1.0 Early Boardman Ancestors prior to 1800
See 1.5 and 15.0 for diagrams of the Boardman Tree
There are family histories that have explored Boardman ancestors as far back as the 1500's (see 15.0), but the earliest ancestor in our Boardman Tree, who can be reliably confirmed, is
GGGF Thomas Boardman b1776.
According to the 1841 census,
Thomas had turned 60 by Apr of that year. Ages were rounded down at that census, which means he was born between late 1776 and 1781.
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| St Anne's, Liverpool; now demolished |
Thomas' first wife Esther was born in 1772 and they were married at St Anne's Church, Everton, Liverpool Aug 1797. As it was rare for a male to be married below the age of 20, Thomas was probably born before 1778. It is also likely that there was not a big age difference between him and Esther. These factors support the contention below, that Thomas Boardman was born on 8 Nov 1776 and and baptised at West Derby Chapel the following month.
St Annes was only about 3 miles from West Derby, where our Boardmans lived. It is interesting to note that the church was built at the expense of two (wealthy) cabinet makers. Perhaps this area was a centre for the wood working trade!
1.1 Origins of the 'Boardman' name
According to
surnamedb.com the origins of the Boardman surname are, as one would expect, related to people who had wood-working occupations. Our early Boardman relatives were in this category. All evidence suggests that our Boardmans cdescended from ancestors who were wood workers (carpenters, carvers, jopiners). Many family histories include early Boardmans who were weavers, labourers, farmers etc. These people are most likely from other families because occupations were usually passed down through generations as can be seen in the descendants of Thomas b1776.
GGGGGF William Boardman c1703 was a joiner and his eldest son was known to have taken up the trade too. His younger son GGGGF Henry b1744 was probably a joiner, because four of his sons worked in the field, including GGGF Thomas Boardman b1776. In the next generation GGGF Thomas' two eldest daughters married men working in the woodworking field, but the traditional occupation was not passed on to Thomas' youngest son GGF Henry Boardman b1841. The reason for this is that tragically, GGGF Thomas Boardman b1776 died when GGF Henry was only two years old, and there were no other Boardmans living close by who could pass the skills on to him.
1.2 Boardman Family Research Resources
The following resources provide useful information
# http://www.chestnut-blue.com/Chestnut%20Blue-o/surname_index.htm
# https://www.camdex.org.uk/search.cfm (Cambridge Births Deaths & Marriages)
# https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/ (Lancashire Parish Clerks Website)
# http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~waldock/genealogy/waldock&g/pafg175.htm
1.3 Note Regarding Research of the Early Boardmans
All notes about the Boardmans prior to the late 1700's are 'educated guesses', as there are not many records, and they do not contain enough information to allow crosschecking. Answers to following questions have been used as 'guidelines' to select information:
Do the dates make sense?
Adults were usually over 21 when they married and started having children. Women generally had their last child before their early forties. Children were often born every two or three years after marriage. Adult life expectancy was rarely more than seventy years.
Do the locations make sense?
Individuals and families usually stayed in the same area for most of their lives. They rarely travelled more than ten miles.
Are there other clues to family relationships?
Males in a family often had the same occupation. Parents often named their first children after themselves, their parents or their siblings.
1.4 Which Thomas Boardman was our Thomas?
There were four Thomas Boardmans born in the Liverpool area between 1776 and 1778. Of these four, the first Thomas listed below, seems to fit the facts best of all. See 7.0 for more about his life.
- 1776: Thomas Boardman born 8 Nov 1776 and baptised 1 Dec 1776 at West Derby Chapel by parents Henry Boardman (b1738 Kirkby) and Alice Plumb (born 1737 West Derby, 5 miles from Kirkby). They
were married on 28 Mar 1758 at St Marys, Walton on the Hill and had the eight children baptised at West Derby Chapel
including Thomas Boardman b8 Nov 1776. At least three of Thomas' brothers
(James, John and Edmund) and one brother-in-law-in-law were joiners (carpenters).
Thomas' brother (John Boardman b1761) also had a son (Henry) who became a
joiner. It seems that the woodworking skills were passed down through the
family and this would explain how Thomas became a 'master carver' during his
life. (See 7.0 for more details of Thomas' life).
- 1776: Thomas Boardman was born 1 Dec and baptised at Ashton in Makerfield (13 miles from West Derby) on 21 Dec 1776 by John Boardman.
- 1777: Thomas Boardman born 16 Oct 1777 and baptised 9 Nov 1777 West Derby by parents William and Mary Musker. William married Mary Musker at St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Walton, Liverpool on 16 Dec 1776. They were both 'of this parish'. After their marriage they settled at nearby West Derby, which was less than 3 miles from Walton. Their first son was Thomas Boardman born 1777 and buried 11 May 1782. They named another son Thomas Boardman ten years later in 1787. The brother was too young to be married in 1797. This Thomas became a weaver like his father William. (See 17.0)
- 1777:Thomas Boardman baptised at St Elphin, Warrington (14 miles from West Derby) on 31 Aug 1777 by parents Thomas Boardman, husbandman (farmer), and Betty Boardman.
Other Thomas Boardmans born
in Lancashire 1779-1781 are listed below. These can all be ruled out because
some died, and none seem to have any connection to West Derby or the occupation
of joinery. They were also too young to be married in 1797.
- 1779: Thomas Boardman baptised at Manchester Cathedral 8 Aug 1779 by parents William and Mary Boardman. He seems to have died as an infant and was buried in Manchester on the 3 Jun 1781.
- 1779: Thomas Boardman baptised 12 Dec 1779 at St Elphin, Warrington to parents Thomas Boardman, barber, and Mary Boardman
- 1779: Thomas Boardman "second son of John Boardman, nailer (made nails) of Pemberton" and Margaret Spencer. He was born on 1 Nov 1779 and baptised 26 Nov at Wigan (16 miles from West Derby). Thomas Boardman became a brazier (worked with brass, possibly making brass nails). He married Elizabeth Ashcroft in 1789 at St Helens. In 1841 Thomas 65, was living in Wigan with wife Elizabeth 65. In 1851 Thomas 77 (b1774, Wigan) retired brazier and Elizabeth Boardman 1776 were still in Wigan
- 1781: Thomas Boardman baptised 29 Apr 1781 to William Boardman, weaver, of Rumworth and Martha Nelson. Thomas became a weaver like his father. See 'Boardmans of Manchester' below in 18.0.
- Thomas Boardman born in 1781 to Unknown Boardman, labourer of Haydock, St Helens, Prescott. Thomas Boardman b1781, glass cutter married Ann Lea at Winwick (6 miles from Haydock) in 1803. Probably died 6 miles away at Winwick in 1846.
- Thomas Boardman born Eccleston, Manchester. Thomas Boardman "of Eccleston" died in St Helen's, Prescott in 1834.
1.5 Early Boardman Ancestors 1650 to 1800
2.0 Ancestors of GGGF Thomas Boardman (1776-1843)
The most likely parents for GGGF Thomas Boardman are GGGGP Henry Boardman (b1737 Kirkby) and Alice Plumb (born 1737 West Derby, 5 miles from Kirkby) because:-
- A birth date of 8 Nov 1776 fits perfectly for a marriage to Esther Simpkin 25 on 20 Aug 1797. Thomas would have been very close to 21 years old at the time of his marriage, and there would have only been four years age difference between Thomas and Esther Simkin's age.
- Thomas married his first wife just a few miles away from West Derby at St Anne's, Richmond.
- Thomas' parents were baptised at Kirkby and married at St Mary's, Walton on the Hill; both of which are just a few miles from West Derby.
- At least three of Thomas' siblings and a nephew were joiners by occupation, as was Thomas. West Derby was just a few miles from the Liverpool docks at Bootle and there would have been plenty of work opportunities for carpenters, carvers and cabinet makers, when the wooden ships of the time were being built or needed repair.
- Thomas named two of his sons Henry (the first Henry died). The name 'Henry' was obviously very important to Thomas and was chosen to honour his father.
- Thomas and Lucy Boardman nee Rivett had twins (Thomas and Mary b1839). It seems that Thomas' mother Alice Plumb was also born a twin with her sister Catherine. Perhaps this indicates a genetic link!
2.1 GGGGP Henry Boardman (1738-1795) & Alice Plumb (1737-1810)
Henry Boardman was baptised by his parents GGGGGP William Boardman and Ann Boyes at the Parochial Chapel at Kirkby, Walton Parish, on 19 Mar 1738 (but possibly born in 1737). At some stage Henry moved 5 miles to the West Derby area, where he met his future wife, Alice Plumb.
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| Baptisms West Derby 11 Sep 1737: The original entry suggests that Alice was a twin of sister Catherine |
GGGGM Alice Plumb was baptised by her parents James and Ellen Plumb nee Penketh at West Derby on 11 Sep 1737. The original baptismal entry suggests that Alice had a twin sister named Catherine Plumb, who was baptised at the same time.
Henry married Alice Plumb 21 (b1737) on 28 Mar 1758 at St Mary's, Walton on the Hill, Liverpool. One record suggests they may have been residents of Sefton (Sefton on the Park) at the time, which is 5 miles from Walton, but the Bishop's Transcript makes it clear "they were both of the Walton Parish". The couple settled in the Parish of West Derby (2 miles from Walton) to start their family.
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| St Mary's, Walton on the Hill, Liverpool |
Their nine children were James Boardman 30 Nov 1758, John Boardman 7 Jun 1761, William Boardman 12 Jun 1764, Alice Boardman 24 Aug 1765, Henry Boardman b1 Sep 1767, Edward/Edmund Boardman b29 Mar 1770 (became a joiner),
Ann Boardman b12 Mar 1773,
GGGF Thomas Boardman b8 Nov 1776 and Alice Boardman 25 Jun 1783. Alice was 45 when her last child was born. All of these children were recorded as being baptised at West Derby, which was where our Boardman ancestor GGGF Thomas Boardman originated.
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| Burials Walton; l 8 Oct 1795: GGGGF Henry son of William & Ann Boardman died of fever aged 60 |
GGGGF Henry Boardman 60 (really 57) died of fever on 6 Oct 1795 and was buried in the churchyard at Walton on the Hill on 8 Oct 1795. The burial entry above confirms that
Henry was the son of
William and Ann Boardman but confuses his wife's family with his mother's family. It should read Henry was the son of William and Ann Boyes!
GGGGM Alice Boardman nee Plumb, widow, died fifteen years later at the age of 73 on 25 Mar 1810 and was buried beside her deceased husband in the churchyard at St Mary's, Walton on the Hill. The above record confirms her birth year, the fact that husband
Henry had predeceased her, and that her father was
James Plumb.
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| Map of Liverpool showing Wavertree, Childwall & Prescot in relation to West Derby |
2.2 GGGGGP James Plumb (1699-1742) & Ellen Penketh (1700-1742)
James Plumb was born and baptised at All Saints Church, Childwall, Liverpool, on 27 Dec 1699. Childwall was just three miles from West Derby. The family were living two miles from Derby at Wavertree at the time. At some point
GGGGGF James met his future wife
Ellen, who was born six miles away in Prescot.
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| Baptisms St Mary's, Prescot: Ellen daughter of John Penketh 23 Jun 1700 |
Ellen was baptised in Prescot (5 miles from West Derby) by her father John Penketh on 23 Jun 1700.
James Plumb 28 married Ellinn (Ellen) Penketh 33 (both of Derby Parish) on 17 Sep 1733 at Walton on the Hill. The marriage registration confirms that both of Ellen's parents were deceased at the time of her marriage. Two known daughters (twins) were born to James and Ellen Plumb nee Penketh.
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| Sept 11th 1737 Was baptised Catherine and Alice daughters of James Plumb |
GGGGM
Alice Plumb was baptised by her parents James and Ellen Plumb nee Penketh at St
Mary's, West Derby on 11 Sep 1737. The original baptismal entry suggests that
Alice had a twin sister named Catherine who was baptised at the same time. GGGGGM Ellen Plumb nee Penketh was 37, when her twin daughters were born, and because
of her age she may not have had any more children. In fact Ellen may have died
nine miles from West Derby, at Aughton in 1742.
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| Burials, St Peter, Liverpool 1742 Bottom Entry: 19 Feb 1742 James Plumb Occupation= "out oth work ho's" |
James Plumb 43 died in early 1742 and was buried on 19 Feb 1742 at St Peters, Liverpool. It seems he was living in the workhouse at that time, because his occupation was described by the phrase
"out 'oth work ho's". Several other people in the list have the same notation. Workhouses were often the last residence for people who were incapable of caring for themselves.
St Peter's seems to be the family church in the mid 1700's, because that was where
James was buried and where his daughter Catherine was married (see below).
2.3 Catherine Plumb (1737-?) Daughter of GGGGGP James & Ellen Plumb Catherine Plumb was baptised at the same time as her sister, and is believed to have been a twin sister to
GGGGM Alice Plumb
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| Marriages 24 March 1765 St Peters, Church St, Liverpool: James Tootle weaver married Catherine Plumb, spinster |
On 24 Mar 1765 Catherine 28 married weaver James Tootle at St Peter's Church in Liverpool (4 miles from West Derby). James signed his name but Catherine made her mark. No more references to Catherine Plumb nee Tootle have been found.
2.4 GGGGGGP John Plumb (1644-1711) & Catherine Unknown (c1667-?)
John Plumb may have been baptised at Omskirk (13 miles from Childwall) by his father Thomas Plumb on 25 Apr 1644.
John Plumb 36 married Elizabeth Brettergh at All Saints, Childwall, on 27 May 1680.
John was living at Grassendale and Elizabeth was living at Little Woolton at the time. The latter two locations are both in Liverpool and around two miles apart. The place of their marriage, Childwall, is in the same location about 2 miles from West Derby.
Elizabeth Plumb nee Brettergh died just nine months after her marriage in Feb 1681; probably in childbirth. The death record tells us that
John and Elizabeth had been living in her home town of Little Woolton. Around 1690
John married another woman, named
Catherine, but no marriage record has been found.
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| The first child born to GGGGGGF John Plumb was given his name. He may have been the son of John's second wife. |
Children were born to several John Plumbs in the late 1600's. The ones that were baptised at Childwall seem likely to have been fathered by 'our' John Plumb and his second wife Catherine. (That was where John was married in 1680). These seven children were John Plumb 1694, Mary Plumb 1697, GGGGGF James Plumb 1699, Hannah Plumb 1701, Catherine Plumb 1704, Thomas Plumb 1705 and Edmund Plumb 1707. All children were baptised at All Saints, Childwall and the family residence on all records was given as Wavertree (Less than two miles apart). The record of one child (Hannah), lists both parents as "John Plumb and Catherine". If Catherine was around 40 years old when she gave birth to her last child, she would have been born in the mid to late 1660's.
Two John Childs were buried at Childwall one in 1711 and another in 1729. Although there is no way of telling which was John senior b1644 and which was his son John b1694, it is very likely that John Child senior (at the age of 67) died at the earlier date.
2.5 GGGGGGP John Penketh (1651-1710) & Alice Boden (1654-1730)
John Penketh was born in Warrington and baptised by GGGGGGGF Thomas Penketh on 14 Sep 1651. He had at least eight siblings in the family; all baptised at St Elphin, Warrington. They were named Margaret Penketh 1646, Anna Penketh b1649, GGGGGGF John Penketh 1651, Thomas Penketh Jan 1655, Ellen Penketh Feb 1656, twins Joseph and Benjamin Penketh 12 Feb 1660, Bridget Penketh 24 Feb 1661 and James Penketh 1665. Going by the birth dates of his children John's father Thomas must have been married around 1645. At some time John moved nine miles to Eccleston St., Prescot where he met his future wife.
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Baptisms: Alice daughter of John Boaden (Boden) of Melling, tailor was baptised at St Thomas
|
Alice Boden/Boaden was baptised at St Thomas in Melling, Liverpool on 2 Jun 1654 by her father John Boden who was a tailor. Alice was the only known child born to John and his wife. GGGGGGF John Boden was not the only tailor in Melling at that time. There are at least six records listing Lawrence Boden, tailor of Melling as the father of baptised children. He was probably the brother of GGGGGGGF John Boden. At some stage daughter GGGGGGM Alice Boden moved eight miles to Eccleston St, Prescot where she met her future husband.
John Penketh married Alice Boden 30 on 9 Feb 1685 at St Mary's, Prescot. At the time they were both residents of Eccleston St, Prescot. The only known child born to John and Alice Penketh nee Bowden was GGGGGM Ellen Penketh baptised at St Mary's, Prescot on 23 Jun 1700.
GGGGGGF John Penketh 59 died at home in 1710 and was buried at St. Mary's Prescot on 24 Nov 1710, leaving his widowed wife to care for their young daughter GGGGGM Ellen Penketh.
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| Prescot burials 1730: Alice Penketh nee Boden widow was buried 2 Jan |
GGGGGGM
Alice Penketh nee Boden 75 died at home in 1730 and was buried at St. Mary's,
Prescot on 2 Jan 1730. Daughter Ellen married James Plumb in 1733 at Walton on the Hill
which was just a few miles from the place of her birth.
3.0 Eight Children of GGGGP Henry Boardman (1738-1795) Alice Plumb (1737-1810)
All eight children were baptised at West Derby Chapel and most lived their whole lives not far from their place of birth in the Liverpool area. Four of their sons (James, John, Edward and GGGF Thomas), one son-in-law and at least one grandson were joiners (carpenters/carvers).
3.1 James Boardman (1758-?)
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| Parish of West Derby Baptisms, 30 Nov 1758: James son of Henry Boardman |
James was baptised on 30 Nov 1758 by father GGGGF Henry Boardman in the Parish of West Derby. He was named after his mother's father, GGGGGF James Plumb.
James married Esther Forshore on 29 Jan 1799 at Walton, West Derby. Esther was born to Thomas and Sarah Forshaw in West Derby on 30 Mar 1771 and baptised at St Mary's on 25 Apr 1771. In 1845 Thomas Forshaw, joiner, is listed as the father at his daughter Rachel's marriage to Richard Thomas joiner in Liverpool. Thomas Forshaw may have been Esther's brother.
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| Baptisms Liverpool 1810: Born 4 Jun & baptised 2 Sep; daughter Jane of James Boardman joiner & Esther Forshaw |
James and Esther had four known children named Henry Boardman b1 Aug 1802, d 1829 at Walton, Sarah Boardman b1 Jun 1805, Jane Boardman b 4 Jun 1810 and Esther Boardman b11 Jul 1813. Baptism records for his children tell us that James was a joiner by trade and that he lived in Scotland Rd, Liverpool with his wife Esther Boardman nee Forshaw and family. Scotland Rd was less than two miles from Walton on the Hill and was where brother Edmund was living in 1826.
James and Esther Boardman's dates of death are unknown.
3.2 John Boardman (1761-1832)
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| Parish of West Derby Baptisms 7 Jun 1761 John son of Henry Boardman |
John was baptised at West Derby on 7 Jun 1861 by his father Henry Boardman. John's future wife Alice Charnock was born in the same area and baptised by her parents, John and Alice Charnock, on 21 Oct 1764. The two would have known each other for most of their lives.
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| Marriage Registration at Toxteth: John Boardman, joiner, married Alice Charnock in St James Chapel 21 Jan 1791 |
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| Marriages at St James, Toxteth 1791 John Boardman married Alice Charnock in 1791 |
The Banns of Marriage published for John Boardman 29 and Alice Charnock 24 included details of where they were living at the time. The Banns read " Banns of Marriage between John Boardman now resident in Derby in the Parish of Walton, who has resided there almost thirty years past [since 1761] and Alice Charnock now resident in the same place who has resided there twenty seven years past were published in this church Dec 19 & 26, 1790 & Jan 2,1791 & no impediment alleged. Our residence is as above expressed. Witness our hands this day, Jan 21, 1791". Signed by both parties. Toxteth is 4 miles from West Derby.
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| Baptisms West Derby 1791: Henry son of John & Allis Boardman born Nov 22, baptised December 4 |
John and Alice (Ally) Boardman had the following children baptised in the West Derby Chapel; Henry Boardman b22 Nov 1791, Jane Boardman 13 Jul 1797, Margaret Boardman b2 Nov 1799. Alice was 35 when she gave birth to her last known child.
Sadly John Boardman's three known children all died young. John and Alice's first child, Henry, died from fever at the age of 18 and was buried on 6 Jul 1809. Jane Boardman died at the age of 26 in 1823 at Toxteth Park and daughter Margaret Creighton nee Boardman (wife of Adam Creighton) died at the age of 27 in 1826 also at Toxteth Park. All three were buried at St Mary's, Walton on the Hill and have gravestones marking their graves.
There had been happy times in 1819 when John's daughter Margaret Boardman married Adam Creighton, joiner at St Mary's. Witnesses to the wedding were Alice Williams and Edward Musker. Perhaps daughter Margaret met her husband though her father's work as a joiner.
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| Burials Toxteth Park, Liverpool 1832: John Boardman was buried on 30 Nov |
John Boardman died in 1832 and was buried on 30 Nov 1832 at Toxteth Park, Walton On the Hill.
The date of death for his wife Alice Boardman nee Chanock is unknown.
3.3 William Boardman (1764-1844)
William Boardman was baptised by parents Henry and Alice Boardman nee Plumb on 12 Jun 1764 at West Derby Chapel. There
are two marriage records twenty years apart (in 1788 at Melling and in 1909 at Walton) for William Boardman, shoemaker of Walton,
marrying Ann Webster. As they are the only marriage records that fit the known
facts, one or both of them are probably right. Brother Edward was a witness at the first marriage.
William was listed as a
shoemaker in the first marriage and which throws some doubt on these records, as
four of his brothers were 'joiners'. Perhaps William was introduced to the
occupation by his father-in-law. The two marriages may have been a result of
his first wife dying and William taking his wife's cousin as his second wife,
but no death records have been found to support this contention. If this theory
is correct, his first wife would have died at the age of 40, after the birth of
the eighth child in 1807.
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| Marriages Melling, Lancashire 1788: William Boardman |
William
Boardman, shoemaker 24 of Walton married Ann Webster 21 year old spinster
"of Halsall Parish" (10 miles north of West Derby) at St Thomas
Chapel, Melling in 1788. One of the witnesses may have been William's brother
Edward/Edmund Boardman, although his signature seems to spell his Christian name
incorrectly (spelt "Edand"). William signed his name.
Ann
Webster's family lived at Bickerstaffe, but she was baptised at Ormskirk on 10
May 1767 by her father John Webster. Melling is just north of Kirkby, 7 miles
from West Derby and 5 miles from Bickerstaffe.
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| William Boardman & Ann Webster (both of this parish) were married by Banns 18 Dec 1809 |
After
the death of his first wife, William Boardman married another Ann Webster
(probably a cousin of his first wife) in the Parish of Walton On The Hill on 12
Dec 1809.
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| Baptisms St Peter's Liverpool 1780: AnnWebster daughter of Thomas Webster, cordwainer, baptised 30 Sep |
Ann Webster number two was baptised in 1780 in St Peters, Church St,
Liverpool. Her father Thomas Webster, was a cordwainer (shoe maker). William and Ann were both
"of this parish".
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| Baptisms West Derby 1813: Some of the baptism records listed father William Boardman as a cordwainer (shoemaker) |
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| Baptisms 1816 West Derby: John son of William Boardman shoemaker & wife Ann |
William and his wife (or two wives) had nine children; William Boardman b1789, Thomas Boardman (b1791 West Derby), Nancy Boardman (b14 Oct 1793), Alice Boardman (b3 Jul 1796), John Boardman (6 Oct 1798), Henry Boardman (3 Apr 1803), Edward Boardman 17 Aug 1805, Peter Boardman 29 Nov 1807 and Mary Boardman 12 Nov 1810 . All children were baptised in the Parish of West Derby.
NOTE: There were three other babies born to a William and Ann Boardman at West Derby, but as one was born within months of another and the other two had names that were the same as previous sons, they must have been born to a different couple. These three babies were James Boardman 11 Feb 1811, William Boardman 10 Aug 1813 and John Boardman 23 Sep 1816.
On 26 Dec 1813 at St James, Toxteth Park, William Boardman was one of the witnesses at sister Alice's marriage to blacksmith James Glover. William's second wife died in West Derby in 1838 leaving William a widower.
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| 1841 census West Derby |
In
1841, William Boardman 78, was living with his oldest son and his large family in
'Town Row' West Derby. There were thirteen people living in the house! No
occupation was listed so he was probably retired.
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| Burials West Derby 1844: William Boardman 81 was buried on 11 Apr |
William
Boardman died at the age of 81, and was buried at Walton On The Hill on 11 Apr
1844.
NOTE: Several of William's sons also became shoemakers, including first son
William Boardman (b1789), Henry Boardman b1803 and Peter Boardman (b1807)
became a shoemakers like their father. William b1789 married Sarah Orret in
Toxteth in 1812.
3.4 Henry Boardman (1767-1833)
Henry Boardman was born on 1 Sep 1767 and baptised by parents
Henry and Alice Boardman nee Plumb on 20 Sep 1767 at St Mary's, West Derby Chapel.
Henry married wife Ann/Nanny/Nancy Clemenson on 1 Dec 1788 at St James, Toxteth and they seem to have had ten children named Betty Boardman b2 Mar 1790 [H&N], Ann Boardman bAug 1792, Henry Boardman b27 Sep 1795 [H&N], Mary Boardman 22 Jan 1797 [H&A], Jane Boardman bMar 1800, West Derby, but died in Aug [H&N], Jane Boardman 25 Dec 1802 [H&A], James Boardman Jan 1805 and Alice Boardman bJan 1805 and died in March [twins born to H&N], Ann Boardman b6 Sep 1807 [H&A] and John Boardman b13 Apr 1810 [H&N], died 1818 aged 8. The preceding dates are birth dates. Generally baptisms were held a week or two later and all children were baptised in the parish of West Derby.
There is some confusion about the parentage of the above children because Henry's wife is listed under three different Christian names; Nanny, Nancy and Ann. All the children may have been born to the same woman because:
- Apart from the Christian name, all other details are identical e.g. surnames, husband's name and location.
- The three names are commonly interchangeable. The letters in square brackets above show parents initials eg H&N= Henry and Nancy or Nanny; H&A=Henry and Ann
- The children's birth years follow a typical pattern of a new child every two to three years, and over the twenty-two years this pattern is not broken.
- Apart from Jane, no names are repeated, which would have been likely if there were two different families involved. There is a record detailing the death of the first Jane in the same year as her birth.
- If Ann Clemenson was born to John Clemenson in 1769, she would have been 21 on the birth of her first child and 41 for the birth of her last child, which fits the normal pattern. There was an Ann Clemens baptised by "James Clemens" labourer at Liverpool on 29 Oct 1769.
However the following death records for three of the daughters indicate another possibility.
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| Burials at Walton 1805: 2 of Henry's daughters died; Ann (top) 21 Nov aged 13 & Alice (bottom) 12 Mar aged 2 mths |
Three daughters (Jane d1800, Ann d1805 and Alice d.1805) of "Henry and Ann Boardman", died and were buried at Walton on the Hill. In two of these burial records Henry's wife, Ann, is listed as the daughter of John Fleming. In the bottom record (for the death of daughter Alice in 1805) Henry's wife was listed as "Ann the daughter of John Cleemans" (Henry married Nanny/Ann Clemenson in Dec 1788 at Toxteth). More research may throw light on these inconsistencies.
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| Burials 1833: Henry Boardman 66 was buried at West Derby on 26 Jun 1833 |
Henry Boardman of Walton aged 66 died in 1833 and was buried at Walton on the Hill on 26 Jun 1833. The date of death for his wife Nanny/Nancy/Ann Boardman is unknown.
3.4a Henry Boardman (1795-1826) Son of Henry Boardman b1767
Henry Boardman was born 27 Sep 1795 to Henry b1767 and Nanny Boardman. He was a twin with his sister Alice. The baptism registration confirms their birth on the same day. He became a joiner like his father and married a woman named Dorothy Graham (b.1791) on 5 Jun 1814 at St James, Toxteth. Both were 'of the Parsh of Walton on the Hill'. Sister Mary b1797 was a witness. In 1815 son James was born to Henry and his wife. Daughters Ann and Elizabeth were born in West Derby in 1821 and 1825. According to baptism records Henry was a joiner. Tragically, Henry died in West Derby in 1826 aged 31. In 1851 Dorothy 58 was a widow living in Everton with unmarried daughter Elizabeth 26. Dorothy Boardman nee Graham died at Everton on 23 Aug 1862 aged 74.
Son of Henry James Boardman b1815, unmarried blacksmith of White St, Liverpool married
Elizabeth Robinson on 30 Sep 1841. His father was listed as Henry Boardman,
joiner.
3.4b Ann Boardman (1807-?) Daughter of Henry Boardman b1767
Ann was born in 1807 to Henry and Ann Boardman at Walton. She married butcher Peter Ellis b1810 in 1830 and had at least one child named Henry Ellis b1831. Peter died in 1836 at the age of 26. In 1838 as a widow Ann married policeman John Oakes in Liverpool. Ann's father was listed as Henry Boardman, joiner. Witnesses were Edward Lovatt and Jane Whitehead. Ann gave birth to a daughter named Ann in 1838. By 1841 Ann 30, John 35, Ann 3 and Henry 10 were living in Ashton.
3.5 Edmund Boardman (1770-1846)
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| West Derby Baptisms 1770: Edmund Boardman son of Henry & Alice Boardman |
Edmund/Edward
was born in 1770 and baptised by parents Henry and Ann Boardman nee Plumb
on 17 Apr 1770 at St Mary's, West Derby Chapel.
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| Marriages Liverpool 2 Mar 1794: Edmund Boardman of Liverpool, joiner, married Mary Appleton of the same Parish. |
On 2 Mar 1794, Edmund
Boardman, 24 year old joiner, married Mary Appleton b1769, spinster. Edmund and
Mary had at least two known children who both died young. Baptism registrations have not been found, but information about their deaths (and births) is below.
Daughter Elizabeth Boardman was born around the end of 1794 and died aged 18 months on 15 Apr 1796. Son John Boardman was born in 1799 and died at the age of 13 on 19 Sep 1812. Both children were buried at St Mary's, Walton on the Hill. It appears that Edmund's wife Mary Boardman nee Appleton, probably in her fifties, died some time in the next few years.
On 7 Apr 1824 Edmund Boardman 54 year old widower, remarried a much younger woman named Elizabeth Rawcliff nee Endow, 24 year old widow, in St Phillips Church (Hardman St-closed 1882) and they settled a short distance away in Blenheim St to have a family
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| Baptisms 1842 Edward son of Edmund & Elizabeth Boardman of Blenheim, joiner |
Children born to Edmund and Elizabeth were William Boardman 1826, William Boardman 1828, Thomas Boardman 1831, Charles Boardman 1833, Jane Boardman 1836, Amelia Boardman 1838, Edward Boardman 1840 (died as an infant) and Edward Boardman 1842. Elizabeth was in her early forties when she had her last baby. At all baptisms Edmund's occupation was given as 'joiner' and all but one occurred in St Peter's Church. The family were living at various addresses during this period including the following streets New Scotland Rd (1826), Collingwood St (1828 and 1831), Lime Kiln Lane 1833 and Blenheim Rd in 1842.
In 1834 Edmund was listed as a shopkeeper at 48 Limekiln Lane, near its intersection with Blenheim St. This was about 4 miles from Walton. Perhaps wife Elizabeth ran the shop, while Edmund carried on his joinery business.
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| 1841 census Edmund Boardman 70 year old joiner (top) living with children and grandchildren (bottom) |
In 1841 Edmund was living in Blenheim St, Liverpool with members of his family. The residents of the house were listed as Edmund Boardman 70 year old joiner, wife Elizabeth Boardman 40 and children John Boardman 20 year old sawyer, Thomas Boardman 12, Eliza Boardman 7, Jane Boardman 5, Amelia Boardman 3 and Edward Boardman 7 months. No record has been found listing son John Boardman. Perhaps he was born around 1817 to Edmund and his first wife, Mary, prior to her death.
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| Burials St Martins in the Fields Cemetery 1846 |
Edmund Boardman died at the age of 76 in 1846 at his home in Blenheim St, and was buried in St Martins in the Fields Cemetery, Liverpool on 6 Jan. Elizabeth Boardman nee Rawclife nee Endow of Blenheim St, died in Jan 1847 aged 46 and was buried in St Martins in the Fields Cemetery, Liverpool on 3 Jan 1847.
3.6 Ann Boardman (1773-1775)
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| Baptisms 1773 St Mary, Walton: Ann, daughter of Henry & Alice Boardman born Mar 12, Bapt Apr 13 1773 |
Ann was born on 12 Mar 1773 and baptised on 13 Apr by parents Henry and Alice Boardman nee Plumb at St Mary's, West Derby Chapel.
Ann Boardman died at the age of 2 and was buried at St Mary's on 14 Oct 1775.
3.7 GGGGF Thomas Boardman (1776-1843)
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| Baptisms 1776 St Mary, Walton: Thomas (Thos) son of Henry (Hy) & Alice Boardman born Nov 8 & bapt Dec 7th 1776 |
Thomas Boardman was born on 8 Nov 1776 and baptised by parents Henry and Alice Boardman nee Plumb on 7 Dec 1776 at St Mary's, West Derby Chapel. Thomas became a joiner and accomplished carver. During his life Thomas married twice. His second marriage to GGGGM Lucy Rivett produced five children. For more information about his life and descendants see below.
3.8 Alice Boardman (1783-1844)
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Baptisms 1783 St Mary, Walton: Alice Daughter of Henry & Alice Boardman born Jun 25, baptised July 6 1783 |
Alice was born 25 Jun 1783 and baptised by parents
Henry and Alice Boardman nee Plumb on 6 Jul at St Mary's, West Derby Chapel.
At the age of 30 Alice, spinster of Walton on the Hill, married blacksmith James Glover on 26 Dec 1813 at St James, Toxteth Park. Her brother William Boardman was one of the witnesses. Alice made her mark.
James and Alice Glover nee Boardman had the following children Robert Glover b1817, Jane Glover b1821, John Glover b1825, Joseph Glover b1828 and Alice Glover b1831. The records tell us that the family resided in West Derby and confirmed that James was a blacksmith by trade. Alice was 48 when she had her last baby.
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| Burials Leyland, Lancaster. Alice Glover 61 from Liverpool buried on 1 Feb 1844 |
Alice Glover nee Boardman died at the age of 61 and was buried 26 miles from Liverpool at Leyland on 1 Feb 1844.
4.0 GGGGGP William Boardman (c1713-1799) & Ann Boyes (1717-1753)
William Boardman was probably born in the early 1700's in the Liverpool area, but no definitive baptism record has been found. Possibly he was born as early as 1703 (See death record below).
At some stage
William Boardman met
Ann Boyes, who had been baptised by her parents in Kirkby in 1717.
William Boardman and Ann Boyes 21 were married in the Kirkby Chapel, Parish of Walton on the Hill on 30 Jan 1738. Their residence was listed as Kirkby. Ann must have been pregnant with her first son because he was born about six weeks after the marriage.
GGGGGP William and Ann Boardman nee Boyes had the following seven children all baptised in the Chapelry of Kirkby; GGGGF Henry Boardman b19 Mar 1738, Ann Boardman b3 Feb 1740-died 1753, Alice Boardman 11 Apr 1742-died 1753, William Boardman 29 Apr 1744, Margery Boardman b4 Nov 1746, but died as infant, John Boardman b30 Nov 1748 and Mary Boardman 23 Apr 1751-1751. Most of these baptism registrations indicate the family was living at nearby Simonswood (2 miles north of Kirkby). See 6.0 for information about the lives of the children.
It seems that the William had moved to Liverpool to devevelop his business by 1750, but according to baptism records the family were still residing at Simonswood at least part of the time (9 miles from Liverpool). There were births and burials at Kirkby during 1751-1752
In 1750/1 Two apprentices are listed as being employed by William Boardman, joiner of Liverpool. The apprentices were named William Gibbon and William Dickinson. In 1766 William Boardman, joiner of Liverpool employed an apprentice named James Hall. The latter record may be for William's oldest son also named William (b1744) who was also a joiner by trade.
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| 3 Burials at Kirkby 1752 for William's family=1st GGGGGM Ann Boardman, 5th Alice Boardman, 7th Ann Boardman |
1752 was a tragic year for GGGGGF William Boardman. GGGGGM Ann Boardman nee Boyes aged 36, died in July, and then the following month, two daughters died a week apart; Alice (Aliss) on 7 Aug and Ann on 15 Aug. All three were buried at Kirkby Chapel, Parish of Walton. There was a smallpox epidemic during this year and that was the likely cause of death.
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| Poll Book Liverpool 1761: William Boardman joiner of Thomas St was registered to vote |
After his wife's death William may have moved 6 miles into Liverpool where he set up his joinery business in Thomas St, where he was recorded in the Poll Book (electors roll) in 1761. He later moved to the next street Atherton St (see note below). In 1758 William married his second wife Alice Hesketh 28 (b1730) at St Mary the Virgin, Walton on the Hill, Liverpool. In 1766 William was listed in the Liverpool Directory as William Boardman, house carpenter, Thomas St. so he may have operated his business from the old address but been residing behind the shop in Atheron St. A directory listing 1774 lists the address as 46 Thomas St and occupation as joiner-wood, furniture & carriage trades.
William Boardman of West Derby may have died in Mar 1775. Probate was granted for the will of William Boardman 'yeoman' of West Derby in that year. If this was him, he was buried at St Marys, Walton on the Hill on 18 Mar 1775. However the occupation of yeoman suggest this was a different man
The above burial record fits well with what we know about the Boardman family. William Boardman a joiner by trade like his descendants, reputedly lived to the ripe old age of 96 and died in 1799 (b.1803) and was buried at St Peters in Liverpool on 5 Jun 1799. His listed abode was Atherton St, which was about three miles from Walton and West Derby (where most of his descendants resided).
NOTE 1: The Boardman Family tree of 'Leslie 4678' on Ancestry contains an old map of Liverpool which shows the location of both Thomas and Atherton Streets. They were adjacent parallel streets both running between Paradise Street and South Castle St. in the vicinity of present day Wall St. They no longer exist but this information is strong evidence that the 1799 burial record above is the correct one. William's eldest son, also named William, lived 200 metres from Thomas St at Derby Square, and may have worked with his father.
NOTE 2: St Peter's Churchyard was also the location of graves for William's daughter Mary Boardman 1751-22 May 1751. The burial record lists her father as William Boardman cabinet maker.
4.1 GGGGGGP John Boyes (c1680-1759) & Ann Cook (c1680-1737)
No likely baptism record has been found for
John Boyes, but he was probably born in Lancashire around 1680. His future wife,
Ann Cook, was probably also born around 1680 in the Croxteth area.
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| Marriages at Aughton 1702: Bottom Entry: John Boyse of West Derby & Ann Cook of Croxteth married 29 Jun 1702 |
John Boyes of West Derby and Ann Cook of Croxteth were married in Aughton on 29 Jun 1702. Aughton was 7 miles from Croxteth and 9 miles from West Derby. However, John probably met Ann at Croxteth, because the towns where they resided prior to their marriage were only two miles apart.
GGGGGGP John Boyes and Ann Cook had six known children who were Alice Boyes 1702–1774, William Boyes 1704–1793, Henry Boyes 1711–1720, John Boyes 1715–1759, GGGGGM Anne Boyes 1717–1752 and Margaret Boyes 1720–1722. At first the family lived in the West Derby area, but later moved to Kirkby.
GGGGGGM Ann Boyes died in her fifties in 1737 and was buried at Kirkby on 22 Apr 1737
GGGGGGF John Boyes 89, died 22 years later, and was buried beside his wife at Kirkby on 15 Oct 1759.
5.0 Six Children of GGGGGGP John Boyes (c1680-1759) & Ann Cook (c1680-1737)
The first four children were baptised at St Mary's, West Derby, and the final two at the chapel in Kirkby. Only two children lived past their forties.
5.1 Alice
Boyes (1702–1774)
Alice Boyes was baptised by her parents on 18 Oct 1702 at West Derby a few months after they were married. Alice married James Bradburn, on 6 Jun 1729 at Childwall (7 miles south of Kirkby). Together they had six children, mostly born at nearby Prescot (5 miles from Childwall).
Alice Bradburn nee Boyes died at the age of 72 in 1774 and was buried at Prescot on 22 Nov 1774.
5.2 William Boyes (1704–1777)
William Boyes was baptised by his parents on 22 Nov 1704 at West Derby. The family were living at Woodside at that time.
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| Marriages West Derby 1729; Bottom: 14 Apr 1729; William Boyes & Alice Bromylow, both of West Derby were married |
William Boyes 24 married Alice Bromylow on 14 Apr 1729 at West Derby. They were both residents of that parish. William and Alice had at least ten children including a set of twins. At least eight of these were baptised at Kirkby. The death records for four of the children list Simonswood as the family's place of abode, so that was probably where they lived.
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| Burials at Kirkby Chapel 1777: Bottom Feb (ditto) 11th William Boyes |
William Boyes died in 1777 aged 73 and was buried at Kirkby on 11 Dec 1777.
5.3 John Boyes (1709–1737)
John Boyes was baptised by his parents on 5 Jun 1709 at West Derby.
John 23 married Ellen Lee at Kirkby on 5 Aug 1732
John and Ellen had at least two children born in the 1730's at Kirkby; Henry Boyse b18 May 1735 and John Boyse b6 Jan 1737. The family abode was listed as Prescot. The end of the 1730's was the start of some very sad times for John's family.
John 28 died in 1737 at Prescot and was buried on 6 Jan 1737 at Kirkby, leaving his widow with two young children to provide for.
In 1742 John's wife Ellen Boyse nee Lee buried her second son John Boyse who was only 5 years old.
5.4 Henry Boyes (1711–1720)
Henry Boyes was baptised by his parents on 10 Jun 1711 at West Derby. The family were living at Derby at that time.
Sadly Henry died at the age of 9, and was buried at Kirkby on the 14 Oct 1720.
5.5 GGGGGM Anne Boyes (1717–1752)
Ann Boyes was baptised by her parents on 22 Oct 1717 at Kirkby.
Ann Boyes married
William Boardman in Kirkby Chapel, Parish of Walton on the Hill on 30 Jan 1738.
GGGGGP William and Ann Boardman nee Boyes had seven children. See above for more about their married life and 6.0 for details of their children.
5.6 Margaret Boyes (1720–1722)
Margaret Boyes was baptised by her parents on 10 Jan 1720 at Kirkby.
Sadly Margaret died in 1722 and was buried at Kirkby Cemetery on 9 Mar 1722.
6.0 Seven Children of GGGGGP William Boardman (?-1799) & Ann Boyes (1717-1753)
All children were baptised in the parochial Chapel at Kirkby with some records indicating that the family were residing at Simonswood, which was a hamlet two miles from Kirkby. Baptism records for the first two children indicate overlapping years (eg 1737/8), because officially the month of March ended the year at that time. However today we regard Jan to Mar to be in the new year.
6.1 GGGGF Henry Boardman (1738-1795)
Henry was baptised at Kirkby Chapel by his father on 19 Mar 1738. As the first son, he was possibly named after his grandfather. At some stage
Henry moved 6 miles from the family home at Simonswood to West Derby where he married
GGGGM Alice Plumb in 1758. For more details of his married life see 3.0
6.2 Ann Boardman (1740-1753)
Ann was baptised at Kirkby Chapel by her father on 3 Feb 1740. As the first daughter she was named after her mother.
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| Burials at Kirkby 1753 Top= Alice Boardman; Bottom= Ann Boardman |
Sadly Ann, her sister Alice and her mother all died within a month of each other in 1753 and were buried in the churchyard of Kirby Chapel. Ann was only13 years old.
6.3 Alice Boardman (1742-1753)
Alice was baptised at Kirkby Chapel, Walton by her father on 11 Apr 1742. She was named after her mother's older sister Alice Boyes b1702. Sadly Alice, her sister Ann and her mother all died within a month of each other in 1753 and were buried in the churchyard of Kirby Chapel. Alice was only 11 years old. (See burial record above)
6.4 William Boardman (1744-1817)
William was baptised at Kirkby Chapel, Walton by his father on 29 Apr 1744. As the second son, he was named after his father and later became a joiner, the same occupation as his father..
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| Marriages St George, Derby Square. William Boardman of Liverpool, joiner married Margery Jackson 25 Sep 1768 |
On 25 Sep 1768, at the age of 24, William Boardman, joiner, married widow Margery Jackson (unknown maiden name) at St George's Church, Derby Square, Liverpool. Margery was a widow from Sefton (7 miles from Liverpool). Derby Square was just 200 meters from William's father's joinery shop and residence in Thomas St. William was a joiner like his nephew Thomas b1776, and his father (see father's death record above) and perhaps he worked with his father.
No birth records for children born to William and Margery have been found. Margery Boardman died just three years after the marriage in 1781 and was buried at St George, Liverpool. The burial record confirms that William's occupation was joiner. There is a probate record in Liverpool for William Boardman 'carver' dated 18 Mar 1817, so it seems William died earlier in that year. His nephew
GGGF Thomas Boardman also became a renouned wood carver so perhaps William was his teacher.
6.5 Margery Boardman (1746-1746)
Margery was born on 4 Nov 1746, but died soon after and was baptised posthumously.
6.6 John Boardman (1748-1834)
John was baptised at Kirkby Chapel, Walton by his father on 30 Nov 1748. He was possibly named after his grandfather on his mother's side. The family abode was listed as Simonswood.
In 1776, at the age of 25 John probably married Elizabeth Rimmer 17 (almost 18) at St Mary's, Walton, and both were listed as 'of this parish'. Elizabeth was baptised on 23 Sep 1759 at Walton by her father Henry Rimmer of Kirkdale (one mile from Walton), waterman. In 1798 a John Boardman was resident in Hay or Kay St near Denison St. in Liverpool, about 1 mile from his father's shop in Thomas St.
John died in 1834 at the age of 86 (correct age) and was buried at Sephton on 4 Nov. His residence was listed as Litherland which is about 2 miles south of Sephton. Probate was granted in Sep and listed John as formerly of Sephton, yeoman.
6.7 Mary Boardman (1751-1751)
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| Baptisms at Kirkby Chapel giving the family residence as Simonswood |
Mary was baptised at Kirkby Chapel by her father on 23 Apr 1751 and the family were still residing at Simonswood. M
ary died as an infant and was buried at St Peter's Churchyard on 22 May 1751. The burial record lists her
father as William Boardman cabinet maker.
7.0 GGGF Thomas Boardman (1776-1843)
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| Baptisms West Derby bottom entry: Thomas (Thos) Son of Henry (Hy) & Alice Boardman b8 Nov & bapt 1 Dec 1776 |
Thomas Boardman was born 8 Nov 1776 and baptised 1 Dec 1776 at West Derby Chapel by parents Henry Boardman (b1737 Kirkby) and Alice Plumb (born 1737 West Derby, 5 miles from Kirkby).
7.1
GGGF Thomas Boardman & Esther Simkin (1772-1833)
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| Thomas Boardman married Esther Simkin at St Anne's, Richmond (4 miles from West Derby), Liverpool on 20 Aug 1797 |
Esther is not in our family line, but her four children were
half siblings to Thomas’ children from his second marriage. (See 9.0)
Thomas' first marriage (at the age of 20) was to Esther
Simpkin 25 on 20 Aug 1797. They were married at St Anne’s Church in Richmond or Cazneau St, Everton, Liverpool with
Thomas’ occupation listed as ‘joiner’. Thomas signed his name, but Esther made her mark. Four of Thomas' brothers and possibly his father were also joiners (see above).
St Anne’s was only about 3 miles from West Derby, where Thomas Boardman lived. It is interesting to note that the church was built at the expense of two (wealthy) cabinet makers. Perhaps this area was a centre for the wood working trade!
Esther Simkin (1772-1833)
Not much is known about Esther
Simkin’s early life, apart from the fact that her parents were John Simkin, gunsmith, (b1732 Winwick) and Margaret (Peggy) Bridge who was baptised 6 miles from Winwick in Leigh in 1740. Esther's parents were married at Warrington in 1758 and lived at Burtonwood.
Children born to the family and baptised in Burtonwood were Edward Simkin 1758, John Simkin 1760, Hannah Simkin 1762, Margaret Simkin 1764, Thomas Simkin 1766, Betty Simkin 1768, Samuel Simkin 1771, Esther Simkin 12 July, 1772, Joseph Simkin 1774, Mary Simkin 1775, Ephraim Simkin 1777, Benjamin Simkin 1779, Jonathon Simkin 1782 and David Simkin 1784. Margaret (Peggy) gave birth to fourteen children and had the last baby when she was 44. Margaret Simkin nee Bridge aged 64, died at Winwick in 1804 and John Simkin 81 died in Winwick ten years later in 1814. Burtonwood, Winwick and Warrington are all within a few miles of each other and less than 15 miles from West Derby. Esther and possibly her parents must have moved to West Derby by the mid 1790's because she was listed as 'of this parish' on the marriage record.
7.2 Thomas Boardman & Esther at Ashton Under Lyne?
It seems that soon after their marriage Thomas and Esther moved to Aston under Lyne where two sons (Ralph and William) were born. Information in this section is based on a handful of records but the facts do seem to align with our tree because:-
- The names of the parents are correct. It is unlikely that there was another couple with the same names, living in broader Liverpool area and having children at this time
- The birth dates of the children align with a marriage date of 1797 and fit reasonably well with the birth years of later daughters.
- The second son was named after Thomas' grandfather and a grandson was later named after Ralph Boardman b1799
- Ashton Under Lyne is 37 miles from Liverpool, but on a major transport route. It is also 26 miles from the Warrington area where most of Esther's family resided.
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| Baptisms 1799 Stamford St Methodist New Connection in Ashton, Ralph Boardman to Thomas & Esther Boardman |
The first son was Ralph Boardman born on 12 Aug 1799 and baptised two days later at Stamford St Methodist New Connection in Ashton. His parents were listed as
Thomas and Esther Boardman "of this parish".
A second son, William Boardman was born on 13 Feb 1801 and also baptised at the Stamford St Methodist New Connection Church. The family were living at Ashton Under Lyne.The New Connection Chapel was erected in 1797 and became known as the Methodist New Connection. At this time many people were turning away from the established church (Church of England) and joining independent churches. As the Industrial Revolution got underway the population of Manchester exploded. Between 1770 and 1800 the population of Ashton grew by 300 per cent to 8,000. There would have been many work opportunities for tradesmen. As
Thomas was a joiner by trade, he may have gained a job as a carpenter fitting out the new chapel.
If the above couple are our Thomas and Esther, they must have moved back to Liverpool soon after the birth of William in Feb 1801, because their first daughter, Ann Marie Boardman was probably born late the following year. Ther is a record that suggests that Thomas and Esther may have had a son named Thomas Boardman (See 8.1) but no other records have been found. If this is so he was probably born around 1805 after the family moved to Liverpool.
7.3 The Move to Cambridge
Sometime after 1802, Thomas and Esther moved 190 miles to Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. We know this, because Thomas and Esther’s second daughter Frances Boardman was born in 1813 at Cambridge.
On 25 Aug 1833,
Thomas’ wife Esther Boardman nee Simkin died in All Saints Parish Cambridge
aged 59 (really 61) leaving Thomas as a 56 year old widower.
GGGF Thomas Boardman (1776-1843) was a master carver and
restored choir stalls at King’s College, Cambridge (less than one mile from his home in Sun St.). This may have been the
reason for the move to Cambridge. In 1812 he carved a magnificent tournament
horse and rider (a knight) from one piece of wood. This piece is held as a
family heirloom by one branch of the family. See photo below and for more information see 13.8b.
8.0 Four children of GGGF Thomas Boardman (1776-1843) & Esther Simkin (1772 -1833)
Thomas and Esther Boardman probably had four children, but considering the decade long gap from 1802 to 1813 between their births, it is likely that there were more.
8.1 Ralph Boardman (1799-c1865)
Ralph Boardman was born on 12 Aug 1799 and baptised two days later at Stamford St Methodist New Connection in Ashton. His parents were listed as Thomas and Esther Boardman "of this parish". Around 1802 the family moved 40 miles to Liverpool, but at some stage it
seems that Ralph returned to Ashton where her remained for the rest of
his life. In 1726 Ralph married Alice Higinbottom in Yorkshire. He was listed as Ralph Boardman of Ashton. In 1833 his mother died.
The Ashton Trade Directory of 1832 lists three Boardmans, all plumbers and glaziers. They were Ralph, Thomas and William. As the latter two could not have been Ralph's sons, they were probably his brothers! Ralph's address was listed as 142 Stamford St (house) and 23 Booth St (shop?). If Thomas was a son of Thomas Boardman b.1776, Thomas junior must have died before 1839 when another son was given that name.
In 1841 the family was living in Stamford Street, Ashton and Ralph 41 worked as a plumber and glazier. In 1851 Ralph Boardman 51 year old rent collector was living at Ashton in Guide Lane with his wife Alice Boardman 48 (b.1803 Ashton) and four children William 22, Esther 21, Sarah 19 and Thomas 17. Two of his children were named after his parents. In 1852 eldest son William married Margaret Eastwood at the Methodist New Connection Chapel. By 1861 Ralph 61 and Alice 58 were living in Union Rd with daughter Sarah 29. Ralph probably died in the 1860's because wife Alice was living alone with daughter Sarah in 1871.
8.2 William Boardman (1801-?)
William Boardman was born on 13 Feb 1801 and baptised at the
Stamford St Methodist New Connection Church. The family were living at
Ashton Under Lyne. The Ashton Trade Directory of 1832 lists three Boardmans, all plumbers and glaziers. They were Ralph, Thomas and William Boardman, all living at different addresses. William's address was listed as 81 Old St. No more is known about William.
8.3 Ann Marie Boardman (1802-1878)
Thomas and Esther’s first daughter, Ann Marie Boardman, was born around 1802 in Liverpool. No birth registration has been found, so her birth year is based on the average age given in various censuses. She was possibly born and baptised in late 1802 in one of the independant churches. This may explain the lack of records. She moved to Cambridge with her parents prior to 1813 and that is where her younger sister was born. Her place of birth is also taken from the census returns.
At the very young age of sixteen to eighteen (the age of consent
at the time was 21), on 11 Oct 1818,
Ann Maria Boardman, married William Walter
Langford at St Andrew’s Church, Cambridge. William’s occupation was
given as carpenter. Ann possibly met William through her father's work as a wood
carver.
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| 1841 Census |
The 1841 census listed William Langford, 41 year old carpenter, and Ann Langford nee Boardman 39 living at the back of Wellington Row, Gloucester Place, Cambridge with their family of six children; Mary Ann Langford 20, Henry Langford 17, George Langford 11, Joshua Langford 10, Esther Langford 7 and Charles Langford 5.
Sadly Anne's husband, William Walter Langford, died on 30 May 1842 at Cambridge. This was doubly tragic as Ann Maria Langford was pregnant with her last child, Alfred Langford, who was born in the following year. The fact that Ann Langford nee Boardman gave birth to a child in 1843, is another indicator of her year of birth. As women rarely gave birth after the age of 40, this tends to confirm a year of birth of 1802. At about this time, son Henry Langford, became involved in criminal activities (see 8.1b below).
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| 1851 Census |
By 1851, Ann Langford nee Boardman 47 was a widowed dressmaker still
living in Gloucester Place. She had become a dressmaker to earn income to
support her family. The children living at home were Harriet Langford 24, Esther
Langford 17 and Alfred Langford 8. Son George Langford 21 was a baker living and working at a bakery in St Andrews St at this time.
In 1861 the family home was now at 25 James
St., Cambridge. Ann Maria Langford nee Boardman 58 had extended her skills to
include being a milliner as well as a dressmaker, Esther Langford 27 was a shoe
binder and Alfred Langford 18 was a railway servant. Ann’s son Charles 25 labourer
had moved back into the family home with his wife Hannah Langford 21 and their
three week old daughter Harriett Langford. In 1865 son Alfred married in London. His father's occupation was listed as carpenter.
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| 1871 Census |
In 1871 Ann M Langford 71 was still a dressmaker, but she had moved in with the family of her youngest son; Alfred Langford 25, butcher’s clerk. The other members of the household consisted of Clara Langford 26, Rosa Ann Langford 4 and Edwin C Langford 3. Ann Maria Langford nee Boardman died on 16 Dec 1878 aged 76 at Cambridge.
8.1b Henry Langford (1824-1903) Son of Ann Marie Boardman
Henry Langford was born to Ann Marie Langford nee Boardman on 25 April 1824 at Holy Trinity Parish, Cambridge and baptized on 25 April 1824. He was the son of William Walter Langford and Ann Maria Boardman. Henry Langford was an apprentice baker in 1839 at Cambridge but crossed paths with the law in that year. He was charged with stealing silver spoons on 20 August 1839 and at the age of 16, he was sentenced to a fortnight in gaol for larceny. He was living with his family at the time of the census in 1841 (see above). His first experience in gaol apparently did not dissuade him from a life of crime and in 1842 he was convicted of breaking into a counting house and stealing a flute, powder flask, shot belt and four spoons.
At his trial in Cambridge aged 18, he was sentenced to 10 years transportation to Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) He was transported on 14 August 1842 from Plymouth, England to Hobart Town, Van Diemens Land. This was the third voyage of the convict ship 'Moffat' and it embarked from Plymouth, arriving on 28 November 1842, a voyage of 106 days.
After serving his sentence, a certificate of leave was granted on the 20th of September 1852. In anticipation of his release Henry had married 'Sarah Ellen Ingham' in July 1852 (The marriage registration listed the wrong surname). On most of the children's birth registrations, Sarah's surname was listed as 'Lupton'. Sarah Lupton was born in Tasmania on 29 Jul 1833. Henry and Sarah were married in Hobart at the Independent Church and Henry was described as a sawyer, which was the same occupation as his father-in-law; John Lupton. Presumably Henry was working for or with his father-in-law. As she was only 19, Sarah was listed as a minor.
Henry and Sarah went on to have a family of six children; Frances Elizabeth b18 May 1854, William b5 January 1857, Ester b9 June 1860, Sarah Helena b5 November 1863, John Thomas born 6 December 1866 and Henry George Arthur b17 December 1872.
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| One of three death notices placed in Hobart papers. The Mercury 18 Jul 1903 |
Henry Langford died at Gordon, Tasmania in 1903. His wife Sarah Langford nee Lupton died in Hobart in 1909. Interestingly Henry was the only one of his siblings known to have survived into the 20th century and was the first of our Boardmans to move to Australia. Not by his choice of course!
8.2 Frances Boardman (1813-1872)
Frances was born in 1813 at Cambridge, but as with her sister, no baptism record has been found.
On 19 Oct 1835,
Frances Boardman married George Moore, also a carpenter. A witness at Frances’
wedding was her step aunt, Mary Ann Rivett b1809, sister of GGGF Thomas’ new wife
GGGM Lucy Rivett. Six years later, in 1841, George Moore 28 carpenter and wife
Frances Moore 28 were living in Wellington Place not far from sister Ann Maria
Langford nee Boardman. George and Frances Moore had three children who were
Frederick Moore 5, George Moore 3 and Maryann Moore 1. Sadly Mary Ann seems to have died later that year (Camdex).
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| 1851 Census: Cambridge |
Frances lived in Wellington Row, Place or Street for the rest of her life. It may have even been the same house, and the street name changed over time. In 1851 George Moore 38 carpenter and Frances Moore 40 were listed at Wellington Row with their children Frederick Thomas Moore 15, George Moore 13, Albert Moore 7 and Clara Moore 3. In 1861, the listing was a bit more specific at 12 Wellington St. George Moore 47 carpenter and joiner and Frances Moore 48 were living with children Albert Moore 17 carpenter and joiner and Clara Moore 13. Son Frederick Thomas Moore had also become a carpenter and he was living close by in Wellington Passage with his wife and son.
In 1871 the listing was much the same except everyone’s age had advanced by ten years. There were George Moore 58 carpenter and joiner, Frances Moore 59, Albert Moore 27 carpenter and Clara Moore 24. Frances Moore nee Boardman died on the 27 Nov 1872 aged 59 in Cambridge.
Both sisters married men that worked in the wood working field and could easily have met their future husbands through their father’s work as a master carver.
9.0
GGGP Thomas Boardman (1776-1843) & Lucy Rivett (1811-1846)
Thomas must have found life very lonely after the death of
Esther, because just over a year later on 22 Dec 1834 at St Andrews, Barnwell,
Cambridge, he married his second wife GGGM Lucy Rivett (Pallots Marriage Index).
Thomas was getting on in age at 57 and Lucy was less than half his age at 23
years old.
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| St Andrew the Less Church, Cambridge |
Lucy was born in 1811 at Wortham, Suffolk to GGGGP John
Rivett and Lucy Rodwell and had moved 45 miles to Cambridge with her parents in the early 1800's. See Rivett Section for details about GGGM Lucy Rivett’s life and
ancestors.
Thomas and Lucy continued to live in Cambridge after their
wedding. During the first five years of their marriage, Lucy bore four
children and their baptism records informs us that the family were living in Sun St.. Son Henry Boardman was born in 1835 and daughter Lucy Elizabeth
Boardman in 1837. Sadly their first son, Henry, died in 1838 at the age of 3, but
the following year GGGM Lucy Boardman nee Rivett had twins Thomas b1839 and
Mary b1839.
 |
| 1841 Census: Sun St, St Benedict, Cambridge |
The census of 1841 indicated that the family were still living at Sun
St., Cambridge. Living in the house at this time were GGGF Thomas Boardman 60
carpenter, wife GGGM Lucy Boardman 30 and children Lucy 4, Mary 2 and Thomas 2.
Also living with them was GGGGM Lucy Kinck 65 c1776 (see 9.1). Later that year on 29 Jul 1841 their fifth and final child, another Henry, was born in Sun St. (named after his
deceased brother and grandfather). Lucy was the informant on the birth registration and 'made her mark' which indicates she could not write her name. The certificate also comfirmed Lucy's maiden name as 'Rivett'.
NOTE: Thomas probably met Lucy when she was living in Sun St., Cambridge. Lucy's father John/James Rivett was living there in 1833 when he died, and Thomas and Lucy married each other during the following year, so possibly they were living in the same house in 1841. Lucy's widowed mother (remarried and widowed again) could have been living in the house too.
9.1 Mystery of Lucy Kinck b1772
Lucy Kinck was listed as living with Thomas and Lucy Boardman nee Rivett in the 1841 census. She does not appear in any other birth, marriage or death records, which means there are many questions unanswered. The census tells us she was 65. As ages were round down she was born before 1776 and somewhere other than Cambridgeshire. Lucy Kinck b1772 is often assumed to be GGGM Lucy Boardman nee Rivett’s mother (i.e. wife of GGGGF John Rivett c1772 (See Rivett Tree). However, if this was indeed the case, her married surname would have been Rivett unless she remarried after the death of her husband who died in 1836. The puzzle has a few other intriguing aspects.
In 1861 John Kinke 19 (b1832) was living with James Rivett 39 b1812 (see Rivett Tree) and his family at 151 East Rd Cambridge. His surname is a bit hard to read and is so close to Kinck (itself an unusual surname), that it raises the question “Was John Kinke 19 (b1812) possibly a grandson of Lucy Kinck nee Rivett nee Rodwell b1772?”
Another possibility is that Lucy Kinck was actually Lucy Rodwell, who later married a man named Kinck. Some of the Rivett children have Lucy Rodwell Rivett as their mother on their birth registrations. The middle name ‘Rodwell’ could be her maiden name.
Lucy Rodwell was born in Wortham in 1772. At the age of 32 she married John Rivett in 1804 at Wortham. Their six known children were Hannah Rivett b1806, John Rivett b.1806 (Twin?), Mary Ann Rivett b1809, GGGM Lucy Rivett b1811, James Rivett b1812 and Harriet Rivett b1814 at Wortham. The fact that there seems to be twins suggests a genetic link with daughter Lucy who also had twins.
9.2 Tragic deaths of GGGP Thomas Boardman (1776-1843) & Lucy Rivett (1811-1846)
GGGF Thomas Boardman died on the 12 Jun 1843 at East Rd Cambridge at the age of 66. The cause of death was recorded as dropsy.
NOTE: (from medicine.net): In the past, a person might have been said to have dropsy. Today one would be more descriptive and specify the cause. Thus, the person might have edema due to congestive heart failure, which may have been passed down genetically.
Three years later in 1846, his
wife GGGM Lucy Boardman nee Rivett died at the young age of 35. Lucy was buried at Cambridge on 3 Nov 1846. This tragic
event left Lucy’s four young children Lucy 9, twins Thomas 7 and Mary 7 and
young GGF Henry 5 as orphans. Lucy Boardman nee Rivett’s mother had died in 1844 so the children
were dispersed among Lucy’s siblings. The eldest daughter Lucy Boardman b1837
lived with William and Harriet Ingle nee Rivett (See Rivett Tree), Thomas b1839 lived
with Robert and Hannah Smith nee Rivett, Mary lived with her
unmarried aunt, Mary Ann Rivett in Jeremiah Thring’s house and the
youngest GGF Henry Boardman, was sent to the District Orphan Working School in Kentish
Town (see 11.2).
GGGF Thomas Boardman’s children by his first marriage, Ralph, William, Anne Marie and Francis Boardman were all adults at this stage and were living independently in Lancashire. (See 8.0)
10.0 Five Children of GGGP Thomas Boardman (1776-1843) & Lucy Rivett (1811-1846)
Although members of the Boardman family could read and write, their surname was often written as 'Birdman' in documents. Perhaps that was a result of their accent, and whoever was writing the name wrote it as they heard it phonetically.
10.1 Henry Boardman (1835-1838)Henry was born in Feb 1835 at Sun St, Cambridge. He was their first child of the second marriage and was named after Thomas' father and christened at St Andrew the Less, Cambridge on 29 Apr 1835. Sadly young Henry died as an infant in May 1838 aged 3. He was buried at St Andrew The Less on 12 May 1835.
10.2 Lucy Elizabeth Boardman (1837-1901)
 |
| Extract from 1851 Census Cambridge: Lucy Boardman 14 b1837 in Baythorne, Suffolk |
Lucy was born in Baythorne on 7 Mar 1837 and christened on 25 May 1837 at
St Andrew the Less, Cambridge. The 1851 census records her
birthplace as Baythorne, Suffolk which is about 20km south east of Cambridge. Perhaps the family stayed at Baythorne for a period, whilst Thomas completed some work
on site (this hamlet contains several notable buildings). Lucy Elizabeth Boardman lived
with her parents in her early years. Her father, GGGGF Thomas Boardman 66 died in 1843
when she was 6, and tragically three years later she was left an orphan, when
her mother Lucy Boardman nee Rivett died in 1846.
10.2a Lucy Elizabeth Boardman (Orphaned at age of 6)
Lucy and her siblings were split up and cared for, mostly by their mother’s sisters. Lucy went to live with her aunt Harriet Ingle nee Rivett.
 |
| 1851 Census Cambridge: Lucy was living with the Ingle Family (Aunt Harriet Ingle nee Boardman) |
The 1851 census listed the household living at Magdalene St Cambridge as William Ingle 41 ironmonger, Harriet Ingle nee Rivett 38, their children William George Ingle 17 ironmonger’s shopman, Isabella Ingle 10, James Ingle 9, John Ingle 8, Henry Ingle 6, Fanny Ingle 5, Joseph Ingle 3, Frederick Ingle 18mth, Mary Ann Ingle 1mth, Sarah Grist 66 (a widow and nurse), and niece Lucy Boardman 14 who was listed as a servant rather than a niece. Magdalene St was less than a mile from her previous home in Sun St. Cambridge. Lucy's uncle William Ingle was an ironmonger. He was possibly working for Jeremiah Thring, who was an ironmonger living nearby at 20 Hill Rd. Lucy's sister Mary lived wit her unmarried aunt Mary Rivett in Jeremiah's house. See Rivett Tree for more about Jeremiah Thring and Mary Ann Rivett.
10.2b Lucy Elizabeth Boardman migrated to Australia
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| Passenger List for 'Malvina Vidal' 1853: Single Females. Bottom; Birdman, Lucy, 16, General House Servant |
Lucy must have been unhappy with her life, or very adventurous, because on 6 Mar 1853 at the age of 16, and unaccompanied, she along with 98 other single women boarded the 959-ton ship 'Malvina Vidal' in Plymouth and sailed to NSW, Australia. At this time (the gold rush era) there was a shortage of single women, and the colonial government was offering free passage for women to come to the colony to try and balance the gender mix. The ship's log recorded her name as 'Lucy Birdman', a general servant, who could read and write and her religion was listed as “independent”. She was the youngest of the single women, who were mostly in their twenties.
The above article, published after Lucy disembarked from the Malvina Vidal, refutes a report of 'scandalous' behaviour on board Lucy's ship.
 |
| Empire 24 Jun 1853 |
The 'Malvina Vidal'
arrived in Sydney on 20 Jun 1853 and the immigrants were offered for hire a few days later. Lucy was probably sent
off to a rural farm to work as a servant.
Five years later on 15 Sep 1858, Lucy 22, met and married Thomas George Kitt in the Wesleyan Chapel, Goulburn, NSW. The marriage registration listed Lucy's parents as
Thomas Birdman (sic) and
Lucy Rivett. Although Thomas Kitt was not a direct relative he has been given his own chapter to describe his colourful life. See 12.0 for details regarding Lucy Elizabeth Boardman's married life with Thomas George Kitt.
In 1859 Lucy gave birth to her first child at Goulburn, but soon after, the family moved to Brisbane and then in 1867 they moved to Gympie. Altogether she had at least eleven children and many grandchildren.
Lucy died 17 Apr 1901 and was buried in the Gympie Cemetery on 17 Apr 1901. .Cause of death was 'cancer uteri and exhaustion'
Lucy's Death Certificate was filled in by her son Thomas George Kitt, and contained two errors. It listed her parents as 'Henry' (should be Thomas) Boardman, joiner, and Lucy Rivett; and states her place of birth as Hitchin (should be either Cambridge or Baythorn). Lucy's childhood was traumatic with the loss of her parents, when she was so young, and she may not of talked about her early life with her own children because of this.
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| Lucy E Kitt nee Boardman and daughter Beatrice Lilian Newbery nee Kitt |
Lucy Elizabeth Kitt nee Boardman bore 11 children between 1859 and
1881.
The names of the nine of her children, who were still alive at the time of her death, were listed on the death certificate.
10.2c Eleven Children of George Thomas Kitt & Lucy Elizabeth Boardman
For more information about each descendant see the following website
http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~waldock/genealogy/waldock&g/pafg153.htm#7897
i. Amelia Millicent Kitt born in Goulburn (1859-1911) and married John Lidgard at Gympie in 1880. They had six children.
ii. Thomas George Kitt (1861-1908) born at Yorks Hollow (Victoria Park, Brisbane) and married Ellen Selina Fraser. Thomas died on 28 February 1908 whilst on a visit to Melbourne and his funeral was held at GGF Henry Boardman’s residence. His death was caused by ‘bright's disease, nephritis, kidney complications and urine in the blood’. Although he died in Melbourne, Thomas' home was at Oakview Farm, Kilkivan, Queensland, north-west of Gympie.
iii. Henry Robert Kitt (1863-1866) born in Qld and died in Brisbane as an infant,
iv. Harold Kinburn Kitt (1865-1947) born in Qld, married Emma Waldcock in 1903 and died in 1947 at Granville in NSW. There is a site dedicated to the Waldcock Family Tree on the internet.
v. Elizabeth Lucy Kitt (1867-1951) born at Bowen Hills Qld. She married Thomas Lidgard (b1866) in 1887 at Gympie (Thomas Lidgard's brother John married Elizabeth Kitt's sister Amelia). In May 1889 Elizabeth and Thomas looked after her uncle GGF Henry Boardman and his family when they first came to Australia from England in May 1889 (See 11.0). Elizabeth died at Fairfield NSW in 1951
vi. Henry Albert Kitt (1870-1937) born in Gympie, married Jessie Walker and died in Gympie in 1937. Occupations were listed as miner, grazier and dairy farmer.
vii. Samuel Herbert Kitt (1872-1872) born and died in Gympie before the age of 1.
viii. Blanche Mabel Kitt (1873-1948) Born in Gympie, married Charles Benson and died in Cairns in 1948.
ix. Hansom Vivian Kitt (1875-1942) Born in Qld, married Frances Anne Waldcock and died in Gympie in 1942
x. Beatrice Lilian Kitt (1878-1926) Born in Gympie, married Edward Newberry and died at Maryborough Qld
xi. Herbert Hengest Rivett Kitt (1881-1917). Born in Gympie and died on the battlefield in Belgium in 1917. Buried in the Ypres Memorial. Corporal Duncan wrote, "I saw him killed by a shell in the front line at Zonnebeke. I helped bury him along with four others just close to where he fell. I erected a temporary cross with the names". The name 'Rivett' was his grandmother’s maiden name.
10.3 Thomas Boardman (1839-1898)
Thomas was born, along with his twin sister Mary, in early 1839 at Sun St., Cambridge and baptised on 5 May 1839 in St Andrew the Less. He was named after his father. In 1841 the family was living in St Benedict, Cambridge and included his elderly father GGGF Thomas Boardman 60, mother GGGM Lucy Boardman nee Rivett 30, sister Lucy 4 and twin sister Mary 2. Tragically his father died in 1843 followed by his mother in 1846, leaving young Thomas an orphan at the age of 7. The siblings were split up and taken in by his mother’s sisters, most of whom lived a short distance away in Cambridge.
NOTE: In some documents, Thomas listed his place of birth as 'Bennet', Cambridgeshire. This was an abbreviated form of 'St Benedict', Cambridgeshire.
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| 1851 census Cambridge: Thomas Boardman was living with Robert Smith & aunt Hannah Smith nee Rivett |
Thomas went to live with his aunt Hannah and her family who lived in Gas Lane (near present day St Mathews St.). The 1851 census listed the family as Robert Smith 58 milkman, Hannah Smith nee Rivett 48, Robert Smith 7 and young Thomas Boardman 12 who was listed as a servant, rather than nephew. The following year his twin sister Mary who was living with another aunt in Hills Rd. (about 1 mile away) died at the age of 14 (See 10.4).
Thomas 22 cannot be found in the 1861 census, so little is known about him in that decade. He was not listed as living in his aunt's home. It seems, that like his siblings he was not happy in his home life and had left to make his own way in the world. In 1869, at the age of 31 he joined the Royal Marines at Chatham.
 |
1871
Census Kent: Private Thomas Boardman was serving in the Navy at Medway Harbour
|
In 1871 Thomas was a private in the navy as a Light Infantryman
and was discharged in 1877, as his length of service was completed.
The other reason Thomas was keen to leave the navy, was that he
had met a young woman, who had caught his eye. In early 1877 at nearby Brompton,
Thomas, aged 38, married a much younger woman Maria Ann Seekings 23 (b1852 Chatham). A witness
at the wedding was his younger brother GGF Henry Boardman 36.
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| 1881 Census South Skirlaugh: Thomas & Maria Ann Boardman nee Seekings with two children |
For a while the young couple lived in Kent, where Maria Ann originated from, and that is where their first two children were born. In the early 1880’s they moved 250 miles to Yorkshire, and in 1881 they were listed as living at Hollyrood House, South Skirlaugh, where Thomas was working as a gardener. The family consisted of Thomas Boardman 45, Maria A. Boardman 26 laundress, Thomas Henry Boardman 2 and Harry Boardman 11mth. They did not stay there for long (possibly because baby Harry was unwell). By early 1883 they had returned to London, where young Harry died aged two. Maria Ann gave birth to her third son Robert Charles Boardman in 1883 (baptised 31 Aug). Sadly 6 years later eldest son Thomas Henry Boardman died in 1889 at the age of ten and was buried at St Saviour, Bermondsey.
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| 1891 Census Newington: Thomas & Maria Ann Boardman nee Seekings & son Robert Boardman |
In 1891 they were living at 2 Silvester Building, Newington, London. Thomas 53 was working as a general labourer and living with wife Maria 37 and son Robert Boardman 7. They had two more children over the next few years, James was baptised in Jul 1891 in Southwark (Parents listed as Thomas and Maria Boardman) and Janet in 1893. Thomas became beadle (official who attends to the proper order/function and operation of a church) at one of the large churches in London. On his daughter's marriage registration his occupation is listed as 'verger' (church caretaker). A record of his life is stored in Somerset House, England. (Former National records Office. Source: H. Benson). Thomas Boardman died in 1898 at the age of 59 and was buried with his son at St Saviours.
In 1901 the widowed Maria Ann Boardman nee Seekings was living at 207 Weston St, Southwark with children Robert Boardman 17 confectioner, James Edward Boardman 9 and Janet May Boardman 7. (The last three children had been born in Bermondsey). Maria Boardman nee Seekings died in 1903, aged 51 with her death registered at Shoreditch.
Thomas and Maria Ann Boardman nee Seeking had five known children, but only three survived to adulthood. The following details about them are from http://www.chestnut-blue.com.
10.3a Robert Charles Boardman (1883-1972)
Robert was born on 15 Aug and baptised on 31 August 1883 at Bermondsey, Lambeth, London. Robert 7 was living with his family in 1891 and in that year was enrolled in the Laxton St School. In 1901 he was living with his widowed mother. For a short time Robert worked for the railways in June 1903 but left without notice on 3l July 1903. The record confirms his DOB.
Robert Charles Boardman 27 joined the 19th Royal Hussars Regiment (Queen Alexandra's Own) in early 1910. As both parents were deceased, brother James was listed as next of kin, but strangely with 'address unknown', which seems to indicate the siblings were not close. Robert was discharged from the army in July 1911 as being unfit for duty because of a badly fractured finger caused by an accident in the stables at the barracks. According to the medical officer, the injured finger made him "useless as a soldier as he is unable to hold his horse, to fire his rifle or hold a sword".
The 1911 census lists him as a private in the army at Aldershot and indicates he was married but his wife's name is not mentioned. There is a marriage record for Robert marrying Rose A Miller in 1911 in Camberwell, London. In 1919-1920, according to Electoral records, Robert was living in Gloucester Rd, Camberwell with Emily Boardman. In 1931-1932 Robert was living at 57 Kitchener Rd, Finchley with sisterinlaw Rose Emma Boardman, Robert Chas Boardman junior, brother James Edwin Boardman and Ivy Boardman. From 1934 to 1945 Robert a wholesale butcher was listed living with his brother James E Boardman and Rose Emma Boardman at 3 Park Rd, Finchley. He was at the same address, living with Rose E Boardman in 1950 and then living alone in 1964.
Robert Charles Boardman of 3 Park Rd, London died 3 Jan 1972 at age 88. Probate for his will was granted 9 Mar with the value of his estate put at 12,000 pounds.
10.3b James Edwin Boardman (1891-1946)
James was born in August 1891 at Bermondsey. In 1911 James 22 was boarding in Finchley and working as a carter on a farm. Private James Edwin Boardman served in the British Army in 1914. He lived in 1914 at Market Place, East Finchley, Borough of Barnet, London. In an interesting coincidence James married a woman who had the same christian name as his brother's wife. James, 23 year old carman, married Rose Emma Ansell 20 on 27 September 1914 at Holy Trinity Church, East Finchley, Middlesex. Rose Emma Boardman nee Ansell widow of 3 Park Rd, died in 1962. James Edwin Boardman died in 1946 with the death registered at Edmonton.
10.3c Janet May Boardman (1892-1978)
Janet was born on 16 July 1892 at Bermondsey. Janet married John William Tyler 28 porter on 25 December 1918 at Barnet. The marriage registration listed both parties as living at 2 Prospect Place, Barnett, Finchley. Janet's father was listed as deceased, with his former occupation being 'verger'. Brother James Boardman was a witness at the wedding. After her first husband died Janet May Boardman married James Frederick Sturt on 6 November 1925 at London. Janet May Sturt nee Tyler nee Boardman died in October 1978 at Buckinghamshire, England, at age 86.
10.4 Mary Boardman (1839-1852)
Mary was born, along with her twin brother Thomas, in 1839 at Sun St. Cambridge. She was baptised on 5 May 1839 at St Andrew the Less, Cambridge. In April 1841 the family was living in St Benedict, Cambridge and included her elderly father GGGF Thomas Boardman 60, her mother GGGM Lucy Boardman nee Rivett 30, sister Lucy 4 and twin brother Thomas 2. Later that year baby brother Henry was born. Tragically, Mary's father died in 1843, followed by her mother in 1846, leaving young Mary an orphan at the age of 7. The children were split up and were taken in by her mother’s sisters. Mary 7 went to live with her unmarried aunt, Mary Ann Rivett, who was working as a live-in servant for Jeremiah Thring at 20 Hill Rd Cambridge, less than 1 mile from her previous home in Sun St. (See Rivett Tree).
 |
1851 census Cambridge: Mary Ann Boardman was living with Jeremiah Thring & her aunt Mary Ann Rivett
|
In the 1851 census, although living with Jeremiah Thring and her aunt Mary Ann Rivett, Mary Boardman was described as a 12 year old visitor (not a niece). Tragically young Mary died in Dec 1852 aged 13. She was buried on 13 Dec 1852 at St Pauls, St Andrew the Less, Cambridge.
10.5 GGF Henry Boardman (1841-1919)
Henry was born in 1841 and was the youngest child in his family. He was named after his deceased brother who had died in 1838 and his grandfather. Sadly his father died in 1843, followed by his mother in 1846. In his second marriage, he married GGGM Sarah Ann Moss and brought his family to Australia. See 11.0 for details about Henry’s life.
11.0 GGF Henry Boardman (1841-1919)
Henry had a tragic childhood. His parents both died before he was six. He was separated from his siblings and basically grew up in an orphanage. His closest sister in age, died when he was 11 and his other sister migrated to Australia when he was 12. These experiences must have impacted on his character as an adult and the evidence suggests he became a much loved father to his thirteen children from two marriages.
11.1 Henry’s Early Life
Henry was the youngest of Thomas and Lucy Boardman's five
children. He was born on 29 July 1841 at Sun St., Cambridge (missing the
1841 census). The birth certificate above also tells us that father Thomas,was a carpenter, and that Henry's mother was Lucy Boardman formerly Rivett. Lucy could not sign her name but 'made her mark'.
On
12 Jun 1843 Henry’s father GGGF Thomas Boardman died and Henry was baptised two months after that on 18 Aug 1843 in St Andrew the Less, Cambridge. Tragically, Henry's mother Lucy Boardman nee Rivett died three years later in 1846, leaving young Henry an orphan at the age of 5. The
children were split up and taken in by his mother’s sisters. There is no record
of who cared for Henry initially. However, it looks like no one felt they were
in a position to care for him, because, by the time of the 1851 census (when he
was 9) he was attending the Orphan Working School at Kentish Town, London
(about 60 miles from Cambridge). He was possibly enrolled there when he turned 7, as
this was the earliest age they accepted orphans.
11.2
Orphan Working School at Kentish Town
"The Orphan Working School took in orphans and other
necessitous children and clothed, educated, and wholly maintained them from
seven years of age until they are about fourteen or fifteen; and the number of
children usually in the school is about 400. At the age of fourteen the boys
are apprenticed, and the girls, who are all trained for domestic service,
remain for a year or two longer. On leaving the school, outfits are provided
for the children, in money value—to the boys of £5, to the girls of £3 3s.; and
to encourage them to keep the situations which are provided for them, annual
rewards are given, from 5s. to 21s., depending upon the length of service, for
the seven years after they leave the school."
 |
| Hills Rd Cambridge in modern Times |
Around 1855, when he was 14, Henry left the Orphan School and
moved to Hills Rd Cambridge to live with his Aunt Ann Rivett (his sister Mary Boardman, who had been living there, had died in 1852 (see above). Ann Rivett had been living as a housekeeper with
Jeremiah Thring, ironmonger for many years (see Rivett Tree). As orphans were usually apprenticed when
they left the Orphan School, Henry probably gained an apprenticeship at this
time. In fact it is very likely that he became an apprentice in the china and glass
industry to his uncle James Rivett b1812, who had been working in this trade
for at least 5 years. James Rivett lived less than 1 mile away in East
Rd. In support of this theory is the fact that in Apr 1914 in a submission to
the Australian Tariff Commission GGF Henry stated that he commenced work
selling China & Glassware in 1859 which would be around the date his
apprenticeship finished.
 |
| 1861 Census Cambridge: Henry Boardman living with his aunt (Mary) Ann Rivett |
In Jan 1861 Jeremiah Thring died, and in the census of that year
GGF Henry Boardman 19 was living with Aunt Ann Rivett at 23 Hill Rd Cambridge.
Henry was 19 and his occupation was china dealer’s clerk. He was probably a clerk for his Uncle James Rivett b1812, who according to trade directories of the time, had a thriving business close by in East Rd, Cambridge. (See 11.1)
Henry's Boardman's ancestors were by tradition joiners or carpenters.
Henry had no chance to learn that trade, because he was orphaned at such a young age. Fortunately, his uncle James Rivett b1812 stepped in to help, and taught
Henry how to repair and sell chinaware, and this became his occupation for the rest of his life.
11.3 GGF Henry Boardman & Elizabeth Frohock (1839-1880)
The following year, on 10 Sept 1862, Henry aged 21 married
Elizabeth Frohock 22 at the Registry Office, Islington, London. Henry recorded his address as being 32
Stanmore St., Islington and Elizabeth listed hers as Waterbeach, Cambridge. Henry's occupation was listed as being a 'commercial clerk', which suggests he may have left the 'china business' to broaden his skills.
Henry listed his father
Thomas' occupation as 'carver'. Witnesses to the wedding included two of Elizabeth's siblings.
Henry and Elizabeth Boardman nee Frohock
lived in Islington (presumably Henry's residence) for a time and
their first two children with very impressive names; Florence Elizabeth Mary
Boardman b1864 and Thomas William Harry Augustus Boardman b1865, were born
there.
In 1866 they moved 30 miles to Hitchin where Henry set up his own wholesale and retail china, glass and earthenware warehouse. In 1868 Henry was running many adverts like the above in the local papers advertising his shop as a "new establishment". In 1866 and again in 1868, Elizabeth gave birth to
daughters Minnie and Ada. However, over two days (13th and 14th Oct 1868) both
girls died. The following year on 10 Oct 1869, Mabel Amelia Boardman was born.
 |
| 1871 Census Hitchin: Henry Boardman China & glass dealer, wife Elizabeth & three children |
The 1871 census listed the family living in Market Place, Hitchin and consisting of GGF Henry Boardman 29 china dealer, Elizabeth Boardman nee Frohock 31 and children Florence Elizabeth Mary Boardman 7, Thomas William Harry Augustus Boardman 6 and Mabel Amelia Boardman 1. (Their residence was most likely above Henry's shop.)
The 1870’s saw four more children born to the family in Hitchin. They were Bertha b1871, Nellie b1874, Herbert b1875 and Annie Selina b1877. In 1877 GGF Henry was a witness at his brother Thomas’ wedding to Mary Ann Seeking in London. On 15 May 1880, baby Harold Boardman was born, but two months later Henry’s wife Elizabeth Boardman nee Frohock died. As it was just two months after the birth of the baby, she possibly died from complications arising out of the birth. This must have been a very hard time for Henry as not only had he lost his wife, but a few months later baby Harold died. And of course Henry was left with five young children under the age of 11 to care for. Luckily his two eldest children Thomas and Florence were able to help out by working in the shop (see census).
 |
| 1881 Census Hitchin: Henry Boardman widower 39, china, glass & earthenware dealer & 7 children |
The 1881 census listed
Henry Boardman 39 widower and china, glass and earthenware dealer, Thomas W.H.A. Boardman 16 assistant in his father’s business, Florence E.M. Boardman 17 saleswoman in china shop, Mabel A.M. Boardman 11, Bertha F. Boardman 9, Nellie B. Boardman 7, Herbert S. Boardman 5 and Annie S. Boardman 3. The family were living in Market Square, Hitchin; probably above Henry's shop.
11.4 GGP Henry Boardman (1841-1919) & Sarah Ann Moss (1850-1921)
Just over twelve months after the death of his first wife,
Henry was courting again. He had met a young school teacher, who had moved to Hitchin in 1876 to take up the headmistress role in a local school. He possibly met
GGM Sarah Ann Moss there, because several of
Henry’s younger children were of school age, and he would have needed to inform the school that their mother had died. Another likely possibility that enabled them to meet each other, may have been through a church event, as
Sarah Ann attended the Walsworth Baptist Church which was close by.
On 8 Oct 1881, GGF Henry 40 widowed china merchant of Hitchin, married GGM Sarah Ann Moss 30 spinster from Ashvale (for information about her early life and ancestors, see Moss Tree). Witnesses to the wedding were Sarah Ann's siblings; George Thomas Moss and Amy Moss and her cousin William Williams (son of her aunt Sarah Moss b1824). The wedding was conducted by Sarah's father who was a minister. (See Moss Family in Part Two)
 |
| Kellys 1886 Trade Directory |
Henry’s business in Hitchin was advertised in 'Kelly’s Trade Directory' of 1882
and 1886. His business was described as ‘wholesale & retail china, glass
& earthenware dealer & repairer’ and appeared to be doing very well. It was not long before his new wife GGM Sarah
Ann Boardman nee Moss fell pregnant and on 27 Jul 1883 she gave birth to GF
Reginald Arthur Boardman. Over the next few years two more sons were born;
Ralph Edwin Boardman on 20 Jan 1885 and John Moss Boardman on 29 Oct 1887. At
around this time Henry also lost the help of his two eldest children who had
previously been working in his shop. Florence Boardman at the age of 24 was
married in 1886 and Thomas Boardman aged 23 was married in 1888. This meant he had to employ others to help run his business.
 |
| Market Square, Hitchin, where Henry had his first shop |
11.5 Business Problems for Henry
Henry's business in Hitchin prospered until he decided to expand and open a subsidiary business in Luton (about 10 miles away). He appointed a manager to operate this new business venture, but it appears that Henry was the victim of a fraud, that was so severe, his entire business was compromised, and Henry became insolvent.
On 5 Apr 1889 in the 'London Gazette' there appeared a “Notice
of Release of Trustees Luton Court”. Henry Boardman, china dealer was listed as
“Residing and trading at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, also formerly trading at
Luton, Bedfordshire. Alfred Ewan listed as Official Receiver.” It appears that
Henry was able to repay his debts because 16 Mar 1889 was given as the date of
release from bankruptcy.
11.6
A New Life in Australia
The financial disaster was all too much for Henry. He and
his family decided to leave this disastrous episode behind, by starting a new life in
Australia. He most likely had been in regular correspondence with his older
sister Lucy Elizabeth Kitt nee Boardman (see 10.2), who had migrated to
Australia 36 years earlier in 1853, and he may have been inspired by her
stories of the new life she had created. Evidence of this was the fact that the
family sailed to Brisbane and initially stayed with members of his sister’s
family. Also several of GGM Sarah Ann Boardman nee Moss’ uncles and aunties
(see The Moss Family in Part Two) had migrated to Melbourne in the 1850’s and
had been in regular contact with Sarah Ann.
 |
| Taroba Passenger List: Henry & Sarah Ann Boardman nee Moss with 6 children including GF Reginald Boardman |
 |
| Taroba Passenger List cont.: The 3 older Boardman girls were classed as adults & were in cabins reserved for single females |
Henry and his quite large family of eight offspring set sail on the steamship 'Taroba', as 'assisted immigrants'. (The government paid their fares). On board were
GGP Henry 47 and
Sarah Ann 38, five of his children by his first wife, Elizabeth Boardman nee Frohock (Mabel 19, Bertha 17, Nellie 15, Annie 11, and Herbert 1) and his three children by
GGGM Sarah Ann;
GF Arthur Reginald Boardman 5, Ralph Boardman 4 and John Boardman an infant.
The family travelled in 'steerage'. Steerage is the lower deck of a ship, where the cargo is stored above the closed hold. In the late 19th and early 20th century, steamship steerage decks were used to provide the lowest cost and lowest class of travel (today's equivalent of 'economy' travel). The three older girls were classed as adults and were housed in shared cabins reserved for single females. Their occupations were listed as the default description 'domestic servants'. The record also notes that they could read and write and their religion was Protestant.
GF Henry and daughter Bertha kept diaries of the trip but their location is unknown (Source: H. Benson). Henry’s two eldest children were left behind in England. Florence E. M. Boardman 25 and Thomas William Harry Augustus Boardman 24, were both married and living independently (see 8.1 and 8.2)
Henry’s family arrived in Brisbane on 24 May 1889. They were looked after by Thomas and Elizabeth Lidyard nee Kitt (Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry’s sister Lucy Elizabeth Kitt nee Boardman; see 10.2). The family’s excitement at starting afresh in a new country was short lived, when on 19 Nov 1889, Henry’s daughter Bertha died from typhoid fever.
This tragedy may have been one of the factors that lead to the decision to move the family to Melbourne after the death of Bertha in Nov 1889. Other factors may have been the heat of Brisbane’s summer and possibly contact with Sarah Anne’s relatives who had migrated to Melbourne earlier. Still alive at that time were Uncles William Moss who had migrated in 1850, James Moss who came to Melbourne in 1864 and numerous offspring of the other four Mosses of that generation who had settled in Victoria. (See Moss family tree.)
11.7 The Move to Melbourne
 |
Henry's shop & house at 340 Malvern Rd was built in 1888. Date at top of building)
|
It appears that the family arrived in Melbourne in early 1890, yet several records indicate that daughter Mabel gave birth to an illegitimate son George Griffin in Carlton on 13 Jul 1889. These records indicating George's age appear to be wrong, as Mabel was offering her services as a wet nurse in Aug 1892.
It did not take
GGF Henry long to set up home at 340 Malvern Rd, Prahran and establish a china dealer business at the same address. Importantly, the house had six rooms to accommodate the large family which consisted of
Henry 49 and
Sarah Ann 40 and children Mabel 21, Nellie 16, Herbert 15, Annie 13,
GF Reginald 7, Ralph 5 and John 3. This house was relatively new, having been constructed in 1888.
On 6 Aug 1890, Henry ran an announcement in 'The Prahran Telegraph' that read as follows; "Mr.
H. Boardman notifies having opened at 340 Malvern Road, Prahran, as china and
glass riveter and repairer". In the same paper on the same date, Henry ran the following advert to attract customers; "Certificate
of merit from Brisbane Exhibition. H. Boardman, china and glass riveter and repairer
340 Malvern Road, Prahran. Extract
from some Testimonials. From R. S. Lucas, Rose Cottage, Hitchin, Herts., 13th
Mar 1889. 'He is particularly clever in the mending of valuable china. He
has restored pieces of china for me which seemed past remedy, and which became
again valuable ornaments' ". This advertisement appeared in the paper many times that year.
In 1892 Henry was listed as a 'China & Glass merchant' in 'Sands & McDougal Melbourne
Directory' at 338 Malvern Road, Prahran, but the following year was listed at 340 Malvern Rd. (the large building occupied two street lots). In this same year daughter Mabel married her partner Leonard Brown Griffin.
 |
| The Argus 22 Aug 1892: Situations Wanted; Henry placed this advert on behalf of his daughter Mabel |
Also in 1892 Henry placed the above advert in 'The Argus' on behalf of daughter Mabel Griffin nee Boardman. She had recently given birth to her only baby (13 Jul) and was offering to help other mothers by feeding their babies as a wet nurse.
 |
| City of Prahran Rates 1893: Boardman, Henry: China dealer; Cheel Building. Mortgaged to Mercantile Bank |
From 1891 to 1895 Henry was listed as being a ratepayer at the "Cheel Building", 338 and 340 Malvern Rd, Prahran, with the house mortgaged to the Mercantile Bank. (Henry Cheel was the name of builder and owner of the building; he had named the building after himself; see the name and date of construction on the parapet at the top of the building in the photo above.)
At that time, next door at 336 Malvern Rd, were Thomas Boardman and
George Boardman, newsagent. They may have been distant relatives, or the fact that they shared surnames with their neighbours, may have been a coincidence. George Boardman newsagent moved to Toorak Rd later that decade.
 |
| City of Prahran Rates 1897:Boardman, Henry glass repairer; Owner Alexander Macdonald, 22 Surrey Rd. 6 rooms |
Henry was still in Malvern Rd in 1897 at the beginning of the year, but according to the rates notice above, the family moved a short distance to 22 Surrey Rd, Hawksburn (South Yarra). This house also had six rooms. The "B & W" in the description was code for constructed of Brick and Weatherboard
The Australian Electoral Roll of 1900-1903 listed
Henry Boardman, glass repairer as living at 22 Surrey Rd, South Yarra along with Sarah Ann and adult children Annie Selina Boardman saleswoman, Thomas William Boardman engineer (see 13.2) and his wife Eliza Boardman nee Austin. Henry’s son, Herbert Stanley Boardman (see 13.8), lived nearby at 3 Portland Place.
In 1904 Henry made his first and possibly only appearance in court. His youngest, son John Moss Boardman, had been charged with negligently riding his bicycle and causing an accident. Henry appeared on John's behalf, but his behaviour so annoyed the magistrate, that he was nearly ejected from the courtroom. Not surprisingly the charges were found proved and young John was given a hefty fine. (For more details of this court case see 14.3)
 |
| 22 Surrey Rd, South Yarra retains the original facade but in recent times was extensively renovated by a media personality |
The electoral roll of 1905 listed GGM Sarah Anne Boardman,
but Henry for an unknown reason was missing. Also living at 22 Surrey Rd at that time were
children GF Arthur Reginald Boardman, 22 year old engineer, Annie Selina saleswoman, Mabel A.M. Griffin nee Boardman and probably her son George Griffin. By
the early 1900’s Henry was doing more than running his business; he was
attempting to contribute to the newly created Australian Government’s policy, as
it affected his trade. On 21 Feb 1906 'The Argus' newspaper ran an article in
which it reported on the evidence that Henry gave to the Inquiry into Tariffs
on chinaware. “Mr. Henry Boardman, china and glass dealer, said that he had
been engaged in the selling of china and glass since 1859. It would be
impossible to manufacture flint glass in Australia, because men would not work
during the night time, and because they could not make the quality of glass
required.”
 |
| Boardmans c1900. Names are guesses. In 1901 ages were Henry 60, Herbert 26, Annie 24, George Griffin 9, Nellie 27, Sarah Ann 51, Ralph 16, Reginald 18, John 14, Florence 37, Henry Smith 42 & James 14, Frank 12, Florence 10 & Jessie 4 |
The above photo may have been on the occasion of Henry's 60th birthday in Jul 1901. The 13 Oct 1906 was also a happy occasion for GGP Henry and Sarah. A
notice in the ‘The Argus’ announced that on this date they would be celebrating
their silver wedding anniversary. On 11 Mar 1907 an advert in 'The Age' appealed for the return of a lost watch. It read, "Lost,
Fawkner Park, Saturday afternoon, silver hunter watch, chain attached. Reward.
Boardman, 22 Surrey Rd., Hawksburn". Hopefully Henry's watch was returned!
The 1908 Electoral Roll listed Henry Boardman
china mender, Sarah Ann, Annie Selena saleswoman, GF Arthur Reginald Boardman
engineer 25, John Moss Boardman cycle builder and Ralph Edwin Boardman clerk
living at 22 Surrey Rd, Hawksburn (now Sth Yarra). Later that same year, Henry's nephew Thomas
George Kitt (sister Lucy’s son; see 10.2) of Oakview Farm Kilkivan, was visiting
Melbourne when he unexpectedly died. A notice in 'The Argus' announced that the
funeral would start at "the residence of his uncle Mr. H. Boardman”, at 22
Surrey Road, Hawksburn. (The Argus 29 Feb 1808)
The Electoral Roll of 1909 (above) listed GGF Henry Boardman, china
mender with GGM Sarah Boardman nee Moss, Annie Selena Boardman saleswoman, John
Boardman cycle builder and Ralph Boardman, clerk, living at 22 Surrey Rd
Hawksburn. (GF Reginald Boardman had married the previous year; see 14.1).
By
1912 the Boardmans had moved house. Henry Boardman china & glass repairer,
Sarah Ann, Annie Selina saleswoman, John traveller, Ralph journalist and daughter Mabel A.M. Griffin nee Boardman (and probably her 20 year old son George) were
now living at 16 Martin St, St. Kilda. The family welcomed back youngest son John Moss Boardman who returned home from Europe at the end of W.W.1 in 1918 and he was also listed. The Herald, 5 Jul 1918, honoured soldiers who had been awarded medals, including Henry's son. "Pte
J. M. Boardman, 14th Field Ambulance, was born in England. He enlisted on August
11, 1915 and is a son of Mr H. Boardman,
16 Martin street, St.Kilda."
This was Henry’s family home up until
his death at 78 on 19 Jul 1919. Cause of death was recorded as 'old age
Carcinoma Hepatitis' and he was buried in Brighton Cemetery in the NE corner of
the Church of England section.
 |
| Henry Boardman c1918 |
An 'In Memoriam' notice placed in 'The Argus' on 19 July
1920 illustrated the bond between Henry and his family. It read, “BOARDMAN -In
loving memory of my dear husband, and our dear father, Henry, who passed away
at 16 Martin Street, St Kilda, on July l8, 1919. ‘In God's care', ‘Till the day dawn and the
shadow flee away’ (Inserted by his loving wife and family).”
GGM Sarah Boardman nee Moss' "Recollections' come to
an abrupt and very sad end on 5 Oct, 1919, when she recorded the last years of her husband
Henry. She wrote, "And now I come to a more personal sorrow, and one that
will last while life lasts – I mentioned a short time ago that my dear
husband’s health had been failing for a long time. We thought it was chronic
indigestion, as whatever the diet was, nothing seemed to digest. We sought
medical aid and change of air, but there was no improvement. The years crept
slowly by, but the pain got no better. The only thing in our dear one’s life
that seemed to be of any service to him was his ability to sleep and no doubt
this helped him to bear his waking pain. A time came however when even a good
night’s rest was denied him."
GGM Sarah Ann Boardman nee Moss survived her husband by two
years and died in 1921. The Death Notice published in 'The Argus' 19 Mar 1921
read; "BOARDMAN.—On the 18th March 1921 (suddenly) at 16 Martin
Street, St. Kilda, Sarah Ann, relict of the late Henry Boardman, at the age of
70, loving mother of Arthur. R., Ralph E., and John M., and loving stepmother
[Henry’s surviving children by his first wife] of Mrs. Smith (Adelaide) [Florence], Mrs. Griffin
(Sydney) [Mabel], Annie S [A. Selena Boardman], Thos. W.H.A Boardman (Adelaide) and
Herbert S. Boardman (Caulfield). Called home."
 |
| Gravestone of Henry & Sarah Boardman nee Moss at StKilda Cemetery |
12.0 Adventurous life of Thomas George Kitt (1835-1896)
Thomas Kitt aka George Kitt was not in our direct family
tree but was husband of Lucy Elizabeth Boardman (see 10.2). He is included here
because of his interesting life. There is much more information available on
the internet.
Thomas George Kitt was born with the surname SMITH not KITT.
He was born at Norwich, Norfolk, in 1835, and received his education there. He
learned the trade of a baker and the 1851 census listed him as a 15 year old
baker living with his parents. In 1853 he joined the Royal Navy and served
through the Crimean War. He arrived in Sydney on the merchant vessel
'Kafferland' in 1855 aged 20, and jumped ship; adopting the name Kitt
whose origins are unknown (presumably to avoid being returned to the ship). "His
story of serving in the Royal Navy and at the Crimean War cannot be verified
even though there is a medal bearing his name from that conflict in the
Kilkivan History Museum, Qld." (Source: Harry Benson). This was the time of the
great gold discoveries in Australia and it was not uncommon for members of
crews to leave their ships in search of making their fortune.
He headed inland and in 1857 gained a job in a bakery in
Goulburn. For unknown reasons he was sacked in 1858. The following year he
married Lucy Elizabeth Boardman in the Wesleyan Chapel, Goulburn. His marriage certificate in 1859 lists his name as George Kitt, age as 23 and occupation as baker. His parents were listed as Thomas Kitt and Mary Ann Cox.
The following year, attracted by stories about the Snowy
River gold rush, he headed to the Crandiah area to try his luck. After eight
months, in 1860, he moved to Queensland, where Lucy bore four children. For
three years he took up the occupation of builder and brick maker, but
eventually returned to his original trade to bake bread. His business suffered
considerable losses by the failure of the Queensland National Bank, so when
gold was discovered in the Gympie region, he headed that way. At that time,
Gympie consisted of a few bark humpies and tents, but rather than dig for gold
he commenced to bake the first bread made in the area. Apparently the demand
became so enormous, he was compelled to make his bread small in order to bake
it quicker. Thomas George Kitt owned the London Bunhouse in Lower Mary Street, Gympie.
 |
| Gympie Goldfields c1868 |
However, he hadn’t lost his dream of striking it rich, and in
1868 in partnership with others, (Thomas) George Kitt established Kitts Reef Mine in River Rd
between Gladstone St and what is now known as Kitts Lane, Gympie.
George hit on hard times in 1887 when there was an
application in the Supreme Court of Queensland for Liquidation by Arrangement
"of the affairs of Thomas George Kitt, trading under the name of Kitt Bros., of
Gympie in the Colony of Queensland, Storekeeper (baker)." (Gympie Times 10 Dec
1887)
(Thomas) George Kitt died in Gympie in 1896 aged 61.
In an obituary on 10 Dec 1896 ‘The Gympie Times’ reported his death as follows: “George Kitt died of heart disease in Gympie in 1896 aged 61. The news of the
death of Mr Geo Kitt caused much surprise on Tuesday morning as he was in town
and apparently in the best of health only the previous night. It appears that
he went to bed at his residence, River road, about 11 o’clock on Monday night,
and not being up at the usual hour, a boy in his employ, went to his room to
awaken him, but to his surprise found that he was dead. Death, which was caused
by heart disease, was apparently painless and sudden for not even the bed
clothes were disturbed."
The 'Gympie Times' also
reported that "On his death, his property ‘Vivian’ was divided between his
sons, four of whom are still alive, three married and one single." Many 'Kitts'
are buried in the
Gympie Cemetery including George’s wife Lucy Elizabeth Kitt nee Boardman who died in 1901.
13.0 Ten Children of GGF Henry Boardman (1841-1919) & Elizabeth Frohock
Of the three boys and seven girls born to Henry and Elizabeth, only six children survived to the age of 20. They are not in the direct family tree, but as older half siblings, they had a large influence on the lives of the children from Henry's second marriage; GF Reginald, Ralph and John Boardman. In fact half brothers Thomas William Harry Augustus Boardman and Herbert Stanley Boardman and brother-in-law Henry Smith were all in the bicycle repair business in the the early 1890's and played a role in encouraging or facilitating GF Arthur Reginald Boardman taking up this as his career.
NOTE: Many of the children went by their second or even third name in everyday life, rather than their first name. However, any references to them in official documents or newspapers usually used their birth names. For the sake of consistency I have used each person's birth name in the chapters below, but have indicated if they commonly went by a different name.
13.1 Florence Elizabeth Mary Boardman (1864-1944)
Florence was born at Islington on 7 Jan 1864. In 1866 she moved 30 miles to Hitchin with her family and her father set up his own china and glassware business. In 1881 Florence was a saleswomen in her father's shop in Hitchin about 45 miles from where her future husband was living in Chaterris.
Henry Smith's father, James Smith, was a draper and young Henry 21 became a sewing machine mechanic in Chaterris by 1881. His flare for things mechanical eventually lead him into the bicycle business.
In 1886 Florence 22 married Henry Smith (b1859 Chatteris, Cambridge) at St Mary's Church, Hitchin. His occupation at the time was cycle repairer and lay Baptist preacher. Henry Smith was running his own cycle shop in Guildford in 1887 (Ramsey).
In 1889 her father GGF Henry Boardman, stepmother GGM Sarah Ann Boardman nee Moss and most of her siblings migrated to Australia but Florence and her husband elected to remain in England.
 |
| Henry & Florence Smith nee Boardman & baby; most likely their first baby James (c1887) |
The young couple settled in Guildford, where Florence gave birth to three children; James Lawson-Smith 1887-1948, Frank Henry Smith 1889-1938 and Florence Bessie Smith 1891-1963. In 1991 Florence Smith nee Boardman b1864 was a visitor along with son James Lawson Smith 4 at the Chaterris residence of her in-laws; James Smith 69 tailor and Sarah Smith 66. She was five months pregnant with her third child and had probably gone there for support during her confinement. During this period Florence's husband Henry Smith was visiting the Casey family in Walton and the couple's second child, Frank Smith 2, was a visitor with George Stedman 60 and his young daughter Annie Stedman 15 at Stoke.
In 1896 Florence and Henry with their three children migrated to Australia where they eventually settled in Hawksburn, Melbourne. Soon after arriving in Melbourne, Henry Smith was employed by 'T. Robinson & Co. Pty. Ltd' cycle manufacturers. Their bicycle brand was the ‘Southern Cross’ which was manufactured at Spotswood, with the retail shop at 13 Elizabeth St, Melbourne. Henry was placed in charge of the shop from at least 23 Dec 1897, when adverts in newspapers started to bear his name as manager. In that year, on 19 Dec 1897, Florence gave birth to her fourth child (Jessie Mary Smith) at Hawksburn. Henry Smith's brother-in-law Herbert Stanley Boardman also gained employment at 'Robinson & Co' (See 13.8).
An article in 'Melbourne
Punch' 15 Sep 1898 quoted Henry Smith as follows; "...the well-known makers of the 'Southern Cross' bicycles, Messrs.
T. Robinson and Co. Proprietary, of Spottiswoode, received a flattering
testimonial as to the durable character of their cycle manufacture. A
commercial traveller whose headquarters are at Boort, in the Mallee.... called
on Manager Smith and exhibited a travel-stained and mud-encrusted bicycle upon
which he had ridden to Melbourne. 'What's the matter?' said Mr.
Smith, recognising the cycle as a 'Spottiswoode', one of the second grade
machines of his company. "Just nothing," was the reply, "I only
want to let you see how she looks after nearly two years' hard graft in the roughest
country in Australia."
 |
| An advert for Southern Cross Bicycles when Henry Smith was manager (bottom line) |
Later that year Henry took up new employment as reported in an article about the Austral Cycle Agency in 'Melbourne
Punch', 17 Nov 1898. ".....
includes a change in the factory arrangements of the firm. In pursuance of this
idea, the choice of the management has fallen upon Mr. Henry Smith, the capable
and painstaking manager of T Robinson and Co's cycle business. Nearly three
years ago [early 1996)] Mr Smith came out from England, where he had had an extended
experience of the cycle trade both in London and the provinces, and took up the
same work here for the well-known Spottiswoode (sic) firm. After a term of service in
the workshops of the Co., whence come the well-known 'Southern Cross' cycles,
he opened the repair depot of the Co at 13 Elizabeth St. There, business has
been building....."
The
article continues but the online version is very hard to read. The following
phrases are discernible "...leaves his old firm with ..... 'I had the best
of treatment from the company from the time I joined it'. Although pleased to be
employed by the leading cycle company in Australia, he leaves his old firm with...
feelings of genuine sorrow.... Mr. Smith takes up his new responsibilities in
the mechanical department and as manager of shops for the Austral Cycle Agency." Within twelve months things had turned sour in Henry's new job.
13.1a
Smith & Boardman Cycle Manufacturers
Towards the end of the decade, Henry Smith 40 and brother-in-law Herbert Stanley Boardman 24 decided to open their own business.
 |
| Melbourne Punch 19 Oct 1899 |
The
Melbourne
Punch on 19 Oct 1899 reported that "...Messrs.
Smith and Boardman announce their new address in Royal Lane, near the civic
hall..... the firm prides itself on punctuality in this important
branch of work. Both Mr. Henry Smith and Mr. H. Stanley Boardman are well known
to metropolitan cyclists; the former as cycling manager for T. Robinson and
Co., and factory-manager of the Austral
Cycle Agency, and the latter as a clever young cycle-mechanic.....That Smith and Boardman's fame is not merely local is shown by orders
from both Tasmania and New Zealand for Surreys—really high-grade bicycles at a
very modest price."
Henry and Herbert's factory/shop was at 10 Royal Lane, Lt Collins St.,
Melbourne and there they manufactured the 'Surrey Bicycle'. Surrey of course,
being the English County where Henry Smith had his first shop (in Guildford). Their first newspaper advertisement was on 5 Oct 1899.
NOTE: Royal Lane runs between Little Collins and Bourke St, to the east of Swanston St. The site has been built over with more recent buildings.
 |
| Logo for 'Smith & Boardman's 'Surrey' Bicycle |
An article in 'The
Age' 17 Jan 1900 throws more light on the circumstances of why Henry Smith left the 'Austral Cycle Agency'. The article was titled "Alleged
customs frauds" and read as follows; "Towards
the end of November last, information was made public to the effect that a
certain bicycle manufacturing firm had been guilty of irregularities with
respect to the export of machines. The whole matter has been carefully
investigated by the Customs Department. Yesterday a report was considered by the Minister of Customs. Information, the report states, had
been given to the department by Henry Smith that the Austral Cycle Agency was
defrauding revenue by obtaining drawback of duty on bicycles made in the colony.
Smith had been employed by the company, and had been dismissed. According to his
own account, his dismissal was on account of a protest made by him in connection
with the matter under notice." The report gives more detail about the inquiry
and concludes that the matter was not deliberate, but more of an 'oversight'! Another article in 'Sportsman' on 23 Jan 1900 reported much the same but added that Smith "had been dismissed and had sued the
management for wrongful dismissal and for wages".
 |
| An Advert for Smith & Boardman Bicycles |
Henry Smith's new company 'Smith & Boardman' ran dozens of adverts during 1900-1901, but suddenly these ceased at the end of 1901.
 |
| The Argus 15 Feb 1901 |
The reason for this was revealed in February 1902, when notices appeared auctioning off all stock and equipment held by the firm. For an unknown reason Henry and Herbert had decided to dissolve their partnership, but it was probably related to Henry and his family moving to Launceston, Tasmania.
 |
| Daily Telegraph (Tas) 20 April 1901 |
Henry Smith had been appointed as the General Secretary of the Y.M.C.A and he took up that position in April 1901. At about the same time Florence's sister Nellie and her husband also moved to Launceston. Nellie's husband was a Baptist lay preacher working in the Launceston area and the fact that both couples moved to Tasmania at the same time was probably not a coincidence. By August 1902, advertisements were appearing with Henry's name listed as secretary of the Launceston Y.M.C.A. By late 1902 Henry 43, was also involved with the Launceston Academy of Music and was occasionally listed as a solo singer in some of the programs.
In May 1903 tragedy struck. Florence's sister Nellie Bonnett nee Boardman had died and the following advert was placed in the newspaper
. "Mr. E. Bonnett, Laura Street, Launceston, Mr. and Ms. H. Boardman and family, 22 Surrey Road, Hawksburn, and Mr. and Mrs. H. Smith [Henry & Florence]
, Launceston, return sincere thanks to their many kind friends for their sympathy in their late bereavement. [Florence and Nellie's husbands were both heavily involved in the Launceston Baptist Tabernacle Church]. Henry was mentioned in advertisements and newspaper reports in relation to his preaching activities for the Baptist Tabernacle Church, Launceston. Two more daughters were born to Henry and Florence Smith nee Boardman in Hobart; Hilda in 1907 and Eileen/Aileen Ruth Smith in 1910.
Henry and Florence made one last move; to South Australia, before 1915, and
in 1920 Henry Smith 61 died at Prospect, SA. An obituary in the paper gave a
detailed summary of his life (Ramsay) including the fact that he was a popular
and influential man who had preached at “almost every Baptist church within 50 miles of Adelaide” and was heavily involved in the YMCA in both England and
Australia. His obituary listed his surviving family as "a widow, two
sons, and four daughters [including] Mr. Frank Smith,
chief engineer of the Hydraulic Steel
Press Company (Ohio, America), and Mr.
Lawson Smith, engineer (Sydney), Mrs.
William A. Gard (Prospect) [Florence Bessie Gard nee Boardman], and Misses Jessie,
Hilda, and Ruth Smith, of Prospect".
Florence E. M. Smith nee Boardman remained in South Australia for the rest of her life and died aged 80 on 22 Sep 1944. She was buried in West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.
NOTE: Henry Smith who was born in Cambridgeshire in 1859 does not seem to be related to our other 'Smith' ancestors who originated in Hampshire. However, he may be related via a common ancestor to Robert Smith (born in Cambridge in 1793), who married his wife's great aunt, Hannah Rivett (see Rivett Tree).
13.2 Thomas William Harry Augustus Boardman (1865-1926)
Thomas was born on 14 Mar 1865 at Islington, London. From 1871-1881, he lived with his parents at Hitchin and helped out in his father's china shop. In Jan 1888 he married Eliza Austin at Hitchin and moved to Guildford, Surrey. At that time, his sister Florence's husband, Henry Smith, had a bicycle shop in Guildford and Thomas may have worked with Henry. The following year in 1889 his father GGF Henry Boardman, stepmother GGM Sarah Ann Boardman nee Moss and most of Thomas' siblings migrated to Australia. At about the same time, Eliza Boardman nee Austin became pregnant with their daughter Minnie Ethel Boardman who was born in early 1990.
 |
| 1891 Census; Stevenage. "Harry' was living with his wife & daughter with his wife's family |
By the 1891 census they had moved to Eliza’s
home town of Stevenage and were living with Eliza’s parents at 65 Litchmore
Green. In the house were Thomas (aka. Harry), a 'turner & fitter', his wife
Eliza Boardman 25, young daughter Minnie 1 (named after Thomas' deceased sister) and Elizabeth’s parents. Living next
door was a David Austin, presumably a relative of his wife. This shift was very
short lived, because a few weeks later on 24 April 1891 the family migrated to
Australia on the ship 'Oroya'. Thomas' occupation was listed as 'engineer'.
 |
| 'SS Oroya' which brought Thomas and Eliza Boardman to Australia |
They settled in Melbourne, where Thomas’ father
GGF Henry Boardman lived, (see 11.0). In 1892 Thomas (listed as Harry A Boardman) was listed at 84 York St Prahran, just 100 metres from his father's house. By 1893, Thomas William Boardman (Harry) 28, bicycle maker,
was lessee and ratepayer at 42 Cowrie St, Sth Melbourne. From 1896 to 1898 the family were living at 39 Oban Rd, Hawksburn, where Thomas was listed as a 'machinist'.
 |
| AER 1903: The Boardmans were living at several addresses in South Yarra |
In 1903 Thomas Boardman engineer and Eliza
Boardman nee Austin were living with, GGF Henry Boardman glass repairer, GGM
Sarah Ann Boardman and Annie Selina Boardman saleswoman in their home at 22
Surrey Rd, Sth Yarra (AER). This may have been a temporary arrangement while
they sold their own home, because shortly afterwards they moved to Adelaide,
where they lived for the remainder of their lives.
 |
| 'Critic' S.A. 15 Mar 1916 took a light hearted approach to Thomas' new job. |
It wasn't long before Thomas gained a job as a public servant as reported in 'The Express and Telegraph' 10 Mar 1916 under the headline "Motor
Tax Inspector Appointed". The article read; "Mr. T. H. W. A. Boardman has been appointed inspector
under the Motor Tax Act of 1915. Mr. Boardman has been in the service of the
Government for some time, in charge of the mechanical department of the
Government garage, and will be transferred to his new office as soon as the
necessary adjustment of positions has been made at the garage". Ten years later in Aug 1926 "T.
W. H. A. Boardman, Rose Park" was honored by being made a Justice of the Peace.
Sadly Thomas Boardman did not have much time to fulfill his duties in this role, as he died the following month and was buried at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide. The announcement in 'Adelaide News' on 30 Sep 1926 read "Boardman.
On September 28 T. W. H. A. (Harry) beloved husband of Mrs. E.
Boardman, 60 Grant Avenue, Rose Park".
An Obituary published in 'The Advertiser' 1 Oct 1926 gave more details of Thomas' life. "Mr. T. W. H.
A, Boardman died in the Adelaide. Hospital on September 28 after a long illness.
Mr Boardman. was a well-known public servant; having been foreman of the
Government motor garage for some years prior to taking, up his last appointment
as examiner of motor vehicles in the Motor Vehicles Department in 1916. Of a
quiet and unassuming nature he was respected by all with whom he came in
contact. His one hobby was mechanical engineering, and much of his time away from his official duties was spent
in the large and well-fitted workshop at his home. He was much interested in
Freemasonry. He leaves a widow and one daughter."
The following year an article about the 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Society's Annual Report' in 'The Advertiser' (9 Jun 1927) outlined another of Thomas' passions. It read "The
society noted with regret the death of two honorary inspectors, Messrs. T. W.
H. A. Boardman
and W. Morris, and desired to place on record a tribute to the work given voluntarily
by those men for many years."
Thomas Boardman's wife Eliza Boardman nee Austin survived for another 21 years as reported in the 'Chronicle' 31 Jul 1947; "On July 24, at her residence, 60 Grant avenue, Eliza, dearly beloved wife of the late Harry Boardman, beloved and devoted mother of Minnie. Aged 82 years. At rest." A gravestone in the shape of a large cross marks the grave of Thomas and Eliza Boardman nee Austin.
Daughterr Minnie never married and there were no known children. She became a music teacher. The Advertiser, Adelaide has a report on a performance by Minnie's students (12 Dec 1924).
NOTE: Thomas often went by his other name 'Harry', especially in Australia.
13.3 Minnie Lucy Ann Boardman (1866-1868)
Minnie was the third child of GGF Henry and Elizabeth Boardman nee Frohock. She was born on 30 Apr 1866 at Hitchin, but died at the age of 2 on 14 Oct 1868 as an infant, one day before her younger sister Ada passed away.
13.4 Ada Emily Sarah Boardman (1868-1868)
Ada was born on 30 Apr 1868 at Hitchin but died 6 months later on 13 Oct 1868 one day after her older sister Minnie. As both girls died in such close proximity, the cause was quite likely an infectious disease, which often took a terrible toll on young people in the 19th century. Ada was buried in the Hitchin Anglican Cemetery alongside her sister Minnie and their mother Elizabeth Frohock.
13.5 Mabel Amelia Millicent Boardman (1869-1954)
Mabel was born on 10 Oct 1869 at Hitchin. From 1871 to 1881 she lived in Hitchin with her parents. In early 1889 at the age of 19 Mabel migrated to Australia with her family. The family arrived in Brisbane on 24 May 1889. The family’s excitement at starting afresh in a new country was short lived, when on 19 Nov 1889, Mabel’s sister Bertha died from typhoid fever.
In early 1890, Mabel and her family moved to Melbourne. Soon after, Mabel started a relationship with a man named Leonard Brown Griffin, which resulted in her giving birth to a son named George Griffin at Carlton (not the family home) on 13 July. During his life George indicated the year of his birth as 1889, but other records indicate that this is incorrect. The birth registration lists the year of birth as "about 1892", but it may have been 1891. (For more information about her son see below.) The son was named George Leonard Brown after his father and grandfather on the father's side
In 1892 Mabel 23 married Leonard Brown Griffin 24 (b1868 Essex) in
Melbourne. At some stage around the turn of the century, Mabel's husband returned to England.
 |
| AER 1905 Mabel was living in her parent's home |
The 1905 and 1906 AER lists Mabel Amelia M. Griffin saleswoman living in her parent's house at 22 Surrey Rd, South Yarra.
 |
| Tasmanian News 30 Sep 1905. Report of Court case at Old Bailey in London |
Meanwhile, in London, Leonard Brown Griffin 37 was charged with libel against his uncle in 1905, but after a short trial at The Old Bailey, he was let off with a warning and had to pay a surety.
However, after re-offending the following year, he was again convicted for the same crime in 'The Old Bailey' London and sentenced to 18 months gaol in 1907. The judge also determined that Leonard was a chronic alcoholic. There are four factors that suggest that this person is Mabel's husband. Firstly, the full name is reasonably unusual and year of birth correct, secondly the crime took place in Leonard's county of birth (Essex), thirdly there are no records indicating that Leonard was in Australia at this time (and his wife was living with her parents) and lastly the fact that the couple only had one daughter may have been because they were not cohabiting during Mabel's child bearing years.
In 1907 Mabel 37 sailed to London on the ship 'Persia' and arrived in London on 8 Aug. The purpose of the trip was probably to supply some support to her husband. Mabel A.M.Griffin returned to Australia on the ship 'Otway' on 2 Dec 1909.
On 20 Jun 1910 Leonard Brown Griffin 42, commercial traveler, returned to Melbourne on the ship 'Prince Regent Luitpold'.
The following advert appeared in The Age on 29 Jan 1910, "Brighton/Caulfield Railway Lines. 5, 6 roomed House; deposit. Griffin, 22 Surrey-rd., Hawksburn". This suggests that either Mabel or Leonard were wishing to rent out a house that they owned, whilst Mabel was living with her parents.
 |
| AER 1913: Mabel was still living with her parents. |
According to the AER, from 1912 to 1914 Mabel Amelia
Millicent Griffin nee Boardman saleswoman was living with her parents GGP Henry
and Sarah Boardman at 16 Martin St. St. Kilda. Leonard Brown Griffin was not
listed so they were possibly still estranged.
On 28 Jun 1915 son George Leonard Griffin joined the Australian Army. His attestation papers list his age as 26, place of birth as Prahran. His next of kin is at first listed as his father, Leonard Griffin, of 16 Martin St, then this address is crossed out and replaced with 65 Henry St, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, which suggests that his father was living in Queensland for a time. Then in a final alteration the latter is crossed out and replaced with another next kin; George's wife, Suzanne Griffin whose location is given as Marseille, France. This alteration is dated as 5 Feb 1918, which suggests that whilst posted overseas, George fell in love with a French woman and married her, before he returned to Australia. He returned to Australia 6 Nov 1919.
In 1921 according to the death notice for GGM Sarah Ann Boardman, Leonard
and Mabel were residing in Sydney. By the 1930’s they had returned to Melbourne
and from 1931-1937 lived at 796 Malvern Rd, Armadale. Leonard’s occupation was
given as 'agent' and Mabel Griffin nee Boardman gave hers as home duties.
Leonard Brown
Griffin 70 died in 1939 in Melbourne. After her husband's death Mabel continued to live in the family home at 796 Malvern Road and her younger sister Annie Selina Boardman was living there too from the 1940's onwards.
Mabel Amelia Millicent Griffin nee Boardman aged 84 died in 1954 at Armidale. The
Age 27 Jul 1954 published the following death notice; "Griffin (nee Boardman). On July 25 at her home, 796
Malvern Road Armadale, Mabel Amelia Millicent the dearly beloved wife of the late Leonard B., loving
mother of George, loved sister of
Stanley, Annie, Reginald, Ralph and John [all Boardman]".
 |
| 'The Age' 24 Aug 1954 |
The Age, 24 Aug 1954 reported that; "The
Estate of Mabel Amelia Millicent Griffin late of 796 Malvern Road Armadale, widow
deceased, be granted to George Leonard Griffin of 6 Loftus Road Darling Point
in the State of New South Wales, retail store employee, the son and one of the
next-of-kin of the said deceased". Mabel's sister Annie died the following year (see below).
13.5a
Leonard Brown Griffin (1868-1939) Husband of Mabel Boardman
Leonard Brown Griffin was born in 1868 in Berechurch, Essex to parents George and Eliza Griffin nee Brown. (Dates from 1881 census)
 |
| 1861 Census Trowbridge. Top & Bottom= Sisters Eliza & Julia Brown & visitor Emily Griffin in the Brown's family home |
In 1861 Leonard's mother Eliza Brown (later Griffin) 25 (b1836) was living with her sister Julia Brown 14 (c1847) and the rest of the Brown family at Trowbridge, Wiltshire. At that time the family had a visitor named Emily Griffin 25. As she was born 24 Feb 1835 in Camberwell, Surrey she was probably a sister of Leonard's father, George Griffin c1839 (born in the same place), who married Eliza Brown a few years later.
In the mid 1860's Eliza Brown married wine merchant George Griffin and they had seven children over the next decade. In 1876 Julia Brown 29 (b1847) married solicitor William John Mann 27 (b1849) at Melksham, Wiltshire.
 |
| 1881 Census, Ipswich. Leonard B Griffin living in the family home at Ipswich |
Leonard was the fourth child and his middle name came from his mother's surname. His father was a wine merchant, who had been born in Camberwell, Surrey. Leonard was 12 in 1881 and lived at home with his six siblings;
Rose
Marion Griffin 15 (d1946), Stanley G. Griffin 14, Mabel E. Griffin 11 (d1946), Douglas Hamilton Griffin
9 (d1916), Percy Mortimer Griffin 7 (d1945) and Ernest Carr Griffin 5 (d1947). Eliza Griffin nee Brown was 40 when her last child was born in 1876.
 |
| 1911 Census Ipswich: George & Eliza Griffin with two spinster daughters |
According to the 1911 census George and Eliza Griffin had seven children during their 47 years of marriage, of whom one had died (Stanley). They were reasonably well off, lived by "private means" and had two servants to help run the household.
Around 1890 Leonard 32 travelled to Melbourne and met Mabel Boardman 31. A relationship developed and the two were married in 1892. In 1891 or 1892 Mabel gave birth to son George Leonard Griffin. Around the turn of the century Leonard had word that his brother Stanley had died in Canada. For an unknown reason Leonard held his mother's sister's husband, solicitor William John Mann, accountable for the death.
Leonard Brown Griffin 37 left his Australian family to travel to London in the early 1900's.
 |
| Extract from The Old Bailey Website 1907 |
Whilst in London, he was charged with libel and making threats against the husband of his mother's sister Julia Mann nee Brown, but after a short trial in 1905 at 'The Old Bailey', he was let off with a warning and had to pay a surety. However, after re-offending the following year, he was again convicted for the same crime in 'The Old Bailey', London and sentenced to 18 months gaol in 1907. It seems that Leonard blamed his brother-in-law for the death of Leonard's brother (Stanley G. Griffin) in Canada.
 |
| Passengers entering UK 1922: Leonard 53 occupation 'agent' & Mabel Griffin 48 disembarked at Plymouth. |
In 1922 Leonard and Mabel Griffin left Brisbane to return to England. They arrived
in Plymouth on the ship 'Orsova' on 7 Mar. 1922.
 |
| UK Outward passengers 1922 |
Leonard and Mabel's six month holiday ended on 2 Sep 1922 when they started their return trip to Australia on the ship 'Ormonde'.
 |
| AER 1935 to 1937 Leonard & Mabel were living at 796 Malvern Rd |
Throughout his life Leonard listed his occupation as "agent" as on the Electoral Rolls from 1931 to 1937 when they were living at 796 Malvern Rd., Melbourne
Leonard Brown Griffin died in Victoria in 1939.
13.5b George Leonard Griffin (1892-1980) Son of Mabel Boardman
George was born to parents Leonard Brown Griffin and Mabel Boardman in Carlton. Throughout his early life George Leonard Griffin listed his birth date as 13 Jul 1889, but his birth was not registered until 1892; after his parents were married.
 |
| George requested replacement Military Medals in 1938 & gave his birth date as 26 Jul 1889 |
 |
| George filled in a 2nd Stat Dec in 1967 but listed his date of birth 1892 |
On at least two occasions George requested replacement
military medals that he had misplaced. On the Stat Decs that were required, he entered two different birth
years; 1889 on the first and 1892 on the second. His birth registration above, lists
“about 1892” as the year of birth and other records seem to confirm this is correct. George confirmed his parent's names on these documents and his place of birth as Carlton.
At some stage around the turn of the century, his father returned to England. The 1905 and 1906 AER listed Mabel Amelia M. Griffin saleswoman living in her parent's house at 22 Surrey Rd, South Yarra and George probably lived there too.
George's father Leonard Brown Griffin was charged with libel in London in 1905 and after a second offence he was sentenced to 18 months gaol in 1907. The judge also determined that his father was a chronic alcoholic. In 1907 Mabel 37 sailed to London on the ship 'Persia' and arrived in London on 8 Aug. The purpose of the trip was probably to give some support to her husband, but as son George was not listed on the passenger list he was probably cared for by his mother's family. George's mother Mabel A. M. Griffin returned to Australia on the ship 'Otway' on 2 Dec 1909.
In 1910 Leonard Brown Griffin 42, commercial traveller, returned to Melbourne, but a
ccording to the AER, from 1912 to 1914, Mabel Amelia Millicent Griffin nee Boardman saleswoman was living with her parents GGP Henry and Sarah Boardman at 16 Martin St. St. Kilda. Her son's whereabouts is unknown at this time, but as he joined the AIF in Melbourne in 1915 he was probably living there.
 |
| AIF Attestation Papers for George Leonard Griffin |
On 28 Jun 1915 George Leonard Griffin joined the Australian Army in Melbourne. His attestation papers listed his age as 26 (really 23), place of birth as Prahran and occupation as draper (like his grandfather). His next of kin was at first listed as his father, Leonard Griffin, of 16 Martin St, then this was crossed out and replaced with 65 Henry St, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, which suggests that his father was living in Queensland for a time. Then in a final alteration the latter is crossed out and replaced with another next kin; George's wife, Suzanne Griffin, whose location is given as Marseille, France. This alteration is dated 5 Feb 1918, which suggests that whilst posted overseas, George fell in love with a French woman and married her, before he returned to Australia. On enlistment, his religion was stated as R.C. (Roman Catholic), which is interesting as most (if not all) of his relatives on his mother's side were Protestants. George must have either converted or followed his father's religious tradition.
George's war record shows he left Australia in Oct 1915 and gained the rank of sergeant. He spent his first four months in Egypt before being sent to France, where he spent much of his time in Marseille (and met his future wife). During his service he spent many days in hospital for conditions such as 'septic arm', tonsillitis, eczema and scabies. He returned to Australia on 6 Nov 1919 and was discharged in Sydney on 22 Apr 1920. Over the years George lost some of his war service medals, and in 1932, 1938 and 1967 he wrote letters requesting replacements. These letters record his address as Vaucluse, William St and Belmore; all in Sydney.
 |
| AER 1935 Sydney: Top & Bottom Entry; George & Sangha Griffin living at 34 New South Head Rd, Vaucluse |
From 1932 to 1936 George was listed by the AEC as a "buyer" living in Vaucluse with Sangha Theresine Griffin (probably his partner, but there is no official marriage registration). In 1937 George Leonard Griffin salesman was listed at 110 William St, but Sangha was no longer listed. From 1943 to 1949, George was living in Bayswater Rd, East Sydney, had no occupation and was living alone.
George's mother, Mabel, died in 1954 and probate was granted to George, who's address was Loftus Rd in Darling Point at that time. During 1954 George regained employment and was working in Edgecliff as a store employee.
From 1958 onwards he was listed with the same employment and was living alone at 30 Cecelia St., up until he died in 1980 at the age of 88.
13.6
Bertha Francis Boardman (1871-1889)
 |
| Bertha Boardman in her late teens: probably not long before the family left England |
Bertha was born on 21 Sep 1871 at Hitchin. She lived with
her parents in Hitchin and at the age of 18 sailed with them to Australia in
1889.
A few months after arriving in Brisbane in May 1889, Bertha aged 19 died on 19 Nov from typhoid fever. Immigrants catching typhoid fever on their journey to Australia in the 1800’s was not uncommon.
13.7 Nellie Beatrice Boardman (1874-1903)
Nellie was born on 7 Mar 1874 at Hitchin, Hertford, She lived with her parents in Hitchin until they sailed to Australia in 1889 when she was 15.
In 1900 she married Edward Bonnett (b1876 S.A.) in South Yarra, Vic. Not long after their
marriage, Nellie and Edward moved to Launceston, Tasmania. During the next ten years Edward was often mentioned in newspaper articles about the activities of the Launceston Baptist Tabernacle and later as secretary to the 'Christian Endeavour' organisation. Nellie and Edward's two
children were born in Launceston; Nellie Elizabeth Bonnett in 1902 and Edward Henry Leaver
Bonnet in 1903.
 |
| Examiner: 25 May 1903 |
Nellie Beatrice Bonnett nee Boardman 29 died on 7 May 1903, a few days after giving birth to
her son. The following three notices were placed in newspapers in response to Nellie's death.
- On the 7th May, at her residence, Laura Street, Launceston, Nellie, the
beloved wife of E. Bonnett, daughter of H. Boardman, 22 Surrey-road, Hawksburn.
- Mr.
E. Bonnett, Laura-street, Launceston, Mr. and Ms. H. Boardman and family, 22
Surrey Road, Hawksburn, and Mr. and Mrs. H. Smith, Launceston, return sincere
thanks to their many kind friends for their sympathy in their late bereavement. [Mr & Mrs H. Smith were Nellie's sister Florence and her husband Henry Smith who were also 'baptists' and had moved to Launceston at about this time].
- Bonnett—
On the 7th May, at her residence, 25 Laura-street, Lily Elizabeth (sic), dearly
beloved wife of Edward Bonnett, aged 29 years. (This notice was corrected on the following day with the correct Christian names)
Nellie Bonnett nee Boardman's death at such a young age was not only tragic for her husband, but it left her two very young children without a mother.
13.7a Two Children of Nellie Beatrice Boardman
Daughter, Nellie Elizabeth Bonnett, was mentioned in many newspaper articles well into the 1900's. The earlier articles relate to her connection to the Baptist Church in Launceston and later ones report on her academic achievements. By 1915 Nellie aged 13 was living in Adelaide where she attended the Adelaide School of Mines Technical School. Ten years later, an announcement in the 'Adelaide Register' announced;
"On the 25th July 1925, at Flinders Street Baptist Church, by the Rev. F.G. Benskln M.A., Arthur Edwin Harkness Wilson to Nellie Elizabeth Bonnett. Present address Ardlui, Queen street, Norwood." Nellie had three children; Elizabeth Harkness Wilson b1926, Norman Wilson b1829 and Edward Malcolm Wilson b1934. Nellie Elizabeth Wilson nee Bonnett died in 1972.
Nellie Beatrice Bonnett nee Boardman's son Edward H.L. Bonnett was not mentioned in the newspapers as much, but he also moved to Adelaide and married Betty Davidson. He died in 1956 and was buried in Centennial Park along with his wife Betty Bonnett nee Davidson (died 1975).
13.8 Herbert Stanley Boardman (1875-1868)
Herbert was born on 22 Sep 1875 at Hitchin. He was 14 and living with his parents in 1889 when the family sailed to Brisbane, and then moved to Melbourne. Later in life, Herbert said he started work as a bicycle mechanic (probably as an apprentice) at the age of 17 in 1892. In a later article published in 1935, Herbert Stanley recalled how his first work was on penny farthing bicycles in the early 1890's. In 1896 he was employed at 'T. Robinson & Co', Spotswood, manufacturer of agricultural implements, machinery and bicycles. The source of this information is a written reference for Herbert dated October 1898 from his then boss and brother-in-law Henry Smith, who was a manager with the firm.
Not long after, they formed a partnership and named the business 'Smith & Boardman Cycle Manufacturers'. Their factory/shop was at 10 Royal Lane, Lt Collins St., Melbourne and there they manufactured the 'Surrey Bicycle'. This business was operating from at least Oct 1899 when they ran an advert in 'Melbourne Punch' (5 Oct 1899).
In the 1890's Herbert's father, Henry Boardman, had a shop at 340 Malvern Rd Prahran. At about this time Herbert met a young lady named Alberta Taylor. Although Alberta came from Williamstown, her older brother George Henry Taylor was a jeweller with a shop at 239 Malvern Rd, South Yarra (across the road from Herbert's father's shop). The fact that the two families had shops in close proximity probably played a role in Herbert meeting Alberta. Hopefully Herbert was able to buy a ring from George Taylor at a good price.
A notice in 'The
Argus' 20 Oct 1900 announced Herbert's marriage as follows; "On
the 10th September, at the residence of the bride's parents, Osborne, Mount
Martha, Herbert Stanley Boardman, second
son of Henry Boardman, Esq., of Hawksburn, to Alberta Beatrice Louise, fifth
daughter of George Taylor, Esq , of Mount Martha". The following year on 3 Oct 1901 Alberta gave birth to the couple's first son Albert
Henry Stanley Boardman.
 |
| Herbert Stanley Boardman |
The 'Smith & Boardman' company ran dozens of adverts during 1900-1901, but suddenly these ceased at the end of 1901. The reason for this was revealed in February 1902, when notices appeared, auctioning off stock and equipment held by the firm. For an unknown reason Henry and Herbert had decided to dissolve their partnership, but it was probably related to Henry and his family moving to Launceston, Tasmania later that year. Herbert continued to run the shop under his own name.
 |
| Advertisement for Smith & Boardman Co |
In 1903 Herbert Stanley, bicycle maker, and his wife Alberta
Boardman lived at 3 Portland Place, Sth Yarra, not far from where his father
lived. Whilst living here, on 16 Sep 1905, Alberta gave birth to son Leonard George Boardman on 16 Sep 1905. The notice in 'The Argus' read as follows; "On
the 16th September, at 3 Portland Place, South Yarra, the wife of H. Stanley Boardman,
cycle manufacturer—a son. Both doing well".
 |
| The Argus 8 Oct 1935 |
The above article describes the role played by Herbert in servicing the first car to travel from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1903. The car was a 6 h.p. "De Dion Voiturette" and Herbert serviced it at his Royal Lane workshop.
 |
| Chinese Times 30 Mar 1907 |
Herbert kept running the bicycle shop in Melbourne under his own name and ran adverts in Chinese Newspapers from 1907 onwards. He was also listed in 'Sands Directory' 1909 as "Boardman, H.S. cycle factory 10 Royal Lane Melb and Derby Rd, Caulfield". At about this time Herbert saw the potential in the rapidly expanding motorcycle market. By 1909 Herbert set up a new bicycle and motorbike shop on Dandenong Rd., which he called 'Boardman Motor Works'. He ran many adverts like this one that appeared in 'The Argus';
"Motor-cycles latest designs; write or call for particulars. H. S. Boardman Motor Works, Dandenong Rd., East Malvern".
13.8a Unlawful Arrest
'The Argus' newspaper of 19 Jul 1911 reported a rather unusual incident that was dealt with in the Caulfield Court. It was a long article, but in summary, a man had entered the bicycle shop owned by Herbert Stanley Boardman in Dandenong Rd., and asked to collect his bicycle that was being repaired. The shop assistant wrongly denied that a bicycle had been left. When the man insisted on getting his bicycle back, a policeman, who happened to be passing by, intervened. It turned out that the man’s bicycle was found in the shop, but the customer was arrested anyway for having “no lawful means”, taken into custody and held for a week. The magistrate was very unimpressed and immediately freed the man. This story was taken up by various newspapers around the country as far afield as Broken Hill.
The Electoral Roll of 1914 listed Herbert, motor
manufacturer and (Alberta) Beatrice Boardman as living at Dandenong Rd, Malvern East. Nearby was
Agnes Boardman teacher at 115 Dandenong Rd., Malvern East (possibly a relative). By 1919 they had moved to 3 John St., Malvern East and named their property
'Stanberta' (combination of their given names Stanley & Alberta). Herbert's business was very successful in the 1920's, as indicated in the following report in 'The Prahran Telegraph' on 5 Sep 1924. "One of the best known garage proprietors in Victoria is Herbert Stanley Boardman 2915? Dandenong Rd, East Malvern, who has been 32 years in the trade and commenced business in 1892. He has the largest stock of accessories anywhere in the suburbs The repair and manufacturing plant is complete and up-to-date, including a generator for recharging batteries. Free air is supplied... Weddings are catered for with luxurious sedan cars.....".
 |
| The Argus 19 Jul 1922 |
Although the 1920's started off well, they started to go downhill as the decade progressed. Alberta's father George Taylor died at the age of 84 (b1838) in 1922 and the above notice published the names of her family. George had arrived in Australia in 1842.
 |
| The Age 13 Apr 1926 |
In 1926 Herbert's garage was robbed of tyres worth a substantial 200 pounds. The Great Depression that started in 1929, was a disaster for Herbert. On 1 May
1929 deeds of assignment were issued (bankrupt proceedings). “Herbert Stanley
Boardman of Dandenong Rd. Caulfield Motor Garage Proprietor assigned his estate
(assets) for the benefit of his creditors. The estimated liabilities are given as £2881 and estimated value of
property is £1075”. Fortunately, Herbert didn’t lose his house and through the
1930’s Herbert and Beatrice continued to live at “Stanberta”, 3 John
St. Malvern East. At various times their children were also living there
including Albert, chauffeur, Leonard an ‘assistant’ and Thelma, no occupation listed.
Daughter Thelma was engaged to be married in 1938. Sadly the relationship ended, as reported in 'The
Herald' on 6 Apr 1938 under the headline "£3000
Breach of Promise Claim", The report read as follows "Miss
Thelma Alberta Boardman, of John Street, Malvern East, has taken out a Supreme
Court writ against Mr Leslie George Parry, of 'Parkdale', Pyramid Hill, widower, claiming
£3000 damages for alleged breach of promise of marriage. Trial of the action is
sought before a Justice and special jury of six." Whether she won the case is unknown, but she ended up marrying another man a few years later.
NOTE: Leslie G Parry was a farmer from Pyramid Hill, whose wife Dorothy had died in 1927
In the 1940's, after Herbert retired, the AER listed the couple living in Mornington. On 12 Feb 1950,
Alberta died at Ernest St., Mornington and the following death notice was placed in 'The Argus', "Boardman. On
February 12, Alberta, dearly loved mother of Albert, Leonard, and Thelma,
mother-in-law of Muriel [Boardman nee Fox] and Von. [Veronica Boardman nee Parsons] and Warren Horton, and loving grandmother of
Lynette, Billie. Wendy and Margaret. Safe in the Arms of Jesus".
Sixteen months later, a notice in 'The Age' 26 Jun 1951, indicated that Herbert's sons were having difficulty in getting him to apply for probate on their mother's will; "Albert Henry Stanley Boardman of 3 John St. East Malvern, bus driver and
Leonard George Boardman of 39 Murrumbeena Cres, Murrumbeena engineer, two of the
executors appointed by the last will dated 23rd Dec 1929 of Alberta Beatrice
Louise Boardman formerly of no 3 John St, but late of Ernest St Mornington, married
woman, deceased, will apply for the grant of probate of such will, leave being
reserved to Herbert Stanley Boardman the other executor appointed by the will
to come and prove the same at any time".
In 1953, widower Herbert Stanley, married his sister-in-law; spinster Lilian Edith Alexandra Taylor (both were in their 70's). She was the sister of his deceased wife. The 1954 AER listed Herbert
Stanley Boardman and Edith Lillian A. Boardman, married couple living at 'Grandview', Victoria Cres. Mornington. Sadly their married life was cut short that year by the death of Lilian, and the following notices were placed in the papers.
- "BOARDMAN
(nee Taylor).-Lillian A., beloved
wife of Henry [sic] Stanley, youngest daughter of the
late Mrs. G. Taylor, and loving sister of Florence (deceased). Emily (deceased).
George (deceased). Selina (deceased).
Herbert (deceased). Alberta (deceased). Charles, Ethel Rose (deceased), Norman (deceased), late of Mt. Martha." [NOTE: This advert incorrectly listed Herbert as Henry]
- "BOARDMAN-On
August 30 at Mornington. E. Lillian A. Victoria Crescent, Mt. Martha. (Inserted
by Albert, Muriel [Albert & Murial Boardman nee Fox], Len. and Von Boardman
[Leonard & Veronica Boardman nee Parsons], Thelma [nee Boardman] and Warren
Horton.)" [The
three children of Herbert Stanley Boardman]
Herbert Stanley Boardman 92 died at home in Sep 1968 (Place of death wrongly stated as Murchison instead of Mornington). Probate for Herbert S. Boardman, a gentleman of Mornington was finalised on 21 September 1968. Herbert and Alberta had three children. Albert married Muriel Marion Fox in 1937. Leonard married Veronica (Von) Sarah Parsons on 6 Sep 1941. Thelma married Warren Edgar Horton, insurance inspector in 1939.
NOTE 1: Boardman St, (around the corner from Herbert's house 'Stanberta' in John St), Caulfield is named after Herbert Stanley Boardman, whose garage (motor mechanics) was a landmark in that vicinity for many years. The garage was located at 833 Dandenong Rd, East Malvern (on the corner of Boardman St) and was known as 'Boardman's Garage' even after it passed to new owners (The site is now an Indian Restaurant).
NOTE 2: The Taylor sisters came from a large family of eleven children all born in Williamstown. Although the family moved to Mt Martha before 1900, several of the siblings settled in the Prahran/South Yarra area. Many of them were members of the Prahran Independent (Congregational) Church at 246 Malvern Rd and several family funerals and weddings were held there. The Taylors were well known to members of the extended Boardman family, as they also had marriages and funerals at the same church.
13.8b Tournament Horse Carving by GGGF Thomas Boardman
GGGF
Thomas Boardman (1776-1843) was a master carver and restored choir stalls at St
John’s College, Cambridge. In 1812 he carved a magnificent tournament horse and
rider (a knight) from one piece of wood. A descendant of Thomas named Bill
Boardman has kindly sent photos and other information about the journey of the
carving over the past 200 years. The carving was originally passed on to
Thomas' youngest son, GGF Henry Boardman, who brought it to Australia.
 |
| A close up of the detail in the carving |
In
a letter written on the 20 Sep 1920, Henry's widow, Sarah Ann Boardman nee Moss
wrote, "This horse was carved from a
solid piece of wood with the exception of the plume on the horse's head. The
work was executed by Thomas Boardman of Cambridge more than 127 years ago (in
1920). The horse and rider represent a tournament of ancient times......Thomas
Boardman was the father of Henry Boardman (her husband) who died on 18 Jul
1919. It was his wish that his son Stanley should have the horse to preserve it
for future generations, as he prized it as a family heirloom".
 |
| A letter addressed to in response to his request for information about his father's work at Kings College, Cambridge |
Bill
Boardman writes, "My Grandfather (Herbert Stanley Boardman) gave
the carving to his eldest son, Albert Herbert Stanley Boardman. Now my Uncle
Albert had no male heirs, [so] Albert and my father (Leonard George Boardman)
made a decision that Leonard's son me, (William Leonard Boardman) would take
the horse."
 |
| Bill Boardman's daughters admiring the carving |
Bill will be the custodian of the carving until he is ready to pass it on, and has written a 'plan of succession' into his will, should anything unexpected happen. It is good to see such an important piece of family history being cared for so well, and held in the high regard that it deserves.
13.9 Annie Selina Boardman (1877-1955)
Annie Selina was born on 2 Jul 1877 at Hitchin. She lived with her parents in Hitchin until they sailed to Australia in 1889 when she was 12. In Australia she became a saleswoman and lived with her parents up until their deaths. In 1825 she lived alone in the family home at 16 Martin St., St Kilda. From 1936-43 she lived with her half brother John Moss Boardman and his wife at 70 Brunel St., Malvern East. During this time she was employed as a clerk. From 1949-1954 she lived at 796 Malvern Rd with her widowed sister Mabel Amelia Millicent Griffin nee Boardman.
Annie Selina Boardman 78, unmarried, died on 3 May 1955 with her death registered at Heidelberg. She was buried in the New Cheltenham cemetery.
13.10 Harold George Boardman (1880-1881)Harold was the final child of
GGF Henry and Elizabeth Boardman nee Frohock. He was born on 15 May 1880 and died the following year on 19 Jan 1881. He was buried in Hitchin cemetery.
14.0 Three children of GGP Henry Boardman (1841-1919) & Sarah Ann Moss (1850-1921)
After his second marriage Henry's family grew by another three sons making a total of thirteen children by two marriages.
14.1 GF Arthur Reginald Boardman (1883-1968)
Arthur Reginald was born on 23 Jul 1883, at Hitchin and usually went by the name 'Reg' or 'Reginald'. He lived in
Hitchin with his parents until the age of six when the family migrated to
Australia in Mar-Apr 1889 on the ship 'Taroba'. They lived in Brisbane for a short while, but after the death of his sister Bertha on 19 Nov 1889, the family moved to Melbourne.
Reginald’s father established
a china dealer business at
340 Malvern Rd Prahran, which he started advertising on 6 Aug 1890. The large family of two parents and seven children, were living in the house which had six rooms from at least from 1890 onwards. The six rooms included kitchen, lounge and possibly a sitting room, so at the most would have only had three or four bedrooms. According to daughter Bea Boardman "My father and his brothers attended Hawksburn State School no 1467 in Malvern Rd".
 |
| 22 Surrey Rd, South Yarra |
In the early 1900’s the family moved 300 metres to 22 Surrey St., South Yarra. It was a crowded house, because apart from parents,
GGP Henry and Sarah Boardman, and
Reginald's three brothers, there were also step siblings Annie Selina Boardman and Thomas William Boardman engineer along with his wife Eliza Boardman nee Austin (see 13.2). A step brother of
Reginald’s, Herbert Stanley Boardman (see 13.8) also lived nearby at 3 Portland Place. When he reached voting age,
Reginald was listed on the electoral roll (in 1905) as living at 22 Surrey Rd and gave his occupation as engineer. Daughter
Mabel recalled that Reginald
"was a clever mechanic. His only training was working in his youth, in Uncle (stepbrother)
Stan's garage at Caulfield". (See Herbert Stanley Boardman above)
There is no record of any formal engineering qualification and his older step brothers Thomas William Boardman and Herbert Stanley Boardman would have been his mentors. The latter along with brother-in-law Henry Smith ran the company 'Smith and Boardman Cycle Manufacturers' in the city at this time. By the early 1900’s,
Arthur Reginald in his twenties, would have been well-versed in the trade.
Although Reginald was generally known as a quiet, private person, he was also community minded and this was demonstrated by his work with a boys' club gym, which ran at the Prahran Independent Church building. The 'Prahran
Chronicle' 17 Nov 1906 had an article titled "Prahran Independent Church Fancy Fair" which mentioned Reginald's contribution. "In
connection with the church a fancy fair is to be held in the spacious
school hall, situated at rear of church, Malvern Road. The effort is a special
one and the funds derived will be divided between the organ fund and the young
people's athletic societies, viz., Gymnasium, Cricket Club etc. The various
stalls are in the following capable hands, viz ....Mr Reg Boardman sweets
stall....Miss Lily Greenlaw and Mr John Boardman hon. secretaries..." (John Boardman was Reg's younger brother, who was also secretary of the 'Prahran Independents' Cricket Club')
 |
| Arthur Reginald Boardman |
14.1a
GP Arthur Reginald Boardman (1883-1968) & Florence Maude Reid (1883-1968)
Reginald continued to live at 22 Surrey Rd Hawksburn with his parents, up until his
marriage to GM Florence Maude Reid on 29 Aug 1908, at the Independent Church,
Prahran. (See Reid Tree for more detail on the life of Florence Maude Reid)
 |
| GF Reginald Arthur Boardman married GM Florence Maude Reid in 1908 |
 |
| AER 1909 |
The
following year in 1909, Reginald 26 and his new bride were recorded as living at
14 Cambridge St Armadale, and his occupation was 'mechanic' (AER).
 |
| Prahran Chronicle 30 Oct 1909 |
On 1st Oct 1909 GM Florence Maude Boardman gave birth to daughter Annie Beatrice Boardman at home in Cambridge St.. The couple were still listed in Cambridge St in 1911 but by 1912 they had moved to 289 Malvern Rd, South Yarra, where they took over an established 'Cycle Works' run by Mr B.Y. Simpson (cycle engineer and manufacturer).
 |
| AER 1912 |
Reginald’s occupation was now given as
cycle manufacturer, but over the next few years he expanded into the motorbike
manufacturing business.
 |
| The Herald 28 Jan 1914 |
In 1914, Reginald in partnership with his two brothers, launched the 'Torpedo, Motor and Cycle Works'. The announcement was published under the headline "New Company Registered" and read, "Torpedo Motor and Cycle Works Propriety Limited. Capital £4000, in £1 shares. First directors Arthur Reginald Boardman, John Moss Boardman and Ralph Edwin Boardman. Registered office 289 Malvern road, South Yarra". However, Reginald seems to have been the driving force behind the company and the other two brothers went on to pursue other interests. Daughter Florence Mabel recalls that Reginald "built a motorbike himself which he called the 'Torpedo' and used it for years. Then there were Torpedo pushbikes, some of which he sold."
 |
| Vic BDM |
A few months later in July 1914,
GM Florence Maud Boardman nee Reid, gave birth to their second daughter
Florence Mabel Boardman at home. The names chosen for the two daughters were probably not random names. Florence was both
Reginald's wife's name and also the name of his older sister. The names Mabel and Annie may have also been chosen to honour other half sisters. And the name Beatrice may have come from brother Herbert's first wife who had that name. As one of the younger children in the family, Reginald would have looked up to his older brothers and sisters (some were 20 years older than him).
Florence Mabel Smith nee Boardman later wrote that
"Taylor's the jewellers, lived next to where I was born" (289 Malvern Rd.). Reginald's brother Herbert Stanley Boardman married Beatrice Taylor in 1900 and then, after she died in 1950, he married Lillian Taylor in 1953. These women were both sisters of G. H. Taylor, jeweller of Malvern Rd. Florence Mabel also recalled that Joseph Leslie (Squizzy) Taylor, a high profile Melbourne criminal and gangster of the 1920's also lived a few doors away for a time. The two Taylor families do not seem to be related.
|
|
296 & 298 Malvern Road, South Yarra. (A Furniture gallery today)
|
According to the AER, GP Reginald and Florence Boardman moved a few doors down on the opposite side of the road to 296 and 298 Malvern Rd, South Yarra during 1916. This move gave Reginald more room to set up his workshop as well as larger living quarters. Daughter Mabel recalled that "it was a big house and one spare room was the 'playroom'... There were three bedrooms upstairs, and the large lounge room, the latter carpeted in a glamorous red pattern and containing a white marble fireplace with a big mirrored over mantel...Downstairs was the diningroom, really more of a little used parlour, the kitchen, bathroom, washhouse and the toilet... The kitchen had no sink or water laid on. We used a tap over a gully trap out near the washhouse. Washing up was done in a tin dish and tray. In the early days a fire stove was used for cooking and for heating, but this was later replaced by a gas stove". GP Reginald and Florence rented this building for the next thirty years.
 |
| Prahran Chronicle 13 Jan 1917 |
In 1917
Reginald, along with others, lodged an objection to a planning proposal at the magistrate’s court. The applicant wanted to establish a bottle collecting yard in the area and
Reginald objected because four of his windows overlooked the yard. In 1918 the family went down to Princess Pier, Port Melbourne to welcome home John Moss Boardman who had been wounded whilst in the AIF in France in WW1. On 19 Jul 1919
GF Arthur Reginald’s father
GGF Henry Boardman died and in Mar 1921, his mother
GGM Sarah Ann Boardman nee Moss died.
Both
GP Reginald and
Florence Maude Boardman were community minded. For many years
Reginald ran a boys' gym class (Boys' Club) at the Prahran Independent (Congregational) Church and
Florence Maud played the piano for it. She also played for at least two callisthenics clubs that daughter
Mabel attended.
GP Reginald and
Florence Maude Boardman loved to escape the noise and hustle and bustle of the city. (Their bedroom overlooked Malvern Road so they had the noise of the trams to contend with on a daily basis.) Their solution was to spend holidays camping up on the Goulburn River on a property belonging to the Gilmore family.
Reginald had befriended the Gilmores before he was married.
Mabel Boardman recalled that
"...when Reginald married and she and Bea arrived, most of our holidays were spent at Thornton, either camping at the river at what has become known as 'Boardies' Camp', or staying at the house." Their mode of transport was a motorbike and sidecar at first and later a canvas topped Studebaker sedan, which used to struggle to get up the steep and deeply rutted climb up the 'Blacks' Spur' past Healesville.
In 1920
Reginald and Florence Maude bought a piece of land in the bush on Mt Erin Rd, One Tree Hill above Ferntree Gully to give them a holiday haven much closer at hand. From then on they spent most weeks 'Yuppe Toppe' which was the name they gave the property. Soon they built a one room dwelling with a tin chimney and a camp oven to cook in. Lighting was by kerosene lamp. Later a back bedroom, verandah and bathroom were added. Part of the property was cleared of trees and a post and rail boundary fence put up.
Later that decade in 1927,
GF Arthur Reginald's mother-in-law died and the following announcement was made in 'The Argus' 7 May 1927;
"On the 5th May, Martha [Martha Reid nee Bisgrove], devoted grandma of Beatrice and Mabel Boardman, Dorothy, Robbie, and Alan Haynes, Jack and Jean Halls, Jean (deceased), Nancy and Sadie Reid. Sadly missed."
 |
| AER 1935 |
In the 1930’s, as they came of age, daughters Beatrice and Mabel were listed on the electoral roll. In 1931 the AER
listed the eligible voters at 298 Malvern Rd South Yarra as GF Arthur Reginald
Boardman, cycle manufacturer, GM Florence Maude Boardman nee Reid and Annie
Beatrice Boardman, student 22. From 1935 to 1937 Florence Mabel Boardman,
teacher was also listed at the home address. 'The
Argus' 14 Jun 1935 had a description of the Prahran Annual Mayoral Ball and among the listed debutantes were the Misses Mabel Boardman and her cousin Dorothy Haynes.
The 1937 AER
listed Arthur R Boardman cycle manufacturer, Florence Maude Boardman, home duties, Florence Mabel Boardman teacher and Annie Beatrice Boardman teacher living at 298 Malvern Rd, South Yarra. As the Great Depression started stifling the economy, Reginald's business came under pressure. To earn extra income he "began building pushbikes from scratch on piecework for Bruce Small the owner of Malvern Star bikes. There was not much profit and all the family would sometimes be sitting round the kitchen at night, putting spokes into the hubs of wheels and fitting them into the rims and adding the nipples. Then Reginald would 'true' them with a tool".
Over the years Reginald sold a variety of motorbikes through newspaper advertisements such as the following;
- Harley
outfit. 1931 motor, reg.12 mths., £35. 298 Malvern Rd., Prahran.
- B.S.A.
and Side Car, £25. Inspect before reassembling at Boardman's, 296 Malvern- rd..
Prahran. (The Age 29 Jan 1938)
- Excelsior
250 Two-Stroke, good order, good tyres, recently overhauled; £27 10/. Boardman,
298 Malvern Rd., Prahran. (The Age 4 Nov
1944)
 |
| The Argus 26 Jun 1939 |
GF Arthur Reginald announced the engagement of daughter Mabel to
Allan Smith on 26 Jun 1939.
“BOARDMAN- SMITH -The engagement is announced of Florence Mabel
younger daughter of Mr and Mrs A R Boardman of 298 Malvern Road Prahran to
Allan Stewart only son of Mr and Mrs A H Smith of Glen Ebor Avenue Blackburn.”
 |
| The Herald 27 Jun 1940 |
In 1940, both of
Reginald's daughters (
Mabel and Beattie) were on the selection list for the state hockey team to represent Victoria. Due to the war, the interstate match was cancelled, but they were in a state team selected to play a combined Victorian club team instead to raise funds for the 'war effort'.
GF Arthur Reginald Boardman was mentioned in the newspaper in 1941 when he had a minor problem with the law. The newspaper
reported that A.R Boardman of 298 Malvern Road, Prahran appeared in the
Frankston Court and was fined two pounds for “failing to have head & tail
lights burning”. The wedding plans of daughter Mabel were held up, due to her mother's request that she have a two year engagement. Mabel and Allan Smith were finally married on 17 May 1941.
 |
| 1943 AER |
GP Arthur Reginald Boardman, cycle manufacturer and Florence
Boardman were still listed at 298 Malvern Rd Sth Yarra in 1943, but on 8 Sep 1945 the following ad was placed in 'The Age' "Painters. Price to Renovate Shop. Meet builder 298 Malvern Rd., Prahran between 9 and 10"; which suggests that Reginald and Florence had moved out of their home. This was confirmed three months later when the following ad appeared in 'The Argus' on 1 December 1945; "Period
Couch, also all types of occasional furniture made to order. Lampshades. Curtains,
and Bedspreads. 'Tanner and Matthews', 296-298 Malvern Rd, Prahran. 200 yards Chapel
st., also 740 Burke rd., Camberwell". The Boardman house and workshop had been turned into a furniture store. This company did not last long as "296-298
Malvern Rd., Large Brick Shop and Dwelling" was sold in an Executor's Auction in July 1951. Interestingly, the building is once again a furniture showroom in modern times.
 |
| GP Florence Boardman nee Reid & Reginald Arthur Boardman, 1952 |
At the time the shop and residence was sold, Arthur Reginald was in his sixties and retired. He and Florence Maude had decided a change was needed They moved to the home they had built in Mount Erin
Rd, Ferny Creek. Arthur Reginald gave his occupation as 'retired', and wife
Florence Maude and daughter Annie Beatrice, teacher were also listed on the AER.
 |
| AER 1954 |
The family lived
in Mt Erin Rd until 1960 when the property was sold and they moved to a house closer to the city, that Beatie 'built'.
 |
| Boardman gathering at Dorothy Boardman's wedding 1952. Back row includes Alan Smith, Mabel Smith nee Boardman, Florence Boardman nee Reid & Reginald Arthur Boardman |
In 1963 GP Arthur Reginald Boardman 80, Florence Maude Boardman
nee Reid along with eldest daughter Annie Beatrice Boardman, teacher, were
living at 18 Quentin Rd Chadstone. They lived at this address (apart from short absences) until their
deaths.
GF Arthur Reginald Boardman died on the 7 May 1968 aged 84 at home in Chadstone. He was buried at Ferntree Gully Cemetery.
GM Florence
Maude Reid aged 85 died a few months later on the 2 Oct 1968.
 |
| FTG Cemetery Register: Reg & Florence are buried in the Presbyterian Section, Row 3, Plot 13 |
Florence was buried beside Reginald in Ferntree Gully Cemetery (Presbyterian
Section D, Row 3, Plot 13) on 4 Oct 1968.
NOTE: In 1998 the local council commissioned a report on the
significance of the buildings at 296-298 Malvern Road. The report found that
the buildings were of regional significance and should be added to the schedule
to the Heritage Overlay in the local section of the Stonington Planning Scheme
and nominated to the Australian Heritage Commission for inclusion in the register
of the National Estate. In the list of occupiers it states, "From around
1920, mechanic Arthur Boardman ran his business 'Torpedo, Motor and Cycle Works' from the Malvern Road buildings. At that time the owner of the building was Edward
Casper."
14.2
Ralph Edwin Boardman (1885-1968)
Ralph
was born on 20 Jan 1885 Hitchin, Hertfordshire. He lived in Hitchin with his
parents until the age of four when the family migrated to Australia in Mar-Apr
1889 on the ship 'Taroba'. They lived in Brisbane for a few months, but after
the death of his sister Bertha, the family moved to Melbourne. Ralph's father
established a china dealer business at 340 Malvern Rd, Prahran, which he began
advertising in Oct 1890. The large family of two parents and seven children
were living in the house, which had six rooms. The rooms included kitchen,
lounge and possibly a sitting room, so at the most would have only had three or
four bedrooms. Ralph and his brothers attended Hawksburn State School in
Malvern Rd.
 |
| Ballarat Star 3 Nov 1902 |
From
an early age Ralph displayed an aptitude for written expression which enabled
him to gain an honorable mention in an essay competition when Ralph was
17. The name of his essay was 'Azure' and the results of the competition were
reported in 'The Ballarat Star' 23 Oct 1902. According to the AER, Ralph was
working as a clerk during 1908-1909 and living at home with his family in 22
Surrey Rd, Hawksburn.
Around
the age of 20, Ralph became involved in activities run in association with the
South Yarra Baptist Church; especially the cricket team. There were regular
reports of his performance in the sports section of the newspapers from 1906
onwards. A report in the Malvern Standard 2 Mar 1907 said, "Ralph Boardman was I believe one of the club's originators (South
Yarra Baptist Cricket Club), and is
second wicketkeeper, a fair bat and good outfield." However a few years later he was out of
action for a while as reported in 'The Herald' 11 Nov 1910; "The South Yarra Baptists have
experienced another misfortune. Ralph Boardman, their keeper, had one of his
fingers fractured whilst behind the sticks. This will keep him off the field
for a few weeks".
 |
| Malvern Standard 5 Jan 1907 |
At
around the same time, Ralph was taking boys on trips to the country, as this abbreviated
article in the 'Malvern Standard' 5 Jan 1907 recounts; "Healesville was the spot favored by the presence of 17 boys from
the South Yarra Baptist Sunday School during the Xmas holidays. We had delightful weather, and among other things swimming in the Badgers Creek
having set up a spring board. On Xmas day a most enjoyable match was played
with the Healesville CC, the latter winning by the narrow margin of 15 runs.....all
arrangements were made by R. E. Boardman, under whose care the lads were...".
 |
| Malvern Standard 26 Nov 1910 |
The
'Malvern Standard' 26 Nov 1910 reported that "A Young Men's Society has been inaugurated at the South Yarra
Baptist Church, meeting weekly in the vestry....and on December 3rd, a magazine
night is arranged (editor Mr. R. E. Boardman)". The following year, an
article in the 'Malvern Standard' 16 Sep 1911, titled "The Fight for the Shield. South Yarra Baptists Beat Prahran
Independents" highlighted
Ralph's debating skills. "A further
debate took place .... at the Independent Church, Malvern Road. The Prahran
Independents, who have the honour of not having been defeated since the Union
started three years ago, were beaten by the South Yarra Baptist by 17 points.
The question for discussion, 'Should the State provide work for the Unemployed
?' Messers R. Boardman .......of the South Yarra Baptists, strongly argued
against the State interfering with private enterprise. The adjudicator [praised]
Mr R. Boardman for his practical arguments."
According
to the AER from 1912 -1917 Ralph Edwin Boardman journalist was living at 16
Martin St with other family members; Annie Selina Boardman, saleswoman, father Henry
Boardman, glass repairer, brother John Moss Boardman traveller and mother Sarah
Annie Boardman. During this period Ralph often had 'Letters to the Editor' published, or was mentioned in news articles
In
1914 Ralph along with brothers Arthur Reginald and John Moss Boardman set up a
new company named "Torpedo Motor and
Cycle Works Propriety Limited". Although they were registered partners,
the business was based in Arthur Reginald's shop at 289 Malvern Road, South
Yarra and there is no record of Ralph being involved in engineering or cycle
repair (as all his brothers were at times). Ralph had many other interests
which he would tenaciously work at for the rest of his life, as outlined below.
 |
| Weekly Times 24 Jul 1915 |
By
1915 Ralph was working for 'Fruit World Pty Ltd.' and writing articles about, and
promoting the marketing of Australia Fruit. 'The Age' 17 Jul 1915 published
Ralph's letter promoting the idea of apples wrapped in Red Cross paper, being
sold throughout the city by Red Cross nurses on Australia Day, to raise funds.
 |
| Assistant General Secretary Y.M.C.A. |
Ralph
had also been working for some time with the Y.M.C.A. and in 1915 received the
honour of being appointed Assistant General Secretary of the Young Men's Christian
Association. 'The Herald' 15 Nov 1915 reported that "Mr Boardman, who has journalistic as well as business experience,
has acted as the association's honorary officer at the Domain camp, where he
grew extremely popular with the soldiers". During the war, Ralph
featured in many articles informing the public of the work that the Y.M.C.A was
doing to promote the war effort, including this one in 'The Ballarat Star' 27
Jan 1916. "The Melbourne Y.M.C.A has
played its part well in the great war. Mr Ralph E Boardman stated today that
out of a total membership of 1229 at the outbreak of the war, it was considered
that 650 were of military age and the number of those who have gone to fight
exceeded 300. In attending to the needs
of the soldiers, the Melbourne Y.M.C.A has supplied nearly 4,000,000 sheets of
writing paper, envelopes and 350,000 postcards. .... The Y.M.C.A has brightened
the lives thousands of soldiers, attending in a practical way to the physical,
mental, social and spiritual needs of the men".
As
can be seen above, Ralph was active in numerous community activities, and at
this time a young lady named Sadie, was making a similar contribution. 'Punch'
23 Nov 1916 reported on the success of a fete in aid of the Red Cross at East
Malvern as follows, "A Fruit Stall
in one corner of the lawn had a most artistic decoration and was presided over
by ....Miss Sadie Gorrie". And
the following year at the Prahran Carnival, "The
Flower Stall was presided over by Mrs. C.G. Sutton; Miss S. M. Gorrie was hon.
sec....."
 |
| Punch 22 Nov 1917 |
It was not surprising that Ralph and Sadie should meet, and
with their similar interests, form a bond. Ralph and Sadie's marriage was
reported in 'Punch' 22 Nov 1917. An edited version of the report is as follows,
"The wedding of Mr. Ralph Edwin
Boardman, second youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Boardman, of Martin-street,
St. Kilda, and Miss Sadie Muriel Gorrie, only daughter of Mr. William J.
Gorrie, of 'Monowai', East Malvern, was celebrated on 3rd November, at
St.James' Church of England, Glen Iris....The bridegroom's mother [GM Florence Maud Boardman nee Reid] was handsomely gowned in black, and also
wore a black and white hat. A bouquet of red roses was carried. Subsequently
Mr. and Mrs. Boardman left for their honeymoon to Lorne...... The bridegroom
was for two years acting general secretary of the Melbourne Y.M.C.A., and
previously military secretary of the Domain Camp".
Ralph
supported the war effort through his articles and actions in the Y.M.C.A, but
he also tried to enlist in the AIF. His second application was dated 1 Mar 1918
and was rejected on account of short-sightedness. The application listed his
address as Brunel St, his age as 33 years 1 month and occupation as journalist. (During WW2 Ralph again volunteered for service, and at the age of 55 on 25 Mar 1942 he enlisted in the Australian Volunteer Defence Corp of the AIF. He was discharged on 1 Oct 1945 after the end of the war.)
 |
| Ralph Edwin Boardman |
Over
the next twelve years Sadie gave birth to six children; John Gorrie Boardman on
6 Oct 1918, David Ralph Boardman 24 Dec 1919, Margaret Sadie Boardman 9 Sep
1921, Gwennyth Muriel Boardman 9 May 1923, Dorothy Ann Boardman 30 Aug 1930 and
Harold William
Henry Boardman 10 Mar 1932.
Ralph
and Sadie's first house was located at 69 Brunel St and named 'Inglenook'. In
the early 1920's they moved to 40 Normanby Rd and in the 1930's moved a short
distance to 79 Normanby Rd where they lived at least until 1933.
Over
his long career Ralph took on many roles (often honorary). These included General
Secretary of the Melbourne Y.M.C.A., Secretary of the 'Apple and Pear Council',
Secretary of 'Victorian Fruit Marketing Association', Editor of 'The Fruit
World', Secretary of the 'Cronin Memorial Horticultural Foundation', Organiser
of 'Honey Week', Secretary of the 'Children's
Week', Secretary of 'Queen Victoria
Fidelity Club', secretary of the 'Thrips Investigation League', secretary of
the 'Nurserymen and Seedsmen's Association of Victoria' and Vice President of
the 'East Malvern Progress Association'. He named and organised the first 'Autumn
Garden Week' held at Wirths Olympia now occupied by the St Kilda Arts Centre
and was founding editor of several horticultural publications including 'The
Garden Lover'.
NOTE: For a list of positions held by Ralph see 'Who's Who in Australia 1921-1950'.
Ralph
was also a prolific writer of hundreds
of letters, many of which were published
in newspapers of the day. Topics were very diverse but included, 'What
Scientific Bud Selection Did For California', 'Trees for city streets', 'Need
for the Hurstbridge railway line', 'Teaching wounded soldiers', 'Price of sugar',
'Aid for a blind inventor', 'Problems with cyclists on city roads', 'Health
Week', 'Re-armament of Japan', Developments in Russia and 'Fruit for the Home'.
In
1927 Ralph made an extended study trip through the U.S. and his findings were
published in the papers of the day. In fact, some of his articles were
subtitled "Specially Written for The
Herald by Ralph E. Boardman, the Victorian Fruit Expert and Editor of 'The Fruit World', who is travelling in
America investigating the fruit industry". These articles varied
greatly in subject matter and included "Playgrounds
in America; The value of trained leadership is recognised in the development of
natural gifts" and an article titled "Advertising Australia; Increased Tourist Traffic Desirable",
which called for the marketing of Australia as a tourist destination.
In
the mid 1930's Ralph and Sadie moved to a property named Sierra in Ellesmere
Ave Croydon, where they lived for around thirty years. As
Ralph and Sadie's children became adults they met partners and married. Some
of the marriages and family announcements
in the Melbourne papers were as follows;
- The
Argus 9 Sep 1944, "Gwennyth Muriel
(W.A.A.A.F.),. second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Boardman, Wicklow Hills,
Croydon, to Sgt. William Ronald, A.I F., only son of Mrs. C. F.Kingsford,
MacGregor Street, East Malvern, and the late A. L. Crichton". Sadly William
was killed in action on May 25, 1945 during WW2 in the Battle of Tarakan. (The first stage of
defeating the Japanese occupation of Borneo which began on 1 May 1945). Gwen
found love again, two years later., (See below)
- 'The
Age' 9 May 1947. "Gwennyth Muriel, widow late W. R. Crichton, second daughter of Mr
and Mrs. R. E. Boardman of Croydon to Keith St. John.....".
- David
Ralph Boardman married Joan Marie Phillpot on1 Jan 1946.
- 'The
Argus' 7 Aug 1947. "Margaret [Sadie] Boardman, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Boardman, Ellesmere Avenue,
Croydon, to Ray Francis, only son of Mr. H. M. Ericksen and the late Mrs.
Ericksen, 19 Balmoral avenue, Springvale."
- 'The
Argus' 17 Jul 1948 "On June 10, at
St. Andrew's Church, Box Hill. Beryl Amiee eldest daughter of Mr. and J Mrs.
Warwick Deuchar, 134 Thames street, Box Hill, to John Gorrie, eldest son of Mr.
and Mrs. Ralph Edwin Boardman, Sierra, Ellesmere Avenue, Croydon."
- 'The
Argus' 1 Jan 1949. "On December 13,
1948, at the Congregational Church, Croydon, Dorothy Anne, youngest daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. R. E.Boardman, Croydon, to John Clifton, younger son of Mr. and
Mrs. H. R.Pottage, Balwyn. "
- Harold
William Henry Boardman married Mary Dorothea Maud Dickson on 4 Jun 1960.
 |
| Ralph & Sadie Boardman (left) at wedding of daughter Dorothy Boardman and John Pottage |
In
the 1940's and 1950's Sadie became a prolific writer of letters to Melbourne
papers, and like her
husband, covered a wide variety of topics including; 'Need
for Fresh Air in Rail Carriages', 'Ambulance Costs for Pensioners', 'Night shopping', 'Removal of Large Gum Trees in Croydon', 'Egg Prices' and 'Treatment of Animals in
Circuses'.
Sadie Boardman nee Gorrie 66, died on 4 Mar 1963.
 |
| Ralph Edwin Boardman in his later years c1965 |
According to the AER Ralph 78, still listed as a journalist, was
living at 71 Campbell St, Heathmont in the year that he was widowed.
Ralph Edwin Boardman died on 26 Mar 1968 at Blackburn, Victoria aged 83. Ralph's funeral was held on the 28 Mar and the service was conducted by the minister of the Unitarian Peace Memorial Church, East Melbourne. A eulogy was given by C.F. Walker and this included the following information about Ralph in his latter years. "Ralph travelled widely and in more recent years to Russia, Siberia, China and Japan. In order to obtain a greater understanding of Russian ideals, culture and procedures he could read, write and speak quite fluently, and in fact in his late seventies passed at Melbourne University first and second years of the course. It was his intention to complete the four year course but failing health prevented this."
14.3 John Moss Boardman (1887-1981)
John was born on 29 Oct 1887 in Hitchin. He migrated to
Australia with his family in Mar 1889 on the ship 'Taroba', living for a few
months in Brisbane before moving to Melbourne. John’s father established a china dealer business at 340 Malvern Rd Prahran, which he started advertising on 6 Aug 1890. The large family of two parents and seven children, were living in the house which had six rooms from at least from 1890 onwards
. The six rooms included kitchen, lounge and possibly a sitting room, so at the most would have only had three or four bedrooms. John and his brothers attended Hawksburn State School in Malvern Rd. and like several other members of his family he became a cycle mechanic.
John appeared in a court case as reported in 'The Argus', 12 Feb 1904, which tells us that at the age of 16 he was working for his brother's (Herbert Stanley Boardman) bicycle manufacturing business in the city. The article also shows us a little of the character of John's father (GGF Henry Boardman). The article is quite long and an edited version is below.
"A
charge of negligently riding a bicycle was responsible for some little
excitement in the District Court yesterday. The defendant was a youth named John
Boardman, engineer of 10 Royal Lane, but when the case was called, an elderly
gentleman whose appearance denoted anything but negligence in the management of
a cycle, came forward to answer the charge."
The
elderly gentleman explained that he was the father of the defendant. The
prosecution outlined their case which was that "the defendant was riding
down Elizabeth St at about 10 mph. He dashed across the intersection striking a
boy and making his nose bleed, and then cannoned into a tram with such force as
the break the centre bar of the bicycle".
Mr
Boardman snr then attempted to make a statement, but was stopped by the
magistrate Mr Dwyer.
Mr
Boardman: "Is it not fair that every defendant should have a hearing. The lad
is only 16 years old".
Mr
Dwyer: "Very well, then ask questions for him"
Mr
Boardman then asked Constable Hickling: "Did you not go into a hotel about
20 minutes
past
5?"
Constable:
"I may have called in but I do not remember the circumstances"
Mr
Boardman began to speak angrily but the police magistrate interrupted saying, "Will you sit down and keep quiet? You will have to conform to the rules
of the court. If you can't behave yourself you'll have to be made to do so".
Mr
Boardman -"That's all right I'll conform. I'm not used to a court. Thank
God I never was
in
one before."
The
defendant on oath stated that he was only going at the rate of five miles an
hour, and had
done
all he could to avoid the accident
Mr
Boardman: "Well gentlemen you have heard the evidence. You can see that it was
a pure
accident."
Mr
Dwyer: "Oh sit down. You have nothing to say here What is the defendant?"
Mr
Boardman: "The defendant works for his brother and receives 6s a week." (Then
turning to
Constable
Hickling who was standing in court) "You did go into a pub to get a drink."
Mr
Dwyer (sternly): "Do keep quiet sir".
The
Bench considered the case proved, and imposed a fine of 10s and 14s costs
Mr
Boardman (excitedly): "If I am allowed to speak."
Mr
Dwyer (firmly"): "No you are not".
Mr
Boardman (angrily): "Very well then I shall report the matter to a higher
authority."
Mr
Dwyer- "How dare you sir? Sit down. No, Take him outside."
Mr
Boardman asked to be allowed to pay the fine and costs, in an indignant manner, and angrily left the court accompanied by his son.
From the above article someone might draw the conclusion that John tended to be irresponsible, but his actions from that point on, prove that he was an upstanding citizen and keen to make a positive contribution to society. Two 1906 newspaper articles mentioned his work as secretary of two community groups associated with the Prahran Congregational Church. These groups were the 'Prahran Independents' Cricket Club' and the 'Fancy Fair Committee'. John also had cultural interests and was member of the 'Prahran
Independent Literary and Debating Society'. An article on 3 Oct 1908 reported that, "Mr
J. Boardman followed [on], and stated that he found it impossible to say who was his
favorite [author], but
he was a great admirer of the writers of the books for boys, Ballantyne, Henry Kingston
and the like. Books by writers of this stamp gave young Australian boys healthy adventurous stories and were necessary
to counteract the influence of some other books ". John became secretary of this group too.
 |
| Scoutmaster John Moss Boardman 'The Herald' 1910 |
In 1909 John joined the 'Boy Scouts' and within six months was elected to
the position of scoutmaster by the boys" as reported in an article in 'The Herald', 20 Oct 1910 (see photo). It said his "services to the 1st Brighton Troop, with which
he is connected, have been valuable, as he possesses a ...certificate for first
aid from the St. John Ambulance Association. Scout-master Boardman realises
that the Scout movement will lead the boys along lines that must assuredly result
in their betterment, and he has thrown himself heart and soul, into the work". Later he became a field officer for the 'Boy Scouts' .
On 24 Feb 1912 an article the 'The Leader' described the role that John played in a Boy Scout muster in the city, which was partly organised by him. It read, "The
muster of boy scouts in the Domain on Saturday was the most extensive 'rally' in
connection with the movement that has yet been seen in Victoria. The scouts
themselves numbered upwards of 700. With scarcely an exception they were
active, healthy looking boys, whose briskness of movement showed that the outdoor
exercise agreed with them, and that they found it enjoyable.
 |
| Weekly Times 24 May 1913 |
A
very realistic touch [to the program] was given in one of the ambulance
displays when Scoutmaster Boardman, disguised as a 'motor hog', came on the
scene riding his motor cycle and to all appearance knocking down a youth. The 'accident'
looked so realistic that several of the visitors jumped the barriers, crying
out. They had to be assured that it was all right before they could be persuaded
to retire. The ambulance section came along, bandaged up the supposed broken head
and limb, and bore the victim away to an imaginary hospital...." Over the next two years John became a district scoutmaster and there were several more articles in the paper about his activities.
By 1912 John's family had changed address to 16 Martin St, South Yarra and the AER listed him as a traveller (travelling salesman?) for the next decade. In 1914 John along with brothers Arthur Reginald and Ralph Edwin Boardman set up a new company named "Torpedo Motor and Cycle Works Propriety Limited." Although they were partners, the business was based in Arthur Reginald's shop and he seems to have been the main driving force behind it. Even if John was an active partner in the business, his contribution was limited by the fact that he was away from 1915 to 1918 serving with the AIF in France in WW1.
Twelve months after WW1 started, on 11 Aug 1915
, John enlisted in the AIF. He was 27 at the time, had a height of 172cm and his religion was Congregational. He listed his occupation as cycle and motor mechanic.
 |
| John Moss Boardman as a young man. |
Sarah Ann provided a mother's perspective on the enlistment
of son John when she explained an interruption to the writing of her family
history. "Several events have transpired which have held me back in what I
have undertaken to do, the chief one being the departure of our youngest son
John, who is now on his way to Egypt, or wherever he may be sent, as a soldier
in the Australian Imperial Force. He joined the army in August last (1915) and
commenced his camp life on Sep 1st. He wished to become a member of the Army
Medical Corps and was drafted into that branch of the Army a few weeks after
his enlistment. Since then he was promoted to be a corporal, and held that rank
until his embarkation three weeks ago." [John had embarked from Melbourne
on 30 Mar 1916 on the ship 'HMAT Suffolk'.]
You can hear the anguish in Sarah Ann Boardman's voice as
she wrote her thoughts about her son. "We have received news from him (at
Fremantle) that he had proved a very indifferent sailor but we hope by this
time he has got more accustomed to Old Father Neptune’s vagaries. We have
committed him to the care of our Loving Father, who holds the waters in the
hollow of his hands, and we trust that in God’s good time, he will return to us
once more.
John is now in France very near the firing line, and there
seems to be no immediate prospect of the war being concluded, I must make a
very determined effort to concentrate my thoughts, and strive to finish the
work I have promised to do. It is no easy task that I have undertaken,
especially as my thoughts travel to where our soldier boy is doing his duty.
Many circumstances combine to lend a most depressing
influence on our lives just at the present time. So many of our noblest and
best have laid down their lives for their country and many more are wounded in
hospitals, or are languishing in foreign prisons amongst most loathsome and
sordid scenes. All this robs life of its sweetness."
Not long after he arrived in France, John wrote a letter to his brother Ralph Boardman, which formed the basis of the following article (abbreviated) in 'The Herald' 12 Oct 1916. "I
have seen something of what war really is, says Private J. M. Boardman of
the Australian Army Medical Corps, formerly Scoutmaster of the First Brighton Troop,
in a letter from France to his brother, Mr Ralph E. Boardman.'Of course there is some noise', he writes,
with all the things going off at once, but if a big gun goes off close to me
now, it doesn't even wake me up, and it certainly would not keep me awake. Shrapnel
is not pleasant stuff, neither is high explosive, but I don't like machine
guns. They are beastly things. I cannot tell you where we were in action but I
know now what an awful thing war really is. The only bright patch is the wonderful
heroism and grit of the fellows who were hit. Some of them even go so far as to
apologise for giving you the trouble to dress their wounds. You know how iodine
stings, and I have seen it poured into big gaping wounds that you could put a fist
into, never a suspicion of a groan or a complaint, I think France is a pretty
place, but I have two things to object to; the water supply and the drainage
system. Drainage system is somewhat of a misnomer, as it consists of allowing
the drainage of all kinds from dwellings, to
run out into ditches beside the roads where it remains stagnant: the only way it is got rid of being by evaporation. Needless to say the
smell is decidedly obnoxious. We see the London papers here the
day after they are published, but with their pretty terms; 'glorious charge',
'magnificent bayonet work' and so on, they cloak over the real thing- the awful horror of it all. I was talking to a
chaplain in a cemetery just, after he had conducted a burial service and he
said, 'This sort of thing must make every parson go home determined to do his
very utmost towards getting differences settled, in some other way'."
As a member of the 14th Australian Field Ambulance, John was awarded the Military Medal. The citation is hard to read in parts but an edited version is below.
“On the afternoon of 23 Sep 1917 while carrying a wounded man, a stretcher squad came under very heavy bombardment, a shell landed right on the squad, killing the patient instantly and severely wounding two of the bearers, the fourth being blown ......away. After bringing in the wounded, this man [John Boardman] without hesitation went back to the men under fire, to search for the missing man. After a half hour search, the missing man was found dead from his wounds. Boardman risked his own life in an effort to locate and give aid to his wounded comrade. By his splendid heroism he set a fine example to his fellow stretcher bearers. Since that date whilst on duty this man has been severely wounded.”
John had been wounded in both legs and after some time in military hospitals was eventually discharged and returned to Australia on the hospital ship 'Euripides' which reached Melbourne on the 21 Mar 1918. At that time his medical condition was described as
"gunshot wound left leg". No doubt his family were very relieved to have him back home. Niece,
Florence Boardman recalled,
"We had gone to Princess Pier, Port Melbourne to welcome home Uncle John Boardman from the 1814-1818 war".
The following year John was named in a report about a 'hit and run' accident, in 'The Age' on 3 Jan 1919. It read, "The
circumstances attending the death of Henry Benjamin as the result of a
collision between a motor bicycle he was riding and a lorry, at the intersection
of Brighton and Glen Eira Roads, Elsternwick were inquired into by the City
Coroner yesterday. John M. Boardman, secretary of the Y.M.C.A., who happened to
be in the vicinity and rendered every assistance, said the driver must have
known that there was something wrong, but he did not get down off the lorry,
and drove away. "
 |
| Table Talk 23 Nov 1919 |
At some stage John met a young woman named Eva Amy Rainer and they became engaged on 23 Nov 1919. On 17 Jun 1920 John married Eva . This newspaper
notice was published in 'The Argus' on 7 Aug 1920; “BOARDMAN-RAINER. On the 17th
June, at Holy Trinity, Balaclava by the Rev F G Masters, M.A. John Moss
Boardman M.M, (late AIF) youngest son of the late Henry Boardman and Mrs
Boardman of St Kilda to Eva Amy younger daughter of the late Dr W.G. Rainer and
Mrs. Rainer of Balaclava (Present address (of J.M Boardman) Brunel Street East
Malvern)”.
 |
| Table Talk 1 Jul 1920 |
The wedding of John to Eva Amy Rainer must have been a
notable event because it was ‘written up’ in some detail in ‘The Prahran
Telegraph’ on 10 Jul 1920 and Table Talk on 1 Jul. The article mentioned the role played by 9 year old Florence
Mabel Boardman. An edited version follows.
"A pretty wedding took place at the Holy Trinity Church,
Balaclava, on June 17, when Miss Eva Amy Rainer, younger daughter of Mrs. W. G.
Rainer and the late Dr. W. G. Rainer (St. Kilda), and granddaughter of the late
Mr. Joshua Mooney, was married to Mr. John Moss Boardman, M.M. (late A.I.F.),
third son of Mrs. (Sarah Ann) Boardman, of St. Kilda. .....The
bridegroom's niece, little (GM) Mabel Boardman, acted as trainbearer, in a
pretty little frock of pale blue crepe de chine and a mob cap of white lace
with blue streamers. She carried a basket of pink blooms. The bridegroom
presented her with a gold bracelet.... A reception was held at Wickliffe Cafe,
St. Kilda, the decorations being carried out in brown and green, the colors of
the bridegroom's battalion. The
honeymoon was spent at Marysville, the bride travelling in a smart navy blue
coat and skirt and a blue and grey hat."
 |
| John Moss Boardman aged 65 |
For most of their lives John and Eva lived at 70 Brunel St
Malvern East. The electoral roll listed his occupation as secretary in the 1920's and 1930's. In the 1950's and 1960's his occupation was listed as representative and in the 1960's as 'sales'.
 |
| The Argus 24 Oct 1942 |
In 1942 John was appointed as one of four additional overseas representatives for the Australian Red Cross.
John Moss Boardman died in Malvern in 1981 aged 93.
Eva Amy Boardman nee Rainer died the following year. John and Eva had four children; Evelyn Annie Boardman 1921-1990, Leslie Rainer Boardman 1923-1954, John Moss Boardman 1928-2018 and Richard Grenfell Boardman 1930-?
14.4 Boardmans and Bicycles
All of
Henry Boardman's five sons who survived to adulthood, were involved in the engineering of bicycles and motorbikes; at least for part of their lives. The interest and skill that they developed did not seem to come from their father, as he was a specialist in glass and chinaware. So where did it come from?
It
seems that older sister Florence's husband Henry Smith, may have provided the
inspiration, as he was working in the bicycle field from at least the early
1880's and had his own bicycle shop in Guildford by 1887. In Jan 1888 Florence's brother Thomas married Eliza Austin and moved to Guildford. Oldest son Thomas became a cycle repairer so he may have worked with Henry Smith in Guildford. Florence's other brothers; Herbert
b1875, Reginald b1883 and Ralph b1885 (John was not born until 1887) would have
all met Henry and would have known about his occupation when Florence introduced
her fiance to her family (probably around 1885). Although the four younger
brothers migrated to Australia in 1889, they would have been familiar with Henry's
bicycle shop (and possibly helped out from time to time) during the four years
prior to their departure.
The
four younger brothers were still quite young when they arrived in Melbourne; Herbert
was 14, Reginald 6, Ralph 4 and John was 2. Brother Thomas who initially had not migrated, did so in 1891 and listed himself as an engineer. Herbert said he started work repairing bicycles at the age of 17 in 1892 (at an unknown location, but he may have worked with Thomas). By 1893, Thomas Boardman 28 was a bicycle maker and living at 42 Cowrie St, Sth Melbourne. By 1897 Thomas' family had moved to 39 Oban Rd, Hawksburn, where he was listed as a 'machinist'.
In 1896, Henry Smith
and older sister Florence also migrated to Melbourne, and both Henry Smith and
Herbert Boardman began working with 'T. Robinson & Co' machinery (and bicycle) manufacturers.
Henry was employed as a bike mechanic, before being promoted to manager of the
firm's bicycle shop in the city. In the late 1890's Henry began working for another bicycle company, but had a 'falling out' with management after a short while. As a result, he and brother-in-law Herbert set up their own bicycle
shop selling their own line of bikes named 'The Surrey' at 10 Royal Lane,
Melbourne. In 1902 Henry withdrew from the 'Smith & Boardman' company, but
Herbert kept the company going and was still selling 'Surrey Bicycles' in the
city until 1910, when he consolidated his business at his shop in Caulfield.
In 1899 the three youngest brothers(Reginald 16, Ralph 14 and John 12) had three role models in the family; Henry Smith and Herbert Boardman running the 'Smith & Boardman' business and oldest brother, Thomas Boardman, running his business in Hawksburn. Both businesses were just a tram
ride away. John Boardman was employed by Herbert at the age of 16 (in 1904) and according to daughter Florence Mabel Boardman her father GF Reginald, "was a clever mechanic. His only training was working in his youth in Uncle (half brother) Stan's garage at Caulfield".
By 1905 Reginald aged 22 listed his occupation as 'engineer' which implies
he was fully qualified at that time. Of the two youngest brothers, John Moss Boardman
listed his occupation as cycle builder and Ralph Edwin Boardman listed his
occupation as clerk, when they turned 21. However all three must have
maintained a strong interest in the field because in 1914, in partnership together, they launched a business named 'Torpedo, Motor and Cycle Works' with the registered
office at Reginald's workshop at 289 Malvern Rd. On his army enlistment papers in 1915, John listed his occupation as cycle and motor mechanic,so he may have been
working with Reginald at that time.
Later
the AER listed John's occupation as 'traveller' and Ralph's as 'clerk', so it
seems that the driving force behind the new company was Reginald. The new
company's name also signaled a focus on the relatively new mode of transport;
the motorcycle. Of the three younger brothers, it was Reginald who kept the
cycle/motorcycle business going, until he retired in the 1940's. Herbert, the
older stepbrother, also kept his 'Boardman Motors' in Caulfield going until he
retired too but in later years his occupational focus was on motor cars.
15.0 Diagram of our Later Boardman & Rivett family Tree
16.0 Boardmans from 1590 to the 1700's
NOTE: Any exploration of family trees prior to 1800 runs the increased risk of errors, due to fewer and less detailed records being available and the prevalence of the surname Boardman which makes it difficult for relationships to be be cross-checked for accuracy.
An enormous amount of research has been done into the Boardman ancestors by Harry Benson, who is a great grandson of Thomas George Kitt and Lucy Kitt nee Boardman (See ). Harry has kindly shared much of his research material below; which extends all the way back to the birth of John Boardman at Winwick, Lancashire in 1590. Winwick is about 14 miles west of West Derby
16.1 John Boardman (1590-?)
John Boardman was christened by unknown parents on 26 May 1590 at Winwick. At quite a young age (19) he married (around 1609) an unknown spouse and had four children by her. The second child was James Boardman who was christened at Winwick on 27 Dec 1611. John's date of death is unknown.
16.2 James Boardman (1611-?)
James Boardman who was christened at Winwick on 27 Dec 1611. Around 1632, James, 21, also married an unknown spouse and this couple had six children. The second child was named after his father. James Boardman junior was christened at Bolton (13 miles north east of Winwick) on 1 May 1635.
16.3 James Boardman (1635-?)
James Boardman junior was christened at Bolton (13 miles north east of Winwick) on 1 May 1635. At some stage during his young life, James Boardman b1635, seems to have moved 13 miles eastwards to Makerfield. James Boardman b1635 married an unknown woman in the mid 1650's at Makerfield and had six children. They were Anne Boardman 1657, John Boardman 1659, James Boardman 1662, Elizabeth Boardman 1665, Samuel Boardman 1667 and Sarah Boardman 1670. It was their third child that continued our ancestral line. All children were born at Makerfield, which is about 20 miles west of Manchester.
Close to this area is the Park Lane Chapel (see Unitarianism), Wigan Road, Bryn, which dates back to 1697, although its congregation was founded in 1662. It is the oldest non-conformist chapel and congregation in the district. Several later branches of the Boardman family were staunchly 'nonconformist', which may add further circumstantial evidence that our family descended from James Boardman b1635.
16.4 James Boardman (1662-?) & Isobel Baxter (1664-1729)
 |
| Marriages Winwick (Parish of Upholland) 25 Jul 1683: James Boardman & Isobel Baxter |
James Boardman was born in Makerfield on 25 May 1662. On 25 Jul 1683, James 21 married Isobel Baxter 19, at Winwick, which is about 5 miles from Makerfield. Their seven children, all born in Makerfield, were William Boardman (1684-1689), Thomas Boardman (1688-1688), William Boardman (1689-1745), Thomas Boardman 1691, Ellen Boardman 1693, John Boardman (1695-1698) and Mary Boardman 1697. Although they had seven known children, only two or three seemed to have survived to adulthood. One of these was the second child named William, who was born in the Makerfield area 22 Dec 1689. The date of death of James is unknown but Isobel Boardman nee Baxter is believed to have died at the age of 65 in 1729.
16.5 William Boardman (1689-1745) & Jennet Jackson(1684-1750)
William was born in the Makerfield area on 22 Dec 1689.
 |
| Marriages Poulton le Fylde 1689: William Boardman of Poulton & Jennet Jackson of Hardhorn married 26 Jan 1713 |
William Boardman b1689 met a young woman from Hardhorn in the coastal area near Poulton le Fylde, which was about 34 miles from the place of his birth. The marriage registration listed him as a resident of Poulton at that time, so he must have been living there for a while (Lan OPC). At the age of 24, he married Jennet Jackson 29 (1684-1750) on 26 Jan 1713 in her home town.
Jennet Boardman nee Jackson appears to have given birth to four children at Poulton but these may be a different couple. The first child, Jennet Boardman, was born in 1712 at least four months before the marriage. The location and William Boardman's occupation which is listed as 'husbandman' (farmer) throws some doubt on this ancestral line
William and Jennet Boardman nee Jackson are also believed to have had a son named William Boardman but I have found no record providing his year of birth. Many family trees list a birth in 1713 but this is very unlikely because of daughters named Jennet (born Sep 1712) and Ellin (born Jan 1714). He was certainly born in the early 1700's as is indicated by a death record cited below. My own feeling is that our William Boardman c1703 was born in the early 1700's at a location closer to Liverpool.
16.6 William Boardman (c1703-1799) & Ann
Boyes 1717-1752)
William Boardman was born in the early 1700's and at some stage moved to the Kirkby area where he married Ann Boyes 20. The record reads "30 Jan 1737 Willm. Boardman & Ann Boyes both Kirkby. The 'Kirkby' referred to here is a chapelry, in the parish of Walton on the Hill of West
Derby". Thus, while both came
from Kirkby, the marriage was recorded in the Parish Register of
Walton-On-The-Hill. Their seven children, all born in Kirkby were; Anne
Boardman 1735-1752 (born prior to marriage), GGGGF Henry Boardman 1738-1814, Alice Boardman 1742-1752, William
Boardman 1744–?, Margery Boardman 1746–?, John Boardman 1748–? and Mary Boardman ?-?. William Boardman joiner died in 1799 with a reputed age of 96. (See 4.0 for more about their lives and their descendants)
17.0
The Other Boardman family from West Derby
The other Thomas Boardman born at West Derby about one year after our Thomas may have been related. He was born to William and Mary Musker.
17.1 Thomas Boardman (1777-1843)
 |
| Bishop's Transcript of the baptism of the other Thomas Boardman b16 Oct, baptised 9 Nov 1777 at West Derby |
Thomas Boardman was born 16 Oct 1777 and baptised 9 Nov 1777 at West Derby Chapel by parents William Boardman and Mary Musker. This was twelve months after the birth of our Thomas who was born to Henry Boardman (b1737 Kirkby) and Alice Plumb (born 1737 West Derby, 5 miles from Kirkby).
17.2 William Boardman & Mary Musker (1750-1807)
 |
| Baptisms Walton on the Hill 1750 bottom entry 17 Jun "and Mary daughter of Thomas Musker of Bootle..." |
Mary Musker was baptised by Thomas Musker of Bootle on 17 Jun 1750 at Walton, Liverpool, which was just 2 miles from West Derby. Many of the people in the Walton Parish records were listed as residents of Walton, Derby and Bootle. The latter was 2 miles from Walton.
NOTE: Another Mary Musker was baptised by Robert Musker of Bootle on 17 Dec 1750. However she died at the age of 17 and was buried on 18 May 1767. The burial record lists her, as the daughter of Robert Musker. Robert and
Thomas Musker were most likely related; possibly brothers.
Mary grew up in Bootle cum Linacre, Liverpool. Sadly her father, Thomas Musker died in 1767, when Mary was just 17.
 |
| 16 Dec 1776: William Boardman married Mary Musker at Walton, Liverpool |
William Boardman married Mary Musker 26 at St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Walton, Liverpool on 16 Dec 1776. They were both 'of this parish'. After their marriage they seemed to settle at nearby West Derby, which was less than 3 miles from Walton. They had the following children baptised at St Mary the Virgin, West Derby Chapel; Thomas Boardman b1777 died before 1787, Ann Boardman 1779, William Boardman 1780, Betty Boardman 1782, John Boardman 1785, Thomas Boardman 1787, William Boardman 1789 and James Boardman 1790. Mary was 40 when she had her last child.
Mary Boardman nee Musker of West Derby, died on 12 Apr 1807 and was buried at St Mary's on 14 Apr 1807. Her reputed age was 54, but in actual fact she was 55. Interestingly the cause of death was listed as "Dropsy"; the same cause given to her son Thomas Boardman who also died at the relatively young age of 66.
17.3 Thomas Musker (1718-1767) & Elizabeth Ashcroft
|
|
Baptisms 1718 Walton on the Hill: 16 Apr :Thomas Musker son of Charles Musker of Linacre (Bootle)
|
Thomas Musker was baptised at Walton on the Hill on 16 Apr 1718 by
"Charles Musker of Linacre". During the 1700's the area of Bootle was known as 'Bootle cum Linacre'.
Thomas married Elizabeth Ashcroft on 13 Aug 1740 at Walton on the Hill and had five known children; Robert Musker 1742, Charles Musker 1744, James Musker 1748, Mary Musker 1750 and Margery Musker 1753.
Thomas Musker of Bootle died in 1767 at the young age of 49, and was buried on 20 Sep 1767 at St Mary's, Walton.
Son Robert Musker was baptised at St Mary's, West Derby 22 Feb 1742 by his father Thomas Musker snr b1718. Robert was a farmer at Bootle and according to probate records died in May 1829.
18.0 Boardmans of Bolton, Manchester (30 miles from West Derby)
Some researchers list Thomas Boardman as being born to parents William Boardman and Martha "Rumworth". However there are several facts that throw doubt on this. The first is the fact that William and Martha Boardman’s baby, Thomas, was baptised on 29 Apr 1781 at Bolton Le Moors (1 mile from Manchester). The second is that Thomas’s (b1781) birth record says that his parents were William and Martha “of Rumworth”. (Martha Boardman's maiden name was actually Nelson). Rumworth is just 2 miles from Bolton. However the main problems with this theory are that Thomas would have only been 16 at the time of his marriage and secondly his family seemed to live their whole lives in the Bolton area. Bolton is around 25 miles from West Derby and Liverpool (a considerable distance in the 1700’s), where records show that our Thomas spent his early life.
18.1 William Boardman of Bolton b1752
William Boardman was baptised by his parents; William and Alice Boardman of "G.B.", on 20 Oct 1752 at Bolton. "G.B." was an abbreviation of Great Bolton, an industrial area near Manchester with many cotton factories. William Boardman 22 weaver, married Martha Nelson, at Bolton on 9 Nov 1774. The nine children born to William and Martha Boardman were James Boardman 1775, Alice Boardman 1777, Mary Boardman 1778, Ann Boardman 1779, Thomas Boardman 1781, Hannah Boardman buried Sep 1781, John Boardman 1783, William Boardman 1784 and Benjamin Boardman 1786. All children were baptised at Bolton and most listings describe the parents as William and Martha Boardman of Rumworth.
Martha Boardman nee Nelson
"of Rumworth" died in 1789 and was buried at St Mary's, Deane (about 1 mile from her home). William Boardman of Great Bolton died in 1820 and was buried there on 19 Nov 1820 aged 67.
18.2 Thomas Boardman b1781 (of Rumworth, Bolton)
William Boardman's son, Thomas Boardman, was born on 29 Apr 1781, at Rumworth, Bolton. Thomas Boardman, weaver, married Elizabeth Ashcroft in the chapel of St Helens, Prescot, (17 miles from Rumworth) on 13 Nov 1796. In 1841 Thomas, 65 year old weaver was living at Bolton with four of his children.
19.0 Reserved For Future use
