|
|
Annie Maria Byron (“Nin Nin”) 30 December 1854 to 5 December 1943
BYR00001
|
“The Liveliest Girl in College”,
Agnes Bell, 1875 “She was of great character, good
looking, with a lot of charm”, Anne Farndale, her granddaughter in about 1980
|
Dates are in red.
Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
Headlines of James’ life are in brown.
References and citations are in turquoise.
Context and local history are in purple.
Geographical
context is in green.
1855
Annie Maria Byron was born on 30 December 1854.
She was baptised at Battersea on 18 February 1855.
Her father was William Henry Byron (born about 1825, a domestic servant in 1850
and a lawyer’s clerk in 1860) and her mother was Margaret Ann nee Demsey (born
in Liverpool in 1823).
1861
1861 Census – Castle Lane, Battersea
Harriet Byron, head, charwoman, 37, married
William Bryon, son, 9
Annie M Byron, daughter 6
1865
This is probably Annie’s brother,
William, taken in 1865.
1870
By 1870 she was a pupil teacher.
There is a record for 1 November 1870 for Lidlington
Charity Lower School, Bedfordshire,
showing that she was a pupil teacher,
Lidlington School is also called
Thomas Johnson Lower School, Hurst Grove, Lidlington, Bedford. Thomas Johnson
was a tailor. At some time in the late sixteenth century as he was walking
through Bedfordshire on his way to London, he came to Lidlington. He was given
food and shelter by people who lived in one of the cottages in the Parish of
Lidlington. This act of kindness obviously made a great impression on him. He
did very well in London and became a member of the Worshipful Company of
Merchant Tailors and later a Freeman of the City of London. As his status rose,
so did his wealth and in 1618 he bought property in Eaton Bray. In 1624, he
founded a school in Lidlington and made a grant of money to be used for the
support of the poor and elderly of the parish. By the terms of his will, in
1634, he left his land and his property in Eaton Bray to the poor of
Lidlington. After his death, the income from this property was administered by
a charity created for the purpose. The Eaton Bray property was sold in 1961 and
the money invested. Part of the investment income is given out in grants every
year and today, the Thomas Johnson Lidlington Charity continues to work for the
children of Lidlington and for anyone in need in the parish.
Local speculation is that
Greensand Ridge above Lidlington was the model for
the "Delectable Mountains" in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Lidlington Hill may also be Bunyan's "Hill of
Difficulty".
1871
1871 Census – High Street School House, Lidlington, Ampthill, Bedfordshire
Ann Mepen,
head, 30, certified teacher
Annie M Byron, 16 pupil teacher
Amptill is about 8km to the northeast of
Eversholt, both in Bedfordshire. Annie’s future husband, Walter Chapman was brought
up in Eversholt, his father being a school master there. Walter Chapman
continued to live at Eversholt until after 1861 and in 1871 had moved to
Woburn, about 5km west of Eversholt. In
1881 Walter had moved to Croydon, which became the later family home. So it seems likely that Walter knew Annie from childhood
days. As Walter Chapman’s father was also a schoolmaster in the area, the local
school community might be how they knew each other.
1875
Annie started an ‘autograph
book’ in March 1875 into which her friends at Hockerill
College entered poems and other pieces.
Her
granddaughter, Anne Farndale (nee Buckingham) (BUC00002) wrote:
Annie
Maria Byron (“Nin Nin”)
This
is my grandmother’s (on my Mother’s side), Autograph
Book. Started in 1875 while she was at College, she
would then have been 21. She was born in 1854 and died in 1943 at the Mill
House, Findon. She was of great character, good looking, with a lot of charm.
One of her friends who contributed to the book wrote that she was “the
liveliest girl in the College”. She married Walter Chapman in 1881, and they
had four children, Margaret (Madge), Etheldreda (Dreda), Harold and Reginald
(Rex). Walter’s sister stayed at home to look after the household and Annie
Maria taught, became a head mistress and was on the Council. All this at a time
before women thought of a life outside the home. She was always different, and
a very striking person all her life.
You
can read her Autograph
Book here.
By
1875, she was a teacher at Hockerill College.
Hockerill
College, Dunmow Road Bishop's Stortford Hertfordshire CM23 5HX, was
established in 1852 by the Church of England for the training of women
teachers, who "would go out to the schools in the service of humanity, lay
priests to the poor, moved by Christian Charity".
1881
Annie Maria Byron married Walter J Chapman,
then an ironmonger, on 27 December 1881 in the Church of St Andrew the Great,
Cambridge. Annie was born at Green Lane, Battersea on 30 December 1854.
The
marriage certificate was signed William H Byron, her father.
Cambridge Independent Press, 31 December 1881:
CHAPMAN-BYRON: Dec 27, at St Andrew’s the Great, Cambridge (by the Rev J
Martin), Walter Chapman, of Croydon, Surrey to Annie Maria Byron, of Earl
Street, Cambridge.
This
may be the wedding of Walter Chapman and Annie Byron. The photograph is
unlabelled from the collection of Anne Farndale (who is no longer alive) and it
seems likely that this is what the photograph depicts.
1882
Margaret
Sophie Chapman (1882 to 1963) (CHA00020) was born on
22 September 1882 in Croydon.
1885
Etheldreda
Annie Chapman (1885 to 1972) (CHA00021)
was born in Croydon on 10 January 1885.
1889
Harold
Byron James Chapman (1889 to 1917) (CHA00022) was born in Croydon in
1889.
1891
1891 Census – 4 Stanton Road, Croydon
Walter
Chapman, 40, ironmonger
Annie
M Chapman, 36, schoolmistress (born Battersea)
Margaret
S Chapman, 8
Etheldreda
A Chapman, 6
Harold
B J Chapman, 2
Sophia
Chapman, 68
Servant
1893
Reginald
Cecil Chapman (1893 to 1966) (CHA00023)
was born in Croydon ion 1893.
1901
1901 Census – Eversholt, Staton Road, Croydon
Walter
Chapman, 50, iron founder’s salesman
Annie
Chapman, 46, his wife, school
teacher
Margaret
Chapman, 18, school teacher
Etheldreda
Chapman, 16
Harold
B J Chapman, 12
Reginald
Chapman, 8
Sophia
Chapman, mother, widow, 78
1911
1911 Census – Evershot,
West Woburn, Bedfordshire
Walter Chapman, 60, Chief Salesman
iron founder’s warehouse
Annie Maria Chapman, 56, Head Teacher, Croydon
Education Committee
Harold Byron James Chapman, 22,
Clerk in iron founder’s office
Reginald Cecil Chapman, 18, clerk
in estate agent’s office
Sophia Chapman, 88, Walter’s
mother, then a widow
1921 Census – 4 Stanton Road, Croydon, Surrey
Walter Chapman, 70, Department
Manager in Range Stove and Chimney Piece Show Room, Messrs Dorrall
St Evan Co, Iron Grocers, 2 Upper Thames Road, London
Alice Mary Baudet, 68, Walter’s
sister, a visitor, not occupied for a living
Doris Harris, a servant, 16
1923
When his son Reginald married
Dorothy Appleby in 1923, Walter was a Departmental Manager.
1932
Walter
and Annie Chapman
Walter and Annie Chapman (‘Nin
Nin’ and ‘Pardy’) with Anne Buckingham (BUC00002),
their granddaughter in about 1932
1936
Walter and Annie Chapman in Worthing, West
Sussex in 1936
1937
Walter
Chapman died at 20 Marine Parade, Worthing on 26 April 1937.
Probate:
CHAPMAN Walter of 20 Marine parade Worthing died 26 April 1937 Probate
London 29 May to Reginald Cecil Chapman estate agent and Robert Norman Bank
Manager. Effects £6532 14s 6d.
1943
Annie Maria Chapman died on 5 December 1943 at The Mill House,
Findon, the home of her
daughter, Etheldreda Buckingham (nee Chapman) (CHA00021).
