A Sad Anniversary - 20 March 1850

Chris has reminded me that today is the 157^th anniversary of the sad death, from tuberculosis, of young Arnold Drew, son of Edward George and Elizabeth. Only a few weeks short of his 7^th birthday, the poor little tyke had already seen his mother pass away two years earlier as a result of the same disease.

The unhappy chain of events, as recorded in Edward Drew's "Register":

Arnold Drew son of Edward and Elizabeth Drew was born Tuesday the 11^th of April 1843.

Elizabeth Drew Died happy in God January 28^th 1848 Aged 27 years with consumption.

Arnold Drew son of Edward and Elizabeth Drew Died March 20 1850 at 1 o'clock Aged 6 years 11 months and 9 days into Decline.

And a poem:

On the Death of Dear Little Arnold
1
Oh Dearest boy thy sufferings end at last
The dearest of thy sect my eyes behold
Scarce seven years in this rough world to pass
Before that monster death thy body called.
2
Crushed in thy youth with accident and falls
With fractured brain and broken limb to bear
Sickness and sorrow whooping cough and blind
Swellings and colds at last died into decline.
3
Yet thy face and form so comely was
Thy mind appeared to have a brighter hue
Good natured loving even to thy foes
Patient and willing what thou could to do.
4
Thou lost thy mother when but five years old
And loved to look upon her lifeless clay
And asked when but to touch her hand so cold
Shall Mother live again another day.
5
Yes Yes dear boy we all shall rise again
Tho death deprive us of our nearest friends
And in that world where all dead shall reign
Our Jesus for thy loss will make amends.
6
Farewell dear boy thy loss I must endure
And live awhile thy brothers to maintain
Then we shall meet on Canaans happy shore
Where loss and sorrow shall be turned to gain.

(This is a 'corrected' version. The original spelling is not used.)

Queen Street, Penzance, 1881 Census

I was just idly doing some census searching for Bennett and Susan Drew, 1881. And there, on one page, in 4 neighbouring houses, we had a roll call of Drews. James Harvey BENNETTS and wife Francis Maria Drew KIDD were in number 34. Francis Maria KIDD nee DREW and son Joseph Drew KIDD were in number 35; Francis Maria was, of course, mother of Francis Maria Drew KIDD. Bennett and Susan DREW were in number 33, with unmarried sons Thomas and Joseph (both of whom apparently died soon after). Then, in number 32, was another son, Robert DREW with his wife Sarah POLLARD and their blind son Robert.

Certainly makes census transcription easier when they are all together in a bunch like that!

In 1871:

31 Queen Street : Bennett, Agnes and Marianna (Mary Hannah)
32 Queen Street: Robert, Sarah and baby Robert
33 Queen Street: Bennett, Susan, Thomas, Joseph and Henry
35 Queen Street: Jonathon Kidd, Francis and Joseph
Eliza J Hore, Dressmaker, was in #34.