George Burrell (1817-1907) Baptist Minister

More writings by James BURRELL

Lines to my brother George, after a visit to Bristol & Weston Super Mare

I feel now inclined
To write you a line
At this season when all of you meet
I cannot be there
Your pleasures to share
But each of you now, I would greet

Some good times we had
Only one that was sad
And that was at Weston, you know
When we rushed from that place
And, in our haste
I think you then hurt your poor toe (afterwards turned to an attach of Gout)

We felt very sad, to
Find you so bad,
The day we arranged to go out
But twas all for the best
We know not the rest
But shall know hereafter no doubt

I have thought, who can tell
If you had been well
Where that foot would have led you that day
Perhaps, on the Rock
Or some slippery spot
Thus prevented you were kept away

It is on record, in the word
of the Lord, "I'll not suffer thy foot to be moved"
That word was fulfil'd
Tho the flesh did rebel, but Faith, the same can approve

And again do we hear
The Psalms declare
"Thou shalt hold me by my right hand"
The hand on the right is foremost to fight
Tis only by Grace! That we stand

JB

From the writings of James BURRELL

Lines composed by Edward Bentley BURRELL, on the sudden death of his dear Mother, on the 2nd April 1879

Alas! Our dearest earthly friend is gone, without the slightest warning from us torn
Oh Mother! Could we once more hear thy voice, our deeply saddened hearts would then rejoice

But we shall never more behold her here, no more receive her loving words of cheer;
Those eyes, so often wet with tears for us, will never shed a tear of sorrow thus

A gap is made! and always will remain, for none on earth can fill that gap again
The cares of life that once disturbed her breast are gone for ever, for she's now at rest

She's crossed the sea of time, and reached that shore where sorrow, sin and death shall be no more:
And now in heaven she lives, a glorious saint, and sings the song of Grace without restraint

Full forty years she knew and loved the Lord, and helped to spread His wondrous Grace abroad
She bore the Cross, but now has laid it down, and in those glorious Mansions, wears a crown

Her day of care on earth is now complete, the night came on, she sweetly fell asleep
Her mortal body we shall no more see, for in the grave it rests from pain set free

In peaceful solitude her dust shall sleep, till Christ himself shall call her from the deep
Then, at his bidding she shall quickly rise, and join her happy spirit in the skies

In Heaven to spend a long eternal day, where radiant joy, and bliss can ne'er decay
One glorious Object there attracts her mind; in Him perpetual bliss she'll always find

We will not weep, for soon the time will come when we shall join her in that happy home;
Life's little day on earth will soon be passed, and we shall reach the Glory world at last

Note to James' granddaughter Beatrice - PS the above lines were written by your cousin 'Ted' who soon followed his dear Mother home  JB

From The Bristol Mercury, Thursday, December 7, 1893 - Accident at the Drill Hall

At the Drill Hall

Collapse of a Gallery

Fall of 400 People

List of the Injured

Plenty of novelty and excitement had been promised concerning last night’s entertainment at the Drill Hall, but nothing approaching the sensation which transpired was, of course, either promised or expected.

Those who knew anything of Prof. Smith’s interesting performances were fully prepared to see the hall well filled, in view of the special circumstances of the occasion, but the most sanguine never dreamt that there would be such a demand for seats, and the management of the show could hardly have surmised that the performance would be so popular. In expectation of a full house, persons who had secured tickets went unusually early; but after half-past seven there was hardly any getting into the building, and it was only by persistent pushing or by the friendly help of the police that ticket holders could effect an entrance.

 At a quarter to eight the scene inside the premises was a notable one. Temporary galleries running all round the building had been constructed, and with the exception of the highest priced seats – which were marked 4s, but called as 6s – every place was crowded. The crush was greatest in the shilling gallery, and it was here that the mishap occurred subsequently. Long before eight o’clock the doors had been closed, but still the people seemed everywhere struggling for seats, and many who were unable to find places on the cheaper sides of the house rushed over to the reserved gallery, which a few seconds later they were requested to vacate. Most of them obeyed the request, and the crush in the shilling gallery as the disturbed ones forced their way up through the dense mass of people became tremendous.

The gallery, it should be explained, was built in four sections, the two inner ones of which gave way. It was composed of new, stout timber, but in the opinion of many who afterward examined the material it lacked sufficient support for a structure which was to bear the weight of so much human life.

The officials of the show were busy getting people to their places at a few minutes after eight o’clock, when, without the slightest warning, the shilling gallery – at the end nearest to the Salisbury Club – collapsed. Simultaneously with a cry of alarm throughout the building all eyes turned in the direction of the gallery, the occupants of the middle two sections of which were seen to throw up their arms and disappear from view almost gently as the timbers broke or were torn from their fastenings one after another.

Some idea of the nature of the gallery may be gathered from the fact that there were some 18 or 20 planks for seats running up from the enclosure to the wall, and it was estimated that from 400 to 500 persons crowded the two inner sections. Seeing that those on the back seats must have fallen a distance of 20 feet or more, it was feared that the calamity was one which would be attended with fatal results, but fortunately the consequences proved to be not of so serious a nature.

Persons in the front or lower seats of the structure were very soon on their legs again and away into the enclosure, but it was some time before those behind could be got out from the confuses mass of human beings and broken timber forming one huge heap. To their credit, the remainder of the immense audience behaved admirably, and by sitting still enabled the show officials and the police to proceed uninterruptedly with the work of rescue.

Those of the galleryites who had escaped unhurt made their way to places in the reserved gallery, from which they were no longer excluded, and to the great relief of everybody present it was soon found not only that there was nothing worse than injury but that those hurt numbered less than a dozen. So far as could be seen only one woman and one boy were amongst those who fell and apparently they escaped, like the majority, with a severe shock to the system.

No time was lost in attending to the wants of the injured who were removed to the Royal Infirmary. Valuable help was rendered by a large number of police under Chief Supt. Cann and Supt. Croker, and a little later the scene of the accident was visited by the Chief Constable. After an examination, it was considered that the two sections of the gallery still standing were in a safe condition, and they were very largely occupied throughout the evening, despite the ominous looking gap between them.

All this had brought the hands of the clock to half-past eight, and then Prof. Norton B Smith found time to address a few words to the two thousand or so who, by their exemplary conduct, had prevented the development of a very alarming incident into a panic. It was a fortunate circumstance, in one sense, that very few women – probably less than a dozen – were present, although in justice to the sex it should be stated that the few who were there behaved no less admirably than did the men.

In addressing his audience, Professor Smith stated that it was his first accident in the course of many years’ experience; and, expressing deep regret at what had occurred, he took the opportunity of clearing the management so far as he could from responsibility for the mishap. He stated that the galleries had been erected by a contractor in the city – he ignored cries of “Name” – and that in good faith the management left the work in his hands. To this the manager (Mr Nat Behrens) added a few words, and, after blaming the people for the unseemly rush for places, he announced that the feeling of the management would prompt them – he promised on behalf of Professor Smith and himself – to give the proceeds of that evening to the sufferers by the accident, a statement which, of course, was hailed with a loud outburst of applause.

It was 8.40 when Professor Smith began the performance, and his first subject was a horse belonging to Mr George White, of Cotham. The animal was a very nervous one, but the professor, probably upset to some extent by the occurrence of a few minutes before, seemed to have more than usual trouble in reducing the animal to control and quietude in the extraordinary conditions to which he subjects all horses sent into the ring.

The audience showed some signs of impatience when the second subject proved not to be Mr Shellard’s stallion; but they were advised to wait a few minutes, and at 9.40 the promised event of the evening arrived. The stallion, a black, ungainly looking brute, was brought into the ring wearing mask and muzzle, and, with all eyes upon him, was led to the middle of the enclosure.

The professor explained that never before had he seen the animal, and gave as the horse’s record that he had killed one man and bitten the arm off another. The horse’s mask having been taken off, he was surrounded by Mr Smith’s assistants and, by means of a number of ropes wound around him, was thrown to the ground, kicking and struggling tremendously. He was then safely secured in the manner adopted by Professor Smith – by reins and ropes attached to the front fetlock joints – and thus bound he proved as quiet a subject as either of the horses previously dealt with, remaining quiet during the beating of drums and firing of revolvers: allowing the professor to place his hand in its mouth over and over again, and going quietly in harness during the blowing of the steam whistle and the infliction of other tests.

Every act of the professor and his assistants were followed with the closest attention, and the accomplishment of test after test was hailed with an outburst of applause, clearly indicating the fullest satisfaction of the spectators. Owing to the late hour the programme had to be shortened, and at the close it was announced that Mr Shellard’s stallion would be amongst the subjects to be dealt with at greater length to-night. The tremendous crowd of people awaiting the close of the performance interfered somewhat with the outlet, and consequently more than the usual period of time was occupied in discharging the building of its immense audience; but as far as was observable everything passed off in the most orderly manner.

Outside The Gates

Many of the people who crowded Queen’s Road immediately prior to the accident had been disappointed at learning that all the shilling seats in the Drill Hall had been taken; but notwithstanding repeated explanations to this end pressure around the entrance to the building continued. “No more shilling tickets” was the managerial order; and soon, some time before eight o’clock, Mr Nat Behrens had to announce from the gates that the two shilling section of the house had also been filled.

The gates had to be closed, some impatience being exhibited by people in the crowd; and the hasty intimation conveyed to Mr Nat Behrens that something was amiss inside was only imperfectly understood by those who blocked the roadway.

But in a few minutes matters were made more clear; and interest and anxiety were at once aroused on two injured persons being carried to a cab. They were a man named Brewer, and a boy named Young. Detective Inspector Robertson, who had witnessed the accident, and had assisted in extricating the injured from the shattered timbers amongst which they had fallen, had found Brewer lying head downwards, jammed between portions of woodwork, Young being on top of him.

The wonder was that they results of the accident, so far as these particular cases were concerned, were not more grave; as it was Brewer was unconscious when removed, Young having previously been carried to a place of safety on the shoulders of a man, who promptly volunteered assistance. Detective Inspector Robertson recognising the importance of the sufferers receiving medical attention without delay, lost no time in getting them outside the hall, where a private cab happened  to be stationed. Without waiting to make inquiry, he had his charges carefully placed in the vehicle, and the driver at once conveyed them to the Infirmary, where they were soon in the casualty ward.

Meanwhile, rumours spread alarmingly. The hurried departure of the cab sent to the Infirmary was sufficient to set questions and conjecture afoot; and in a short time the place was besieged with eager inquirers. The police, strengthened by the arrival of several constables, did their best to regulate traffic and maintain a clear space for the ingress and egress of those whom duty summoned to the Drill hall. Every incident caused commotion amongst the hundreds of people who speedily blocked the thoroughfare.

Following Detective Inspector Robertson’s departure, there was the hasty journey of Inspector Gotts to the central police station for the ambulance wagon and the hand stretcher. The stretcher from the Clifton station was also sent for, and there was work for both stretchers and the wagon when they were brought on the scene. Reliance was not placed on these alone. Cabs were requisitioned, so that time should not be wasted in despatching people who were hurt to the Infirmary, and so promptly were these labours discharged that it was calculated by a quarter to nine all the sufferers had been removed. But by this hour public excitement had become if anything more intensified.

Rumours of a most alarming character had gone abroad, and from all parts of the city and Clifton, people had come to glean the latest particular. With the gates closed and admission to casual inquirers refused, it was freely surmised that the performance within the building had been stopped, and in many instances imagination went far wide of the mark in picturing the nature of the accident. The police did their best to satisfy those who were solicitous for the safety of friends believed to be inside the hall, but it was not until the evening had considerably advanced that false alarms were effectively negitived, and the crowd, which at one time numbered, it was estimated, upwards of 3000 people, diminished. And not until the building was emptied of its audience between ten and eleven o’clock did the people entirely disperse.

At The Infirmary

List of the Wounded

The news of the accident quickly spread, and immediately the police at the Central Station received information of what had occurred the police ambulance was sent up to the Drill hall to facilitate the removal of the injured to the Infirmary.

Those who were earliest extricated from the mass of fractured timber and needed surgical treatment were driven down in cabs to the institution, and the rest were brought there in the ambulance. The first of the sufferers was admitted about a quarter past eight, and others kept arriving for fully half an hour more, and all the injured were taken into the casualty room, where they were attended to by Mr W J Hill (the house surgeon), Mr H L Ormerod (the house physician), Mr E H Clarke (one of the resident staff) and Mr Beavis (student for the week).

A large crowd assembled outside the Infirmary, people from all parts of the city flocking there to learn if their friends were among those hurt, and the officials in the porters’ lodge were kept well occupied for a long time in replying to the many anxious inquiries continually made.

Five of the men admitted – apparently no women were injured – received treatment and were then able to leave for their own homes, but in a similar number of cases the medical staff ordered their detention in the institution. One of these latter came from Newport and of the others, two came from neighbouring villages. It would seem that the audience at the Drill hall contained a large sprinkling of people who had come from places around Bristol, attracted to the hall by the novelty of the entertainment.

The injured persons taken to the  Infirmary were:-

Joseph Williams (17), Westbury-on-Trym; fractured ribs and thigh

Thomas Pope (47), 23 Deacon Street, Dean lane; fractured ankle

William Templer (32), 145 Whitehouse lane, Bedminster; broken leg

John Blake (37), 31 Baldwin Street, Newport; fractured ribs and arm

Samuel Wall (60), Dundry; injury to eye and ankle

Not Detained

Edward Young  (14), 30 Bedford street, Stapleton Rd, injured leg

Henry Brewer (37) 7 Bush lane, Easton; cut head

Cornelius Burrell (36) Wardlow road, Bedminster; injured arm

George Bakehouse (62) 116 Hotwell road; injured ankle

William Parchler (16) 116 Oxford street, Totterdown;  injured ankle

—

Narrative of the Accident

Williams, the most seriously hurt of the injured, was accompanied to the hall by a party of friends from Westbury, and among them was Chas. Partridge, a gardener living in the village, who, in an interview with a Mercury reporter, said that he and his companion occupied shilling seats, about the sixth row from the top at the far end of the hall, facing the clock.

The place was crowded; and the Professor, on entering the arena, requested several people standing in the enclosure to find seats, as he would not allow anyone to stand during the performance. They were accommodated with seats, and the Professor began a few preliminary remarks before giving his exposition of horse taming. Suddenly, whilst he was speaking, there was a crash; and, continued Williams, “the seats where were sitting gave way, and all the people in that part fell with the falling timber in a confused mass. Two or three women who had been sitting near fell with us, and one was almost alongside me.

The smashing of the woodwork and the cries of the injured caused intense excitement and the people from the other parts of the hall crowded round where the accident had occurred. I happened, very fortunately, to drop between one of the planks, but there were several people on top of me, and though I heard Williams calling to me for assistance – he was crushed between the timber – I could not get to him until I had been extricated. I must have been lying there for about ten minutes; but directly I was free, with the help of others, I got Williams out from the debris. We could see he was badly hurt and suffering great pain.

Two or three gentlemen – doctors or students, I suppose – finding that his thigh was broken, strapped him up as well they could; and as by this time the police had arrived, and had cleared the crowd away from that part of the building, we were able to convey the poor fellow on a stretcher to the police ambulance, I went with him to the Infirmary, and saw him taken into the casualty room to be attended to. As for myself, I did not trouble the doctors, although my back was very sore, through the weight of the people who fell on top of me.”

On inquiry at midnight at the Infirmary we learnt that the five persons detained there were making as favourable progress as could be expected, including Williams, who, we were informed, would probably recover from his serious injuries.

• Cornelius Burrell (1857-1928) —was a haulier who lived in the Bedminster area most of his life. 

Tokens of love?

Most families have a few trinkets that have survived the years, often without the accompanying background story. Here are a couple of ours.

Chinese coin:

This is a Hu Poo 20 cash coin dating from around 1903-1905. Not particularly rare and not valuable, I understand, but how did it end up in suburban Bristol?









Engraved token:

This token, inscribed "Th'o absent ever dear - June 15 1835 - from H Jones to Catherine Burrell" might, at first glance, be easier to explain. But to date we haven't found a link to a Catherine Burrell nor an H Jones. Presuming that Catherine was an adult in 1835, she may have been sister, aunt or other relation to my 2xgt grandfather James BURRELL (born in 1826), but since the token was passed into our branch of the family, I think it unlikely that she had children of her own.

The two coins might, of course, not be linked at all, but they both seem to originate from our Burrell ancestors. I'm aware that 1835 was an era when missionaries were being expelled from China. My 2xgt grandfather, James BURRELL, had an elder brother George who was a Baptist Minister, and the family were strongly linked with the church, so perhaps there's a missionary connection there. Any ideas welcome!!

An Unhappy Woman, and a Maritime Connection

My paternal grandmother's ancestors were always something of a mystery to me, as she talked very little about her family, and died when I was young. Talking to other family members didn't help much, as we weren't in touch with her close family, and the furthest I could go using verbal history was her mother, Lilian Lenda CARTER, born about 1889 and probably in Essex. 

Lilian as a young adult

I have never been able to find a birth registration or baptism for Lilian Lenda CARTER. She is variously enumerated on the censuses as having been born in "Hounslow, MDX" and "Onslow, ESSEX". I suspect her given name at that time was simply Lilly as that is how she appears in the 1891 census, where she appears with both parents, Charles Andrews CARTER and Sarah Elinda nee THOMPSON. Lilian's mother, Sarah Elinda THOMPSON, was born in Harwich in 1866, the daughter of Thomas Turner THOMPSON and Elizabeth GARNETT. I am intrigued by the unusual second name, Elinda, and don't know its origins.

Sarah, sadly died in childbirth at the age of 25; her infant son Charles Thomas CARTER survived, and can be found in 1901 living with his paternal grandmother Harriet CARTER in Kent. I can find no trace of him after that. Sarah's young daughter, then simply enumerated as Lily CARTER, is with her maternal grandfather Thomas Turner THOMPSON and the housekeeper Eliza in 1901, whilst her father has remarried and is living with his new family in Dovercourt. I think there was some contact between father and daughter, but Lilian's father had himself had a very difficult childhood and had lost a parent very young.

By 1909, at age 17, Lily had reinvented herself as "Lilian Lenda", (perhaps this was a reference to her mother's middle name Elinda) and was married to 31yr old Albert Edwin THORN, a brewer's clerk from Thetford. It wasn't a happy marriage, although 8 children were born. One of the rare stories my grandmother Irene told about her youth was of being bullied by her 3 older brothers and I understood she was expected to care for her 4 younger sisters - other relatives told me that Lilian 'was often ill and frequently bed-bound'. I suspect that Lilian suffered from severe depression.

Lilian and her first husband Albert Edwin Thorn

Lilian's husband Albert, much older than her, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 64. Lilian's children were adult by this time, so she sought work, and as this was during WW2, we know that she spent some time as a nurse.

Lilian as an adult

Lilian later became a housekeeper for a recently widowed James Dale BEAVEN, a businessman. The couple married in 1942, but the relationship remained very much one of householder & servant, and Lilian left him after a few unhappy years. Her last home was with her eldest son, sleeping on his sofa, and the verdict at her inquest was that she committed suicide. She was 59.

Moving back a generation, Lilian's grandfather Thomas Turner THOMPSON was a mariner in his younger years, following in his father George's footsteps -  in fact he was born in Coastguard Cottages at Cromer - but later he worked for the railways as a quay foreman in Harwich. Thomas's wife, Elizabeth GARNETT, came from a large Harwich fishing family and was one of 11 children. They had strong links with the Navy and descendants can be found in several parts of the globe.

Thomas and Elizabeth had 6 children;
Thomas Daniel born 1860, married Alice EVERETT, died 1908
Elizabeth Sarah Ann b 1862, married Edward TURTON, died 1934
Sarah Elinda b1866, married Charles Andrews CARTER, died 1891
Ellen Brown b1870, nothing further known after 1881
Clara Rebecca b1873, nothing further known after 1891
Hilda b1875, died 1897

Elizabeth died in 1889 and Thomas didn't remarry, but is thereafter enumerated with a housekeeper, Eliza JUBY nee NIXON, until his death in 1916.

Crawling backwards, faster

From time to time I check in on the National Archives site to see what's new there. It's an incredible resource although some patience and determined searching is needed to get results, especially if you are researching a common name, or a surname that is also a commonly used word - try BINDING or CATER, for example, and you pull up all kinds of documents which contain those words.

This week, however, I discovered some new leads on my CATER ancestors in Bedfordshire - documents from Leicester & Rutland Record Office have been included since my last visit. They mention my ancestor Andrew CATER, clerk of Elstow, and his wife Alice nee CLARKE, and property in the village of Wrestlingworth. Entering "Wrestlingworth" as a search term gave me lots of CLARKE entries, and cross-referencing these with PRO Wills and parish register transcripts has helped me draw up an extensive CLARKE tree, going back a further 2 generations on Alice's maternal and paternal lines. Alice was my 8xgt grandmother, so these are some of the earliest ancestors in my tree. The Wills and some other documents are downloadable, so I don't even need to rely on other people's transcriptions but can struggle through and make my own!

When I began researching in the 1970's, the only way to gain any information was to travel to the locality and search original documents in dusty record offices. My annual holidays were planned around such road trips, often camping nearby, and washing off the grime of the books before tucking into a picnic. Now so much information is online, even scans of original documents, and networking with other researchers allows those of us who can't travel much the chance to check transcripts against the originals. What might have taken months or years to discover can now be done in minutes, from an armchair at home.

But it's important not to lose sight of the need to check transcripts against original sources, and to look for corroborating evidence. Just because your ancestor had an uncommon name, for example, not everyone with that same name is related! Newer ways of working have cut corners for us, but the method remains the same.