Person:Richard Melvin (2)

Richard Harvey Melvin's early life is unclear. His name is given on his first marriage certificate as "Richard Harvey otherwise Melvin", and he was said to be the son of a butcher named Jonas Linton, strongly suggesting Richard was illegitimate. In the censuses after his marriage Richard consistently claimed to have been born in about 1821 in Cambridge. The 1841 census does find a butcher named Jonas Linton living in the parish of St Giles in Cambridge, in which parish a Richard Harvey was baptised in 1822, the illegitimate son of a Mary Harvey. Whatever his origins, it appears that Richard was raised by a couple named John Melvin and his wife Ann, adopting their surname and appearing with them in the 1841 census in the Soho area of London. He also followed John Melvin's occupation, becoming a smith and bell hanger, sometimes calling himself a 'music smith'.

Richard was married on 16th July 1846 in the Westminster area of London to Rebecca Harrow. They had at least two children. The 1851 census finds them living at 10 Deans Place in the St Pancras area to the north of London.

Richard and Rebecca have not been traced between 1851 and 1871. By 1871 they had left the London area and moved to Great Malvern in Worcestershire, where they appear in both the 1871 and 1881 censuses, each time with a lodger named Constantia Kearney, from Dublin. In the 1881 census they were living at Brompton Cottage on Bank Street in the town. Rebecca died in 1883, aged 62.

The following year Richard married again. His second wife was a shopkeeper named Phoebe Hammond. The 1891 census finds them still living at Brompton Cottage, along with one of Phoebe's grandchildren and again with the lodger Constantia Kearney. Richard died in 1894, aged 72. Phoebe survived him by less than three years.

1. ↑ Cambridgeshire Family History Society. Cambridgeshire baptism index, 1801 to 1837. (England: Cambridgeshire Family History Society, 1995?).

   One possibility is that Richard was this Richard Harvey:
   St Giles, Cambridge
   ch. 7 Apr 1822 (born 18 Oct 1821), Richard, son of Mary HARVEY, of St Peters St Pound Hill

   Needs to be confirmed at Cambridgeshire Archives.

2. ↑ England. 1841 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 HO107; Piece 730; Book 3; Folio 74; Page 33, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Little Chapel Street, Westminster (St Anne Soho), Middlesex
   John Melven, male, 40 [1796-1801], Smith, not born in county
   Ann Melven, female, 50 [1786-91], born in county
   Richard Melven, male, 20 [1816-21], Smith, not born in county

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1496; Folio 905; Page 77, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: 10 Deans Place, St Pancras, Middlesex
   Richard Melven, head, married, male, 29 [1821/2], Music Smith, b. Cambridge
   Rebecca Melven, wife, female, 30 [1820/1], b. Carshalton, Surry
   Arthur Melven, son, male, 3 [1847/8], Scholar, b. Bloomsbury, Middlesex
   Amelia Melven, daughter, female, 8m [1850], b. St Pancras, Middlesex

4. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 3054; Folio 74; Page 39, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 2 Fern Cottage, Great Malvern, Worcestershire
   Rich[ar]d H. Melvin, head, married, male, 49 [1821/2], Whitesmith & Bellhanger, b. Cambridge
   Rebecca Melvin, wife, married, female, 50 [1820/1], b. Carshalton, Surrey
   Constantia Kearney, lodger, unmarried, female, 66 [1804/5], b. Dublin, Ireland

5. ↑ 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 2920; Folio 57; Page 43, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Brompton Cottage, Bank Street, Great Malvern, Worcestershire
   Richard H. Melvin, head, married, male, 59 [1821/2], Gas Fitter (Master) employing 1 boy, b. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
   Rebecca Melvin, wife, married, female, 60 [1820/1], b. Carshalton, Surrey
   Mary Robinson, boarder, unmarried, female, 40 [1840/1], Formerly dressmaker, b. Oxford, Oxfordshire
   Constantia Kearney, lodger, unmarried, female, 76 [1804/5], Annuitant, b. Dublin, Ireland

6. ↑ 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 2331; Folio 144; Page 13, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Brompton Cottage, Great Malvern, Worcestershire
   Richard Melvin, head, married, male, 69 [1821/2], Whitesmith (retired), b. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
   Phoebe Melvin, wife, married, female, 72 [1818/9], Fancy Goods Dealer, neither employer nor employed, b. Pagham, Sussex
   Lilian Medhurst, granddaughter, female, 12 [1878/9], b. Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
   Constantia Kearney, boarder, single, 87 [1803/4], Living on own means, b. Dublin, Ireland

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

   d. Richard Harvey MELVIN, June Quarter 1894, Upton on Severn Registration District, Volume 6c, page 143, aged 72 [1821/2]

8. ↑ Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England. Great Malvern Cemetery Registers (Worcestershire Record Office, Worcester).

   REGISTER OF BURIALS in the burial ground of GREAT MALVERN
   No. of Entry: 2774
   Name of Person Buried: Richard Harvey Melvin
   Description of Person Buried: No Occupation
   Age: 72
   Place where Death occurred: Bank Street Malvern
   Date of Burial: 1894 May 10
   Ceremony Performed by: Mr. J. Derrington
   Residence of Person Buried: Bank Street Malvern
   No. of Grave Space: 4303
   In Unconsecrated Ground: Unconsecrated