The Company
During
the Victorian Period the Holyoake family was often
recorded as one of the oldest needle manufacturers[1], and possibly the oldest[2], in the Redditch
area. According to a history written
about the firm in 1892[3], the great-grandfather of
the owner at that time was engaged in needle making prior to 1734 and “from
that time until the present day this old business has been handed down from
father to son”. The grandfather of
Edmund Holyoake, the 1892 owner, was the needle manufacturer Joseph Holyoake
who died in 1817[4]. Joseph was probably born around 1769 based on
the birth of his first child in c1794[5]. If the great-grandfather was
in fact making needles in 1734, he would have to have been born at least 10
years earlier, probably around 1725, which means he would have been 44 years
old when his son was born in 1769. It
was not unusual during the 19th century for a company to claim they were
established the year their oldest ancestor entered a specific trade. Although there is no firm evidence to support
the business being established in 1734, that is the date the company always
claimed it was established in advertisements, such as the one pictured here,
and in listings in several city and trade directories.
The
first real evidence of the firm’s origin is the will of Joseph Holyoke written
in 1817, which states he was a needle and fish hook
manufacturer. After his death in 1817
his two eldest sons, Thomas and Joseph, inherited the
business which they operated as a partnership.
In an 1820[6] directory the company was listed as T. &
J. Holyoake, needle makers, which appears to be the term used at that time to
describe needle manufacturers because all of the
well-known needle manufacturers from Redditch were listed as needle makers that
year. Also, in 1820[7] the company laid the
foundation for a large trade in foreign lands and their high-quality needles
began to be exported to the Cape in South Africa, Australia, Canada
and the United States. From 1823[8] until 1842[9] the firm was consistently
listed as T. & J. Holyoake or Thomas & Joseph Holyoake and in an 1842[10] directory was recorded as
having a factory called Redditch Mills.
However, the 1892 company history indicates they made needles from 1825
until 1844 at Oversley Mill in Alcester[11] then moved to Hoo Mills in Alcester in 1844[12]. In 1832[13] Thomas Holyoake presented
some gold eyed needles to Her Majesty the Queen, who at that time was Princess
Victoria, when she visited Hewell Grange near Redditch. The co-partnership between the brothers
Thomas and Joseph was dissolved by mutual consent in 1847[14] and the needle, pin and fish hook business thereafter was carried on by Joseph
Holyoake.
By
1850[15] Joseph had renamed the
business which became known as Joseph Holyoake and Son because his eldest son
Edmund joined him in the trade sometime around 1839[16]. The firm was listed as being located on Bates
Hill in Redditch in 1850[17], then at Gate Works on
Brockhill Road in 1861[18], but later was listed on
Hewell Road where it continued to be called Gate Works. In 1865[19], in addition to the Gate
Works factory, the firm was recorded with another factory at Hoo Mills in Alcester.
After Joseph died in 1869, his son Edmund ran the business for the rest
of its existence. From sometime around
1878[20] until 1892[21] the firm’s name reverted back to T. & J. Holyoake presumably because of
a family related lawsuit filed against the firm’s agent in London. The lawsuit involved an injunction to
restrain the publication of several documents the plaintiff felt were libel and
injurious to their trade.
In order to
understand the lawsuit[22], one has to go back
several generations. When Thomas and
Joseph inherited their father’s needle business there was another brother named
George who started his own needle manufacturing firm which he named George Holyoake. For a number of
years both companies 
sold
their products to foreign markets including Australia. However, in 1856 S. Thomas & Sons,
another Redditch area needle manufacturer, acquired the George Holyoake
business and merged it with its own.
After the merger, S. Thomas & Sons, who also distributed their
needles to other countries, included in their advertisements that they also
sold Holyoake needles because they continued to produce the type of needles
originally made by George Holyoake. This
was most likely done because the Holyoake name was better known in foreign
markets than S. Thomas & Sons since the Holyoake companies had been around
much longer. This did not sit well with
Edmund Holyoake, the owner of Joseph Holyoake & Son, because he surely felt
it infringed on his firm’s market.
During the Victoria Period there was much competition between the needle
manufacturers, each trying to find ways to outdo their competitors and increase
sales. As a result, the Holyoake
company’s representative, David Williams & Newton of London, created
several trade circulars claiming they were the only legitimate Holyoake needle
manufacturer and that the quality of needles made by others who claimed to be
Holyoake’s were of inferior or poor quality.
When S. Thomas & Sons discovered these documents, they sued. The lawsuit, known as Thomas vs. Williams,
was heard in court in 1879-1880 and an injunction was upheld by the Court of
Appeal. At the end of the trial the
judge said “It appears to me that I must restrain the
issuing of the circular and restrain the Defendants from in any manner
representing or suggesting that the goods now made and sold by the Plaintiff
are imitations of the goods made and sold by Edmund Holyoake.”[23] After the lawsuit ended the company was
listed in the 1885[24] London Post Office
Directory as pictured here. Copies of
the circulars both companies issued when the lawsuit ended can be found in the
Images section of this chapter.
Prior
to 1892[25] Edmund’s eldest son,
Edmund Lyttleton Holyoake, joined his father in the business however the son
died unexpectedly at age 19 later that year.
By 1896[26],
the last time the firm was listed in a city directory, it was again referred to
as Joseph Holyoake & Son. After
Edmund Senior died in 1899, the firm must have been sold or taken over by
another company because it no longer appeared in city or trade directories[27] and by 1904[28] the Gate Works factory on
Hewell Road was now known as Windsor Mills.
Today the factory no long exists and a senior
living complex called Bowood Court and Bowood Mews[29] was built in its place.
The Owners
The
oldest Holyoake that can be traced specifically to needle manufacturing was
Joseph Holyoake, who was born sometime probably during the second half of the
18th century. To distinguish him from
his son with the same name, he will be referred to as Joseph Sr. for the
remainder of this narrative. Not much is
known about Joseph Sr. because few records exist for the time
period in which he lived.
However, when he died in 1817, he left a five page will, although hard
to read because it was handwritten, it provides significant information about
his family. Evidently Joseph Sr. was
married twice and had three sons with his first wife who must have died around
1800. The son’s names were:
Thomas, Joseph Jr. and John. Around 1804
he married his second wife Sukey[30] (aka Susannah) Britten
and they had three children: Suzannah, George and Mary Ann. Joseph Sr.’s will also contained
references to his property and to rather large sums of money for the times
which leads one to believe he was a man of considerable wealth. For example the will states “…also I give and
bequeath unto Samuel Thorpe of Birmingham in the county of Warwick, pin maker,
and John Morrall of Alcester in the county of Warwick, needle maker (my
trustees and executors), hereinafter named their executors and administrators,
the sum of six hundred pounds . . . the needle warehouse, barn, stable and
other outbuildings, stock yard, also all that close piece or parcel of meadow
or pasture land or ground called Littleworth meadow containing by estimate five
acres and twenty-eight perches or thereabout (be the same more or less ) all
which premises are situated and being at Littleworth near Redditch in the
Parish of Tardebigg in the said county of Worcester and now in the occupation
of me the said Joseph Holyoake. . . ”. The will clearly states that Joseph Sr.
was a needle manufacturer from Redditch and he left
his needle and fish hook business to his two eldest sons, Thomas and Joseph
Jr. He also provided provisions for his
third son, John, including payments to be made to him from age 21 to 24. Additional funds were left to his second wife
for the upbringing of the three children he had with her.
While
the two eldest sons, Thomas and Joseph Jr., carried on
the family business under the name T. & J. Holyoake, the two younger sons,
John and George, also worked in the needle trades. More information about Thomas and Joseph Jr.
follows in the next paragraph. It
appears as though Joseph Sr.’s third son, John who was born in c1799 in
Redditch, also became a needle manufacturer, however he may have become
bankrupt in 1836[31]. John married a woman named Charlotte and they
had four children: Catherine, John, Mary Ann and
Eliza. By 1851 the family was living in
Edgbaston, a town about thirteen miles north of Redditch, where John was a
traveler in needles and hooks, perhaps working for his brother’s firm. In 1861 John and his family had moved to
neighboring Aston where he continued to work as a commercial traveler. John died there in 1869. Joseph Sr.’s youngest son George was born
c1809 in Redditch. By 1850 George was
listed as a needle manufacturer in Littleworth, Redditch, however he sold his
needle business to the firm S. Thomas & Sons in 1856. In 1861 George was listed as a merchant
visitor in the Henry English household on Queen Street in Redditch near the
John English & Sons needle factory where George may have worked. Currently, additional information about these
two sons has not been found.
Now back to the sons Thomas and Joseph Jr.
who took over their father, John Sr.’s needle business. Apparently, they renamed the company shortly
after their father’s death in 1817 to reflect their names and it remained that
way until 1847[32]. The oldest son Thomas was born in Redditch in
c1794 and was married twice. Thomas and
his first wife had at least one child, Joseph, before she passed away sometime
before 1849. In 1847 Thomas relinquished
his part of the family’s needle business to his younger brother Joseph Jr. and
the firm became known as Joseph Holyoake & Son. Then in 1849 Thomas married his second wife
Mary Ann Smith in Cheltenham and they had two children together: Francis and
George. With Thomas’s son from his
previous marriage and Mary’s two children from her earlier marriage, Mary Ann
Smith and Thomas Smith, the family now consisted of Thomas and Mary and their
five children. The family lived in
Cheltenham, roughly forty-five miles south of Redditch, for a few years before
returning to Redditch by 1851 where Thomas was listed as a needle and pin
manufacturer. Unfortunately, Mary died
in 1854 when her youngest son was only a year old and Thomas’s eldest son,
Joseph, died sometime between 1851 and 1855[33].
In
1855 Thomas wrote his will which contained extensive family information
including naming his step children and sons as well as
his brothers and their children. In
doing so he provides details about the family that are not available from other
sources. His will also mentions several
properties that he rented to others and includes references to large sums of
money indicating a degree of wealth. For
example is says “Joseph Holyoake my brother and his
son Edmund Holyoake both of Redditch in the county of Worcester needle pin and
fish hook manufacturers having under the firm and name of Joseph Holyoake and
Son of Gate Works that is to say that my brother and nephew aforesaid shall
have the use of such three thousand eight hundred and forty pounds sterling during
the life of my brother Joseph Holyoake”.
Thomas died in Redditch in 1857 at age 63. Possibly because of their inheritance, his
sons choose occupations unrelated to needle manufacturing and since they moved
out of the Redditch area were difficult to follow. His eldest son Francis, who was born in 1849
in Redditch, became a chemist, emigrated to and later
died in Adelaide, South Australia in 1878.
Thomas’s youngest son George Lyttleton Holyoake who was born in 1853 in
Redditch, moved to Birmingham where he married, had two sons of his own that he
named George Lyttleton Holyoake and Francis Goodricke Holyoake and where he
worked as a master baker employing 3 workers for some years. By 1911 George was living in the London area
working as an actor and he died fifteen years later in Battersea in 1926. Because George’s oldest son also named George
died in 1906 at age 28, George, the father, left his estate to his youngest
son, Francis, who was a cycle dealer.
Joseph
Holyoake Jr. was born in c1796 presumably in Redditch. He married Sarah Fairbrother in 1821 in
Burton Dasset, 33 miles east of Redditch, and they
had four children: Edmund, Sarah,
unknown and Catherine. In 1844, the year
his wife died, Joseph Jr. had attained the status of esquire. Around 1839[34] his son Edmund joined him
in the needle business which became known as J. Holyoake and Son by 1847. Joseph Jr. was living temporarily in Glasgow,
Scotland in 1851, presumably on business since he was listed as a visitor and a
needle and pin manufacturer, while the rest of his family was living in the
family residence known as “The Willows” back in Redditch. Joseph Jr. died in 1869 at age 73 and left
his estate to his son Edmund who took over the family’s needle business. Both of his daughters married in the Redditch
area and their husbands were listed as esquires as well. His obituary[35] reads as follows:
“THE
LATE MR. JOSEPH HOLYOAKE. - The
gentleman was a representative man - an energetic leader of one of those old
and highly respectable Firms which trace their origin back to the beginning of
Redditch as a seat of manufacture, and have continued to grow with its growth
up to the present time To such men would
be naturally due a full tribute of respect on this account alone, but in the
case of Mr. Holyoake is also to be added the highest place in public esteem as
an example in all the relations of private life.”
“Mr.
Holyoake had lived to a ripe old age; and his decease has latterly been an
event which must have been expected from day to day.”
Joseph
Jr.’s son, Edmund Holyoake, was born in Redditch in 1822. After he left school, he travelled to foreign
lands for four years. At the time there
were no steam ships and the first class voyage from
Southampton, UK to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa took 13 weeks and four
days[36]. .” By 1851 Edmund and two of his sisters were
living at “The Willows” on Prospect Hill in Redditch where Edmund was working
in the family’s needle business. After
his father passed away in 1869, Edmund carried on the business as J. Holyoake
and Sons which he changed back to T. &. J. Holyoake around 1877 presumable
because of the lawsuit mentioned earlier.
Edmund married Mary Ann Whitehouse in neighboring Ipsley in 1870 and by
1871 was not only a needle manufacturer employing 74 hands but was also a
Justice of the Peace (J. P.)[37]. He continued his role as J. P. for
Warwickshire and later for Worcestershire for at least twenty years. Edmund and Mary Ann had six children: Edmund,
Geraldine, Ernest, Betty, Georgina and Mabel. Edmund died in 1899 at age 76. His obituary[38] says:
“DEATH
OF MR. E. HOLYOAKE, J.P. - We regret to record the death, which occurred early
yesterday (Friday) morning, of Mr. Edmund Holyoake, J. P., at his residence,
“The Willows”, Prospect-hill, Redditch.
The deceased gentleman had been in failing health for some time, but had been in the habit of attending to the
transactions of the firm, of which he was the head, until within the last few
days and his death occurred rather suddenly as stated above, the cause being
failure of the heart’s action.”
“Mr.
Holyoake, who was born on June 5th, 1822, was in the 77th year of his age. After leaving school he was not considered
strong enough to enter upon the cares and worries of a business life, and travelled for some time on the Continent. At the age of 17 he was admitted a partner of
the firm of Messrs. Joseph Holyoake and Son, needle, fish-hook
and pin manufacturers, a position he occupied until his death. In June, 1862, he
was appointed Commissioner of Taxes, which position he held for a considerable
number of years. During the same year he
was appointed a Justice of the Peace, and for several years was a constant
attendant at the Redditch Petty Sessions, but it is now some years since Mr.
Holyoake last sat upon the Bench. A Conservative in politics and a staunch
Churchman, the deceased gentleman nevertheless took little part in the public
affairs of the town, for which his modest and retiring disposition was
responsible. Courteous and genial in manner, Mr. Holyoake was beloved by a wide
circle of friends, who will keenly mourn his death. Moreover, his honourable and stainless career won for him the respect and
esteem of all with whom he came in contact.
In 1870 Mr. Holyoake married Miss Mary Ann Whitehouse, of Ipsley Court,
who, with a son and daughter survive him.”
“The
date of the funeral is not yet fixed.”
Because
his eldest son Edmund Lyttleton Holyoake died at age 19 in 1892, Edmund left
his estate to his wife, his brother-in-law and to his neighbor Edgar Robert
Smith Bartleet, one of Redditch’s leading needle manufacturers. Although the Holyoake needle business was no
longer in existence after his death, his wife Mary Ann continued to be listed
as having a private residence at “The Willows” in 1900 and 1912[39]. The map here shows where “The Willows”[40] was located, directly
across the street from S. Thomas & Sons British Mills needle factory and
next to the Bartleet residence known as “The Shrubbery”. Mary Ann died in the Redditch area in 1920.
It is hard to say whether the Holyoake
family in the needle business in Redditch was related in any way to the more
famous Holyoake family from the area, that of Sir Francis Lyttelton
Holyoake Goodricke[41], Baronet of Studley
Castle. It seems likely because the
Holyoake needle manufacturers gave several of their children the middle
names Lyttleton and Goodricke. Sir
Francis was a descendant of William Holyoake of Morton Bagot, a village
approximately seven miles east of Redditch.
Sir Francis’s father, who was named Francis Holyoke, was born in 1766
and in 1795 married Dorothy Elizabeth, the only daughter and heir of Robert
Lyttleton of Alcester, the son of Robert Lyttleton of Studley Castle. The father died in 1835. Sir Francis was born in 1797 and he took the
name of Goodricke in addition to and after that of Holyoake in 1833 out of
respect to the memory of Sir Harry Goodricke who bequeath to him the Goodricke
estates. He died in 1865[42] in Sherborne
House, Malvern Wells, Worcestershire and was buried in the cemetery of the
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Studley. This is a photograph of the vault of the
family of Sir Francis Lyttleton Holyoake Goodricke[43] at the cemetery.
T.
& J. Holyoake (aka Joseph Holyoake & Son): Genealogy
Generation 1: Joseph Holyoake (??-1817) and Katherine ?? (??-??) and Sukey Britten (??-??)
·
Born: not found.
·
Baptized: not found.
· Marriage #1: not found.
· First Wife’s Death: not found
· Marriage #2: Sukey Britten
around 1804 (S6).
· Death: between January 15 and July 15, 1817 (S6).
· Probate: July 15, 1817 London
(S6). Written January 15,1817. Listed as Joseph Holyoake a needle factor
from Redditch who gave his needle and fish hook
business to his sons Thomas Holyoake and Joseph Holyoake equally. Also left
funds for his wife Sukey Holyoake who was Sukey Britten, a spinster, per an agreement made between
them in June 1804 before they were married to bring up his children: Suzannah,
George and Mary Ann. Provides special
provisions for his son John Holyoake when he turns 21 until he becomes 24.
·
Second Wife’s Death: not found
· Children: all of his living children are listed in his 1817 will.
1.
Thomas
Holyoake (c1794-1857) - see generation 2.
2.
Joseph
Holyoake (c1796-1869) - see generation 2.
3.
John
James Holyoake (c1799-1869) - baptized April 14, 1799
Redditch (S1c) with parents listed as Joseph and Katherine Holyoake. Also listed in brother Thomas Holyoake’s 1857
will as having 4 children: Catherine, John, Mary Ann and
Eliza. This is possibly the J. J.
Holyoake needle manufacturer from Redditch who went bankrupt on November
11,1836 (S=see history section). 1851 Census: 154 See Back Mews, Edgbaston
(S4), listed as John Holyoake age 51 a traveler in needles and hooks born in
Redditch with wife Charlotte age 50 born in Redditch
and four children all born in Redditch: Catharine, John, Mary A, and
Eliza. 1861 Census: 55 Grange Cottage,
Aston (S4), listed as John Holyoake age 62 a commercial traveler born in
Redditch with wife Charlotte age 60 born in Redditch
and a grandson James. Death: 1st QTR
1869 Aston (S5d), listed as John James Holyoake. Burial:
January 23, 1869 St. Edburgha, Yardley,
Worcestershire (S1burial), listed as John James Holyoake of Grange Road, Small Heath
(Note: both Yardley and Small Heath are near Birmingham, possibly suburbs).
4.
Suzannah
Holyoake (??-??).
5.
George
Holyoake (c1809-??). Baptized: September
7, 1809 Redditch (S1c). Listed as George Holyoake with parents Joseph
and Susannah Holyoake. 1851 Census: 9
Littleworth, Redditch (S4), listed as George Holyoake born 1811 in Redditch,
needle manufacturer. 1861 Census: 44
Queen Street, Redditch (S4) listed as George Holyoake born 1809 Redditch a
visitor in the Henry English household, merchant. 1855 Billings Directory and
Gazetteer of Worcestershire lists a George Holyoake as a needle manufacturer
from Littleworth, Redditch. (Note: This
is the same George Holyoake who sold his needle manufacturing business in 1856
to S. Thomas & Sons of Redditch who were involved in a lawsuit in 1880 with
David Williams, the London agent of the T. & J. Holyoake needle
manufacturing business established by George’s brothers Thomas and Joseph
Holyoake (S=The Law Report, Division I - Chancery, Cases Determined by the Chancery
Division of the High Court of Justice, Vol. XIV, by George Wirgman Hemming,
1880, pages 864-875. Available at
books.google.com).
6.
Mary
Ann Holyoake (??-??).
Generation 2: Thomas Holyoake (c1794-1857) and ?? and Mary Ann Smith
(c1812-1854)
· Born: c1794 (S1c) (S7), c1797 (S4).
· Baptized: June 1794 Redditch (S1c). Listed as Thomas Holyoake with parents Joseph
and Katherine Holyoake.
· 1841 Census: not
found.
·
Marriage #1: not found. This would be the mother of
Thomas’s son Joseph who was born c1843.
·
First Wife’s Death: not found.
· Marriage #2: 2nd
QTR 1849 Cheltenham (S5m). May 7, 1849 Cheltenham
(S3). Listed as Thomas Holyoake and Mary Smith.
Thomas is listed as a needle manufacturer and his father is listed as
Joseph Holyoake also a needle manufacturer.
· 1851 Census: 48
Brockhill Lane, Redditch (S4). Listed as
Thomas Holyoake age 54 a needle and pin manufacturer born in Redditch with wife
Mary age 39 also born in Redditch with 4 children: Marianne, Thomas, Joseph and Francis. (Note: the census index incorrectly
lists Marianne as Mammie).
· Second Wife’s
Death: 3rd QTR 1854 Bromsgrove (S5d).
Listed as Mary Ann Holyoake.
· Death: c1857 (S6).
· Buried: August 19,
1857 Tardebigg at age 63 (S7).
· Probate: Proved
October 2, 1857 London (S6), written May 30,
1855. Listed as Thomas Holyoake of
Redditch. Lists Thomas Smith and Mary
Anne Smith the son and daughter of my deceased wife Mary Holyoake before marriage. Lists two sons Francis Holyoake and George
Lyttleton Holyoake. Also lists brother
Joseph Holyoake and his son Edmund Holyoake of the firm Joseph Holyoake &
Son of Gate Works. Lists another brother John and his 4 children: Catherine,
John, Maryanne and Eliza. Lists brother Joseph Holyoake with 4
children: Edmund, Sarah? (undecipherable) and Catherine.
· Children:
1.
Ste
p-daughter Mary Anne Smith (c1832-??). Born in Redditch (S4). (S6). Married
Charles Field August 28, 1856, Redditch (S1m) with father listed as Thomas
Holyoake.
2.
Step-son Thomas Smith
(c1841-??). Born in Redditch (S4). (S6).
3.
Joseph
Holyoake (c1843-before 1855). Born in Redditch (S4). Not listed in father’s will which was written
in 1855 indicating he probably died in or before 1855 (S6).
4.
Francis
Holyoake (1849-1878). Born in Cheltenham (S4) - see generation 3.
5.
George
Lyttleton Holyoake (1853-1926) Born in Redditch (S4) - see generation 3.
Generation 2: Joseph Holyoake (c1796-1869) and Sarah
Fairbrother (??-1844)
· Born: c1796 (S6), 1800 (S4).
·
Baptized: not found.
· Marriage: January
1, 1821 Burton Dasset, Warwickshire
(S1m). Listed as Joseph Holyoake and
Sarah Fairbrother.
·
1841 Census: not found.
· Wife’s Death:
December 30, 1844 obituary listed as Mrs. Holyoake,
relict of Joseph Holyoake, esq. Redditch (S=The
Gentleman’s Magazine, Volume XXII New Series, January to June, by Sylvanus
Urban 1845, page 220. Available at
books.google.com).
· 1851 census: 73 Wilson Str., Glasgow, Scotland (S4=index
only). Listed as Joseph Holyoake age 51
a visitor and needle, pin and fish hook manufacturer
(Note: the census index incorrectly lists the occupation as Nudle
Pin & Firsh Rock Mauntacturo).
·
1861 Census: not found.
· Brother Thomas
Holyoake’s 1857 will (S6). Listed as
brother Joseph Holyoake and his son Edmund Holyoake of the firm Joseph Holyoake
& Son of Gate Works. Also lists
Joseph Holyoake’s 4 children: Edmund, Sarah ?
(undecipherable) and Catherine.
· Death: 3rd QTR
1869 at age 73 Bromsgrove (S5d), July 22, 1869
Redditch (S6).
· Obituary: July 24,
1869 Redditch Indicator newspaper (S=microfilm at the
Redditch Library).
· Probate: January
21, 1870 Worcester (S6). Listed as Joseph Holyoake late of Redditch a
needle manufacturer. Proved by Edmund
Holyoake needle manufacturer son. Effects:
under £5,000, Resworn
July 1873 under £3,000.
· Children:
1.
Edmund
Holyoake (1822-1899) - see generation 3.
2.
Sarah
Fairbrother Holyoake (c1824-??).
Baptized January 15, 1824 Redditch (S1c). Listed as Sarah Fairbrother Holyoak with parents Joseph and Sarah Holyoak. Married: June 19, 1851
Tardebigg, listed as Ludford Docker, esq. of Leigh, Kent, to Sarah Fairbrother, eldest dau. of Joseph Holyoake, esq. of
Redditch (S=The Gentleman’s Magazine, Volume XXXVI New Series, July to December, 1851, by Sylvanus Urban, page 315. Available at books.google.com).
3.
??
Holyoake (c18??-??).
4.
Catherine
Jane Holyoake (c1828-??). Married: July 1, 1858 St.
Stephen, Redditch. Listed as George P.
Dunn, Esq. of Ledbury, to Catherine Jane, youngest daughter of Joseph Holyoake,
Esq., of the Willows, Redditch (S=The Lancet a Journal of British and Foreign
Medicine, Physiology, Surgery, Chemistry, Criticism, Literature, and News,
Volume II, by Thomas Wakely, 1858, page 50. Available at books.google.com).
Generation 3: Edmund Holyoake (1822-1899) and Mary Ann
Whitehouse (c1838-1920)
· Born: c1822/23 (S4). June 5, 1822
Redditch (S=obituary).
· Baptized: August 6, 1822
Redditch (S1c). Listed as Edmond Holyoak with parents Joseph and Sarah Holyoak.
· 1841 Census: Outhill, Studley (S4). Listed as Edmund Holyoake age 18
needle maker not born in the county with Hartley Holyoake age 9, Sarah Holyoake
age 17, Ellen Holyoake age 16 and Eliza Holyoake age 11 all not born in the
county. (Note: the surname was incorrectly listed in the census index as
Holyoke. Because these children’s names
and ages don’t match with all of the known children in
Edmund Holyoake’s family, this could be another family or members from two
families could be listed here).
· 1851 Census: 160
Fish Hill, The Willows, Redditch (S4).
Listed as Edmund Holyoake son age 28
manufacturer of needles born in Redditch with Sarah L. Holyoake daughter age 27
and Catherine J. Holyoake daughter age 23 daughter. (Note: there is no head of
household listed which appears to be a mistake by the census taker. The census
index places them in the Amelia Tayler age 39 household incorrectly. Also, the surname was incorrectly listed in
the census index as Holyoke. Part of
this census record is difficult to read; however, it looks like the Willows was
next to the Bartleet home known as the Shrubbery).
·
1861 Census: not found.
· Marriage: June 29,
1870 Ipsley (S1) and 1870 (S=obituary). Listed as Edmund Holyoake and Mary Ann
Whitehouse. Edmund’s father is listed as
Joseph Holyoake.
· 1871 Census: 12
Brockhill Road, Redditch (S4). Listed as
Edmund Holyoake age 48 Justice of the Peace and needle manufacturer employing
74 hands born in Redditch with wife M. A. age 33 born in Ipsley.
· 1881 Census: 181
the Willows, Prospect Hill, Redditch (S4).
Listed as Edmund Holyoake age 58 a needle manufacturer and J.P. for
Warwick born in Redditch with wife Mary A. age 43 born in Ipsley and 5
children: Edmund L., Geraldine G.,
Ernest J., Betty J. and Georgina C.
· 1891 Census: 59
Prospect Hill, Redditch (S4). Listed as
Edmund Holyoake age 68 a needle manufacturer and J.P. for Worcester born in
Redditch with wife Mary A. age 53 born in Ispely and
4 children: Edmund L., Geraldine G.,
Bertie J. and Mable M.
· Death: 1st QTR 1899 Bromsgrove at age 76 (S5d). Listed as Edmund Holyoake. January 6, 1899
(S6).
· Obituary: January
7, 1899 Redditch Indicator newspaper (S=microfilm at
the Redditch Library) and January 14, 1899 The Worcestershire Chronical
(S=britishnewspaperarchive.com).
· Probate: April 22,
1899 Worcester (S6).
Listed as Edmund Holyoake of the “Willows” Redditch needle and pin
manufacturer to Mary Ann Holyoake widow, James Hemming
Whitehouse esquire and Edgar Robert Smith Bartleet needle manufacturer. Effects £15,777.
· Wife’s Death:
registered Sept. 1920 Bromsgrove at age 82 (S5d). August 18, 1920 (S6). Listed as Mary Ann Holyoake.
· Wife’s
Probate: January 14, 1921
London (S6). Listed as Mary Ann Holyoake of the Willows Prospect Hill, Redditch
widow to Mabel Mary Holyoake spinster Ludford Joseph Docker manufacturer and James Hemming
Whitehouse gentleman. Effects: £9,082.
· Children:
1.
Edmund
Lyttleton Holyoake (1873-1892). Born in 1874 in Redditch (S4), born: 2nd QTR
1873 Bromsgrove (S5b), listed as Edmund Lyttelton
Holyoke. Baptized: June 24, 1873 Redditch (S1c),
listed as Edmund Littelton Holyoake with parents
Edmund and Mary Ann Holyoake. Death:
November 25, 1892 at age 19 in Hasting, Sussex (S8d),
listed as Edmund Lyttleton Holyoake the son of Edmund Holyoake a merchant and
manufacturer.
2.
Geraldine
G. Holyoake (c1875-??). Born in Redditch (S4).
3.
Ernest
J. Holyoake (c1877-??). Born in Redditch (S4). Born 4th QTR 1876 Bromsgrove
(S5b). Listed as Ernest Joseph Holyoake.
4.
Bertie
J. Holyoake (c1878-??). Born in Redditch (S4).
5.
Georgina
C. Holyoake (c1880-??). Born in Redditch (S4).
6.
Mable
M. Holyoake (c1882-??). Born in Redditch (S4).
Generation 3: Francis Holyoake (1849-
1879) and Maria ?? (??-??)
· Born: August 20, 1849
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (S8b).
Listed as Francis Holyoake with parents listed as Thomas Holyoake a
gentleman and Mary Smith.
·
Baptized: not found
· 1851 Census: with
parents (S4). Listed as Francis Holyoake
age 1 born in Cheltenham
· 1861 Census: 35
Birch Abbey Lane, Alcester (S4). Listed
as Francis Holyoake age 12 a scholar born in Redditch.
·
1871 Census: not found
·
Married: Maria ?? not found.
· Death: July 9, 1878 Adelaide,
Australia (S6) (S=Ancestry.com - Find a Grave Index 1300s-Current).
· Buried: West
Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia (S=Ancestry.com - Find a Grave
Index 1300s-Current). Listed as Francis
Holyoake born in 1849 in Redditch.
· Probate: Principal
Registry July 10, 1879 (S6). Listed as
Francis Holyoake formerly of Redditch and of 11 Green’s End Woolwich, Kent but
late of 2 Landrowna Terrance Victoria Square
Adelaide, South Australia chemist who died at 2 Landrowna
Terrance to Maria Holyoake of 20 St. Martin’s Road, Stockwell
in Surry widow the relict the residuary legatee for life. Personal Estate: under £100.
·
Children:
unknown
Generation 3: George Lyttleton Holyoake
(1853-1926) and Lucy Hutchins (c1856-??)
· Born: c1853 (S4), 3rd QTR 1853 Bromsgrove (S5b).
Listed as George Lyttleton Holyoake.
· Baptized: not found.
· 1861 Census: 43
Queen Street, Redditch (S4). Listed as
George Holyoake age 7 a scholar born in Redditch.
·
1871 Census: not found.
· Marriage: February
29, 1876 Birmingham (S8m). Listed as George Lyttleton Holyoake age 22 a
manufacturer who lived at 10 Bath Row in Birmingham and whose father was listed
as Thomas Holyoake (deceased) a manufacturer and Lucy Hutchins age 19 who lived
in Birmingham.
· 1881 census: 10
Bath Row, Birmingham (S4). Listed as
George L. Holyoake age 28 master baker with 2 men and 1 boy born in Redditch
with wife Lucy age 25 born in born in Birmingham and 2 children: George L. and
Francis G.
·
1891 Census: George Holyoake, the
father, not found.
· 1891 Census: 84 Bath Row, Birmingham (S4). Listed as Lucy Holyoake married daughter age 34 born in Birmingham with 2 grandsons scholars: George
L. Holyoake age 13 and Francis G. Holyoake age 11 both born in Birmingham,
living with John Hutchins a widow retired beer and baker born in Hallon, Warwick.
Hutchins is Lucy’s father. (Note:
the surname is incorrectly listed in the census index as Holzoake).
·
1901 Census: George and Lucy Holyoake, the parents, not
found.
· 1901 Census: 6 Church Street, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
(S4). Listed as Geo Lyttleton Junr a single boarder actor age 22
born in Birmingham and Frank Holyoake a single boarder a theatrical agent age
21 born in Birmingham. (Note: this appears to be the two Holyoake sons, and
that the census taker failed to include George’s surname, because the two sons
were involved with the theater trade which is where their father was in the
1911 census).
· 1925 London City
Directory: Listed as George Littleton
Holyoake of 92 Battersea Rise, cycle stores. (S=ancestry.com).
· 1911 Census: 22
Osborne Terrace, South Lambeth, London (S4).
Listed as George Lyssleton Holyoake age 57 an
actor in theatre work born in Redditch with Lucy age 54 born in
Birmingham. Indicates they had been
married for 34 years and had 5 children of which only one was still living.
(Note: George’s middle name is hard to read on the actual census and could be
Lyttleton).
· Death: February 9, 1926
Surrey (S6).
· Probate: London
March 24, 1926 (S6). Listed as George
Lyttleton Holyoake of 92 Battersea Rise Battersea, Surrey to Frances Goodrich
Holyoake cycle dealer. Effects: £1,459.
·
Wife’s Death:
· Children:
1.
George
Lyttleton Holyoake (1877-1906). Born:
December 11, 1877 Lady Wood, Birmingham (S8b), listed
as George Littleton Holyoake with parents listed as George Littleton Holyoake
an accountant clerk and Lucy Hutchins.
Death: October 2, 1906 Kennington, Lambeth, London at age 28 (S8d), listed as
George Lyttleton Holyoake an actor with his father Geo. L. Holyoake listed as
the informant.
2.
Francis Goodricke Holyoake (1879-1948). Born: June 15,
1879 St. Thomas, Birmingham (S8b). Listed as Francis
Goodricke Holyoake with parents listed as George Lyttleton Holyoake and Lucy
Hutchins, the father was listed as a baker. Death: November 21, 1948 Blackburn, Lancashire at age 69 (S8d). Listed as Francis Goodricke Holyoake a night
watchman.
Avery
style needle cases with the Holyoake name: Butterfly and Quad - Golden Casket
- Fleur de Lis.
Endnotes
[1] A Victorian
History of the County of Worcester Vol. II, by W. Willis-Bund, 1906, page
274. (S=Available at books.goggle.com).
[2] A Short History of the Firm of Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish
Hook, and Pin Manufacturers, Gate Works, Redditch, reprinted from the
Redditch Indicator October 8th, 1892 (S=Forge Mill Needle Museum archives).
[3]
A Short History of the Firm of Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish Hook,
and Pin Manufacturers, Gate Works, Redditch, reprinted from the Redditch Indicator October 8th,
1892 (S=Forge Mill Needle Museum archives).
[4] Will of Joseph Holyoake which was
written in 1817, see genealogy section for source.
[5] This is an assumption that the
father was approximately 25 years old when his first child was born.
[6] Redditch Lewis Worcestershire Directory, 1820. (S=transcribed
version available from Raymond McLaren).
[7] A Short History of the Firm of Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish
Hook, and Pin Manufacturers, Gate Works, Redditch, reprinted from the
Redditch Indicator October 8th, 1892 (S=Forge Mill Needle Museum archives).
[8] 1823 Directory of Redditch A Century Ago; 1828-29 Pigot & Co.’s Directory, page 872; and 1835 Pigot and Co.’s Directory, page
651. See the Needle Manufacturers City
and Trade Directory chart sources for more details.
[9] 1842 Pigot and Co’s Directory, page 29.
See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade Directory chart sources for
more details.
[10] 1842 Pigot and Co’s Directory, page 29.
See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade Directory chart sources for
more details.
[11] A Short History of the Firm of Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish
Hook, and Pin Manufacturers, Gate Works, Redditch, reprinted from the
Redditch Indicator October 8th, 1892 (S=Forge Mill Needle Museum archives).
[12] A Short History of the Firm of Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish
Hook, and Pin Manufacturers, Gate Works, Redditch, reprinted from the
Redditch Indicator October 8th, 1892 (S=Forge Mill Needle Museum archives).
[13] According to the history of
Tardebigg on the internet, Queen Victoria visited Hewell Grange on November 5,
1832 when she was Princess Victoria (S=the website at https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol3/pp223-230). A Short History of the Firm of
Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish Hook, and Pin Manufacturers, Gate
Works, Redditch,
reprinted from the Redditch Indicator October 8th, 1892 indicates Thomas
Holyoake gave the needles to the princess during her visit (S=Forge Mill Needle
Museum archives).
[14] The London Gazette for the Year 1847, Vol. I, printed by Francis
Watts. Page 133 indicates the
partnership was dissolved effective January 8, 1847. Available at books.google.com.
[15] 1850 Post Office Directory of Birmingham with Staffordshire and
Worcestershire, page 463. See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade
Directory chart sources for more details.
[16] January 7, 1899 obituary in the
Redditch Indicator newspaper (S=on microfilm at the Redditch Library). Edmund’s
obituary indicates he joined his father’s company at age 17 or in 1839. Also found in The Law Reports. Division I. –
Chancery. Cases Determined by the Chancery Division of the High Court of
Justice Vol. XIV, 1880 by George Wirgman Hemming, page 870. Available at books.google.com.
[16] The Law
Reports. Division I. – Chancery. Cases Determined by the Chancery Division of
the High Court of Justice Vol. XIV, 1880 by George Wirgman Hemming, page
875. Available at books.google.com.
[17] 1850 History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Warwickshire, page 760. See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade
Directory chart sources for more details.
[18] 1861 Corporation General and Trades Directory of Birmingham, page 868.
See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade Directory chart sources for more
details.
[19]
1865 Jones’s Mercantile Directory of the Iron
District, page 415. See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade Directory
chart sources for more details.
[20] 1878 Post Office Directory of Birmingham, page 520 and 1879 Post Office Directory of Birmingham,
page 547. See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade Directory chart sources
for more details. Also the 1885 London Post Office Trades Directory page
1788 and 1890 London Post Office Trades
Directory, page 1887. The source of
the London directories is ancestry.com.
[21] 1892 Post Office Directory of Worcestershire, page 179. See the Needle Manufacturers City and Trade
Directory chart sources for more details.
[22] Most of the information about the
lawsuit comes from The Law Reports. Division I. – Chancery. Cases Determined by the Chancery Division of
the High Court of Justice Vol. XIV, 1880 by George Wirgman Hemming, pages
864-875.
[23] The Law Reports. Division I. –
Chancery. Cases Determined by the
Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice Vol. XIV, 1880 by George
Wirgman Hemming, page 875. Available at books.google.com.
[24] 1885 London Post Office Directory, page 1788 (S=ancestry.com).
[25] A Short History of the Firm of Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish
Hook, and Pin Manufacturers, Gate Works, Redditch, reprinted from the
Redditch Indicator October 8th, 1892 (S=Forge Mill Needle Museum archives).
[26] 1896-97 Pecks Circular Trades Directory, page 195. See the Needle
Manufacturers City and Trade Directory chart sources for more details.
[27] The company is not listed in the
1900 Kelly’s Directory of Worcestershire
or the 1912 Kelly’s Worcestershire
Directory. See the Needle
Manufacturers City and Trade Directory chart sources for more details.
[29] Personal visits to Redditch in
2017 and 2018.
[30] According to one website the name
Sukey was a shorten version of the English name Susannah and was first used in
the 18th century. Other websites
indicate this name is of Hebrew origin.
[31]
The Metropolitan Magazine Vol. XVII,
September to December 1836, page 119 lists the November 11, 1836 bankruptcy of
J. J. Holyoake, Redditch needle manufacturer. Available at books.google.com.
[32] The London Gazette for the Year 1847, Vol. I, printed by Francis
Watts. Page 133 indicates this was
effective January 8, 1847. Available at
book.sgoogle.com.
[33] This is an assumption because
Joseph was listed in the 1851 census with his parents but is not mentioned in
his father’s 1855 will and all of the other children in the family were
mentioned. Unfortunately, a death record
was not found in the Redditch area which most likely means he died elsewhere.
[34] From his January 7, 1899 obituary
in the Redditch Indicator newspaper (S=on microfilm at the Redditch Library).
[35] From his July 24, 1868 obituary in
the Redditch Indicator Newspaper (S=on microfilm at the Redditch Library).
[36] A Short History of the Firm of Joseph Holyoake & Son, Needle, Fish
Hook, and Pin Manufacturers, Gate Works, Redditch, reprinted from the
Redditch Indicator October 8th, 1892 (S=Forge Mill Needle Museum archives).
[37] In the 1871, 1881 and 1891
censuses and also mentioned in his 1899 obituary.
[38] His January 7, 1899 obituary in
the Redditch Indicator newspaper (S=on microfilm at the Redditch Library).
[39] 1900 Kelly’s Directory of Worcestershire, page 204 and 1912 Kelly’s Directory of Worcestershire,
page 227. See the Needle Manufacturers
City and Trade Directory chart sources for more details.
[41] All of the information on Sir
Francis Lyttelton Holyoake Goodricke, except for his death, is from Debrett’s Baronetage of England, by
George William Collen Esq, 1847, page 236.
Available at books.google.com.
[42] Death information from the England
and Wales National Probate Calendar, 1858-1995 (S=ancestry.com).
[43] Found during a personal visit to
the cemetery.
