"My brother Ian has the unusual middle name of Algar, and had always wanted to know its origin,” explains Peta McCauley. “He shares it with our grandad and uncle, so it must be significant.”
Peta had already researched the life of her grandfather Joseph Thomas Algar Jackson, who was born in 1899. “I hadn’t found any Algars, but then I discovered his birth certificate among inherited papers. His mother was Edith Elizabeth Jackson, née Algar [pictured above].”
Edith’s marriage certificate provided more intriguing clues. “Her father’s name was Charles Algar, and his occupation was given as ‘artist’. This was fascinating, because Grandad had told me that his grandfather carved church pews for a living.”
Charles Algar married Elizabeth Measey. Like many working-class women, Elizabeth faced huge struggles when her children were young.
She was born in 1850 in the rural parish of Finmere, Oxfordshire. “Elizabeth’s family were agricultural labourers, and she was the youngest of eight children. The Measeys must have been quite poor.
“I traced Elizabeth forward and found her in the 1871 census records working as a housemaid in Hampstead in London. Did she feel homesick being so far from her family and village home?”
Around that time Elizabeth must have met Charles Algar. Their first child Edith, Peta’s great grandmother, was born in 1872 in Hereford. “As a carpenter, Charles would have moved around to where the work was. Over the next five years, the couple had four more children in Tipton, Staffordshire.”
The 1881 census revealed a shock for Peta. “I found Elizabeth living in Tipton with her five children, listed as a widow and living with John Morgan as his housekeeper. Charles Algar had died of typhoid fever in 1877.”
“This must have been catastrophic for Elizabeth,” she adds. “It’s hard to imagine what life was like for a poor, lonely and grief-stricken widow in Victorian times.”
Elizabeth had a son with John, George Morgan Algar. “The relationship didn’t last, however, and Elizabeth took refuge with her brother in West Bromwich.
“Tragically, in 1882 Elizabeth decided to place George in the workhouse because the toddler wasn’t well, and return to Buckinghamshire with her older children. It must have been an agonising decision, but Elizabeth was alone and had four other children to care for. I wonder if she ever saw George again.”
By the 1891 census, Elizabeth was living in Great Horwood, Buckinghamshire, and had two more children. No father was listed on their birth certificates, but they both gave her occupation as “housekeeper”, so perhaps history was repeating itself.
Also, Peta was intrigued to find an old newspaper from 1886 in which Elizabeth was advertising herself as a wardrobe dealer – someone who bought, sold and rented out second-hand clothes. “This was a thriving profession. Photography was immensely popular, and ordinary people wanted to be pictured wearing smart hired clothes that they couldn’t afford to buy.”
Elizabeth was finding stability through her entrepreneurial spirit. In 1891 she married inn landlord James Anstee, although he died three years later. In the following decades, she ran village inns and grew her clothing business.
“Elizabeth passed away in 1939,” says Peta. “Her obituary in the local paper said that she would be greatly missed and that many flowers had been sent.
“She was a resourceful and independent woman, who didn’t succumb to circumstances and overcame immense struggles. Discovering her has made me thank my lucky stars that I have a comfortable life and home.”
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