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b.1858-d.1914
A relative of Elizabeth’s contacted the Friends of Horton Cemetery for support with finding out more. A researcher had, by chance, already started to look into her life. We were pleased to be able to help.
Childhood
Elizabeth was born at 69, New Road, Chelsea on 2 December 1858, the daughter of James Mingay, a journeyman boot and shoe maker, and his wife Caroline Miles. She was one of at least 7 children born to the couple, who had married in 1846.
She was baptised at Holy Trinity church on 6 March 1859.
We know very little about her childhood other than the information that can be gleaned from the censuses. In 1861 the family were living in Queen Square in Westminster; and in 1871 they were at 73 York Street, also in Westminster. This latter address was close to the Bulls Head pub at number 71, and above the shop of Zenas Baker (who was a baker!).
Marriage, and a son
In 1879, Elizabeth married hairdresser William Samuel Haszell, and a son William James Haszell was born on 17 September 1880 (that’s according to the official record – there is an element of uncertainty about this birthdate as it is precisely 6 weeks before the birth was registered and it may have been misstated in order to avoid a fine for late registration.)
In the 1881 census Elizabeth was with her husband and son at 4 Seaton Street, Chelsea, one of four households at that address. With them were Elizabeth’s sister Mary, her husband Charles Craske, and their two young children, so it must have been fairly cramped.
In 1891 the Haszell family were one of three families occupying 25 Ponsonby Place, Westminster. It’s likely that they had just 1 or 2 rooms in this Georgian terraced house, which still stands. Nearby Millbank prison had closed the previous November and the prison site was awaiting sale for redevelopment.
The 1901 census records Elizabeth and her husband (enumerated as Hassell) at 29 Marlborough Road in Chelsea, again one of three families occupying the property. There is no sign of son William James (see the postscript to this story for more on William James Haszell).
Death of Husband
It appears that at some point between 1901 and 1910 Elizabeth and her husband William may have separated. When William died at Edmonton infirmary in January 1911, his home address was given as 205 Moselle Avenue, Wood Green, while Elizabeth’s address was given as 179 High Street, Battersea. They must still have been close, for Elizabeth was the informant and was described as “in attendance”, meaning that she had been attending to his care but was not present at the death.
Dementia
Three months later, on the night of the 1911 census, Elizabeth was living alone at 24 High Street, Battersea, where she was renting a single room. She was working as an ironer of laundry. Also at that address was a Jonathan Bolton, and on his own census return he had included Elizabeth as a lodger, but that entry was struck out.
Towards the end of 1911, Elizabeth began to display signs of insanity, and in December of that year, she was admitted to Horton Asylum by order of the Wandsworth Union. The supposed cause was “alcoholism with heredity”. It was noted that her husband had died, that her only known relative was a son James, address unknown; and that she had a friend, Jonathan Bolton. It was also noted that a maternal aunt had been said to have committed suicide by drowning.
[We have looked into this story of the maternal aunt. As far as we know Elizabeth’s mother Caroline Miles had just one sister. Her name was Eliza, and under her married name of Eliza Christopher she was admitted to Brookwood Asylum in February 1876, suffering from dementia, and died there a few weeks later at the young age of 45. Causes of death were apoplexy and general paralysis, not drowning.]
Elizabeth must have shown improvement, for she was discharged from Horton in July 1912. However she was readmitted in November:
“She is suffering from Primary Dementia. She is dull, stupid, amnesic, and considerably deteriorated intellectually. She admits having been drunk several times since she left here.
She says that soon after leaving the workhouse (to which she was discharged) detectives were set to watch her & a plot arranged to imprison her for pawning.
She has hallucinations of hearing & illusions of sight. She is a vulgar, poorly educated woman of immoral habits & has been living with a man not her husband since her discharge. She is in poor health & thin. Is pale, has the appearance of renal disease & has marked arterio-sclerosis.”
She spent the next 11 months in Horton Asylum before her condition was judged to have improved enough for her to be discharged back to the workhouse at the end of October 1913.
We do not know how long it was before she was re-admitted to the asylum but her death registration shows that she died there on 3 February 1914. Death was attributed to cystitis, pyelitis, and fatty degeneration of the heart. Elizabeth was buried at Horton on 9 February in grave 985b. She was 56 years old.
Postscript: What became of her son?
We have not been able to find William James Haszell – under that name – in any census after 1891. We know he was alive in 1912 but his address was unknown to his mother. A change of name seems likely.
Was he a deserter from the Royal Marines? There is a record of a William James Hassell, a hairdresser born in Westminster, enlisting in the Marines in September 1899. The date of birth given (17 August 1881) does not match but there is no other record of such a person (apart from the 1881 census mentioned above, when the whole family was enumerated as Hassell). This Marine deserted in Portsmouth in September 1900, despite having had very good appraisal ratings.
We have identified a likely candidate in the Manchester/Salford area from 1907 onwards: William James Hammond, a hairdresser born in Westminster. In the 1939 Register his date of birth is stated as 16 September 1880, just a day out from the William James Haszdell’s registered birth date. There is no record of this William James Hammond before his marriage at Salford register office in 1907.
On reading the story, Elizabeth’s living relative wrote,
(It’s) good to see something to mark her existence and her sad passing. Thanks again, I really appreciate you contacting me.
