Sunday, May 17, 2020

Jessie Isabelle Hardcastle

Today I spent some time looking into the Hardcastle family.  

I had searched newspapers.com for all Peverelli in England.  And got this delightfully gossipy tale in 1892 where Guiseppi Peverelli, who ran the Abbey Hotel in Liverpool testified in support of a man who had divorced his wife.  The divorced wife was looking to overturn the divorce, claiming that her husband, Captain Attwood had committed adultery with their servant, Jessie Hardcastle.  I saw that in the 1891 census, an Elizabeth Hardcastle, was listed as a servant living with Guiseppi Peverelli.  It seems that there was some belief that Capt. Attwood was the father of a baby that Jessie Hardcastle had given birth to.  Jessie testified in court that the baby was fathered by a John Smith (I kid you not!).  Apparently there had been an earlier incident where the sister of Jessie had gone after Capt. Attwood with a revolver, for him having seduced her sister and gotten her with child.

I was very curious to see how this all played out.  I found Jessie living with her sister , Sarah A Quayle, in the 1891 census. There was a 16 mth old baby boy there, presumably the son of Jessie. He is named Albert V Qayle, 

There is an Albert Victor Hardcastle baptised in 1890.  He was born 22 Nov 1889.  No father is listed, this is almost definitely the baby in the story.

Jessie married in 1894 to a Howard Henry Allen.

In the 1901 census Jessie is with Howard Allen, and they appear to have 3 more children. Albert is listed as Albert Allen.

In the 1911 census Jessie is listed as married but her husband is not in the household.  Albert is listed as Albert Victor Allen, and the two younger Allen sons are there.  The daughter is not listed in the household. Jessie is working as a waitress in a carriage house.

It appears we may never know the truth about the father of Albert Victor, because sadly, I see that Jessie received a survivors pension because he died in WWI service in 1916. Sadly, another son of Jessie, Stanley Allen, also died in WWI service in 1916.

FAttwood gave up on pressing the divorce. It appears to me that even his lawyer feels that he had Jessie perjure herself in her testimony and the judge appears to have believed that Capt. Attwood was the father of Jessie's child!

I even looked at the divorce file for Captain Attwood.  I must say this is a GREAT source for genealogy.  The divorce file had a copy of their marriage.  And the story gets better.  Apparently, before Captain Attwood married Maria Louisa in 1882, he had married a Harriet Chapman in 1874.  Harriet Chapman was already married. According to the facts presented in the file, the divorce was cancelled in part because of this and in part because Capt Attwood was apparently still involved with Jessie after the decree nisi ....

In 1891 Maria Louisa is living with her two brothers.  By the time of the 1901 census she is apparently married to George Wiggins, who appears to have some children from a previous marriage. Oddly, in the 1911 census, which was completed by George Wiggins, she is listed as having no children born to her. 
Even odder, there is a marriage of Maria L Attwood to George W. Wiggins in 1922! They are listed together in the 1939 Register.  Maria Louisa Wiggins died in 1950.

The file also specifies that Jessie had the baby 22 Nov 1889.

In 1901 Capt Attwood, age 50, is listed as married to Ethel M., age 23. His 17 year old daughter Flora is living with them.

This Ethel M is likely Ethel Maud Tinn, and she was committed for a time to a lunacy asylum from 31 Oct to 13 Dec in 1906 and (2 Mar 1908 to 5 Nov 1908). Ethel died in 1915.

How was Jessie Hardcastle related to the servant of Guiseppe Peverelli?

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