Joseph Ashley

We have met people called Joseph Ashley a couple of times before on this blog. Back in January 2016 we looked at a will (click here) of a Joseph who died in 1849. We have also looked at the cost of a funeral of Elizabeth who died in 1904 – the widow of a Joseph Ashley (click here).

Today we offer a photograph of a Joseph Ashley.

Joseph Ashley on a carte de visite

This is the style of photo known as a carte de visite or CDV. The back can be useful in helping to date it.

The border on the back of this CDV dates it almost certainly to the 1870s

The phrase ‘Photographers to the Queen’ dates it to the reign of Victoria. The border on the back of this card would almost certainly date it to the 1870s.

Elizabeth was born a Durnford (which explains Joseph’s presence in this Durnford photo album). Elizabeth was born in Market Lavington but Joseph was a Londoner. The couple married in London in the 1850s where Joseph was a member of the police force. They lived in London whilst Joseph worked but by 1891 they were in Wiltshire at our neighbouring village of Great Cheverell. There is no evidence that Joseph actually lived in Market Lavington but he is buried in the churchyard here. He died in 1900.

In 1901 Elizabeth, his widow, was living with relatives in Market Lavington. She died in 1904.

We haven’t traced any connection between this Joseph Ashley and the one who wrote the will.

 

 

 

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The doctor’s bill

It didn’t pay to be ill in times past as this bill from 1903/4 makes clear The bill was issued by the very popular and much lauded Doctors Lush to the executors of the will of Mrs Ashley

A bill from Doctor Lush presented to the executors of Mrs Ashley in 1904

Mrs Ashley was Elizabeth, the widow of Joseph Ashley. She had been born in Market Lavington in 1824 as Elizabeth Durnford and married Joseph in 1852. They spent most of their married life in London but by 1891 they were in Great Cheverell, Wiltshire and by 1901 Elizabeth was a widow living with Gye relatives in Market Lavington.

She clearly had a long illness and it cost eighteen guineas in doctor’s fees. That would be about £7000 (seven thousand) at current rates.

However, Elizabeth’s probate record shows that she left effects valued at just under £1975 so she was pretty wealthy.

 

Paying for a funeral

One hundred or more years ago, funerals were locally arranged for local people. Mr Walton, from his department store premises on White Street, High Street and Church Street in Market Lavington was one person who would undertake the task of giving the dead a good burial.

A bill for one of his funerals has recently come to light. What we have is a somewhat elderly black and white photocopy, but it shows the information well enough.

Bill for the funeral of Mrs Ashley of Market Lavington in 1904.

The bill was addressed to the executors of the late Mrs Ashley and the date was March 1^st 1904. This, we assume, was Elizabeth Ashley who was buried at St Mary’s, Market Lavington on 24^th February 1904, aged 80.

Elizabeth had been born in Market Lavington but for at least thirty years, she and her husband Joseph were Londoners.  They returned to Wiltshire in older age and then we find Elizabeth back home in Market Lavington as a widow.

The grand total price of the funeral, at £2 – 16 – 0 (£2.80) sounds laughable in today’s terms. An awful lot of it seems to be for gloves for various officials. Almost a quarter of the bill is for gloves!

Even a cheap funeral these days comes in at around £1500. That comes out at roughly the same proportion of income as the 1904 figure.