Connecting Richard Henry Crespigny (1891 – 1894) to the family tree

Several years ago I wrote about a child who I could not connect to the family tree: Richard Henry Crespigny (1891-1894) a workhouse inmate. A cousin, NF, has recently written to me:

I think that I may have a plausible explanation regarding Richard Henry de Crespigny.

You have a Eliza Clarissa Emelia Toker in your tree.

She married Richard Bulkley Twyford Thelwall 1824-1878.

They had six children and their youngest was baptised Richard de Crespigny Thelwall.

Now Richard de Crespigny Thelwall is shown as being in Medical School at St. Mary’s Hospital London in 1888/89

For some reason he does not finish his studies. My GF always maintained that a family member was thrown out of Med School for getting a young lady pregnant. Did this Richard drop the Thelwall on the birth record of Robert Henry, being a poor student and merely disappearred?

At a later date Richard Thelwall marries an Anna Hamilton Lang (Long?) and they have five children all with the middle name of de Crespigny. By 1897 Richard is a well established clergyman.

Clarissa Champion Crespigny (1776 – 1836) was the daughter of my 5th great grandfather Philip Champion de Crespigny (1738 – 1803) and his 3rd wife Clarissa Sarah Champion de Crespigny nee Brooke (1755 – 1782).

Clarissa Champion de Crespigny and two of her children by George Romney. It would seem that the daughters shown are Clarissa born about 1775 and Maria born about 1776.

In 1801 the younger Clarissa married Edward Toker (1777 – 1849) of Ospringe, Kent. They had eight children. The eldest son, Philip Champion Toker (1802 – 1882) married Elizabeth Jeanette Branthwayt (1808 – 1889) in 1830. They had seven children. The eldest child was Eliza Clarissa Emilia Toker (1831 – 1888).

In 1855 Eliza married Richard Bulkeley Twyford Thelwall. They had seven children; the youngest was Richard de Crespigny Thelwall born 19 May 1871 at Batcombe Somerset.  He was baptised on 14 July 1871 at Batcombe. His father’s occupation was adjutant of volunteers. The 1871 census was taken on the night of 2 April, just before Richard’s birth. At the time of the census the Thelwall family were living in Batcombe: Richard senior’s occupation was Captain and Adjutant 3rd Battalion Rifle Volunteers. As well as his wife Eliza there were two children aged 8 and 6 and two general servants. One son had died as a small child, two other sons were at school: one at St John’s College Hurstpierpoint, Sussex; another at Christ’s Hospital Educational Institution, St John’s Hertfordshire. I have not been able to locate the oldest daughter.

On 19 July 1878 Richard Bulkley Twyford Thelwall died very suddenly at Weston-Soper-Mare. He was late Adjutant 3d Battalion Somerset Rifle Volunteers and late 65th Regiment. (London Evening Standard 27 July 1878 page 1)

He was 54 and his youngest son Richard was only 7 years old.

Eliza Thelwall nee Toker died in 1888.

In 1889 Richard de Crespigny Thelwall was studying medicine at St Mary’s Hospital, London. (The Wellcome Trust; London, England; Medical Students Register; Reference Number: b24389602_i13752728 Description Registration Year: 1889. Retrieved through ancestry.com)

At the time of the 1891 census Richard Thelwall aged 20 was living in Hustanton, Norfolk as a boarder. His occupation was Tutor School.

The 1897 UK clergy list indicates he entered the Anglican clergy in 1894 and from 1894 to 1897 was a curate of St. Paul, King-Cross, Halifax, Yorkshire.

In 1903 Richard de Crespigny Thelwall married. He and his wife had at least five children. Richard died in 1923.

Do you think Richard de Crespigny Thelwall was the father of Richard Henry Crespigny (1891 – 1894)?

Can you suggest any evidence that might be available? None of the documents I have relating to the child Richard Henry Crespigny, for example his birth and death certificates,  include his father’s handwriting.

update: Another cousin, JT, has written in February 2021

Richard de Crespigny Thelwall attended Medical School in 1888 and as the family said “he walked the wards” and hated it, and so left. He went on to try teaching and hated that too and finally attended Anglican College and became a priest.

Richard de Crespigny never had an illegitimate child/son.

Certainly his future father-in-law would never have allowed Richard de C. Thelwall to marry his eldest daughter, if this had been the case.

Related post:

• Richard Henry Crespigny (1891-1894) a workhouse inmate

Edmund Alexander Champion de Crespigny (1890 – 1905 or 1967?)

When reviewing records associated with the surname Champion de Crespigny, I came across records which I had not been able to associate with a member of the family. There were a number of twentieth century records that I could not link until I reviewed the United States naturalization records and from these I was able to assemble the family history. There was one small problem, the man who was the head of this family appears to have died in 1905 before he married.

Edmund Alexander Champion de Crespigny, youngest child of Philip Augustus Champion de Crespigny (1850-1912) and Annie Rose Charlotte Champion de Crespigny nee Key (1859-1935), was born 12 July 1890 and baptised at Bramshaw, Hampshire, England, on 14 October 1890.

At the time of the 1891 English census he was 8 months old and living at Round Hill, Bramshaw with his parents. His father was a retired Royal Navy officer. Edmund’s two brothers and sister were also at home as well as two adult cousins of his parents and three servants.

In 1901 he was at boarding school at Bramshaw.

There is a 1905 Irish death index record for a 14-year-old EAC de Crespigny who died at Ballycastle, Antrim. There is a memorial at Bramshaw, Wiltshire for him stating he was buried 30 May 1905 and that he was Edmund, son of Philip Augustus Champion de Crespigny and Rose Charlotte. He is not on the 1911 census. His mother, moreover, declares she gave birth to four children and one had died. The two brothers of Edmund and his sister were living in 1911, so the dead child was almost certainly Edmund.

On 30 December 1919 an Edmund Alexander Champion de Crespigny aged 29 (born 1890) married Elise Emma Richard at Lausanne, Switzerland. He stated he was the son of Philip Augustus Champion de Crespigny and Annie Rose Key and that he had been born at Lyndhurst. Lyndhurst is less than six miles from Bramshaw.

I have come across people who have assumed the surname Champion de Crespigny because it would appear they claimed to be an illegitimate child of a member of the family. This case seems to be different as the man has stated that his mother is the wife of Philip. He is claiming to be the son who had died in 1905.

This man continued to assume the identity though his first name evolved to Claude and his wife, Elise, was known as Lilette. I was only able to reconcile the records when reviewing his 1960 naturalization papers. What follows is the chronology of his life as told in records that have been digitised and can be found through genealogy websites, in particular through ancestry.com.

In August 1920 Claude de Crespigny, engineer and director, arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, on the SS Canopic via Canada. He stated that he was born in London and his wife was Lillette. She had a Swiss address.

On 9 August 1922 Claude and Lilette had a child, Michelle Rosamonde Champion de Crespigny, born in Switzerland. She came to America in 1928. According to Michelle’s 1941 application for naturalization the family settled in Chicago.

In 1923 Claude Edward Alexander de Crespigny, mechanical engineer, living at Scranton Pennsylvania, declared his intention to apply for naturalization.

On 25 November 1927 Claude Edmund Alexander Champion de Crespigny applied for naturalization in Chicago. He stated he was born 12 July 1890 at White Lodge Lyndhurst. He was currently a typewriter salesman, living in Chicago. He had arrived on the SS Canopic in 1920. He had been living in Illinois since 1924. His wife was Lillette and they had married in Switzerland. She was currently living in Toronto. They had a daughter who was currently living in Switzerland. The application was denied by the court in December 1928 due to “want of prosecution; unable to obtain depositions”. It would seem Claude failed to follow through on his application.

At the time of the 1930 US census Claude, Lillette and Michelle were living at 1546 Farwell Avenue, Chicago. Claude was a typewriter salesman.

In December 1930 the Blue Island Suburban Star of Blue Island, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, reported that Professor Claude Campion de Crespigny (sic), a local resident, would talk on “Britain in India today”. Professor de Crespigny was a member of the faculty of Loyola University and had served with the British Legation in India. (As this was before 1947 when India gained independence, the term British Legation in India makes no sense.) I have found no evidence of a Professor de Crespigny at Loyola University and given that Claude was living in Chicago, Illinois, I believe this lecturer is Edmund Claude. There are a number of universities with that name including Loyola University, Chicago.

On 26 September 1935 Claude R Crespigny married Ruby V. King in Manhattan, New York.

When Claude’s wife Lilette applied for naturalization in 1944 she stated she and Claude had divorced in 1940.

In 1940 Claude and Lilette’s daughter Michelle was at school at Morgan Park High School, Chicago. I have not been able to locate any member of the family on the United States 1940 census.

In 1942 Claude was living at 14 East 54 Street New York when he registered for the draft as Claude Crespigny. He was 52 years old and stated he was born 12 July 1890 at Lyndhurst, England. A person who would always know his address was Fred W Peterson of same address. His employer was Fashion Center, Dechard, Tennessee and business was Travel for Dechard, Tennessee. On the reverse of the card it stated that Claude had a gunshot wound on his forehead and a bayonet wound on his right hand. He was 5’9″ tall with hazel eyes and brown hair.

In 1960 Claude again petitioned for naturalization. He was living at 414 Fannin, Houston Texas and was a hotel clerk. He had one daughter, Michelle, wife Ruby who had been born St Vincent British West Indies and that he had married in 1945 in New London, Connecticut, but since divorced. He stated his name had changed to Claude Edmund Crespigny but his full true and correct natural name was Edmund Alexander Champian de Crespigny (sic). He stated that he had arrived in America under the name Claude Emil de Crespigny.

Claude died 31 January 1967. The informant was Mrs Ella Roland. She stated his date of birth was 12 July 1890 and that he had been born in England. She did not know the names of his parents. She stated he was a US citizen, his occupation was hotel clerk of Houston Texas. His usual address was 811 Sul Ross appartment number 3 in Houston Texas. He had been living in Houston for 20 years. He died at Ben Taub General Hospital of hypotension due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding. There was an autospsy. His body was donated to medical research.

In 1947 Frederick Philip Champion de Crespigny died. Frederick was the older brother of Edmund and was also the seventh Champion de Crespigny baronet. Theoretically Edmund would have become the eighth baronet. The man known as Claude de Crespigny did not come forward. Not least, no doubt, because the family knew that Edmund had died in 1905 and would have exposed him as an imposter. The title of baronet passed to Frederick’s nephew, Vivian. On Vivian’s death the title became extinct.

Had the title passed to the man who had assumed the identity of Edmund, the title still would have become extinct as Edmund, later known as Claude, had no sons, only a daughter.

Michelle married in 1944 and died in 1998. She had at least one child.

Family tree showing the male line of descent from Claude Champion de Crespigny (1734-1818) the 1st baronet. The eight baronets are highlighted in yellow.

I do not know who Claude de Crespigny, the man who died in Texas in 1967, really was, nor what he gained out of assuming the identity of the son of Philip and Rose de Crespigny.

Related blog post

• Extinction of the de Crespigny baronetcy

References – unless otherwise stated the references were retrieved through ancestry.com

• Baptism record FHL Film Number:6343375
• 1891 England census Class: RG12; Piece: 910; Folio 73; Page 15; GSU roll: 6096020.
• 1901 England census Class: RG13; Piece: 1050; Folio: 80; Page: 9.
• 1905 death of EAC de Crespigny aged 14 registered Ballycastle Antrim Apr-Jun 1905 vol 1 page 58 retrieved from index of Irish deaths 1864-1958 through FindMyPast.com.au
• 1905 memorial at Bramshaw from Wiltshire Memorial index number 27214 retrieved through FindMyPast.com.au
• 1911 England census Class: RG14; Piece: 5904; Schedule Number: 69
• 1919 marriage from Great Britain, selected marriages FHL Film Number: 1494402 Reference ID: Bk #8, p. 13, no. 23
• 1920 arrival Book Indexes to Boston Passenger Lists, 1899-1940 Roll Description: (065) Jan· 6, 1920-Oct· 17, 1920 and Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924
• 1923 naturalization declaration Illinois, Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1991; NAI Number: 593882; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21
• 1927 petition for naturalization Illinois, Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1991; NAI Number: 593882; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21
• 1928 naturalization application denied from US Naturalization records Roll Description: D-250 through D-320 Otto
• 1930 census Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 493; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 1861; FHL microfilm: 2340228
• Article in Blue Island Suburban Star of 12 December 1930 retrieved through FindMyPast.com.au
• 1935 marriage to Ruby King (Certificate 23578)
• 1941 declaration of intention to apply for naturalization by Michelle Rosamonde de Crespigny Petitions for Naturalization, 1906 – 1991; NAI Number: 6756404; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21
• 1944 naturalization for Lilette de Crespigny Illinois, Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1991; NAI Number: 593882; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21
• 1940 Morgan Park High School Year book
• 1942 US World War II draft registration cards Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975; Record Group Number: 147 image 4129
• 1960 petition for naturalization Petitions for Naturalization, 1907-09/30/1991; NAI Number: 571499; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21
• Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA; Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982 certificate number 10095

Richard Henry Crespigny (1891-1894) a workhouse inmate

Last month ancestry.com announced that it had added to its collection of London records, including new material from  the London Metropolitan Archives. This included poor law records for London. Browsing these, I noticed that the surname Crespigny came up eleven times in the London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930.

All were for an infant called Richard Henry Crespigny (1891-1894). I had never heard of this child before and thought I would investigate. I ordered his birth and death certificates.

Richard Henry Crespigny was born 1 November 1891 at 3 Smith Street, South Chelsea, the son of Richard Crespigny and Matilda Crespigny née Garland. His father’s occupation was given as commercial traveller. The informant was his mother, registering the birth on 11 December 1891 in the district of Chelsea, sub district of South Chelsea. She she gave her address as 3 Smith Street South Chelsea.

Richard Crespigny junior died of diphtheria on 25 May 1894 a the South Western Hospital Stockwell. He was two years old. Under occupation it was stated he was of the Chelsea Infirmary, Cale Street S.W. , an institution associated with the Chelsea Workhouse.

The Chelsea infirmary was built in 1872, north of the workhouse. The London City Council took over the workhouse in 1930. The buildings have since been demolished.

Richard Henry Crespigny, six months old, was first admitted to the Fulham Road workhouse on 23 May 1892 from the Parish of St Margaret. The name of his relative or friend was Ruth Glazebrook and her address was Corner House Henfield Shermanbury, a village in Sussex forty miles south of London.

Fulham workhouse and infirmary (left) about 1905. Image from http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Fulham/

On 7 November 1892 Richard Henry Crespigny was readmitted to the workhouse from the infirmary. On 3 December 1892 he was discharged to hospital.

On 28 January 1893 he was readmitted to the Fulham Road workhouse from the hospital. On 1 June 1893 he was again discharged from the workhouse to the infirmary. He was readmitted to the Fulham Road Workhouse on 30 November 1893. His admission record note that he was deserted.

On 3 March 1894 Richard Crespigny was discharged from Fulham Road Workhouse to Chelsea (Britten Street). The next day,  4 March, he was discharged from the Britten Street Workhouse to the infirmary. He returned to the workhouse from the infirmary on 22 March.

On 25 April he was again discharged to the infirmary. He died a month later.

I have been unable to find any record of his parents Richard Crespigny or Matilda Crespigny née Garland in the 1891 census, marriage or death records, or any other online databases. I have no knowledge of anyone with the Champion de Crespigny surname having the first name Richard who was born in the nineteenth century and a potential father of this child.

I looked at the census record for 3 Smith Street for 1891. The census was held on 5 April 1891. On the 1891 census George Toplas is recorded as living at 3 Smith Street with his wife, five children and 6 boarders, none of them Richard or Matilda. It may be that Richard Crespigny and his wife became boarders there five months later. 3 Smith Street is just off the Kings Road and not far from the Chelsea Workhouse.

Ruth Glazebrook appears on the 1891 census living at the Corner House cottage Shermanbury. She was 33, single, living with her widowed mother and two small boys described as boarders: Henry Pitchard age 4 and Henry Bathe age 2. Her occupation is given as baby farmer.

Baby farming was the practice of placing infants with foster women for a fee. It came to an end after the passing of legislation in the UK parliament in 1897 and 1908 which regulated the change of custody of children and defined the improper care of infants.

It appears that Richard Henry Crespigny was placed in the care of a baby farmer, abandoned by his parents, and once the money that paid for his care had been used up, he was placed in a workhouse. He appears to have been ill a number of times before succumbing to diphtheria.

References

• http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Chelsea/
• http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Fulham/
• London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930 retrieved from ancestry.com

1. 23 May 1892 WEBG/SG/122/001 Westminster
2. 23 May 1892 WEBG/SG/118/045 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1892
3. 7 November 1892 WEBG/SG/118/047 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1892
4. 3 December 1892 WEBG/SG/118/047 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1892
5. 28 January 1893 WEBG/SG/118/050 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1893
6. 1 June 1893 WEBG/SG/118/050 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1893
7. 30 November 1893 WEBG/SG/118/051 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1893
8. 3 March 1894 WEBG/SG/118/052 Fulham Road Workhouse Register, 1894
9. 3 March 1894 CHBG/188/031 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894
10. 4 March 1894 CHBG/188/031 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894
11. 22 March 1894 CHBG/188/031 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894
12. 25 April 1894 CHBG/188/032 Britten Street, Old and New Workhouses, 1893-1894

• 1891 census retrieved from ancestry.com

1. George Toplas: Class: RG12; Piece: 63; Folio: 45; Page: 15; GSU roll: 6095173
2. Ruth Glazebrook Class: RG12; Piece: 825; Folio: 139; Page: 3; GSU roll: 6095935

• http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/babyfarm.html