Charles Frederick Beesley

Charles Frederick Beesley

Married - Sept 1890

Grace Penhaligon

Children

BIRTH: 30 Aug 1891, London, Clerkenwell, England, UK

BIOGRAPHY:

        At the time of the 1901 Census in England, Bessie was 9 years old, and living with her Father, Charles Frederick (34), a compositor (print); her Mother, Grace (35); her brother Frederick Charles (7); her sister Florence May (5), her aunt, Elizabeth Ann Babb (listed as Ann Elizabeth) (40), and her uncle, John William Babb (45), a wheelwright. They lived at 11 Benyon Road, London, St. Andrews (Source: RG13/227; District 28; Page: 33).

Bessie's Autograph Book - 1905 thru 1913

(one entry in 1927 by 10 year old son, William)

        Bessie married Charles William Petitjean, on 16 Aug 1912. They were married by William James Darch, Deputy Registrar of Marriages, for the District of Holborn, in the County of London. The certificate of marriage lists their residence at the time of marriage, as 4 Roberts Place, Clerkenwell. Charles William was listed as being 23, and a Model Maker. His Father was listed as Charles Petitjean, Tool Maker. Bessie was listed as being 21, and a Stenographer. Her Father was listed as Charles Frederick Beesley, Compositor. The marriage witnesses were: F. Petitjean (Charles' Mother, or sister, Florence), E. A. Morcom (Bessie's Aunt, Elizabeth Ann), and Grace Beesley (Bessie's Mother).

        Bessie followed her husband to the United States, arriving 21 May 1913, on the R.M.S. Olympic, out of Southampton, Southamptonshire, England, UK. She was listed as being 21 years old, British, English, and a resident of Winslow, England.

        In the Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Watertown, Connecticut City Directory, 1914, Charles W., and Bessie L. were listed as boarding at 70 Edin Street, Waterbury, CT. Charles was employed by the Bristol Company.

        Bessie thought of her Mother's sister, Elizabeth Ann Babb Morcom (a Penhaligon), as her second mother. Elizabeth was 53 years old when she visited Bessie and her husband, Charles Petitjean, in Waterbury, CT, in 1914. She traveled on the R.M.S. Olympic, arriving on 6 May 1914. Auntie Morcom lived near the Beesleys in London. She later died there, in a house fire, on 9 Jul 1946.

        At the time of the 1920 Census, Bessie was 28 years old, and living at 132 Wooster Street, Union City, New Haven County, CT (3-WD - Series: T625; Roll: 190; Page: 271; District: 305) (renting on the Sokoloski Farm), with her husband, Charles (28), and sons, Charles F. (4) and William G. (2 years, 8 months).

        When Charles asked the Bristol Company for a month off to visit England, and they refused, he quit his job, put their furniture in storage, and the family went on an extended trip to England. They departed from the Port of New York on 15 May 1920, on the R.M.S. Mauretania (passport applications). While there, their sons, Charles Frederick and William George, were both baptized, on 5 Sep 1920, at the Wesleyan-Methodist Chapel, St. John's Square, Clerkenwell, in the County of London, by Edgar C. Barbon, Wesleyan- Methodist Minister.

        The family arrived back in the United States, on 6 Oct 1920, on the R.M. S. Olympic out of Southampton, Southhamptonshire, England. UK. Their address was listed as 143 Waterville Street, Waterbury, CT (home of William's Uncle, Octave Petitjean). By 1922, they were living at 490 North Main Street, Union City, CT (Waterbury and Naugatuck City Directory, 1924).

        On 24 Jan 1925 (the same day as the eclipse of the sun), Bessie traveled to England with her son William G., and her brother Frederick C. Beesley, on the R.M.S. Olympic. She was pregnant at the time, and gave birth to her son, Robert John, on 30 Mar 1925, in England. The family returned home on the S. S. Olympic, arriving in New York on 26 May 1925. To get a bottle of whiskey she had purchased for her husband through customs (because of Prohibition), Bessie hid it under the blanket wrapped around two month old Robert.

        At the time of the 1930 Census, Bessie was 38 years old, and living at 71 Golden Hill Street, Union City, New Haven County, CT (3-WD - Series: T626; Roll: 274; Page: 139; District: 186), with her husband, Charles (40), an engineer in a brass factory; and her sons: Charles (15), William (12), and Robert (5). They belonged to the parish of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 210 Church Street, Naugatuck, CT. They moved to 1425 Highland Av. Extension, Platts Mills, Waterbury, CT, in 1931.

        In the Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Watertown, Connecticut City Directory, 1932, Bessie was listed as living with her husband, Charles W., on the Highland Avenue Extention near Pear Street in Platts Mills. Charles was listed as an experimental engineer, working for the Bristol Company.

        Bessie was listed in the Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Watertown, Connecticut City Directory, 1948, as the widow of Charles W., living at 1425 Highland Av. Ext., Platts Mills. She made her last trip to England in 1948, with her daughter-in-law, Edna Petitjean (wife of Charles F.) and grandson, Ross Allen Petitjean (b 14 Jul 1948).

Florence, Ross, Bessie, and Edna

England - 1948

DEATH: Bessie died on 12 Aug 1949, in Naugatuck, CT, as a result of intestinal cancer.

BURIAL: Bessie was buried, with her husband Charles W. (d 5 Oct 1946), at Riverside Cemetery, in Waterbury, CT.

Frederick Charles Beesley

BIRTH: 1894, London, Clerkenwell, England, UK

BIOGRAPHY:

        At the time of the 1901 Census in England, Frederick was 7 years old, and living with his Father, Charles Frederick (34), a compositor (print); his Mother, Grace (35); his sisters, Bessie (9), and Florence May (5), his aunt, Elizabeth Ann Babb (listed as Ann Elizabeth) (40), and his uncle, John William Babb (45), a wheelwright. They lived at 11 Benyon Road, London, St. Andrews (Source: RG13/227; District 28; Page: 33).

Bessie, Charles, And William Petitjean, and Uncle Fred Beesley

        Frederick arrived in the United States on 25 Apr 1923, on the R.M.S. Olympic, out of Southhampton, Southhamptonshire, UK, at the age of 29. He had come to visit his sister, Bessie Beesley Petitjean, in CT, on his way to accepting a job in Australia. He met his future wife, Frances Kendall, and decided to stay.

        In January 1925, on the same day as the eclipse of the sun, he traveled to England with his sister, Bessie, and her son William G., on the Olympic. Bessie was pregnant at the time, and gave birth to her son, Robert J., on 30 Mar 1925, in England.

        Frederick got a job as a printer at the Waterbury Republican American where Francis was also a printer (their first female Linotype operator), and he and Francis later married.

        At the time of the 1930 Census, Frederick was 36 years old, and living with his wife Frances K. (33), and adopted son Edward F. (6) at 22 Cypress Street, Waterbury, New Haven County, CT (4-WD - Series: T626; Roll: 280; Page: 49; District: 255).

        In the Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Watertown, Connecticut City Directory, 1932, Frederick was listed as being a printer at the Waterbury Republican, and living with his wife, Frances K., at 503 Piedmont Street, Waterbury, CT.

        In the Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Watertown, Connecticut City Directory, 1946, Frederick was listed as being a printer at the Naugatuck News. Frances was a linotype operator for the Waterbury Democrat, Inc. They were living at 172 Newbury Street, Waterbury, CT. Their son, Edward, was in the U.S. Navy and renting at their home.

        In the Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Watertown, Connecticut City Directory, 1948, Frederick was listed as being a printer at the Naugatuck News, and living with his wife, Francis, at 172 Newbury Street, Waterbury, CT. Their son, Edward, had moved to Southington, with his wife, Marion.

        Frederick was an advertisement layout supervisor for several newspapers over the course of his career. When they moved to Jacksonville, FL, he got a job with the Jacksonville newspaper. He was also a very active Mason.

DEATH: Frederick died on 25 Nov 1973, in Jacksonville, Duval, FL.

Florence May Beesley

BIRTH: 1896, London, Clerkenwell, England, UK

BIOGRAPHY:

        At the time of the 1901 Census in England, Florence was 5 years old, and living with her Father, Charles Frederick (34), a compositor (print); her Mother, Grace (35); her sister, Bessie (9), her brother Frederick Charles (7), her aunt, Elizabeth Ann Babb (listed as Ann Elizabeth) (40), and her uncle, John William Babb (45), a wheelwright. They lived at 11 Benyon Road, London, St. Andrews (Source: RG13/227; District 28; Page: 33).

        Florence married John Barnes (b 1897), on 4 Aug 1918, at the Wesleyan Chapel, St. Johns Square Clerkenwell. At the time of their marriage, John was a Private in the 6^th City of London regiment, living at 118 Farringdon Road, and Florence was a fancy leather worker living at 323 Compton Buildings. Jack was a WWI veteran who had fought on the battlefields in France. He had been injured and sent home, but then returned to fight in France.

John Barnes

         Florence and Jack had six children, two of whom were either stillborn or died young. Their first child was a son, Ernest Frederick David, born 15 Sep 1918, in Holborn. He was educated at Coopers School., and served in the RAF in India during WWII. He married Edna Glover in 1945 and they had two children: David, born in 1945, and Isa, born in 1947. After a divorce, Ernest married Maureen Unknown. Ernest (known to everyone as David) died suddenly of a heart attack on 8 Jul 1988.

Ernest Frederick David Barnes

David (Ernest) & Maureen Barnes

        Their second child, Grace Violet, was born 1 Oct 1920.



Gracie Violet Barnes

She married Alfred Clements on 17 Sep 1941. Alf fought in France in WWII. They had two children: Frank, born 6 Jul 1944 (d 1958), and Brenda June, born in 1947. Brenda married Barry Hobart on 28 Sep 1968. They had two children: Colin, born in 1973, and Sally, born in 1975. Sally married Philip Payne on 19 Aug 2000, and they have two children: Evy Ella, born in 2001, and Frederick Anthony, born in 2004. Grace moved from Chigwell to Huntingdon to be near her daughter, Brenda, and died on 30 Dec 2001, at the age of 80.

        Their third child was John Herbert, born in 1931. He later married Dora Elkins in 1951. They have three children: Carole, Stephen, and Gillian.

John Herbert Barnes

        Their youngest child, Robert, was born in 1938, at 104 Uplands Road, Woodford Bridge, Essex. Robert later married Janet Withers, on 30 Mar 1963, and had two children: Andrew David, born in1967; and Julia Ann, born in 1970. Robert worked for the Post Office for 36 years at various management levels until he retired in 1990. His wife, Janet, works as a Secretary.

Robert Barnes

Janet & Robert Barnes

        Florence and Jack moved to several homes in Essex during the next several years, finishing up at 16 Whalebone Avenue, Chadwell Heath Romford Essex, until Florence died on 18 May 1961. Jack continued to live there until he died on 22 May 1969, at the age of 72.

DEATH: Florence died at the age of 64, on18 May 1961, at Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, UK.

BURIAL: Florence was buried on 24 May 1961, in Manor Park Cemetery, London, England, Square 46, Grave 3. The undertaker was LCS Romford, and the minister was M. Wheatley. Her husband , John, was also buried on 30 May 1969; undertaker: LCS Romford; minister: Rev. Stallon.

Robert William Beesley

BIRTH: Apr 1901, London, England

BIOGRAPHY:

        Robert died at the age of 4 months.

DEATH: 18 Aug 1901, London, England

BURIAL: Aug 1901, Manor Park Cemetery, London, England

William Robert Beesley

BIRTH: 1904, London, England

BIOGRAPHY:

        William died at the age of 5 years.

DEATH: 23 Mar 1909, London, England

BURIAL: Mar 1909, Manor Park Cemetery, London, England

Frederick, Grace and Charles Beesley

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