Person:Prince Moss (1)

Prince Leopold Moss was born on 29th March 1875 at Aley Green in the parish of Caddington. Caddington parish straddled Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire at the time, with Aley Green falling in the part of the parish which was in Hertfordshire. Prince Leopold was the son of a bonnet sewer called Bethia Moss, formerly King, and her husband William Moss, an agricultural labourer. Prince Leopold appears to have been named after Queen Victoria's youngest son. His birth, marriage, death and all censuses appearances call him "Prince Leopold Moss" or "Prince L. Moss", but his baptism record called him simply "Leopold Moss", and he was also described as "Leopold Moss" in a newspaper article from 1916, suggesting he was known as Leopold rather than Prince.

Leopold appears in the 1881 census living with his parents and siblings at Aley Green. By 1891 the family had moved into the nearby town of Luton, where they lived at 146 Chapel Street. Leopold was described as an agricultural labourer at this time.

In 1899, aged about 24, Leopold married Lavinia Barton (who appears to have been known as Lily). They went on to have four children together between 1899 and 1917, with a notable twelve year gap between their third and fourth children. For several years the family lived at "Why-ax-ye", a thatched cottage on Park Street at the southern end of Luton, appearing there in both the 1901 and 1911 censuses.^[13] Leopold worked as a horse keeper, working for Jonathan Francis Seymour of Brache Farm. In 1908 Leopold found three young men stealing apples from Mr Seymour's orchard and managed to catch one of them, giving evidence at the man's trial.

Leopold's mother died in 1906, and his father died in 1911.

In 1916 Leopold was injured after being thrown from his horse at Round Green in Luton. It seems he was riding one horse and leading another, and a passing motor car caused them to take fright. He was taken to the Bute Hospital in Luton.

By the early 1930s, Leopold's employer Mr Seymour had moved to Elmhurst, a big house in Aylesbury, and Leopold moved to Aylesbury to continue working for him, living nearby at 111 Buckingham Road. In 1931 Mr Seymour died following a fall trying to save his dog from an attack by some greyhounds. Leopold gave evidence at Mr Seymour's inquest. Under Mr Seymour's will, Leopold was given the income from £1,000, providing him with a form of pension. After Mr Seymour's death, Leopold returned to Luton.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Leopold, Lily and their daughter Lily were living at 42 New Town Street in Luton. Leopold was working as a general labourer.

Lily died in 1951, aged 73. Leopold survived her by just under six years. He died in 1957, aged 81.

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

   b. Prince Leopold MOSS, June Quarter 1875, Luton Registration District, Volume 3b, page 429, mother's maiden name King

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Caddington Parish Registers. (Bedford: Bedfordshire Record Office).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Caddington in the County of Bedford in the Year 1875
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   1530	June 6	Leopold	William and Bethia	Moss	Aley Green	Labourer	Tho[ma]s Prescott, Vicar

3. ↑ 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 1653; Folio 136; Page 4, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Aley Green, Caddington, Hertfordshire
   William Moss, head, married, male, 42 [1838/9], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Bethia Moss, wife, married, female, 44 [1836/7], Bonnet Sewer, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Victoria A. Moss, daughter, female, 13 [1867/8], Bonnet Sewer, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Alice M.M. Moss, daughter, female, 11 [1869/70], Scholar, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Walter A. Moss, son, male, 9 [1891/2], Scholar, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Prince L. Moss, son, male, 6 [1894/5], Scholar, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   William A. Moss, son, male, 4 [1896/7], b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Bethia Moss, daughter, female, 2 [1898/9], b. Caddington, Hertfordshire

4. ↑ 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 59; Page 38, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 146 Chapel Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Five or more rooms occupied
   William Moss, head, married, male, 53 [1837/8], Agricultural Laborer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Bertha Moss, wife, married, female, 55 [1835/6], employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Susanah Moss, daughter, single, female, 25 [1865/6], Hat Sewer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Alice M. Moss, daughter, single, female, 21 [1869/70], Hat Sewer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Ellen S. Moss, daughter, single, female, 20 [1870/1], Hat Sewer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Walter B. Moss, son, male, 18 [1872/3], General Laborer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Prince L. Moss, son, male, 16 [1874/5], Agricultural Laborer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   William A. Moss, son, male, 14 [1876/7], Errand Boy, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Bethia Moss, daughter, female, 12 [1878/9], Scholar, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Lewis, stepson, married, male, 34 [1856/7], Rag & Bone Collector, employed, b. Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Lewis, grandson, male, 5 [1885/6], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Arthur Lewis, grandson, male, 4 [1886/7], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Ethel Bert Lewis, grandson [sic], female, 3 [1887/8], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Harry Lewis, grandson, male, 1 [1889/90], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

5. ↑ 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 34; Page 12, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Why-ax-ye, Park Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   Prince L. Moss, head, married, male, 25 [1875/6], Horse Keeper on Farm, worker, b. Aley Green, Bedfordshire
   Lily L. Moss, wife, married, female, 22 [1878/9], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Grace Moss, daughter, single, female, 1 [1899/1900], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Lily Moss, daughter, single, female, 1mo [1901], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

6. ↑ 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 8999; Schedule 91, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: Why ax ye Cottage, Park Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   Prince Leopold Moss, head, married, male, 35 [1875/6], married, Horseman on Farm, worker, b. Aley Green, Bedfordshire
   Levinia Moss, wife, female, 33 [1877/8], married 12 years, 3 children born to marriage, 3 children still living, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Grace Moss, daughter, female, 11 [1899/1900], School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Lily Moss, daughter, female, 10 [1900/1], School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Prince Leopold Moss, son, male, 6 [1904/5], School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Luton Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   Address: 42 New Town Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Moss, Prince L. / male / b. 29 Mar 1875 / married / General Labourer
   Moss, Lavinia / female / b. 24 Jan 1878 / married / Unpaid domestic duties
   Moss, Lily [later hand has added "Lilian"] / female / b. 28 Feb 1901 / single / Hat worker straw machinist & felt polisher

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

   d. Prince Leopold MOSS, March Quarter 1957, Luton Registration District, Volume 4a, page 167, aged 81 [1875/6]

9.   Bedfordshire Advertiser and Luton Times, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 3, 11 Sep 1908.

   Luton Borough Sessions.
   SATURDAY, SEPT. 5TH
   AFTER THE APPLES.
   ROBERT NEWMAN (17), 114, Park-street, was charged with stealing a quantity of apples, value 3d., the property of Mr. J.F. Seymour, Brache Farm, on September 4th.
   Prince Leopold Moss, horsekeeper, employed by Mr. Seymour, stated that he saw defendant and two others in the orchard. One was up a tree, and defendant was at the bottom picking up the apples - Witness caught Newman and gave him into custody. The value of the apples found on the defendant would be about 3d.
   P.c. Janes spoke to being called to The Brache, when Newman was given into custody. Mr. Seymour had several times complained to the police about his orchard being raided. As defendant was a big youth, he was kept at the Police Station.
   Defendant pleaded guilty, and said he was sorry for what he had done.
   The Bench decided to hand the defendant over to the Probation Officer for six months.

10.   Luton Reporter, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 8, 17 Apr 1916.

    Local Mishaps.
    ACCIDENT ADMISSIONS TO THE BUTE HOSPITAL.
    On Monday evening a horsekeeper in the employ of Mr. Seymour, of the Brache Farm, named Leopold Moss, residing at the "Why Axe Ye" Cottage in Park-road, was admitted to the Bute Hospital suffering from nasty wounds on the head and left arm, bruising on the left hip, and some concussion as the result of an accident at Round Green. It seems that he was in charge of two horses, one of which he was riding with the other on a lead, when a passing motor car caused them to take fright. He was thrown off on to his head and was picked up by a groom in the service of Mr. Stewart Hubbard and driven in a motor-car to the hospital.

11.   Bucks Herald, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 5, 20 Nov 1931.

    DEATH OF MR. J.F. SEYMOUR.
    SEQUEL TO A DOG FIGHT.
    The death on Friday of Mr. Jonathan Francis Seymour, of "Elmhurst," Bierton Hill, Aylesbury, sustained in an endeavour to rescue his pet dog from an attack by other dogs, was the subject of an inquest conducted by the District Coroner, Mr. S.E. Wilkins, on Saturday. Mr. Seymour was 87 years of age, and a farmer well known and respected in Aylesbury and district.
    Ethel Alice Seymour, wife of the deceased, said that he sometimes took his Irish terrier dog out for a walk. Shortly after 3.40 p.m. on Wednesday, November the 11th, she received a message from the cook, in consequence of which she went down the drive towards the fields at the back of the house. She saw deceased standing by the gate close to the garden. She ran down to him, and he said that four greyhounds attacked Billie (the dog), and he went to beat them off, and ran a little way, and caught his foot in a clod and stumbled. He could not regain himself, and fell down with great force and could not get up. He thought he had broken his arm. Deceased was assisted into the house, and Dr. Steele sent for.
    Prince Leopold Moss, 111, Buckingham-road, Aylesbury, said that he was horsekeeper to the deceased. On the day in question he was leading two horses from the road up the drive, and saw deceased standing about five yards from the gate leading to the meadow. He was holding his stick in his right hand, and his left arm was hanging straight down by his side. Witness noticed mud and water on his clothes, and asked him if anything was the matter. He said that he believed he had broken his shoulder or put it out. Four greyhounds were trying to kill poor Billie. Witness went back to the house and called for assistance. As he went down the drive he saw the dog sitting on the doorstep, covered with mud. He later examined it, and found it to be badly bitten.
    Louisa Ellen Hill, a cook, stated that the last witness told her that deceased had fallen down, and she told Mrs. Seymour, and telephoned Dr. Steele.
    Dr. John Steele, medical practitioner, Walton-road, Aylesbury, said that he found deceased in a very collapsed condition when he arrived at about 4 p.m. His health previously had been very good for a man of his years. He administered morphia and examined deceased and found that he had dislocated his left shoulder. Later he reduced the dislocation under an anaesthetic. Deceased came round all right, but he became weaker, and died on Friday. The cause of death was cardiac failure following shock caused by the dislocation.
    The Coroner returned a verdict of "Accidental Death."

12.   Bucks Herald, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 9, 11 Mar 1932.

    £80,000 WILL.-Mr. Jonathan Francis Seymour, of Elmhurst, Aylesbury, formerly of Luton, who died on November 13th, left £80,126. He bequeathed the income from £1,000 each to his servant Louie Hill and his employees James Loveday and Prince Leopold Moss, if respectively in his employ at his death; the income from £500 to his servant Hilda Spalding; £25 to Benjamin Loveday; and £10 each to Mrs. Loveday, and Charles Free, cowman.

13. ↑ A photograph of Why-ax-ye, which was demolished in the 1920s, is available at Dunstable Today.