A Gadsden marriage at St John Hackney and a home at Upton House

St John Hackney in late 18th c

My great great grandparents, John Gadsden (1794-1853) and Mary Ann Bone, were married at St John Hackney on 27 March, 1821. However, by that year there was a 'New Church'.* At the time the couple were living at Upton House, West Ham [see watercolour below, partly after a photograph, partly after a sketch by Mary Lister; source Wellcome Library]. Their eldest son, Moreton Champness Nevins Gadsden was born at Upton House

'Upton House.  Situated on the opposite side of Upton Lane to Ham House, which was also, confusingly, known as Upton House for a short time in the eighteenth-century.  It was typical of a number of fine seventeenth- and eighteenth-century houses built in West Ham as country retreats for City merchants and businessmen.  Upton House (that is, the one the Gadsdens lived in) was rebuilt in 1731 and was the birthplace of (Lord) Joseph Lister (1827-1912), the founder of antiseptic surgery.  It was demolished in 1968.' [Source: From  'Britain in Old Photographs: Stratford West Ham & The Royal Docks' by Stephen Pewsey  pub: Sutton Publishing Ltd 1996]

Clearly, if Joseph Lister was born at Upton House in 1827 it is reasonable to suppose that the Gadsdens had moved elsewhere by that date. John and Mary Ann re-emerge in the City of Waterford, Ireland, where John was a provision merchant. He and his brothers Charles Edward Gadsden and James Eyre Gadsden apparently left England and went to live in Waterford where all three produced children as baptismal records show. It is possible that John at least commuted between Waterford and London, as ties with West Ham and Hackney continue until 1828 when John and Mary Ann's daughter, Mary Rochenda, aged only 4 months, was buried at St John Hackney on 13 November of that year.

Map of West Ham, left, shows Upton also Ham House, Plastow [sic, usually Plaistow], West Ham Abbey; note Woolwich across the river. 

Location of East Ham helps to explain why West Ham is so-named i.e. though in the east of London, West Ham lies to the west of East Ham! Devil's House, on East Ham Level, invites further exploration.

* The old parish church of St Augustine had been largely demolished in 1797 when the new parish church of St John, Hackney was built.  Only the tower and the tomb of the Rowe family...remained.  At first the tower was kept to hang the peal of bells, as the parishioners had little faith in the strength of the new church tower and later local sentiment saved the tower from demolition. [Source: Old Ordnance Survey Maps Hackney 1870 Godfrey Edition London sheet 41]. Originally dedicated to St Augustine it was known as St John from circa 1660.  [Info from London Collage website (Guildhall Library Collection)]. 


John Gadsden was in partnership with Joseph Nash in the provision business in Bridge Street Waterford from at least as early as 1824, according to Pigot's Directory.  

Gadsdens of Waterford, Ireland

Waterford City, 1830s

In the early 19^th c three sons of John Gadsden (my great great great grandfather) b 1759 (who married Phoebe Hill) began spending time in Waterford City. They were John Gadsden b 1794 (my great great grandfather who married Mary Ann Bone) and his brothers James Eyre Gadsden b 1809 and Charles Edward Gadsden b 1807. 

There are indications that the Gadsdens may have ‘commuted’ between Ireland and England. Freeman’s Journal published the announcement of the marriage of John Gadsden (b 1794) to Mary Ann Bone (incorrectly spelled Hone) in March 1821 at Hackney.* Significantly, at this date John Gadsden is described as ‘of Waterford’.

Yet John and Mary Ann married at Hackney (Mary Ann’s father was resident there) and their first two children were born at West Ham in 1825 and 1827. This Gadsden family was still associated with the parish of St John, Hackney, when their third child, Mary Rochenda, was buried there in November 1828.

Turning to Ireland, Pigot’s Directory for Waterford City in 1820 lists ‘Gadsden and Nash, Provision Merchants, Bridge Street’. In 1824 they are at the same address providing ‘provisions, butter and bacon’. In 1838, Charles Edward Gadsden crops up in the Freeman lists as ‘Merchant, Apprentice of late Joseph Nash’. Slater’s Directory of 1846 shows John Gadsden as ‘Bacon Merchant, Bridge Street’.

Bridge St., Waterford

Initially, the Waterford entries seemed to indicate that the John Gadsden in partnership with Nash in the provision business would be a different John from the person living and producing children in West Ham in the 1820s. Nevertheless, John of West Ham is described as ‘of Waterford’ in 1821. And Charles Edward Gadsden, John’s brother, is apprenticed to Joseph Nash in Waterford. This is clearly no coincidence.

A close connection between the Gadsden and Nash families gradually became apparent. Joseph Nash was the son-in-law of an Elizabeth Gadsden. While more research is required on Elizabeth, it is known she married Joseph Barrington Bradley and had a daughter Ann who in 1815 married Joseph Nash in Waterford. Joseph and Ann had 8 children, one of whom - born in 1825 - being named Joseph Gadsden Nash (a clincher, if ever I heard one).

Causeway Meadows Farm,
birthplace of Joseph Nash

Joseph Nash snr (1787-1837; merchant of Worcestershire, born at Causeway Meadows Farm, Dodderhill) was partner in Gadsden and Nash Provision Merchants of Bridge Street, Waterford. 

By 1838 the reference to Charles Edward mentioning ‘the late Joseph Nash’ confirms Nash was then deceased. Joseph Gadsden Nash (grandson of Elizabeth Gadsden) was only twelve years old at the time. The provision business in Bridge Street continued, as John Gadsden is listed there in 1846. 

Further research brings interesting, even surprising, details about the women involved: Mrs Nash and Mrs Gadsden.

To be continued

* Freeman's Journal was one of the leading Dublin newspapers from its founding in 1763 until 1924. Its birth, marriage and death notices cover all of Ireland and include people from other parts of the United Kingdom (often with an Irish connection), the British Empire and even occasionally North America.

Acknowledgement:

Judy Tuccinardi