Massam Family Album

This account of the research into the Massam family album was written in 2011. It was the first research I had undertaken into Victorian photography. At the start I had no access to Ancestry and the British newspaper archives had just been launched, with less than 1 million pages on line. Today there are over 40 million pages online. So at some stage I will look at this again and perhaps find new information.

Whilst visiting an antiques fair at Doncaster Racecourse in 2011 I came across an old family photo album full of Cabinet and Carte De Visite photographs. At the front of the album the following words were transcribed. "To Laura Massam from her Dear Mother 1890. "

The album was intact, in good condition and the photos did not look like they had been tampered with or changed, as is often the case with old albums. I was fascinated by the photos and wanted to know more not only about the photos themselves, but about the Massam family. How had this wonderful family album ended up at and Antiques fair? So my search for the Massams began.

The album has over 50 photos from 37 different photographic studios mostly in the UK, and mostly taken the 19th century. Five of the photos were taken in Waterbury in the USA, and some in Capetown, South Africa. What links did the Massams have with these places?

The first photo in the album was an elderly gent, taken by R Slingsby. He was obviously, a very accomplished photographer, as can be seen from all the medals he had won in photographic competitions. Only the best for this man. The last medal is dated 1882 so it must have been after this date that the photo had been taken. Was this Laura Massam's father?

Not having subscribed to ancestry.com in 2011 I started with a search on Freecen. Searching for Laura Massam, the results returned one entry. Laura Massam from Normanby Lincolnshire. Many of the photos in the album were taken in Lincolnshire. Had I struck lucky and was this the Laura Massam I was looking for? Further investigations revealed that her brother was called George Hardy Massam. As one of the photos had Hardy written on the back this was good evidence I was on the right track. So I made the assumption I had the right Massam Family and began looking into their family tree, always keeping open the possibility that it may be the wrong family. One other picture towards the back of the album was of a chap with horse and cart. On the side of the cart is written E Dickinson, Baker, Owmby. Owmby just happens to be the adjoining village to Normanby by Spital which lies some 10 miles north of Lincoln. This picture convinced me I was on to the right Massams. The back of the Dickinson picture is a post card with what is called a split back where the address and message appears on the same side. This design wasn't really used until after 1902 when it became legal to send post cards with the message on the same side as the address. This shows that some photos were added to the album after 1890. The Head of the Massam family in Normanby was George Snr and in the 1891 census he is listed as a Wheelwright, Farmer and Licenced Victualler, living at the Bottle and Glass Inn, Normanby by Spital. A photo of the Inn is shown here, but this is not from the album.

I decided to visit Normanby by Spital and found a scroll in St Paul's Church in Normanby, with R C Massams name on it. The scroll had been painted by a injured Belgian soldier who was housed in the village in 1916. It is entitled Roll of Honour, a list of men from Owmby and Normanby serving with his majesties forces. A picture of the scroll also appears in the book "They went to War" Normanby by Spital and Owmby by Spital. The book is available from Lincoln library. Other Massams mentioned in the book are George Massam who served in the 1st World War whose parent was Sarah Massam, who was the proprietor of the Bottle and Glass inn. This George was is in fact George Hardy Massam (b1875) son of George(snr) and Sarah. Also mentioned in the book is Robert Charles Massam a serving member of the forces from Normanby. This list is dated 1914. I think this is an error in the book and should say Robert Castor Massam. So it seems George Hardy was left at home in 1901 whilst his two brothers served in South Africa, but he joined up to serve in the First World War, along with his brother Robert Castor. If E. W. Massam is Ernest William Massam of Normanby then it looks like he made his way to South Africa, joined up there, and then decided to stay on after the war. Although, there are records of him travelling back to Southampton in 1904, and then returning to South Africa five months later. This will have to be confirmed by further searches of military records.A few weeks after buying the Massam album I went back to the dealer I bought it from and asked where he had acquired the album. He said that he had bought it in a Barnsley auction and it appeared to be part of a house clearance sale. He bought the album along with a scrap book from France which was dated just after the first World War. Both items were bought together from the auction. Prior to me buying the Massam album from the dealer he had sold the scrap book to another person. Could this have been the scrap book of George Hardy or Robert Castor? It is tragic that these two items were separated.

Links to the USA

18th April 2011 Came across some information that Jacques Massam sailed from Liverpool to New York in 1846 on the Lanarkshire with his wife Catherine and children Ann, Jemima, Jane, Harriott Cawthorne and Edwin Cawthorne. Jacques was brother to Hardy who was George Massams (b1829) father. Could this be the link to America?

Added Jacques to the family tree. It seems both Jacques and Catherine had been married before and may have sailed to America with children from both sides of the family.

A marriage is recorded on the website http://mi.lincolnshiremarriages.org.uk/ which shows Jacques getting married to Catherine on 8/12/1840 and she is shown as widow in the 1841 census..

Visit to Normanby by Spital

More Massams in Normanby - William Massam's Family.

Searching the data on Ancestry.com I came across some information dated 1873 that said that some 14 Acres in Normanby belonged to William Massam. William turned out to be the uncle of George Snr and had moved to the village with his family probably in the 1850s from nearby Glentham, although he was born in Sutterton. William was married to Mary and had a family, Elizabeth, Sarah, William (Jnr) and Mary(Jnr). William (Jnr) died when he was very young and by 1861 he doesn't appear on the census. The 1861 census also shows that William (Snr) was farming 41 acres and the families address was 'Farm House'

Sometime between 1871-1873 George (snr) moved his family to Rippingale to Normanby by Spital, so there were two Massam Families living in Normanby, both related by William (snr) being the uncle of George (snr).

30th April 2011 visited Normanby by Spital. Found the graves of Sarah, George and Felix in the church yard of St Pauls in Normanby. The graves are located very close to the Bottle and Glass Inn which is next to the church. Chatted to local residents of Normanby and the current landlord of the Bottle and Glass Inn, all were helpful and friendly. There happened to be an open day at another local church and an elderly lady said that she remembered a George Brewitt the butcher who had his shop just opposite St Pauls Church. Laura Massam had married Brewitt Staniland in 1899. The 1911 census shows George Brewitt as the son of Brewitt Staniland and Laura Staniland nee Massam and shows Brewitt Staniland's occupation as a butcher. So it seems George Brewitt carried on the butchers business after his father and that Laura had married a butcher.

In the album there is a picture of an old cottage which is next door to a thatched cottage. I found two pictures of the same house in a book entitled Rippingale Village by Atkinson and Cottam. According to the book the thatched cottage on the right of the picture was struck by lightening during a storm on 17th May 1918 and widow Elsom was taken to the poor house in Bourne the very next day. The1871 census for Rippingale shows the George and Sarah Massam living next door to the Elsoms. There are also carts in the picture and George Massam was a wheelwright. So all the evidence points to this picture being George and Sarah Massams house and was probably taken about 1871 before the family left for Normanby. The people in the picture may have been George and Sarah with children Felix, Clara, Ernest William and small baby Robert Castor.

Normanby by Spital School

By 1878 a new school had been built in Normanby and William Amistead Downham was appointed as headmaster. He came from Yorkshire and had been headteacher at other schools in Yorkshire. He was about 40 when he was appointed as head at the school. He met Mary Massam the daughter of William (snr) and married her in 1888. This was the first connection that the school had to the Massams although I guess all the Massam children were being taught there. Assuming the children were taught up to the ages of 14/15 which was the custom at the time then in 1878 the children of George (snr) would have been at the school. Clara aged 11, Robert Castor aged 10, Ernest William aged 8, and Laura Massam aged 5. George Hardy would have been just aged 3. They didn't attend the school on the opening day which was 10th March 1879 when 80 children arrived for school but they may have attended within the following 2 weeks when the numbers of children increased to 134.

According to a booklet produced in 1978 to celebrate the centenary of the school (available from Lincoln library) W A Downham was headmaster from 1879 to 1886 and then W W Clay took over as headmaster. W W Clay was in fact William Wallace Clay. In the 1911 Census he is shown living in Normanby with wife Ellen who was a part time needlework teacher.

By 1887 Laura Massam had reached the age of 14 and it was time to leave the school but she must have been taken on as a member of staff and is shown in the centenary booklet as being a 'monitor' . The 1891 census shows her occupation being a 'Pupil teacher B school' In 1892 she left the school in the same year George (snr) her father died. An apprenticeship for a pupil teacher was about four years and from time to time teachers had to take examinations usually in Lincoln.

In the Massam album there are two class photos of children at the school and since Laura lived a few doors away from the school at the Bottle and Glass Inn and she was teaching at Normanby school it can only be assumed that these are pictures of the children of Normanby by Spital Primary school and were probably taken between 1887-1892 when Laura was teaching there. On the same page of the album there is a portrait photo of an elderly bearded gentleman who also appears in the school picture with the children. This could be William Wallace Clay the headmaster although there is an outside chance because of the relationship between Mary Massam and William Armistead Downham that it could be a photo of Mr Downham and that the children's picture may have been taken at the opening of the school in 1878. The photos are of the Carte de Visite type and although there is no photographers name on the class photos there is on the portrait photo. The photographer was Charles Law of Bridge Street Northampton. The design on the back of the photo shows a medal that was won in 1884 by the studio so this dates the photo to be on or after 1884.

Another person in the family tree is Fred Gothorpe who was also a pupil teacher at the school from between 1883 and 1889.

Robert Castor Massam

A member of the family has now got in touch and identified Robert Castor Massam and provided a further picture of him taken by Caleb C Smith. There are two other pictures in the album by this photographer they are of an elderly lady and gentleman. Caleb C Smith was born in 1864 in Skirbeck Lincolnshire and in the 1881 census aged 17 he is shown as apprentice. By 1891 he is shown as photographer. A trace of him in the Kellys directories shows him operating from 1 Norman Place Lincoln from about 1887 to 1907 after that the studio was taken by Harry Walker. Prior to 1887 it was used by Alfed Twigg Osbourne. On the back of the photos of the elderly people it shows the Caleb C Smith and states that the studio has been established 25 years. which may be true but not necessarily under Caleb C Smiths ownership at that stage. So we can date the photos to between 1887 -1907 but not any more accurate than this. According to the photo historian supplement published by the Royal Photographic Society Caleb Chapman Smith operated from 1 Norman Place between 1886 and 1905 and from 1892-1894 he also had premises at 39 Wide Bargate Boston.

Robert Castor Massam served in Royal Engineers from about 1895. He was one of the soldiers that lined the route for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 . He was promoted to Sgt Major in the Royal Engineers during the Boer War and served in the first world war. After he retired he moved to Exeter where he died in 1941 At the time of his death he was involved in training the local Home Guard ' by whom he was liked for his friendly disposition and interesting service reminiscences' according to a press report, describing him as 'A South African war veteran whose army service included fifteen years in the Royal engineers'. Home Guard officers carried his coffin and among the wreaths was a beautiful tribute " From his Comrades of the Home Guard"

Ernest William Massam (Bill)

Ernest William Massam was also Laura's brother, he was known as Bill to his family also served in the Beor War. He stayed on in South Africa after the war and in fact moved on to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) where he later took up a job as a carpenter at the Roan Antelope Copper Mine near Andola.

Thanks to the family for providing this information and more fascinating stories about Bill and Robert.

Bill married Henrietta Eusebia and they had at least two sons. One of the sons was Ernest Thomas Massam and he died in the second world war piloting an aircraft along the coast of Scotland. His war grave is in Glebe Cemetery Stranraer Scotland . Bill served in the Boer War from 1899 to 1902 he served in the Duke of Edinburgh own volunteer rifles and was later attached to Kitchener's Horse. He was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society and sent specimens from Africa to Kew.

Links to Waterbury

Whilst trying to find the link to Waterbury, Connecticut USA I came across a Hardy Massam Smith (b 1865) who emigrated with his parents and brothers and sisters in 1870. They sailed on the Harvest Queen from Liverpool to New York. They lived in New York for a while and then moved to Waterbury where Hardy Massam Smith married Gertrude Wedge. Waterbury is noted as being the brass town of America and Hardy worked for some time in the Brass industry. His story is told in the book The History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley. George Smith (b 1833) and Jane Smith (b 1833) were the parents of Hardy Massam Smith. Could it be that the maiden name of Jane Smith was Massam and she was in some way related to George Massam (b 1829) from Rippondale/Normanby by Spital. Could this be the link to Waterbury?

In fact George Massam from Rippondale had a sister called Jane Massam (b 1833) and there doesn't seem to be any record of her in the UK after 1861. It is also a strange coincidence that George Massam's father was called Hardy (b 1796) and his wife was Jane Smith(b 1797)

The 1920 US Census shows Jane as Jane M Smith. There is also a record in the LDS database that a Jane Massam Smith died in 1930 in Connecticut. All this leads me to he conclusion that the families are closely related but finding the evidence to prove this is very difficult. The search goes on for records of the Smith family in the UK prior to 1870. There are also records of a Samuel Hardy Massam Smith being born in Leeds and again the search is on to see if he is related.

One of the photos in the Massam Album is that of Hardy taken in Waterbury (Image 3 - the name Hardy written on the back) and also a photo of what looks like the same person taken in Cleethorpes Lincolnshire. (Image 8) These pictures can be viewed on my Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/46013927@N06/sets/72157626218470602/ The positioning of these images as third and eighth in the album could be of significance. Could this Hardy be Laura Massams brother Hardy or Hardy Massam Smith which if the link to Waterbury is proven would be Laura Massam's Cousin.

Another one of the five pictures taken in Waterbury is that of Florence (Image 4) Hardy Massam Smith had a sister called Florence so again this reinforces the link to the Hardy Massam Smith family in the USA