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| Francis Arthur Cawdery |
Francis Arthur Cawdery was born in Dublin, Ireland on the
14th of May, 1875, and
baptized a Roman Catholic at
St. Andrew's Church in Westland Row. The church is only a ten-minute walk from where his
family lived at 20 Queen's Square (now Pearse Square), which is part of a quiet 'Georgian' terrace that forms one side of a then private square.
His parents were
George Cawdery (1832-1898) of Lambeth, and Teresa Scott (1842-1879) of Dublin. George was a master carpenter, who specialized in making stage sets. He moved to Ireland's capital about the time the
Gaiety Theatre opened in 1871 in order to take advantage of the city's
thriving theatre business.
George, Theresa and their children returned to England sometime after January 1877. [
1] In 1879, Teresa died, and the following year George remarried, and moved to Camberwell, Surrey, According to the 1881 census, George's family lived at 40 Maydwell St., Camberwell. [
2]
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| St Andrews, Dublin |
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| The Cawdery family lived at 20 Queen's (Pearse) Square. |
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Registration of the birth of Francis Arthur Cawdery (Dublin, Ireland)
click on image to enlarge |
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| Stowell Memorial (1869-1981), Salford |
Francis Arthur Cawdery followed in his father's footsteps, and became a 'theatrical property master'. Leaving Camberwell, we next encounter him in Salford, Lancashire, where he married May Hall
of Ashton Under Lyne on the 14th of November 1894. The wedding took place at Stowell Memorial Church on Eccles New Road.
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page 141 Parish Register
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23 West Brownbill Street, Salford
near the corner of intersection of Cross Lane, Regent Road,
Eccles New Road and Trafford Road. |
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At the time of the marriage, May Hall lived at 23
West Brownbill Street along with her siblings and their mother, Frances (Fanny). The 1891 census describes Frances as a 'Boarding Home Keeper', and as the widowed head of the household. Her husband, Nathaniel Hall of Mossley, Yorkshire, died sometime between 1881 and 1891. His death may have precipitated a move from Oldham, where the family lived in
1881, to Salford. Before his death, Nathaniel worked as a mechanic.
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| May Cawdery holding her eldest daughter, May, circa 1900 |
After they were married, Francis Arthur and May
continued to live at 23 West Brownbill Street. Their first two children, Alfred (1896-1897) and George (1895-1899) were lost in childhood to either diphtheria or scarlet fever. Their surviving children were:
Francis Arthur Cawdery died in 1939. His wife, May Hall Cawdery, died in 1948.
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| May and Francis Arthur |
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Francis Arthur and May Hall Cawdery with their daughters,
May (standing) and Lilian. circa 1902/3 |
Photos: There are more photographs of the Cawdrey clan on Flickr
Notes
[1] Teresa gave birth to Mary Georgina Cawdery on 29 December 1876. The birth was registered in Dublin on 20th January 1877.
[2] Maydwell was near the
intersection of Camberwell Rd and Albany Road
