The Brian Family - The Story
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First Generation
The earliest Brian that I have reference to is Timothy Brian. He was probably born between 1815 and 1820, and was a labourer living in Deptford Lane, Peckham. Timothy married Hannah Mahoney in the late 1830s and they had a son, John. Timothy was almost certainly illiterate, as John’s birth certificate contains Timothy’s mark, rather than a signature.
I have more research to do on Timothy, but that’s all I know so far. I suspect he died before Hannah, who may have lived on into the 1880s or later.
I
n 1814 at Broad Chalke, Wilts, John Emm was born. Probably the son of an agricultural labourer he was brought up in a farming community. He met Elizabeth Stevens (born 1813) from nearby Ebbesbourne and they married in the late 1830s.John and Elizabeth lived in Ebbesbourne for a few years, starting their family there with daughter Martha Emm in 1838, and Caroline in 1840. By 1846 they had moved to nearby Fovant and it was here that twins Mary and Eliza were born in March 1846. I do not believe that Mary survived childhood, but Eliza went on to marry John Brian. There were at least two further children, Sidney in 1849 and Frank in 1856. At this stage I have little further information about them.
The 1861 census gives us a snapshot of their life in Fovant revealing that John and Elizabeth were both agricultural labourers and Martha and Caroline were both servants. Whilst Eliza, Sidney and Frank are enumerated, there is no mention of their occupation.
Second Generation
Queen Victoria had just taken the throne. The first steamships crossed the Atlantic, telegraph was developed and the first black and white photographs were printed onto paper. The end of the 1830s was a time of discovery and expansion. This was the world into which John Brian was born in Deptford Lane, Peckham in the district of Camberwell, on 29th May 1839. I know little of John’s younger days, though he obviously had a rudimentary education which enabled him to read and write. He had a Certificate of Education 2nd Class.
As he grew up he became a bricklayer by trade.
Military Service
In December 1858, at the age of nearly 20 John went to Westminster and joined the Army. He was described at the time as 5 feet 3½ inches tall, with a 35½ inch chest, of fresh complexion, with grey eyes, brown eyes and having no distinctive marks. He served in the 3rd Battalion, the Rifle Brigade.
The first six months of his service were spent in England. In June 1859 he shipped out to India.
John spent 1863 and 1864 at the North West Frontier. In 1863 he was promoted to Corporal, and two years later he was promoted to Sergeant. In 1868 he was reduced back to private for a drinking offence.
John returned home at the beginning of 1869 and re-engaged for a further period of service, and was promoted to Corporal, unfortunately soon after he was absent without leave for a day and was again reduced to private.
In November 1869 he again shipped out to India, but returned home in January 1872 and was posted to Winchester Barracks. In 1872 he was promoted back to Corporal and in 1875 promoted again to Sergeant.
Marriage
He was in barracks at Winchester when he met Eliza Emm, who was by then living in Sussex Street, nearby.
They married in Winchester on April 25th 1874 at the Parish Church of St Thomas Hinton.
Family
On 19th July 1881, after 22½ years service, Sergeant John Brian received his discharge from the army at the Curragh Camp, Dublin. During his career he received the "India Medal and North West Frontier Clasp", and his discharge papers describe his character as be "Good". Over the years he had served in such places as Peshawar, Nowshera, Rawal Pindee, Seetapore, and Adru. In England he served in Winchester, Manchester, Aldershot, Portsmouth, Chatham, and Dublin
When he first left the Army, according to his discharge papers, John and Eliza temporarily lived at Ceylon Cottage, New Road, Battersea, with John’s mother. However, the 1881 census reveals that this was not strictly true. Eliza's brother Sydney (a railway porter) and his wife Elizabeth were living at Ceylon Cottage with their daughters Selina and Rose.
Soon after this John and Eliza moved to East London. It was in July of that year that the had a son.
Third Generation
John Bertram was born July 15th 1882. The family were living and managing a Beer House at 35 Bushberry Road, Homerton.
| The family moved away from Bushberry Road as they
do not appear in the 1891 census return for that address. The next
time we pick up the family is in 1923, when John Bertram married.
By this time, John Brian had died. The family moved away from Bushberry Road as they do not appear in the 1891 census return for that address. The next time we pick up the family is in 1923, when John Bertram married. By this time, John Brian had died. John lived with his mother at 6 Garfield Road, New Southgate. She was running an Off License in Station Road, New Southgate. Linda Miller, who later married John, recalled how Eliza had been running the shop when she had met John and how "she would never sell the beer to children unless they had something to eat first; she always asked them if they had their tea and dinner". |
The normal listing of beershop
or beerhouse in the census is to distinguish places with a full
licence from those with a beer only licence, for two pounds.
The concept of 'off licences' selling all types of booze is more modern, though grocers who had a wine and brandy licence generally did not provide an area for on-premises consumption. However, the beerhouse or beershop did, in the 19th century - though it was more a room in a house than a separate bar. |
Marriage
John was devoted to his mother, and wouldn’t marry while she was still alive. At the age of 40 he married Linda Miller, who was neighbour from 5 Garfield Road.
I have found remarkably little about Linda. See the separate section about her for details.
John Bertram was a basket maker by trade. He was blind as result of an adult attack of measles. There is some confusion over when this occurred, the marriage certificate implies it was prior to the wedding, but the children believe it was subsequent to that.
Family
John
and Linda had five children: Marjorie (who tragically died at the age of
six weeks), John (Jack), Albert (Bert), Marjorie (christened Linda, known
as Queenie), and Audrey. They were all born in Garfield Road.
They moved away from Garfield Road to Feltham in Middlesex, but it was about this time that John Bertram was again taken ill, and could only be admitted to a London Hospital if resident in London.
The family moved back to Hornsey, and John was admitted to the North Middlesex Hospital.
Death
John contracted throat cancer, reputedly as a result of the anaesthetic used when he had his wisdom teeth removed. The cancer was the eventual cause of his death on 25th June 1934.
Linda Miller was born in the 1890’s. Her marriage certificate implies she was born in 1899, her death certificate implies 1892. Unfortunately, St Catherine’s House doesn’t have an entry for either so at this stage we cannot confirm either date. In fact the mystery deepens. We were told that Linda was born in the Lamb’s Hotel, Bridgwater. We went to Somerset to check and there was no Lamb’s Hotel in the town, though there was one in nearby North Petherton and another in Spaxton. We checked the parish records and the local registration office. We could find no record of Linda’s birth. However, we had also been told she was born at the Blue Boar Inn in Frome; and that Linda was called Lydia when she was young. With more detective work we conclude that the latter is more likely, and that her mother's name was Ellen Louise Ashman. Census entries give some backing to this hypothesis. The 1901 Census showing a Lydia Miller, 9 years of age living at the Manston House Inn, which was being run by James Miller.
Queenie tells us Linda’s father died in an accident with a horse before Linda’s birth and that subsequently Linda’s mother married on two further occasions. We traced her to "Dorval", Northover Road, Pennington where she died as Ellen Louise Gough on 26th December 1964 at the age of 96.
For a while Linda worked as a housekeeper for a doctor and his family in Liverpool. She recalled that at this time she had the opportunity to visit the R.M.S. Titanic before it left on its fateful voyage.
By the time of her marriage in 1922, Linda was living in New Southgate. Later after her marriage we know that she worked as a cook and housekeeper for Mr T. a local Mayor. In the 1960s Linda had a stroke which left her partially paralysed and confined to wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Linda died on April 4th 1987 at the Royal Northern Hospital, Islington.
Fourth Generation
John James (known as Jack) was born February 3rd 1924. I’m afraid to say I know little of Jack other than that he married Claudia Williams in 1946. They lived in Hinckley, Leicestershire and had one child, John in 1947.
Jack was a sales executive for linen hire company. He died in the Royal Infirmary at Leicester on November 15th, 1984.
Albert Henry (known as Bert) was born March 31st 1927.
Bert
was called up for National Service. He served a tour of duty in Italy.
Marriage
Bert met Beryl Marjorie Taylor and they married in 1953. The wedding took place at Willoughby Road Methodist Church in Harringay, and was conducted by the Reverend Frank E Reedman. Bert’s brother, Jack was best man and after the service there was a reception for about 30 guests back at Bert’s family home in Rathcoole Gardens.
For the early part of their married life they lived in Beryl’s family home at 7 Conningsby Road, Hornsey. It was a large house and each part of the family effectively had a floor to themselves.
Family
Diane Anita was born 21st November 1953, at the Royal Northern Hospital, Holloway. Bert was working as a clerk for a firm of window frame manufacturers at the time.
Paul Ian was born 30th April 1955, at the Royal Northern Hospital.
Denise Anne was born at home in Conningsby Road on 19th September 1958. By this time, Bert had changed his job and the manager of a shoe retailers.
Over subsequent years the family moved several times. Firstly they moved to 7 Beresford Road, Bert was the manager of "K Shoes" at Harrow-on-the-Hill at the time. Then they spent a short while in Potters Bar living with Phyllis and Richard Vickers (Beryl’s sister and brother-in-law).
Bert was given a post as manager of the "K Shoes" shop in Exeter, so the family moved again and spent about six months in Devon living in Exmouth. They then moved to 294 Trelawny Avenue, Langley, Bucks.
The next home was above Stebbings Shoe Shop at 95 Outram Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, where Bert and Beryl both worked. After a while, however, Bert moved across to take over as manager of the Mansfield shop.
They moved back to North London. Bert was made manager of the "K Shoes" shop in Palmers Green and the family moved into the flat above the shop at 327a Green Lanes.
Death
Bert died unexpectedly from a heart attack. He had been working at his evening job as a bar tender at the Wagon and Horses in Chase Road, Southgate. He had car trouble on leaving and tried to push the car. He collapsed and was found to be dead on arrival at the North Middlesex Hospital where the cause of death was recorded as a coronary occlusion and Atheroma
Marjorie Linda (known as Queenie) was August 2nd, 1929.
In 1952 Queenie had a daughter Anita who she brought up by herself. Queenie worked as a civilian helper in the Prison Service.
On April 6th 1985, Queenie married Tom Pearle, Anita’s father. They have since separated.
John and Linda’s last child Audrey Gwendoline was born January 9th 1932.
Audrey married Jimmy Demetriou and on November 19th 1952 they had a son Demetrious (known as Micky).
Audrey worked as a civil servant.
Last Modified: 10/10/2004 15:23