2:2:3 Samuel Seymour McDowell, 24, General
dealer, was a prisoner at Kent County Prison, Maidstone at 1851 census.
At 1861 census he was at 5 Bull Lane, Minster, Sheppey and
still a General Dealer. A wife Eliza
(b. Strood) was living with him and also his 16 year old brother,
William, who was listed as a Labourer. No marriage details have
been found for Samuel and Eliza but a death for an Eliza McDuell was
registered in 1863 at Sheppey.
Samuel had a further brush with the law in 1862. On the 1st July 1862 he was
convicted at assizes in Canterbury of "Receiving stolen goods after a previous
conviction for felony" for which he received 12 months imprisonment.
" Samuel
Seymour McDowell, late of Hit or Miss Inn, Chapel-street, Blue Town,
Sheerness, Innkeeper, and Dealer in Marine and General Stores, and now
in furnished lodgings-at the Horse and Groom Inn, Kent-street, Blue
Town, Sheerness aforesaid, out of business" , was adjudicated bankrupt on 8 July 1868. An order of discharge was granted at Sheerness on 23 October,1868.
By 1871 and still at Bull Lane, brother William, Marine Store
Dealer, was listed as head of the household. Unmarried Samuel S.
McDowell, General Dealer, was at the address, as was their widowed mother,
Elizabeth and a niece, Charlotte McDowell aged 6 years, born in Chatham. (Joseph
McDowell’s daughter). Although the census listed Samuel as unmarried there was a
marriage registered for Samuel
Seymour McDowell, 24 June 1867 at Gillingham to Charlotte Sutton (previously married). Her
father: James Hazell.
At 1881 census Samuel, General Dealer, and his widowed mother, Elizabeth were living at 1 School Lane, Minster in Sheppey.
Samuel S. McDowell died 23 April
1885 at Minster aged 60y at Sheppey Union (workhouse).
2:2:4 Last record found for John Thomas McDowell
was 1851 census. He was 17 years old, labourer, and living with his
father, Samuel and 4 of his brothers at Queen Street, Brook, Chatham.
2:2:5 At 1861 census James McDowell,
Labourer, was visiting his brother, Herbert (Robert) McDowell at
Slykates Hill, Brook, Chatham. His wife E.(Eliza) and 9
month daughter , S.A. (Sarah Ann) were with him. James McDowell
had married Eliza Ledger
at
Lewisham in 1859. In 1864 James McDowell, of Slykate's-hill,
Chatham, Marine Stores Dealer, a Prisoner for Debt in Maistone Gaol was
adjudged bankrupt.
By 1871 James, Eliza and family were living
at the Foot of Slykates Hill (now Slicketts Hill) and James in
keeping with family tradition was a Marine Store Dealer. In
1881 the family were at Brook, Chatham - the family name given at
census was McDougall, perhaps by design, perhaps enumerator's error.
James died at Chatham in 1885 and Eliza, aged 56 years and a
Contractor, was still living at Brook in 1891. The younger 5 of
their 6 children were still at home. Eliza McDowell died at
Chatham in 1893.
2:2:6 Joseph
Samuel McDowell married Susan Elizabeth Fawcett Bryant in Sheppey in 1862 and they raised their family of 9 children in Chatham where Joseph was
employed as an Iron Ship Caulker,and later, a boilermaker. Of note is the building of the first iron
battleship the “Achilles” at Chatham
in 1863.
Caulkers with the shipwrights were the highest paid
dockyard workmen. The caulkers filled
the seams between the planking with oakum, old hemp rope picked loose by his
assistant the “oakum boy” to make the seams of carvel-built ships watertight .
Once the seams had been packed full of the fibres it would be water proofed by
smearing the seams with hot pitch. The
“oakum boy” brought the pitch in liquid form from a boiler, supplying a number
of caulkers.
Joseph Samuel McDowell died aged
56 in 1894 at Chatham, and his wife Susan Elizabeth in 1898 aged 53.
2:2:7 Harbut William
(aka Herbert, Robert or Albert in censuses) McDowell appears to have married twice. His first wife was probably Mary Ann Ledger (sister of James McDowell's wife, Eliza) and they appear to have had 2 survivng children; Eliza and Albert William. After Mary Ann died in Feb.1865 aged 22 years, Herbert (Albert) married Adelaide Goldsmith (1866) and
they had a daughter, Avis. The
family
also lived at Slykates Hill and at 1871 census take the name of McDonald
(? enumerator's error or other wise). After Herbert’s death in
1880 Adelaide continued at The Three Brothers Inn as Beer House
Keeper.
2:2:8 William McDowell
married Susanna Bidgood at the Parish Church,
Gillingham 19 August 1875. They were both of 'full age'and unmarried. William's occupation was Dealer , his father
Samuel McDowell, a Sawyer and Susanna's father, Walter Bidgood, a Licensed
Victualler. The witnesses: Edward and
Emma Bernthal and the vicar: Fred Fitzgerald. (Edward and Emma Bernthal and family were listed
in 1881 census at 45 Henry Street,
Chatham. Edward's occupation was blacksmith.)
Susanna Bidgood, daughter of
Walter Bidgood and Elizabeth Bradford was born in Quebec, Canada on 21
March 1854. She was baptised at the Quebec Garrison where her
father was serving with the Royal Artillery. Walter, Elizabeth
Bidgood and family returned to England and by 1861 they were at Bluetown Garrison,
Sheerness. At 1871 census following his
discharge from the army he was Innkeeper at the Horse and Groom Inn at Kent Street, Sheerness. In 1881, 1891 census the family was running a
greengrocer/fruiterer shop in High Street, Bluetown.
By 1881 William and Susanna McDowell were living at 23/25 Charles Street,
Bluetown, Sheerness with their 2 baby daughters Florence Mary (1) and
Henrietta
(5 months). In 1891 the family were at the same address and
William was a Marine Store Dealer - the family now included 6
daughters, although 2 had already died in child hood. Their only
son Walter Albert William B. McDowell was born 17 March 1892 but he
died at aged 3 years in 1895.
William had a “brush with the law” in 1890s which was
recorded in the local newspaper:
William McDowell, marine
store dealer, was charged with being drunk and incapable in Charles Street,
Blue Town, on Saturday night. –Prisoner pleaded Guilty, and from the evidence
of P.C. Keen, it seemed that about four o’clock on Saturday afternoon the
prisoner was found helplessly intoxicated and taken into custody. –Sergt.
Highwood said the prisoner had been “on the drink” for some days, and had been
an annoyance to the public. – Fined 2s.6d. and 6s.4d. costs. –Paid.
William died in
1895 only 16 days after his only son had died of Scarlet Fever aged 3 years. Details from his
death certificate:
William Henry
McDowell died 24th September 1895 at 23 Charles Street, Sheerness; Male; 49;
Marine Store Dealer (Master) Cause: Erysipelas 5 days, Exhaustion, Certified by
J.F. Curry L.R.C.P. Informant/Address: Walter T. Bidgood, Brother-in-law,
present at death 6 Sheppey Street,
Sheerness.
At 1901 census Susanna McDowell, a
widow now for six years, was listed as General Dealer. Daughters
Henrietta (20), Alice (18) and Hilda (12) were still at home. It
seems Susanna ran a small delicatessen/sweet shop at Bluetown to
support her family. Susanna McDowell's death was recorded at
Ashford in 1937, aged 83 years.
The family of William and Susanna McDowell :
2:2:8:1 Annie Elizabeth Bidgood McDowell, 1878, Sheppey; d. 1878, Sheppey
2:2:8:2 Florence Mary McDowell, 1879, Sheppey
2:2:8:3 Henrietta McDowell, 1880, Sheppey
2:2:8:4 Elizabeth Susanna McDowell, 1881, Sheppey; d. 1882, Sheppey
2:2:8:5 Alice Maud McDowell, 1883, Sheppey
2:2:8:6 Emily Kate McDowell, 1884, Sheppey
2:2:8:7 Beatrice Jane McDowell, 1886, Sheppey (My grandmother)
2:2:8:8 Hilda Elizabeth McDowell, 1888, Sheppey
2:2:8:9 Walter Albert William Bidgood McDowell, 1892 Sheppey; d. 1895 Sheppey
2:2:8:1 Annie Elizabeth Bidgood McDowell died aged 6 months and was buried at Halfway Cemetery, Sheerness.
2:2:8:2 Florence Mary McDowell married Edward Alfred Crouch and they raised their family at Ashford, Kent.
2:2:8:3 Henrietta McDowell was aged 20 years, Dressmaker, and living at home with her widowed mother at 1901 census. She married William Y. Robertson in 1913.
2:2:8:4 Elizabeth Susanna McDowell
died aged 3 months. An inquest as reported in the local newspaper
suggests that she had been sleeping in the bed with father William and
another child of 2½ ( ? Florence) who had slept very heavily and
suffocated the baby with her arm.
2:2:8:5 Alice Maud McDowell was recorded as aged 18 years and employed as a Barmaid at 1901 census. She married Clarence Edgar Goddard, Engine Room Officer, in 1906.
2:2:8:6 Emily Kate McDowell,
also a dressmaker, and aged 16 years at 1901 census was visiting with
the family of James and Rebecca McDowell at Chislehurst Road,
Orpington, Kent.
(This James McDowell was born in Little Brickhill, Buckinghamshire in
1851 and was son of Samuel McDowell and Susan Dandridge. No
direct family connection has been proven but James' occupation was
Marine Store Dealer and the 2 McDowell families seem to have had
close associations. Samuel McDowell (above) was listed in
1851 to have been born in Belfast, Ireland (c. 1804) and was a "Queens
Pensioner". The "best guess" scenario is that Samuel's father
Henry was brother to Andrew McDowell ( greatx3 grandfather) and
that the McDowell family originated in Antrim, Ireland.)
Emily Kate McDowell married James Joseph Day on 30 Oct 1907 and the couple had one son, James McDowell Day.
2:2:8:7 Beatrice McDowell
was found in 1901 census as a visitor at 62 High St. Bluetown,
Sheerness. The other occupant of the house was Emma McDowell
(single, 22, wardrobe dealer) There was no Head of household
listed - Emma was described as daughter. Her father (from 1881
census) was James McDowell (as above of Orpington).
Beatrice’s (aged 15y.) occupation was given as apprentice to
milliner.
Beatrice
Jane McDowell married Frederick George Nicholass at St Paul's Church, Sheerness on 15 June, 1910. He was
recorded as aged 24, bachelor, engine room artificer on H.M.S.
Indomitable and Beatrice aged 23, spinster of 23 Charles Street,
Sheerness. The fathers were listed as George Nicholass, retired
pensioner and William McDowell (deceased), Dealer. The witnesses:
George Albert Lamb and Henrietta McDowell.
Fred and Beatrice raised a family of 4 – one son, Walter and 3
daughters – Hilda (Bubs), Beatrice (Betty) and Hillary (Billy).
Frederick was Engine Room Artificer with the Royal Navy and
served in WW1 and was at the Gallipoli landings. He was also
involved with the internment of the German naval fleet at Scapa Flow
(Orkney) in November 1918. He was stationed with the R.N. at
Bermuda for some years c. 1923. Fred retired from Royal Navy to
become engineer for Dover Life Boat "Sir William Hillary" and later the
family moved back to Sheerness (c.1937) where he was charge
engineer for "H.M.S. Wildfire."
Frederick George Nicholass died 28 February, 1962 at Sheerness.
Beatrice died 26 March 1971 at
Eythorne (near Dover) and was cremated at Barham Crematorium.
2:2:8:8 Hilda Elizabeth McDowell
was 12 years old at 1901 census and at home with her mother and 2 of
her older sisters. She later became Senior Lady at the Bon Marché
Outfitters and Haberdashers in Sheerness and lived at 53 Marine Parade
with sister Beatrice and family. She was an air raid warden
during WW2 and later married her widower brother-in-law, Edward Alfred
Crouch. They lived at St Mary’s Bay.
2:2:8:9 Walter Albert William Bidgood McDowell,
the youngest child and only son of William and Susanna McDowell, died
on 8th September 1895, at 23 Charles Street, Sheerness aged 3
years. The cause of death was Scarlet Fever 13 days,
Exhaustion. Informant/Address: W.T. Bidgood, Uncle, Present at death.