Fretwell Offshoots

Introduction

I am very fortunate that my father-in-law, and his father before him, were avid family genealogists. However, and perhaps understandably, their research concentrated almost exclusively on the male lineage. So what really fascinated me about John Fretwell’s will were the references to his nieces and nephews. And the more I read the will the more intrigued I became to find out something about these family ‘offshoots’ who, for whatever reason, had been accorded scant attention or had not featured at all in any of the family records.

This page contains :

Will of John Fretwell

Families - Cast and Extras

Mary (née Fretwell) Kay - Generation 1

Isabella (née Fretwell) Fawcett - Generation 1 and 2

Ann Wright (née Fretwell) - Generation 1

The Will

John Fretwell's will was divided into two sections - the first dealt with the disbursement of John’s goods and chattels. The second part concerned what he described as :

...all my freehold estate situate on the West side in Briggate Leeds called “The Talbot Estate” consisting of the Talbot Inn 3 Shops etc and my estate called Dawbridge in Hunslet Lane usually called by me “the Railway Foundry Estate” with the Railway Foundry Workshops and other Buildings^[^1] together with all my ready money and securities for money upon trust…

which he instructed his Executors to sell and, from the proceeds, to provide for various annuities and legacies.

I appreciate that a list of bequests might be considered rather tedious reading but the following extracts from John Fretwell’s will are provided to show how valuable they were to me in trying to piece together something about the beneficiaries, and to show how these snippets gave some tantalising, if sometimes somewhat obscure leads for my research into what may be called the Fretwell family “also-rans”. I have sorted the haphazard order of bequests listed in the original document into ‘family’ groupings. I have also included the information gleaned from John’s choice of executors, George Newton, Charles and Isabella Todd, and Henry May.

Children and Grandchildren of Mary (née Fretwell) and Richard Kay
Relationship to JF	Bequest	Information gleaned from Will
Mary Kay Wife of Nephew John Kay	£33.^[2]	John Kay died before Dec 1848. Mary was the mother of John Kay J^nr, Ann Kay, Elizabeth Dixon and Sarah Dark.
John Kay Gt Nephew	1 suit of clothes, £19, and a joint share of part of Talbot Estate proceeds.	Brother to Ann, Sarah, and Elizabeth.
Ann Kay Gt Niece	£19 and a joint share of part of Talbot Estate proceeds.	Sister to John, Sarah, and Elizabeth.
Sarah Dark (née) Kay Gt Niece	£40. To each of her children - £10 and a joint share of part of Talbot Estate proceeds.	Sister to John, Ann and Elizabeth. Sarah married some time before Dec 1848. The will makes no reference to Mr. Dark nor to names and number of children.
Elizabeth Dixon (née) Kay Gt Niece	£19 and a joint share of part of Talbot Estate proceeds.	Sister to John, Ann and Sarah. Elizabeth married John Dixon, woolstapler of Leeds sometime before Dec 1848.
Edward Kay Nephew Mary Kay Nephew’s wife	¼ share of Foundry Estate proceeds (less amounts provided to the children) for the maintenance and support of nephew Edward Kay, now of sound mind, and Mary his wife and their other children Mary Amelia, Charles, Edward the younger and John Fretwell Kay.	Edward had married Mary (née ???). The will names the 5 children alive in 1848. Some misfortune had befallen Edward who by Dec 1848 needed constant care.
James Kay Gt Nephew	£45^[3] plus £50 from the Foundry Estate proceeds.	Brother to Mary Amelia Kay, Charles Kay, Edward Kay Jnr, and John Fretwell Kay.
Mary Amelia Kay Gt Niece	£25 from the Foundry Estate proceeds.	Sister of James, Charles, Edward and John Fretwell Kay.
Charles Kay Gt Nephew	£25 from the Foundry Estate proceeds.	Brother of Mary Amelia, Charles, Edward and John Fretwell Kay.
Edward Kay Gt Nephew	£25 from the Foundry Estate proceeds.	Brother of James, Mary Amelia, Charles and John Fretwell Kay.
John Fretwell Kay Gt Nephew	£25 from the Foundry Estate proceeds.	Brother of James, Mary Amelia, Charles and Edward Kay.
Ann Newton Niece	£150^[4] With her husband during their joint lives and thereafter in trust for their issue, the house at 23 St Paul’s Street. Annuity of £20 from the Foundry Estate proceeds.	Wife of John Newton, letter carrier, and mother of George, Elizabeth, Mary and Francis Newton.^[5]
George Newton Gt Nephew and Executor	£40 and a joint share with siblings of part of the Talbot Estate proceeds.	Brother of Elizabeth, Mary and Francis. A painter by trade.
Elizabeth Newton Gt Niece	£30 and (jointly during their lives) with sister Mary the house in West Street (and on the death of the survivor, to their brother Francis). A joint share with siblings of part of the Talbot Estate proceeds.	Sister of George, Mary and Francis.
Mary Newton Gt Niece	£30 and (jointly during their lives) with sister Elizabeth the house in West Street (and on the death of the survivor, to their brother Francis) A joint share with siblings of part of the Talbot Estate proceeds.	Sister of George, Elizabeth and Francis.
Francis Newton Gt Nephew	£30 and, on the death of the surviving of his sisters (Elizabeth and Mary), the house in West Street. A joint share with siblings of part of the Talbot Estate proceeds.	Brother of George, Elizabeth and Mary.
Mary May Niece and children	Annuity of £50 from the proceeds of the sale of the Talbot Estate. ¼ share of the proceeds of Foundry Estate and on her decease to her children.	Some time before Dec 1848 Mary had married William May. Mother of Ann Eliza May.^[6]
Ann Eliza May Gt Niece	£30 from the Talbot Estate. Proceeds. With siblings, an equal portion of ¼ share of the Talbot Estate.	Daughter of Mary May and sister of others not named in the will.
Isabella Todd (née Kay) Niece and 4 children Executor, on death of and as a replacement for Charles Todd, Executor	All John’s wines, liquors and consumable household stores in dwelling house No 22 St Paul’s Street, and all his clothes (except 1 suit of clothes)^[7]. For her lifetime, the house at 22 St Paul’s Street and all John’s silver plate, household goods and furniture (less a watch and 2 silver table spoons^[8]), on her decease, to be passed down to her 4 daughters. £590 to be shared with her 4 daughters^[9], and a ¼ share of the Foundry Estate proceeds (to be passed on her death to her 4 daughters). An annuity from the proceeds of the sale of the Foundry Estate and thereafter the annuity to be divided between the 4 daughters.	Isabella married Charles Todd, Civil Engineer, who died between Dec 1848 and Feb 1854. Isabella and Charles had at least 4 children living in 1848 – Emma, Julia. Mary Amelia and Clara.
Children and Grandchildren of Ann (née Fretwell) and Thomas Wright
Relationship to JF	Bequest	Information gleaned from Will
The children of the late Ann Mayking 3 children of Niece	All three (unnamed) Mayking children - £15 each 2 unnamed Mayking children a joint share (with Alfred Mayking) of part of the Talbot Estate proceeds.	Ann and Peter Mayking a painter in Leeds had married and both had died some time before Dec 1848. They had three children who were living in 1848, one of whom, a minor, was a son named Alfred.
Alfred Mayking Gt Nephew	£50 and (jointly with 2 unnamed siblings) a part of the proceeds of the Talbot Estate.	Minor son of the late Ann and Peter Mayking. Presumably born after 1827.^[10]
Eliza Hollings Niece and her 3 children	An annuity of £32. To the 3 children - £15 each and (jointly) a part of Talbot Estate.	Eliza and William Hollings of Leeds, cloth dresser, had married some time before Dec 1848. The will refers to 3 children but their names are not given.
Child of Isabella (née Fretwell) and William Fawcett
Relationship to JF	Bequest	Information gleaned from Will
Isabella Thompson Niece	Annuity of £26 from Foundry Estate proceeds.	Isabella had married Joseph Thompson of London some time before Dec 1848. She was probably living in London at the time the will was drawn up. There is no reference to any children.

Clearly some beneficiaries did rather better than others in the disbursement of the dwellings, goods and chattels. Ann Newton and her children were guaranteed somewhere to live for the immediate and longer future. Isabella Todd and her 4 daughters too were well catered for with a house and the bulk of John Fretwell’s belongings. John had been concerned that Mary Kay would be able to care for her stricken husband Edward and, as he was presumably unable to earn a living, to have the means of supporting their children. Others such as the children of John and Mary Kay, and the Hollings and Mayking families were less well provided for in the short term.

It should be noted also that, however benevolent John may have been, he was ever the business man. Three of his relatives owed him money. There was an outstanding amount of £90 owing by to the John Dixon and Partner and his great nephew George Newton owed him £350.^[11]

More heavily indebted was Charles Todd, to the tune of £635, for the purchase of one new steam Engine, and two boilers. These amounts were to be recovered before various bequests were paid out.

It is of some significance, perhaps, that John specified that the annuities provided for Isabella Fawcett, Mary May and Eliza Hollings were to be free of their respective husband’s control.^[12] It was not until the 1870 and 1882 Married Women’s Property Acts were passed that women were granted rights to property whether secured before marriage or not. Either John was sensitive to the inequities of the prevailing legalities, or perhaps, more speculatively, he harboured misgivings about the husbands of these women!

A number of John’s relatives were also to benefit from the final winding up of the Talbot and Foundry (Residuary) Estates. They could look forward to a substantial windfall, but they probably did not realise that they would have to wait so long before these funds became available to them. The terms of management for the Estates’ investments stipulated that the final disbursement of funds could not occur until the death of the last surviving annuitant. This was John’s great niece, Eliza Hollings, who died on the 19th October 1899, just short of her 90th birthday. Only then could the accountants, W.S. Blackburn & Co of Benson‘s Buildings, Leeds get to work on their sums. There was a further delay while they tidied up all the loose ends, and the fruits of their labours were two documents. Account ‘A’, dated 28th August 1890, detailed the “Talbot Estate Capital Account, with Income from the date of death of Mrs. Eliza Hollings, the last surviving annuitant”. Account ‘D”, dated 3rd September 1890, set out the “Division of Funds arising from the Talbot Estate and Residuary Estate”.

From a family history perspective these two documents are very helpful in supplementing the information gathered from John Fretwell’s will. Where the will does not always identify family members by name, the Accounts actually give the names of all beneficiaries together with the married names of the great nieces – which is particularly helpful for those who had married after the will had been drawn up. Furthermore, because Eliza lived to such a good age, she outlived a fair percentage of the beneficiaries, which establishes that they had died by August 1890. As with the will, some families fared better than others when the day of final reckoning came, and (apart from the children of John’s brother William) the May children were the only ones listed in Account ‘D’.

Those who were included in Account ‘A’ only (together with the amount received) were :

	Children of Ann Newton
	Each received £405-1-6
	George Newton	deceased, Executors of
	Ann Kitson	deceased, Administrator of
	Edward Newton	deceased, Administrator of
	John Newton	deceased, Trustees and Executors of
	James Newton
	Francis Newton
	Mary Beetham
	Elizabeth Newton	deceased, Administrator of

	Children of John Kay
	Each received £405-1-6
	John Kay	deceased, Executor of
	Ann Leadbeater	deceased, Administrator of
	Sarah Dark
	Elizabeth Dixon	deceased, Administrator of

	Children of Ann Mayking
	Each received £270-1-0
	William Mayking
	Alfred Mayking	deceased, Executor of
	Anna Maria Leonard	Assignee of

	Children of Eliza Hollings
	Each received £270-1-0
	Ann Hutchinson
	Harriet Hollings
	William Hollings

In addition to receiving £462-18-9 from Account ‘A’, each of the May children also received a further £919-8-9 from Account ‘D’, totaling £1,382-7-6 each. But, as the following list indicates, they did not all live to benefit personally.

	Children of Mary May
	Rowland William May
	Ann Eliza Rankin	deceased, Administrator of
	Henry May	deceased, Executors of
	Charles May	deceased, Administrator of
	Sophia Mary Allinson
	Emma Isabella May	deceased, Executors of
	Edwin Fretwell May

[1] This was referred to as the Residuary Estate in the final disbursement document drawn up in 1890.

[2] The amounts of money bequeathed to Mary Kay (£33) and her children John, Ann and Elizabeth (£19 each) was to be paid out of a sum of £90 owed to JF by John Dixon and his partner Josiah Dixon (who may have been John’s brother).

[3] To be paid out of the sum of £350 owing to JF by George Newton.

[4] To be paid out of the sum of £350 owing to JF by her son George Newton.

[5] There were other siblings in this Newton family who were not specifically included in the terms of the will.

[6] And other children not named in the will including Executor Henry May who was described as Nurseryman of Hope Nursery Leeming Lane, Burneston, in the County of York

[7] Given to his great nephew John Kay. Presumably JF expected that the rest of his clothes would be given to Isabella’s husband Charles or another male relative, or sold, as they would not be suitable for her daughters.

[8] To be given to his great nephew John Fretwell when he attained 22 years of age.

[9] The balance of £590 of sum from an amount owed to JF by Charles Todd.

[10] The status of the other two children is not known from the will.

[11] Presumably at some stage John had assisted them financially with their business ventures.

[12] This point was noted in the family papers in connection with John’s will.

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The Families

Even a cursory look at these shows that the Fretwell offshoots spread far and wide, and a swag of new names are introduced into the family records. The paths these families took were varied considerably and it is fair to say that their fortunes are a reflection of the diversity of the socio-economic milieu of the Victorian period.

The Cast

Descendents of Mary (née Fretwell) and Richard Kay

Descendents of Isabella (née Fretwell) and William Fawcett

Descendents of Ann (née Fretwell) and Thomas Wright

The Extras

The following list of names recognises those people who, through marriage to one of the "Cast " or their descendants, established a link between their own families and the Fretwell offshoots. This list does not include all the relatives, in-laws etc, mentioned in the accounts.

Name		Relationship	Where found
??	Margaret	w. (1) of James Newton	Kays - 3rd Generation
Albertina(e)	Thirza	w. of Edward Newton	Kays - 3rd Generation
Allinson	?	h. of Sophia Mary May	Kays - 3rd Generation
Allison	Joseph	h. of Sarah Dark	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Anderson ?	Lilian	w. of Edwin Fretwell May	Kays - 3rd Generation
Anderton	Grace	w. of Alfred Verity Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Appleyard	Isabella	w. of William Briggs Riley	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Armstead	William	h. (2) of Annis Dixon (née Verity)	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Atkinson	Annie	w. of James William Hutchinson	Wrights - 3rd Generation & Beyond
Atkinson	Ann	w. of Alfred Seton Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Benn	Sarah Ellen	w. of John Henry Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Beetham	John	h. of Mary Newton	Kays - 3rd Generation
Bergin	Bertha Agnes	w. (2) of Charles Beetham	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Bidder	Georgina (Ina) Parker	w. of Edwin Kitson Clark	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Borhrsmann	Otto Challenger	h. of Margot Beetham	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Bradshaw	Ada	w. of William Illingworth Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Braham	Polly	w. of Robert Henry Allison	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Brewster	Elizabeth	csn. of Fanny Poore	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Broadbent	John Hirst	h. of Louisa Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Brook	John	h. of Maria Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Broughton	Lucy Agnes	w, of Walter Joseph Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Brown	Matilda Susannah	w. of Frederick William Dark	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Brown	Frances Ellis	w. of Charles Edgar Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Bumby	Harriet Ada	w. of Walter Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Burdett-Coutts	Avocet	w. of Jack Phelps	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Chadwick	Ellen	w. of George W. Hiscox	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Chitty	Derwas J	h. of Mary Kitson Clark	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Clark	Edwin Charles	h. of Mary Ann Kitson	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Cliff	Emily Christiana	w. (1) of James Kitson	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Cliff	Emily Talbot	n. of Emily Christiana Cliff	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Coates	Walter George	h. of Dora Beetham Taylor	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Constantine	Elizabeth	w. of Arthur Hepple May	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Copleston	Frederick Cornelius	h. of Clarice Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Dark	Thomas	h. of Sarah Kay	Kays - 3rd Generation
Dawson	Frank	h. of Clara Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Dear	Minnie Ann	w. of James William Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Deacon	Maud Annie	w. of Arthur James Douglas Kitson	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Dickinson	Clara	w. (1) of Charles Beetham	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Dixon	John	h. of Elizabeth Kay	Kays - 3rd Generation
Dunigan	Mary Ann	w. of Thomas Dixon Hollings	Wrights - 3rd Generation & Beyond
Edell	Eva Maria	w. of George Herbert Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Ellershaw	Jessie	w. of John Hawthorn Kitson	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
England	Richard Huscroft	h. of Annie Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Fawcett	William	h. of Isabella Fretwell	Fawcetts - 1st Generation
Fowler ?	Elizabeth	w. of John Newton	Kays - 3rd Generation
Fox	Catherine Fox	w. of Charles May	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Fripp	Elspeth Steuart	w. of Edwin Bidder Clark	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Furness	Mary Ann	w. (1) of George Newton	Kays - 3rd Generation
Gibson	William Edward	h. of Alice Maud Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Giesler	Ellen	w. of Francis Edward Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Gollings	Ethel	w. of Walter Allison	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Grayson	Elizabeth	w. of Alfred Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Grice	John William	h. of Emily Beetham	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Gunby	Esther Ann	w. of John William Hollings	Wrights - 3rd Generation & Beyond
Hall	Harriet	w. (2) of James Newton	Kays - 3rd Generation
Hampson	Clarice (Clara)	w. of Edward Newton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Hargr(e)ave	Eliza(beth)	w. of Frederick Ernest Dixon	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Hepple	Rebecca	w. of Henry May	Kays - 3rd Generation
Hick	Thomas	h. of Mary Amelia Todd	Kays - 3rd Generation
Hill	Harry	h. of Ethel Maud Brook	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Hiscox (née?)	Elizabeth	w. of William Edmund May	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Hodgson	Ellen	w (1) of James Robert Kay	Kays - 3rd Generation
Holland	Mary Camilla	w. (2) of George Linton	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Hollings	William	h. of Eliza Wright	Wrights - 2nd Generation
Hollings	William Fretwell	h. of Annie Hutchinson	Wrights - 3rd Generation & Beyond
Holmes	Mary Ann	w. Alfred Fretwell Mayking	Wrights - 3rd Generation & Beyond
Hook	James	h. of Rose Omer, n. of Ann(e) Dark	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond
Hopward	Elizabeth (née Hebdon)	w. (2) of George Newton	Kays - 3rd Generation
Huddleston	Charlotte Poyner	w. of William Hollings	Wrights - 3rd Generation & Beyond
Hudson	Sarah Ann(e)	w. of Frederick May	Kays - 4th Generation & Beyond