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Old 10-03-17, 16:36
tpb tpb is offline
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Default Ellen Bentall (1837 - ????)

Ellen Bentall was born on 20 June 1837 and baptized at St. George in the East, now in Whitechapel, on 22 October 1837. Her family story is a sad one, and I would like to know how it ended, for better or worse.

Her father was named Alfred Bentall, occupation Mariner, and her mother was named Elizabeth Ann Ackland. They were not married at the time.

Alfred Bentall (1813 – 1839) was born at Totnes, Devon, attended a naval school at Portsmouth named HMS Excellent as a midshipman, and passed exams in seamanship in 1832 and navigation in 1833. Later, he became captain of a merchant brig named Permei. There is a record of that ship’s arrival in England in October 1837, having left Ceylon under his command on the 23rd April that year. He arrived to find that he had become a father. In his Will, written that November, he left most of his estate “for the support, maintenance and education of my reputed or illegitimate daughter named Ellen by Elizabeth Ann Ackland, now of Chapel Street in Devonport in the county of Devon".

A marriage record shows that Alfred and Elizabeth Ann were married in the same church in 1839. Her father is listed as Joseph, a carpenter. There is a plausible baptismal record for an Elizabeth Ann Ackland, baptized on 14 Aug 1818, also at Totnes, Devon, with a father named Joseph, on which his occupation was listed as ‘servant’.

In December 1839, Alfred’s ship ran onto rocks in a fog near Venice, and a few days later he drowned while trying to recover the cargo.

In May 1840, Elizabeth Ann produced a son. She wrote a Will, signed on June 1st, which starts “I, Elizabeth Ann Bentall, of Hoddesdon in the county of Hertford, widow, bequeath to my sister Jane Caddy of Devonport the sum of five pounds”. It then left everything else “in trust for my daughter Ellen Bentall and for my son at present unnamed”. The executors were two of Alfred’s brothers, both then living in London.

The baby, was baptized Alfred Bentall at the same church in Whitechapel on 17th July, 1840, but then died about 12 days later and was buried at Plymouth, in Devon on 29th July. Elizabeth Ann also died at Stoke Damerel (which is the parish in Plymouth that includes Devonport) not long after. Her Will was proved on 20th October.

So Ellen was alive in June of 1840, but I have searched for but found no record of a marriage or of her death. The sister, Jane Caddy, is also a mystery. Maybe someone knows or can find out more about Ellen or other relatives who might have helped raise her.
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Old 10-03-17, 17:50
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FamilySearch lists the baptism of an Elizabeth Jane Cady 4 Feb 1828 at Morrice Street Wesleyan, Devonport, Devon, dob 31 Dec 1827, parents Richard Cady and Jane. I haven't found their marriage yet to see whether this Jane was an Ackland.
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Old 10-03-17, 19:07
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You've probably seen this already, but probate was granted on Alfred's will 26 Feb 1840, and there is a handwritten note in the margin of the PCC copy next to the probate info which says "This grant revoked by Interlocutory Decree and Admon granted May 1842."

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/51...1_310807-00496

My guess is that this was because this will became invalid when he married Elizabeth Ann, but it might be useful if we could find more information about who asked the court to revoke the grant, who admon was granted to, etc.
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Old 10-03-17, 20:08
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The Death Duty Register entries for Elizabeth Ann and Alfred (there are two entries for him, one for the probate and one for the admon) might possibly give more info about Ellen. But the actual Death Duty Registers aren't online, only the indexes, which are on Findmypast. The actual registers are at TNA in Kew. The ref nos in the indexes tell you which folio etc to look at.
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Old 10-03-17, 21:18
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Thank you Kiterunner,

I have a copy of Alfred's probate record, but I had not noticed the handwritten comment until now.

The index at http://search.findmypast.co.uk/recor...duty%2f2335384 is helpful. Alfred's brother Francis was a solicitor at Freeman, Bothamley and Bentall, with an office at 39 Coleman St, and he was an executor to both Alfred and Elizabeth Ann's wills.

I suppose if he was filing a new plea, the most likely explanation is that Ellen was dead by then.

Tim
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Old 10-03-17, 21:43
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Re Jane Caddy...I wonder if this boy is her son?

CADDY, WILLIAM DYER mmn ACKLAND
GRO Reference: 1839 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 382

I haven't found him anywhere else yet! (I looked forward as far as 1851 looking for siblings but found none)
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Old 10-03-17, 22:48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tpb View Post

I suppose if he was filing a new plea, the most likely explanation is that Ellen was dead by then.
I wondered if it could be that one or more of Elizabeth's heirs challenged the probate on Alfred's will because it left nothing to his wife, and whatever she was entitled to should have been passed on to her heirs instead of his? Or someone on behalf of Ellen?
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Old 10-03-17, 23:42
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A very interesting hypothesis!

But Elizabeth's Will states that if her children live they inherit everything (other than 5 pounds), and if both her children die before they reach the age of 21 then her sister Jane should receive another 30 pounds and the residue goes to Alfred's mother (Mary Anne), if alive,"for her separate use, independently of her husband and free from his ... debts or engagements" or to Mary Anne's children if she is dead.

I am assuming that the Will was drafted by Francis, Alfred's brother, who was a solicitor and one of the executors. Alfred's father, a banker, became bankrupt in 1841. Francis probably knew that the bank was in trouble.

Even if Alfred's Will was invalidated by the subsequent marriage, her Will doesn't help her side of the family, except for that 30 pounds.

I plan to visit England later this year, and will plan to visit Kew, if only to absorb the atmosphere.

Tim
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Old 10-03-17, 23:44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Merry View Post
Re Jane Caddy...I wonder if this boy is her son?

CADDY, WILLIAM DYER mmn ACKLAND
GRO Reference: 1839 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 382

I haven't found him anywhere else yet! (I looked forward as far as 1851 looking for siblings but found none)
Since he seems to vanish like the rest of them, he must belong to the same family!
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Old 11-03-17, 01:50
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Kiterunner and Merry: as so many times before, thank you both. I suspect we are at another dead end, unless there is something in the second probate action.

After Merry's post, I found William Dyer Caddy, but the 'findmypast' transcription did not include mother's maiden name 'Ackland'.

However, that fragment corroborates both the 'sister Jane Caddy' relationship and the reason why Elizabeth commuted between the London docks and Devonport / Stoke Damerel. My instinct says that these are accurate.

Possibly as Wesleyans their records are less well documented. It seems they escaped the 1841 and 1851 censuses.

There is so much more of a romantic back story here that will never be told, but I suppose we must settle for what we have!

There was a Jane Caddy who died around Dec. 30, 1878, at Penzance, who could possibly have been connected. http://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/v...18790520%2f010

But that has nothing to do with Ellen.

Tim
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