Frances was born in 1845 in Surrey – both Clapham and Lambeth are listed variously as her birth place – to Stephen Stapley, a bricklayer, and his wife Caroline. Caroline’s surname was possibly Jones. Frances had at least three older sisters - Caroline, Eliza and Mary Ann. At the time of Frances’ christening the family was living in the Workhouse in Lambeth, a home for the destitute. (2) Not an auspicious start in life.
Baptism record of Frances Stapley, October 5, 1845 - she was listed as Fanny a common diminutive name for Frances. Note their address was the Workhouse.
Source: London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1924 on Ancestry.com
Her father Stephen died the next year the cause of which, as reported in the London Daily News on May 4, 1846 was That the deceased died from the effects of a large quantity of ardent spirits taken inadvertently. (3) In the 1851 Census, the family is still living in Lambeth, with Caroline earning an income as a laundress. (4)
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The next we can find of Frances is that in 1875 at the stated age of 28 she married Robert Holmes in Bengal in India. (5) The marriage record notes that she was a widow, although I can find no record of her first marriage. By 1880, Francis and Robert were back in England, living in Hackney in Middlesex and that was the year their daughter Flora Louise was born. The 1881 Census have the family living at 145 Dalston Lane in Hackney with two lodgers, including 24 year old Felix Rickard Werry. Robert's occupation was a Clerk in Compt Works - a clerical role of some description. (6)
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The Inquest into Stephen Stapley's death
London Daily News on May 4, 1846, p. 8 from newspapers.com
Early in 1883 Robert Holmes died at the age of 40 (7) and on September 12th of that year, Frances married her lodger Felix, who was a lithographer. Their marriage certificate lists her age as 36, although she was really 38 – every so often it seems that Frances took a few years off her age! Felix was born in 1855 in Islington in Middlesex to William and Mary Ann (nee Rickard) Werry; William's occupation was a Gasometer Builder. (8)
Frances, Felix and little Flora migrated to Melbourne arriving in February 1885 on the Iberia. They made their home at 50 Clara Street, South Yarra. Sadly, Felix died of phithisis (consumption) at the age of only 32 on December 14, 1886 (9). That year he had exhibited a watercolour landscape at the Victorian Academy of Arts Exhibition. The reviewer from The Age mentioned the work in his report - Among the more noticeable water colors are a delightful little sketch by Mr. Chas. D. Richardson, entitled Solitude, and a view on the river Lea, near Bronbourne, in England, by Felix Werry. (10)
Frances, Felix and little Flora migrated to Melbourne arriving in February 1885 on the Iberia. They made their home at 50 Clara Street, South Yarra. Sadly, Felix died of phithisis (consumption) at the age of only 32 on December 14, 1886 (9). That year he had exhibited a watercolour landscape at the Victorian Academy of Arts Exhibition. The reviewer from The Age mentioned the work in his report - Among the more noticeable water colors are a delightful little sketch by Mr. Chas. D. Richardson, entitled Solitude, and a view on the river Lea, near Bronbourne, in England, by Felix Werry. (10)
The 1886 death certificate of Felix Werry. His wife was clearly called Frances and the informant was Henry Stapley step-son
Then tragedy struck again on June 2, 1893 when thirteen year old Flora died of the measles. Felix and Flora are both buried at St Kilda Cemetery; but of interest is that the informant on both certificates is Henry Stapley – noted as Felix’s step-son and Flora’s step-brother. (11) This is another mystery, he presumably must be Frances’ son but I have no other information about him.
Frances married again on May 8, 1897 to 28 year old James Semple Hall, a gardener who was born on January 5, 1870 in Windsor in Melbourne. Her stated age was 48, but she was really 52; the marriage certificate also says that she had five children of whom only one was still living, perhaps the aforementioned Henry. (12)
Frances Werry and James Hall death marriage certificate, 1897. As you can see she signed her name Frances.
From 1905 Frances and James lived at 30 Malakoff Street, East St Kilda and from 1928 until 1934, they lived six doors down at 18 Malakoff Street. James' occupation was initially listed as a gardener, but from 1912 his occupation was mason's fixer. (13) A mason fixer will actually travel to a job to both fit and lay already-prepared stone or cladding for buildings (as opposed to a banker mason who cuts the stone into blocks or whatever shapes are required). (14)
Frances died on May 3, 1934, and as we said before the newspaper death notice and the death certificate lists her name as Florence, and not Frances. The death certificate had her age as 84, but she was at least 88 years old; it also notes that she had no issue, but doesn’t tally with the information on her marriage certificate or the fact that we know she was the mother of Henry and little Flora. Frances was buried at Brighton General Cemetery as Florence Hall. (15)
Death notice of Frances/Florence Hall
The Argus, May 4, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10933417
James Hall did not remarry after Frances passed away. At the time of his death on August 18, 1943, he was 73 years old and living at 19 Larnook Street, Armadale. (16) His brother Archibald, a bachelor, had died on July 14, 1920, with the stated age of 49. His address was 48 Chomley Street, Windsor and his occupation was a night porter. (17)
James and Archibald were the sons of Archibald and Mary Ann (nee Semple) Hall. Archibald and Mary Ann had arrived from Renfrewshire, Scotland in February 1863 with two children, 3 year-old Agnes and one year-old Alexander; they then had seven more children - Robert (1863), Janet (1865), Jessie (1867), James (1870), Jane (1871), Isabella (1873) and Archibald (born on December 18, 1875, which actually only makes him 44 when he died) (18)
Also buried at the Brighton General Cemetery are three other children of Archibald and Mary Ann – Janet, died 5 days old in 1865; Agnes (died 1942) and her husband John Winbanks (died 1924); and Robert Semple Hall (died 1956) and his wife Mary (nee Meader, died 1945). Archibald and Mary Ann are buried at the St Kilda Cemetery. (19)
There is another mystery connected to Frances/Florence and that is that in August 1914 nineteen year old Arthur Hall of 30 Malakoff Street enlisted in the First AIF. He rose to the rank of Lance Corporal and in 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal and two Bars and then was wounded in the August - gun shot wound right leg, femur - and the leg was amputated. He finally returned to Australia in August 1919, five long years since he enlisted as a young man of 19. His next of kin was Frances Hall of the same address. As I cannot find any reference to Arthur’s birth, and Frances would have been 50 at the time of his birth, it appears that Frances and James adopted or fostered him. She is listed as his mother on his death certificate. Arthur died on June 10, 1961 and is buried at the Memorial Park in Cheltenham. (20) I have written more about Arthur and other First World War soldiers with a connection to Malakoff Street, here.
Also buried at the Brighton General Cemetery are three other children of Archibald and Mary Ann – Janet, died 5 days old in 1865; Agnes (died 1942) and her husband John Winbanks (died 1924); and Robert Semple Hall (died 1956) and his wife Mary (nee Meader, died 1945). Archibald and Mary Ann are buried at the St Kilda Cemetery. (19)
There is another mystery connected to Frances/Florence and that is that in August 1914 nineteen year old Arthur Hall of 30 Malakoff Street enlisted in the First AIF. He rose to the rank of Lance Corporal and in 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal and two Bars and then was wounded in the August - gun shot wound right leg, femur - and the leg was amputated. He finally returned to Australia in August 1919, five long years since he enlisted as a young man of 19. His next of kin was Frances Hall of the same address. As I cannot find any reference to Arthur’s birth, and Frances would have been 50 at the time of his birth, it appears that Frances and James adopted or fostered him. She is listed as his mother on his death certificate. Arthur died on June 10, 1961 and is buried at the Memorial Park in Cheltenham. (20) I have written more about Arthur and other First World War soldiers with a connection to Malakoff Street, here.
I feel for Frances, who was widowed twice and gave birth to six children, of whom only one it seems survived to adulthood and she deserves credit for looking after Arthur and raising him to be a man who served his country with distinction.
Footnotes:
Footnotes:
(1) Brighton Cemetorians database https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/
(2) Ancestry.com - England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth and Death Indexes, 1837-1915; London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1924; England Census from 1841 and 1851.
(3) London Daily News on May 4, 1846, p. 8 from newspapers.com
(4) Ancestry.com - England Census 1851.
(5) Ancestry.com - India Select Marriages, 1792-1948
(6) Ancestry.com - England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth and Death Indexes, 1837-1915; England Census 1881.
(7) Ancestry.com - England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth and Death Indexes, 1837-1915
(8) Ancestry.com - London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940
(9) Shipping Records Public Records Office of Victoria; Felix's Death certificate. Flora's surname was listed as Werry.
(10) The Age, April 3, 1886, see here.
(11) Flora and Felix's Death certificate. Flora's surname was listed as Werry.
(12) Frances/James marriage certificate; James Birth certificate.
(13) Ancestry.com- Electoral Rolls
(15) Frances/Florence death certificate
(16) James' death certificate.
(17) Archibald's death certificate.
(18) Shipping Records Public Records Office of Victoria; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Archibald Hall's birth certificate.
(19) Brighton Cemetorians database https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Find a Grave
(20) Arthur Hall – WW1 Enlistment papers at the National Archives of Australia
