Russell, James, Schoolmaster born Othery

[Lenore]

Hello folks,

I am seeking more information about James Russell, born in Othery, Somerset in 1846. In 1875-76 he had a "gentlemen's school" in Bridgewater, SOM, called Lonsdale House.

In the 1881 Census he was the schoolmaster of Silesia College, Belle Hill, Shipping Barnet, Hertford. The Census showed that he had a wife, Ann, aged 38, born at Durston, SOM, and no children. However, in the 1901 Census, James is working as a Schoolmaster at Harpenden Urban, HERTS with a wife Alice Russell and five probable children. Looking for Ann Russell, she was working as a ladies' school principal in Chipping Barnett, and is described as single, so probably she was the sister of James, and the Census enumerator got the relationship incorrect.

I'm more interested in James Russell's time in Bridgewater, but any information about him, his career and family, would be welcome.

With thanks,

Lenore Frost
Essendon, Vic, Australia

[suffolk sue]

1851 census



RUSSELL
Enoch - 33 - schoolmaster - born Nunny
Louisa - 35 - schoolmistress - born Longport
Ann - 6 - born Othery
James - 5 - born Othery
Albert - 2 - born West Monkton
Amelia - 10 months - born W M


HO107/1923 - West Monkton
Folio 284
Page 17

[Lenore]

Hi Sue,

Thank you very much indeed for this reference. I'm pleased to say it bears out my theory about teaching being a family business. It also clears up a the confusion relating to the 1881 Census, where Ann Russell was described as James' wife, but in the 1901 Census she was recorded as a single lady.

Thanks once again.

Best wishes,

Lenore Frost
Essendon, Vic

[Trish]

Lenore and Sue,

In 1861, Louisa is still listed as Enoch's wife:


North ?Town, Maple ?Grove Road, Taunton, Somerset
RG9/1618 Folio 110 Page 30

Enoch RUSSELL Head Mar 43 School Master [born] Somerset Nunney
Louisa Do Wife Mar 46 School Mistress Do Langport
Anna S. Do Daur Un 16 Scholar Do Othery
James Do Son Un 15 Do Do West Monckton
Amelia L. Do Daur 10 Do Do Do
Melvina C. Do Daur 9 Do Do Do
Ernest A. Do Son 6 Do Do Do
[next page...]
Laura R. RUSSELL Daur 1 Somerset Taunton
James BARSTABLE Boarder 16 Scholar Do Othery
Mary A. TAYLOR Do 12 Do Do North Curry

HTH,
Trish

[Trish]

And in 1871...


1 Middle St., Taunton, Somerset
RG10/2373 Folio 49 Page 5

Enoch RUSSELL Head Mar 53 Schoolmaster [born] Somerset Nunney
Louisa do Wife Mar 55 Schoolmistress " Langport
Ann Sherrin do Daur Unm 26 Schoolmasters Daughter " Otherry
Amelia L. do Daur Unm 19 Scholar " West Monkton
Melvina C. do Daur Unm 18 do " do
Ernest A. do Son 15 do " do
Laura R. Do Daur 11 do " Taunton
Henry FUDGE Boarder 14 do " Shepton Mallet
James NOTT do 11 do " Bishops Lydeard
Tom RATHBOURNE do 10 do " Ashpners
Jeffery LEAMAN do 10 do " Taunton
Samuel WRIGHT do 9 do " Wellington
Charlotte BOOTLE Servt Unm 18 General Servt Domestic Devon Churchstanton
Trish

[Trish]

Finally, 1891...


11 Park Rd, Barnet, Hertfordshire
RG12/1053 Folio 40 Page 24

Enoch RUSSELL Head M 73 Retired schoolmaster [born] Somerset Nunney
Louisa " Wife " 75 do schoolmistress do Langport
Malvina C. " Daur S 38 do West Monkton
Edith RUFFLES Serv. S 18 General Serv. Domestic Suffolk Bedfield

...and on the next line below...

Parkfield College
RG12/1053 Folio 40 Page 24

Annie S. RUSSELL Head S 41 Schoolmistress [born] Somerset Othery
Amelia L. do Sister S 40 do do West Monkton
Laura R. do do S 31 do do Taunton
... followed by a "Governess", a "Governess Pupil", an "Articled Pupil", 53 female "Scholars" aged 8 to 18, a "Cook", a "Kitchen Maid", a "Housemaid" and an "Under Housemaid".

Trish

[Lenore]

Thank you very much indeed, Trish, you are a champion. That paints a very interesting picture of a family in the teaching business. The 1901 Census reveals that one of James Russell's daughters was born in San Francisco in about 1893, so it looks like he embellished his career with a bit of overseas teaching, and maybe even qualifications, as he is recorded in a 1902 directory with a BA that I didn't know he had before. Now I'll have to find out how and where he came by that. The never ending trail....

Thanks once again,

Lenore

[Trish]

Thank you very much indeed, Trish, you are a champion. That paints a very interesting picture of a family in the teaching business. The 1901 Census reveals that one of James Russell's daughters was born in San Francisco in about 1893, so it looks like he embellished his career with a bit of overseas teaching, and maybe even qualifications, as he is recorded in a 1902 directory with a BA that I didn't know he had before. Now I'll have to find out how and where he came by that. The never ending trail....

Thanks once again,

LenoreYou're very welcome, Lenore.

Indeed, the RUSSELL family was truly dedicated to teaching -- it's quite impressive to see the calling span the decades.

Here's James in 1871:

Kings Square, St. Mary, Bridgewater, Somerset
RG10/2386 Folio 22 Page 5

James RUSSEL [sic] Head Mar 25 Schoolmaster [born] Somerset Othery
Annie Do Wife Mar 27 Do North Newton

...followed by 3 Schoolmaster's Assistants, 2 Servants and 8 Boarders, all boys aged 12 to 15.

I don't see James in 1891 so perhaps he was in the States by then.

Trish

[Lenore]

Indeed, the RUSSELL family was truly dedicated to teaching -- it's quite impressive to see the calling span the decades.

Here's James in 1871:

Kings Square, St. Mary, Bridgewater, Somerset
RG10/2386 Folio 22 Page 5

James RUSSEL [sic] Head Mar 25 Schoolmaster [born] Somerset Othery
Annie Do Wife Mar 27 Do North Newton

...followed by 3 Schoolmaster's Assistants, 2 Servants and 8 Boarders, all boys aged 12 to 15.

I don't see James in 1891 so perhaps he was in the States by then.

TrishThanks once again, Trish. Yes, a remarkable family - what a shame I'm not related, or I might know what happened to them after 1900, and whether the descendants are still in the teaching game. A lot of unmarried daughters, though - four, running a school in Barnet in 1901, and with their elderly dad in the household as well.

Yes, I'm surmising James Russell was in the US by 1891. There was a child born in Kensington in 1890, then no more until 1896, so he might have been away as long as that perhaps.

Best wishes,

Lenore

[Dennis Harker]

Lenore,

Hi it's Dennis from Bishops Lydeard again. I note in some of these transcriptions there are a number of transcribing errors. Please accept the following suggestions in the spirit of possibly making your research (and searching) a little easier. I'm sure you will have worked some of them out for yourself but if not....

For Bridgewater read Bridgwater
For Longport read Langport
For Nunny read Nunney
North Town, Taunton is correct but for Grove Road read Staplegrove Road
For West Monckton read West Monkton
and finally
For Ashpners read Ash Priors.

Always willing to offer up emailed digital pics. if they will help.


Hope that helps.

[ChristineR]

.......
Always willing to offer up emailed digital pics. if they will help.
Hope that helps.
Tsk tsk |scold|
Not allowed - against copyright, even if you have taken the pictures yourself

Christine
Australia

[Dennis Harker]

Do you mean it is forbidden to send digital pics of the villages, streets, countryside etc. of the locations that are mentioned in Lenore's posts? I don't think we are talking Police State just yet. Perhaps you meant pics of the actual documents which is not what I was offering?

[Trish]

...I note in some of these transcriptions there are a number of transcribing errors. Please accept the following suggestions in the spirit of possibly making your research (and searching) a little easier. I'm sure you will have worked some of them out for yourself but if not....
Dennis and Lenore,

Apologies if there are transcription errors. I am not an expert on British placenames and I never promise absolute accuracy.

I do always read the image and, if my interpretation disagrees with the provided transcription, I usually defer to the transcription. If I have the time, I provide some explanation in brackets.

Sometimes, however, the enumerator themselves are responsible for the misspellings ["Surry" for "Surrey" is a common example] -- or for what simply may have been an accepted variation in those days -- and I always endeavour to provide a transcription of the actual handwriting [e.g., "Surry"], not what I know is the correct word [e.g., "Surrey"].

I think I'll provide a disclaimer with all my transcriptions from now on!

Trish

[Lenore]

Lenore,

Hi it's Dennis from Bishops Lydeard again. I note in some of these transcriptions there are a number of transcribing errors. Please accept the following suggestions in the spirit of possibly making your research (and searching) a little easier. I'm sure you will have worked some of them out for yourself but if not....

For Bridgewater read Bridgwater
For Longport read Langport
For Nunny read Nunney
North Town, Taunton is correct but for Grove Road read Staplegrove Road
For West Monckton read West Monkton
and finally
For Ashpners read Ash Priors.

Always willing to offer up emailed digital pics. if they will help.
Hope that helps.Hi Dennis,

Thank you so much for your comments, and also to Trish. No need to get overly anxious about transcription errors whosever they may be (is that a word?) I've already fell foul of the Bridgewater/Bridgwater problem, but that's been sorted out with some help. I'm not completely unfamiliar with the more common placenames - I can cope with Surry/Surrey, don't think I would have picked Staplegrove for Grove Road, though. That sort of local knowledge is invaluable.

It is so kind of you to offer some pics, Dennis, and I did take it to be of places rather than documents. I won't take you up on this occasion, but I won't promise I won't on some other occasion.

On this occasion I am not following a family quest (but be warned, I do have the odd King's tourist from Somerset that I have to sort out at some time.)

My interest is specifically in James Russell as a teacher who taught someone of notoriety, whose identity I shan't reveal just now, but I have been very interested in his family/teaching background as part of the bigger picture., and have happily followed up his relations.

From another point of view, his family background tends to back up a course in women's history I did many years ago - which looked at the difficulties for English middleclass women in not having sufficient marriage partners available for most of them to marry. Many men were away in the navy and the army, many had emigrated to Australia and Canada, and women were forced to provide for themselves. None of James Russell's four sisters, aged from 39 to 56, had married by the 1901 census.
|cheers|
Best wishes,

Lenore

[Dennis Harker]

Trish,

I wasn't trying to pick up anyone for the transcribing errors but simply to try and help in case some of the errors might have been pushing Lenore's research down the wrong path or preventing her from linking things together. So, my post wasn't meant to be assigning blame and you didn't need to apologise. My own family research, at the moment, is for Lincolnshire and I have already discovered many transcription errors which have held me up - particularly with place names. As my Dad still lives there he has usually been able to sort those names that I couldn't. Even though I was born there and lived in that county for 22 years there are village names popping up in my research that I had never previously heard of. One example is where the village name of Tathwell appeared. I thought it was a transcription error for Rothwell but my Dad put me straight and showed me where it was and, yes, I did have a couple of ancestors in the churchyard! I think a lot of the actual errors are down to the enumerator's style of handwriting

Lenore,

I still have your original post re the school in Bridgwater in mind and, if you are still looking for more info, will see if I can find out any once we have come out of the festive season and got back to normality. Digital photos of places etc. are no problem so feel free to ask at any time.

[Brabazon]

James Russell married Annie Van Trump in 1865, and ran schools at York Buildings, King Square and at Lonsdale House, Blake Street, all in Bridgwater. He sold the school in 1879 and bought Silesia House School in 1879, renaming it Silesia College. James's sister Ann was with her sisters and their parents Enoch and Louise Russell, until the girls set up Parkfield College, Chipping Barnet.
However, James had an affair with Alice Gramolt from about 1886, and in March 1889 James Russell left his wife. In March James Russell and Alice Gramolt had a son, Ernest, in 1890.
James Russell suddenly leaves Silesia College in early 1890.
in November 1890 Annie Russell sues James for divorce, citing his adultery with Alice Gramolt and cruelty over most of the period of their marriage. it does not appear to be contested, I think because James Russell, Alice Gramolt and their son have gone to America sometime in 1890. Annie Russell's divorce is absolute in June 1892, and she remarried in October 1892.
They are living in San Francisco in about 1893 when a daughter in born. however, no city records as destroyed in earthquake and fire of San Francisco of 1906.
James, Alice and the 2 children return to the UK in 1894. James and Alice Gramolt marry in January 1895. However, this is in church and he declares himself a commission agent and a widow. He could not have married in a church as a divorcee at that time except in exceptional circumstances. they went on to have 5 children but by 1911 there were only 4 alive.
in the 1901 census James Russell is running a school in Rosebery Avenue, Harpenden, but there are no details.
however, in 1911 James Russell is living in Catford, SE London with his wife Alice and 2 children. He is working as a booking clerk, and Alice is an ambulance attendant for London County Council.
Alice Gramolt died in 1917.
James Russell died in 1930.
Just a little detail!

[Lenore]

Thank you Brabazon, that is very interesting to learn. As time has passed and the book I was helping with now been published - only in 2016 - I can now reveal the purpose of my inquiry was to learn a little more about James Russell of Silesia College as one of the Tutors there was Edwin H Murrant - better known as Breaker Morant. The Breaker appears in the 1881 Census at the Silesia College. The book, "Breaker Morant: the final Roundup" includes some images of Silesia College, including a photo of the pupils and teachers. Edwin's parents had both been school teachers, but were later employed as poor law workhouse master and matron. They were in charge of the Bridgwater workhouse in 1864 when Edwin was born.

Thank you to all who responded.

Best wishes,

Lenore