 | Abt. 1853, at Ashbourne, Derbyshire. |
|---|---|
 | Joseph Mansfield Bull, Before 5 April 1891 |
 | 14 identified children. |
 | Derbyshire, England (Back Lane (now Union Street), Ashbourne) |
 | 1 September 1907, at Union Street, Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Aged 54 years. |
 | Low confidence: Maternal relationship confirmed by birth registration and census records, however no baptism found. Paternal relationship has not been confirmed. Census returns, newspaper articles and death registration confirm relationships. Changes in residential location are reasonable and well documented. |
Birth and Childhood
Eliza was born on 15th July 1851 at Mutton Lane, Ashbourne, Derbyshire [Figure 1]. Her mother was Elisabeth Leason, but no father was listed on the birth registration. The birth was registered by Eliza’s grandmother, Margaret Leason. Currently, no record of Eliza’s baptism has been found.
Almost three years after her birth, Eliza’s mother married Edwin Goodwin. The couple had one son, Louis Edwin Goodwin, born in September 1857. At the time of the 1861 Census, the family were living together in Montfort’s Yard, Ashbourne, Derbyshire [Figure 2].
Family
On 27th June 1868, Eliza gave birth to a daughter, Sarah Ellen Leason. Sarah was baptised almost a year later, on 14th May 1869, in a private ceremony at St Oswald’s Church in Ashbourne. No father is listed on the baptism registration. Sarah died about six weeks after her baptism and was buried at St Oswald’s Church on 3rd July 1869.
Eliza married Joseph Mansfield Bull at St Werburgh’s Church in Derby, Derbyshire, on 18th October 1869 [Figure 3]. The marriage was witnessed by Eliza’s stepfather, Edwin Goodwin.
The marriage registration reveals Eliza’s father to be a Stone Mason named William Watts. So far, it has not been possible to identify this person.
Eliza gave birth to the couple’s first daughter, Sarah Ellen Bull, on 9th July 1870. Sarah was baptised in a private ceremony at St Oswald’s Church on 15th July but died a few days later. She was buried on 19th July at St Oswald’s Church. By the time of the 1871 Census, Eliza and Joseph were living in King Street, Ashbourne [Figure 4].
On 15th March 1873, Eliza appeared at the Ashbourne Petty Sessions accusing Catherine Cundy, also of Ashbourne, of assault [Figure 5]. No details of the alleged assault are known, and the case was ultimately dismissed. The Catherine Cundy in question could have been the mother of Robert Cundy, who assaulted Eliza’s son George William Bull in 1906 — possibly alluding to a long-standing feud between the two families.
By June 1876 the family had moved to Marple’s Yard, and by April 1877 they had moved to Back Lane. At the time of the 1881 Census, Eliza was living in Back Lane with her husband Joseph, and children Sarah Ann Bull (b. 1871), George William Bull (b. 1873), Thomas Charles Bull (b. 1875) and Hannah Eliza Bull (b. 1879) [Figure 6]. Two other children had also been born since the last census, Walter Bull in 1876 and Henrietta Bull in 1877, however they had both died as infants.
In 1891, Eliza was living in Adin’s Yard, Ashbourne with husband Joseph and children Sarah, George, Thomas and Hannah, as well as Amy Elizabeth Bull (b. 1881), James Bull (b. 1883), Frederick Arthur Bull (b. 1885), and Mary Ellen Bull (b. 1888) [Figure 7].
Over the next decade, Eliza’s abode changes frequently on her children’s baptism records, between Back Lane, Union Street and Adin’s Yard. It is possible that the family moved regularly, but it could also be the result of errors made by those creating the parish records. It is also possible that Adin’s Yard was located at the intersection of Back Lane and Union Street – no record of its actual location has yet been found. For reference, a map of identified locations can be seen below [Figure 8].
At the time of the 1901 Census, the family was once again recorded living in Adin’s Yard [Figure 9]. All the children were still living at home, as well as daughter Ada Bull (b. 1891). Another son, Herbert Bull, had been born on 14th October 1893, but died 14 days later. Eliza’s mother, Elizabeth Leason, and half-brother, Louis Edwin Goodwin, were also enumerated living in Adin’s Yard.
On 11th October 1905, Eliza summoned her husband Joseph to the Ashbourne Petty Sessions, for threatening her a week earlier [Figure 10]. The summons was withdrawn on the condition that Joseph “would behave in a very different way, and do his best to make his wife comfortable.”
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Ellen | 9 Jul 1870 Ashbourne | Jul 1870 Ashbourne | |
| Sarah Ann | 23 Jun 1871 Ashbourne | Jul 1939 Ashbourne | Married James Austin in 1901. |
| George William | 17 Jan 1873 Ashbourne | 4 Dec 1914 Brisbane, Australia | See George William Bull (1873-1914). |
| Thomas Charles | 17 Jan 1875 King Street, Ashbourne | Abt. Nov 1925 Ashbourne | Married Annie Chell in 1897. Worked as a labourer and served in WWI where he was discharged with a disability. |
| Walter | 14 May 1876 Marple’s Yard, Ashbourne | Apr 1877 Back Lane, Ashbourne | Baptised privately. |
| Henrietta | 7 Aug 1877 Back Lane, Ashbourne | 8 Aug 1877 Back Lane, Ashbourne | Baptised privately on the day of birth. |
| Hannah Eliza | 2 Feb 1879 Back Lane, Ashbourne | Nov 1958 Ashbourne | Baptised privately as Hannah Eliza Mansfield Bull. Married Charles Bell in 1901. |
| Amy Elizabeth | 7 Apr 1881 Back Lane, Ashbourne | 8 Aug 1962 Brisbane, Australia | Married William Johnson in 1905. Emigrated to Australia in Feb 1909. |
| James | 2 May 1883 Ashbourne | Unknown | Baptised in 1897 at 13 years of age. |
| Frederick Arthur | 18 Aug 1885 Adin’s Yard, Ashbourne | Abt. Oct 1922 Spencer’s Yard, Ashbourne | Baptised privately. |
| Mary Ellen | 7 Aug 1888 Ashbourne | Abt. Aug 1943 Ashbourne | Married Sydney Skellern in 1910. Worked as a Corset Finisher. |
| Ada | 24 Dec 1891 Ashbourne | Unknown | Worked as a Steel Stitcher at the Corset Works. |
| Herbert | 134 Oct 1893 Union Street, Ashbourne | 30 Oct 1893 Union Street, Ashbourne | Baptised privately. |
Death
On 1st September 1907, Eliza died at their home in Union Street, Ashbourne [Figure 12]. Her daughter, Mary Ellen Bull, was present at the death, which was caused by chronic nephritis and exhaustion. The impact of the disease on her life was evident from the wording of her obituary, published in the Ashbourne Telegraph on 6th September 1907 [Figure 10].
Eliza was buried at St Oswald’s Church in Ashbourne on 4th September 1907 [Figure 13]. No grave marker survives.
Additional Records
- Baptism Registration, Sarah Anne Bull & George William Bull, 12th February 1873 - George William Bull and his older sister, Sarah Anne Bull, were baptised together at St Oswald’s Church in Ashbourne, on 12th February 1873. Their father, Joseph Mansfield Bull, was a Coal Agent living in Ashbourne, with their mother Eliza Ann Bull.
- Birth Registration, George William Bull, 20th February 1873 - Superintendent Registrar’s District Ashbourne Registrar’s District Ashbourne 1873. BIRTHS in the District of Ashbourne in the County of Derby No. 407 When and Where Born. Seventeenth January 1873 King Street Ashbourne Name, if any. George William Sex. Boy Name and Surname of Father. Joseph Mansfield Bull Name and Maiden Surname of Mother. Eliza Ann Bull…
- "Domestic Infelicity", Ashbourne News Telegraph, 20 October 1905 - Joseph Bull, labourer, of Union Street, Ashbourne, was summoned by his wife, Eliza Ann Bull, for threatening her on the 4th October. Mrs. Bull said she wished to be allowed to withdraw the summons on condition that defendant promised to lead a different life. Defendant promised to conduct himself better in the future, and the…
- "Deaths", Ashbourne News Telegraph, 6 September 1907 - BULL.—September 1, at Union street, Ashbourne, Eliza Ann, wife of Joseph Bull, aged 56 years.
- Death, George William Bull, 29 December 1914 - George William Bull died on 4th December 1914 of heart failure, more specifically atheroma of the coronary arteries, while working as a Stoker at the West End Gasworks.
Research Statement
The following table provides confidence levels for individual aspects of the research undertaken. Note that these confidence levels do not take into account contextual information and only apply to the evidence gathered for the individual fact. A wholistic confidence level for the ancestor can be found in the Key Facts table at the top of the page.
| Fact | Confidence | Supporting Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Maiden Surname | 1 | 1 secondary source |
| Birth Date | 2 | 4 secondary sources |
| Birth Place | 1 | 2 secondary sources
|
| Marriage Date | 1 | 1 secondary source
|
| Marriage Place | 0 | 0 sources found. |
| Residence | 3 | 2 primary sources
|
| Death Date | 1 | 2 secondary sources
|
| Death Place | 1 | 2 secondary sources
|
Sources
Sources for historical records included in this page are not listed for brevity. They can be found by clicking through to the individual records, or by visiting the Ancestry or FamilySearch profiles linked at the top of this page.