What was New 2009?

Mary Florence Sophia (Fawcett) Murray
– Best prospective candidate to be the Victorian Lady, who kept the Calling Book, so far

In the Victorian Calling Book are the following entries:

Efford Cottage, Lymington 1886

Mrs Blackwait
Warrens
Goff
West
Roberts

Hoopers Hill 1893? (earliest)

Clinton
Roberts
Blunt (living at Hoopers Hill 1891)
Gordon
Langworthy etc

Criteria to be the Victorian Lady who kept the Calling Book

For the prospective candidate to be the Victorian lady:

- her name would not appear in the Calling Book (of course!)
- she would come form a well-connected family
- she would be the wife of a clergyman or military man who moved around the UK
- she would have lived in Lymington in 1883
- she would possibly have lived at Efford Cottage 1886 and Hoopers Hill 1893?
- she would possibly have links to York and Leeds
- she would possibly have links to Galway

Visit to Hampshire Record Office

On Saturday 29 November, I obtained three extra pieces of information from Hampshire Record Office which may be a key to solving this puzzle:

1. per Kelly’s Directory of Hampshire 1885

Efford Cottage - Murray Henry S.

per Record Office Database

2. Efford Cottage

A. Appointment of a trustee to a marriage settlement (1897)
(i) Henry Fawcett late of Lymington now of Albert Bridge Road, Middx, gent and Mary Beatrice his wife
(ii) Henry Stuart Murray of Efford Cottage, Milford, esq

B. Deed poll by Warren Thomas Peacocke of Efford Cottage, Lymington (3 Dec 1906)

3. Hoopers Hill

Release of trusts of marriage settlement (1922)
(i) Henry Fawcett of 3 Wilbury Villas, Hove, Sussex, gent
(ii) Henry Stuart Murray of Hoopers Hill, Milton, major retired

Search in FreeBMD

I subsequently found out that:

Henry Stuart Murray married Mary Florence S Fawcett in Lymington in 1883.

Chronology of Events

This fills out the chronology of events:

Henry & Mary Murray

Henry Stuart Murray was a Captain (1891) and Major (1901) in the 4th West Yorkshire Regiment

1883 Married in Lymington
1885 Living at Efford Cottage (per Kelly’s)
1886 Meeting at Efford Cottage - Entry in Calling Book
1891 Living at Efford Cottage (per Census)
1893(?) Meeting at Hoopers Hill – Entry in Calling Book
1897 Living at Efford Cottage (per marriage settlement)
1901 Living at Efford Cottage (per Census)
1906 Warren Thomas Peacocke living at/owner of Efford Cottage
1922 Living at Hoopers Hill (per marriage settlement)

Conclusions

Mary Murray meets at least 5 of the criteria to be the Victorian lady

- we need to prove she lived in Lymington itself, leaving the criterion for Galway not met, but there could be a military link

The additional information obtained explains why she started to keep the Calling Book from 1883, i.e when she married

She lived at Efford Cottage in 1886 when the meeting took place there and 1893 is the earliest date of the entry in the Calling Book for the meeting at Hoopers Hill, where they lived some time after 1901.

She is the best candidate so far to be the Victorian Lady who kept the Calling Book.

2 criteria to go, to make sure!!

Colin Bower
15 December 2008