Bessie Kate Update 29th December 1946 - 7th June 1917

Update on Bessie Kate 29^th December 1846 - 7^thJune 1917

Bessie Kate continues for fascinate me and thankfully some extra information about her life is proving helpful, not only in clearing up some red herrings but also in gathering actual facts about the family members.  As I discovered this morning when Bessie Kate’s birth certificate came by post from the GRO , Bessie Kate arrived at 45 minutes past 3 am on 29^th December 1946 in St Helen’s Street, Cockermouth.  As her twin brother Joseph Lowthion Bradley died on 28^th September 1852, I did not send away for his birth cert, so I am assuming that he was born, either very soon after or very soon before Bessie Kate.  Bessie Kate’s mother was given as Mary Bradley, formerly Lowthion.  I was delighted to discover that Bessie’s father Owen Bradley gave his occupation as druggist, thereby enabling me to locate him in business both in Moss Street Dublin and Georges Street Lower, Dunleary in 1841. I have yet to discover if he had any business connections in Cockermouth.

The 1841 Census of England shows a Joseph Lowthion(Luthen) aged 6 2, a tanner, his wife Elizabeth aged 6 1 and three dressmaker daughters Jane aged 29, Elizabeth 27 and Dorothy aged 22 all living in Main Street Cockermouth. There is no sign of their sister Mary Lowthion but a Mary Lowthion aged 18 also a dressmaker can be found in Penrith, residing in the household of William Holliday. Her estimated date of birth is about 1823 and this would fit in with other information which will be dealt with later.

 By 1851 Elizabeth Lowthion widow is living with her daughter Dorothy, a dressmaker in Low Sand Lane. Elizabeth is now aged 71 and Dorothy 32.  Jane had married Jon Birkett a post master and was living in Main Street, Cockermouth and enjoying the luxury of having a servant in her home. Jane Birkett was the person to whom probate on Joseph Lowthion’s estate was issued after his death in 1846. The 1851 Census returns do not show any listing for Elizabeth Lowthion, Mary Bradley’s sister nor for either of the twins who had remained in Cockermouth after their parent’s return to Ireland. I am assuming that as Mary Bradley was pregnant with her next daughter Mary Jane who was born in Dublin in 1851, Elizabeth had taken the twins on a visit to their parents in Sallymount Terrace, Dublin.

The 1861 Census shows a Lowthion family unit in Low Sand Lane, at this stage Elizabeth Lowthion aged 46 a person who let lodgings is head of the household. Her sister Jane Birkett aged 48 a widow and a fund holder is also in the home along with unmarried Dorothy Lowthion and Bessie Bradley niece, aged 14 and Mary Jane Bradley niece aged 9 who must have been on a visit as she did not live permanently in Cockermouth. While Bessie Kate was left in Cockermouth in the care of her widowed grandmother and her aunts the family ties were always strong and continued into the 20^th century.

The 1871 Census brings us to Belle Vue and three sisters Elizabeth Lowthion unmarried , Dorothy Lowthion unmarried and Jane Birkett widowed all assistants by profession and Bessie Kate Naile, niece  married.  Bessie Kate’s husband was John Shepherd Naile a master mariner who spent most of their married life at sea, so rarely showed up on statistics unless they were maritim.  Looking at the records for 1881 we find Elizabeth Lowthion aged 66, housekeeper in Belle Vue as head of the household, she is joined by Bessie Kate Naile now aged 34 and a sea captains’s  wife and her three daughters, Elizabeth’s grandnieces, Mary L, Janet E and Dora E aged 9, 7 and 3 respectively.

By the time the 1891 Census came around Elizabeth Lowhtion now aged 76 was living on her own income in the house of her nephew in law John S Naile in Earlsmere House, The household was made up of the John Shepherd Naile aged 49, his wife Bessie Kate Naile aged 43 and their three daughters Mary Lowthion Naile aged 19, Janet E Naile aged 17 and Dora E Nale aged 13 as well as the aging Elizabeth. However by 1901 the family had moved to 3 Fernbank Cockermouth and Bessie Kate was residing there with her two younger daughters, Janet and Dora.

Bessie Kate’s circumstances had changed again by 1911, Bessie  Kate was now a widow sharing her home with her youngest daughter Dora Esther and her married daughter Janet and her husband Stanley Briggs. On the night of the census the family also had two guests from Germany and a servant residing with them.   Mary Lowthion Naile was the only member of her generation to make a career for herself outside her family home. She worked as a sick nurse in Islington where she lived in.


Written by Judith