Henry Newland 1846 - 1930 and Frances (Fanny) Kemp 1846 - 1921
Henry and Fanny were Stanley Newland’s paternal grandparents. I’ve already written about Henry’s brush with the law when he was accused of disorderly conduct and causing a crowd to gather (he was leading a band along the road with a loud drum and a cornet!). You can read that story here.
Henry Newland was born on the 24th of July 1846 at Russell Street, Bengeo, Hertford, Hertfordshire. He was christened on the 23rd of August at St Andrew’s Church, Hertford. Bengeo was a small village just outside Hertford. However, there is a Russell Street in Hertford itself, so I’m not quite certain about the actual location!
Henry’s parents were Abraham Newland and Jane (maiden name Ringrose). Abraham had served in the East India Company private army with the rank of sergeant. He had returned to Hertford by 1841 and became a schoolmaster for a time. Jane’s father was John Ringrose, a tailor, originally from Huntingdon. Her mother was Caroline, maiden name Jones, who was born in Bristol.
Henry had two brothers, William (born 1842) and Alfred (born 1852), who both became soldiers in the regular army. There was also a sister, Susan, who was born in 1848 and died in 1852. I’ll try to find out some more about Abraham’s time in the East India Company in another story.
The disorderly conduct incident above was not the first time that Henry had appeared in a newspaper article. In 1861, several articles appeared in the Hertford Mercury Newspaper concerning a series of exams for local children. Henry Newland, aged 14, an errand boy, came second in an examination covering Arithmetic, Composition, Dictation, Geography, Grammar and Handwriting.
Henry is not listed in the 1861 census with the rest of his family. It could be that his success in the exams earned him some sort of scholarship or apprenticeship. One entry which may fit the bill is a Henry Neyland, aged 17, occupation tailor, living on his own in Trafalgar Road, Gravesend, Kent. The age is wrong but could this be how he met Fanny Kemp?
Frances (Fanny) Kemp was born on the 9th of May 1846 in Gravesend, Kent. She was the daughter of John Kemp, a waterman, and his wife Elizabeth (maiden name Thurlow). She was the thirteenth of fourteen children and both of her parents had died before she was twenty years old. She doesn’t seem to have made an appearance in the newspapers and was living in Front Garden Row, Gravesend with her parents and some siblings in 1861.
At the time of the 1871 census Fanny was living with her older brother, John Charles Kemp and his wife, Mary in Southwark, London. John’s occupation was tailor and Fanny’s was tailoress.
Meanwhile, Henry Newland was listed in the 1871 census, not far away in Newington, London. He was a lodger with the Davies family, who were also tailors. Also lodging with the Davies family was George Kemp, Fanny’s youngest brother, occupation tailor.
Henry Newland and Frances (Fanny) Kemp were married at St Saviour District Register Office on the 23rd of December 1871. Fanny’s eldest sister, Eleanor Priest, was one of the witnesses. It was quite unusual to have a registry office wedding in the 1870s. One reason might have been that a civil ceremony was cheaper and easier to arrange, but I think that Henry was probably already involved with a non-conformist church, possibly Cottage Green Baptist, which wasn’t yet licensed to perform weddings.
Henry and Fanny went on to have five children:
Henry (Harry) was born in 1872. He married Sophia Pearman. Harry and Sophie were Stanley Newland’s parents.
Frances Emily was born in 1874 and died, unmarried, in 1895.
Herbert was born in March 1878. He married Sophia Pearman’s sister, Florence.
Amy Mary was born in December 1878. She married William Jarvis. They emigrated to Canada in 1913.
Camilla was born in 1886. She married Frederick Hugh.
The children all followed into the tailoring trade and at various times there were two or three shops, the main one seems to have been at 275, Southampton Street, Camberwell. Henry and Fanny were at the 275, Southampton Street address at the time of the 1921 census, aged 74 and 73. He described himself as a Master Tailor. Living with them was Henry’s niece, May Newland, aged 29, single. She was the daughter of Henry’s brother Alfred. She was working for Henry as a costumier. Nowadays, that would mean producing outfits for tv, film or theatre, I’m not sure of the meaning in the 1920s. May was still living in Camberwell at the time of the 1939 census. She was still unmarried and her occupation was dressmaker.
Fanny died in November 1921 and was buried in Camberwell Old Cemetery. There don’t seem to be any photos of her.
Henry died on the 29th of December 1930. I think that it’s likely that he attended his granddaughter Connie Newland’s wedding in September 1929. In the picture below, Sophie and Harry Newland are seated at the right hand side of the front row. Standing behind them is an elderly gentleman, who I think is probably Henry Newland. To his right are Annie and Vernon Newland.
