In which we look at the very many descendants of Ann Backler and John Freeman, this time the family of their fifth child, Thomas Freeman (1779-1853) and his wife Frances PHILPOT (1782 – 1857 ). We find Clergy, Royal Navy Commanders, and a very unusual marriage register record. This is quite a long post – this line of Backler descendants had very large families and I have decided to keep each family group together. I am finding it quite challenging!

This outline tree shows that Thomas Freeman and his wife Frances Philpot had seven known children. Given the gaps in latter years, it seems there could have been more. Thomas had been made Free of the Ironmongers Company in 1800, by patrimony of his Father John Freeman and just three years before John Freeman’s death in 1803, whose Will was proved in August and September 1803. On the 30th of December that year, the marriage took place between Thomas, the eldest son, and Frances Philpot. Details in a church already very familiar to Backlers, were as follows:

St Andrew by the Wardrobe. Thomas Freeman Esqr a Batchelor [sic] of the Parish of St Ann Blackfriars and Frances Philpot Spinster of the Parish of St George the Martyr in the County of Middlesex by License this Thirtieth Day of December [1803].

Bride and Groom both signed, along with an array of family members as witnesses: John Philpot (likely Frances’ father); Ann [Backler] Freeman (1741-1820) (Thomas’ recently widowed mother); Mary Gough (1769-1841) (John Freeman’s niece, who looked after his wife Ann [Backler] Freeman in her later years); S[otherton] Backler (1746-1819) (Ann Freeman’s brother, my 4x g. grandfather); [?] Freeman; Elizabeth Philpot (Frances’ sister).

Thomas Freeman (1779-1853) and Frances Philpot (1782-1857): We know relatively little about Thomas and Frances. Their first four children were born in Woodford, Essex, where Thomas left property in his Will written in 1840. Sarah was christened in Lyme Regis, Dorset, where her father was said to be ‘of London, but resident in Lyme’. Francis and Charles were born in Tooting, Surrey. At some point the family then lived in Dorking, Surrey, where Thomas had a vault created at the church in nearby Wotton, on the deaths of their two daughters, Margaret Ann and Sarah. Latterly they lived in Brighton, where the 1851 Census finds Thomas, a retired merchant, Frances, daughter Elizabeth Ann and son Francis; also Mary [Freeman] Pack (Thomas’ younger sister – see forthcoming post), her son Lewis Pack, and eight servants. In his Will drafted in 1840, Thomas left £15,000 each to his sons plus other legacies. He was clearly very well off, but the detail of the very lengthy and difficult-to-read will leaves me disinclined to research further detail. Thomas died in 1853, followed by Frances in 1857. Both were interred with their two daughters at St John the Evangelist Wotton. Children:

• Margaret Ann Freeman (1806-1838) Nothing known other than birth and death dates and interment in Wotton, Surrey.
• Rev Thomas Freeman (1806-1855) Born Woodford, Essex. Educated at Oxford University BA 1830, MA 1834. Married Eleanora Sophia Mackintosh (1805 – 1890 ) on 14 September 1841 in Inverness, Scotland. Thomas died in Madeira in 1855. His wife can be found in the 1861 Census (Somerset) and 1871 (London), both times with their daughter. Eleanora’s death was registered in 1890.
  • Thomas Arthur Freeman (1844-1900). Born London Marylebone, baptised at St Mary Bryanston Square by uncle (see below) W Bouverie Pusey. Educated at Oxford University Christchurch, BA 1865, MA 1868. Married first 1871 in Southampton to Loretta (Lauretta) Dowson, who died in the December quarter of 1873, as did their son Charles Thomas Freeman (1873-1873), born in the same quarter. Thomas Arthur married again in 1875 in Jhansi, Bengal, India, to Annie Matilda (aka Matilda Annie) Cave, daughter of a Colonel. Thomas Arthur Freeman was a Lieutenant in the 70th Regiment of Foot. He died in India on 20 February 1900, then a missionary for the Church Missionary Society, having been a Lieut Col in the East Surrey Regiment.
    • Their daughter Helen Matilda Freeman (1877-1950) married Sir Henry Edward Edleston Procter and they had three known children:
      • Margaret Helen Procter (1899-1980) married first Guy Nicholas Vansittart with whom she had son Arnold Mark Vansittart in 1927 before they were divorced. In 1936 she married Geoffrey Dearmer, with no known children.
      • Arthur Francis Procter (1902-1970) married Adria Margaret Acland in 1935. Their two children were Nigel Henry Procter (1937-1968)(see below) and [possibly living]
      • Katharine Joyce Procter (1909-1980) married Arnold H Piggott in 1934.
  • Frances Helen Freeman (1845 – ) Appeared in 1871 and 1881 Censuses with her mother, first in Somerset and then on Belgrave Road in London. She appears in 1903 as executrix to her mother’s sister’s will, and then in 1909 to her uncle Francis Freeman’s Will (see below). In 1929 and 1932 she is seen as a missionary, departing England for Algeria. Her London address on both occasions was given as 36 Princes Gardens, South Kensington.

A sad death: As shown above, Nigel Henry Procter died aged 21. A Coroner’s report describes how he went out hunting with his rifle on the family estate of Eastwick Manor, Hertfordshire, and was found dead with the rifle and a dead pigeon by his side and a bullet wound to the head. The Coroner adjudicated accidental death. (Hertford Mercury and Informer, 17 October 1958)

• Catherine Freeman (1810-1873) married Rev. William Bouverie Pusey ( (1810-1888) in Richmond, Surrey. The picture is a transcript by me of the page in the parish register of Richmond Church, describing a rather unusual set of circumstances in recording the marriage.

A unique marriage record: Richmond, Surrey, St Mary Magadelene, 1813-1837.Marriages Solemnized in the Parish of Richmond in the County of Surrey in the Year 1836 William Bouverie Pusey of the Parish of Holton in the County of Oxford, Bachelor, and Catherine Freeman of this Parish Spinster were married in this Church with Consent of by License this on the Seventh day of June in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty six by me Edward Bouverie Pusey, Officiating Minister [William’s brother].  This marriage was solemnized between us William Bouverie Pusey and Catherine Freeman in the Presence of Henry Raymond Barker, Margaret Anne Freeman, Elizabeth Broadwood, John Philpot. So far so good.  However, perhaps not immediately obvious, the entire record, on the standard marriage form of the time, is written in the same hand.  And, although the right-hand page of the two-page spread contains the standard three marriages, the left-hand page diverges from that.  Also to be noted are two crossings out – ‘by me’ and the ‘us’ of ‘between us’. The explanation is as follows: In the same hand as the text above, with all the printed words for what should have been the second marriage record crossed out, we read:The Entry made by me above contains of the Parish  particulars authenticated by the document pasted in below, the said document being Signed by all the Parties thereto in their were married in this  own handwriting respectively with Consent of as the Law requires at the this celebration Day of of Marriages in the Year One thousand eight hundred and  Dr. Pusey by Me Professor of Hebrew at Oxford This Marriage was solemnized between us officiated at this marriage by my permission and the key of the iron Chest in which this book was, being broken in the Lock, and the In the Presence of Parties not being able to stay until the Register could be procured, Dr. Pusey and the other subscribing Parties of executed the Parish document placed below.  The truth of all the particulars stated above is attested of by me Parish Samuel Whitlocke Gandy Vicar of Richmond. Below this statement is a delightfully scrappy rendering of the first italicised text above, complete with individual signatures.  To the right of the text on the pasted-in piece of paper are drawn two right-angle lines of a square, the resulting space below stating:This memorandum was made by me, the key of the box, wherein the Register was kept, being broken in it, and the Register not being to be obtained [sic].  EB Pusey June 7 1836. At the bottom of the pasted-in scrap is written: NB. This is the document referred to above. Saml W Gandy

Further investigation of the distinctively-named Bouverie-Puseys reveals that William and Edward’s father Philip Bouverie had taken the name ‘Pusey’ when inheriting the Pusey family’s estates in the village of Pusey in Berkshire.  William Bouverie Pusey (1810-1888), who married Catherine Freeman (1810-1873), as above, was for many years Rector of Langley in Kent.  His brother Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1882) was, as stated above, Professor of Hebrew at Oxford and canon of Christ Church.  During his student years at Oxford he began to take an interest in theological matters, then spending two years pursuing these interests in Germany.  On returning to England, he was appointed to his professorship in 1825 by the Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister.  After that he engaged in many years of theological controversy, which I fail to understand, but which can be followed in his many-paged Dictionary of National Biography entry, viewed on Ancestry, or in many various entries which come up via a search on his name. (Citation details: Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number P7/1/9.  Seen on Ancestry.co.uk )

And so, after their marriage was recorded in unusual fashion due to the malfunctioning key to the lock of the parish chest, Catherine Freeman and William Bouverie Pusey went on to have four children:

• Catherine Freeman and William Bouverie Pusey
  • Henry Bouverie Pusey (1837-1869) His notice of probate describes him as ‘formerly a Lieutenant in Her Majesty’s 76th Regiment … a Bachelor … who died on or since 13 May 1869 at sea …’, with letters of administration granted to his Father.
  • Edward Bouverie Pusey (1838-1921) married Esther Eliot Cox Hales (1847-1927) in Colchester, Essex. The 1881 Census shows Edward in Constantinople, Commander R.N. of the ship “Bittern”, a gun vessel with 3 guns. By 1891 he was retired, living in Paddington, London. He died in Bournemouth in 1921. He and Esther had four children:
    • Catherine Louisa Bouverie Pusey (1872-1942) married John Bowyer Buchanan Nichols (1859-1939), an artist and poet. See Wikipedia entry. Among their children were:
      • Robert Nichols (1893-1944) poet (esp. of the Great War) and playwright. Married Norah Denny. See entry in Wikipedia.
      • Sir Philip Bouverie Nichols, KCMG (1894- 1962 ) Diplomat, married Phyllis Mary Spender-Clay in Surrey in 1922. Among the witnesses were ‘Astor’ – she was the grand daughter of William Waldorf Astor – 1st Lord Astor. Sir Philip’s biography can be found on Wikipedia, which reports that the couple had two daughters and two sons.
      • Irene Nichols (1896-1977) married George Henry Gater
      • Ann Sadelbia Mary Nichols (1902 – ), Sculptress, married Henry George Strauss, M.P., then Lord Conesford.
    • Edward Bouverie Pusey (1873-1958) married as retired army officer in 1914 in Sydney NSW, to Lilian Evelyn Ryan, daughter of a civil servant there. The couple are found in Hove, Sussex in 1939, and Lilian is recorded as dying in 1957. Edward died in 1958, his probate record showing probate granted to Widow Ursula Winchester [nee Lind] Bouverie Pusey, a marriage record for the couple having been recorded in the June quarter of that year! She died aged 87 in 1972.
    • Ethel Mary Bouverie Pusey (1876-1955) married Hon. Adrian Verney Cave (1874-1952) (later Lord Braye, who died en route to the funeral of King George VI). They had three children:
      • Thomas Adrian (‘Lord Braye’ 1902-1985) RAF and Royal Hussars. Married Dorothea Donoghue (1906-1994) of Philadelphia, one daughter:
        • Mary Penelope Verney-Cave, Baroness Braye of Stanford Hall, Near Lutterworth, Leicestershire, married to Edward Henry Lancelot Aubrey-Fletcher. She served a number of years as a Conservative member of the House of Lords until she became one of 653 hereditary peers excluded from the Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999.
      • Ambrose Verney-Cave (1906-1988)
      • Lucy Verney-Cave (1905-1980) married Lucien Falkiner who died in the 2nd World War.
    • Lucy Bouverie Pusey (1888-1966) married Cmdr. Henry Maclean Fothergill (1882-1963) in 1920, one son known of:
      • Cmdr. Christopher Henry Fothergill R.N. (1921-2014) married Linda K Browne in 1965.
  • William Bouverie Pusey (1840 – ). nothing known.
  • Frances Mary Pusey (1845-1911). Little known. ‘Living on own means’ in successive censuses.
• Elizabeth Ann Freeman (1812-1891) Died unmarried at Aylesbury Villa, Hove, Sussex. A record in Ancestry’s Records of the Removal of Graves and Tombstones notes that she founded in 1855 the Brighton Home for Convalescent Children. Among other bequests she bequeathed £2,000 to Helen Mathilda Freeman and left a bequest to the Home for Invalid Children, which may have been the successor to the Home she founded.
• Sarah Freeman (1814-1839) As noted above, she was buried at Wotton in Surrey.
• Francis Freeman (1816-1909) Died at Belgrave Mansions, Grosvenor Gardens, London – where I once worked. How he obtained his fortune of some £112,000 is not clear. Among others, he left bequests of £15,000 each to his niece Frances Helen Freeman (see above) and his nephew Edward Bouverie Pusey (see above).
• Charles Freeman (1823 – ) civil engineer, East India Merchant and J.P. in Sussex, married in 1846 in Plymouth, Devon to Louisa Mary Hawker (1824-1885). The last known sighting of the couple was 1881 in Tormoham Devon, where they lived with youngest daughter Adelaide, and 9 servants. I cannot find a death record for Charles. They had 7 children as follows (bear with it – this is the last, albeit enormous, family in this line!):
  • Francis Ford Freeman (1847-1908) M.A. St Andrews, Rectifier and Spirit Dealer, married to Lucy Emma Haden (1853-1929).
    • Harry Reginald Freeman (1877-1959) Rectifier and Spirit Dealer, married Emma Smith in 1905, 3 children: Mary Freeman, born 1906; Robert 1907. Francis 1910.
    • Paula Freeman (1879- ) married Stephen Hardcastle Clarke (1865-1928) Five children, Lucy Theodosia Merioneth; Margaret Patricia Hardcastle Clarke; Charles Nicholas Swift Clarke; Ralph Christopher Gooding Clarke (he was a Japanese prisoner of war); and Venetia Dolores Love Clarke.
    • Louisa Marie aka Isa Freeman (1880-1924) married David Rimington Heaton (1894-1960) Three children, Ursula, Leila and Virginia Lucie.
    • Margaret Elinor Freeman (1883-1972) married Stephen Nairne Mackenzie. Two children, Elinor Laura Mackenzie and Margaret Griselda Mackenzie
    • Ursula Freeman (1885 – )
    • George Bovet Freeman (1886-1964). On his marriage to Kathleen Mary Martin he was said to be District Commisioner, Gambaya, Northern Territory, Gold Coast Colony.
    • Lucy Haden Freeman (1889-1976) married first Richard Bayly Murphy, who died 1912, one daughter; married second Sir Wintringham Norton Stable, High Court Judge, brother of spouse below.
    • Archibald Francis Freeman (1889-1940), lived in Wales but died at the Railway Station, Grantham. Married Enid Gertrude Stable, sister of Sir Wintringham above.
  • Jessie Louisa Freeman (1849-1868)
  • Reginald Charles Freeman (1852-1915) married Elizabeth Charlotte Wharton (1853-1943). Three children: Claude Reginald Charles Freeman (1886-1957); Dorothy Dundas Freeman (1891-1975) married George Thomson, two children; Arthur Cyril Bruce Freeman (1896-27 Sep 1918, CWGC Grave at Hermies Hill British Cemetery)
  • Elinor Mary Freeman (1854-1868)
  • Frederick Arthur Freeman (1858 – )
  • George Hartley Freeman (1863-1863)
  • Adelaide Catherine Freeman (1886-1937)

That was exhausting – and very time-consuming. There is yet another branch to explore descending from John Freeman and Ann Backler, and we can then return to the Pellatts, whom we haven’t seen for over a year. These Freeman families are enormous! But here it is – for the record.