|
|
THE SHUTTLEWORTH FAMILY Joseph Shuttleworth and Jessie (nee James) Shuttleworth
An Introduction to the SHUTTLEWORTHS ... My mother, Clarice Shuttleworth, spent enormous quantities of time collecting Shuttleworth information. She was grateful for the help of family members. (I will be adding information to that given here, from time to time.)
For those of you familiar with the early part of the Shuttleworth Family Tree in the U.K., the names of children might differ slightly from those given here for the various families - this is due to the fact that I have only included those whose births I was able to confirm. HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH and ELEANOR BUTLER married in London on 30.7.1843 in the Parish Church, St. Marylebone, Middlesex. At the time, Henry was working as a Jeweller. Eleanor's father, Thomas Butler was a printer (corrector to the press). The Shuttleworths lived in Bloomsbury and Lambeth before departing for South Africa as BYRNE SETTLERS. At the time of her birth, ELEANOR BUTLER'S parents were living at Baldwins Place, Holborn, London. Her parents were: THOMAS and ELIZABETH BUTLER, her father being a Printer, hence their proximity to Fleet Street. Being a jeweller, Henry Shuttleworth might well have been situated nearby at Hatton Garden. Henry and Eleanor embarked on the "Emily" which departed London/Plymouth on 31 July 1850 and arrived Port Natal on 10 October 1850. The voyage took 77 days, considered fast passage in those days. They travelled in unpleasant conditions. At this time Henry and Eleanor had 3 children: Henry, James and Louisa. One child had died. They must have been looking forward to seeing their 40 acres of land at Richmond, Natal. However, they were disappointed to find, as other Settlers found, that waterless rocky acres had been allocated to them. Unsuitable land for farming. Henry and Eleanor lived at King Williams Town after rejecting the land allocated to them near Richmond on their arrival from London in 1850. Henry was said to have been an upholsterer. He also farmed at Newcastle in Natal, before later moving to Harding in East Griqualand where his son, Walter, farmed.
CHILDREN OF HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH AND ELEANOR BUTLER Three of the children of 1850'S BYRNE SETTLERS - HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH and ELEANOR BUTLER married three of the children of JAMES JAMES and SARAH ANN WEEKS (as above). The JAMES family, descendants of 1820 SETTLERS - SAMUEL TAYLOR JAMES and ESTHER TROLLIP, and JAMES WEEKS and MARIA ANN SHEPPERSON, deserves a record of its own, (which is forthcoming).
HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH and ELEANOR BUTLER, had 12 children. When my brothers, Hugh, Ronald, and myself started school we boarded with our maternal grandparents (FREDERICK TROLLIP SHUTTLEWORTH and CHARLOTTE ANN FRYER) in Kokstad. My parents, DONALD TOLLNER BROWN and CLARICE AUDREY SHUTTLEWORTH, farmed in East Griqualand, at "Con Amore" situated at the Franklin turn-off on the road between Kokstad and Cedarville. My Shuttleworth grandparents had retired and moved to Kokstad in 1949 having recently farmed at "Roodeberg" near Franklin. As far as I know, "Roodeberg" had previously belonged to the Gold family. My grandmother had been a governess to the Gold children before her marriage in Matatiele on 11 January 1911. Prior to farming at Franklin, Fred and Annie Shuttleworth had farmed at "Silver Creek", Oribi Gorge, where Clarice had grown up. Fred had also had an interest in a Butchery in Port Shepstone. The Fryer family had been Master Butchers. When he started out on his own as a young man Fred had farmed at "Nungi" a farm not far from "Oatlands" in East Griqualand where his father, JOSEPH SHUTTLEWORTH (who was born in Port Elizabeth) farmed. "Oatlands" was a few miles out of Kokstad on the Cedarville road. I remember Fred telling me about his brothers and sisters:
CHILDREN OF JOSEPH SHUTTLEWORTH AND JESSIE JAMES Children having the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with grandparents are in a unique position to learn more about their great-grandparents than most, especially when the great-grandparents have lived and worked in the same area. We heard mention of the 1820 Settlers, names such as TROLLIP, JAMES, WEEKS. I was intriqued to hear stories about the Settlers and some of the hardships they had had to endure. I remember hearing about my great-grandmother, JESSIE JAMES, at 16 years of age, marrying JOSEPH SHUTTLEWORTH. I have in my possession her beautifully handmade wooden sewing box and wooden tea tray. Possessions such as these bring alive the realisation that early family members such as JOSEPH SHUTTLEWORTH in Great Packington, Warwickshire, and SAMUEL TAYLOR JAMES in Wiltshire, had carpentry as their professions. A skill my grandfather, Fred, had inherited. During these childhood days there were visits to the KOKSTAD CEMETERY.
Buried in the Anglican Cemetery was my grandfather's grandfather:
Also buried in the Kokstad (Presbyterian and Methodist Cemetery) were my grandfather's parents and siblings: When my grandfather, Fred, turned 14 years of age, his father, Joseph, told him he had spent "enough time at school" and it was time to gain experience in the world. He farmed at "Oatlands" with his father for 2 years, then Joseph advised him it was time to establish a farm of his own. He moved to the nearby farm "Nungi". Although still hardly more than a boy during the Anglo-Boer War, Fred had served, and was duly awarded a medal by Queen Victoria, which I now have. When it was time for Joseph to retire he moved to a house in Kokstad called "Oak House" in Hawthorne Street. After the death in 1936 of his wife, Jessie, his daughter Millie maintained his house until Joseph's death in 1941. Many were my mother, Clarice's memories of staying with Joseph and Millie. Discipline in the old days was strict! In the family, the story went that Millie had "The Shuttleworth Family Tree". On one occasion, as a young girl, when Clarice asked Millie if she could have a copy of the Family Tree, she got "her head bitten off" for asking! In those days "Children were Seen and Not Heard". If Millie did indeed have the Family Tree - it would have saved a lot of trouble later - if the information had readily been to hand! While living in Kokstad, after the invention of the motor car, Joseph acquired a car which Millie drove for him. If she went more than 10 miles an hour, he said nothing, merely pulled fiercely on the handbrake! Millie was a gifted musician. She was also a confectioner of some repute, she iced exquisite wedding cakes. (Possibly taking after James Weeks her mother's grandfather) who had been a Confectioner from Cornwall. Not long after the marriage of my grandparents, Fred and Annie, in 1911, while they were still living at "Nungi", Ruby Fryer, my grandmother's young sister had paid a visit. The girls decided to go into Kokstad. Fred prepared the trap and horses for them, warning Annie to watch the one horse that was "frisky" and to proceed slowly. According to Clarice, their daughter, her mother, Annie, always agreed with everyone, never listened to a word that was advised, and then always did exactly as she liked - but did it all with such charm that no-one ever noticed! This was one of these occasions. They left the farm and proceeded to town at a healthy gallop. As soon as they reached the first turn, the frisky horse made his break for freedom and pulled against the other horse. Over went the trap, throwing Annie and Ruby into the ditch! What a character, Annie, was. A ray of sunshine. Even when she was retired she would sometimes have as many as 30 visitors a day. She was well liked and her "teas" were famous. Old fashioned scones, jam tarts, cream puffs, cheese straws, merinques, sandwiches, gingerbread, crumpets etc. She was up at 5 a.m. every morning to get her baking done. Then came the housework, washing and ironing, cooking of meals, later the gardening, and handwork (such as knitting). And still time left over to have your 3 grandchildren living with you! Victorians had a strong work ethic. All this work without the aid of modern gadgets. No maid, or gardener, no washing machine or tumble-dryer. She cooked on a pot-bellied little black stove. She even made toast with a toasting fork, no electric irons, electric kettles, electric toasters for her. My grandfather, Fred, was no different. He had a magnificent vegetable garden and fruit orchard which he tended from early in the day. He had a workshop for his carpentry. He cut wood in the old fashioned way, ready for the little pot-bellied stove. Larger logs and "chips" which were thinner slithers for the fire. Every evening when our homework was done, my grandfather would read to us. There was no Television in those days. Although Radio had been invented, they seldom seemed to listen to it, other than the News. My brothers were older than I was and Fred would read "The Hardy Boys" by Franklin W. Dixon to us. In East Griqualand, the nights were dark, the winters cold huddled round the little stove, and we would sit on the edge of our seats wondering if Frank and Joe Hardy would yet again escape the clutches of the evildoers! These were people who never wore casual clothes, were always immaculately turned out. They never swore. Bad manners and criminal behaviour were unacceptable. These were the days when a Man's Word Was His Bond. Loyalty was the norm. Commitment was understood. A man doffed his hat when he saw a lady in the street. If he should walk next to a lady, he walked on the curb side of the pavement. He would give up his seat for a lady. He would rise when a lady entered the room. I remember being a small child and hearing people say to my mother: "Your father is the last of the 'real gentlemen'". They were dignified people who gave and commanded respect. I never regretted the years I lived with them. It made me realise that when a person lives with personal self-discipline they have respect for self and others. Qualities sadly lacking in the modern world. Knowing something of the family of Jessie James, we also wanted to know more about the family of Joseph Shuttleworth, and his Settler father, HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH. As the years went by as there was no "Family Tree" ever forthcoming from Millie, my mother, Clarice, and I, set ourselves the task of tracing the earlier Shuttleworths. [Obviously the further back one goes, the scantier the information becomes.] The SHUTTLEWORTH family lived at Great Packington, Warwickshire, estate of Lord Aylesford, for generations as will be seen from reading the following records. It is difficult to estimate how far back the family lived in this area. There were other Shuttleworths in the area. You will note the name at times being Shuttleworth and at other times being Shuttlewood.
JOSEPH SHUTTLEWORTH, son of Thomas Shuttleworth and Catharine was born in Great Packington in 1783.
At Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, on 7.6.1808 he married MARY GOODMAN. One of the Witnesses: Edward Goodman, was Mary's father. In the 1840's Joseph worked as a Carpenter, by the 1850's he was a farmer of 15 acres at Packington Hall. By the 1860's Joseph had retired and he and Mary were living with their son, James, who was farming 116 acres at Great Packington.
JOSEPH SHUTTLEWORTH, aged 81 years, farmer, died on 15.9.1864 at Great Packington.
CHILDREN OF JOSEPH SHUTTLEWORTH & MARY GOODMAN According to family tradition Charles became a florist at Covent Garden in London and had one son. Two sons of James went to Australia and farmed. Eliza married in Australia and had several children. Assenath, Anne and Sabina remained spinsters. The latter was said to have been a friend of Lady Palmer (Lord Aylesford's sister). Some years ago, while my brother, Ron Brown, was flying for Anglo-Alpha Air in Johannesburg, he met a Shuttleworth from Australia who was briefly in South Africa. Possibly a descendant of James? The earlier generation were THOMAS SHUTTLEWORTH and CATHERINE WALKER who were married in Great Packington on 17.10.1762. The father of Thomas, HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH, was a Witness.
CHILDREN OF THOMAS AND CATHERINE SHUTTLEWORTH: On 10.3.1821 CATHERINE SHUTTLEWORTH, aged 78, widow, was buried. As yet the burial of Thomas, I have not found. In earlier years HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH and MARY JEFFCUTT had married in 1734 at Great Packington.
CHILDREN OF HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH AND MARY JEFFCUTT: On 5.9.1780 MARY SHUTTLEWORTH and on 12.6.1789 HENRY SHUTTLEWORTH were both buried at Great Packington.
CHILDREN OF HENRY AND MARGARET SHUTTLEWOOD:
The following burials took place at Great Packington:
CHILDREN OF HENRY AND ALICE SHUTTLEWOOD:
SHUTTLEWORTH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPH:
To Be Continued ...
|
