1791
Birth of Mother, Mary Ann [Miriam?] ? c.1791. Place?
1861 Census says born St Giles in the Fields, Middlesex, London [about 1791]Birth of Father, Abraham Henry? Date?
Born c.1795? in the parish of St. Catherine's, London. [But 1841 Census rounded adult ages to nearest 5.]
Further information and notes of work in progress on Abraham and Mary Ann Henry, and their children (Nathan Henry's siblings).
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1815
August 1815
Nathan Henry's father was No. 205 Private (later Sergeant) Abraham Henry. Abraham Henry enlisted into the 11th Light Dragoons in August 1815 and left the Army in September 1838.
Abraham Henry enlisted into the 11th Light Dragoons in August 1815 and left the Army in September 1838.
What was he/ the regiment doing 1815-1820?
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See GT Williams, Historical records of the XI Hussars for info about this period in Europe after Waterloo, in Britain, Ireland, India etc, including the journey out, people lost from disease going up the Ganges, and the Siege of Bhurtpore.
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1819
1819: Abraham and Mary Ann Henry go out to India on the Indiaman Atlas, departing from Gravesend. Arrive where? date?
Link contains notes and ship's list.
Info adapted from http://valmayukuk.tripod.com/id38.html
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1820
1820: Abraham [AGE?] and Mary Ann, 29, marry 12 June, Cawnpore, India
Army Records of Abraham Henry (acc. to Ancestry: mardadixon, Feldon Family Tree)
5th August 1815 - Enlisted in 11th Light Dragoons as a Private
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1826
AH fought at Siege of Bhurtpore, 1826
James Norman Creighton, Narrative of the Siege and Capture of Bhurtpore: In the Province of Agra ...
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1829
1829: Nathan Henry born at Cawnpore, India, on the 28th of March, and christened there on the 15th of April by the Revd Edward White, Chaplain.
"I am given to understand by my honoured Parents, at the time the above important [event; inserted] occurred, [that; crossed out], a very fierce and boisterous storm was raging, no doubt foreshadowing the rough and turbid life I had thereafter to pass through."
[PB: I suspect he meant to say turbulent, but turbid gets it just about right. Turbid = cloudy, opaque, thick with suspended matter.]
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1832
5th July 1832 - Corporal
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1835
c. 1835? NH visits the "Tower of Delhi", presumably " and Palace and Gardens of King of Delhi, views Throne Room, risks his life climbing on to the throne and has to be rescued by his father.
Qutub Minar - The Fluted Red-Sandstone Tower of Delhi
http://www.indiamarks.com/qutub-minar-the-fluted-red-sandstone-tower-of-delhi/
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g304551-d311626-r193942561-Qutab_Minar-New_Delhi_National_Capital_Territory_of_Delhi.html
http://www.delhitourism.gov.in/delhitourism/tourist_place/qutab_minar.jsp
NH and his brothers and sisters also lived in Meerut and ?Delhi._________________________
1836
1836? Cardigan arrives to take over regiment. Institutes many changes, mostly deeply unpopular. Did this affect AH - prompt him to leave the army? Prob. not - must have came to the natural end of his career.
Good info in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brudenell,_7th_Earl_of_Cardigan
7th Dec 1836 - AH becomes sergeant
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1838
The family returned to London on the "Thames" in e. 1838. The regiment left in two divisions from Calcutta on the 18th of January and the 2nd of February 1838, and arrived at Gravesend on the 8th and 25th of June respectively. I don't know what the other ship was called.
"At length, we started down the Ganges for Calcutta, where we embarked upon the good old ship "Thames", with the prospect of a fair and speedy voyage to the home of my Parents. Nothing of any importance transpired during the voyage, and in the course of time - I think 6 months and 10 days - we arrived at Gravesend, our journey's end."
Maddeningly, NH says nothing about the journey. Try to find the ship's logs.
12 Sep 1838 - AH discharged due to disability contracted within service "without being attributable to neglect, design, vice or intemperance."
"This man is no longer equal to active duty from length of service and climate and not attributable to misconduct." "He is likely to be permanently incapacitated for civilian duty having difficulty of breathing."
His conduct and character are very good.
He served in India from 12 July 1819 to 8th June 1838 and was stationed at Cawnpore and Meerut. He was present at the Siege of Bhurtpore in 1825.
mardadixon added "He was 5ft 6 3/4 inches tall, had grey hair, light eyes and a fresh complexion. According to his discharge papers."
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1839
1839: Abraham Nathan is described as a "Broker" [?] living at 91, Lambeth Walk, Vauxhall, but as an "Ironmonger" two years later. (Robson's London & Birmingham Trade Directory, 1839, 1841)
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1841
1841 Census
Lambeth Walk, Parish of St Mary, Lambeth, Surrey
Abraham Henry, aged 45, Ironmonger.
Mary Henry, 50.
Nathan Henry, 13.
Elizabeth Henry, 10.
Kitty Henry, 9.
Mary Batt, 20, Ind. [Independent means].
Henry Batt, 3.
Abraham and Mary Henry are described as "born in the same county", i.e. Surrey, but this may not be true as Mary [mother] is subsequently recorded as born in St Martin's [where? 1861 says St Giles in the Fields], Middlesex, and their children elsewhere (in fact, they were all born in India).
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1844 - enlists in Grenadier Guards, Regtl number 4410
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadier_Guards
According to the archives of the Grenadier Guards [EJB's correspondence with the regimental archivist Major (Retd) EC Weaver, Wellington Barracks, 19 January 1984]:
Nathan Henry, "Born in Cawnpore, Bengal, East Indies", enlisted in the Grenadier Guards at London on the 23rd of December 1844 at the age of 15 years 9 months. He was 5' 1è [1 and a half - yes]" in height, with a fair complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair. His "trade or calling" was given as "Labourer".
Any more info to be had?
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1845:
1845 appointed Drummer 2 June.
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1846: Abraham Henry dies [28 Jun 1846 in London. CHECK.]
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1847 5 October: returned to [?] Private on the 5th of October 1847.
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1849 24th of July: NH promoted to Corporal.
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1851
1851 NH training to be an army schoolteacher
By 1851 he was training to be a military schoolmaster at the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, in London.
1851 Census
Royal Military Asylum for Children of Soldiers of the Regular Army, Chelsea [also known as The Duke of York's School].
Nathan Henry, aged 21, unmarried, Corporal, Student in the Schools for Training Regimental Schoolmasters, born Cawnpore; East Indies.
1851
Marriage [first]
Marriage registered
Later that same year (July Quarter 1851), Nathan Henry married Joyce Anne Warwick in Westminster. [England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915, vol 1, p.550.]
Three children are shown in the Army Chaplains' Baptismal Registers:
- Drusilla Mary Henry in 1852 [?], birth registered January Quarter 1852, St Margaret's Westminster.
[PB notes to check: Drusilla Mary Henry can be found in a number of Ancestry records, e.g. marriage to John William Pawson in Bradford in April Quarter 1877, also 1891, 1901 and 1911 Censuses (all Bradford), and Death registered, aged 74, September Quarter 1926, Bradford.
- Fanny Elizabeth Henry, born at Thames Ditton, 1857, birth registered April Quarter 1857, Kingston, Surrey.
Name of third child? ? Born c.1860: Joyce Anne Henry [daughter], born Aldershott, Hampshire (11 in 1871 Census)
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Chester Castle Barracks, Chester
John Henry [possibly a brother?], aged 24, Drummer [38th Regiment], born East Indies - Bangalore
[JH: born c.1827.]
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1851
19 July 1851 NH marries Joyce Ann Warwick, at St Stephen, Westminster. [Index only record. No image to view. Find Marriage Cert?]
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1852
1852: NH "Discharged by purchase (Payment of £10)" on the 27th of January 1852. (In his account he says it was in January 1851.) His Character was "Very Good." Pension nil.
[PB: Grenadier Guards correspondent says payment of £20.]
c.1852: Drusilla M Henry [daughter], b. Pimlico, London (19 in 1871 Census)
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1853
1853: Enlisted into the 11th Hussars at London on the 24th of June
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1854: "Absent": 10th-15th of March 1854. Tried by a District Court-martial on the 27th of March for "Absence and losing his necessaries". Sentenced to 56 days' imprisonment, with hard labour. [Did he serve his time? Where? What happened?]
To Crimea [spell out]
25 October 1854 Taken prisoner-of-war at Balaclava, after his horse had been killed under him.
NOTE ON NEWMAN'S ACCOUNT VERSUS HENRY'S ACCOUNT
A number of things seem odd.
Henry says not a word about the Kharkov period. I wonder why not.
He talks about Simpheropol, though, in a way which makes it seem a little like Kharkov:
"I will pass over the tedious time of our stay, and the treatment received, except to state that the Doctors were exceedingly kind in every way to us, and visitors poured in daily to satisfy their curiosity as to what English Soldiers were made of." p15
Did he want to conceal this period? Kharkov was evidently a time of some luxury, and Henry obviously wants to emphasise how awful and continuous the journey was. Yet he wasn't writing for anybody in particular, so why shouldn't he just tell the truth?
Henry speaks of spending "nearly three months" on the journey to Voronetz [2/16], which would suggest arrival in February (the time Newman says he arrived in Voronetz).
But Newman (p199) says Henry arrived some time in the summer - certainly after April.
Who is right?
Moreover, Henry arrived in Voronezh with a "portmanteau of clothes and books" - which he could not have carried, could he?
Henry says nothing about Voronezh, either (pp16-17).
The two accounts tally perfectly afterwards, though
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1855
1855 Released from captivity 4th October 1855?
Date? Returns to England.
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1857
1857: From Private to Corporal: 10th of September 1857.
Fanny Elizabeth Henry, born at Thames Ditton, 1857, birth registered April Quarter 1857, Kingston, Surrey.
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c.1858: Fanny E Henry [daughter], b. Thames Ditton, Surrey (13 in 1871 Census).
_________________1859: Corporal to Sergeant: 19th of January 1859.
[PB: wasn't there a court case involving theft by his troop around this time?]
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1860: Discharged, "by claim", from Manchester on the 19th of October 1860.
c.1860: Joyce Anne Henry [daughter], born Aldershott, Hampshire (11 in 1871 Census)
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1861
1861 Census
Cannon, Parish of Ash, Farnborough, Surrey
Nathan Henry, Head, Married, 32, Labourer in Camp Forage ["Stour"?], born East Indies, British Subject.
Joyce A[nn] Henry, Wife, Married, 35, Little Hadham, Herts.
Drusilla M[ary] Henry, Daughter, 9, Scholar, Westminster, Middlesex.
Fanny E[lizabeth] Henry, Daughter, 4, Scholar, Thames Ditton, Surrey.
Joyce A[nn] Henry, Daughter, 1, Aldershott, Hants.
[PB: William Thomas Henry was christened 9 June 1867 in Brighton, the son of Nathan and Joyce Ann Henry.]
[PB: Nathan Henry writes in his memoir that he worked as a "Sub-Warder" at Coldbath Prison [see the record of 1064 Charles Aldous, 17th Lancers, for more information about this prison], and then in the Mounted Branch of the Coast Guards in Sussex. For more, see his autobiography, excerpted here, and EJB's annotations.]
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1861: Census
31 Harewood Square [?], Marylebone, London
Mary Ann Henry [mother], Head, Widow, 70, Needle Woman, born St Giles in the Fields, Middlesex, London [about 1791]
Mary Batt [sister], Daughter, Married, 40, Monthly Nurse [?], Meerut, East India, British Subject.
Lydia M Batt [niece], Granddaughter, Unmarried, 17, Monthly Nurse [or does it say 7, no occupation?], St George's Hanover Square.
Henry James Batt [nephew], Married, 23, Painter's Labourer / Scene Shifter, Cawnpore, East Indies, British Subject.
Emma Batt, Wife, Married, 22, Parish of Lambeth.
Charles H T [?] Batt, Son, 1, St Andrew's Holborn [?].
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1862
[EJB: The chance finding of an entry in the Coast Guards Record of Service shows NH was appointed to the Mounted Branch as a Private on the 27th of October 1862. This was at Brighton, Sussex, the details showing him as being from Cold-Bath Prison [sp?], in London.
1864: He was discharged from the service, still stationed at Brighton, on the 31st of March 1864. No reason was shown, but added details showed his original rank of Private as crossed out and Corporal substituted (but no date as to when this promotion occurred, he was 33 years of age, late 11th Hussars, his rate of pay was 4/- per day, and that his conduct had been very good. ]
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1864-68?
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1865
c.1865: Isabella M Henry [daughter], born Brighton, Sussex (6 in 1871 Census).
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1868
1868: Death of first wife registered
Joyce Ann Henry [first wife], aged 42, June Quarter 1868, Brighton.
In childbirth?
c.1868: William T Henry [son], born Brighton, Sussex (3 in 1871 Census).
[PB: 16 July 1868: There is a "Nathan Henry" who, with an Elizabeth Hall [? She is on same page of court document, but not next to him - why did I connect them? Is there a report linking them?], was committed to appear for trial at Lewes Assizes for "Forging a Receipt for Money". Both appear to have been sentenced to "6 Cal. leos" [illeg. what could this be? Cal(endar) Months? Others receive sentences of e.g. 1 year. But presumably no fine, whipping or hard labour, as were handed out to many others in nearby entries.
Is it possible this is our NH? Lewes, where Brighton's criminal cases would have been tried, makes this a possibility (though very remote, since, had his conviction been known, he would subsequently not have been able to find work from which a convict is likely to have been excluded.
But yes, it's him. See newspaper articles. Dates?
He would have come out of prison c. February 1869.
Oh dear. Is this the time he says he was going round the world? It would seem so. Can he fit in a prison sentence and then a marriage? Probably not. But it would make sense for him to go to the US as soon as he left prison. How much would it have cost? How had he found the money?]
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1869
Marriage registered [2nd]
Nathan Henry married Mary Elizabeth Domine at Westminster, St Margaret's in the July Quarter of 1869.
Date?
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1870
His mother, Mary Ann, died in 20 March 1870, 29 Montpelier Place, Knightsbridge, 80 years, Widow of Abraham Henry - Army Sergeant, Cause of death: Gangrene and Abscess of foot 1 week Amputation 3 days Certified, Informant: M E Henry in Attendance, 29 Montpelier Place, Knightsbridge, Registered:22 March 1870.
[pdf of Death Certificate in hand.]
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1871
1871: Census
10 Town Square [?], St Margaret, Knightsbridge, Westminster.
Nathan Henry, Head, Married, 42, Vaccination Officer, born Bengal, B.S. [British Subject].
Mary E Henry, Wife, Married, 22, Sussex, Brighton.
[PB: Ancestry.co.uk suggests this was "Mary Elizabeth Domaine, born 1849, Sussex".
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1871
1871 Census
Mary Elizabeth Henry (nee Domine) [second wife].
Her birth is recorded in 1849 (England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915, vol. vii, p.301), where she is named as "Mary Elizabeth Domine, born Brighton".
Mary Elizabeth Domine was christened on the 15th April 1849 at Brighton, Sussex. Her father is named as John Domine and her mother as Elizabeth.
It would seem her mother was Elizabeth nee Masterman [b. Chuncot? Berkshire c.1816, living in Brighton in 1871 with "Mary Domine" who may be a different, younger Mary Domine, possibly a younger sister? Why has Elizabeth Masterman reverted to her maiden name?
PB: NH says his young wife had troubles with her stepfather. Who he?]
1871 Census
Star Inn, 7 Manchester Street, Brighton
Elizabeth Masterman, Head, Widow, 55, Licensed Victualler, b. Berkshire, C____ [Ch_n_ert ?]
Maria Domine, Daughter, Unmarried, 18 [born c. 1853], Licensed Victualler, b.Brighton.
Emily Wood, Servant, Unmarried, 32, General Servant,
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1871 Census
116 Leeds Road, Bradford.
Fanny Warwick [presumably sister-in-law], 43, Head, Stationer, born Little Hadham, Herts.
Martha Warwick [sister-in-law], 41, Sister, Mantle Maker, Little Hadham, Herts.
John W? Reynolds, 22, Nephew, Clerk (Stationers), Dundalk, Ireland.
Drusilla M Henry [daughter], 19, Librarian, Pimlico, London.
Fanny E Henry [daughter], 13, Niece, Thames Ditton, Surrey.
Joyce Anne Henry [daughter], 11, Niece, Unmarried, born Aldershott, Hampshire.
Isabella M Henry [daughter], 6, Niece, Unmarried, born Brighton, Sussex.
William T Henry [son], Nephew, 3, born Brighton, Sussex.
A male boarder, John Archer, 25, A Brewer's Traveller, born Yorkshire, is also shown.
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1879
1879: Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1879.
[PB: Photograph from this?]
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1881
1881 Census
58 Kings Cross Rd, Clerkenwell, London
N. Henry, 52, Head, born India, Cawnpore.
E. Henry, 24, Wife, b. Northampton.
No occupations shown. There are several other households shown at the same address.
[PB: Who is "E. Henry"? She would have been born c. 1857. Is this a third, very much younger wife - much the same age as his daughter Joyce? Were they actually married? Did he marry bigamously? Is she mentioned in "A Chequered Life", or does it end earlier? Why such scant information?
Dec, 2013: Yes, she is mentioned (but not named!) in A Chequered Life as his third wife. Marriage registration?
And what happened to her after Nathan Henry's death? [And what's happened to Mary Ann?
And why such cryptic entries "N.", "E." etc? Why not full forenames. or am I reading too much into this?]
An "E.Henry", Female, Single, 44, No profession, Unknown place of birth, was in the Essex County Lunatic Asylum (near Brentwood) in 1901. The name and ages fit, though not "single", but no other supporting evidence has been found to link them. ]
May 22 1881 he was in charge of the "Balaclava Panorama" in Leicester Square, London. [Advert in hand.] Dates of whole engagement? The Panorama was pulled down in 1882.
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25 Park Gate, Bradford.
Fanny Warwick [sister-in-law], 53, Head, Sempstress, born Little Hadham, Herts.
Joyce Anne Henry [daughter], 21, Niece, School Governess, Aldershott [sic?], Hampshire.
Isabella M Henry [daughter], 16, Niece, Milliner (unemployed), Brighton, Sussex.
"Meg's Family Tree (nutmeg138)" [presumably on the Ancestry website?] claims Joyce Anne Henry [daughter] married "unknown" on May 4th 1881 at St Peter (Bradford Cathedral), Yorkshire, England.
This was Philip Stansfeld Rawson, aged 22, "Stuff [?] Warehouseman", son of Jeremiah Rawson, Estate Agent.
Her father's name was given as "Nathan Henry", and his rank or profession as "Librarian" [!].
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1886
1886 (29 Dec) NH features in an article in the Derby Mercury, copied? from the Pall Mall Gazette [find original, and refs to any other copies]. Contains a potted life history (some of it fanciful?), and a request to find him work.
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1888
1888: Nathan Henry dies. He was living with his sister Mary when he dies in 1888. Try to find out more about Mary Batt. She's his eldest sister, born c.1821, and her son Henry is Nathan Henry's nephew.]
Nathan Henry died at the age of 58 at 54, Robert Street, Regent's Park, London, on the 21st of March 1888. The cause of death was given as "Cancer, Exhaustion." His occupation was given as "Late Sergeant 11th Hussars".
His sister, Mrs Mary Batt, of the same address, was present at, and the informant of, his death. [PB: she was already Mary Batt when they were living together with their parents in Lambeth Walk in 1841.]
PB: Robert Street is now a postwar council housing development.
1888 Death registration
Nathan Henry, 58, January Quarter 1888, Pancras, London.
The burial records of the St. Pancras and Islington Cemetery, in East Finchley Road, London, show that he was interred there at 10 a.m on the 29th of March 1888 in a common grave, No. 29 Plot "E", the second interment of a total of six, all buried on the same day.
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1901
1901 Census
26 Ontario Street, St George Martyr, Southwark.
[More than 20 people in 6 households are recorded at this one address.]
Mary Henry [wife], aged 52, Head, Widow, Charwoman, Worker, born Brighton, Sussex.
Amelia Henry [presumably daughter, born c. 1885], 16, Daughter, Single, Printer [?], Southwark, London.
[PB: But is this Nathan Henry's second wife? This Mary would have been born c. 1849, which fits. But in A Chequered Life, I recall he says his second wife died [in Africa? with a number [5?] of children?]. I have not been able to locate any more info about this Mary or Amelia.]
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1941
1941? Remarkably [astonishingly?), Nathan Henry is mentioned in Cecil Roth's Presidential Address, "The Jews in the Defence of Britain, Thirteenth to Nineteenth Centuries", delivered at Magdalen College at the start of the Second World War "Nathan Henry, who rode in the charge of the Light Brigade and was captured" [p.20].
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1983?? EJB acquires manuscript?
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199? Ref in Italian website
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Other refs