Summary
Yet to be summarised.
Parents and family
Minnie's marriage certificate gives her father as
Benjamin PRITCHARD and his occupation looks like 'Slater' but the
handwriting is not very precise in its letter formation. On
the 1881 Census, Minnie's husband Samuel KIRBY has his
Mother-in-Law living with the family. She is age 64, name Martha
PRITCHARD, born Brixton (central part of word is far from clear),
Surrey, England.
It is far from certain who this Benjamin PRITCHARD was. Assuming he
fathered Minnie after the age of 14, by the time of the 1871
Census he
would have to have been at least 28, by the 1861 at least 18 and by the
1851 Census at least 8.
- Candidate A, born about 1844, aged about 13 around time of
Minnie's birth
- 1851 Census, Benjamin PRITCHARDS, aged 7, born about 1844
in Lambeth, Surrey and residing in Lambeth
- 1861 Census, unable to find
- 1871 Census, Benjamin PRITCHARD,
aged 27, married and born about 1844, in London, Middlesex. He is
aboard HMS Royal
Albert under Captain Henry Nicholson, where he was an Acting Stoker
(Stoker, rather than Slater, being
just possible as an interpretation of the scrawled occupation on
Minnie's marriage certificate)
- Candidate B, born about 1843, aged about 14 around
time of Minnie's birth
- 1851
Census, Benjamin PRITCHARD, age 8, born about 1843 in Shoreditch,
Middlesex, a pauper residing in St. John Horsleydown, Surrey.
- 1861 Census, Benjamin PRITCHARD, age 21, born St John's
South'k, a packer residing at 75 Fair Street, St Johns
Horsleydown, Middlesex (he was the son of Candidate D and the brother of the Charlotte
PRITCHARD
mentioned below).
- Candidate C, born about 1819, aged about 38 around
time of Minnie's birth
- 1851 Census, Benjamin PRICHARD, aged 32, born about 1819
in Bath, Somerset and residing in Camberwell. Wife Ellen, born in Bath.
- Candidate D, born about 1813, aged about
44 around time of Minnie's birth
- 1851 Census, Benjamin PRITCHARD, aged 38, born
about 1813 in Bloomsbury Middlesex, a labourer residing at 1 Marble
Court, St Olaves, Southwark, Surrey. He has a wife called Martha, aged 34 and born in Brixton, Surrey.
Candidate A, the Royal Naval stoker appears barely old enough. However, as he does not
appear to have a service record listed amongst the National
Archives online Naval service records, this could not be confirmed.
Candidate D, is to be preferred on several grounds -
- He
has a daughter called Charlotte of approximately the right age and
birth location (one of only two uses of Charlotte in PRITCHARD birth
registrations of the relevant period, see below).
- His wife has the right age, christian name and birth location for Minnie's mother.
- He uses the same spelling of PRITCHARD.
Furthermore, although he was not of the right occupation, he was not a professional and so was more likely to move
between jobs.
Birth
Her
marriage certificate gives here name as Minnie Charlotte PRITCHARD and her
age in 1875 as 19. She was
therefore born about 1856.
I
can find no Minnie PRITCHARD on the Birth Register indexes for
1854-1858 inclusive, amongst military overseas births, or on a
searchable index of non-conformist birth registrations.
The only Minnie PRITCHARD entries I can find on the various censuses
are -
- 1861 Census, Minnie PRITCHARD born about 1860, her
father was William, a baker, and she was born in
Liverpool and living there.
- 1871
Census, Minnie PRITCHARD, aged 10, born about 1861 in
Marylebone,
her father, Thomas, was a coachmaker, and they resided in Marylebone.
It therefore appears that Minnie Charlotte PRITCHARD was either not her original name or not the name she routinely used.
Charlotte is a very rare name amongst the PRITCHARD registrations of
that period, however, there was:
- a Charlotte,
PRITCHARD birth registered in St Olave S, 1856, Sep Quarter, 1d, 33.
She was of
about the right age and her father was the strongest candidate for Minnie's father identified above (Candidate D).
- a
Mary Ann Charlotte PRITCHARD birth registered in Pancras, Jun Q 1858,
1b, 78. The 1861 Census has a Mary Ann C PRITCHARD, aged 3, born St
Pancras and living in Hackney. She was the daughter of Mary Ann J
PRITCHARD a widow, aged 34 and born in Battersea, Surrey. The
only potential PRITCHARD + Mary Ann J marriage registration I can find
was in 1846 and would have involved a Henry James PRITCHARD though
other bride and groom combinations are possible given the several names
listed on the entry.
It therefore appears fairly certain that
Minnie's birth was registered as Charlotte PRITCHARD and that she was daughter of
Candidate D above. Prior to marriage she appears as Charlotte PRITCHARD on Census records. She therefore probably added Minnie at the
time of her marriage, though it is unlikely to be possible to prove this from any other source.
Childhood and education
Charlotte appears to have lost her father,
Benjamin Pritchard,
within four years of her birth.
The
1861 Census has her at 75 Fair Street, St John's Southwark, London. Age
4, name Charlotte Pritchard, born St John's South'k, Surrey (as were
all the group, possibly out of lazyness). She was a scholar. She is
with her mother
- Martha PRITCHARD, Head, W[idow], 43, shirtmaker, Surrey, St Johns South'k
- Benjamin PRITCHARD, Son, Un[married], 21,
packer, Surrey, St Johns South'k
- Henry PRITCHARD, Son, , 10, errand boy, Surrey, St Johns South'k
- Charlotte PRITCHARD, Daur, , 4, Scholar, Surrey, St Johns South'k
On the 1871 Census she is at The
Bell (adjacent to 8 Little Tichfield Street, if not it), Marylebone, London with her
unmarried sister. The group comprises a couple of widowed aunts as well -
- Ann MARSTEN, Head, Widow, 50, Licenced Victualler, Essex, Harlow
- Susan WESTEN, Sister, Widow, 59, None, Essex, Harlow
- Maria PRITCHARD, Niece, Unm[arried], 22, barmaid, Surrey, St Oleaves
- Charlotte PRITCHARD, Niece, Unm[arried], 14, , Surrey, St Oleaves
- Samuel ROBINSON, Servant, Mar[ried], 33, Pot man, Bedfordshire, Tottenyham
Employment
The is no evidence of employment prior to marriage.
Marriage to Samuel Kirby
On 8th August 1875, in Emmanuel Church in the parish
of Camberwell, she married Samuel John KIRBY. The account of their life together may be found in the Biography
biography of Samuel John KIRBY.
Last Will and Testament
Death
Probably 1926 as the only Candidate Minnie C KIRBY death
registration is in the June Quarter of 1926 in West Ham
and for an individual aged 69 (i.e. with a date of birth of about 1857).
Burial
Unknown.
Descendants and notable relations
To be completed...