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FAMILY MEMBERS ARRANGED IN DATE ORDER

To earlier Gilbert family members

1785 - 1834 MARIA GILBERT (nee JENNINGS)

Born; 26 January 1785
Parents; John Jennings
Married; William Gilbert (1790-1844) on 6 August 1822 at Waldron.
Children; William (1823-1874), David (1825-1916)
Williams courtship of Maria lasted 12 years, he wrote in a letter to Mr.Funnell, minister at Burwash, at the time of her death. The witnesses at the marriage were Thomas Gilbert (William's brother), and Harriett Jennings.
Maria had been at one time owner, and possibly inn-keeper of the War-Bill-in-Tun at Warbleton.

The Warbill-in-Tun pub, Warbleton

Died; 27 June 1834, aged 49.
Buried; 2 July 1834, Waldron churchyard, aged 49.

1790 - 1844 WILLIAM GILBERT

Born; 1790
Baptised; 18 February 1790
Parents; William Gilbert (1738-1800) = Mary Ashdown (1765-1836)
Married; Maria Jennings (1785-1834) on 6 August 1822 at Waldron.
Children; William (1823-1874), David (1825-1916)
Lived at Little London, near Waldron. Started paying land tax for farmland at Waldron in 1811, and took over from his mother (widowed) all payments for the family house and land from 1815.

The Farm at Waldron

He had therefore become effective head of the household at 25. His wife Maria had been at one time owner, and possibly inn-keeper of the War-Bill-in-Tun at Warbleton.

The Warbill-in-Tun pub, Warbleton

His courtship lasted 12 years. In his will, dated 1834, he mentions no property other than a share of the War-Bill-in-Tun, so it can be concluded that the house in which he was living did not belong to him but, presumably, his mother Mary who died in 1836. When his sister died in 1837, all three womenfolk in his family had passed away and he was left with the care of his two small sons.
It is assumed that he took possession of the Little London house on the death of his mother. He continued to operate the farm (or 'farms', as his son David wrote) with the increasing assistance of the two boys.
He was taken ill on Tuesday 18 June 1844 and died the following Monday.
David wrote an account of his father's death-bed with himself on one side and his brother William on the other. David's uncle Thomas (William's brother) also came for a time.
Died; 24 June 1844, aged 54
Buried; 28 June 1844, Waldron.

1817 - 1895 CHARLOTTE GILBERT (nee HASSELL)

Charlotte Gilbert c.1870. Photographer unknown.

Born; 20 September 1817, Hellingly (although the family were more from Waldron)
Parents; Stephen Hassell (1784-1857) tailor & draper of Waldron = Susannah Bray (1786-18??) his first wife, married in 1805.

More information about the Hassell family.

Married; David Gilbert (1825-1916) 17 December 1855, at 'the old Church, Brighton' (the family bible entry suggests that it was probably St.Nicholas').
Children; Mary (1857-1942), David (1861-1902)
It is believed that she met David Gilbert when they both attended the Independent Chapel at Framfield, and married him in December 1855, immediately before their move to Eastbourne to start the bakery business. His grand-daughter Ellen wrote of a conversation she had with David in his later years; "While at Tickerage, he became acquainted with Mrs.Reed and, through hearing of her sister Charlotte, came to know Grandma. I gathered that he wrote to Charlotte Hassell and when (I suppose) she favoured his suit, he asked her father's permission to pay his addresses to her, to which he consented. When a shop, empty for three months, was heard of in Eastbourne, it was taken, and they were married."

Charlotte Gilbert c.1880. Photo: Alfred J Isard, Seaside Road, Eastbourne.

More information about Charlotte Gilbert's family.

Died; 2 February 1895.
Four photographs are held in H.R.Gilbert's records.

1823 - 1874 WILLIAM GILBERT

William Gilbert c.1870. Photo; Frederick A Bourne, Eastbourne. Probably a photo of a painting.

Born; 21 August 1823, Little London, Waldron, Sussex - from England and Wales, Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8)
Baptised; 29 November 1825 (according to the IGI)
Parents; William Gilbert (1790-1844) = Maria Jennings (1785-1834)
Married; Ellen ?? (c.1827-1899). No children.
At the 1841 census William is recorded as aged 17, living in Waldron parish, Framfield sub-district, Uckfield registration district, Sussex.
Brought up on the family farm at Waldron with his brother David.

The Farm at Waldron

After his mother's death (when William was 11) he and his brother were brought up to agricultural work on their farm. When his father also died in 1844 the farm was given up and David apprenticed himself to the miller at Tickerage Mill, Framfield in 1847.
William inherited a four-fifths share of an estate in Warbleton (including the Warbill-in-Tun public house) from his father, and the other one fifth from his mother. He sold all this in 1845.

The Warbill-in-Tun pub, Warbleton

William next appears in the 1851 Census living at 1 London Road, Hastings with his cousin Thomas (described in error in the Census as his brother) and Thomas's family. He is described as the head of the household, unmarried, aged 27, born in Waldron, cornchandler.
William then became a goods inspector at the railway terminus called - for a time - Landport, adjoining Portsmouth & Southsea station, Hampshire. Lived and worked at Portsea, Hampshire.
He probably married Ellen around 1850 as an Ellen Gilbert, aged 26 (i.e. born c.1825) is recorded in the 1851 Census living at Portsea Island, Landport. So why was he shown in the 1851 (Hastings) census as unmarried?
William Gilbert is recorded in the 1861 Census (aged 37) living at 55 Fleet Street, Portsmouth with his wife Ellen (aged 33 and shown as being born in Maresfield), and lodger Elizabeth Smith, aged 63 and former furrier from Suffolk.
In the 1871 Census William appears living at 39 Green Road, Landport, Portsea, Hampshire, aged 48, railway inspector, with his wife Ellen (aged 44, this time shown as being born in Waldron) and visitor Sophia Greetham, accountant, aged 62 born in Maresfield.

William died on 19 September 1874 in Uckfield, aged 51; why he was there is a mystery.
Buried; September 1874, Five Ash Down Chapel, Uckfield (the tombstone is to the left of the porch, i.e. the north side), Pastor Clark being the officiating minister.

Details of Five Ash Down Chapel.

The tombstone was discovered by Richard Gilbert when holidaying in Uckfield as a boy. "No one else seems to have noticed it" he wrote, which is surprising since both Gilbert and Morris families were living, or had houses, in Uckfield at the time of his discovery.
William's will was made on 8 February 1873, and left his estate (after his wife's death) equally to his nephew David and his niece, Mary. His nephew, David Gilbert 1861-1902, kept an account ledger from 1897-1902 in which there is an entry for 'Portsmouth Property - (legacy)' from 1900 to 1902. Probably this refers to the division of the estate when William's wife died (we believe) in 1899. His executors were his wife, his brother David, and his friend Caleb Luther Adams, fish merchant of Eastbourne, who he must have come to know in Waldron days.

In H.R.Gilbert's records are the following;
A remembrance card for William.
A miniature painting in a case of the heavily bearded William, probably from around 1870. Also there is a photograph taken by Frederick A.Bourne of Eastbourne (1870U/P10, in H.R.Gilbert's 'People' album) which appears to be identical to the painting, although slightly enlarged. Since there are signs of the photograph having been 'touched up', I have guessed that the photograph is, in fact, a photograph of the painting. Since the photo was taken in Eastbourne, but we have no evidence that William ever lived there, perhaps his brother David commissioned F.A.Bourne to reproduce the picture after William's death in 1874.

1825 - 1916 DAVID GILBERT

David Gilbert c.1870. Photographer unknown.

Born; 25 April 1825 at Little London, nr. Waldron, Sussex
His original birth certificate, registered at Dr. William's Library, Red Cross Street, Cripplegate, London (in the common manner of non-conformist families) is held in H.R.Gilbert's records. According to the certificate, present at the birth were witnesses Nicholas Stone and Elisabeth Piper.
Parents; William Gilbert (1790-1844) = Maria Jennings (1785-1834)

Married; Charlotte Hassell (1817-1895) on 17 December 1855, at Old Church, (St.Nicholas's) Brighton.
A copy of the marriage certificate dated May 1876 is held in H.R.Gilbert's records. Witnesses were Isaac Adams (1819-1892, married Charlotte's sister Ruth) and Harriett Read (1814-18??). David was shown as a miller of Framfield parish, aged 30.
Children; Mary (1857-1942), David (1861-1902)
After his mother's death (when David was 9) he and his brother were brought up to agricultural work on their farm.

The Farm at Waldron

David Gilbert c.1885. Photographer unknown.

The 1841 Census records an unspecified property at Little London with the following occupants; William Gilbert (aged 51, farmer), William Gilbert (aged 17), David Gilbert (aged 15), Caleb Cambridge (aged 15), Mary Sellins (aged 25). (This was not the properties nearby owned by the Jarvis, Golding, Russell or Fuller families)
When his father also died in 1844 the farm was given up and David apprenticed himself to the miller at Tickerage Mill, Framfield in 1847.

Tickerage Mill, Framfield

He moved to Framfield and attended a small independent chapel where he met his wife and heard the preaching of John Grace from whom he subsequently leased a bakery business in Eastbourne.

Gilbert's Bakery, Eastbourne

David Gilbert c.1885. Photographer unknown.

David appears in the 1851 census as an unmarried servant and miller's journeyman, born in Waldron, of Tickerage Mill House, apprenticed to Edward Okill Dadswell, 30, born Mayfield, farmer and miller with 75 acres and 4 employees, wife Rachael and three children, Eli, Ruth and Ebenezer.
The 1861 Census shows David, aged 35, living at the bakery in Seaside Road, Eastbourne with his wife Charlotte (aged 43), daughter Mary (aged 3), son David (aged 1 month), Charlotte Noakes (niece of Charlotte Gilbert, aged 17 bakery employee), Elizabeth Novis? (nurse, aged 67), Mary James (aged 24, servant) and Edwin Barker (aged 24, baker journeyman).
The 1871 Census shows David living at 52 Seaside Road (aged 45, baker and confectioner) with Charlotte, his wife (aged 53), his son David (aged 10, scholar), Charlotte Noakes (niece, aged 27, assistant in shop), Alice Griffiths (aged 26, assistant), Frances Harmer (aged 42, servant) and James Battcock (aged 61, baker).
In 1880 David purchased all the surrounding Eastbourne properties from John Grace, demolished the old bakery building and built a new 3-storey block incorporating a modern bakery.
The 1881 Census shows David Gilbert as Head of Household at 51 & 52 Seaside Road, aged 55 (confectioner), with his wife Charlotte aged 63, son David aged 20 (assistant), Charlotte Noakes aged 37 (assistant), along with Anna Osborn (29), Sarah Clark (30), John Read (38), William Simmons (63), Catherine Simmons (60), William Hart (10), mostly servants, labourers etc.
His son David (1861-1902) was handed the lease in 1884 and David senior retired from the bakery business.

The 1891 Census shows that the family had moved into 47 Terminus Road, Eastbourne, the occupants being David Gilbert (aged 65, retired baker), his wife Charlotte (aged 73), Charlotte Noakes (niece, aged 46, bakery assistant) and Agnes Jones (aged 20, general servant).
David's wife Charlotte died in 1895 and the 1901 Census shows him living at 47 Terminus Road aged 75, with Charlotte Noakes (aged 56, niece of his late wife) and Naomi Marchant (domestic servant, aged 23, born in Willingdon).
David junior (now running the bakery) died in 1902, so David senior came out of retirement and, with his grandson Gilbert Benjamin Soddy (1881-1956), purchased the business from his son's widow Ellen and once more ran the bakery.
The 1911 Census shows David living at 47 Terminus Road, aged 85, with Charlotte Noakes (aged 67, single, born in Bletchingly, Surrey) and Naomi Marchant (aged 34, domestic servant, born in Willingdon).
Died; 23 November 1916.
David died a widower in his house at 47 Terminus Rd, Eastbourne in 1916 aged 91.

47 Terminus Road, Eastbourne

A document in David's handwriting on 47 Terminus Road notepaper, dated 1903, reads;
"I was born at Little London in the parish of Waldron in Sussex on the 25th of April 1825, my father being a farmer so I was brought up to all kinds of farming work till 1844 when my father died leaving two sons of which I was the younger. After a time the farms were given up and I then apprenticed myself to a miller at Framfield, and was in that line of business till December 1855 when I married and hired the business premises at 52 Seaside Road of the late Mr.John Grace, and there carried on the Baking and Confectioner's business till I gave it up to my late son and then retired from it."

His grand-daughter Ellen wrote of a conversation she had with David in his later years;
"He was about 22 when he went to Tickerage Mill. Wages were raised from two shillings to eight shillings a week after about eight years service - and he was perfectly satisfied. While at Tickerage, he became acquainted with Mrs.Reed and, through hearing of her sister Charlotte, came to know Grandma. I gathered that he wrote to Charlotte Hassell and when (I suppose) she favoured his suit, he asked her father's permission to pay his addresses to her, to which he consented. When a shop, empty for three months, was heard of in Eastbourne, it was taken, and they were married."
(See Richard Gilbert's autobiography and family history for more details.)

His funeral took place at Ocklynge Cemetery, Eastbourne, and an obituary and report of the funeral is on page 54 of Charlotte Gilbert's newspaper cuttings album.
A note in his wallet (in H.R.Gilbert's records) says "Copy - This is my will. I devise to my wife everything of which I may be possessed at my death and hereby appoint her my sole executrix."
This simple notion was of no avail, as his wife died in 1895, and his actual will (dated 1906) ran to 14 pages of foolscap typescript. Executors were Gilbert Benjamin Soddy (grandson), Oliver Mitchell (friend), and Charlotte Noakes (niece of his late wife, and shop girl/assistant at the bakery for several years).
The will mentioned 52, 54, 56, 62, 64, 68 Ceylon Place, Eastbourne, 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 101 Pevensey Road, and Ceylon Nurseries as being properties owned by him. They were to be left under management by his trustees/executors, and all rents to be paid to Charlotte Noakes, niece of his late wife and one of the trustees, until her death when it was to become part of his residual estate. In fact, Charlotte died before David and, in a 1915 codicil to the will, he substituted his friend John Hillman of 14 Mayfield Place, Eastbourne for Charlotte Noakes.
1, 2, 3, 4 Mountfield Place, Bourne St., and 15, 17, 19 Bourne St., were left to his daughter Mary Soddy (1857-1942) along with the contents of 47 Terminus Rd., a house they both lived in but did not appear to own; his servant Naomi Marchant was to receive one pound for every year she had worked for him.
A copy of the will is held in H.R.Gilbert's records.

His grandson, Richard Gilbert, described him variously as alone, unappealing, enigmatic, introspective, reserved, perpetually serious and strongly religious, yet never angry or unkind, severe or gloomy. There is no reason to suppose that he had any interests beyond his family, the chapel and the business. After his death, the Eastbourne Chronicle obituarist found it difficult to say anything of him beyond that he was a 'highly respected' fellow townsman, and at one time a member of the Burial Board.
Held in H.R.Gilbert's records is a letter to his children, written around 1902 and intended to be read after his death, outlining his spiritual life.
Five photographs are in H.R.Gilbert's records;

More information about David's family.

c.1827 - 1899 ELLEN GILBERT (nee ??)

Born; c.1827, at Maresfield (as per the 1861 Census) or Waldron (as per the 1871 census)
Married; William Gilbert (1823-1874), possibly at Uckfield 1846.
No children
The 1851 census shows an Ellen Gilbert, aged 26 (i.e. born c.1825) living at Portsea Island, Landport.
The 1861 census shows Ellen Gilbert, aged 33 (i.e. born c.1827) living at Landport, Portsea Island, Hampshire, and born at "Marshfield" or "Maresfield", Sussex.
The 1871 census shows Ellen Gilbert, aged 44 (i.e. born c.1827) living at Landport, Portsea Island, Hampshire, and born at Waldron, Sussex, with her husband William Gilbert and visitor Sophia Greetham, aged 62, born in Maresfield (but the 1841 and 1861 censuses say she was born in Portsea).
David Gilbert (1861-1902) stayed for a week's holiday with her in May 1876 - she was, by then, a widow. The account ledger for David Gilbert (1861-1902) shows various items marked 'Portsmouth property' or 'Portsmouth property legacy' from Jan 1900 to 1902. This probably represents the division of William Gilbert's estate after his widow's death, which one might assume to have occurred in the previous year, 1899. Presumably she is buried at Southsea.
(An Ellen Dives was born in Maresfield on 5 March 1826 to James Dives and Susanna Alston, according to non-conformist registers.)

To later Gilbert family members