Nicky Craig Memo

Family History research, for me, began possibly 15 years ago, starting with my maternal Grandmother, Amelia Wivell. I joined the Devon Family History Society, whose quarterly magazine allows new members to publish up to 5 names they are researching. Almost immediately I was in touch with someone researching the same names and ‘found’ 3 surviving 1^st cousins of my Mother’s, ‘lost’ during the Second World War having been bombed out of their home, rehoused in a prefab and bombed out again. By this time their 5 siblings were deceased. We had a great family reunion, including another of Mother’s cousins from Texas. Between us we filled in many gaps and learned how rare the Wivell name was and how we were only entitled to it by marriage - my maternal GGGrandmother had a son out of wedlock who took her subsequent husband’s name. Consequently, when, 3 or 4 years ago, I read in this same magazine of a fellow in New Zealand researching a 17^th Century member of the Wivell clan, I got in touch with my scant information, which filled in a gap in his research, again through illegitimacy. He had traced them to one ancestor, Hugh de Guideville, who arrived in 1066 from Normandy and settled in Leicestershire. De Guideville became de Widevill, became de Wyville and by the late 1300’s the ‘de’ was dropped. Wyvill was established by the late 1500’s. All good stuff but he won’t tell me how he got the information – and I’m only a ‘step’ relation!

About 10 years ago my husband and I visited Ireland on a touring holiday and began some unsuccessful research in Dublin, learning of the burning of many records and believing this pursuit to be pointless. We spent a couple of nights in Cork, only knowing that my maternal GGrandfather was William Winspear McCarty, an artist in oils, whose father had been organist at Cork cathedral. We were advised to look in various Directories for him and found him, and other McCarty’s, in the 1845 County and City of Cork Post Office & General Directory, the 1846 Slater’s Directory, 1867 Coghlan’s Directory of Cork and Munster, 1871and 1875-6 The City of Cork Directories and the 1875-6 Guy’s Cork Almanac. We already knew that William had been married at the Brompton Oratory so presumed him to be Roman Catholic and were surprised to find John WM as organist at the Protestant Cathedral.

Although my notes show that I’ve recorded John Winspeare McCarty, surgeon, and John WM apothecary, John WM Professor of Music and Bella WM also Professor of Music from the 1875-6 Directories, it wasn’t until I was at the Family History Course last month that I appreciated that ‘Winspeare’ was not unique to my William but was very much a family name. It is interesting to note that you have recorded my Grandfather as Charles Henry Winspeare, as we are none of us aware that he had Winspeare as a name.

We started our course by searching the 1911 census online, where I found reference to Eleanor Winspeare McCarty, aged 73, living at 21 Higher Street, Kinsale, Urban Cork. It was at this point that I ‘twigged’ the significance of ‘Winspeare’ and our tutor suggested that I Google “Winspear McCarty”. (It was also at this point that I learnt that if you type speech marks around the two words, the search engine will only find references to those two words together!)

The first site that came up was the E H Jenkins Memo and I was so excited that the tutor used it as an example for the whole course. Initially I thought that I’d found the organist John W’s father, James, and believed that he, too, was an organist. Later I realised that this was a mistake and you’d all meant John after all. The rest, as they say, is history and I’m so glad to have found you.

Now some dates etc.

William Winspeare, of 27 Richmond Gardens, Shepherd’s Bush, Middlesex, died on 8^th April 1885. The informant at death was Mary W Foley, sister, of 36 WellingtonStreet, Camden Town. He left his widow £60. I have some of his artefacts, drawings, a book and a medal and also his will with a heavy seal.

He married Elizabeth Alford, b 1854, d after 1909, daughter of William Alford, a police constable, and Mary ?, of Tisbury, Wiltshire, on 24^th June 1876 at the Brompton Oratory, Kensington. When he died, the Artist’s Benevolent Fund gave his widow money to set up a grocer’s shop in Peckham. My Grandad Charlie always thought this a really silly thing to have done, as she had no head for business. My mother is not in the least bit surprised that they can’t be found in the census as she believes her Grandmother wouldn’t have bothered to complete it. I have photo’s of her and a drawing done by William W M.

Their son Charles Henry was born on 4^th November 1880 and died on 18^th August 1978 at Farnborough, Hampshire. As he was only 5 when his father died, he was given an education by a benefactor – I will try and remember to ask my Mother where he was at school and who paid. He became a sheet metal worker at the Woolwich Arsenal and was an extremely active Union man and member of the Old Age Pensioners Association.

He married Amelia Wivell, born 21^st Dec 1881 in Barnstaple, Devon, on 31^st October 1910 at Harlesdon, London. Amelia died on 26^th October 1944 . They had 2 children, Victor b 14^th March 1911, married Norah Chapman 2^nd June 1935, and Kathleen May b 26^th Aug 1914. Victor had no children.

Kathleen ( Kitty) married John Ford, b 19^th June 1944 in Eltham, London on 1^st June 1941. They had two daughters Andrea b 24^th June 1944 and Nichola (me) on 1^st Nov 1946 (which makes me 63 today!!) John died on 25^th Dec 1984.

Andrea married Peter Scott on 8^th August 1970 and they have 2 girls, Victoria b 17^th Nov 1974, married David Carey and they have 2 girls, Sophie and Zoe, and Hannah, b 9^th September 1979 who has Charlotte and Matthew. (Haven’t caught up with recent dates!)

I married Malcolm William Craig, b 4^th March 1941, on 4^th Nov 1967 (Grandad Charlie’s 87^th Birthday). We have 3 children, Jonathan Mark, b 27^th Dec 1970, Amanda Ruth b 4^th August 1973 and Philip Andrew b 17^th Dec 1978.

Jonathan married Alison Woods on 1^st June 1996 , b 18^th June 1971. They have 2 sons, Matthew b 27^th June 1997 and Daniel, b 28^th April 2000. We live in hopes that our other two children will multiply one day!

I have not researched any other McCarty’s but mother tells me that the artist William W’s son John WW had a son. Mary (Auntie May Hatfield), had 4 children, Frederick, Ronald, Norah and Jack. Philip had a son Philip who she believes fell out of a chair and had ‘ something wrong with him’. Philip himself was a chauffeur and it was believed that he stole some money. He went to America and became a ‘hobo’. William Winspeare also had an adopted daughter Lilian. I never met any of these people or knew anything about them, although I do vaguely recall visiting an elderly lady once who could have been Auntie May Hatfield.

13^th January 2010

I cannot believe that so much time has passed since I began this report. I had some new Family History software for Christmas and, having paid up to Ancestry.com, have become addicted once more to my research. The fact that we’ve been snowed in for a fortnight has been a good excuse and today, searching for more information re: Mary Heagarty, I realised that I’d never finished this, so here I am again.

I’ve done a bit more research, including long conversations with my mother, as you hadn’t found Charles Henry McCarty on the 1891 census and evidently the Artist’s Benevolent Fund, which provided a shop for William W’s widow, also provided an education for Charles so in the 1891 Census he is at The Orphan Asylum, Penn Road, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire aged 10. There were about 250 children in the school. Headmaster - Arthur Thomas Hawes. The school is now The Royal Wolverhampton School. I have still found no reference to Charles Henry with Winspeare in his name.

Mother tells me that William W’s daughter Lilian Isobel was not adopted by William but was adopted out of the family, but she doesn’t know why. I have found her birth in 1883 in Kensington. Mary Alford, William’s mother-in-law and therefore Lilian’s grandmother, is in the 1861 census in Cadogan Street, Chelsea aged 48, with a woman called Cecilia A Danilli aged 23 referred to as ‘Unm. Sister’ who could be Mary’s sister.. This is a most unusual name and a James Danilli also appears in the 1861 census at York Minster as a carver & gilder aged 18, born in Middlesex. In 1881 he’s in Kensington. The 1901 census has a Lilian Danilli in Uxbridge, so I wonder in fact if this is our Lilian, adopted by her Grandmother perhaps?

Writing this I see there’s still lots to do with William W’s other children and I’m hoping to scan in some photos to send you. If you want any other dates I’d be happy to send them – just don’t know how big you want your tree to grow!