From origins in late
C18th London, Middlesex, then
early C19th Birmingham, Loughborough (LEI) & Leicester, moving on to
mid-C19th Oakham (RUT), Doncaster (YKS) & late C19th-C20th Grantham (LIN)
& C21st Leicester
Emigrant C19th branches in France (Chantilly & Pau), with recent branches
in Paris & Toulouse
Updated by “The Geneal
Geologist” in Nov 2018
Home Page & Contact Info
Part 1: General Introduction to the SANDERS Name
The origin of the family name of
SANDERS is a classical one from the Greek Alexander 'helper of men'. In the
Middle Ages, probably due to the French romance of Alexander, the name
appeared in its French form Alisandre. As early as 1248 in England from this
was formed the pet name Sandre, from which the modern surnames of SANDARS,
SANDERS, and SAUNDERS arise. Because of dialect and spelling, all references
for all variant spellings need to be checked when conducting research.
Spelling was not standardised until the mid C19th, but remains one of the
more common English surnames (in 2002, variants SAUNDERS is ranked 111 and
SANDERS 313 from 270,000 UK surnames). The name Al Iksander is still used in
the Middle East. As a European surname also, some families may have arrived
as Huguenots. There has not been much change in the density of the surname
distribution in the UK between the 1881 census (left) and 2005 (right), with
a focus on the East Midlands and SW counties:
Part
2: Summary of Current SANDERS Research
· This synopsis concerns my paternal
SANDERS line of gunmakers. I am interested in hearing from anyone with a
common SANDERS ancestry or has photographs of family members or their pistols
and shotguns over the last 250 years, particularly marked Middlesex (London),
Birmingham, Leicester & Loughborough and Oakham (Rutland). Some images
have been shared here. Additionally, atDNA research using the GEDmatch database is being used to identify
ancestral marker segments. There is a small group of testers who have shared
DNA results who have common ancestry from Charlotte SANDERS who married William GRACE, bit have not yet
been attributed to either family. If you have tested DNA and are connected to
this family, please share on GEDmatch and
contact me.
Sibling kits Z424787 & A027914 share 2xGGPs
William GRACE & Charlotte SANDERS with kit A5050338 as MRCAs.
From triangulation, marker segments on chromosomes 7, 12 & 14 appear to
be inherited from these MRCAs.
· I am seeking to contact any modern
descendants of the SANDERS family from Grantham (Lincolnshire) &
Leicester city, who may have grandfathers or great grandfathers named Harry
SANDERS and Walter SANDERS (see
below).
Descendants of Rowland Ashford SANDERS, through his French-born sons Pierre
"René" SANDERS (1901) & Joseph Pierre Rowland “Rolland”
SANDERS (1902) and their descendants in Pau & Toulouse, France, have
now being found.
Evidence shows that not many males of this line
survived to produce male progeny in the UK, except for Leicester, so most
genetic cousins will be through other family names; particularly descendants
of the many surviving SANDERS daughters, such as my own, or the French
branch. This SANDERS name is also carried into the modern era by a few of the
GRACE
family, originating with the original GRACE = SANDERS marriage in 1863. It is
a small group, with the French branch now more numerous than their original
English family.
· I hope to re-establish contact lost
several decades ago with relatives of Shirley COPE (my 3C1R, who
married Horace W COPE), last known to be resident in Mountsorrel,
Leicester, or the family of her cousin Barbara REEDER formerly HUNT
(husband David A REEDER (children Mark L REEDER (1956,
Leicester) & Katherine E REEDER (1960, Epsom who married Derick
P SMART in 1982)), or any of the related Leicestershire POTTER family
(descendants of my 2x great aunt Selina SANDERS) who may now have
copies, and willing to share high quality scans of, the photographs in the "POTTER
Family Photo Album", which has C19th photographs of the
SANDERS, POTTER and my GRACE
ancestors. Some poor reproductions from 1995 are shown on this webpage, so
the subjects are easily recognisable to those who may have the album in their
possession. Known descendant families include BRYANS, GREEN, HUNT,
POTTER, REEDER, SMART, SPENCER & WALKER,
but many will be unaware of their connections to this artisan family.
The East Midlands
domicile of this SANDERS family from the early C19th (from Loughborough &
Leicester to Oakham & Grantham)
Part 3: Earliest Origins - Late
C18th Middlesex (London) & Birmingham
A younger Joseph Alexander SANDERS
Historical Note: Joseph has no apparent
facial hair, a high collar with Osbaldiston tie, a coat with high collar,
deep lapels which is single-breasted.
The trousers have no strap under the instep. The tall top hat is of a style
pre-1865, overall suggesting the photograph was taken in the early-mid
1850's.
The form of photography is a technique of stylized posing first developed in
1854, where multiple copies were generated.
Joseph would therefore be in his late 50’s.
Data indicates that my paternal SANDERS
family has possible origins in late C18th/early C19th Middlesex & London
and then early C19th Birmingham, before the family moves to Leicester,
Loughborough (Leicestershire), & Oakham (Rutland). Parts of the later
family can also be found in Doncaster, Yorkshire (1860's), Leicester and
Grantham, Lincolnshire (from 1881 to the period immediately after World War
I). There are possible earlier C18th connections with the gunmaking trade,
but that business still in Oakham at the time was finally sold in 1872, after
several generations. Two sons of Leicestershire moved to France in the late
C19th and became jockeys.
The relatively common first name and
surname have made the trail difficult to follow back into the C18th, however
two main clues can be discussed:
Ø
The first known
family member proven by records is Joseph
Alexander SANDERS,
a Gunsmith born in Middlesex c1796, (based on 1851 & 1861
census returns), my 3xGGF. Since his full name only appears on his daughter’s
marriage certificate & upon his death, it is assumed he is one of the Joseph
SANDERS baptised around that time in Middlesex. It is possible he is the
s/o Joseph SANDERS & Sarah TYLER of Enfield, baptised in
Jul 1796 at Enfield Saint Andrew, however there is no proof, nor proof that
this Joseph was in anyway involved in the trade. Three other children of the
couple (daughters Susan SANDERS (1790), Sarah SANDERS (1791)
& Mary SANDERS (1794)) are recorded there after a 1788 marriage,
without any further history. Further children may have been born to Joseph
SANDERS & Sarah in London, for example in Holborn (who may be another
couple), or after the couple moved to Birmingham sometime after 1796. For
example, there is a sole baptism in Warwickshire for a Mary Ann SANDERS
in Sep 1799 at Birmingham St Martin. Most likely through apprenticeship,
young Joseph would have moved to Birmingham for the noted gun trade there
with or without his family.
The
earliest clues for Joseph in London are also enhanced by a Joseph
Alexander SANDERS (born 2 Sep 1763 & baptised 18 Sep 1763 at
Shoreditch St Leonard, London) s/o Joseph & Hannah SANDERS. As this is
the only occurrence of this full name in records, perhaps he is the father of
my 3xGGF, and perhaps the one who married Sarah TYLER in Enfield. There is no
recorded marriage for a Joseph Alexander. A Joseph married a Hannah DOWNES
on 14 Jul 1751 at St Anne & St Agnes, Aldersgate, London. Also,
christened at St Leonards to the couple are a Thomas SANDERS (1760)
& Tryphosa SANDERS (1765).
In the
period that Joseph & Sarah were in Enfield, four other SANDERS couples
were married and had children there, and may be related: Richard Francis
SANDERS & Anne, possibly = Susanna NENNY in Feb 1794, William
SANDERS = Mary CRACKNELL in Oct 1781, William SANDERS = Mary ACRUS
in Apr 1794, and Richard SANDERS & Martha. Both Williams & Richards
may be the same. Mary SANDERS (1794) may be the one who married in Enfield
either to George Henry WARD in Sep 1817 or John BROWN in Dec
1818. Connections to any of these Middlesex families may only be proven by
DNA (i.e. kit matches to those listed above with any of the marker segments
indicated).
Ø
An article in the Loughborough Monitor and News,
from Thursday 17 April 1913, entitled Death and Funeral of Mr. J. A.
SANDERS - A Well Known Loughburian, about family member Joseph Abbott SANDERS,
(my 1C3R). While most of the obituary referred to incidents in the C19th,
there were indications of the connection to Birmingham. All inserted brackets
on dates and relationships are my own:
"His family had been noted for
generations for their skill in gun-making and on leaving school at the age of
fourteen (c1852) he went to Birmingham where he was apprenticed to the family
trade. The inherited craftsmanship he exhibited made his work eagerly sought
after when later on in life he came to settle once more in his native town.
His Grandfather (my 3xGGF Joseph Alexander SANDERS) and Great-grandfather
(not named) were armourer sergeants in the Royal Scots Greys, and the latter
served under the Duke of Wellington and was at Waterloo."
The
full details of the obituary are discussed below, however the evidence at the
UK Public Records Office (PRO) at Kew indicates that family stories have been
embellished with time and perhaps also by the writer of the obituary.
Although it is almost certain that the SANDERS were involved in the
Birmingham Gun Trade early on (no mention of Middlesex), they were not
armourer sergeants in the Royal Scots Greys. They may have supplied guns to
the army, as the regiment was connected for a time with Birmingham as well as
Loughborough, but they were artisan manufacturers and not mass weapon
producers. No armourer sergeants with the SANDERS name were at Waterloo, a
battle which is well documented.
The head of the family is consequently
taken as an unknown gunmaker, possibly of London, Middlesex origins, who is
the reported GGF of Joseph Abbott SANDERS and is therefore my 4xGGF. The
search continues to identify him if he is not the Joseph SANDERS married at
Enfield.
The Birmingham Gun
Quarter
The Birmingham Gun Quarter was centred
in the area between the foot of Steelhouse Lane and Aston. There was a
mixture of factories of moderate size, small factories and shoppings,
the name given to workshops which were let out to individual out-workers. It
was a cramped warren of early Victorian tenement buildings pushing in between
buildings of an earlier time and function. The largest factory was that of
the famous Webley and Scott in Slaney St., but smaller firms such as Bonehills,
Benjamin West, and numerous others in Price Street. Mingled with these
factories were workshops. A gunsmith who wished to set up business of his own
would rent a space in one of these from either the Council or the company of
other gunsmiths who might be doing quite different work. There are no
reported gunmakers using the SANDERS name commercially in Birmingham.
A list of SANDERS gunsmiths (my notes
and comments in italics, with additional known addresses from research) taken
from English Gunmakers of 18th and 19th Century, by De Witt Bailey and
Douglas A. Nye, (1978 ed., Arms & Armour Press, London)
o Joseph:
at Leicester 1832-47 (my Joseph
Alexander). 1846 at Belgrave Gate, Leicester
o Joseph:
at Loughborough 1834-63 (my Joseph
Alexander's 2nd premises and/or his son)
o
John: at Loughborough 1848 (John s/o
Joseph Alexander)
[incorrectly speculated to
be the same as Joseph, above, in the book]
o
Joseph: at High Street, Oakham, Rutland 1856 (Joseph Alexander), also
listed as White Smith & Cutler
o
William:
at High Street, Oakham, Rutland 1864 (younger son of Joseph Alexander)
Mill Street, Oakham from 1846, then 7 High Street Oakham 1849-57
None of the gunmaking SANDERS in Birmingham or
Middlesex can be connected genealogically to this family and can be
demonstrated to be other unrelated families (subject to any DNA connection).
Master Joseph SANDERS of
Leicester, Gunmaker (my Joseph Alexander) had an apprentice,
Thomas Edwin WILD of Leicester, who joined him on 26 Nov 1840. Otherwise, it
is interesting to note a Richard Alexander SANDERS, Gunmaker, who married at
St Botolph Aldgate in London in 1750.
A Percussion Pistol made by and marked as SANDERS of Loughborough
Part 4: The Early C19th Birmingham & Loughborough Family
- The Family of Joseph Alexander SANDERS & Mary Ann ASHFORD -
Census data in 1851 & 1861 confirms
that Joseph Alexander
SANDERS was born in London, Middlesex c1796/1797. It is noted that the
second name appears as part of the father's name on his daughter Charlotte’s
SANDERS marriage certificate, and on his death in Oakham in 1864 only. He may
have been apprenticed anytime in the period leading up to his marriage
(perhaps in Birmingham, as discussed above), but this is not found.
Registering as Joseph, he married Mary
Ann ASHFORD
at St Bartholomew, the parish church of Edgbaston (a district now part of
Birmingham, but then an outlying village is Worcestershire) in Dec 1814,
which is where this family’s story starts. There are no witnesses to suggest
SANDERS siblings or parents. Mary Ann was the d/o a Gun Lock Filer, so the
marriage occurred within the trade.
An older Joseph Alexander SANDERS (taken
at Oakham; style is very much 1860s (he died in 1864); in stark contrast to
the earlier photograph)
& Mary Ann SANDERS nee ASHFORD (taken
at Leicester, sometime prior to her death in 1853)
The
family appears to have moved to Loughborough c1824 (between birth of daughter
Elizabeth (c1823) & son Henry (1825) probably as the gunmaking trade was
expanding. Historically, many gun families moved out of Birmingham city for
reasons not fully understood, but possibly to use derelict water mills for
power as Birmingham became overpopulated (the steam engine eventually killing
off use of water mills).
By
1841, Joseph Alexander & Mary SANDERS had moved on to a new establishment
in Leicester, leaving the Loughborough premises in the hands of their eldest
son John SANDERS and young family.
Joseph Alexander SANDERS was trading at 33 Belgrave Gate in 1846 (White's
Trade Directory). He then moved to Oakham later in 1846, probably to support
the gun business opened by his son William SANDERS in Mill Street,
Oakham. He was in the town until his death in 1864.
High Street, Oakham
The
family of Joseph Alexander SANDERS were present at High Street, Oakham,
Rutland in 1851. Joseph's wife, Mary Ann, was absent visiting the HARRISON
family in Leicester (no known relationship) and died in 1853 at Oakham. The
only children present in 1851 were William
SANDERS (Gunmaker, 19) & Lucretia SANDERS (15). In 1861, Joseph
is a widower living with daughter Lucretia at the same address.
No
SANDERS gunmakers were listed for Leicester after this time, suggesting that
the family business had retracted to Oakham. The Oakham Museum confirms
Joseph SANDERS listed as a cutler, gunmaker and whitesmith who, in 1846, was
working in Mill Street, Oakham, Rutland, and by 1855 had moved to the High
Street where he remained until 1863. In 1864, it appears that the younger son
William SANDERS & his wife Ann were running the business, as gunmaker,
cutler and whitesmith, coincident with Joseph Alexander's death. William
& Ann had moved back from Doncaster in Yorkshire, where they had been living
since about 1857. William's name appears until 1870. The SANDERS name had
disappeared by 1877 and replaced by WHITEHOUSE, the family of William &
Ann having moved on to Grantham in Lincolnshire after 1873. An auction to
sell the Oakham business was held on the 5 Sep 1872 which ended the family's
involvement in the gun trade.
Pistol made by Joseph Alexander SANDERS or his son
William SANDERS of Oakham c1850
Images courtesy of Rutland County
Museum
Joseph
Alexander SANDERS
(1796-1864) & Mary Ann ASHFORD (1797-1853) had at least 11
children. Three of the children may have been baptised in London, as
potential entries exist, but cannot be confirmed as being of the couple
without descendant DNA. The family moved from Birmingham to Loughborough
c1824. The known and suspected children are listed below, with a very low
survival rate for most families resulting in any extinct lines:
· Mary Ann SANDERS (c1815 Birmingham) = GRAVES (No
proof, but name listed as given as part of the Leicestershire POTTER-side
family stories – GRAVES might be confused with GRACE);
· John SANDERS (c1816 Birmingham - 1880 Loughborough)
= Elizabeth ABBOTT. No baptism has been found, although an 1818 entry
in Walsall may be him (no original available). Descendants:
o
Joseph Abbott SANDERS (1838-1913) = Elizabeth PALFREYMAN
in 1866 Loughborough. Their Loughborough family:
§ Emily SANDERS (1867) - see note below;
§ Elizabeth Ann SANDERS (1869-69);
o
John Abbott SANDERS (1840-46);
o
Elizabeth Ann SANDERS (1842-43);
o
Mary
Ann SANDERS
(1844-53);
o Emily SANDERS (1851-53);
· Joseph SANDERS (c1819 Birmingham) - appears to have
died Q4 1841 in Leicester;
· Elizabeth SANDERS (c1823 Birmingham - Note: age rounded
down in 1841 census) = PICK (based on Leicestershire family stories
only - not proven by records);
· Henry SANDERS (Dec 1825 & baptised 1828 in
Loughborough – 1839 Leicester);
· Thomas SANDERS (Dec 1827 & baptised 1828
Loughborough – 1838 Leicester);
· Selina SANDERS (c1829 Loughborough - 1915 Billesdon,
LEI) = Thomas Hatton POTTER in 1850;
· William SANDERS (c1831 Loughborough-1881 Grantham,
LIN) = Ann ELLINGWORTH in 1856 Oakham, Rutland. Descendants are:
o
Joseph Thomas SANDERS (c1857 Doncaster, West Yorkshire, d.
1938 Chantilly, France) = Jessie MAITLAND (1860-1927) in 1882
Stockport, Cheshire – A jockey in Chantilly & Pau, France. In 1871 he was
a stable boy in Newmarket, Suffolk. 2 daughters known to date, both born
Moulins in Allier, France, with descendants in France sought:
§ Isabelle-Alice SANDERS (1885-1964) = John CHAMBERS
(1880-1958) in 1913 Chantilly, both interred Chantilly;
§ Minnee-Rose SANDERS (1887) = George-Thomas CLOUT
(c1885) in 1912 Chantilly.
o
Harry SANDERS (c1858/59 Doncaster) = Sarah Ann LAWSON in
1880 Leicester. Children were all unmarried and living at 24 Percival Street,
Leicester in 1911. Harry was a “Shoemaker by Hand”:
§ Annie Minnie SANDERS (1881 Leicester, Passer in Shoe Shop),
unmarried on 1911 census, but possibly = Alfred Hackett WHEATLEY a few
months later;
§ Harry SANDERS (1889 Leicester, Tool Maker) –
possibly = Alice GOODWIN in 1930 Leicester. Alice may be the sister of
Arthur, below. A marriage also exists in 1932 Leicester to Ellen L BROWN.
No apparent children on BMD;
§ Mabel SANDERS (1893 Leicester, Hand Hosiery
Machinist) – possibly = John R WRIGHT in 1918 Leicester;
§ Grace SANDERS (1896 Leicester, Counter Girl) –
possibly = Tom GRANT in 1920 Leicester;
§ Ida SANDERS (1898 Leicester, at School) – possibly
= Arthur GOODWIN in 1929 Leicester. Arthur may be the brother of
Alice, above;
o
Walter SANDERS (1861 Doncaster-1935 Grantham) = Mary WOOD (1864-1923)
in 1882 Grantham. Children:
§ William Henry SANDERS (1882-1942 Grantham) = Agnes Jane BOND in 1910 Grantham. Children:
§ Eileen Mary SANDERS (1913 Grantham-2008) = Henry H
HARDY;
§ Maud Marian SANDERS (1885-1976 Grantham) = Frederick BASS in 1915 Grantham;
§ Gertrude Lucy SANDERS (1888-1970 Grantham = George Victor
CROSBY
in 1910 Grantham;
§ Ida Florence SANDERS (1890-1976 Grantham) = Charles F SWAIN in 1916;
§ Gladys Minnie SANDERS (1893-1972 Grantham) = Harold C CROSS in 1919;
§ Doris Annie SANDERS (1897-c1938 Grantham) = Percy HARDY in 1928;
o
Clara Alice SANDERS / Alice Clara SANDERS (1862 Doncaster-1891 Grantham) = John FAIRCHILD in 1890 Grantham;
o
Annie Elizabeth SANDERS (1863 Doncaster) = James Henry NEAL in 1885 Grantham;
o
John William SANDERS (c1867/68 Rutland) = Harriet BROOKSBANK in 1891 Leicester. Children:
§ Adeline SANDERS (1902-82);
§ Mabel SANDERS (1904);
§ Kathleen Nellie SANDERS (1907) = Lancelot C THRELKELD in 1936 Leicester;
§ John William SANDERS (1909-94 Leicester) = Alice M
SENSICALL in 1938 Leicester. Children:
§ George William SANDERS (1939) = Cynthia V LAKE;
§ Zoe SANDERS (1980);
§ Cara SANDERS (1983);
§ Anthony SANDERS (1942) = Carol M EDWARDS in 1965 Leicester. Children:
§ Karen SANDERS (1966);
§ Andrew William SANDERS (1968), where the male LEI SANDERS
family line currently ends;
§ Nicola SANDERS (1975);
§ Gillian Ann SANDERS (adopted);
o
Rowland Ashford SANDERS (1871 Oakham – 1912 Labatut, France) –
The source of the French family's "la goutte de sang anglais" (the
drop of English blood). Rowland became a jockey in Pau, following the trade
of his elder brother. In 1900 Pau, he married Marie Jeanne LANUSSE (d.
1942). He died onboard a train in an accident at Labatut by being crushed by
his horse:
§ Pierre "René" SANDERS (1901) = Lucie:
§ Roland “Rolley” SANDERS (1926-2003) = Ginette in the
1950's:
§ Catherine SANDERS;
§ Yves SANDERS;
§ Joseph Pierre Rowland “Rolland” SANDERS (1902-1941), a train driver who died 6
weeks following a train accident at Toulouse = Eléonore COUGET in
1926:
§ René SANDERS (1928-2004) had 2 children by first
wife Suzanne (from 1947) & 4 children by second wife Carmen
(after 1950);
§ Gérard SANDERS (1947-2007) – 5 children in the
Toulouse region by wives:
§ Stéphane SANDERS (c1971) by 1st wife Marie
Hélène;
§ Sarah SANDERS (c1982) by 2nd wife Joséphine
BRIOULE;
§ Stanley Pierre Jacques SANDERS (c1988) by 3rd wife Florence;
§ Gaspard SANDERS (c1995) by 4th wife Colette;
§ Eléonore SANDERS (c1998) by Colette;
§ Claude SANDERS (1949) = Liliane BOISSAY;
§ Magali SANDERS = (1) Pascal BRACONNEAU (1975) =
(2) Michel LEPRETRE (1964)
§ Camille Serge Claude BRACONNEAU-SANDERS (2008);
§ Dominique SANDERS (1957) – professional cyclist;
§ Sabrina SANDERS (c1980) by 1st wife Genevieve,
= Thierry GAILLET
§ Cruz GAILETT-SANDERS;
§ Margot SANDERS (c2001) by unknown 2nd wife;
§ Gilles SANDERS (1964) – professional cyclist. 2
children by 1st wife Corinne FAURE, later marrying Anne
in Nov 2010;
§ Amandine SANDERS;
§ Renaud SANDERS;
§ Marie France SANDERS = Patrice LAVERGNE;
§ Claudine SANDERS ( -1983) = MARSAN;
§ Yvette SANDERS (1933) = Paul JAYMES;
§ Luce “Lucette” SANDERS (1935) = Georges CASARÉGOLA
(1934-1999);
Joseph Pierre Rowland SANDERS & Pierre "René" SANDERS, sons of Rowland Ashford SANDERS
o
Emily SANDERS (c1873 Oakham) = Thomas HODSON in 1893 Grantham;
o
Minnie SANDERS (c1875 Grantham) - nothing known after
1891;
· Martha SANDERS (c1833 Loughborough) = Frederick Richard POTTER;
· Lucretia SANDERS (c1835 Loughborough - 1883 Derby);
· Charlotte SANDERS (1841 Leicester – Smethwick, STS 1924)
= William GRACE (my
2xGGPs);
Part
5: Stories from C19th Leicestershire Family:
Mary
Ann SANDERS (c1815 Birmingham):
Nothing
is really known of Mary
Ann SANDERS, the couple’s first surviving child. She was born
within a year or so of her parents wedding, and probably born in Birmingham.
No baptism has yet been found (possibly London). Presumably sometime around
the mid-1830s she married into the GRAVES family and helped to run the Co-Op store in
Aylestone Road, Leicester. Her daughter Mary GRAVES (possibly the one born 1840 at
Loughborough, one of a line of possible GRAVES children in the town to 1850)
married into the RICHARDS
family (sometime after 1857, but not found) and provided grandchildren Harry RICHARDS, Maud RICHARDS (who married
an Edgar,
not found) and Frances
RICHARDS,
known as "Nan". Despite so many family members indicated, no
further details of this branch or the extended family are known as research
of census & BMD data has failed to confirm any of the above thread. As
there are some burials for infant Mary Ann SANDERS, it is possible the story
as passed on has become severely corrupted or belongs elsewhere in this
family. A mystery I would like to solve.
John
SANDERS (1816 Birmingham):
John SANDERS, the second child and first son, followed his father's
footsteps and the family tradition of gunmaking. He was born in Birmingham
(baptism not found). His trade, taken over from his father by 1841, also
combined a Wine & Spirit Dealership by the 1851 census, which he was to
pass on to his son Joseph
Abbott SANDERS. John married Elizabeth ABBOTT in Apr 1837 in
Birmingham. Her younger brother Matthew
ABBOTT was apprenticed to John and resident in 1851. John's
sister Martha SANDERS
was a visitor in 1851, both given as being born in Loughborough. John died in
1880; his wife, Mary in 1871. The family were in High Gate, Loughborough in
1841 (later becoming the High Street) with children Joseph Abbott SANDERS
& John Abbott
SANDERS,
and 176 High Street in 1851 with Joseph SANDERS & Mary Ann SANDERS. The
family were still resident in the High Street in 1861. In 1864 (Loughborough
Trade Directory) John was registered as the proprietor of the
"Anchor" pub in the High Street and mentioned in all previous trade
directories as both a gunmaker and a wine & spirit merchant. In 1871 John
was living at 38 Leicester Road, Loughborough.
Of
their known children, it appears that Joseph Abbott SANDERS (1838),
their first child, was the only survivor: John Abbott SANDERS
(1840-1846), Elizabeth Ann SANDERS (1842-43), Mary Ann SANDERS (1844-53),
[Joseph Abbott, Mary Ann & John all c. 1845] & Emily SANDERS (1851-53). Joseph
Abbott SANDERS
Will is dated 1913. No SANDERS male progeny survives along this SANDERS
branch.
John SANDERS, John's wife Elizabeth
ABBOTT (style of late 1850's and may be originally from a Collodion Positive
on glass) & "The Anchor", 30-31 High Street, Loughborough
(formerly known as "Ye Anchor")
The Story of John NEWBOROUGH: [information from Gillian HASSELL]
John
NEWBOROUGH (1832)
was the illegitimate son of Elizabeth NEWBOROUGH of Orton on the Hill,
Leicestershire (now Warwickshire). At the time of John's marriage in 1855 his
father is given as John SANDERS, occupation liquor merchant. In the
1901 census John is recorded as John Sanders NEWBOROUGH. The only John
SANDERS with this trade in the 1851 census in the area is the John of this
SANDERS family. There are no other candidates in the 1841 census. There is a
family fable of some 'wrong side of the blanket' link to the gentry, or at
least of a different social class, so it is possible a young man's fling may
have occurred before John SANDERS was respectably married to Elizabeth
ABBOTT. Any living descendants might be able to prove this story with atDNA.
There are three potential kits on GEDmatch
that could provide a result.
Joseph
SANDERS (1819 Birmingham):
Like
his elder brother,
Joseph SANDERS followed the gunmaking tradition. Born c1819
outside of Leics., probably Birmingham, he was working with his elder brother
John SANDERS in 1841 Loughborough census. His appears to be the death in Q4
1841 Leicester.
Elizabeth
SANDERS (c1823 Birmingham):
Born
by 1826 (based on rounded-down age in 1841 census) outside of LEI, probably
Birmingham (baptism not found, although possibly London). Possibly married
into the PICK
family. C20th SANDERS relative Shirley COPE related that an aunt of her
grandmothers called Sarah PICK of Stamford, LIN, was a blood relative. She
had a daughter Annie who lived at Peterborough, possibly the sister of
Elizabeth and Matthew ABBOTT. The Elizabeth who married Q4 1844 at
Loughborough is not her, as the father is Thomas. The PICK family
relationship is not confirmed by 1851 or 1861 census either.
Henry
SANDERS (1825 Loughborough):
Nothing
is known apart from being born in 1825 and baptised in Loughborough in 1828
at High Street, Leicester Road Wesleyan (HSLRW) with his younger brother. His
appears to be the death in 1839 Leicester.
Thomas
SANDERS (1826 Loughborough):
Nothing
is known apart from being born in 1827 and baptised in Loughborough in 1828
at HSLRW with his older brother Henry. His appears to be the death in 1838
Leicester.
Selina
SANDERS (1829 Loughborough):
Born in 1829, Loughborough, Selina = Thomas
Hatton POTTER in 1850, the brother of Frederick Richard POTTER who
married sister Martha SANDERS. She ran a taxidermy business and died in 1915.
Her photo album (last known to be in the possession of cousin Barbara REEDER)
has several pictures of her taken in Leicester and elsewhere. The POTTERs
lived in Billesdon, LEI and children include: Elizabeth Sharpe POTTER, Thomas
William POTTER, Frederick Richard POTTER, Selina Annie POTTER, Henry Edward
POTTER, Frank Ernest POTTER, & Florence Emeline POTTER.
Selina (taken by Daynes Photo of Rugby, left) taken in 1870's
based on the sleeves and bodice
(her hairstyle is suggested as a leftover from the 1860's), and her 78th birthday photograph taken on 11 Sep 1907
William SANDERS (c1831
Loughborough):
William
SANDERS and
his wife Ann ELLINGWORTH (d/o Thomas ELLINGWORTH & Elizabeth
WHITE, non-conformists of Rutland) were marriage witnesses at his sister
Charlotte SANDERS' wedding in 1863 to William
GRACE.
William SANDERS was born c1831 in Loughborough and baptised the same year. He
married Ann in 1856 in Oakham after setting up his business in Mill Street,
Oakham, before moving to the High Street. In 1864 he took over the business
set up in Oakham by his father who died the same year, and was recorded there
until 1870. Oakham Museum has a Gentlemen’s belt pistol made by Sanders of
Oakham dated c1850. This is most likely to have been made by William or his
father.
William
& Ann SANDERS had previously lived at 72 St Sepulchre Gate in Doncaster
in 1861, with children Joseph
SANDERS (c1855 Doncaster) and Harry SANDERS (c1858 Doncaster). Also,
resident was William's sister Charlotte SANDERS and importantly (for me) one
of two lodgers, her future husband, William
GRACE (my
2xGGF). William SAUNDERS (census spelling) was an Engine Fitter.
In
1871, the family were at High Street, Oakham (also as SAUNDERS) with new
children Walter SANDERS
(c1861 Doncaster), Annie
Elizabeth SANDERS (c1862 Doncaster), Alice Clara SANDERS
(c1865 Rutland) and
John William SANDERS (c1867 Rutland) including a 15-year-old
apprentice gunmaker Arthur NEEDHAM, also of Rutland.
The
Bill of Sale, above, shows they sold up and moved out, however they must have
remained in the area until after 1873. The family were living at 71
Commercial Road, Spittlegate, Grantham in 1881 with Walter SANDERS (E&M
Fitter, 19), John William SANDERS (13) and new children Rowland Ashford
SANDERS (c1871 Oakham, named after his grandmother Mary Ann ASHFORD), Emily
SANDERS (c1873 Oakham) & Minnie SANDERS (c1875 Grantham). William SANDERS
was a Whitesmith and no doubt continued to own a shop. Descendant families
include:
Joseph Thomas SANDERS = Jessie
MAITLAND in
Chantilly, France;
Harry SANDERS = Sarah Ann LAWSON in Leicester;
Walter SANDERS = Mary WOOD in Grantham;
Annie Elizabeth SANDERS = James Henry NEAL;
Alice Clara SANDERS
= John FAIRCHILD in Grantham;
John William SANDERS = Harriet BROOKSBANK in Leicester;
Rowland Ashford SANDERS = Marie
Jeanne LANUSSE in Pau, France;
Emily SANDERS
= Thomas HODSON in Lincolnshire;
Minnie SANDERS (unknown);
Martha
SANDERS (c1833 Loughborough):
Born
c1833 & baptised the same year in Loughborough, she married Frederick Richard POTTER,
Saddler, renowned Quaker and Botanist in 1861 at Leicester (the brother of Thomas Hatton POTTER
who married her elder sister Selena).
In the 1851 census, she was visiting her elder brother John's family in
Loughborough. They had one son, Joseph Sanders POTTER, and in 1881 at
28 Devonshire Square had Lucretia SANDERS staying. Husband Richard
apparently travelled the world following his botanical interests. Joseph Sanders
POTTER continued using the SANDERS name with his son, Gerald Sanders
POTTER born 1903 in Loughborough. Gerald lived in Australia for a time,
but died back home in 1966. There does not appear to be any other use of the
name SANDERS in the POTTER lines.
C20th
relative Rosalie CLARKE
related that her father, Walter
Bertie GRACE,
had an 'Aunt Martha' who was almost certainly this elder sister of Charlotte
(his mother). Martha's son Joseph POTTER kept a Saddler's & Photographic
Shop in Market Place, Loughborough, and is confirmed by 1881 census data.
Martha & Frederick remained in Loughborough for 1891 & 1901.
"Cousin
Sydney" POTTER was Deputy Borough Carillonneur of the Loughborough War
Memorial Carillon (a series of bells played from a keyboard below) for 50
years, dedicated in 1923. Sydney was a bachelor and lived his final days in
the Cotswolds. During his working life, he assisted in the family retail
business in Loughborough.
Lucretia
SANDERS (c1835 Loughborough-1883):
Born c1835 at Loughborough, Lucretia remained a
spinster, probably as the result of her apparent dwarfism as revealed in a
photograph taken at Oakham. In 1851 and 1861 she was living with her father
in Oakham. Probably on his death in 1864 she moved to Doncaster to live with
her sister Charlotte GRACE,
where on the 1871 Census at Portland Terrace, Shady Side, Hexthorpe,
Doncaster she was with the family. She was given as having no occupation
which indicates that she was probably living on SANDERS family money, not
contributing to the household in any way, not even as a domestic servant. Her
movements away from the family in Leicestershire were probably linked with
the part of the family at the time able to look after her. In 1881, then 38,
she was living with her sister Martha, wife of
Frederick Richard POTTER, Saddler, back in Loughborough. She appeared to have
moved with William & Charlotte GRACE to the Derby area sometime before 1873.
Her death is registered in 1883 at Derby, aged 46. The style of hair and
dress date this picture of Lucretia to the late 1860's, i.e. in her
mid-twenties.
Charlotte SANDERS (1841):
The
young Charlotte with her new husband
(taken at Skipton)
Charlotte was born on 7 Jul 1841 at
Belgrave Gate, Leicester. On the 1861 census, she was living with her brother
William's family in Doncaster where her future husband William GRACE was
one of two lodgers (who had travelled north, from Ramsgate, Kent, following
his Coachbuilding trade, which more than ever was associated with the
railways; Doncaster being a major railway centre at the time). Charlotte was
a milliner, as was William's wife Ann, formerly ELLINGWORTH. William &
Charlotte married 25 May 1863 at Balby & Hexthorpe, near Doncaster.
William & Ann SANDERS were witnesses.
Rosalie
CLARKE related that "Grandma Charlotte" lived in Holbrook, Derby
for a few years (perhaps around 1914). She apparently married William totally
against the wishes of her parents to “deep ill-feeling”. The reason for this
is not clear but it is possible to speculate about the feelings of a
relatively wealthy and successful artisan SANDERS family objecting to a
daughter marrying the more working class lodger, 'a step down', by settling
for a relatively poor coachbuilder with no significant family financial
support. One can only assume it was a love match and Charlotte a determined
young woman. It is interesting to note that consistently throughout her life
Charlotte's age was always given three years less than her actual age. She
was born in 1841, as per records and not 1844 as implied (no other records
found). Either she did not know her exact age, or deliberately kept it a
secret (which was not uncommon practice).
Joseph
Abbott SANDERS:
Joseph Abbott SANDERS' obituary was found in the Loughborough Monitor and News of Thursday 17 Apr 1913
as Death and Funeral of Mr. J. A. SANDERS - A Well Known Loughburian.
The article is reproduced in full, below, followed by research analysis:
"We regret to announce the death,
which occurred at midnight on Saturday, of Mr. Joseph Abbot SANDERS, of Forest
Rise Loughborough. Deceased, who was 75 years of age, having been born on
February 19th, 1838, had been ill and confined to his room for the past two
years, but until practically the end he retained a wonderfully keen interest
in affairs. The old gentleman was never so happy as in recounting his
knowledge of the town; he had a marvellous memory for dates and appeared able
not only to fix the precise time of national but of local happenings. He was
a perfect storehouse of local gossip and could retail many an old custom
since fallen into desuetude. He was a native of Loughborough, having been
born in the Leicester Road. His family had been noted for generations for
their skill in gun-making and on leaving school at the age of fourteen he
went to Birmingham where he was apprenticed to the family trade. The
inherited craftsmanship he exhibited made his work eagerly sought after when
later on in life he came to settle once more in his native town. His
Grandfather and Great-grandfather were armourer sergeants in the Royal Scots
Greys, and the latter served under the Duke of Wellington and was at
Waterloo.
Mr.
SANDERS was engaged during the Crimean War (1853-56) in making arms at the
Tower of London. He then came back to Loughborough and followed up his trade.
A wine and spirit business was purchased for him by his father and the vaults
in the High Street with the gunsmith's shop adjoining became a well-known
rendezvous for many county men. Mr. SANDERS, it may be noted, was fond of
many kinds of sport. He was a splendid shot, one of the best in the whole
district, an adept at fishing, fond of punting, coursing and swimming, and
these tastes, with his skill in guns brought him into contact with the county
gentry and there are those living now who owe to Mr. SANDERS their first
tuition in shooting, swimming and fishing. This business was continued until
his father's death in 1880 and shortly after he gave up the gunsmith's
business and retired altogether in 1886. Like many an old master craftsman to
whom every detail of his work was known, he professed a very poor opinion of
the workman who is forced by modern industrial conditions, to become a
specialist in one particular branch of his trade. Mr. SANDERS could make -
and he took great pride in it - everything in a gun, lock, stock and barrel.
Mention should be made of his connection with the old Volunteer movement. He
was able to claim to be the only man in Loughborough who joined the first
Volunteer Company in the town and who lived to see the old force merged into
the present Territorial organisation. Some time before joining the 6th
Company of the Leicestershire Rifle Volunteers in 1860, Mr. SANDERS and
others used to drill in the Town Hall under Mr. HAGUE, the Superintendent of
the police, who was the first drill-master of the Loughborough Company. As
soon as the corps was established in the town Mr. SANDERS joined - he was
number 7 and was appointed armourer sergeant, a position he held till his
retirement after many years service. He possessed the long service medal and
wore it proudly till the day of his death. Keen in all things which he
thought to be his duty, he is said to have attended every parade and drill
but three and he never missed attending the annual camp. On one occasion, he,
with three of his colleagues, after travelling from Oxford and missing their
train connection at Leicester, set out to walk to Loughborough, carrying the
whole of their equipment. It was in the early hours of the morning but the
quartet were still game after two hours and fifty minutes walk. He was a
member of the Loughborough contingent which formed a guard of honour at
Nottingham when the Robin Hoods were presented with their first colours and
46 years ago he attended the first Volunteer funeral at Loughborough and
fired over the grave of the late W. KING. When he first joined the Volunteers
he had to pay £4-10s for his own clothes and he contrasted the older
conditions with the easier ones now prevailing.
As previously mentioned, Mr. SANDERS had a rare taste for retailing his reminiscences.
One incident he always recalled happened on his seventeenth birthday. Captain
HUNTER of the Royal Scots Greys made him a present of a whole sheep and to
the delight of the youth the carcass was roasted whole on the ice at
Thackholm Deeps on the Soar. He could recall many old customs such as Plough
Monday, and bell-ringing on Shrove Tuesday, on which day the old fire brigade
would turn out in the Market Place and the people would scramble for oranges.
Gone too, is the "White Apron Fair" held on Holy Thursday with many
other Loughborough custom which the march of modernisation has killed. He,
with others turned out to see the first excursion train ever to run in this
country reach Loughborough.
He survived all his family and had no brothers, nephews or nieces living. He
leaves a widow and one daughter, Miss SANDERS, to mourn his loss."
Much
of the detail is quite interesting and has some basis in truth, although it
seems to be embellished by the writer and perhaps his surviving family. The
family may have had long traditions in the gunmaking trade and may have
supplied arms to the Royal Scots Greys [1786-1877, then known as the 2nd
Royal North British Dragoons (Scots Greys)]. There is no historical evidence
of an armourer or soldier of any other rank at the Battle of Waterloo, and no
SANDERS on the Medal Roll.
Research
at the PRO in Kew shows Loughborough as a station for the regiment in the
1797 Muster Rolls. During the time of Waterloo, James BRAY was
Armourer-Sergeant, with the regiment based in Canterbury. The Regiment was in
Birmingham for the muster 1 Apr 1853 – 30 Jun 1853, and at Loughborough from
30 Mar 1854, before embarking to the Crimea. John FLANAGAN was
Armourer-Sergeant. This probably means that the SANDERS served the regiment
while it was stationed locally.
Captain Robert
Scott HUNTER was indeed real. A native of Brechin,
Angus, Scotland, born in 1831, he served with the Royal Scots Greys, 2nd
(Royal North British) Regiment of Dragoons. He purchased his Cornet in 1851
(an old commissioned rank as a military cornet player), became Lieutenant in
1854 and then Captain in Sep 1855. After serving in the Eastern Campaign at
the Battles of Balaclava, Inkerman & the Siege of Sevastopol he retired
in 1862. He married a Loughborough girl, Clara Maria MIDDLETON in 1861 and
was living with his in-laws in Ashley Road, Loughborough in 1871. By 1881 he
was living in Analyte, Perthshire, Scotland. The seventeenth birthday party
on the River Soar in Feb 1855, just before becoming Captain, seems to be a
true event.
Records
are unable to confirm that during the Crimean War [1853-5: aged only 15-17
years] Joseph made arms at the Tower of London. His apprenticeship record for
c1852 has not been located. Joseph Abbott was with his family in the 1851
census index.
There
is a photograph of 30 & 31 High Street, Loughborough the old gunsmith and
wine shop sold in 1886 to Anchor Ales. They ran both shops as beer/spirit
shops until 1928/29 when they were demolished for road widening. Joseph &
Elizabeth's family were resident at 30-31 High Street in 1871 with daughter
Emily only. There were three general domestic servants resident, one as a
lodger. Joseph was a Licensed Victualler. In 1901 Joseph, aged 63, is still
living in Loughborough on his own means
at 26 Leicester Road, with Elizabeth (62). They had two servants. The one
daughter that survived him is assumed to be Emily a.k.a. "Cousin
Pem", below.
Emily
SANDERS (1867):
Emily
SANDERS
or 'Auntie Pem' had property in Loughborough. A row of houses was left to the
family in the 1930's and had to be updated to new council standards. Ernest POTTER, son of
Selena SANDERS,
had no money for this. There are two letters reportedly dated May 1936 from a
firm of Loughborough solicitors asking for information on relatives. Perhaps
this initiated the GRACE family tales of the Sanders Fortune (see
below). Shirley COPE related that Cousin Pem SANDERS owned a row of cottages
in Loughborough which were condemned after 1945 due to lack of sanitation,
supporting this story. After her mother's death, Pem allegedly travelled the
world on her inheritance, but had nothing remaining for all those in the
family who expect to inherit her wealth. Census data up to 1901 suggests Pem
only made it as far as Sussex, as she was boarding and living on own means throughout that period. What happened to her
after 1901 is unclear. The 1936 episode appears to relate to the death of her
mother Elizabeth (PALFREYMAN) in 1935, aged 96. No date of death for Emily
has yet been found.
If you have more family stories, I would
be very pleased to receive them.
Part 6: The Story of “SANDERS GRACE”:
The
Sanders Fortune is mentioned in the GRACE
family through childhood stories of Fanny
& Ginny SANDERS. The description of the two ladies in
question does not match any known members of the SANDERS family. These two
"mythical elderly ladies" are allegedly responsible for the first
origins of the SANDERS name tradition in five generations of the GRACE family,
and although the tradition has been maintained it is for entirely different
reasons; the latest being Paul
Sanders GRACE (1991), son of this researcher.
Ernest
Sanders GRACE (s/o William GRACE & Charlotte SANDERS) was reportedly
promised an inheritance from a SANDERS Will, which was apparently seen by Ev
& Billy (William Sanders) GRACE in the early C20th, however his share for
some reason was reportedly never forthcoming. The maker of the Will has not
been recognised. The story of ill feeling after William & Charlotte's
marriage may have some basis in truth, perhaps resulting in these events. Ev
& Billy had once contacted a SANDERS relative in Loughborough in the
mid-C20th but was reported to be "most unwelcoming". It is not
clear who this person would be as few of the SANDERS name were alive then.
The
story is likely connected to the death of Emily and the letters around 1936.
The story has been subject to embellishment and misinformation over the
years. A further possibility is that they are the two younger daughters of William & Ann SANDERS
(resident in Grantham, Lincolnshire in 1881) named Emily & Minnie. This pair,
born in the 1870's certainly have a close naming pattern to "Fanny &
Ginny" (possibly "Emmie & Minnie") and would have been of
an age to have interacted with Ev & Billy GRACE in the early to mid
C20th. Either way, there is a familiar thread of "SANDERS wealth"
not being inherited by both families.
Family
stories are notoriously difficult to validate, and the SANDERS name in the
GRACE family remains an established tradition in eight males to date; if
nothing else, to celebrate the fact that Charlotte SANDERS appears to have
married William GRACE for love.
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