Paul Bernasconi (1831 - 1900) was born on 6 July 1831 in Ticino, Switzerland.[1] He settled in Norwich on 10 August 1854.[2] On 13 January 1861 he married Ann Brett at Willow Lane Catholic chapel in Norwich.[3] Paul’s father was John Bernasconi, a farmer, and Ann’s father was John Brett, a currier.[4]
Paul and Ann had six children, all born in Norwich and baptized at Willow Lane Catholic chapel: John Paul (1861 - 1928). Henry Joseph (1864 - 1953), Savina Annie (1866 - 1956), Felix Quirrico (1868 - 1920), Louis Arthur (1870 - 1871) and Stephen Alfred (1871 - 1915).[5]
Paul continued Andrew Lewis Caprani's hardware business in White Lion Street and that is where he, his wife, two shopmen and a servant lived on the 1861 census.[6] His name appears in trade directories from 1863[7]:
From 1865 onwards Paul could vote in the Parliamentary elections. On 12 July 1865 he voted for Augustus Goldsmid, Esq., and R.E. Chester Waters, Esq. They both lost the elections. On 17 November 1868 his candidates were Sir William Russell, Bart., C.B., and Jacob Henry Tillett, Esq. Russell was one of the winning candidates. On 12 July 1870 his vote went to Jacob Henry Tillett, Esq., who got most votes. And on 21st January 1871 he voted for Jeremiah James Colman, Esq., the winning candidate.[8]
Paul became a naturalized British subject on 24 January 1866.[9] His referees were Henry Barrow, grocer, George Thirkettle, confectioner, Peter Thomas Scott, brushmaker, and Robert Gidney, watchmaker, all from St Peter Mancroft, Norwich.
From 1871 onwards the family lived in Bethel Street, but the shop was still located in White Lion Street.[10] It was last mentioned in trade directories in 1883.[11] In 1888-1890 Paul and Ann lived at 64 Queen’s Road, but by 1891 they had moved to 2 Barnes Yard and in 1892 the Bernasconi's lived at Colegate Street.[12]
Henry Joseph Bernasconi, Paul’s second son, continued the business at 13, St John's Street, Maddermarket, from the late 1880s onwards, but the shop disappeared from the trade directories in the early 1890s.[13] On the 1891 census he was an architect’s assistant in Thorpe.[14] He moved to London but returned to Norfolk in the mid 1920s to settle in Yarmouth.[15] One of Henry's sons, Felix (1911-2001), worked in the Design department at Jarrolds.[16] John Bridges discovered Felix's paintings when he was clearing his cottage.[17] He catalogued Felix's work and a book was published: 'Norfolk's Hidden Landscapes: The Golden Age of Rural England through the Paintings of Felix Bernasconi', Halstar, 2008.
Paul Bernasconi died at the Great Hospital in Norwich on 26 February 1900.[18] He was buried at the Earlham Cemetery on 3rd March in section T, plot 105.[19] His wife Ann was a foundationer of the Great Hospital on the 1901 census. She was still living there in 1911.[20] She died at the Great Hospital on 10 April 1916.[21]
Notes:
[1] TNA, Naturalization Papers, Bernasconi Paul, from Switzerland, HO 1/128/4942, issued 24 January 1866 The National Archives
[2] Ibid. 1
[3] GRO, marriages, Bernasconi Paul, Norwich, Jan-Mar 1861, vol. 4b, p. 251 Free BMD
Marriage certificate MXF 350409, given on 6 July 2011
[4] Ibid. 3
[5] GRO, births, Bernasconi John Paul, Norwich, Oct-Dec 1861, vol. 4b, p. 147; Bernasconi Henry Joseph, Norwich, Jul-Sep 1864, vol. 4b, p. 145; Bernasconi Savina A, Norwich, Jan-Mar 1866, vol. 4b, p. 154; Bernasconi Felix Quirrico, Norwich, Jul-Sep 1868, vol. 4b, p. 137; Bernasconi Louis Arthur, Norwich, Jan-Mar 1870, vol. 4b, p. 152; Bernasconi Stephen Alfred, Norwich, Apr-Jun 1871, vol. 4b, p. 146
GRO, deaths, Bernasconi Louis Arthur, Norwich, Jan-Mar 1871, vol. 4b, p. 103, 1 year old; Bernasconi Stephen A, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Jul-Sep 1815, vol. 10b, p. 97, 42 years old; Bernasconi Felix, St Faiths, Jan-Mar 1920, vol. 4b, p. 105, 51 years old; Bernasconi Henry J, Great Yarmouth, Apr-Jun 1953, vol. 4b, p. 401, 88 years old; Sykes Savina A, Eastbourne, Jan-Mar 1956, vol. 5h, p. 285, 89 years old Free BMD
NRO, Catholic registers Norwich, MF/RO 618/1
[6] TNA, 1861 Census of England and Wales, Bernasconi Paul, RG9/1217, Folio 158, Page 21 Ancestry
[7] Norfolk Sources, trade directories 1863 - 1892 Norfolk Sources
[8] Ancestry, Poll books, Norwich 1865-1871 Ancestry
[9] Ibid. 1
[10] TNA, 1871 Census of England and Wales, Bernasconi Paul, RG10/1817, Folio 67, Page 11 Ancestry
[11] Ibid. 7
[12] Norfolk Sources, Kelly’s Directory of Norfolk, 1888, p. 475 and 678 Norfolk Sources
TNA, 1891 Census of England and Wales, RG12/1518 Folio 123, Page 20 Ancestry
Norfolk Sources, Kelly & Co's Directory of Norfolk, 1892, p. 738
[13] Ibid. 7
[14] TNA, 1891 Census of England and Wales, Bernasconi Henry, RG12/1522 Folio 55 Page 30 Ancestry
[15] Norfolk Sources, Kelly’s Directory of Norfolk, 1925, p. 696 Norfolk Sources
[16] Portrait of Felix Bernasconi by Albie on Albie's Tales
[17] BBC Norfolk, Interview with John Bridges, BBC Norfolk
[18] GRO deaths, Bernasconi Paul, Norwich, Jan-Mar 1900, vol. 4b, p. 128, 68 years old Free BMD
Death certificate DYD 054655, given on 6 July 2011
[19] NHC, Earlham Cemetery Register of Burials, Book 18, Page 89, Number 471, MF/RO 59
[20] TNA, 1901 Census of England and Wales, Bernasconi Ann, RG13/1841 Folio 138, Page 5
TNA, 1911 Census of England and Wales, Bernasconie Ann, RG14PN11288 RD225 SD1 ED37 SN9999 Ancestry
[21] NHC, Deaths in Norwich, East Wymer, week ending April 15th, 1916, Bernasconi Ann