Basics

People

Properties

Can You Help?

Roads Off

Janet's Research

Sources & More

Brentford Families - Chandler and Sedgwick

Beginnings

They had a daughter, Caroline Jane Chandler in 1870 and in the 1871 census William, Eliza and baby Caroline were lodging in High Street, Brentford. By this time William was working as a hawker. Family story later tells that he worked at Brentford Market during these times.

Two years later, Eliza and William married in Brentford. It is unknown why they waited until marriage – both were twenty when Caroline was born; living together and the first parent of either to die did so in 1875.

Children of William and Eliza

• Caroline Jane Chandler, born 1870, married Thomas Whittle in 1891; last trace living with family in Walton-on-Thames in 1911 owning a laundry.
• William Sedgwick, born 1872, last trace was living in Brentford with family in 1891 and working as a punnet maker.
• John Sedgewick born Dec 4 1874 baptised at St Paul’s privately Aug 7 1875, son of William and Eliza Sedgewick, of St Paul’s Old Brentford, labourer
• Betsey Sedgwick, born 1876, also known as Betsy or Betty, last trace was living in Brentford with family in 1891 and working as a punnet maker.
• Eliza Ann Sedgwick, born 1879, last known trace living with family in Brentford in 1901 and working in the family laundry.
• Jane Sedgwick, born 9 December 1883, christened 20 February 1884, married George Whittle in 1902, worked in the family laundry, died in 1979 in Haringey, London. (I am descended from Jane.)

Using Free BMD, but with no confirmation from certificates, and impossible to appear on census returns, I have found the following possible children:

• Eliza Sedgwick, born and died in 1874. (baptised privately at St Paul’s Feb 11 1874, daughter of William and Eliza Sedgewick, St Paul’s Old Brentford, labourer,; a note in the margin ‘born Jan 11 1874; died Feb 12’)
• Miriam Sedgwick, born in 1882 and died in 1885. (baptised at St George’s Apr 5 1882, daughter of William and Eliza Sedgewick, Chapel Alley, Old Brentford, labourer; margin note to record birth date: 1882 March 15)
• Miriam Sedgwick, born and died in 1886.(baptised at St Paul’s Oct 31 1886, daughter of (left blank) Sedgewick, Turners Row, labourer; there was no margin note to record birth date as there was for other entries)

Four children were baptised together at St George Old Brentford on Dec 20 1880, all children of William & Eliza Sedgwick, address ‘back of the church Old Brentford’, labourer:

• Caroline Jane (born May 3 1869)
• William (Dec 26 1871)
• Betsy (Sep 18 1876)
• Eliza Anne (Jul 4 1879)

In 1881 the family are living in “Back Lane From Church Alley To Back of Fox & Hound” [presumably the Fox & Hound is a public house]. William was working as a labourer.(See for location of the Fox and Hounds, the road curving off High Street and running behind no. 384 is Back Lane)

Around this time Eliza’s family friends, the sisters Caroline Price (a widow) and Emma Shepherd (a spinster) offered the Sedgwick’s to come and work with them as punnet makers.

In the words of Rose Rosewell (1910-2004), the daughter of Jane: “My mother lived at Brentford in Middlesex, all her family was there in Richmond and all around that way and they used to make strawberry punnets and used to have to walk to Brentford Market to sell them. Then they opened a laundry in Weybridge and my mother’s sister, who was already married, sent for my mother to come and she said, “You can get work here.”…”

The laundry was opened between 1891, when all the family except for Jane were living at 3 Bath Lane and working as punnet makers (Jane was still a scholar), and 1901 when they were working at the laundry, except for William as a night watchman.

In 1891 Eliza died and William remarried in 1897 in Brentford to a young widow, Louisa Elizabeth Burke (born Goble). Their children were:

• Lily Harriet Sedgwick, born 1898
• Albert Edward Sedgwick (1902-1966)
• Thomas George Sedgwick (1904-1984)
• William Henry Sedgwick, born 1907
• Charles Sedgwick (1910-1968)
• Frederick Sedgwick (1912-1967)

William and Lily were the only ones to stay in Brentford. The daughters moved to Weybridge to be closer to the laundry. William died in 1931 aged 80 and Lily died in 1938 aged 68.

Further Back

Baptisms on ancestry.co.uk:
Elizabeth Sedgwick 11 Mar 1855 John and Caroline Sedgwick Old Brentford St George
Caroline Sedgewick 4 Dec 1864 John Thomas and Caroline Sedgewick Old Brentford St George
John Thomas Sedgewick 4 Dec 1864 John Thomas and Caroline Sedgewick Old Brentford St George
Jane Sedgewick 29 Jul 1866 John and Caroline Sedgewick Old Brentford St George
Thomas Sedgewick 6 Oct 1869 John and Caroline Sedgewick Brentford St Paul

Eliza was the daughter of George Chandler and Ann Martin. They married in 1838 in Ealing and the fathers were listed as Thomas Chandler and James Martin, both labourers as was George. James and Ann Martin lived next door to the Chandler’s.

Page published April 2012