Edwin Chappell (52 Ancestors #1)

2 January 2015, Chriss Coleman

Edwin Chappell was a man who lived his entire life near the waters of the Avon River, in the city of Bath, Somerset, England. He was the second youngest of nine children born to John Chappell and Sarah Cridge1 (or possibly Crudge),2 born August 14th 1839.3

Portion of the Chappell Family Record
Edwin Chappell – clipping from the Chappell Family Record3

He was baptised at September 22nd of the same year at St Thomas à Becket church in the nearby town of Widcombe.4 Shortly after his birth, the family moved from their Wood St residence, to their new home at 1 Parsons Yard in Bath where he spent most of his childhood.5,6

St Thomas à Becket church, Widcombe
St Thomas à Becket Church in Widcombe, Bath, Somerset. Photo by Stephen McKay.7

At the age of 19, he married Harriet Oaten8 on February 19th, 18609 at Walcot-St Swithin Church. He had a variety of jobs over the course of his younger years, recording himself as a baker,10 milkman,11 and finally as a wheelchairman,12 the later being the career he held for his remaining years13,14 until retirement.15

Edwin Chappell in 1889
Edwin Chappell — according to the information inscribed on the back, the photo was taken in 1889 in Bath, Somerset, England. Edwin would have been about 50 years old.16

Edwin and Harriet had 10 children, 7 of whom lived until adulthood.17

  1. Edwin Oaten Chappell
  2. William John Chappell
  3. Harriet Chappell
  4. Martha Rosa Chappell
  5. William Christopher Chappell
  6. Elizabeth Ada Chappell
  7. Albert Chappell
  8. Alice Mary Chappell
  9. Arthur Chappell
  10. Minnie Chappell

In the later years they also helped to care for their grand-daughter Annie.18,19,20

In general terms, they worked and lived and raised a family as one would expect. Other than being charged with using abusive language during a quarrel — a case that was later dismissed in court21 — I couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

Edwin Chappell obituary 1913
Edwin Chappell’s obituary, Bath Chronicle, 15 March 1913.

CHAPPELL — March 10th, at 5, Caroline Place, Lansdown Road, Bath, Edwin Chappell, aged 73.22

Edwin passed away at his home at 5 Caroline Place, Lansdown, Bath, on March 10th, 1912, at the age of 73.23 Whilst he lived his entire life at Bath, some of his children did move further afield, including Australia, Canada, and the United States. Today his progeny live all over the world.

Edwin Chappell is my husband’s 3xgreat-grandfather. Our ancestral line:

  • 6. Edwin Chappell (1839-1913)
  • 5. William Christopher Chappell (1869-1941)
  • 4. Rosemary Cecelia Chappell (1900-1985)
  • 3. James Francis Walsh (1931-2001)
  • 2. My husband’s mother (living)
  • 1. My husband (living)

FOOTNOTES

  1. “Births”, entry for Edwin Chaple, 1891, Lyncombe and Widcombe, Bath, Somersert, reference LW1/2/124; index, BathBMD, (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 31 Dec 2014); citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset. ↩

  2. “FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 15 May 2014), marriage entry for John Chappell and Sarah Crudge, 26 Jan 1824, Twerton St Michael church, Bath, Somerset, England; citing file number 13892. ↩

  3. Chappell Family Record, undated handwritten document, original in the collection of Joan [Name withheld for privacy; address for Private Use], Simcoe county, Ontario, digital copy held by author. [From the appearance this document it seems most likely to be a copy of the family bible, copied after 1897.] ↩

  4. “FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 15 May 2014), baptism entry for Edwin Chappell, 22 Sep 1839, register 352, St Thomas a Becket, Widcombe, Bath, Somerset, England; citing file number 18911. ↩

  5. “1841 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district 1, parish of St Michael, page 45, household of John Chappell; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archive, London, “1841 Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841”, class HO107, piece 969, book 7, folio 25, GSU roll 474609. ↩

  6. “1851 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district (ED) 3a, parish of St Michael page 35, household schedule 105, family of John Chappell; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851”, class HO107, piece 1941, folio 278,GSU 221100. ↩

  7. “Thomasabecketchurch” by Stephen McKay - From geograph.org.uk. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomasabecketchurch.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Thomasabecketchurch.jpg. Image resized from original. ↩

  8. “Marriages”, entry for Edwin Chappell and Harriet Oaten, 1860, Walcot St-Switin, Bath, Somserset, reference C17/7/043; index, BathBMD, (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 15 Dec 2014); citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset. ↩

  9. “FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG, (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 15 May 2014), entry of marriage for Edward Chappell and Harriet Oates, 19 Feb 1860, Walcot-St Swithin, Bath, Somerset, register 43. ↩

  10. “1861 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district 10, parish of St Michael, page 22, household schedule 109, family of Edwin Chappell; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861”, class RG9, piece 1687, folio 120, GSU roll 542851. ↩

  11. “1871 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district (ED) 8, parish of Walcot Trinity, p.22, household schedule 160, family of Edwin Chapple; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871”, class RG10, piece 2492, folio 85, GSU roll 835198. ↩

  12. “1881 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district (ED) 5, parish of Walcot, page 29, household schedule 180, family of Edwin Chappell; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 Dec 2014); citing The National Archive, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881”, class RG11, piece 2440, folio 95, GSU 1341587. ↩

  13. “1891 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, Walcot, enumeration district (ED) 30, parish of Holy Trinity, page 25 and 26, schedule 169, family of Edwin Chappell; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 Dec 2014); citing The National Archive, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891”, class RG12, piece 1937, folio 49, GSU 6097047. ↩

  14. “1901 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, Walcot, enumeration district (ED) 30, parish of Holy Trinity, page 25, household schedule 193, family of Edwin Chappel; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901”, class RG13, piece 1937, folio 49, GSU roll 6097047. ↩

  15. “1911 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, Walcot, enumeration district (ED) 7, household schedule 39, family of Edwin Chappell; index and image, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911”, class RG14, piece 14709. ↩

  16. Photo from the collection of family photos held by Joan [name witheld for privacy, address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada. Scanned by author September 2014. ↩

  17. Chappell Family Record. ↩

  18. 1891 Census, Somerset, Bath, ED 30, Holy Trinity, p25 & 26, sch. 169. ↩

  19. 1901 census, Somerset, Bath, ED 30, Holy Trinity, p25, sch. 193. ↩

  20. 1911 census, Somerset, Bath, ED 7, sch. 39. ↩

  21. “Chairmen’s Quarrel”, Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, Somerset, England, 31 Jul 1902, page 4, column 7; digital image, British Newspaper Archive (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk : accessed 9 Aug 2014). ↩

  22. “Deaths”, obituary for Edwin Chappell, Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, Bath, Somerset, England, Saturday 15 March 1913, page 1, column 1; digital image, British Newspaper Archive (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk : accessed 21 May 2014). ↩

  23. “Deaths”, entry for Edwin Chappell, 1913, Walcot, Bath, Somsert, reference WL1/61/169; index, BathBMD (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 1 Jan 2015); citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset. ↩

Copyright ©2015, Chriss Coleman

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