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This gives the family history



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Howard_de_Walden

might be of interest

Mavis

The cables for tele communication was starting to be layed to go back to UK in 1889.
There was a lot of families with their domestic servants went to Ascension Island maybe that is a line you might follow.

Dorothy

Many thanks Potty- it would seem I can get no further with this puzzle.

Only thing I can think of is that she went out as a servant to one of the officers' families and as that would have been on a RN ship, there will be no passenger lists.

Hello- still struggling with this conundrum as to when Alice Mary Meredith went to Ascension and whom with. I have drawn a complete blank- no passenger records; nothing under De Walden/ron. Is anyone able to shed any further light on this long standing puzzle please? :-

Meredith and Drew co at High Street Shadwell http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Meredith_and_Drew


Name: William Meredith
Dates: 1776-1800
Location: London
Occupation: hat maker clothing(m)
Gender: Male
Address:

Address(es): High street, Shadwell, London
Occupation:

Occupation(s): hat maker, clothing(m)
Source Date: 1790
Source Info:

Listed in Wakefield's Merchant and Tradesman's General Directory for London, [1790], WAKEFIELD. London

de Walden family - history

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/document-1355775033239/

Meredith and Drew, a biscuit and crisp (potato chip) manufacturer since 1830,

After founding his bakery in 1830, William Meredith quarreled with William Drew, his principal assistant, in 1852 and Drew left to set up a rival business. The sons of these two men reunited the two companies in 1890, deciding by coin toss the order of their names. In 1905 Meredith and Drew merged with Wright and Son, a small company known for a cheddar sandwich biscuit--"a meal for a penny." One of the strengths Meredith and Drew brought to United Biscuits was its experience in concentrating on a single product in each plant; adopting this plan helped UB attain dominance in the biscuit market.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/united-biscuits-holdings-plc#ixzz2PjQRoIBB

Scottish records office
Country code GB
Repository Code 234
Repository National Records of Scotland
Reference GB234/GD381
Meredith and Drew: Short history of the firm, 1948; 'The Meredith and Drew' periodical, 1948-1953

birth
Name: Thomas Sucter Meredith
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 09 Mar 1817
Christening Place: HAMBLEDON,HAMPSHIRE,ENGLAND
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Death Date:
Name Note:
Race:
Father's Name: Alexander Meredith
Father's Birthplace:
Father's Age:
Mother's Name: Maria
Mother's Birthplace:
Mother's Age:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C13661-2
System Origin: England-ODM
GS Film number: 1041206

birth
Name: Alice Mary Meredith
Gender: Female
Christening Date: 09 Apr 1855
Christening Place: HAMBLEDON,HAMPSHIRE,ENGLAND
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Death Date:
Name Note:
Race:
Father's Name: Thomas Meredith
Father's Birthplace:
Father's Age:
Mother's Name: Louisa Josephine
Mother's Birthplace:
Mother's Age:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C13661-2
System Origin: England-ODM
GS Film number: 1041206

marriage
Name: Thomas Sucter Meredith
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Age:
Spouse's Name: Louisa Josephine Slater
Spouse's Birth Date:
Spouse's Birthplace:
Spouse's Age:
Event Date: 27 Mar 1842
Event Place: Saint Marys,Portsea,Hampshire,England
Father's Name:
Mother's Name:
Spouse's Father's Name:
Spouse's Mother's Name:
Race:
Marital Status:
Previous Wife's Name:
Spouse's Race:
Spouse's Marital Status:
Spouse's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M06261-3
System Origin: England-ODM
GS Film number: 919748, 919749, 919750, 919751, 919752, 919753, 919754, 919755

marriage of Thomas' parents
Name: Alexander Meredith
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Age:
Spouse's Name: Maria Sueter
Spouse's Birth Date:
Spouse's Birthplace:
Spouse's Age:
Event Date: 03 Jan 1806
Event Place: Saint Marys,Portsea,Hampshire,England
Father's Name:
Mother's Name:
Spouse's Father's Name:
Spouse's Mother's Name:
Race:
Marital Status:
Previous Wife's Name:
Spouse's Race:
Spouse's Marital Status:
Spouse's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M06261-2
System Origin: England-ODM
GS Film number: 919744, 919745, 919746, 919747

Alexander Merredeth appears in 1841 as a beer seller

Ascension Island was known as HMS Ascension while under naval control, so if Joseph was posted there as a Marine it should show as one of the list of ships on his record.

Trudi....Ascension Island

"In 1823 the island was taken over by the Royal Marines. It remained under the supervision of the British Board of Admiralty until 1922, when it was made a Dependency of St Helena by Royal Letters Patent. It ceased to be a military only island in 1899 when the Eastern Telegraph Company arrived."

There were no indiginous population/residents... only those who were attached to the above...eg RMs/RN


Have you tried this site.....
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/st-helena-genealogy also includes Ascension Island and Tristan de Cuna

Thank you all- I have now paid for and downloaded copies of both records- Joseph in the marines light infantry and Joseph in the Navy. They are indeed the same person!
I can now confirm this as both records contain details of any distinguishing marks which are identical. Unfortunately although the marine record does contain the ships- I looked these up and I cannot find whether any went to Ascension.
The mystery of how Alice ended up there still remains- I can find no records in any passenger lists either under her name or the head of the household where she was last in service- any further hep with that bit would be gratefully received.
Over three years I am gradually managing to fit the pieces together!
Thanks everyone

Suggesting that this is the one you need to buy first

Name Clapson, Joseph. Official Number: 350021. Place of Birth: Bearsted, Kent. Date of Birth: 02 .Jan 1883 (this is incorrect DOB but it must have been input incorrectly)

Admiralty: Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services. General series to 1907. Name Clapson, Joseph. Official Number: 350021. Place of Birth: Bearsted, Kent. Date of Birth: 02 January 1883.

Collection: Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies
Date range: 01 January 1894 - 31 December 1894
Reference:ADM 188/529/350021
Subjects:Armed Forces (General), Navy
Browse by hierarchy | Browse by reference

If you purchase this naval record from the National Archives website

it might give you more info as to which ships he was on, where and when etc etc

only £3.50 to download


Maybe as I said in earlier post he was finished with his 'normal service' by end 1890's and came back to Britain to later sign up for WW1 ? it does say he was a 'pensioner' when he died

Jan

Wow- I think I may have missed a trick here! Help Please. Joseph Clapson b.02/01/1863- d. 1916
As both service records have the same birth date -could it be that the Joseph Clapson who appears in the archives as in the Royal Marines light infantry Plymouth, who enlisted in 1882: is one and the same person as my great grandfather Joseph Clapson who went down on HMS Invincible in 1916?? This might explain why my great grandfather does not appear in any census for 1881 or 1891. Therefore, could it be that as a Marine he was sent to Ascension ; then came back to the UK where he is listed in 1901 census at Jubilee Rd, Southsea [ which I know was the address] and then later joined the Navy? I have been going round in circles for so long with trying to find out what Joseph was doing on Ascension- does anyone know if having two different military records is feasible please and how I could find out if these relate to one and the same person? Thank you for any further comments which may help me to solve some of the mystery.

Thanks all; yes it was a typing error re date of Joseph's birth- should have been 1863; a problem with so many Josephs' in the family. Although Alice was in service- why /how she ended up on the Island of Ascension appears to remain a mystery!
Sorry, hadn't realised I should have added this enquiry to an old thread as it was posted last year.

Trudi, most of this info has already been posted on the thread that Chris has posted the link to. It really would have been better is you had posted again to that thread.

1901 England Census about Joseph Clapson
Name: Joseph Clapson
Age: 39
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1862
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Alice M Clapson
Gender: Male
Where born: Bearstead, Kent, England
Civil parish: Portsmouth
Ecclesiastical parish: St Bartholomew
Town: Portsmouth
County/Island: Hampshire
Country: England
Street Address:

Occupation: Ships Corporal R.N.

Registration district: Portsmouth
Sub-registration district: Kingston and East Southsea
ED, institution, or vessel: 20
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 102
Piece: 988
Folio: 29
Page Number: 16
Household Members:
Name Age
Joseph Clapson 39
Alice M Clapson 44
Joseph C Clapson 9 born: Island of Ascension
Alice M Clapson 6 born: Fratton, Portsmouth
Jessie C Clapson 4 born: Queensferry, Scotland
William D Clapson 4 born: Queensferry, Scotland

England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966 about Joseph Clapson
Name: Joseph Clapson
Probate Date: 13 Jul 1916
Death Date: 31 May 1916
Death Place: Surrey, England
Registry: London, England

.............of Bank Chambers Redhill Surrey petty officer R.N. died 31 May 1916 in the North Sea killed in action Probate 13 July to Alice Mary Clapson widow.
Effects: £190

Going backwards, Joseph in 1871- father is a Policeman, b Robertsbridge, Sussex; mother b Market Drayton, Shropshire:

1871 England Census
about Joseph Clapson
Name: Joseph Clapson
Age: 8
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1863
Relation: Son
Father's Name: Joseph Clapson
Mother's Name: Mary Clapson
Gender: Male
Where born: Bearsted, Kent, England
Civil parish: Cheriton
County/Island: Kent
Country: England
Registration district: Elham
Sub-registration district: Folkestone
ED, institution, or vessel: 11
Household schedule number: 186
Piece: 1016
Folio: 68
Page Number: 32
Household Members: Name Age
Joseph Clapson 34
Mary Clapson 30
Joseph Clapson 8
William Clapson 7
Henry Clapson 5
George Clapson 3
Emily Clapson 7 Months

From CWGC site

CLAPSON, JOSEPH
Rank:Ship's Corporal
1st ClassTrade:Pensioner***************

Service
No:350021

Date of Death:31/05/1916Regiment/Service:Royal Navy H.M.S. "Invincible." Panel Reference21.MemorialPORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
Additional Information:


George