James Ayling (1800-1855) and Sarah Ann Chadwick (1827-1888)

James Ayling (1800-1855) and Sarah Ann Chadwick (1827-1888).
My 3rd great-grandparents.

James Ayling was baptised on 19 November 1800 at St Peter’s Church in the modest village of Ovington, which lies on the River Itchen in Hampshire. His parents were Edward Ayling and Mary Mills nee Earwaker.

James married Mary Hartley on 8 June 1829 at St George’s, Hanover Square, in the City of Westminster, London. What brought him to the city is unknown but it may have been Mary’s home town. Her ancestry is unclear, although a William Hartley was a witness to the marriage.

It appears that the couple settled back in Ovington as that’s where their daughter Caroline said she was born in the census returns. But their later children were baptised in Lambeth, Surrey – now part of South London. The 1841 Census placed the family there, James listed as a tailor. At some point his wife Mary died, although I’ve not found a record that relates to her that’s beyond doubt. The death of a Mary Ayling was registered in Clerkenwell in 1841, but this was some way from Lambeth. Another Mary Ayling, who’d been a patient in the local asylum, was buried on 15 March 1844 at All Saints in Wandsworth, somewhat closer to Lambeth.

James remarried on 20 May 1850 at St Mary’s in Ealing, Middlesex. His second wife was Sarah Ann Chadwick, who I suspect was the girl baptised Sarah Holmes Chadwick on 7 January 1827 at St Mary’s in Acton, Middlesex, to parents James and Mary Ann. In the baptism register he was described as a painter, the same occupation given by Sarah’s father on the marriage record.

The family were recorded in the 1851 Census living at Munden Street in Fulham, Middlesex. Sarah bore James more children, including my 2nd great-grandmother Annie Ayling.

I’ve not been able to trace James’s death or a census return for 1861. However, I assume he was still alive in the early 1860s as Sarah gave birth to a son in 1863. Sarah was living in Fulham at the time of the 1871 Census, recorded as a tailoress. She married gardener and bachelor William Norman of Lincolnshire at St John’s in Hammersmith, Middlesex, on 22 October 1872, her father James Chadwick still listed as a painter.

By the 1881 Census they were living in Back Street, Acton, Middlesex, William now listed as an agricultural labourer, but Sarah died in 1888 and was buried in Acton on 22 October.

I’ve not been able to trace William’s birth or death with any confidence. However, he was living with his step-daughter Annie Ayling and her husband Reuben Marlow in Acton, Middlesex, at the time of the 1891 Census.

James Ayling’s children with his first wife Mary were:

• Caroline Mary Ayling (c1832-????), my 2nd great-grand aunt. Caroline has been maddeningly difficult to trace. Census returns pointed to her being born in Ovington, Hampshire, in about 1832 but I’ve yet to find any records to prove it. She was living with her parents in Lambeth, Surrey, in 1841 and with her father and step-mother in Fulham, Middlesex, in 1851. She married omnibus conductor John James Boardman (sometimes Bordman) at St Luke’s in Chelsea, Middlesex, on 6 March 1859. He came from Market Deeping in Lincolnshire, where he was born to porter William Boardman and his wife Mary in 1837. His sister married one of Caroline’s siblings (see below). What happened to him is not clear but I’m assuming he died as Caroline married bachelor, painter and decorator William Lyon at St John Walham Green in Fulham, Middlesex, on 17 September 1885. A census return from 1891 suggested that William came from Glasgow in Scotland and was born in around 1833. But had Caroline and William been living together for some years before their marriage? The 1871 Census showed her living with painter William Layon in Kensington, Middlesex, but this man had supposedly been born in Chelsea. I’ve found no marriage record for them or, indeed, a birth record for William. I’ve not found a death record for Caroline.
• Grace Adelaide Ayling (1834-1900), my 2nd great-grand aunt. Grace was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Lambeth, Surrey, on 9 July 1834 and was recorded living with her parents in Lambeth in the 1841 Census. She married Alfred Slater, a mercantile clerk, at St Luke’s in Chelsea, Middlesex, on 9 June 1854. He was baptised on 4 October 1829 at St Mary’s in Kensington, Middlesex, to parents Thomas Slater, a butcher, and his wife Martha. The 1861 Census showed that Alfred had also become a butcher and listed the family living in Westminster with a general servant and nurse for their daughter. In 1881 Grace was recorded in Russell Road, Kensington, while her husband was visiting a family in Suffolk. The couple were back together in Russell Road, Kensington, in 1891 with two resident servants, Alfred now listed as a retired butcher. Grace died on 27 December 1900 and was buried on 1 January 1901 at Kensal Green Cemetery in Kensington, where an ostentatious monument complete with statue still stands to the couple. Alfred moved to Sussex, where he was recorded in the 1911 Census at Sunnymeads in Durgates, a small village near Wadhurst. Living with him was a housekeeper and two servants. He died there on 6 February 1912 and was buried back in Kensal Green Cemetery. He left an estate valued at almost £28,300. Grace and Alfred had one known child:
  • Fanny Slater (1858-1939) was baptised on 17 March 1858 in West Kensington, Middlesex, and married Charles Herbert Fazan at St Barnabas’s in Kensington on 9 June 1886. They settled in Wadhurst, Sussex, where he worked as a GP and Fanny raised their children, one of whom would later be killed in the First World War. By 1921 they were living in Bexhill, Sussex, following Charles’s retirement. Charles died there on 19 August 1925 and was buried in Wadhurst. The Sussex Agricultural Express of 21 August 1925 noted that he had trained at the Middlesex Hospital, had worked as an obstetrics physician at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in London and had served on the parish council in Wadhurst for some years. Fanny died on 4 May 1939 and was also buried in Wadhurst.
• James Edwin Ayling (1837-1875), my 2nd great-grand uncle. James was baptised at St Mary’s in Lambeth, Surrey, on 7 May 1837 and married Mary Boardman at St Luke’s in Chelsea, Middlesex, on 2 February 1862. She came from Lincolnshire, where she had been baptised at St Guthlac’s Church in Market Deeping on 20 September 1840. Her parents were William Boardman and his wife Mary, whose son John had married one of James’s sisters (see above). The 1871 Census recorded James and Mary in Fulham but James, who had been listed as a butcher at his marriage but later worked as a labourer according to the census, died in 1875. His wife’s fate is unclear.
• Catherine Louisa Anna Ayling (1841-1843), my 2nd great-grand aunt. Catherine was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Lambeth, Surrey, on 25 April 1841 and was buried in Fulham, Middlesex, on 20 July 1843.

James Ayling’s children with his second wife Sarah were:

• Julia Chadwick (1849-1913), my 2nd great-grand aunt. Julia was born before James and Sarah married but she may well have been James’s daughter – she listed him as such on the marriage register (allbeit calling him James Chadwick, a tailor). At the age of just 11 she was already working as a domestic servant, the 1861 Census recording her at the Chelsea house of a superintendent of works with the Royal Engineers. She continued to work as a servant, although was living with her mother and siblings in Fulham at the 1871 Census. She married Alfred Robert Humphrey at All Saints Church in South Acton, Middlesex, on 25 October 1874. He came from Surrey, where he was baptised at Christ Church in Brockham on 26 June 1853 to parents Richard Humphrey, a tailor, and his wife Mary. They had a son but their married life was short as Alfred died in 1877 and was buried at Betchworth in Surrey on 2 September, his address given as Bloomsbury in London. Julia married again – on 1 December 1878 – at St Peter’s in Clerkenwell, Middlesex, her new husband being Maurice John Pfrenger. He came from Lambeth in Surrey, where he was baptised at St Mary’s on 25 September 1853. His name was written Moriz on the baptism record, just like his merchant father’s. His mother was Henrietta. The couple are missing from the subsequent census returns until 1901 but their children’s births were registered in Middlesex. In 1901 the family were living in Hammersmith, Middlesex, with Maurice recorded as a house painter and lamplighter. In 1911 they were living nearby in Shepherds Bush and living with them was a Julia Sarah Chadwick, aged 39, said to the daughter of Julia. However, I’ve found no record of a birth of this girl. Maurice died in 1912, Julia in 1913. Julia’s children were:
  • Alfred James Richard Humphrey (1876-1934) was baptised on 10 December 1876 in Bloomsbury, Middlesex, the son of Julia and Alfred Humphrey. After his father’s death he went to live with his uncle James Ayling in Acton, Paddington and Hammersmith. He married Cambridgeshire-born Rose Dean in Shepherds Bush on 17 September 1904 and settled in the Fulham area, where Alfred worked as a postman. They didn’t have children. Alfred died on 30 October 1934, his address given as Hanwell in Middlesex. Rose continued to live there but died on 20 November 1946.
  • Lilian Henrietta Pfrenger (1880-1965) was born in 1880, her birth registered in Clerkenwell, Middlesex and the first child born to Julia and her second husband Maurice. She married Aberdeenshire-born Harry George Bagg in Shepherds Bush on 28 July 1906 and settled in Battersea, where they raised their children. Harry worked as an art packer, the 1921 Census noting that he was employed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington. They were living in Wandsworth, Surrey, in 1939, the same year that Harry died. Lilian’s death was registered in Newton Abbot, Devon, in 1965.
  • Rosa Leontine Pfrenger (1882-1937) was born in 1882, her birth registered in Holborn, Middlesex. She was baptised on 18 February 1885 at All Saints in South Acton. She was living with her parents in 1901, working as a draper’s assistant. She never married. Electoral records placed her in Fulham in 1933. She was buried in Lambeth on 4 June 1937.
  • Ethel Annie Pfrenger (1884-1956) was born in 1884, her birth registered in Acton, Middlesex. She was baptised on 18 February 1885 at All Saints in South Acton. She went on to work as a corsetmaker, a town directory for Ramsgate in Kent placing her there in 1918 and 1922. She emigrated in January 1928 and settled in Western Australia, marrying George Duckett in the port city of Albany in 1939. Her death was registered in Perth WA in 1956 although her surname was given as Cuthbert-Pfrenger, suggesting she may have been wed before her marriage to George.
  • Florence Maude Josephine Pfrenger (1886-1960) was born on 14 September 1886 and married Percy Walter Limbrey at St Mary’s in Acton on 24 December 1910. He worked as a legal clerk and later as a solicitor. They had children and lived in the Willesden area of Middlesex and later in Muswell Hill and Harrow. Percy died in Edgware, Middlesex, on 28 March 1947. Florence died on 1 September 1960 at Napsbury Park mental hospital in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
  • Grace Adelaide Pfrenger (1890-1945) was born on 2 September 1890 and baptised on 5 October that year at St Saviour’s in Shepherds Bush. She worked as a shop assistant before marrying George Robert Wake at St Paul’s in Battersea, Surrey, on 18 May 1918. He worked as a dyer and cleaner and the couple had at least one daughter. The 1921 Census recorded them in Portsmouth, Hampshire, while in 1939 they were living in Guildford, Surrey. Grace died there in 1945, George in 1952.
• James Ayling (1852-1918), my 2nd great-grand uncle. James was born in 1852. By the 1871 Census he was living with his mother in Fulham, Middlesex, and working as a mason. However, he signed up with the Royal Engineers on 15 January 1872, serving as a sapper. He was with them for almost six years, spending just over a year abroad in Fiji. His conduct was described as good but he was found unfit for service after a hearing in Chatham, Kent, on 20 December 1877. He was described as weak and suffering from “general debility”, aggravated by service in Fiji from 1875-1876. The hearing found that he had a lung disease that was likely to be permanent. In his last year of military service he married Elizabeth Jones Humphrey – his sister-in-law – at All Saints Church in South Acton, Middlesex, on 24 June 1877. She came from Surrey, was born in 1849 and was brought up in Betchworth by her father Richard Humphrey, a tailor, and his wife Mary. The couple went on to live in Acton and then in Hammersmith, Middlesex, while James returned to work as a mason. They had no known children. James died in 1918. Elizabeth’s death was registered in Hammersmith in 1939.
• Annie Ayling (1859-1895), my 2nd great-grandmother. Annie married Reuben Thomas Marlow, raised a family but died young. Read more here.
• George William Ayling (1863-1921), my 2nd great-grand uncle. George’s birth was registered in Chelsea, Middlesex, in 1863. He married Emily Stevens at All Saints in South Action, Middlesex, on 26 December 1883. She had been baptised in Hammersmith, Middlesex, on 29 April 1866 to parents George Stevens, a labourer, and his wife Sophie. George and Emily settled in Acton and raised a large family, while he worked as a plumber. By the 1921 Census he was working as a house decorator and builder. However, George died in December of that year and was buried on 5 December 1921 at Acton Cemetery. Emily died the following year and was buried alongside him on 23 May 1922. He was sometimes known as William George. Their children were:
  • George William James Ayling (1884-1962) was baptised on 1 June 1884 at All Saints in Acton and, like his father, became a plumber. He married Elizabeth Sarah Eliza Bilby at St Alban’s in Acton on 7 September 1913 and they had a family together. George served in the Middlesex Regiment during the First World War and by 1939 was being described as a house painter, the family still resident in the Acton area. He died there in 1962. Elizabeth’s death was registered in Worcestershire in 1964.
  • Albert Edward Ayling (1887-1946) was baptised on 5 June 1887 at All Saints in Acton and married Lily Smith there on 16 May 1909. They lived in Acton, had children and Albert worked as a builder’s labourer. However, Lily died young in 1928. Albert remained in the area and the 1939 Register listed him as a house decorator. He died locally in 1946. Confusingly, some records list him as Edward Albert Ayling.
  • Bernard Ayling (1893-1928) was born in Acton and by the 1911 Census was working as a stable boy. Ten years later he was employed as a driver. He died in July 1928 in an accident at Newark in Nottinghamshire. The Newark Advertiser of 1 August 1928 reported that Bernard, who was a driver for a removals company, had decided to sleep on the roof of his van after being unable to find lodgings. But it appeared he had fallen off in the night and had fractured his skull on hitting the ground.
  • Frederick Lewis Ayling (1894-1965) was born on 20 November 1894. He was listed as a van boy in the 1911 Census and a wallpaper packer ten years later. He married local woman Lilian Rose Druce in 1921 and continued to live in the area. He died locally in 1965, while Lilian lived until 1973.
  • Christopher John Ayling (1896-????) was born on 27 March 1896 in Acton and married Edith Emily Collett in 1915. He served in the Royal Engineers in the First World War. The 1921 Census listed the couple and their children in Chiswick, Middlesex, with Christopher working as a motor engineer. At some point between the two world wars the family emigrated, settling in the British Colony of Southern Rhodesia – now Zimbabwe. Records from 1933 and 1938 showed the couple travelling between Britain and Africa, with the latter passenger list suggesting that they’d moved to live in South Africa. Christopher worked for the railways. By 1942, when their son Claude was killed while in service with the RAF, the family were back in the Rhodesian capital Salisbury (now Harare). I’ve found no subsequent records.
  • Elizabeth Jane Ayling (1898-1964) was born on 4 April 1898 in Acton and married Aubrey Crawford locally in 1919. He was working as a driver for Chiswick Council at the time of the 1921 Census and as an attendant at a sewage works in 1939. The couple lived in Brentford for many years and had children but one of them, Bernard, died when HMS Anking was sunk by Japanese forces in the Pacific while part of a convoy to Australia. Elizabeth died in 1964, Aubrey in 1966.
  • Claude Ambrose Victor Ayling (1899-1918) was baptised on 6 August 1899 at St Alban’s in Acton. He served in the First World War with the 2nd/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment but was killed on the 15 April 1918 during the German spring offensive. His unit was in the Ypres sector at the time and had been ordered to hold positions at the Ravetsberg Ridge. But the enemy mounted a fierce attack, broke through and inflicted heavy losses.
  • Ernest Ayling (1901-1977) was born on 5 January 1901 in Acton and by the 1921 Census was working in Hammersmith as a kitchen help for a caterer. He married Lucy May Smith on 4 April 1931 at Bedwas, Monmouthshire, Wales, when his occupation was listed as labourer. She came from Somerset but had lived in Wales for many years. By 1939 they were in Chiswick and he was working as a garage petrol attendant. Lucy died in 1973, Ernest in 1977.
  • Alice Louisa Kate Ayling (1902-1932) was born in Acton and by the 1921 Census was working as a lamp riveter. She died in March 1932 and was buried with her parents.
  • Herbert Stanley Ayling (1904-1981) was born in Acton and married Isobel Agnes Ayling in 1930. They settled in Chiswick and Herbert worked as a wallpaper printer. Isobel died in 1969, Herbert in 1981.
  • Ivy May Ayling (1906-1982) was born on 28 June 1906 in Acton and married bricklayer Arthur William Butler on 1 August 1931 at St Alban’s in Acton. She died in hospital in Park Royal, Middlesex, in February 1982. The Acton Gazette of 18 February 1982 noted that she had lived in the area all her life and had worked at Wilkinson Sword.
  • Henry Charles Ayling (1907-????) was born in Acton but I’ve been unable to trace him with confidence.

Sources: Birth, marriage, death and burial records including civil registrations from the General Register Office, census returns, military, travel and other records at Ancestry.co.uk, Findmypast.co.uk and familysearch.org.
British Newspaper Archive, titles in text.
National Archives: WO97 service records (James Ayling 1877).
Commonwealth War Graves Commission for wartime death information.