Theme: Lucky
Well, we finally got lucky. Not that we hadn’t been trying for the last year and a half to find a connection, any connection, amid the thousands of distant matches in Terry’s autosomal DNA test results. There were just too many early-generation gaps in our trees on all sides, and not a single match declaring the surname Boorman in their pedigree. Until now. This is definitely cause for celebration!
We have now contacted a brother and his sister (who also tested), third cousins who share the same great-great-grandparents: Mary Ann GREEN (1816-1862) and Thomas BOORMAN (1810-1894), a wheelwright and coach maker in Wandsworth Surrey England on the south shore of the Thames. Terry is descended from their son William Scoons BOORMAN, and these newly found cousins are descended from William’s younger sister Louisa BOORMAN.
We have now contacted a brother and his sister (who also tested), third cousins who share the same great-great-grandparents: Mary Ann GREEN (1816-1862) and Thomas BOORMAN (1810-1894), a wheelwright and coach maker in Wandsworth Surrey England on the south shore of the Thames. Terry is descended from their son William Scoons BOORMAN, and these newly found cousins are descended from William’s younger sister Louisa BOORMAN.
Photo courtesy of S. Seeley, MyHeritage
It’s now time to share Louisa’s story.
Louisa was born on 30 Jan 1844 in Wandsworth, Surrey, the 5th of fourteen siblings, and no doubt named after her maiden Aunt Louisa BOORMAN (1808-1879) I have written previously about her father Thomas’s four sisters, and his own large family. Louisa the younger is listed in the 1851 and 1861 census, living on the south side of High Street in Wandworth with her parents and many of her siblings. So she grew up in this London neighbourhood.
On 25 Aug 1864 Louisa married George Thomas Seeley, a 20-year-old clerk of New Wandsworth. As non-conformists they were married in the East Hill United Reformed Church in Wandsworth. George was probably her relative as well, although researchers disagree on the exact path of this connection. George’s maternal grandmother may have been Susannah BOORMAN (1776-1846) who married William TAMKIN.
Louisa and George didn’t waste any time starting a family. By 1871 they already had 4 children: Florence age 5, Fred George age 4, Arthur W age 2, and Catherine age 8 months. The young family family was then living at 7 Wilton Road in Hammersmith, London where George worked as an organist and music teacher. Their two oldest children had been born in Battersea, just east of Wandsworth. Arthur was born in Wandsworth, and Catherine was born in Hammersmith on the north shore. So they were trying their luck in a variety of London area neighbourhoods.
The trend continued, and by 1881 this SEELEY family had traced a path from Hammersmith to Shepherds, back to Battersea and then on to West Ham in Essex where they lived at 1 Maud Villas, and where George was working as a clerk for the Iron Works. Their family had grown to include seven children, with the added Reginald age 8, William S age 6, and Walter H age 3. By 1891 they were living in Tatsfield Surrey with 7 children ranging in age from 25 to 2. The youngest children now included Gertrude age 9, Edgar age 6, Margaret age 3 and Mabel age 2. In 1901 only Margaret and Mabel were still at home, which was then at Freshfield Cottage in Horsted Keynes in the Cuckfield and Lindfield area of Sussex. In all Louisa and George SEELEY had a dozen children, with seven of them being boys including Clement who died as an infant in 1880.
Louisa was born on 30 Jan 1844 in Wandsworth, Surrey, the 5th of fourteen siblings, and no doubt named after her maiden Aunt Louisa BOORMAN (1808-1879) I have written previously about her father Thomas’s four sisters, and his own large family. Louisa the younger is listed in the 1851 and 1861 census, living on the south side of High Street in Wandworth with her parents and many of her siblings. So she grew up in this London neighbourhood.
On 25 Aug 1864 Louisa married George Thomas Seeley, a 20-year-old clerk of New Wandsworth. As non-conformists they were married in the East Hill United Reformed Church in Wandsworth. George was probably her relative as well, although researchers disagree on the exact path of this connection. George’s maternal grandmother may have been Susannah BOORMAN (1776-1846) who married William TAMKIN.
Louisa and George didn’t waste any time starting a family. By 1871 they already had 4 children: Florence age 5, Fred George age 4, Arthur W age 2, and Catherine age 8 months. The young family family was then living at 7 Wilton Road in Hammersmith, London where George worked as an organist and music teacher. Their two oldest children had been born in Battersea, just east of Wandsworth. Arthur was born in Wandsworth, and Catherine was born in Hammersmith on the north shore. So they were trying their luck in a variety of London area neighbourhoods.
The trend continued, and by 1881 this SEELEY family had traced a path from Hammersmith to Shepherds, back to Battersea and then on to West Ham in Essex where they lived at 1 Maud Villas, and where George was working as a clerk for the Iron Works. Their family had grown to include seven children, with the added Reginald age 8, William S age 6, and Walter H age 3. By 1891 they were living in Tatsfield Surrey with 7 children ranging in age from 25 to 2. The youngest children now included Gertrude age 9, Edgar age 6, Margaret age 3 and Mabel age 2. In 1901 only Margaret and Mabel were still at home, which was then at Freshfield Cottage in Horsted Keynes in the Cuckfield and Lindfield area of Sussex. In all Louisa and George SEELEY had a dozen children, with seven of them being boys including Clement who died as an infant in 1880.
One thing that stands out about Louisa's life, is that they moved quite frequently. In trying to pinpoint some of these old addresses on modern maps, I quickly realized that some streets sadly no longer exist, and district names and boundaries have changed. For instance, Wilton Road (their residence in the 1871 census) no longer exists in Hammersmith. Askew Crescent was listed on the same census page, and Clifton Road was also close by (as listed a few pages later) . Both these streets now exist just north of Hammersmith in the Shepherd’s Bush (or White City) neighbourhood. But not Wilton. Looking at modern crossroads in this small area, the B408 is also labeled as the Old Oak Road, but it was also known as Askew Road according to the old London maps of 1940 . Could it have been previously known as Wilton Road in 1871?
In the above interactive map, click on each marker to read event notes for each location.
Zoom in (+) to access partially hidden markers.
Zoom in (+) to access partially hidden markers.
Louisa’s husband George SEELEY died in 1903 in the Cuckfield district of Sussex at the age of 58. As he had been living on his own means since at least 1891, I would hope that there were funds still available to support his widow Louisa and the two remaining dependent daughters after his early death.
In 1911, Louisa was a widow with private means, living with her youngest daughter Mabel in Chiddingly in the Hailsham district of Sussex. But later that same year, Mabel married and soon emigrated to Australia with her new husband John Billings. Other family histories claim that they lived in Paramatta near Sydney. So what happened to Louisa? She probably remained behind in England, as she passed away early in 1931 in Twickenham, Middlesex at the age of 86 or 87.
I wish I knew more personal details of Louisa’s long life. Her portrait, which reportedly was taken in 1916 when she would have been 72, hints at a strong character. But that's just my impression. We look forward to learning more about Louisa and her descendants from Terry’s new DNA cousins.
I wish I knew more personal details of Louisa’s long life. Her portrait, which reportedly was taken in 1916 when she would have been 72, hints at a strong character. But that's just my impression. We look forward to learning more about Louisa and her descendants from Terry’s new DNA cousins.
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