SECTION 5

WILLIAM MARTIN (2) (1851 - 1937) and SARAH ELIZABETH ABBOTT (1867 - 1934)

The following between ""-"" is transcribed as written in Williams notebook

""William, the elder son of John Blackwell Martin and Elizabeth Goodwin was born at Faulcot, a tiny hamlet (now off the map) in the neighbourhood of Brackley, Northamptonshire, on the 7th February 1851. He was given a fairly good education, considering the disabilities of the time. After having held some posts in the public service he was accepted as a Sub- Officer in the Middlesex House of Correction, Cold Bath Fields, Clerkenwell. This appointment gave him the "special qualifications, namely a knowledge of discipline and experience in the charge of men" necessary for entering Her Majesty's Convict Department, one of the oldest branches of the Civil Service.

He resigned his office at Middlesex Prison in 1875, was appointed by the Convict Prison Authorities, as a candidate, passed the qualifying Civil Service examination and was finally appointed by the Home Secretary as an officer in HM Convict Department. He commenced duty at the Millbank Penitentiary. In September 1876 he was transferred to the establishment (then in the course of erection by convict labour) at Wormwood Scrubs, he remained there until May 1883.

In March of that year, the Straights Settlements Government applied through the Colonial Office for nine experienced Convict Prison Officers, for service in that Colony, subject to the terms of an agreement, covering Home Service, pay, furloughs, pensions etc. He applied through the Governor of the prison for one of the posts. On completion of the usual formalities, the Secretary for State of the Colonies, appointed him to the Prison Service of the Straights Settlements, thus he became a Civil Servant of that Colony.

His service commenced on 29th May 1883, the day he left England. On arrival at Singapore, on the 7th July he was posted to the big general prison there. After eight years service, in 1891, he obtained a years furlough, and stayed the time with his parents at Higham Ferrers.

During this period he met and married at Daventry Parish Church, on 18th April 1892, Miss Sarah Elizabeth Abbott, a native of that town. They reached Singapore about the end of May (his wife presented him with a son born on the 12th March 1893, Maxamillian Victor, another born on 28th June 1895, Guy Stanilaus and another, at Higham Ferrers during a second furlough period, on the 21st November 1898, Reginald Vivian).

On this occasion he left his wife and three children at Higham Ferrers and returned to Singapore alone. Early in 1896 he had been promoted, and sent to Malacca as Gaoler in Charge of its small prison, with instructions to reorganise the native staff and duties. On its completion, in 1879, at his own request, he returned to Singapore Prison as Second Officer. In 1901 he became Chief Officer, or Second-in-Command. Owing to a breakdown in health, and on the advice of the medical officer, he returned with pension on the 12th September 1902.

AFTERWARDS

In 1903 he settled in Bedford with the view of educating his boys at the Modern School. In 1912, necessitated by his wife's poor health, she suffered from bronchitis and Bedford was a damp spot, he removed to Ampthill. Here though he was well over sixty years of age, the War, prompted him to take up public work, he assisted the Urban District Council in D.O.R.A. (Defence of the Realm Act) as an Enumerator, and recruiting agent, also the Rural District Council with the Food Control.

He served for twelve successive years as a member of the Board of Guardians (now defunct) and for nine years as a member of the Urban District Council. During that time he acted as Honorary Master of the Workhouse for two periods of six weeks. Under the Guardians he was a member of the House Committee, and the Statutory Assessment Committee, and under the Council a member of the Finance, and Isolation Hospital Committees, and finally after the abolishment of Guardians, the U.D.C. representative on the new Luton Assessment Committee.

He did not seek re-election on either body after 1928, but retained his membership on the Assessment Committee until April 1931. In spite of his eighty years he was not allowed to complete retirement, for the Ampthill League of Young Liberals elected him a Vice President of the League. On the 8th April 1934 his second great blow came, by the death of his beloved wife.

The first was the loss of his second son Guy Stanilaus, who was killed in the Great War, 25th August 1918. The loss of his wife entailed his leaving Ampthill, where he had spent twenty two happy years; and at the age of eighty three he gave up housekeeping and went to live with his younger son Vivian at Wilmslow, Cheshire. He could not live alternately with each, as Max, the elder was living in Brazil.

REMARKS

As a prison officer his experience with regard to crime and criminals was varied and lengthy - including the unattached or non-pensionable service at Cold Bath Fields - nigh upon thirty years. It gave him the opportunity of seeing much of the world, and the study of criminology and psychology, long service as a prison officer (it was said) tended, on the one hand, to make one unduly suspicious while on the other it taught toleration. However that may be, Martin says, that a prison officer's career of the last century, was more or less a "run of luck", and that when his own was over, he echoed the exclamation of M. D'Artignan "God be praised! I am no longer a gaoler".

HIS DIVERSIONS

Martin's diversion was playing the cornet. He was a bandsman in a public institution in London; in the Singapore Infantry Volunteer Corps until it was disbanded in 1890; a member of the Singapore Amateur Orchestra which developed into the Singapore Philharmonic Society and he played at many public and private functions""

The above ends the details taken from his notebook.

It is possible that he travelled out to Singapore on the Amedeo, an Itailian ship that left Cardiff Docks on 29 May 1883 and arrived in Singapore on 7 July 1883 - these dates tie in with William's notebook and it seems that it was the only vessel to leave Great Britain for Singapore on that date. It appears that there are no passenger lists available. There appear to be seven prison officers, including William who left England on 29 May 1883 for Singapore and they were being paid SS$720 per annum with free living quarters. William Pye, Charles Warren, John Mc Cann, Walter Giles, Thomas James Stevenson and Charles Philip Bucknell. By 1896 his pay was up to $1200 and in 1901 it was $1440 still with free accomodation as Senior Warder.

My father, Reginald Vivian, says "he was a remarkable man in many ways, he had no simple names for his children, perhaps Stanilaus was some hero of the time, he had Max (Maximillian) taught the violin and me the piano."

I remember when a child finding what must have been the violin and a trumpet (cornet) in the attic area at Wilmslow and trying to play both, being totally unmusical I did not persist for long which was probably a relief for my parents.

I well remember my grandfather, William, living with us and sitting out in the sun at the back of the house, it always seemed much warmer and with longer summers in those days.

SARAH EIZABETH MARTIN

OBITUARY from the Rushden Echo & Argus dated Friday April 13 1934 Mrs W Martin, of Ampthill The death took place at Ampthill after a brief illness, on Sunday, of Mrs Wm Martin, who before her marriage was a Miss S E Abbott, of Higham Ferrers, and was well known in the town. She passed away at her home "Maydencroft", at the age of 67, and her husband, Mr Wm Martin is the eldest son of of the late Mr J B Martin, who was well known in Higham. Mrs Martin was a keen Liberal and worked hard for the Ampthill Liberal Association. She had lived in Ampthill for the past 20 years, and both she and her husband had lived in Singapore for a number of years. Two sons are left, Mr M V Martin, who is in Brazil and Mr R V Martin who lives in Manchester. There are four brothers, Mr S Abbott (Higham Ferrers) Mr T Abbott (Higham Ferrers), Mr J Abbott (Leamington), Mr G Abbott (Daventry) and two sisters Mrs A Stimpson, York Rd, Higham Ferrers and Mrs R Silver, of London.

1901 Census Sarah Marten (Martin) Town Yard, Higham Ferrers, wife, aged 34, born Northants Daventry, Max Marten (Martin), son, aged 8, born Singapore LL (SS), Guy Marten (Martin) son, aged 5, born Singapore LL (SS) Vivian Marten (Martin) son, aged 2, born Higham Ferrers & Alice Stimpson, relative,aged 17, born Higham Ferrers, Shoe Machinist

Marten & LL - Should be SS for Straights Settlements) wrongly transcribed in 1901 census

What has been a surprise during my research into the family has been his copy marriage certificate from St Catherine's House Records Office which clearly states him to be a widower at the time of his marriage to Sarah Elizabeth Abbott. My father says that he had not heard of an earlier marriage.

The 1881 census shows him to be with Eliza Ann Martin in London at 328 Latymer Rd, Hammersmith, Middlesex. (the house was also occupied by another member of the prison service as are others in the same road) He is given as Assist. Warder HM Convict Department, aged 30 & married, born at Falcut, Northampton. Eliza Ann Martin is given as Wife, aged 29, born at Brixworth, Northampton. This marriage took place on 3 September 1874 at Battersea, Surrey..

. It is not conceivable that there were any children of this first marriage as surely he would have made some note of them, though there is nothing in his notebook to refer to this earlier marriage but perhaps he did not consider it to be any business of his sons.

ELIZA ANN DICKINS The search for William Martin's first wife began as it was found on his marriage certificate to Sarah Elizabeth Abbott in 1894 that he was recorded as a Widower and that he was shown on the 1881 census to be married to an Eliza Ann, born Brixworth and aged 29.

I obtained the census index for Brixworth for 1851 on fiche from the Northampton FHS and listed all the possible Eliza/Elizabeth names on the chance that Eliza Ann had been born before the census date. Northampton Record Office also gave me two possible names and I tried to tie up a marriage with those names and the others that I extracted from the 1851 census index. I had a record agent trace over 80 William Martin marriages in London and Brixworth and even though I went through the quarterly indexes from 1871 to 1881 I was not able to find a matching reference.

He had been shown as being unmarried in 1871 on a single sheet that I had of the Brixworth census for that year. I then obtained the full Brixworth census transcripts for 1861 and 1871 and extracted the details of every possible Eliza Ann or Elizabeth Ann, but very near the end of the 1871 records I found William living with his parents and not many houses away an Eliza Ann Dickins, born Brixworth and aged 19, unmarried, head of the family with only her brother Herbert living with her.

She was on the 1861 census as Eliza A Dickins with her parents and brothers and sisters but not on the 1851 one as she was not born then.

Somehow the Northampton Record Office had missed her! She might have been baptised as a Methodist. I searched the indexes again from 1871 and found the match in September 1874. The certificate was ordered and, on arrival, confirmed my search. Marriage September 3rd 1874 (Wandsworth) Battersea, Surrey. William Martin/Eliza Ann Dickins, his father John Blackwell Martin, Sergeant of Police, her father Robert Dickins, Coachman. Witnesses were Robert Dickins and Sarah Barmham??

That mystery is now solved but what happened to her is the next to find as William went to the Straights Settlements in May 1883. Death indexes will have to be checked and passenger lists looked for, if possible. She died on the 26th September 1887 at 5 Victoria Cottages, Mile End New Town, Whitechapel with her brother, Herbert Dickins, present at the death , Heart Disease. The puzzle now: did she and William separate, why did he go to the Straights Settlements alone, did she expect her to join him later?

The census details are as below: Brixworth 1851 Index Ref: all - 2a 34 Robert Dickens age 32 Sarah Ann age 24 George age 2 Ann age 67

Brixworth 1861 Census Details Roders? Dickins Head Groom age 42 born Brixworth Sarah Ann Wife age 34 born Brixworth George Son Scholar age 12 born Brixworth Eliza A Dau. Scholar age 9 born Brixworth Charles Son Scholar age 7 born Brixworth Herbert Son age 3 born Brixworth Ann Mother age 77 born Clipstone

Brixworth 1871 Census Details Eliza Ann Dickins Head Housekeeper age 19 Unmarried born Brixworth Herbert Brother Scholar age 13 born Brixworth Her parents etc. do not appear on the census but as Robert, her father, was a groom in 1861 he may have worked for a large family and as he was recorded as a Coachman on Eliza's marriage certificate he may have moved up in the world and the family lived on his employers premises.

The 1881 census CD's will be searched for him in due course. Her Brother Charles Dickins appears on the 1881 census: Charles Dickins born 1855 at Brixworth rel; Son in law - Head - married Occ. Coal Miner. Sarah Ann Dickins - aged 28 - married - b. Monk Bretton, Yorks. Census at 26 Littleworth Bridge, Monk Bretton, Yorks. All the houses nearby are occupied by Coal Miners and their families.

Eliza Ann Dickins was born on 27 September 1851 and the birth registered on 23 October 1851 in Brixworth (St Catherine House Ref Vol. 15 Page 242 which seems a strange reference as the Vol. is usually a number followed by a letter) December Qtr 1851

No address was given on the certificate, the birth regstered by her mother Sarah Ann Dickens formerly Tyrrell, her father, a Groom.