K is for Kherson, death place of John Howard prison reformer

Yesterday I wrote about Shrewsbury Prison, known as The Dana. Above the main entrance to the prison is a  bust of the prison reformer John Howard (1726 - 1790) , and the street leading up to it from the main road is named after him.

John Howard, prison reformer, above main entrance of Shrewsbury prison. Photograph from Wikimedia Commons taken by R J Higginson 2009.

In January 1790 John Howard died of typhus at Kherson in present day Ukraine. He is said to have contracted the disease on one of his prison visits.

Howard was buried in the Ukraine. Though he had requested a quiet burial, without pomp and ceremony, he was evidently judged an important person, and the Prince of Moldovia himself was in attendance at what in fact turned out to be a rather elaborate funeral.


When news of Howard's death reached England a month later, a series of commemorative John Howard tokens was struck, including one reading "Go forth" and "Remember the Debtors in Gaol".

Howard became the first civilian to be honoured with a statue in St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Statues  were also erected in his honour at Kherson and at Bedford and other English prisons.

Memorial for John Howard. John Bacon the Younger (1777-1859). 1795. St. Paul's Cathedral, City of London. Located near entrance to crypt. Image from http://www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/funerary/howard1.html, photograph taken by George P. Landow.

In 1786, four years before his death, a monument to Howard had been proposed. A subscription list was got up and a poem lauding his achievements was published.

Pratt, Samuel Jackson. The triumph of benevolence; occasioned by the national design of erecting a monument to John Howard, Esq. Printed by J. Nichols, Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street; sold by Messrs. J. Dodsley, J. Robson, T. Cadell, P. Elmsly, and C. Dilly; by Mr. Prince at Oxford; and Mr. Merrill at Cambridge, MDCCLXXXVI. [1786]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Gale Document Number: GALE|CW0112448476

Subscribers who gave £2 2s, that is 2 guineas, included Charles Chauncey Esq., Claude Champion Crespigny, Philip Champion Crespigny, and Charles Snell-Chauncy. Mrs Champion Crespigny is listed as having given £1 1s. I am not sure who Charles Chauncey was, but Charles Snell-Chauncy (1759-1809) was my 6th great uncle. Claude Champion Crespigny is probably another of my 6th great uncles (1734-1818). Mrs Champion Crespigny in this case is probably Claude's wife Mary nee Clarke (1747-1812). Philip Champion Crespigny is my 5th great grandfather (1738-1803), the brother of Claude. Mrs Champion Crespigny was possibly his wife Dorothy nee Scott (1765-1837).

I found it interesting to discover relatives from two different branches of my family tree supporting prison reform.

Further reading

• Howard, John (1726?-1790) Dictionary of National Biography in Wikisource

Richard Henry Crespigny (1891-1894) a workhouse inmate

Last month ancestry.com announced that it had added to its collection of London records, including new material from  the London Metropolitan Archives. This included poor law records for London. Browsing these, I noticed that the surname Crespigny came up eleven times in the London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930.

All were for an infant called Richard Henry Crespigny (1891-1894). I had never heard of this child before and thought I would investigate. I ordered his birth and death certificates.

Richard Henry Crespigny was born 1 November 1891 at 3 Smith Street, South Chelsea, the son of Richard Crespigny and Matilda Crespigny née Garland. His father's occupation was given as commercial traveller. The informant was his mother, registering the birth on 11 December 1891 in the district of Chelsea, sub district of South Chelsea. She she gave her address as 3 Smith Street South Chelsea.

Richard Crespigny junior died of diphtheria on 25 May 1894 a the South Western Hospital Stockwell. He was two years old. Under occupation it was stated he was of the Chelsea Infirmary, Cale Street S.W. , an institution associated with the Chelsea Workhouse.

The Chelsea infirmary was built in 1872, north of the workhouse. The London City Council took over the workhouse in 1930. The buildings have since been demolished.

Richard Henry Crespigny, six months old, was first admitted to the Fulham Road workhouse on 23 May 1892 from the Parish of St Margaret. The name of his relative or friend was Ruth Glazebrook and her address was Corner House Henfield Shermanbury, a village in Sussex forty miles south of London.

Fulham workhouse and infirmary (left) about 1905. Image from http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Fulham/

On 7 November 1892 Richard Henry Crespigny was readmitted to the workhouse from the infirmary. On 3 December 1892 he was discharged to hospital.

On 28 January 1893 he was readmitted to the Fulham Road workhouse from the hospital. On 1 June 1893 he was again discharged from the workhouse to the infirmary. He was readmitted to the Fulham Road Workhouse on 30 November 1893. His admission record note that he was deserted.

On 3 March 1894 Richard Crespigny was discharged from Fulham Road Workhouse to Chelsea (Britten Street). The next day,  4 March, he was discharged from the Britten Street Workhouse to the infirmary. He returned to the workhouse from the infirmary on 22 March.

On 25 April he was again discharged to the infirmary. He died a month later.

I have been unable to find any record of his parents Richard Crespigny or Matilda Crespigny née Garland in the 1891 census, marriage or death records, or any other online databases. I have no knowledge of anyone with the Champion de Crespigny surname having the first name Richard who was born in the nineteenth century and a potential father of this child.

I looked at the census record for 3 Smith Street for 1891. The census was held on 5 April 1891. On the 1891 census George Toplas is recorded as living at 3 Smith Street with his wife, five children and 6 boarders, none of them Richard or Matilda. It may be that Richard Crespigny and his wife became boarders there five months later. 3 Smith Street is just off the Kings Road and not far from the Chelsea Workhouse.

Ruth Glazebrook appears on the 1891 census living at the Corner House cottage Shermanbury. She was 33, single, living with her widowed mother and two small boys described as boarders: Henry Pitchard age 4 and Henry Bathe age 2. Her occupation is given as baby farmer.

Baby farming was the practice of placing infants with foster women for a fee. It came to an end after the passing of legislation in the UK parliament in 1897 and 1908 which regulated the change of custody of children and defined the improper care of infants.

It appears that Richard Henry Crespigny was placed in the care of a baby farmer, abandoned by his parents, and once the money that paid for his care had been used up, he was placed in a workhouse. He appears to have been ill a number of times before succumbing to diphtheria.



References

• http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Chelsea/
• http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Fulham/
• London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930 retrieved from ancestry.com

1. 23 May 1892 WEBG/SG/122/001 Westminster 
2. 23 May 1892 WEBG/SG/118/045 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1892 
3. 7 November 1892 WEBG/SG/118/047 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1892 
4. 3 December 1892 WEBG/SG/118/047 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1892 
5. 28 January 1893 WEBG/SG/118/050 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1893 
6. 1 June 1893 WEBG/SG/118/050 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1893 
7. 30 November 1893 WEBG/SG/118/051 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1893 
8. 3 March 1894 WEBG/SG/118/052 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1894
9. 3 March 1894 CHBG/188/031 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894 
10. 4 March 1894 CHBG/188/031 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894
11. 22 March 1894 CHBG/188/031 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894
12. 25 April 1894 CHBG/188/032 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894

• 1891 census retrieved from ancestry.com

1. George Toplas: Class: RG12; Piece: 63; Folio: 45; Page: 15; GSU roll: 6095173
2. Ruth Glazebrook Class: RG12; Piece: 825; Folio: 139; Page: 3; GSU roll: 6095935

• http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/babyfarm.html

T is for trial for theft

Court records from the Old Bailey give insights into criminals, crimes and the victims of crime. Nearly 200,000 trials from London's central criminal court dating from 1674 to 1913 have been digitised. Three quarters of the cases are for theft.

Herbert Joseph Champion de Crespigny (1805-1881) was my second cousin five times removed, the second youngest child of Sir William and Lady Sarah Champion de Crespigny; younger brother of Augustus and Heaton, about whom I wrote recently.

Herbert was a lawyer, educated at Cambridge. In 1822 he was admitted to the Middle Temple, one of the four inns of court entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers. He was called to the bar in 1832.

In 1838 Herbert was driving his gig, a light two-wheeled spring carriage pulled by one horse, in Weymouth Street, London. This street links High Street, Marylebone, and Harley Street and Portland Place.

Herbert's carriage overturned and Herbert broke his leg. He was carried into a nearby house. He alleged that during the incident one of his assistants stole a key and some money from him.

A gig, c 1815-1830 - a few years before Herbert's journey along Weymouth Street.
Oil painting of a Stanhope gig carrying two well-dressed gentlemen, drawn by a white horse. Gigs were used by people who often needed to make short quick journeys with minimum fatigue to the horse. From Wikimedia Commons.

2313. WILLIAM LYONS was indicted for stealing, on the 7th of September, 1 key, value 3d.; 3 shillings, 1 sixpence, and 1 four-penny piece; the goods and monies of Herbert Joseph Champion de Crespigny, from his person.
HERBERT JOSEPH CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY . I live at Ewell, in Surrey. On the 7th of September, I was driving my gig in Weymouth-street—my gig was overturned and I broke my leg in two places—I was carried on a shutter to a house, and when in the bed-room I saw the prisoner there—he helped to take off my things—I had a key and about three or four shillings in my waistcoat pocket—I looked very hard at the prisoner—he seemed to look as if I should know him—he wanted to take my pin out of my shirt—I would not let him—I asked if he was a tailor living near there who had done some things for me—he said he was—but he is not—he was taken for something else, and then my pockets were searched and this money was missed—there were two sixpences and a few-penny piece that I had marked, and this key of my writing desk—I had marked one sixpence and one fourpence, the other sixpence I had not marked, but I can swear to it.
ROBERT KEBRUNT . (police-constable D 56.) The prisoner was given to me—I found on him a sovereign and several shillings, sixpences, and four pence—I found these that are identified, and the key—he was taken on another charge.
Prisoner. I had been out drinking, and assisted to take the gentleman to the house—I did not know what I had about me then, but I did the next day—I said I had been taking various small change—I am a glove-cleaner—I picked up the diamond pin belonging to the gentleman, and gave it him—I was very much intoxicated when I was taken. Witness. He was drunk.
GUILTY . Aged 25.— Confined Six Months. (from Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.2, 21 April 2016), October 1838, trial of WILLIAM LYONS (t18381022-2313).)

The coins, 3 shillings, 1 sixpence, and 1 four-penny piece [a groat], seem small in value. Using a measuring worth calculator, in 2014, the relative value of £0 3s 10d from 1838lies between £15.44 to £641.90. The "real price" of the value of the coins is £15.44, obtained by multiplying £0.19 by the percentage increase in an index of the average cost of things a household buys from 1838 to 2014.The economic power value of those coins in income or wealth is calculated as £641.90 ($AUD1187). The economic power value calculation is based on the value relative to the total economy.

The theft of a key and $1,000 would not result in imprisonment for six months in the present day.

Related posts

• George Bowyer transported for pickpocketing: Herbert's grandfather Claude de Crespigny was the victim of a pickpocket.
• O is for Old Bailey records: Herbert's father William accused his coachman of stealing harness. The coachman was found not guilty.

52 ancestors: Whitehall June 15 1727

I thought I would look at the earliest record in the London Gazette of someone named de Crespigny. I assumed it would be the record of a military appointment.

Philip Crespigny (1704-1765)
Attributed to Jean-Baptiste Van Loo - Date unknown ... Owner/Location: Kelmarsh Hall retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/philip-champion-de-crespigny-17041765-49144

I was surprised to find that this de Crespigny was my sixth great grandfather, Philip Crespigny (1704-1765), who had been present at the proclamation of King George II (1683-1760) on 14 June 1727.¹

King George II by Charles Jervas painted about 1727. Photograph retrieved from Wikipedia.

I realised I knew very little about my sixth great grandfather.

Philip was the fifth of six children of Thomas Champion Crespigny (1664-1712) and Magdalen née Granger (1664-1730).

Thomas, who had been born in France, came as a boy to England as a Huguenot refugee. He served in the English military. From 1689 he was a cornet in Lord Cardross' Scottish Regiment of Dragoons, a Lieutenant of Colonel Richard Cunningham's Regiment of Scots Dragoons in 1695, and Captain Lieutenant of the Marquis of Lothian's Regiment of Dragoons at Jedburgh in 1703.² This regiment later became the 7th Queen's Own Hussars.

Thomas married Magdalen, daughter of Israel Granger of Alencon in 1695 at St Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street, London.³ Magdalen had also been born in France and her family were also Huguenot refugees.⁴

They had six children:⁵

• William (1698-1721)
• Marie (1699-1700)
• Jeanne (1700-1773), who married Gilbert Allix (1694-1767)
• Claude (1701-1703)
• Philip (1704-1765)
• Claude (1706-1782)

Thomas died on 17 July 1712. He was buried at St Marylebone, London.  His will, dated 1704, left all his goods to his wife Magdalen.⁶

The surviving children at the time of Thomas's death were aged 14, 12, 8 and 6.

I wonder who helped Magdalen bring up her children? Was the family helped by her Granger relatives or by Magdalen's de Crespigny in-laws?

Magdalen's mother, Marie Granger, was a widow when she made her will in 1711.⁷ Magdalen's father, Israel Granger, had died in 1700.⁸ Marie Granger left her estate between Magdalen and the children of another daughter, Marthe. Marthe had married Florand Dauteuil in 1699, at the Savoy Church in the Strand. Marthe had died before 1711 when her mother made her will. Mary Granger's will was proved in 1713. It appears that Magdalen had no adult relatives on the Granger side of her family to support her.

Thomas's older brother Pierre (1662-1739) was a lawyer. In her will, Magdalen leaves Pierre 200 pounds.⁹ In his will Pierre makes Philip and Claude his executors and leaves them one hundred pounds each.¹⁰ Pierre was the godfather of Claude, Magdalen and Thomas's youngest son. Pierre did not marry and had no children. I think it very likely that Pierre helped Magdalen to raise her children.

Although we do not have the details, it would seem that the education of Claude and Philip enabled them to be successful: Claude as secretary of the South Sea Company, a major British trading company; Philip as a lawyer, who eventually became a proctor to the Lord Admiral, in addition to holding several directorships.

Philip and Claude had very successful careers despite the untimely death of their father and the fact that both their parents were Huguenot refugees.

..........

Notes
<sup>1. The London Gazette Publication date: 13 June 1727 Issue: 6590 Page: 1 retrieved from https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/6590/page/1 ↩
2. from page 22 of Huguenot and Scots Links, 1575-1775 Author David Dobson Publisher Genealogical Publishing Com, 2010 ISBN 0806352841, 9780806352848 Length 92 pages retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=sN1nOOPKqKsC&pg=PA22 3 February 2012 ↩
3. Name: Magdalen Granger Marriage Date: Feb 1695 Parish: St Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street County: Surrey Borough: City of London Spouse: Thomas Champion Record Type: Marriage Register Type: Parish Register from London Metropolitan Archives, St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street, Composite register: baptisms, 1664 - 1717, marriages, 1664 - 1712 and burials, 1664 - 1717, P69/MRY10/A/002/MS010221 retrieved from ancestry.com.au↩
4. de la Pinsonnais, Amaury. "La Famille Granger." Histoire Et Généalogie. Amaury de la Pinsonnais, 13 June 2010. Web. 14 Jan. 2015. http://pinsonnais.free.fr/genea/?id=granger&page=2. ↩
5. de Crespigny, Rafe Champions in Normandy : being some remarks on the early history of the Champion de Crespigny family. R. de Crespigny, Canberra, 1988. page 9. ↩
6. Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills (PCC): Thomas Champion De Crespigny Date of Probate July 1712 Date of Will 24th June 1704 Reference PROB11/527 retrieved from thegenealogist.co.uk ↩
7. PCC: Mary Granger Place of Abode St James Westminster, London Date of Probate March 1713 Date of Will 18th February 1711 Reference PROB11/532 retrieved from thegenealogist.co.uk ↩
8. London, England, Wills and Probate. Israel Granger, Middlesex, Probate date 1700. London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section, Clerkenwell, London, England; Reference Number: AM/PW/1700/031 ↩
9. PCC: Magdalen Champion de Crespigny Profession Widow Date of Probate 9th October 1730 Date of Will 19th February 1730 Reference PROB11/640 retrieved from thegenealogist.co.uk ↩
10. PCC: Peter Champion de Crespigny Place of Abode St James Westminster, Middlesex Date of Probate 1st August 1740 Date of Will 10th August 1736 Reference PROB11/704 retrieved from thegenealogist.co.uk ↩</sup>

Sepia Saturday: coach rides

Lady Sarah Champion de Crespigny (1763-1825) was the wife of my 1st cousin six times removed, Sir William Champion de Crespigny (1765 - 1829), the second baronet. She was the daughter of Other Lewis Windsor, fourth Earl of Plymouth.

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt reminded me of a newspaper report of an attack by the London mob on Lady Sarah and her child while they were travelling in her carriage. The incident was reported in the London Morning Post of 20 April 1801.

In 1801 Sarah had seven children. There had also been an eighth child who had died in infancy. The oldest child was 14 and the youngest was one year old. I do not know which child was travelling with her. Lady Sarah had two more children after this incident.

Charing Cross and Northumberland House from Spring Gardens: 18th century. View shows Northumberland House in the centre with its turrets with lead cupolas and Percy Lion above parapet of frontispiece. The monument on the right is the bronze equestrian statue of Charles I. Among the shops seen are: jewellers, instrument makers, hosiers, trunkmakers and saddlers. The sign of the Golden Cross Inn appears on the left. Its yard was one of the principal starting points for mail coach services. Painted c. 1776-1800. Image retrieved from http://www.museumoflondonprints.com/image/139509/british-school-charing-cross-and-northumberland-house-from-spring-gardens-18th-century

I am not quite sure what Lady Sarah's coach would have looked like.

A stage coach in 1801 was painted by John Cordrey. The passengers in this picture include a wedding party. The milestone apparently shows this coach is eight miles from London.

(Picture from http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_London_to_Birmingham_Stage_Coach,_1801.jpg )

The attack on the coach must have been a terrifying experience for Sarah and her child. There are reports of other attacks on coaches in the period including the murder of the occupants and highway robbery by gangs of 40 men. (Carlow County 1801  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlcar2/PPP_Doc_1801.htm) The King's coach had been attacked several times in the 1790s. (William TOPLIS (1814). A Genealogical History of the English Sovereigns, from William I. to George III. inclusive ... With ... biographical notices of the families connected with the Royal Houses, etc. p. 79.) 

In 1838, some 37 years later, Lady Sarah's youngest son Herbert had an accident when his gig collided with a donkey cart on Paddington street.  He was thrown from the gig and broke his leg.

London Standard 10 September 1838 page 4. An almost identical article also appeared in the Morning Post of the same day.

Plaisteds Wine Bar

The theme for this week's Sepia Saturday is 'signs'.

A bar in London which had operated in one form or another as a seller of alcohol since 1790 until it closed recently in about 2010, bore the surname of my fifth great grandfather.

The Coopers Arms, also known as Plaisteds Wine Bar, in 2008 (photograph from Wikimedia Commons taken by Ewan Munro and uploaded by Oxyman) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

On 29 May 1832 my fifth great grandfather Thomas Plaisted (1777-1832) signed his will and added a codicil:

I Thomas Plaisted of the parish of Saint Paul Deptford in the county of Kent being of sound mind and memory do hereby make my last will and testament as follows To my wife Lydia Plaisted I leave the interest and rent of all my property during her natural life at her decease I direct that the whole of the property before named be sold and divided in equal parts John Plaisted Thomas Wilkes Plaisted Elizabeth Plaisted and Lydia Plaisted each having an equal share of the same and to my daughter Tabitha Ewer I direct that a fifth part of the above property when sold that she shall have the interest of for her natural life and at her decease to become the property of her daughter and the same to be invested for better security in one of the public funds of the kingdom I also direct that the interest of the above fifth share be paid to the said Tabitha Ewer exclusively and I hereby appoint my son Mr John Plaisted and Robert Law my sole executors as witness my hand this twenty ninth day of May one thousand eight hundred and thirty two—Thos Plaisted—witness—Frederick Dove—John Ewer—El Miles

Codicil I Thomas Plaisted do hereby acknowledge that the house known as the sign of the Coopers Arms Woolwich Kent has been from the taking of the above house and is now the property of my son John Plaisted and I do hereby direct that the Licences be transferred to him or to whom he shall appoint witness my hand this twenty ninth day of May one thousand eight hundred and thirty two—Thos Plaisted—witness—John Ewer (1832 PLAISTED Thomas, Kent, Jul 463 [PROB11/1803 (451-500) pages 100 R&L] transcribed by Jeanette Richmond)

Thomas died the next day and his will was proved at London on 19 July 1832.

It looks as though in preparing the will Thomas had forgotten that he had already transferred some property to his son John. John Plaisted (1800-1858) was my fourth great grandfather.

The earliest advertisement I have been able to find is from the West Kent Guardian in 1835.

The West Kent Guardian 26 December 1835 page 1

In December 1836 the partnership between John and his brother Thomas Wilkes Plaisted (1811-1886) for operating the Coopers' Arms was dissolved and Thomas Wilkes Plaisted continued to operate the business.

The London Gazette: no. 19450. p. 2606. 20 December 1836.

In the 1841 census John Plaisted was living with his wife, seven children, sister-in-law, and a female servant at Camberwell. His occupation was described as wine merchant. (Class: HO107; Piece: 1052; Book: 5; Civil Parish: St Giles Camberwell; County: Surrey; Enumeration District: 13; Folio: 6; Page: 6; Line: 9; GSU roll: 474651. Image of census viewed on ancestry.com)

In 1842 John Plaisted was a Wine and Spirit Merchant and had been in partnership with John Vickers, John Vickers the younger and Benjamin Vickers. The partnership was dissolved and a new partnership formed without Benjamin.

The London Gazette: no. 20175. p. 3653. 9 December 1842.

An advertisement for Vickers, Plaisted, and Co's Diamond Grape Sherry in the Times 22 January 1845 page 10

In August 1848 the Vickers Plaisted partnership dissolved.

The London Gazette: no. 20888. p. 3097. 18 August 1848.

In 1849 John Plaisted emigrated to Australia with his family on the Rajah.  I have written previously about how John emigrated probably because he had tuberculosis.

Flickr has an image of a spirit bottle from Plaisted's of Woolwich at http://www.flickr.com/photos/71171743@N05/6947203397/

Constantine Pulteney Trent Champion de Crespigny (1851 - 1883)

Constantine Pulteney Trent Champion de Crespigny was born at St Malo, France, on 5 May 1851, the son of Philip Champion Crespigny and his wife Charlotte Frances née Dana. He was christened on 28 May at the Anglican Chapel, Saint-Servan-sur-Mer, which is two miles from St Malo.  He was the third child of the couple; his older sister Ada was born in 1848 and his brother Philip was born in 1850.

Not long after his birth his parents emigrated to Australia from England with their two older children. They left Constantine in England in the care of his grandparents and aunt. The Champion Crespigny family embarked from Plymouth on the Cambodia on 3 December 1851 when Constantine was not yet 7 months old. They must have determined he was too small and not strong enough to make the journey.

The family stayed in touch by letters and copies of some of this correspondence survives. For example:

undated but before July 1856

My dearest little Ada and Loup Loup:
     A thousand thanks for your nice little letter which delighted me.  Little Conny could not read them but Charlie learnt them by heart and repeated them to the little darling. I hope Ada has received the little books I sent her by this time and that you have both had a ride in Papa's new carriage. Grandpapa will send you some seeds for your garden by the Great Britain Steam Ship and I hope you will have as much pleasure in growing your mustard and cress as Charlie has. Conny and Charlie are always talking of you and longing to have you both as playfellows. Do send me word what I can send you my little darlings to amuse you. I am very glad the boots fitted so well. Goodbye to you both. Conny and Charlie send you many kisses and I am ever your Affte. Gd. Mama.
     Gd. Papa and Aunt send you many loves and kisses.

The letter is from Eliza Julia Champion Crespigny  née Trent (1797 - 1856), wife of Charles James Fox Crespigny (1785 - 1875), and mother to Philip senior. Loup Loup was a nick name for Philip junior and means wolf. Charlie is the cousin of Constantine, Charles Stanley Champion Crespigny (1848 - 1907), the son of Philip's older brother Charles John Champion Crespigny (1814 - 1880). The aunt was Philip's sister, Eliza Constantia Frances Champion Crespigny (1817 - 1898). It was Constantia who spent much time caring for young Con.

from letter of 9 January 1858 from Charles James Champion Crespigny at Cheltenham to his son Philip

... The care she [Philip's sister Constantia] takes in your dear Con and the delight she has in him is not to be described. It will be a great loss and pain to us to part with him when the time comes that he must go to school. He says positively that he will not go till he is eight and gets on so well with us that it will be time enough. I much wish to live long enough to see him grow up and started in the world but this is hardly to be expected.

When old enough and if we think it will be best to send him to the College here - 600 boys! but it is very good and terms very moderate, within sixty pounds a year - if a boy is at a boarding house, the last forty and twelve or fourteen to the college and about twelve per annum to hire the presentation or pay about one hundred in purchase of a presentation which is always saleable when you want it no longer. I have offered to pay for Charlie's if Charlie will send him there and I think Charles has made up his mind to do so. I much wish the two dear boys to be brought up together. They are exceedingly fond of each other. Conny is of course exceedingly fond of Constantia but he will say that he likes me but "except you know my Papa and Mama and my brothers and sisters, I like them best of all." He is often talking of you all and asking various questions about you. He has excellent qualities and gets on well in everything. He never will be idle a moment but must read or write or draw, but it would be needless to speak of him as I am sure Constantia has told you all about him. He is delighted now with Charles with us for his holidays. ...

I must give you Conny's last remark to Constantia just reported: He said: "Grand P was sent to school at 5 years old because he was not loved. Now I am so much loved you will not bear to part with me at 8. You will not know how to let me go to school." The fact is I was so hideous they could not bear the sight of me and till 5 I was left always with servants in the country.

 From about 1858 there was a photograph of Con taken with his grandfather. The original is in my father's possession.

From: Constantine Pulteney Trent ChC

To: Philip Robert [his father]

[London]

April 9 1859

My dear Papa

I beg you will write to me next time. I am sorry Mama had rheumatism when you wrote. Charlie has got the measles. I have seen a panorama * of Delhi with the Massacre of Cawnpore! My Aunt did not go as she could not stand that, so I went with Payne.
I am too busy pasting in my scrap-book to finish this myself. Charlie and I had no more pictures to paste, but Grd.papa went out and brought us home 4 dozen old "Punch's". I send my love to all and remain

Your affecte

Con

What fearfully hot weather you have had! I am very glad you are en permanence at Amherst. We have your letters up to Feby.12.¹

In 1861 Con was living with his grandfather, aunt and three servants (cook, parlour maid and house maid) at 11 Royal Parade Cheltenham.

 Contemporary photos of a Royal Parade house currently for sale given an indication of their home:²

Letter 4

From: Eliza Constantia Frances ChC [Aunt Constantia]

To: Ada ChC [age 14]

[Cheltenham ?]

May 19th, 1862

My dearest Ada

I was delighted to receive your very nice note and to read such a cheering and pleasant account of you all and I am sure it must fill you with joy to see your dearest Papa's health so wonderfully improved. I hope both he and your dearest Mama continue well. It was also a great comfort to me to find you were all getting the better of that dreadful whooping cough. Your dear brother Con is not looking well just now and I shall be glad when we can go to the sea or somewhere for a change next month and when you receive this I hope we shall be not here. Perhaps we shall go to Malvern as that is much nearer than the sea-side and the mountain scenery is very beautiful. Con would enjoy it I think even more than the sea.

A young friend of ours at College here has asked Con to take a long walk with him on Saturday and he is looking forward to it with great joy! The young Collegian is much older than Con who is rather proud of being patronised by him but I don't much like Con going out in the scorching sun and shall persuade them to put off their walk to the evening.

I have nothing more to tell you, my dearest Ada, except to beg you to write to me as often as you can and to tell me all about each one of the family at Daisy Hill. [Daisy Hill was the name of the goldfield by Amherst.] With fondest love to all

Ever yr Affte Aunt E C F Crespigny

On 14 July 1869 Con joined the 69th (The South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot as an Ensign.  He is listed in the 1870 Hart's Army list.³

 In 1871 Con was still with his grandfather and aunt at 11 Royal Parade Cheltenham.  There were still 3 servants, one of whom, Susan Tolman had been in the household ten years ago. Con was an ensign with the 69th Regiment.

A clipping from the journal [The Bro]ad Arrow of 13 May 1871, in my father's possession, notes the promotion, by purchase, of Constantine Trent Pulteney Champion-Crespigny from Ensign to Lieutenant in the 69th Foot. According to Stephen de Crespigny, Con had served with the 69th Foot against the Fenian invasion of Canada in 1869. The London Gazette of 14 November 1871 page 4664 announces that

Lieut. Constantine Trent Pultenay Champion Crespigny from 69th Foot to be Lieut from Charles Stanley Champion Crespigny who retires from 41st Foot. 

Less than a year later the London Gazette of 18 October 1872 page 4939 notes the retirement of Lieutenant Constantine Trent Pulteney Champion-Crespigny of the 41st Foot, "receiving the value of his commission" dated 19 October 1872. From Letter 10 below, it appears he suffered from tuberculosis.

 Con's grandfather died 4 March 1875.  Con joined his parents and siblings in Australia.  He arrived in Melbourne on 16 November 1875 on the iron clipper ship Melbourne which departed London on 17 August.  It was the maiden voyage of the ship and a report of the ship and the voyage appeared in The Argus of 17 November 1875 on page 4.

Letter 10

From: Eliza Constantia Frances ChC [sister of Philip Robert]
To: Rosalie Helen Beggs [her niece]⁴

Priory Street

Cheltenham

12th May, 1876

My dear Rose

I have not written to you since your marriage but I very often think of you all and especially of you and your dear Frank, and believe you are all very dear to me for yr loved parents' sake tho' so far away and unknown. Con being amongst you seems to bring you all even nearer to my heart than ever, and you, the youngest of all my nieces, yet the first to marry, you of whom your dear Mother has so often written in deep sorrow and anxiety when you have been laid upon a bed of sickness, - you can hardly imagine the tender interest I take in you, or how earnestly I wish and how fervently I pray that your married life may be blessed with true happiness, for dear Con assures me your husband is one of the best fellows he ever met and sure to make you happy! And the satisfaction and comfort yr parents feel in seeing their darling married to one they have so long known and esteemed must, I think, render yr happiness as perfect as it is possible to be in this world.

Con had been enjoying himself immensely in your house when he last wrote to me. It was such a pleasure to him to see his little sister in her dignified matronly character! Poor Con! 'Twas a sad fate for him to lose his profession and to be an idle man at 25. But the love of parents, brothers and sisters which you have all so freely and fondly bestowed upon your newly imported brother, has brightened his life, hitherto so sadly clouded, and if only his hopes of employment are realised, I trust his life may yet be a happy and useful one.

I feel so grateful to everyone of those who have been so kind to Con and I know how kind and hospitable your father-in-law has been and how he has enjoyed himself at Eurambeen (I don't know if I spell the name right!). I suppose Con rides with you sometimes when you are together. Mount him on a good horse and he is at the summit of felicity! He has told me of the rides he has enjoyed. He must be dreadfully missed in your old home, particularly, I should think, by Vi, as she is nearest yr age. I hope she enjoyed the ball at Woolaston to which she was enabled to go by yr dear Frank's kindness.

Try and find time now and then to write to yr old Aunt, my dear Rose, and with much love to you both

Believe me always

Yr affte Aunt

E C F Ch. Crespigny

In June 1877 Con was appointed truant officer for the Education Department: From The Argus of Friday 15 June 1877 page 4:

Mr. T. C. Crespigny has been appointed truant officer for the St. Kilda district.

 From The Argus of Saturday 16 June 1877 page 7:  

Mr. Crespigny's appointment as truant officer, announced in Friday's Argus, includes the district of Prahran as well as St Kilda.

In July 1877 Con wrote a letter to the paper concerning an attack on his dog, a terrier, in Albert Park.  He was living in Gurner Street, St Kilda. The letter was published by The Argus on 7 July 1877 page 8.

Map showing Gurner Street and Albert Park retrieved from Google maps 7 April 2013

In 1879 there was an assault case in which Constantine seems to have been involved.  Waiting on newspaper report digitisation to be completed. Will update this post then:

FRIDAY, MARCH 14. 

The Telegraph, St Kilda, Prahran and South Yarra Guardian (Vic. : 1866 - 1888) Saturday 15 March 1879 p 3 Article

LrConstainines " Crespigny summoned Mathias Lyons for assault. The evidence. showed that the plaintiff and walking near the South Beach last Sunday

The Sydney Morning Herald of 10 August 1880 reported the arrival of the Wotonga at Sydney on 9 August having sailed from Melbourne.  Passengers included CP Crespigny and P C Crespigny.  This may well have been father and son, C P being Constantine Pulteney, or possibly Con was accompanied by his older brother Philip.  This appears just to have been a visit to Sydney.  CP Crespigny left Melbourne on board the Sobraon  in February 1881.

From The Argus of 14 February 1881, Shipping Intelligence on page 4:

Letter 11

From: Eliza Constantia Frances ChC

To: Rosalie Helen [her niece]

29 Kingsholm Road

Gloucester

4th Aug, 1881

My dear Rose

Con wishes me to tell you how glad he was to get your letters and how much he regrets his inability to answer them. He has been very weak and ill ever since his return. A few weeks ago there was some slight improvement. The intense heat we had seemed not only to benefit his lungs but to relieve his fever. Certainly he ceased during those extremely hot days to suffer from daily attacks of fever, tho' in some ways the intense heat tried him severely. But with a sudden change in the weather and fall of temperature his fever returned with increased severity. One of the lungs got worse and had to be treated with repeated blisters. It is now better but the daily attacks of fever are terrible, lasting sometimes 8 hours during which he suffers acute headaches, shortness of breath, cough and nausea. He seems sometimes ready to die, so very ill is he.

Under these circumstances I am sure you will see how difficult it is for him to write even a few lines to his Mother and I am always trying to impress upon him that he ought not to tax his strength by writing, and that if he must write, it should be only to his Mother and let that be considered enough for the family. I feel sure you will forgive him for deferring to write to you till he is better, altho' it is a very great pleasure to him to hear from you. I hope this will find you and your husband pretty well. I was sorry to hear that he had not been well. With fond love from Con and much from me

Ever Yr affte Aunt

E C F Ch Crespigny

Con is only able to take a short drive for little more than half an hour on his best days when he feels his best.

Letter 12

From: Eliza Constantia Frances ChC

To: Rosalie Helen [her niece]

Tuesday, 6th March [1883]

My dearest Rose

Just one line to enclose 2nd half £5 notes. I hope you recvd first half all safe in last mail.⁵ My heart aches for yr poor Mother who would now, as I believe be receiving my letter of 25 January, telling her how near death her darling was - tho' I scarcely knew that he must be taken from me the very next day. I miss him more and more and long to go to him.

God bless you and your husband, dearest Rose.

Your affte Aunt

E C F Ch Crespigny

Con's death was announced in The Argus of 24 March 1883:

Constantine is buried at St Peter's, Leckhampton, Gloucestershire with his grandparents. His grave states:

"Constantine Trent Pulteney Champion_Crespigny. Late of HM 69th Regt. Born 5th May 1851. Died 26th January 1883. Youngest son of Philip Robert Champion Crespigny of St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia"⁶

The verse under Constantine's inscription is  Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

On 5 March 1882 Constantine's nephew, the second son of Philip, was born at Queenscliff, Victoria and named Constantine Trent.

---

Footnotes

Letters, copy held by my father Rafe de Crespigny:

The originals of these letters were in the possession of my grandfather Sir Constantine Trent ChC/CdeC. After his death in 1952, his second wife Mary Birks nee Jolley, Lady de Crespigny, had them copy-typed by Ms W M Walsh, and distributed the copies among members of the family. I obtained a set through my father Richard Geoffrey CdeC, Constantine Trent's elder son. It seems probable that most of the letters were collected by Ada Champion Crespigny (1848-1927), eldest daughter of Philip Robert ChC (1817-1889), for many of them are addressed to her.

<sup>1. Constantine ChC, born in May 1851, was now just under 8 years old.
The asterisk has a note by the transcriber: from here adult writing by Charles James Fox ChC.
The siege of Cawnpore [modern Kanpur] concluded on 24 June 1857 with the slaughter of the British defenders as they sought to leave under promise of safe conduct. Panoramas were common forms of exhibition at this time. The spectators entered a large room and the event was displayed, normally in two dimensions, on the surrounding walls, aided by special lighting.
In February 1859 Philip Robert was appointed from Justice of the Peace to Police Magistrate at Amherst in the county of Talbot, some 5 kilometres northwest of that town. Philip Robert had formerly held general posts as Assistant Commissioner for Crown Lands, Magistrate in the Colony of Victoria and Warden of the Goldfields.↩

2. images retrieved from Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/66hZh retrieved 7 April 2013 and from http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/21093258 7 bedroom property for sale £1,800,000 Royal Parade, Cheltenham GL50↩

3. from page 215 of The Army List Author Colonel H. G. Hart Published 1870 Original from Oxford University Digitized 15 Oct 2007 retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=C_ANAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA215 3 February 2012 ↩

4. Constantia, born in 1825, was now 51 years old. Rose, born in October 1858, was now 17 years old. She had married Francis Beggs of Beaufort on 3 February 1876. ↩

5. One means of sending money with some security by post was to cut bank-notes in two. Each note was printed with a number in two places. Half a note, with only one number, was valueless, but when the two halves were put together they could be credited with a bank. ↩

6. Tombstone inscriptions from http://www.stpeters-leckhampton.org.uk/ retrieved 7 April 2013.
The full tombstone transcription is:</sup>

M11 Chest-tomb, on base, inward sloping sides, worn, once painted. Sc: LEWIS.Sc.

South: IN MEMORY OF

CHARLES FOX CHAMPION CRESPIGNY,
BORN AT HINTLESHAM HALL NEAR IPSWICH 30TH AUGUST 1785, 
DIED AT CHELTENHAM 4TH MARCH 1875. 
IN SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE OF BEING RAISED WITH THE FAITHFUL IN CHRIST
TO EVERLASTING LIFE. 
ALSO OF CONSTANTINE TRENT PULTENEY CHAMPION CRESPIGNY.
LATE OF H.M. 69th REGT BORN 5TH MAY 1851. DIED 26TH JANUARY 18--.
YOUNGEST SON OF PHILIP ROBERT CHAMPION CRESPIGNY
OF ST KILDA, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
- - - - - - LL YE THAT LABOUR AND - - - HEAVY LADEN - - - WILL OF - - -
North: IN MEMORY OF / 
ELIZA JULIA, THE BELOVED WIFE OF 
CHARLES FOX CHAMPION CRESPIGNY ESQUIRE,
WHO DIED THE 17TH DAY OF JULY 1855, AGED 59 YEARS.
PURE AND INNOCENT OF MIND, KIND AND BENEVOLENT, "HER WAYS WERE WAYS OF
PLEASANTNESS, AND ALL HER PATHS WERE PEACE." PROVERBS. III.17.
UNTO YOU THAT HAVE MY NAME SHALL THE SUN(sic) OF RIGHTOUSNESS ARISE
WITH HEALING IN HIS WINGS. MALACHI IV 2
I WILL RANSOM THEM FROM THE POWER OF THE GRAVE I WILL REDEEM THEM
FROM DEATH. HOSEA XIII.I.
- -EL- - - - NOT SHARE OUR SORROW, S-------- THE -OT-E--- BLESSED
- - - - - - - A FUTURE LIFE - - - - - - - - - -SAVED - - - - - .

 The verse under Constantine's inscription is  Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The verse for his grandfather is derived from the Book of Common Prayer but is not a direct quote. ↩