The Family of Walter Walter of Babcary, Somerset, England, UK

A genealogical account of the family of Ann and Walter Walter

Walter Walter (1804-1877) lived at the 110 acre Greenhill Farm, Lower Foddington (Farrington), Babcary, Somerset (see right hand side of a more detailed map). He was married to Ann Leach Penny (1814-1889) who was born in the neighbouring village of Charlton Mackrell, Somerset.

Walter's parents were possibly William Walter and Mary Whittle (1756-1834) who married in 1779. Mary's will names her sons as Walter, John, Samuel, Thomas, William, Philip, Daniel, and daughter Mary. There may have been at least another son James and other daughters.

Walter Walter and Ann had 11 children:

1. Mary (1838-1921)
2. Albert (1840-1863)
3. Caroline (1842-1896)
4. David (1843-1903)
5. Hugh Penny (1844-1927)
6. Robert Leach (1846-1919)
7. Benjamin (1848-1929)
8. Edward Jacob (1849-1924)
9. Susanna (1851-1913)
10. Phillip (1853-1941)
11. Gaius Penny (1857-1943)

1. Mary Walter aged 21 is listed in the 1861 census at Greenhill Farm. In 1871 she is recorded as Mary Waller, a Visitor in the house of George Waghorn, a Lodging House Keeper in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, her occupation being a Domestic Servant. In September Quarter 1873 she married Worthing-born Edwin Oliver Locke (1842-1903) in Newcastle-on-Tyne District and by 1881 they were living at 6, Low Lights, Tynemouth, Northumberland with daughters Caroline Charlotte (8), Susannah (6), Rosamund (3) and Edwin O. (1). Edwin senior was a trawlerman/fisherman. In 1911 Mary was living in Jarrow with daughter Ada Best (b. 1882) who married James Fenwick Sproat, a marine engine fitter, in 1908. They had children, Isabella (1) and Albert (8 months). In 1911, Edwin O. was an engineer on the fishing vessel Minerva, captained by a Robert Newton out of Sunderland/Durham. Caroline Charlotte Locke married John Hume in 1895. In the 1911 census they had four sons: Walter John (14), David (13), Edwin (11) and Frederick (9).

2. Albert Walter aged 11 is listed in the 1851 census at Greenhill Farm. He emigrated to the USA, and died in the Civil War. More about Albert Walter - Illinois and the Civil War.

3. Caroline Walter aged 9 is listed in the 1851 census at Greenhill Farm. In 1861 she was living in Broad Street, Somerton where she was a draper's assistant at the shop of Joseph Williams (?on the corner of New Street - click the red New Street link on the Somerton Virtual Tour). Her grandmother Lucy Penny lived next door and is described as a 'proprietor of house(s)'. By 1881 Caroline was living with her mother in Somerton and is described as a draper/grocer. She is believed to have married William Whittle (1837-1903) in 1885. In 1891 they had a nephew Fred Walters aged 11, born Glamorgan, staying with them. Could this be David's son?

4. David Walter aged 18 is listed in the 1861 census at Greenhill Farm. In 1871 he was working as a general servant in the household of William John, clerk to the commissioner of taxes, at Bryn Teg House, Llantrisant, Glamorgan, South Wales. He married Catherine Roper in the parish church of St Hilary, Glamorgan on July 11 1877. She died of tuberculosis in 1880, probably leaving two sons (Albert and Fred) who appear with various relatives in later censuses. By 1881 David was described as a widower, lodging with Caroline Williams in St Hilary, Glamorgan and her family and working as a labourer. An Albert Walters aged two is lodged with the Thomas family nearby. By 1891 he was employed as a gardener at Waunarlwydd House, Waunarlwydd near Pontardulais, Swansea, the home of John Powell, J.P. (c.1835-1910) and his wife Ann Powell. In 1901 he is named as Daniel Walter at 27 Brunswick St., Swansea - ironically, near Walter Road. He was a boarder in the house of Rosa Jeffree (a widow) and employed as a domestic coachman - equivalent to a modern chauffeur but with responsibility for the horses and the coach itself - perhaps for John Powell as he was within easy walking distance to his then home in Brynmill Crescent, Swansea. The age is correct at 58, he is listed as a widower, born Babcary (there is no Daniel meeting these criteria). David Walter died in Swansea in 1903 aged 60. More about the Family of David Walter

5. Hugh Penny Walter aged 5 is listed in the 1851 census at Greenhill Farm. In the 1861 census he is working as a baker for Henry and Annie Priscilla Harris at Kilmington village (Mere District). Annie Priscilla was born in Foddington, Babcary and her mother was a Mary Walter (c.1798-1870) who married Edward Ings (1793-1850). By 1871 Hugh had moved to Llantrisant, Glamorgan, Wales - near his brother David. He was working as an iron miner and lodging with Mary Ann Knight (born in Bath, Somerset), a dressmaker at Tymawr. He emigrated to the USA (after his brother Robert) and settled in Barber County, Kansas. (More about Hugh and Robert Walter in America).

6. Robert Leach Walter aged 15 is listed in the 1861 census at Greenhill Farm. He emigrated to the USA in the early 1870s, landing in Philadelphia and moving to Illinois, then Missouri and finally Barber County, Kansas. (More about Hugh and Robert Walter in America).

7. Benjamin Walter aged 13 is listed in the 1861 census at Greenhill Farm. By 1881 Benjamin was living in Upton-cum-Chalvey (Slough), Buckinghamshire and working as a labourer for a corn merchant. He was married to Martha Street (1853- ), the daughter of William, an agricultural labourer, and Emma Street from Littlewick Green, Maidenhead, Bucks in 1876.

More about the Family of Benjamin Walter of Slough and Eton

8. Edward Jacob Walter aged 12 is listed in the 1861 census at Greenhill Farm. Edward Jacob married Eliza Gillett (1840 or 1843- ) at the Presbyterian Church, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire on July 21 1874. More at The Family of Jacob Walter of Cheltenham and Reading.

9. Susanna Walter aged 20 is listed in the 1871 census in Babcary described as a governess and living with Ann and Walter Walter and brother Gaius. She married George Philip Hayes (a.1857- ), a hotel-keeper and later draper and clothier, originally from Ashcott, Somerset but living in Glastonbury in 1886. More about The Family of Susanna Walter and George Philip Hayes.

10. Phillip Walter aged 8 is listed in the 1861 census at Greenhill Farm. By 1881 he was living with his mother in Somerton and is described as a grocer. He emigrated to Australia and died in Queensland in 1941. A Philip Walter aged 31 was an assisted passenger on board the 'Corona' which left Plymouth, Devon on November 14 1883 for Townsville arriving on March 4 1884. A fellow passenger kept a diary of the voyage. He appears on Voters lists between 1903 and 1937, initially in First Street, Townsville as a carriage cleaner and then in Ingham Road as a gardener.

11. Gaius Penny Walter is detailed on The Family of Gaius Penny Walter and Mary Adelia Carter of Somerton and Southsea.

Last updated December 2009. Queries or comments? Contact us through editor@hrmguide.net

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