May 2009
T he theme Money, Money, Money covers a wide range of possibilities.
In this month's issue, Marjorie Dawn takes a look through the eyes of Herbert de Fraine at the internal workings of the Bank of England and also his own working life there. Merry Monty Montgomery shows us that having great wealth or success does not always make for happiness.We have a story about the business failure of her relation from sally and jenoco gives us a tale from Val wish Id never started concerning forgery and embezzlement. Caroline writes about a bank clerk cum financial journalist and Elizabeth Herts writes about Robert Heath, hatter, and how his extended family benefitted from his will.
Many of us think that our ag labs had uneventful lives - if they lived on the coast this may be far from the truth. After all, they are hardly going to put smuggler as their occupation on a census form. Caroline has a look at the history of smuggling and the reasons for it as well as some of the occupations involved in its prevention and also writes about some of the smugglers' activities in the West Sussex area. Merry Monty Montgomery tells us about a man who managed to be on both sides of the law.
Our Family Treasure article this month is from Sunny Rosy and Just Barbara reminds us not to forget her Grannie's cousin Bobby and other soldiers who lose their lives in war.
The Spotlight this month is looking at the FTF Places of Worship Project, our database of pictures of religious buildings, how it works and how you may be able to help.
The Editors
 | The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street
W hen William and Mary came to the throne in 1689, after James II went into exile, the Government was in debt and certain City merchants agreed to raise money to lend the government £1,200,000, on permanent loan with guaranteed interest.
The twenty-six subscribers were incorporated as 'The Governor and Company of the Bank of England' by Royal Charter, and the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street has been in business ever since as the banker for the Government of the day. ...
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Servant of this house
H erbert George de Fraine spent 55 years at the Bank of England and his recollections of life with the bank were published after his death at the age of 88, by his daughter in "Servant of This House" in 1960.
From its earliest beginnings the bank has been referred to as ‘the House’ rather than ‘the Bank’ by the employees, perhaps because its first permanent premises were built on the site of the house belonging to its first Governor.
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 | A Tale of Ambition and Bankruptcy
I n the twenty or thirty years after 1850, Mecklenburg in Germany had the third highest emigration count in Europe. People, especially the Jewish population, could see no prospect of a decent future in Mecklenburg due to the miserable social conditions caused by the 'Right of Establishment Rules', and left in their droves.
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A Tale of Forgery and Embezzlement
M y great great grandfather, Abraham Isaac Guttentag, was born on 18th April 1834 in Ketric, Poland (then part of Russia), and died on 22nd March 1914 in Moses and Solomon's Almshouse, Mile End, in the east end of London. He was buried in the Plashet Cemetery, East Ham.
Abraham was the son of Chayim David Guttentag and his wife Mariem. Chayim, a tailor, had been born in 1801 and died before Abraham was five, on 10th February 1839, aged 38. I’ve not been able to find out when Abraham arrived in England but he first appears on the 1861 census, living with his wife Esther and baby son Hyam David in Court Street, Whitechapel. At that time he was a 'cap maker'. ...
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 | The Misfortunes of Wealth
J ohn Horniman was born on 4th December 1803 at Reading in Berkshire. He was the fifth and last child of Thomas Horniman and his wife, Hannah Brewerton.
Thomas and Hannah were accepted into membership of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, a few years after their marriage and so John and his elder brother, Robert were sent to the Quaker school, Ackworth in Yorkshire for their education. ...
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Dear Sir
I t used to be extremely disconcerting to walk into a bank in the early 70s and to be asked by the teller if you were related to “the Lewcock who wrote those books”, with the emphasis on those. At that time Francis James Lewcock’s books on banking were still required reading for banking exams. All I really knew about him was that he had written the books, but when I came across the Times Online, I found that there was far more to his life than that.
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Wealthy Hat Manufacturer
W hen Robert Heath stood in front of the altar with Jane Jeffcoat at Islington Parish Church on 12th April 1849, his life became inextricably linked with the wider Jeffcoat family. In fact, in life and in death the impression is that the Jeffcoat family was taken into his heart and often his home, while his involvement with his large Heath family was not as great.
Indeed, the witnesses of his marriage were Daniel Jeffcoat, Jane’s father, and Susannah Randolph, Jane’s cousin on her mother’s side. Robert’s father is given as 'Henry Heath, Gentleman'. No mention is given of Robert’s profession on his marriage certificate, just 'Gentleman' as well. ...
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| Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark |
Watch the wall my darling
T he chances are that many of our ancestors were involved in the smuggling trade whether or not they lived on or near the coast. From drinking a cup of tea or glass of brandy, wearing a silk waistcoat or playing a game of cards or even lighting a candle, they may well have acquired them illegally. They might have been involved in bringing the goods in by sea or in transporting them inland to their final destination.
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| Sussex Smugglers |
 | Were you born in Yapton?
I f you have left the door open in the Arundel area, you might be asked this question, rather than the more traditional expression, “Were you born in a barn?” Yapton is known as the village that never closes its doors, as tradition has it that the smugglers would come through the village on their way inland after landing their goods on Climping Beach and the villagers would leave their doors open as escape routes from 'The King’s Men'. ...
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| Brandy for the Parson, Baccy for the Clerk; |
Turncoat
C harles Buck was born in the port of Weymouth in Dorset in 1770. He was the third of nine children born to Thomas Buck and Mary Bishop and was elder brother to my 3x great grandfather, Bernard Bishop Buck.
The whole family were tied to the sea. All of Charles’ brothers who survived to adulthood were either mariners or shipbuilders. His sisters married into other seafaring families and their father and grandfathers were also mariners. ...
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| Family Treasure |
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My Heirlooms
T here are two items in my possession that I treasure more than any others. They are a handmade white linen tablecloth and a gold pendant necklace, which both belonged to my Aunt Margery. She was a lovely lady who was full of fun, and was my mother’s half sister.
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| The bravest man I ever met |
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Remember Bobby
I would like to tell you about Grannie’s cousin Bobby and how we nearly lost him twice.
Bobby was Company Sergeant Robert Hamilton D.C.M. M.M. and was killed in action on the 23rd March 1918, aged just 22.
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| Spotlight on FTF |
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Places of Worship Project
W ould you like a photograph of the church where your ancestors were baptised, married or buried? The Family Tree Forum may be able to help you.
In the Autumn of 2007, the Places of Worship Project was launched. The aim of the PoW Project is to compile an online album of all the places where our ancestors may have been baptised, christened, married or buried in the British Isles.
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