Person:Elizabeth Casey (23)

Elizabeth Casey was born in 1859 at Westminster in London.^[11] She was the daughter of Lydia Casey, formerly Prior, and her husband David Casey, a painter. Elizabeth's baptism gives the family's address as 2 Crown Court, and the 1861 census finds her still living there with her mother and two half brothers from her father's previous marriage. Her father was not at home on census night. It would appear that her parents separated, and in 1867 her mother married again, calling herself Lydia Casey but describing herself as a spinster. Lydia's second husband was a William Foster, and Lydia and William appear in the 1871 census living at Totternhoe in Bedfordshire, close to where William was from.

Elizabeth herself has not been found in the 1871 census, but she also left London and moved to southern Bedfordshire. By 1879 she was living in Luton, where she had a son called George Arthur Casey. The 1881 census finds her working as a hat finisher and living with her son at 49 Hastings Street in Luton. Another son, Ernest James Casey, followed in 1884. The 1891 census finds Elizabeth still working as a straw hat finisher and living with her two sons at 47 Windsor Street in Luton.

In 1892 Elizabeth married a widower called David Kempson, whose first wife had died earlier that year. They went on to have a son, Horace David, in 1898. The 1901 census finds Elizabeth, David, their son Horace, four of David's children from his first marriage and Elizabeth's son Ernest living together at 8 Hitchin Road in Luton.

David died in 1910, aged 70. The 1911 census finds Elizabeth still living at 8 Hitchin Road with her son Horace, stepdaughter Edith and Edith's two children. In March 1912, Elizabeth was admitted to the Three Counties Asylum at Stotfold, which catered for patients from across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Huntingdonshire. She would not return home. After two months there, she died at the asylum on 14th May 1912, aged 52.

1.   Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. Elizabeth CASEY, September Quarter 1859, Westminster Registration District, Volume 1a, page 285, mother's maiden name Prior

2. ↑ St Margaret, in Westminster, London, England. Westminster Baptisms.

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of St. Margaret Westminster in the County of Middlesex in the Year 1859
   No. 11
   When Baptized: 1859 Sept[embe]r 25
   Child's Christian Name: Elizabeth
   Parents' Name / Christian: David & Lydia
   Parents' Name / Surname: Casey
   Abode: 2 Crown Court
   Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: W[illia]m Henry Jenkins

3. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 52; Folio 47; Page 13, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: 2 Crown Court, Westminster (St Margaret), Middlesex
   Lydia Casey, head, married, female, 27 [1833/4], b. Bromley, Essex
   David Casey, son, male, 11 [1849/50], Scholar, b. Westminster, Middlesex
   James Casey, son, male, 8 [1852/3], Scholar, b. Westminster, Middlesex
   Elizabeth Casey, daughter, female, 2 [1858/9], b. Westminster, Middlesex

4. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 1652; Folio 86; Page 15, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 49 Hastings Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Eliz[abe]th Casy, head, unmarried, female, 21 [1859/60], Hat finisher, b. Westminster, London
   Geo[rge] Arthur Casy, son, male, 2 [1878/9], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   ~ [second household at same address]
   James Mellor, head, married, male, 60 [1820/1], Cabint Maker, b. London
   Mary Mellor, wife, married, female, 60 [1820/1], Dress Maker, b. London

5. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1274; Folio 51; Page 21, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 47 Windsor Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   Elizabeth Casey, head, single, female, 31 [1859/60], Straw Hat Finisher, employed, b. London
   George Casey, son, single, male, 12 [1878/9], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Earnest Casey, son, male, 6 [1884/5], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

6. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 1517; Folio 94; Page 9, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 8 Hitchin Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   David Kempson, head, married, male, 59 [1841/2], Straw Hat Manufacturer, own account, working at home, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Elizabeth Kempson, wife, married, female, 40 [1860/1], b. Westminster, London
   Lily Kempson, daughter, single, female, 22 [1878/9], Straw Hat Machinist, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Arthur Kempson, son, single, male, 20 [1880/1], Straw Hat Blocker, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Harold Kempson, son, single, male, 18 [1882/3], Straw Hat Packer, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Percy Kempson, son, single, male, 17 [1883/4], Fish dealer, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Ernest C. Casey, son, single, male, 16 [1884/5], Hat Tip Stamper, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Horace Kempson, son, single, male, 2 [1898/9], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

7. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 9001; Schedule 2, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 8 Hitchin Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   5 rooms occupied
   Elizabeth Kempson, head, female, 51 [1859/60], widow, Straw Hat Machinist, worker, at home, b. Westminster, London
   Horace Kempson, son, male, 12 [1898/9], single, School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Edith Kempson, daughter, female, 32 [1878/9], single, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Alfred Kempson, son, male, 6 [1904/5], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Dorothy Kempson, daughter, 2 [1908/9], single, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

8. ↑ UK. Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1912 (Ancestry).

   Name: Kempson, Eliz[abe]th
   Admitted: 13 Mar 1912
   Asylum: Beds
   Died 14 May 1912

9. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Elizabeth KEMPSON, June Quarter 1912, Biggleswade Registration District, Volume 3b, page 379, aged 54 [1857/8]

10. ↑ England. National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1858 onwards. (Ancestry.com).

    1912
    KEMPSON Elizabeth of Arlesey Asylum Arlesey Hertfordshire widow died 14 May 1912 at Arlesey Probate London 31 July to Owen Edwin Sycamore mechanic. Effects £368.

    Owen Edwin Sycamore appears in the 1891 census living with his parents at 8 Hitchin Road in Luton - the same house where Elizabeth would later live with her husband. The Three Counties Asylum was locally known as Arlesey, with its railway station and main gates being at Arlesey, but the asylum itself was in the parish of Stotfold. Both Arlesey and Stotfold are in Bedfordshire, although the asylum was very close to the border with Hertfordshire.

11. ↑ Although historically in Middlesex, from 1855 Westminster was covered by the Metropolitan Board of Works as its principal tier of local government, effectively making it part of London.