Elizabeth Charlotte Belfield - Lost and Found
Elizabeth Charlotte Benjafield (nee Belfield) was, for me, a
bit of an enigma for twelve long years. A rare treat for a family historian, I
had three photos of her from between 1902 and 1907. However, I did not know
with any certainty who her parents were or when or where she was born. I could
not find a birth certificate for an Elizabeth Charlotte Belfield in the indexes
at the Family Research Centre despite extensive searches. Neither is she shown
on the 1881 census Index. As my only Great Great Grandmother
"Lost" in this way, I had to dig deeper to try and find from whence
she came. The following is my research into her early history and who her
parents really were. After a dozen years I now feel able to tell her sad story. Charlotte Strong was born in 1822 in Bath in Somerset.
Her father was a farmer called George Strong.
Charlotte married Mr Amer sometime around 1848 but I
haven't yet located this event. The couple had at least one child, Charlotte, in
1851 in the Paddington area. By 1857, Charlotte senior was a widow, Mr Amer
having died. At the age of 35 Charlotte married again. Her second husband,
Thomas Belfield, married her on 24th May 1857 in Saint Martin in the Fields,
Westminster. Thomas Belfield, son of Joseph and Mary Belfield, had been baptised
on 14th April 1829 in St John's Croydon, Surrey. Thomas and Charlotte had four surviving children. Ellen Ann
was born on 19th September 1857 at Gresse Street, St Pancras. Alice
Maria appears to have followed in about 1859 but I have been unable to find her
entry at the GRO. Mary Jane was born on 24th March 1861 in Charles
Street, Hampstead Road, Pancras. All three were baptised in April 1861 in Old
Church, Saint Pancras, London. Or so says the IGI! Having been to the London
Metropolitan Archives Office in Northampton Road I could find no sign of these
baptisms either in the 'Old Church' or the 'Parish Church' of St Pancras. At the time of the 1861 Census (26th March) the
Belfield family were all living at number 24 Charles Street, St Pancras,
Marylebone. At this address were Thomas (32 year old bricklayer), Charlotte (38
year old Milliner), Ellen (4), Alice (2), an infant (the 2 day old Mary Jane)
and the 10 year old Charlotte Amer (‘daughter-in-law’ to Thomas). They
shared the house with Charlotte Lambert (82) and Frances Lambert (a 37 year old
charwoman). My Great Great Grandmother's birth was registered as
Charlotte Elizabeth Belfield. She was born on 25th June 1863 in Willow Street,
Westminster. Her father was Thomas Belfield, a Bricklayer-journeyman. Her mother
was Charlotte Belfield, late Amen formerly Strong. Because her mother's name was
also Charlotte, my 2x Great Grandmother was called Elizabeth in everyday life -
eventually she juxtaposed her forenames. What happened between then and 1869 is
unclear. Their whole world turned upside down in 1869. Charlotte
Belfield (nee Amer/Strong) lost her second husband as the consequence of a
roadside accident. Thomas Belfield died on 20th May 1869 aged 40 in St Mary's
hospital, St John Paddington, Kensington of "Pyremia after injuries to the
leg after being knocked down by an omnibus". An inquest was held on 24th
May 1869. I am seeking any information on the coroner's inquest, report and the
subsequent newspaper report but it appears these have been lost of destroyed in
the intervening years. Charlotte Belfield must have been desperate. It is quite
likely that by now she already knew that she hadn't got long to live herself and
she had already buried two husbands. She died aged 48 in Charles Street, of
cancer of the Uterus "2 years certified" as her death certificate
describes. What a shock for the Belfield family - to lose one parent is
tragic - to lose both within 2 months of each other is almost unbelievable.
Elizabeth was just 6 years old when her parents died. It appears that she went
to live with her 39 year old Pianoforte Maker uncle John Lacock and her 38 year
old aunt Ann Lacock. This is where she lived in 1871. She gave her place of
birth as Pimlico - just a stone's throw from Westminster. I will need to find
out exactly which of these two was blood-related to her and how they fitted into
her family. Unfortunately, they may have married almost 20 years prior to this
date so it could be a long search! Despite many searches I have been unable to find Elizabeth
Charlotte Belfield on the 1881 Census. On 23rd October 1882 Elizabeth Charlotte
married Frederick Herbert Benjafield at Christchurch, Nottinghill, Kensington.
Her address was 37 Rackham Street at the time of her marriage but she wasn't
living there in 1881. She gave her age as 20 years old - Frederick as 22
although he was only 18 at the time. Elizabeth gave her father as Joseph
Belfield a deceased builder - although I now think it was Thomas Belfield a
deceased bricklayer (see * below for explanation). On 17th August 1883, Elizabeth Charlotte gave birth to my
great grandmother Maud Emma Elizabeth Benjafield at 69 Hampden Street, in the
Kensington district of London. Then came Edith Florence in the first 3 months of
1886 in the St Pancras district. Frederick Thomas Charles Benjafield followed on 4th February
1888 (in 49 St Margaret's Road, Willesden, Hendon). It is possible that the
three forenames of their first son were named Frederick after his father, Thomas
after Elizabeth's father and Charles after Frederick's father. Is this another
piece of the jigsaw? Walter William Henry Benjafield followed in early 1893 (in 23
Harrison Street, Grays Inn Lane, Pancras) and finally Arthur George Harry on 9th
January 1895 in 7 Lansdown Road, Kensington Town. As you can see the family
moved around a lot - a different address at the time of each of the 6 children.
Frederick is usually shown as a wood sawyer. Elizabeth Charlotte died of "Chronic Brochitis" and
a "fatty heart of several years" at 96 Goodinge Road, Lower Holloway,
Islington. Her death certificate gives her age as 44, her memorial card as 45.
The memorial card contains this poem: "With patience she suffered, her troubles were sore, But now it is ended she suffers no more, She sleeps, we will leave her in silence to rest, The parting is painful, but God knows best. Gone from us but not forgotten, Never shall her memory fade, Sweetest thoughts shall ever linger Round the spot where though art laid. Elizabeth Charlotte Benjafield (nee Belfield) was buried in
plot number 18885Q(11) of Islington Cemetary, High Road, East Finchley. *It was only a hunch that the child born Charlotte Elizabeth
Belfield to Thomas and Charlotte was one and the same as the one that married as
Elizabeth Charlotte Belfield to Frederick Herbert Benjafield 20 years later.
Until I found out the early years of Charlotte and got some extra certificates: 1. The area of birth was right
(Westminster/Pimlico/Kensington) 2. There were no other possibilities for Elizabeth/Charlotte
at the GRO 3. Charlotte was less than six years old when her father died 4. Her mother was no longer alive to remind her of her
father's name 5. Thomas' father (her paternal grandfather) was Joseph
Belfield. Perhaps he outlived his son and Elizabeth met him and confused the
two. 6. Maybe Frederick told the vicar Elizabeth's father's name
and confused them - he is unlikelt to have met Thomas that's for sure! There was still no definite link between the two until I
searched sideways and found the marriage of Charlotte Elizabeth's sister, Mary
Jane Belfield, to Arthur Charles Belcher in St Matthew's Marylebone in 1883.
Mary correctly gave her father's name as Thomas which didn't actually tell me
anything because I knew he was The witnesses, normally friends or family were
"Elizabeth Charlotte and Frederick Herbert Benjafield" - my great
great grandparents. The mystery was solved!
By
September 1902, when my great grandmother Maud married Arthur Robert Cundy,
Frederick is shown as a cabinet maker. However in 1922 at the time his son
Arthur married to Daisy Hall in South Shoebury, Essex, he is shown as a soldier.
The photo above was taken, I believe, a short time before September 1902, just
before Maud's marriage.