William and Betsy's first child James
Banfield Moore Harris was born 18th Dec 1820 in Bath
Somerset. He was christened 14th Jan 1821 at St George the Martyr Southwark.
..
The Banfield part of his name originates from his mother's family. Her
father John Neate had a cousin named Bampfield Neate (1767 - 1828). One
of his children was named Bamfield Neate (1808 - 1887). He would have
been a second cousin to Betsy Harris and his unique name formed one of
the middle names of her first born James. Note the spelling changed over
the generations from Bampfield to Bamfield and then to Banfield.
The
Harris family at this time were living at Youngs buildings Southwark.The
above map is dated 1799 and shows the immediate area east of St George
the Martyr Church. Youngs Building were located somewhere on the north
side of White Street.
By the time of the first census in 1841 they were living at Artichoke
Court, Granby Place Lower Marsh Lambeth. James is recorded as being an
errand boy with an uncorrect age of 15.
The
1851
census also records James Banfield Moore Harris and
wife at the Workhouse at St Martin in the Fields near Trafalgar Square
London. James is shown as a stone mason, his wife Sophia as copper nail
maker, and her two year old daughter Elizabeth (Betsy Sophia). The family
were living in the Lower Marsh area of Lambeth in 1849 when Betsy was
born.
When
their next child Emma
Harris was born they were still living in the same
area when she was baptised in September 1851. This would suggest that
Emma was born around the time of the 1851 census in March. This could
be the reason that James & Sophia at this time were at St Martins
Workhouse. Sophia was awaiting the birth of her next child in the Infirmary
whilst her husband worked nearby. Emma Harris was later known in the family
as Emily Sophia Harris and was eventually to marry George Musgrove in
1871.
Lambert William
Harris was born in 1853 and baptised 3oth October
at St Mary Lambeth. The family were now living at 37 South Street Lambeth.
Sophia Harris was born in 1856 and baptised 19th March at St Mary's Lambeth.
The family were now living in Mead Row Lambeth.
1856 also saw a return briefly to the St Martins Workhouse at Trafalgar Square from July to September.
Charles Harris was born 1858 and baptised 10th October at Trinity Church
Lambeth. The family had now moved back to South Street but were living
at number 11.
George Harris was born 1860 and baptised 3rd April 1861 at St Mary Lambeth.
The family were now living at King Street Lambeth. The fortunes of the
Harris family had improved during the 1850's, as by the time the 1861
Census was taken, the family were now sharing a house
at 40 King Street Lambeth. This is the first official record of the majority
of the members. James is listed still as a Stone Mason, his wife Sophia
a copper nail maker. All the children are shown as scholars.
William
Harris was born in 1863 and baptised 1st October 1865 at St Mary Lambeth.
The certificate shows he was baptised with his cousin Alfred Ernest Harris,
the son of James Banfield Moore Harris's brother Walter Harris. The family
are now living at New Street Lambeth.
Ada
Harris was their last child born in 1866 and baptised 9th September at
St Mary Lambeth.The family were still living at New Street.
We have marked all their known addresses on this really nice detailed
1831 map. ..........The
1871 census Shepherds Place Kennington Lane
The 1871
census in April shows the Harris's living at 17 Shepherds
Place, off Kennington Lane Lambeth.
James
Banfield Moore Harris, by 1874, had moved from Shepherds Place, Kennington
Lane to nearby Regent Street in Lamberth.
Tragically his daughter Betsy Sophia Harris died of Typhoid Fever in 1874.
...............James
Banfield Moore Harris marries again
In 1875 James had moved to Allen Street in Lambeth near to South Street
where the family had lived in the 1850's. On 15th May James married his
second wife Elizabeth Burgess
who herself was a widow, her husband Francis having died two years earlier.
They married at the Church of St Mary Lambeth, the same Church that Jame's
daughter Emily had married George Musgrove four years earlier in 1871.
In fact George and Emily are shown as the witnesses on the marriage certificate.
Jame's marriage to Elizabeth could not have lasted long as on 29th August
1875 he married again. He was now living in Neville Street off Upper Kennington
Lane, close to his old home at Shepherds Place where his first wife Sophia
died in 1871. His third
wife Frances Sarah Chancellor was a seemstress aged
38 and had been living and working in the area for a number of years.
She was born in Margate Kent and was the daughter of Matthew Chancellor,
who was a baker and later became Parish Clerk to Holy Trinity Margate.
................The
1881 census at Lambeth Infirmary
What became of James Banfield Moore Harris's 2nd and 3rd wives is a
total mystery. By 1881 the Census records James as a patient at the
Lambeth Infirmary, and his marital status is given widower. This would
suggest that by 1881 his third wife Frances Sarah Harris had died or
remarried. However we can find no records which confirm this. This brings
us to his second wife Elizabeth. What happened to her is equally mysterious
as they were only married for 3 months before James married again. All
Births, Deaths and Marriages were officially recorded by law, and there
were heavy penalties for making false declarations or not registering
these events at all.
James Banfield Moore Harris is shown on the 1891 census as a patient
at the Infirmary at The Lambeth Workhouse.
He is listed as a widower and his occupation as a retired Stonemason.
James Banfield Moore Harris died in September 1896 of chronic bronchitus
at the Lambeth Infirmary. The informant of the death was his son Charles
Harris, who would have been both Lambert's and Emily Musgrove's brother.
..........Children
of James Banfield Moore & Sophia Harris