1851 –03/11/1904
Brewer's labourer, one of whose children died in tragic domestic accident
Relatives
Research:
Charles Cannon; 1851 – 1904.
Charles, like his elder brother Samuel who is also buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery, was born in Gilston to the east of Hertfordshire. He was born in the first quarter of 1851 and was baptised in the parish church at Gilston on 2nd March that year. Charles was the fourth of six children born to Charles and Ann Cannon. Charles senior worked as a labourer, but by 1861 the family had moved to Berkhamsted. The family had taken up residence in the lodge on the Ashlyn’s estate where Charles senior was employed as the lodge keeper.
Charles’ father died in 1870 and upon his death the family had to vacate the Ashlyn’s lodge house and find accommodation elsewhere. We know from the 1871 census that Ann and four of her sons had moved to Victoria Road. Charles like his older brother Samuel was working as a brewer and Robert worked in the associated trade of a maltster. We know that both Samuel and Charles worked at Locke & Smith’s brewery in Water Lane. Both were members of the brewery cricket team and both brothers appear as players in contemporary newspaper reports of matches played by the brewery team.
It was later in 1871 that Charles married. The marriage took place in the fourth quarter of that year and was celebrated at St Peter’s church. Samuel’s wife was Louisa Carter. She had been born, like Charles in 1851, but her family came from Little Gaddesden. Her father was a shepherd and we find Louisa in the 1861 census, then 10 years old, living with her parents and five siblings (a sixth was born c.1863) in Northchurch. Ten years later, shortly before her marriage later that year to Charles, Louisa was still living in the family home in Northchurch but was working as a domestic servant, an occupation she no doubt gave up on marriage to bring up her own children and run her own home.
Louisa and Charles were to have five children, all daughters. Emma was born in 1872: Elizabeth in 1875: Flora in 1877; Jane (also known as “Ginnie”) in 1880 and the youngest, Ellen, was born in 1883. Infant deaths were not uncommon at the time and sadly for Charles and Louisa, Emma died in 1875 at the age of 3 years, Elizabeth died at the age of 4 in 1879 and Ellen died in 1883 age four months. Whilst it may be invidious to single out any one of these deaths, Elizabeth’s was perhaps the most tragic. The Hemel Hempstead Gazette and West Herts Advertiser of the 20th December 1879 carried the following report of the inquest held following Elizabeth’s death.
“An inquest was held on Monday on the body of Elizabeth Cannon, aged 4 years , at the West Herts Infirmary… Charles Cannon, brewer’s labourer, of Great Berkhampstead, father of the deceased, stated that when he returned from his employment at 6.15 p.m., on the 11th inst., he found the deceased screaming and enveloped in flames. His wife was not at home, and there was a fire in the kitchen grate. He, with the assistance of Mrs Daniels, a neighbour, extinguished the flames, and then sent for Dr Battersbury, who came and attended the deceased. – Louisa Cannon, wife of the preceding witness, deposed that the deceased was four years of age. On the 11th inst., at about 6.00pm in the evening she left her house to go to Mr Thomas’, the Post Office, intending to return in about a quarter of an hour. She left the two children, the deceased and her younger sister, aged two years, alone. There was a fire in the grate and a lighted lamp on the table. She said to the deceased before leaving home ‘be a good child, I shall not be long.’ She did not speak to her neighbour about the children. After witness had been from home about ten minutes Mrs Daniels came to the Post Office and told her deceased was burnt. Deceased said it was Flo (the younger sister) who had done it. Witness had never before left the children without speaking to her neighbour… Mr R. L. Battersbury, surgeon of Berkhampstead said he attended the deceased until the following (Friday) morning and then took her to West Herts Infirmary. – Mr Elliott Paxon, house surgeon, said he first saw deceased on 12th, when she was brought to the infirmary. She was suffering from burns on the face, neck, chest and both arms. He attended her till her death on Saturday, 13th inst.. The cause of death was a shock to the nervous system occasioned by the burns. A verdict to that effect was returned by the Jury.”
We know from the census returns of 1881, 1891 and 1901 that Charles and Louisa lived for over twenty years in Back Lane which ran from the corner of Water Lane to St Peter’s Church behind the shops fronting on to the High Street. The cobbled lane still exists today, now known as “Church Lane.”
Charles was noted in the 1881 and 1891 census returns as being a Brewer’s labourer. In 1901 he is recorded as a general labourer. He died in on 3rd November 1904 at the age of 54.
His widow Louisa not only outlived Charles, but also all of her five daughters. Of the two who survived infancy, Flora (“Flo”) and Jane (“Ginnie) both died within a few months of each other in 1934. Louisa died in 1935 at the age of 84.