& Winifred Ward (1778 1837)
The gravestone of Stephen and Winifred Bromley in Staplehurst churchyard lists their entire family of four daughters and five sons. Two of the sons were called Samuel, the second of these being the Cranbrook Samuel who forms the original starting point for my family history. All five sons died young, the first Samuel dying in infancy and the eldest (John) at the age of 26. The second Samuel (my direct ancestor) lived the longest but he too died rather prematurely, as recounted in Chapter 6. Of the four daughters, only the death of Martha is mentioned on the gravestone. Another daughter, Winifred, is recorded further down but was omitted from the transcription for reasons that will become clear later. The parish records reveal the births of the remaining two: Mary and Elizabeth. Exactly who is buried in the plot marked by the gravestone is uncertain. As the plot is not particularly large the headstone is more likely to mark the grave of Stephen and Winifred since exact dates are given, whereas for their children only the month and year are shown, and one of these is incorrect. The addition of the other family members is probably commemorative; this is definitely so for Thomas who was not buried in Staplehurst. However, this is where the uncertainty largely ends: thanks to various public records it the following has been pieced together. Parish records show that Stephen Bromley of Goudhurst married Winifred Ward of Staplehurst on 9 December 1799 at All Saints church in Staplehurst. Note the surname Ward, because this appear a number of times in subsequent generations of the family. Here are the details of the children listed on the gravestone: John (b 1800) Stephen and Winifred s first child was born on 28 March. He later lived in Marden where he died in 1830 at the age of 26. He was buried in Staplehurst churchyard. Samuel I (b 1802) The couple s second child was, according to the parish records, buried on 11 May at the age of 4 months. Although born in the January, there is no record of his baptism. Winifred (b ~1803) The first daughter of Samuel and Winifred was, according to later census records, either born in Otterden or Marden (the 1851 and 1861 censuses differ), both of which are close to Cranbrook, but a search of the parish records has not been undertaken. However, what is missing from the hand-written transcription of the gravestone in Staplehurst is the final part of the inscription at the foot and now impossible to read which, according to the Kent Archaeological Society, says: The gravestone transcription, in an unknown hand, although in Staplehurst Church Yard may be my grandfather s handwriting. P a g e 2
Stephen Bromley Born: July 1774 Staplehurst, Kent Died: 11 October 1822 Staplehurst, Kent Samuel & Martha Marriage: 9 Dec 1799 in Staplehurst, Kent Winifred Ward Born: 27 Jan 1782 Cranbrook?, Kent Died: 25 Dec 1837 Cranbrook, Kent Thomas & Margaret Children: 9 Sex Birth/baptism Death/burial John Bromley M 28 May 1800 in Staplehurst, Kent 5 Aug 1826 in Marden* Samuel Bromley M Jan 1802 in Staplehurst, Kent 11 May 1802 in Staplehurst, Kent Winifred Bromley F 4 May 1802 in Otterden, Kent 4 Apr 1864 in London Samuel Bromley M 18 Jan 1805 in Staplehurst, Kent 4 Sep 1838 in Cranbrook, Kent Martha Bromley F 23 Jun 1807 in Staplehurst, Kent 7 Jun 1822 in Staplehurst, Kent Stephen Bromley M 22 Oct 1809 in Staplehurst, Kent 30 Oct 1826 Thomas Bromley M 16 Sep 1812 in Staplehurst, Kent Jun 1828 Mary Ann Bromley F 12 Jan 1817 in Cranbrook, Kent Elizabeth Bromley F 23 Apr 1819 in Cranbrook, Kent 1871 in Canada *buried Staplehurst Chapter 4 Stephen Bromley & Winifred Ward and their children. The gravestone presumably lists all the children they ever had, and their births and deaths have mostly been verified from the parish records, except for Elizabeth who emigrated to Canada. Winifred the wife of Henry Seymour and daughter of the above who died in London 4 April 1864 aged 61 years Winifred, wife of Henry Seymour, Master Saddler, did indeed die in Lombard Street, London on that date. The parish records show that the two were married in Rye, Sussex in 1825, but there is nothing to be found about their early lives. They do not appear in the 1841 census when they would have been in their late 30s and most likely to have been found at home with any children they may have had. However, the census of the year has many mis-spellings and incorrect transcriptions. By 1851 they had moved away from Kent and were living at 9 George Yard near Mansion House in the City of London, and by 1861 had moved to Langbourn, near Pinner in Middlesex. The censuses show that Henry was born in Cranbrook, which is presumably where they met. P a g e 3
The fact that Winifred s death was inscribed onto the gravestone as late as the 1860s suggests a continued link with Staplehurst and perhaps that the hand-written piece of paper from among the family photographs could be even earlier than this since it does not mention Winifred. On the other hand, the salary of a Master Saddler may have stretched to having a fitting gravestone made for his in-laws, with the other children listed in commemoration. Whatever the truth, Henry outlived Winifred and in the 1871 census is shown as a widower lodging at 30 Clifton Street in Holywell, Shoreditch in London. He died on 23 March 1887 at the age of 82 in Shoreditch Infirmary, Haggeston. Samuel II (b 1805) Samuel, my direct ancestor, and was the fourth child of Stephen and Winifred. It was not uncommon in those days when a child died to give a subsequent child the same first name. Born on 18 January 1805, what little is known about his life can be found in Chapter 4. Martha (b 1807) The second daughter was born on 23 June. According to the gravestone transcription she died in 1821 aged 18, but this is not shown in the Staplehurst parish records. However, there is a Martha Bromley who died in June 1822 aged 14. On the assumption that the deaths listed on the gravestone are commemorative, it is likely that these are one and the same. Stephen (b 1809) Nothing is know about Stephen except that he was baptized on 22 October 1809 and buried on 30 October 1826 aged 17; the transcription and parish records match exactly. Thomas (b 1812) Similarly, Thomas was born on 16 September 1812 and buried on 27 June 1828 aged 15. The location of his grave is not known. Mary Ann (b 1817) Baptized on 12 January, Mary may have survived until at least 1838, perhaps long enough to marry and have children of her own, but there is no trace of her. In the 1851 census for England & Wales there were only four women called Mary Ann shown to have been born in Cranbrook around 1817. She could be one of these but there are no clues from the census returns. P a g e 4
Elizabeth (b 1819) Baptized on 23 April, Elizabeth was the last child of Stephen and Winifred and the most interesting, being the likely source of the reference in Emily Langridge s story about someone emigrating to America. Elizabeth married Ebenezer Ditch, a wine merchant, in Cranbrook on Christmas Eve 1842. Her father is given as Stephen Bromley, farmer, on the marriage certificate, and her age on the subsequent 1851 census confirms her birth year as 1819. There were two witnesses to the marriage: Elizabeth Ester Ditch, Ebenezer s sister, and James Emmott Bromley (see Chapter 2). Ebenezer came from a local Wesleyan family, his parents being Thomas (a timber merchant) and Maria (née Sly), and he had at least two sisters, Mary Ann and Elizabeth. All the children were baptized at the Wesleyan chapel in Cranbrook (probably Milkhouse Street, which later became Sissinghurst), as recorded in the nonparochial records. Both of Ebenezer s sisters also married: Mary wed a musician called Frederick Francis but died a year later of puerperal fever, while Elizabeth married Robert Brown and lived until 1892, dying of decay of nature at the age of 69. Ebenezer s mother died in 1839 and his father Thomas subsequently married Ann Coleman, a widow with the maiden name of Ditch, so one assumes she was a cousin. Ann died of liver disease in 1843, while Thomas lived until 1860. Further confirmation that this Elizabeth Bromley is Samuel s brother is that one of her sons was named Walter Ward Ditch, his middle name being the maiden name of their mother, Winifred. This same link is seen in other descendants: Samuel s daughter, Olive, named her eighth child Walter Ward Brattle; while his son, Mark, had a child by his first wife was called Walter Ward Bromley. Although one might assume that Winifred s father may have been called Walter, according to the parish records he was called Thomas. Walter probably came from James Walter of Marden who was a friend of the family (see Chapter 2). Elizabeth and Ebenezer Ditch had 7 children in England: Maria Winifred, Frank Ebenezer, Louisa Bromley, Walter Ward, Frederick, Fannie, and Annie Selina (=Ann). Frank died 10 days after birth. However, the Ditch family in the 1851 census, together with their later daughters Fanny and Annie, fail to appear in the 1861 census onwards. In fact, they emigrated to Canada via the USA, landing in New York on 18 August 1858 on the ship Baltic out of Liverpool, with the record showing that they were planning to go on to Canada. This they did, settling in the town of Cayuga in Haldimand province in Ontario, not far from Lake Erie. P a g e 5
Ebenezer Ditch Born: 24 May 1819 Cranbrook, Kent Died: 1863 Cayuga, Canada Thomas & Maria Marriage: 9 Dec 1799 in Staplehurst, Kent Elizabeth Bromley Born: 23 Apr 1819 Cranbrook, Kent Died: 1871 Canada Children: 10 Sex Birth/baptism Death Stephen & Winifred Maria Winifred Ditch F Abt. 1844 in Cranbrook, Kent 1912 in North Cayuga, ON, Canada Frank Ebenezer Ditch M 28 Jul 1845 in Cranbrook, Kent 7 Aug 1845 in Cranbrook, Kent Louisa Bromley Ditch F 12 Jul 1846 in Cranbrook, Kent 1859 in North Cayuga, ON, Canada Walter Ward Ditch M 16 Aug 1848 in Cranbrook, Kent 1859 in North Cayuga, ON, Canada Frederick Ditch M 1850 in Cranbrook, Kent 1859 in North Cayuga, ON, Canada Fanny Elizabeth Ditch F 5 Nov 1852 in Cranbrook, Kent 1912 in Canada William Henry Ditch M 22 Oct 1854 in Cranbrook, Kent Annie Selina Ditch F 13 Apr 1857 in Cranbrook, Kent 1910 in Canada James Emmett Ditch M 1861 in Cayuga, ON, Canada Frank Ebenezer M 1862 in Cayuga, ON, Canada The Ditch family. Their move from Cranbrook to Canada has made their fate more difficult to trace as the records from that era are much less complete than those in England. William Henry Ditch (Ebenezer's cousin) had emigrated to the same area in the early 1850s and since there is evidence that the two families were later in contact in Ontario, Ebenezer may have been inspired to go emigrate there by tales told by his cousin William. The records for Canada in the mid-1800s are rather sparse, but the three youngest children Louisa, Walter and Frederick all died the following year within 3 months of each other, presumably from some kind of epidemic. However, Elizabeth went on to have two more children in Canada: James Emmett (b 1861) and Frank Ebenezer (b 1863). P a g e 6
Note that the second of these was given the same names as the son who died back in Cranbrook. Remarkably, Elizabeth would have been aged 43 when she had her last child. Of the remaining children, there is no further information on William or James but, courtesy of some distant family historians (there are descendants still living in the USA and Canada), this is what is known about the others: Maria married the American-born Thomas Leishman (later changed to Lishman) in 1871. Her sister, Fannie, was a witness to the wedding and her parents are given as Elizabeth and Ebenezer Ditch. Maria and Thomas had five children, including one named Elizabeth Bromley Ditch Lishman. Fanny probably never married, and died in 1912. Annie Selina married William Elliott in 1879 and had two children, one of whom was named Louisa Bromley Ward Elliott. Her husband died and she married William Collios and had one son called William Ebenezer Elliott Collios. Frank Ebenezer II married someone called Phoebe and had a son. According to the same sources, Ebenezer died in 1863, not long after the birth of his last child, while Elizabeth died in 1871. There are no records of the fate of their other children. Ebenezer almost certainly had relatives still living in Cranbrook. For example, there was a George Ditch, born in Hawkshurst, who lived in the High Street, Cranbrook, as did Ebenezer and Elizabeth until they emigrated. There was even another Ebenezer Ditch living in Iden, apparently related in some way. However, they are all distant cousins and too remote for further consideration in my family history. The Ward Family Although not absolutely certain, Winifred was probably the daughter of Thomas Ward and Margaret Heath and was baptized on 27 January 1782 in Sandhurst, a small village Kent near the Sussex border and about 14 miles from Staplehurst. Assuming this is the correct person, Winifred would have been only 17 at the time of her marriage in December 1799. She was certainly pregnant with her first son, Thomas, who was baptized the following March. Winifred definitely had at least 6 siblings including Dorcas (bap. 1774) who appears as a witness to the marriage of Ann Springate (nee Bromley) in 1798. The link between Dorcas the Ann Bromley seems to confirm that this is the correct Winifred. P a g e 7
Postscript Stephen and Winifred Bromley certainly had difficult lives, with nearly all of their children dying young or well before the average life expectancy of the time. Most of the children outlived Stephen who himself died in 1822 at the age of 45. Based on his father s will, Stephen was clearly a farmer tending land of his own, with the Esq on his gravestone supporting this. But social class was partly dictated by money and it took little for someone s fortunes to move in either direction, as James Emmott Bromley showed (see Chapter 2). Nearly all of these event described above occurred before official records began in July 1837. One exception is the death of Winifred Bromley Sr at the age of 59 on Christmas day, 1837. According to her death certificate, she died of typhus fever at 7:00 pm. Such precision is something rarely seen on a death certificate and perhaps reflected the status of the new registration process that had been introduced only two months earlier. The signatures of Stephen and Winifred from their marriage certificates Unlike Stephen, Winifred left a will, albeit very short, leaving the whole of her wearing apparel to Mary Ann and Elizabeth to share and share alike, and her household furniture and plate to James Perrin on East Peckham to divide between the two daughters or to sell and split the proceeds. No mention is made of anyone else. P a g e 8