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Could she have been so wealthy?

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  • Could she have been so wealthy?

    I think I have the right Elizabeth Frost, given location and age at death (born 1825; death in Stone, Staffordshire), but the amount given in the probate record (£21793) seems somewhat unlikely - unless recorded incorrectly. Probate being granted to William Parker Jervis could be correct as her husband John Frost had been his butler at Meaford Hall in Stone. I can't find a probate record for John Frost (died 1900) and just wonder how she could have come by such a large sum - any ideas?

  • #2
    What address was given for Elizabeth in the probate record? - Is this Elizabeth Frost death reg Stone 1907?
    Janet in Yorkshire



    Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

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    • #3
      Butlers were relatively well paid and had few living expenses so could presumably save a bit. Add to that some wise investment and maybe an inheritance or two....yes, why not?

      OC

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      • #4
        Janet and OC - thanks for the replies. Her husband John came from an ag.lab family. He and his brother William moved to Staffordshire with the owner of Thornton Hall who also owned Crakemarsh Hall, Uttoxeter. William left a life in service and died as a result of mining injuries in North Staffs, leaving his family in penury. I can't think where John would have gained an inheritance from or, if he had made judicious savings, why there I can't find a probate record - given that his wife was so wise as to leave a will!

        Elizabeth lived at 7 The Avenue in Stone in 1901. Her death was in nearby Gower Street, Stone in 1907 - if that is indeed the right Elizabeth Frost - I can't find any others who fit the bill!

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        • #5
          In 1893 Elizabeth inherited £1000 from Lady Mary Ann Forester's will. Elizabeth had been Lady Forester's housekeeper.

          William Robert Parker Jarvis is also mentioned in the will, he was Lady Forester's nephew.

          Lady Forester was the widow of third Baron Forester, George Cecil Weld Forester.
          Last edited by Guest; 19-04-13, 12:19.

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          • #6
            Is the address at death taken from the death cert or from the probate calendar? I can't access the probate record on Ancestry, but if it gives date of death as having occurred in Oct/Nov/Dec 1907 then there only seems to be the one candidate for a death registered in the Stone dist in that quarter. If you have access to a large library or county record office having microfiche copies of the probate index, then it might be worth your while looking it up - just in case there has been a transcription error with Ancestry. (I'm assuming you found the information on Ancestry??) I do think nearly £22,000 was a large sum for that time - however, if Elizabeth was also housekeeper, both she and her husband would have earned decent wages. It would have been very easy to live solely off one wage and to bank at least all of the other. Savings over 20/30/40 years? I have no idea what a butler would have been paid.
            Janet in Yorkshire



            Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

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            • #7


              General George Cecil Weld Forester, 3rd Baron Forester of Willey Park was the son of Cecil Weld Forester, 1st Baron Forester of Willey Park and Lady Katherine Mary Manners. He married Hon. Mary Anne Jervis, daughter of Edward Jervis Jervis, 2nd Viscount Saint Vincent of Meaford and Mary Anne Parker, on 8 November...

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              • #8
                Thanks for the replies. My details did come from Ancestry - probate/census. The information re her earlier inheritance was interesting. I'm not sure who Elizabeth was before she married John, an event I can pin down only as sometime between 1871 (when he was an unmarried valet in London) and 1881 when they were both employed in service in Stone. I've looked on FS for Elizabeths born in Draycott in the 1820s - and subsequent marriages to no definite avail. My nosiness is a terminal time-waster!

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                • #9
                  £22,000 in 1907 is equivalent to £1.8m now so I doubt very much they could have saved that amount but I do wonder if she had another inheritance at some point.

                  Margaret

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                  • #10
                    I have since discovered that before marriage she was Elizabeth Lake. Her two sisters, Mary and Sarah, were also employed by Lady Mary Anne Forester. They both died in 1900, Sarah named in the probate record of Mary's estate (£9600) and Elizabeth named in the probate record Sarah's even more sizeable estate ( £13, 200). Mary and Sarah were in Lady Mary Ann's employment in 1841, when she was married to the very wealthy David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre. His story is fascinating and rather sad (note my earlier comment re my nosiness!). She gained much of his fortune. Perhaps she rewarded the three sisters for their loyalty.....

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