#58 William S. Gardener

Birth
William Samuel Gardener was born between 1819 and 1837 in Oxfordshire, England. [3, 4, 5]

Thankfully he survived the cholera outbreaks in England. A two-year outbreak began in England and Wales in 1848, and claimed 52,000 lives. [1] In 1849, cholera claimed 5,308 lives in the major port city of Liverpool, England, an embarkation point for immigrants to North America, and 1,834 in Hull, England. [2]

Family

A son, Charles, was born in 1856 to William and Emma. Sadly he passed away around October 1857.

Marriage
William Samuel Gardener married Emma Harper in Oxford, St Clement, Oxfordshire, England, on September 4, 1859, when he was around 24 years old and she was around 30. [7]

Family
Daughter Emily Matilda (my great-great-grandmother) was born in 1859 and son William S was born in 1860, both in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

At the 1861 Census, William and Emma are living at 16 Dovers Row in the civil parish of Cowley, in Oxford, St Clement, Oxfordshire, with children William S. and Emma (Emily), and Mary Ann Pimm and Jane Pimm from Emma's first marriage. 

That same year Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died suddenly. It was also a time when the railroad industry swiftly expanded in England.

Son James A. was born in 1865 and son Walter Edward [6] was born in 1866, both in Oxfordshire, England.

In 1871 William and Emma lived in Oxford, Oxfordshire with children William S., Emma, James, and Walter. William worked as a labourer so it's hard to say whether he may have enjoyed additional days off from work, thanks to Sir John Lubbock’s bill that sanctioned government-sponsored bank holidays.

The 1881 Census shows William and Emma living at 16 Dovers Row in the civil parish of Cowley, in Oxford, St Clement, Oxfordshire, with children James and Walter, and 4 year old Ernest J. Pimm.

DeathWilliam Samuel Gardener died on December 11, 1882, when he was 47 years old.

He is shown as being deceased when Emily Matilda married Arthur Harry Pym in 1900 (her second marriage).

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Sources:

1. Cholera's seven pandemics Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, cbc.ca, December 2, 2008.

2. Charles E. Rosenberg (1987). The cholera years: the United States in 1832, 1849 and 1866. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-72677-9.

3. 1861 England Census

4. 1871 England Census

5. 1881 England Census

6. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915

7. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930

#57 Margaret Ellen Cowling or Cooling

Birth

Margaret Ellen Cowling [1, 2, 3] (or Cooling [5, 6]) was born in 1833 in Oxfordshire, England, to Sophia, age 31, and William Cooling, age 43. She was baptized on November 11, 1832 at Saint Giles,Oxford. [5, 6]

Early Years
The First Henley Regatta, a series of boat races on the River Thames that quickly became a popular annual event, started when Margaret was six.

At age 8 Margaret was living in Oxfordshire when the worldwide cholera epidemic made deadly passes through England and Wales.Thankfully she survived.

In the 1841 England Census Margaret is 9 and the man who will become her husband, Charles, is living in the same house in St Ebbe Parish in Oxfordshire. [1]

Marriage
Margaret Ellen Cowling married Charles Cox in Oxford, Oxfordshire, in July 1857 when she was 24 years old and he was 34. [4]

Family
Their son William Charles (my great-great-grandfather) was born in July 1858 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and was baptized on September 19 that year at Holy Trinity Oxfordshire England Parish.

Margaret and her family were living in Oxford, Oxfordshire in 1861 when Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died suddenly. [2]



Another son, George Frederick, was born in 1861 in Oxfordshire. This was a time when the railroad industry swiftly expanded in England.

Son Walter was born in 1862 and daughter Elizabeth was born in April 1868 in Oxford, Oxfordshire.

Margaret and her family lived in St Mary Magdalene, Oxfordshire, in 1871. Living in the United Kingdom in 1871, they may have enjoyed additional days off from work, thanks to Sir John Lubbock’s bill that sanctioned government-sponsored bank holidays. [3]

Death
Margaret's date of death is unknown.

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Sources:
1. 1841 England Census
2. 1861 England Census
3. 1871 England Census
4. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
5. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
6. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915

#56 Charles Cox

Birth
Charles Cox was born in 1823 in Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire, England. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Early Years
When he was 16 Charles may have observed the first Henley Regatta, a series of boat races on the River Thames that quickly became a popular annual event.

In the 1841 England Census Charles, a 17 year old labourer, is living in the same house as his future in-laws William and Sophia Cowling in St Ebbe Parish in Oxfordshire. His future wife Margaret is only 9. [1]

Though likely inconvenienced by the 1842 General Strike, Charles may have agreed that industrial workers deserved better treatment and higher wages.

In 1846, the debates over the repeal of the Corn Laws might have found Charles closely following events to see the outcome.

In 1851, Charles Cox was living in Kensington, Middlesex when the worldwide cholera epidemic made deadly passes through England and Wales. He may have been a patient at Royal Brompton Consumption Hospital as he appears as a patient in Kensington, Middlesex, England in the 1851 Census on March 30, 1851. His regular employment was as a gardener. (more about consumption and this hospital at the end) [2]

Marriage
Charles Cox married Margaret Ellen Cowling in Oxford, Oxfordshire, in July 1857 when he was 34 years old and she was 24. [5]

Family
Their son William Charles (my great-great-grandfather) was born in July 1858 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and was baptized on September 19 that year at Holy Trinity Oxfordshire England Parish. Charles was working as a baker at the time.

Charles and his family were living in Oxford, Oxfordshire in 1861 when Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died suddenly. [3]

Another son, George Frederick, was born in 1861 in Oxfordshire. This was a time when the railroad industry swiftly expanded in England.

Charles was working as a baker when son Walter was born in 1862 and daughter Elizabeth was born in April 1868 in Oxford, Oxfordshire. [6]

Charles and his family lived in St Mary Magdalene, Oxfordshire, in 1871. Living in the United Kingdom in 1871, Charles Cox may have enjoyed additional days off from work, thanks to Sir John Lubbock’s bill that sanctioned government-sponsored bank holidays. [4]

Death
Charles' date of death is unknown.

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Sources:
1. 1841 England Census
2. 1851 England Census
3. 1861 England Census
4. 1871 England Census
5. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
6. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915

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Additional:

Consumption in the 19th Century
In the 19th century, consumption was a common word for tuberculosis. At the time consumptive patients were turned away from other hospitals as there was no known cure. Hospitals that dealt with such diseases later came to be known as sanatoria. It was estimated in 1844 that of the 60,000 deaths each year in England and Wales caused by diseases, some 36,000 were caused by consumption.[3]

The beginning
The hospital was founded in the 1840s by Philip Rose, the first meeting to establish the Hospital was on 8 March 1841.[4] It was to be known as The Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.[4] It amalgamated on 25 May 1841 with The West London Dispensary for Diseases of the Chest, which was based at 83 Wells Street, near Oxford Street.[4] On 28 March 1842, an out-patients branch of the hospital was opened at 20 Great Marlborough Street.[4] Later that year they acquired a lease on their first building for in-patients at The Manor House, Chelsea, which held space for 20 beds and the first in-patients were admitted on 13 September 1842.[4] Admittance was to be by the then customary method of recommendation by the Governors and subscribers.[4]

Funding
In common with other hospitals at the time, the hospital was to be financed entirely from charitable donations, legacies and fund raising. Rose travelled the country to explain the aims of the hospital, setting up 14 provincial associations, 157 churches promised to preach special sermons as a means of fund raising. The famous singer, Jenny Lind also gave concerts, including one at Her Majesty's Theatre in July 1848, which raised £1,606.[4] Besides Philip Rose, the early supporters included Queen Victoria, who became a patron, with an annual subscription of £10.[4]

A view of the hospital shortly after it opened

The move to Brompton
The area known as Brompton was no more than a village surrounded by market gardens, but quickly developed in the 1840s. The hospital acquired a market garden site there from a charity to erect a new hospital, with the architect being Frederick John Francis.[5] The stone laying for the west wing was on 11 June 1844 by Prince Albert, the Prince Consort.[4] One of the features of the building was the inclusion of ventilation by forced warm air in an attempt to create a temperature more commonly found in more southern latitudes.[4] The total cost for the west wing and part of the centre was £11,762.[4] The first admission of patients was in 1846, whilst the east wing was completed in 1852.[4]

The medical committee of the hospital commissioned a small sanatorium in Bournemouth which was designed by E B Lamb and opened as the Royal National Sanatorium for Diseases of the Chest in 1855.[6]

#29 Emily Matilda Gardner

Birth
Emily Matilda Gardner was born between 1859 and 1861 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. She appears as an infant in the 1861 census. Her parents were Emma Harper, age 31, and William Samuel Gardener, age 24.[1] An alternate year of birth, based on her death, is about 1863.[2] 

Early Years
Emily's father William was her mother Emma's second husband. The first husband was Edward Pym (1828-1854). She had two older step-sisters, Mary Ann Pimm (b. 25 Nov 1848) and Jane Pimm (b.16 Jun 1851). In addition to Emily, her parents had Charles (1856-1857), William (b. 1860), James (b.1865), and Walter Edward (b.1867).

Marriage
Emily Matilda Gardner married William Charles Cox on May 10, 1880, when they were both 21 years old.[4] 

Family
All of her children were born in Oxfordshire, England, where the family appeared in the 1881 (at 9 Gloucester Street in the St Mary Magdalene Parish) and 1891 censuses (at 12 Russell Street in the St Thomas Parish).[5 & 6]

Son Francis W was born in December 1880.

Her father William Samuel passed away on December 11, 1882, at the age of 47.

Son Archibald George was born on September 9, 1884.

Daughter Margaret Emily Ellen was born in October 1885.

Daughter Lizzie Justina was born on June 13, 1887.[7] 

Son Christopher Reginald was born on June 14, 1890.

Son Rowland Herbert (my great-grandfather) was born on February 14, 1892.[8] 

Daughter Florence Ruby was born on March 18, 1895.

Son William Charles was born on September 21, 1896.

Historical
The Great Depression of 1873–1896
Progress made by the United States and Germany in manufacturing and agriculture in 1881, affected many in the United Kingdom, including Emily Matilda Gardner during the Great Depression of 1873 to 1896.

Death of Husband
Her husband William Charles passed away on May 19, 1897, in Oxfordshire, England, at the age of 38. They had been married 17 years.[9] 

Second Marriage
Emily Matilda Gardner married Arthur Harry Pym/Pimm in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, on April 15, 1900. Arthur was the grandson of Joseph Pym, who was the brother of Edward Pym. 

Their marriage certificate lists him as being 32, a bachelor, working as a carman, while she is listed as being 39, a widow, and working as a laundress.[10] They were living on the same street and it appears he moved from 52 Mill Street into her place at 35 Mill Street.[11]

Historical
Women’s Social and Political Union
When Emily was living in Osney, Oxfordshire in 1911, the fight for women’s suffrage had turned militant.

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
A resident of Oxfordshire, in 1912, Emily may have been familiar with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.

England Heatwave 1911
Emily and her family no doubt suffered along with other residents of Osney, Oxfordshire when an oppressive heatwave ravaged all of England from July through September 1911.

Death
Emily Matilda Gardner died on July 9, 1912, in Oxfordshire, England, when she was 53 years old.[12]

She left £76, 15s (equivalent to over £8,252, or $13,322 CAD, in 2017) to her daughter Margaret Emily Ellen Cox, spinster, and her son Christopher Reginald Cox, saddler and harness maker.[12] Interestingly her second husband, Arthur, was still alive at the time (he died in October 1943).
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Sources:
1. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1891.
2. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
4. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930
5. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1881.

6. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1891.

7. 1887 Baptism Record, Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915
8. 1892 Cox, Rowland Herbert birth certificate
9. Church of England burial records for the years 1813–1965 from Oxfordshire, England.
10. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930
11. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA), 1911.
12. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995

#28 William Charles Cox

Birth
William Charles Cox was born in July 1858 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, to Margaret Ellen Cowling, age 25, and Charles Cox, age 35.[1] He was baptised on September 19, 1858 in The Holy Trinity parish in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.[2] 

Early Years
William's family lived in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England [3 & 4] and all of his siblings were born there.

His brother George Frederick was born in 1861, when William Charles was 3 years old.

His brother Walter was born in 1862, when William Charles was 4 years old.

His sister Elizabeth was born in April 1868, when William Charles was 9 years old.

Historical
The Railway Boom
In 1861, William was only 3 when the railroad industry swiftly expanded in England.[5] The development of the English railroad system between 1825 and 1860 added fuel to the Industrial Revolution already in progress. By 1860, the city-to-city railroad line system had expanded to 10,000 miles of rail, and a transportation revolution had occurred. 

Marriage
William Charles Cox married Emily Matilda Gardner on May 10, 1880, when they were both 21. They married at the parish church in Cowley, St. James in Oxfordshire, England.[6] 

The Great Depression of 1873–1896
Progress made by the United States and Germany in manufacturing and agriculture in 1881, affected many in the United Kingdom, including William Charles Cox during the Great Depression of 1873 to 1896.

Family

William's first son, Francis W. (possibly William), was born around December 1880 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England when William was 24 years old.[7] In 1881 William, his wife Emily, their son Francis, and William's 13 year old sister Lizzie were living at 9 Gloucester Green in Oxfordshire, England.[7] 

At age 26, son Archibald George was born on September 9, 1884, in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He was baptised on December 1, 1883.[2] 

The following Fall daughter Margaret Emily Ellen was born in October 1885 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. She was baptised on March 14, 1886.[2]

A second daughter, Lizzie Justina, was born on June 13, 1887, in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. She was baptized on August 28, 1887.[2]

Son Christopher Reginald was born on June 14, 1890, in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He was baptised on September 7, 1890.[2]

In 1891 the family lived at 12 Russell Street in Oxfordshire, England, in 1891.[8] 

My great-grandfather, Rowland Herbert, was born at home on February 14, 1892, in Osney, Oxfordshire, England. William was 34 and working as a Printer, Type Founda.[9]

Daughter Florence Ruby was born on March 18, 1895, in Osney, Oxfordshire, England.[2]

The following year on September 21, 1896, namesake son William Charles was born in Osney, Oxfordshire, England.[10]

Rowland, Florence, and William were baptised on May 12, 1897 and William is listed as being a Type-caster and living at 35 Mill St, Osney, Oxfordshire, England.[2] 

Death
What happened in the week between the children's baptism and William's death is a mystery. William Charles Cox died around May 19, 1897, in Oxfordshire, England, when he was only 38 years old.[11] Roland was five, William Jr. wasn't even one.

He was buried in the parish of St Frideswide in Osney, Oxfordshire, England on May 20, 1897.[12] 

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Sources:

1. England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915

2. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915

3. 1861 England Census

4. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1871.

5. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861

6. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930

7. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1881. Taken on April 3, 1881.

8. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1891.

9. from Roland's birth certificate, registered March 1892.

10. 1911 England Census

11. After mid-May since he appears on the children's baptism records then. England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915 Record

12. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1965