Cousins of Some Degree

Windsor Castle Lower Bailey - Joseph Nash 1848 

From time to time I do check my blogger stats. Occasionally among the data are searches that brought people to the site. One of these searches was for "Arthur Wallington Glen", which I googled in turn. The first two hits were for this blog (!), but, more interesting to me, the third hit was for the transcript of a recorded interview with Dr. John Wallington Glen, ice-physics researcher, and, it turns out, distant step-cousin of mine. In his interview Dr. Glen says:
     …my father’s parents were Arthur Wallington Glen and Laura nee Till[e]y who
     were I think second cousins once removed, my grandfather was a builder, he had
     a house in Davey Street in London and a country house rather oddly known as
     The Cottage ‘cause it was quite big, at Virginia Water…

His paternal grandparents signed as witnesses to the marriage of John "Jack" Tilley and Amelia Augusta Beresford in June 1914, for which I have the marriage certificate, Jack Tilley being a son of Llewellyn Tilley, and my step great grandfather. Given Dr. Glen's uncertainty as to the exact relationship of his grandparents before their marriage, I'll take it they're cousins of some degree.

With the thought that tracing known cousins back to a common ancestor can yield interesting information, this post is concerned with the parents and siblings of John Tilley who would be my step 3xgreat grandfather, the father of Llewellyn Tilley, confectioner and farmer of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. I start with the information above that his daughter Laura Tilley is a cousin of some degree of her husband Arthur Wallington Glen; and, from 1881 census data, that one Glen Tilley is a cousin of Llewellyn himself.

Ancestry.com searches for England censuses from 1881 confirm Dr. Glen's information; at 33 Davies Street, Hanover Square, London (1881 and 1901), and at Virginia Water, Christchurch, Surrey (1891 and 1911), suggesting he maintained them both; his occupation as Builder/Decorator Employing 11 men (1881), Builder (1891), House Decorator/Painter - Employer (1901), and Builder - Employer (1911); and his wife Laura (born about 1854 in Tredegar, Wales). Their children are: Laura Eleanor (1879), Ida (1881), Arthur Percy (1882), James Vivian (1885), Sara (1887), Charles Wallington (1889), and William Llewellyn (1891). All seven were still living in 1911.

According to the National Probate Calendar, Arthur Wallington Glen died 30 March 1930 with probate granted to Laura Glen, his widow, on 29 August. According to the parish register, he was buried in the parish of Virginia Water, Christchurch, Surrey on 2 April. The death register index is Arthur W Glen Mar1930 Paddington 1a 110 Age:78. His marriage to Laura Tilley is recorded in BMD Marriage Index Arthur Wallington Glen Mar1878 Dursley 6a 315.

Prior to his marriage, the 1871 England Census at 12 Princes Street, Soho finds him with mother, Sarah Glen, Dressmaker, born Kingswood, Gloucester, and siblings. The father is presumably alive, since Sarah reports her status as Wife, Married, but in fact, she is the head of household for census purposes. Arthur Wallington Glen, age 19, is a carpenter, born in Chippenham, Wiltshire. This would correspond to BMD Birth Index Dec1851 Chippenham 8 304.

The census in 1861 finds Sarah and some of the children at 7 Garden Place, Newington, Surrey. Still no husband, and, this time, no Arthur. Before Arthur's time, but in the 1851 England Census at 1 Lansdown Place, Chippenham, we have:

     William Glen       Head  Mar   37   Carpenter     Scotland
     Sarah Glen          Wife  Mar    33                      Glostershire
     Charles Glen       Son              10  Scholar        Somerset             (born about 1841)
     Ellen Glen            Daur             8   Scholar         Somerset           (1843)
     William Glen        Son              6   Scholar         Somerset            (1845)
     Elizabeth Glen     Daur             4   Scholar         Somerset            (1847)
     John Glen            Son              2                       Wilts., Chippnm.  (1849)

Other children in later censuses are:
     Arthur Wallington (1852)
     James (1853)
     Ellen is also known as Eleanor in the 1861 census.

Searching for a marriage among the BMD Marriage Indexes for William Glen and Sarah up to Dec1841 yields a single hit. Sarah Tilley and William Glen were both married in the same quarter and registration district: BMD Marriage Index Dec1837 Bath 11 8. I have not yet ordered this one, but it strongly points toward Arthur Wallington Glen's mother being Sarah Tilley.

LDS familysearch.org have two baptisms at the Independent Congregation, Kingswood, Wiltshire with parents William (or Wm.) Tilley and Mary Wallington:
     Sarah Tilley                        born 5 March 1818, baptized 12 June 1818
     Richard Wallington Tilley    born 9 July 1819, baptized 23 January 1820

Which would explain the given name "Wallington".

So much for one of the cousins. As to the other, the baptismal record for Laura Tilley (wife of Arthur Wallington Glen) is from St Mary, Islington, born 20 Sept 1853, baptized 21 February 1864, "Laura Daur. of Llewellyn and Elizabeth Tilley". To establish a definite connection, the Glen/Tilley 1878 marriage certificate from Dursley would be helpful. Llewellyn and Elizabeth Tilley were living in Bedwellty for the 1851 Census, and the BMD Birth Index for Laura Tilley is probably using the Welsh spelling, Lawra Tilley Dec1853 Abergavenny 11a 69.

The post, An Identity Revealed, cites the baptismal record for Laura's father, Llewellyn Tilley, found in the register of an Independent Congregation in Kingswood, Wiltshire (neighboring Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire), born 21 November 1823 and baptized 18 January 1824, of parents Jno. [John] Tilley and Hester Knight.

As noted in that post, the LDS familysearch.org site also have, for these parents at this congregation, Mary (born 2 December 1821, baptized 6 October 1822) and Daniell (born 22 May 1826, baptized 13 August 1826); and no more, suggesting the parents were unable to conceive further children shortly after this (most likely because one of them had died), or that the family moved, and so further records would be found elsewhere. Given Llewellyn's later marriage in Rhymney, Monmouthshire might be the place to look.

Since other trees on ancestry.com have made the same connection, I am comforted in assuming true the hypothesis of Laura Tilley, wife of Arthur Wallington Glenn, being the Laura (or Lawra), daughter of Llewellyn Tilley. If so, her paternal grandparents would be John Tilley and Hester Knight. So, what baptismal records exist for John Tilley in the neighborhood of Kingswood?

There are several, but I present the most promising here. Combining data from LDS familysearch.org and BMDregisters.co.uk gives the following, all children of William Tilley and Mary, all baptized at a dissenting congregation called The Tabernacle Calvinistic Methodist of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Prior to this research I have never heard of the Calvinistic Methodists (now Presbyterians), who I now understand were/are a predominantly Welsh denomination descended from the ministry of George Whitefield (a Calvinist) - as opposed to the Methodism of John Wesley (an Arminian).

     John            born 26 January 1800, baptized 18 August 1803
     Mary Ann    born 19 November 1802, baptized 18 August 1803
     Joseph         born 31 January 1804, baptized 25 April 1804
     Charles        born 6 September 1806, baptized 29 October 1806
     Jemima        born 8 April 1808, baptized 10 August 1808
     James          baptized 30 March 1815
     Kezia          baptized 30 March 1815
     Rhoda         baptized 30 March 1815
     Maria          born 12 July 1816, baptized 4 July 1817

These are plausibly all siblings, spaced as I have come to expect from one family. How many William and Mary Tilleys might there be in a congregation such as this? The oldest, John Tilley, might be the future husband of Hester Knight, and father of Mary - born in December 1821, he would have been nearly 22 years old - and of Llewellyn and Daniell.

What if anything links these with the two baptized (sequentially after this) at the Independent Congregation in Kingswood? The most obvious connection is that the parents have the right names. But whereas the Independents thoughtfully included the mother's maiden name, the Calvinistic Methodists did not. Another part of the answer lies in the name Wallington.

The post Kid in the Candy Store shows the 1881 England Census for Llewellyn Tilley. Among his household is 19-year-old Glen Tilley, Confectioner's Assistant, a cousin, born in Bath, Somerset. And he would seem to be Glenalvon Wallington Tilley of BMD Birth Index Sep1861 Bath 5c 701, and baptized 16 July 1865 at St John the Evangelist, Hammersmith (born 8th July 1861), son of Richard Wallington Tilley, Draper, and Flora Charlotte (other records have Laura).

I have found records for three, possibly four, distinct Richard Wallington Tilleys. One of them, I have already mentioned above, baptized at the Kingswood Independent Congregation in 1820. He died 1846, and had a son of the same name, born in that year.

Richard Wallington Tilley, father of Glenalvon, I find in the 1871 England Census at 18 Hornton Street, Kensington, as a lodger. The return includes: Richard W Tilley, widower age 33, Traveller for a Mantle Manufacturer, born in Kingswood, Gloucestershire; son Glenalvon W age 9, and daughter Florence L age 11 (whose baptism in Hammersmith was recorded at the same time as her brother's). That the mantles in question were clothes and not gas mantles is confirmed by the parish register entry for Florence's marriage to William Henry Gregory 1 January 1881 at Trinity Church Stepney, where her father's occupation is "Costumier".

(Of a possible fourth Richard Wallington Tilley, the father of Glenalvon Wallington Tilley had a son - by a second wife - by the name Richard W Tilley about 1877 in Bristol according to the 1881 England Census, although I could find no BMD Birth Index for him. The W might be Wallington, but I have no further information).

For the future father of Glenalvon, the 1851 England Census at Long Street, Wotton-under-Edge has:
     Joseph Tilley     Head  Mar   46   Broker                 Kingswood, Glo'shire
     Maria Tilley      Wife   Mar   50                               Wotton-under-Edge, Glo'shire
     Sarah Tilley      Daur   U       19  Assist at Home      Kingswood, Glo'shire
     Sophia Tilley    Daur   U       17  Assist in Shop        Kingswood, Glo'shire 
                                                    (Scholar struck out)
     Richard Tilley   Son    U       13   Grocer                  Kingswood, Glo'shire
                                                    (Broker's Son struck out)
     Benjamin Tilley Son   U       12   Scholar                  Kingswood, Glo'shire

Benjamin Wallington Tilley came to light in a search for Tilleys in the London Gazette. He had died 9 July 1911, and the executors were looking for claims against the estate before distributing his assets. I have followed him back also to Joseph Tilley. On the marriage certificate for Benjamin Wallington Tilley and Fanny Saunder Self, 19 April 1876 at St Giles Camberwell, his father is Joseph Tilley, Furniture Broker. I am supposing that he is the Benjamin Tilley of this 1851 England Census.

All this is indeed consistent with John and Joseph Tilley of the Calvinistic Methodists being brothers. In that case, William and Mary Tilley would be grandparents to Llewellyn Tilley and great grandparents to Glenalvon Wallington Tilley. Llewellyn and Glenalvon would be first cousins once removed.

Arthur Wallington Glen and Laura Tilley were reported as possibly second cousins once removed. William Tilley and Mary Wallington are definitely the grandparents of Arthur Wallington Glen through his mother Sarah Tilley. That the Mary Tilley of the Calvinistic Methodists is the same person as Mary Wallington of the Independent Congregation in Kingswood is suggested by the use of the name Wallington as a given name among Joseph's family. If so William Tilley and Mary Wallington are also Llewellyn Tilley's grandparents, this would, I think, actually make Arthur and Laura first cousins once removed.

Another of the Calvinistic Methodist siblings, Kezia Tilley appears to have married John Roberts (BMD Marriage Index Sep1838 St George Hanover Square 1 19), since the 1851 England Census finds them living in the Winchester Tower at Windsor Castle, where he works in the office of the Lord Chamberlain.

Most interesting is a visitor, staying with them at the Winchester Tower, Mary W Tilley, Widow, age 73, born in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. She may be the Mary Tilley of BMD Death Index Dec1859 Windsor 2c 268, and is possibly Mary (nee Wallington) Tilley, Kezia's mother, and my step 4xgreat grandmother.

Charles Dickens wrote of the bewildering array of flunkeys at a royal palace, such as Windsor Castle, in an edition of Household Words published 3 July 1858. By 1861, John Roberts was Inspector of Windsor Castle, still in the Lord Chamberlain's Office, whether the Inspector of Accounts or one of three inspectors of palaces, referred to by Dickens, I don't know. One of his children, Keziah Wallington Roberts was married in November 1863 to Charles Hatfield, at which time her father is reported as deceased. This narrows his death record to BMD Death Index Sep1861 Windsor 2c 242, and the National Probate Calendar confirms his date of death as 16 September 1861, with probate granted to widow Kezia Roberts 8 October 1861.

By 1881, Kezia Roberts is a Housekeeper at Kensington Palace. Her brother James Till[e]y, age 70, is staying with her. So, of the Calvinistic Methodist sibling group, John, Joseph, Kezia, and James are all likely children of William Tilley and Mary Wallington.

There are many records that could shore up this research, among them:

     Arthur Wallington Glen/Laura Tilley BMD Marriage Index Mar1878 Dursley 6a 315
          would confirm the names/occupations of the fathers of bride and groom.
     Mary Tilley BMD Death Index Dec1859 Windsor 2c 268
          might, if Kezia or her husband reported the death, give relationship details.
     Richard Wallington Tilley/Mary Ann Sams
          BMD Marriage Index Jun1845 St George Hanover Square 1 52
          might give occupational data for Richard Wallington's father William.
     John Roberts/Kezia Tilley
          BMD Marriage Index Sep1838 St George Hanover Square 1 19
          might give occupation for Kezia's father, William.
     William Glen/Sarah Tilley BMD Marriage Index Dec1837 Bath 11 8

          might give occupational data for Sarah's father, William.

I'm thinking the marriage certificate report of father's occupation might be consistent between children baptized by the Calvinistic Methodists and Independents, since our hypothesis is that the William Tilleys are one and the same. That is, Sarah and Richard Wallington Tilley's father (both from the Independent Congregation), and Kezia Tilley's father (of the Calvinistic Methodists), ought to appear on these records as one and the same. This could get expensive, with no guarantee of success. For example, Llewellyn Tilley is recorded as Confectioner in 1887 and Farmer (posthumously) in 1914, and these records clearly refer to the same person, being the marriages of John "Jack" Tilley to Maria Jane Jotcham in the first case, and Amelia Augusta Beresford in the second. And there remains the possibility of "deceased" in place of father's occupation.

Happily I am not alone in this research. There are other trees on ancestry.com, and these have been very helpful, both for direct reference, and also because the ancestry.com search algorithms are directed by what previous researchers have contributed. I am grateful for the work of these previous researchers. The documents I have found so far are consistent with William Tilley and Mary Wallington being my step 4xgreat grandparents. Indeed, I find the volume of circumstantial evidence pointing in this direction difficult to explain in any other way.

Ordnance Survey 1946

Barrister-at-law

The Old Bailey - before Ardeshir Kapadia's time

This is the fortieth post on the Generations Blog. You will notice side links to the right containing names of my direct ancestors. These should help you figure out which line each post is about. This post is about the Kapadias, my father's paternal grandfather's family.

That one my 2xgreat grandfathers was an immigrant to Britain from India, I had known for many years. He was of a Parsee family from Bombay, now Mumbai. I knew as well the surname, Kapadia. Thus, as soon as I could search the census books, Kapadia was high on my list. Kapadia is a fairly common Parsee name, but in late Victorian England there were extremely few of them, and his family is easy to trace. Ardeshir Kapadia is a common research interest of Duncan Bray and myself, and some of what I present here comes from several email exchanges, dating back to before Christmas. So many thanks, Duncan, for getting me started, and I direct the reader to his site dedicated to this ancestor of mine. Some of the record below overlaps with this site.

The census data covers three of the decennial censuses. The 1901 data was particularly hard to find on ancestry, having been transcribed as Rapadia, but here they are in chronological order. First, the 1891 England Census at 120 St Donatt's Road, Deptford.
     Ardeshir Kapadia Head M 26 Barrister at Law   India
     Zoe Kapadia        Wife  M 28                              Clapham, London
     Kenneth P            Son        4                                Kent, Goudhurst
     Douglas S            Son        1                                Kent, Lenham
And a 14-year-old female domestic servant.

Next, the 1901 England Census at 18 St Donatt's Road, Deptford.
     Ardeshir Kapadia  Head  M  34  Barrister-at-law  Bombay, India (British subject)
     Zoe Kapadia         Wife   M  37                             London, Clapham
     Keneth [sic] P        Son         14                             Kent, Goudhurst
     Douglas S              Son         11                             Kent, Lenham
     Eric R                    Son           7                             London, New Cross
     Hugh                     Son           6                             London, New Cross

And finally, the 1911 England Census at The Aldborough Grange, Aldborough Hatch, Ilford, Essex.
     Adeshir Kapadia   Head  47 Married  Barrister-at-law  Bombay, India (British subject)
     Zoe Kapadia         Wife   47 Married                             County of London, Clapham
     Douglas Stuart      Son     21 Single    Shipbroker's Clerk  Kent, Lenham
     Dorothy Phyllis    Daughter 19 Single                               Kent, New Cross
     Eric Roy               Son     17 Single Printer's Apprentice   Kent, New Cross
     Hugh                    Son      15 Single                                  Kent, Brockley
And two male servants who are listed as farm laborers.

Dorothy Phyllis should also be somewhere for the 1901 census. She is likely lost in "poor-transcription land", and some day we will find where she was on census night 1901.

Here are some BMD Index data, and other documentation for the children:

Kenneth Peston Kapadia
I followed Kenneth Kapadia's records to Canada and the United States of America in the post On The Trail back in November.
     BMD Birth Index Mar1887 Cranbrook, 2a 761
          (as Kenneth ?eston Kapadia)
     BMD Marriage Index Mar1915 Lambeth 1d 547
          (Kenneth P Kapadia and Hattie M Maxfield)

I have this certificate for the marriage solemnized by license at Lambeth Register Office 28 January 1915, which has the following data:
     Groom's name:                     Kenneth Peston Kapadia
     Groom's age and condition:  28  Bachelor
     Groom's occupation:             Colour Sergeant, 5th Western Cavalry Regiment  
                                                   (Canadian Contingent)
     Groom's residence:                Union Jack Club, Waterloo Road
     Groom's father/occupation:   Ardeshir Kapadia Barrister at law
     Bride's name:                        Hattie Mary Maxfield
     Bride's age and condition:     26  Spinster
     Bride's residence:                  Aldborough Hatch, Ilford, Essex
     Bride's father/occupation:     Joseph Maxfield, Non commision[ed] Officer
                                                  United States Army (retired)
     Signed:                                 Kenneth P Kapadia/Hattie Mary Maxfield
     Witnesses:                            Henry E Bowie/W R Moore

Some notes on this are in order. It is not true that Hattie was a spinster in 1915. In fact she was divorced from Oscar Wichert. This may explain why the couple have a second civil marriage registration in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1922, on which Hattie correctly gives her name as Hattie M Wichert.

It is not surprising that Kenneth was staying at the Union Jack Club, which offered inexpensive accommodation for servicemen in London. I am surprised, however, that Hattie gives an Aldborough Hatch address, which is where the Kapadias were living in 1911. The family appears to have had little knowledge of what became of Kenneth, and if they were in on the wedding, I would have expected Ardeshir or one of the siblings to have witnessed the marriage. I suspect some estrangement between Kenneth and his family. Was Hattie in Aldborough Hatch to try to smooth things over? Or did she give a spurious address? Or is the address a coincidence?

The 5th (Western Cavalry) Battalion CEF was heavily engaged on the Western Front, during the Great War, serving as infantry in the 2nd Brigade, 1st Canadian Division. The soldiers came from western provinces in Canada, and this is consistent with the Kenneth Kapadiah, Laborer, of the 1906 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, being our Kenneth.

As to Hattie's father, I found records of a Joseph Maxfield born in Canada who had served with the 10th Vermont Infantry during the Civil War. After 1898 he was in and out of homes for disabled veterans. The records show he served as a Private (so not an NCO). His next of kin is wife Minnie, living in St Paul, Minnesota, where he had been discharged after the war. He died in 1917.

I think I can follow Hattie's family though census returns to find that Hattie had been born in Canada, and came to the US when she was three years old. But note that I have found US census returns quite inconsistent with respect to places of birth - much more so than English returns. In the US, respondents quite often downplay their foreign heritage. Hattie's Canadian origin explains why she would have had to naturalize as well as Kenneth, after they came to the US in the 1920s. Which they did under the names Kap and Hattie Kenneth. Kap died in Los Angeles, 25 September 1960. I have no record that the couple had children, beyond Hattie's son from her previous marriage, Hartland John (Wichert) Kenneth, who came to live with them.

Douglas Stuart Kapadia - my great grandfather
I have also posted about Douglas Stuart Kapadia in Remembering Those Lost in March. It is his change of name that is the Stuart in my last name.
     BMD Birth Index Sep1889 Hollingbourne 2a 742
For some reason the ancestry.com index cannot see this one, whereas the freebmd.org.uk has no trouble.
     BMD Marriage Index Sep1913 W Ham 4a 201 Douglas S Kapadia and Emily Strong
Which I have already reported.
     BMD Death Index Mar1965 Romford 5a 505 Age:75
     National Probate Calendar 9 March 1965 (death date: 4 January 1965)
He had worked for Reardon Smith Shipping Line, and, I am told, in his youth had raced at the Brooklands Motor Racing circuit. Unfortunately, there is no record of him in the archive there, but he may have belonged to one of the outside motor clubs that rented the circuit. I would love to see a picture of one of his trophies.

The children of Douglas Stuart Kapadia and Emily Strong are:
     Douglas Strong Kapadia became Stuart after 1922 (my grandfather)
          BMD Birth Index Sep1916 Epping 4a 920
          (which ancestry.com can find, but freebmd.org.uk cannot)
     Keith Kapadia became Stuart after 1922
          BMD Birth Index Mar1918 Epping 4a 667
     Bryan R Kapadia became Stuart after 1922
          BMD Birth Index Dec1919 Epping 4a 1011
   
Dorothy Phyllis Kapadia
     BMD Birth Index Sep1891 Greenwich 1d 1058
     Baptised at St Alphege, Greenwich 30 August 1891
          (date of birth 15 June 1891)
     BMD Marriage Index Sep1917 Romford 4a 925
          (Dorothy P Kapadia and William Stewart)
     BMD Death Index Feb1989 Bullingdon 20 2440
          (as Dorothy Phyllis Steward, date of birth 15 June 1891)
I can find one son: Colin F Stewart BMD Birth Index Sep1922 Hastings 2b 42

Eric Roy Kapadia
    BMD Birth Index Sep1893 Greenwich 1d 1090

     Baptised at St Alphege, Greenwich 2 September 1893 

          (date of birth 22 July 1893)

     BMD Marriage Index Sep1923 Romford 4a 1168 

          (Eric R Kapadia and Mabel P Manch)

     BMD Death Index Mar1962 Westminster 5c 525 Age:68

     National Probate Calendar 15 June 1962 

          (date of death 15 March 1962)

I find no children.

Hugh Kapadia

     BMD Birth Index Mar1895 Lewisham 1d 1232

     Baptised St Mary Lewisham, 25 March 1895

          (date of birth 16 January 1895)

     BMD Marriage Index Jun1925 Fulham 1a 

          (Hugh Kapadia and Rita E Emmett)

     BMD Death Index Mar1982 Canterbury 16 0212 

          (date of birth 16 January 1895)

I find no children.

Aldborough Grange, Ilford where they lived

Back to the barrister, Ardeshir Kapadia. I have already cited (Witnesses to a Wedding) his and Zoe DH Young Hanrott's marriage certificate, which I will not repeat here; and the Lincoln's Inn Admission Register, which I will repeat, with his date of admission:

     14 January 1885  Adeshir Rustomji Pestonji Kapadia, of Uny. of Bombay (20),

          o.s. [only son of] Rustomji Pestonjee K., of Bombay, general broker.

English language reports appear to use the "ji" and "jee" suffixes interchangeably. The Law List of 1904 has three Kapadias:

     Kapadia, Ardesheer Byramjee M. 18 Nov. 1872, Bombay.

     Kapadia, Ardeshir Rustomjee Pestonjee L. 25 Apr. 1888, 23, old-sq., W.C., Ind. appeals, privy council.

     Kapadia, Shaporji Aspaniarji, M.D., L.R.C.P., I. 17 Nov. 1893, 6, crown-office-row, E.C., Indian appeals, privy council.

The M., L. and I. referring to the Inns of Court to which they belonged, Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Inner Temple respectively. The dates are when they were called to the bar, the addresses presumably their chambers.

Shaporji Aspaniarji Kapadia is interesting in being both a barrister and a medical doctor. He also wrote about the Parsee religion of Zoroastrianism. You can find out more from Duncan's webpage. In the preface to The Teachings of Zoroaster and the Philosophy of the Parsi Religion, Shaporji Aspaniarji Kapadia extends thanks to  his "friend Mr. A. Kapadia, of Lincoln's Inn, for his kind assistance."

Admissions data for Ardesheer Byramjee Kapadia state that he was born about 1851, the eldest son of Byramjee Pestonjee Kapadia, merchant of Bombay. Among Parsees, a middle name is customarily the same as the father's first name. Were that custom observed in the families of Ardeshir RP Kapadia and Ardesheer B Kapadia, then their grandfathers would both be Pestonjee Kapadias, and just possibly these two (Ardeshir and Ardesheer) were cousins! Speculation, of course, but worth keeping in mind if we can ever trace the family's Parsee heritage in India.

The Straits Times, Singapore, 27 April 1927, page 10 has this announcement of Ardeshir Kapadia's death (BMD Death Index Ardeshir Kapadia Jun1927 Romford 4a 398 Age:61 - should be 63 from other sources).

     ECHO OF BABY FARMING CASE

     London, April 6 :- The death has occurred in Ilford of Mr. Ardeshir Kapadia, 

     the barrister who defended, at the Old Bailey, Mrs. Dyer, the notorious baby 

     farmer in 1896. Mr. Kapadia was the son of a Bombay Parsee and married an 

     Englishwoman, who died at Hastings in 1925, since when he has visited her 

     grave every week-end.

In fact, Zoe had died in 1923 (BMD Death Index Zoe DH Kapadia Sep1923). Ardeshir's weekly visits to her grave are touching, the baby farming case, less so.

Mrs. Dyer, the baby farmer, stood accused killing an infant she had taken in for adoption. This was a specimen murder charge, since she was suspected of killing many children. It appears she received payment as expenses for adopting out infants, and then killed them for the money. The Old Bailey transcript makes for harrowing reading. 

The facts of the case were not in dispute, and, defending, Ardeshir Kapadia attempted a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, based on her prior hospitalizations. Given the forensic evidence, this was probably his best strategy. However, under the M'Naghten rules, he would have to prove that Mrs. Dyer was insane at the time of the alleged murder, and unable to distinguish right from wrong. Expert witnesses for the defense had examined her during prior hospitalizations and declared her insane. The prosecution expert witnesses had examined Mrs. Dyer after her arrest, and could testify that she was not obviously insane. The jury retired for just a few minutes and returned a guily verdict. Mrs. Dyer was hanged at Newgate 10 June 1896.

And finally, a possible lead on Ardeshir RP Kapadia's father, Rustomji/jee Pestonji/jee Kapadia. One of the chapters in New Frontiers: Imperialism's New Communities in East Asia 1842-1953 edited by Robert Bickers and Christian Henriot contains a footnote with the name Rustomjee Pestonjee Kapadia, a Parsee merchant who did business in Shanghai. The chapter, by Claude Markovitz, investigates the Indian merchant community in China. And the footnote refers to a series of probate documents of Parsee merchants in Shanghai. Many of them traded in opium, a somewhat dubious occupation.

Unfortunately the exact reference in the footnote is incorrect, but I found the correct one by searching the National Archive website: FO917/766. It is filed under Rustomjee Pestonjee Kapadin, but I'll assume that Markovitz has read it and has the correct transcription. The document is from 1897, presumably the year that this gentleman died, and is not available online, although the original is stored at Kew. How unique the name is, I don't know, but so far, this is the only lead we have into someone who may be Ardeshir Kapadia's father.

Thank you for reading this far. I am quite interested to hear from live readers in the comments below. While I am sure I have much Russian referrer spam among the visits to these pages, I'm curious to know who are my the flesh and readers.

Iron Men

On this blog, you get to read my genealogical research, mostly in the order in which I have uncovered it. An advantage of this is a certain freshness, even some suspense. But this comes with the cost of being hard to follow. Soon I hope to post some pages that list the various family names and where they fit into my genealogy, maybe even links to the various blog posts. In the meantime, I continue with the Young siblings, starting with the business of my 3xgreat grandfather James Denoon Young. I can also report Charles Denoon and William Denoon Young as his brothers. They were all ironworkers, all inventors, and all experienced bankruptcies.

In the various documents bearing his occupation, James Denoon Young is described as Gentleman, Engineer, Civil Engineer, Ironmonger (1841 Scotland Census), Iron Founder and Engineer (1851 England Census), Wireworker and Comm[ercial?] Agent (1861 Scotland Census). In 1861, the rest of his family are in England with their mother/step-mother Charlotte, and this Scottish census seems to be the most likely record for him; the name recorded here is for James D Young, age 48, staying at a lodging house. It gives his place of birth as Portobello, Midlothian, a suburb of Edinburgh.

All these occupational descriptions conceal a genius for invention. The London Gazette records the following patents for James Denoon Young:
     24 October 1853 patent no. 2450
          Improvements in casting
     7 November 1864 patent no. 2747
          Construction of rolled iron railway bars or metals, girders, beams,
          joists and angle irons.
Of the latter, Abebooks.co.uk has an original unbound copy for 100 pound sterling.

For all this, his business life appears to have been precarious. There are two sets of bankruptcy records in the London and Edinburgh Gazettes for James Denoon Young. Each of them was resolved relatively quickly. The first occurred before his marriage to Charlotte Taylor, while he was still living in Scotland. The Edinburgh Gazette records that "The Estates of James Denoon Young, Manufacturing Ironmonger in Glasgow, were sequestrated on the 9th August 1849." However, by 5 November 1849, we hear of a meeting to be held the 27th of that month "for the purpose of deciding upon an offer of composition made by the bankrupt." I found no further announcements concerning this episode, so it appears that the creditors accepted his offer.

At some unknown time until 23 March 1861, James Denoon Young was in business with Edward Way, under the name "James D Young, Son, and Co., as Engineers and Buyers and Sellers of Engineering Works, Machinery, Iron, and Wire Manufacturers, and Wrought and Cast Iron in Bars, Pigs, and Castings, and other things of like nature, at No. 2, Upper Charles-street, Westminster..." On this date, The London Gazette records the dissolution of their co-partnery, the books going with Edward Way. It is immediately after this, that we see James D Young in Edinburgh for the 1861 Scotland Census, described as Wireworker and Comm Agent.

The second set of bankruptcy records for James Denoon Young appears in the London Gazette in 1863.
     "James Denoon Young, of No. 3, Rolls-terrace, Chelsea, in the county of
     Middlesex, Contractor, having been adjudged bankrupt under a Petition for
     adjudication of Bankruptcy, filed in Her Majesty's Court of Bankruptcy, in
     London, on the 19th of October 1863, is hereby required to surrender
     himself..."

This occasion was even more brief, since "An Order of Discharge was granted by the Court of Bankruptcy, London, on the 2nd day of December, 1863." Alas, not all bankrupts fared so well.

He died 19 April 1868, aged 55. The National Probate Calendar records that he died with effects less than 1500 pounds sterling. Even so, his widow, with no income and five children, felt compelled to petition Christ's Hospital School for her son's education.

When I first found records naming William and Charles Denoon Young, I suspected that both were brothers of James Denoon Young. And now, I believe I can link William Denoon Young as son of the Revd. James Young. For the latter, we so far had only the 1841 Scotland Census return, where we find him staying with his daughter Catherine Ponsonby. In looking for evidence that William Young was also his son, I found this 1851 Scotland Census for 22 Rutland Square, Edinburgh:
     William D Young     Head         35  Manufacturer of Ironwork    
                                                                                             Edinburgh, Midlothian
     James Young          Father        62  Retired Minister of the Free Church
                                                                                             Falkirk, Stirlingshire
     William D M Young Son              4  Scholar at Home    Edinburgh, Midlothian
     Mary Ann Murray    Governess 14 Governess               St Cyrus, Kincardine
     Isabella Scotland     Servant     34 House Servant         Dollar, Clackmannanshire

The Church of Scotland suffered a major schism in 1843, called the Great Disruption, in which nearly 400 ministers of the Established Church of Scotland (out of about 1200) walked out of the General Assembly in protest of what they saw as establishment interference in the affairs of the Church. They met at a separate site in Edinburgh to set about building the Free Church of Scotland. And this return tells us on which side of the schism the Revd. James Young was to be found. A monumental painting of the signing of the Act of Separation and Deed of Demission was completed by David Octavius Hill in 1867, based on photographs taken of the separating ministers. I wonder whether Revd. James Young is depicted here, and whether his photographic portrait has survived.

For a link between William and Charles Denoon Young, I have the 1841 Scotland Census return for 38 Rankeillor Street, Edinburgh. William is 25, described as Ironmonger J[?], born in Edinburgh. Charles D is 20, described as Wire Merchant, born in Scotland (not Midlothian). In addition, the Edinburgh Gazette records the Dissolution of Co-Partnery of "William & Charles Young, or W.& C. Young, Manufacturing Ironmongers, High Street, Edinburgh, and St. Enoch Square, Glasgow." Charles Denoon Young was to receive the books.

Another family and business link I found in both the London and Edinburgh Gazettes is between William D. Young and Robert Peddie who dissolved their "Co-Partnery" known as "William Denoon Young & Company, and thereafter... Young, Peddie & Company... Manufacturers of Iron and Wire Work in Edinburgh and Glasgow." Peddie would be Young's brother-in-law, marrying his sister Maria.

Out of this dissolving partnership, William Denoon Young took over the accounts, and the premises at "No. 77, George Street, Edinburgh, and 24, West Nile Street, Glasgow [to] carry on business in all the branches of Iron and Wire Fences, and other Iron and Wire Work... under the name of W.D. Young and Company." Peddie would be in the same business, but at No. 132, George Street, Edinburgh, "in his own name and for his own behoof."

The London Gazette 20 November 1858 records patent 3288 to William Denoon Young, for "improvements in making tiles or plates of iron, zinc, or other metal sheets to be used for roofing, and for iron houses and other structures."

William Denoon Young had his own brushes with bankruptcy, first from 1870 to 1873, and then again, 1875-76, both in connection with his business W D Young and Company. His business had considerably down-sized between the 1861 (20 Gilmore Place, Edinburgh) and 1871 (19 West Preston Street) censuses, from "Ironwork Manufacturer Employing 75 Men &c" to "Iron Wire Work Manufacturer Emploing 7 Men". By 1881, he was living in Cheetham, Lancashire, employed as a Civil Engineer.

According to LDS Scotland Marriages 1561-1910, William Denoon Young married Christina MacKenzie at Edinburgh on 17 June 1845. They had one son before she died in 1849. William remarried to Eliza Mackay Murray also in Edinburgh on 3 June 1852. From census returns, I have identified an additional 4 sons and 5 daughters. He died in 1882 (BMD Death Index William Denoon Young Dec1882 Barton upon Irwell 8c 377 Age:67).

Charles Denoon Young and his businesses have left quite a footprint in the legal, and now digital, world. He went bankrupt three times and spent 7 months in Perth Prison as a debtor. All the following dates are from the Edinburgh Gazette. The estates of C D Young and Company were sequestrated 25 June 1858. From the legal notice, we learn that he carried on business as "Engineer, Ironworker, and Contractor in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Liverpool." The fourth and final dividend on this episode was paid 26 June 1862. But on 14 August 1862, the "estates of C D Young and Company, Iron Founders, Engineers and Contractors, at Saint Leonard's Iron works, Perth [and of Charles Denoon young as an individual], were sequestrated. The funds of the estate having been distributed, the Trustee in charge called a meeting of creditors on 6 July 1865 to consider the bankrupt's discharge. There are no further immediate records, and I assume discharge was granted.

For some reason, news of this bankruptcy was printed in the South Australian Advertiser 20 October 1858, a scan and transcript of which are available at the National Library of Australia. This is an account of the examination by his creditors of Charles Denoon Young, republished from The European Times, republished from The Scotsman in an article titled "Autobiography of a Bankrupt."

This confirms that the brothers William and Charles were in business together from 1840 to 1847, and that Charles Denoon Young went off on his own account thereafter. The partnership had been quite profitable, and C D Young and company even more so, growing from 6,000 pounds sterling of capital in 1847 to 11,528 pounds 15 shillings and 8 pence by 1850. By his own calculation he was 58,615 pounds clear by 1856, an incredible amount for the time. The measuring worth calculator, rates this amount at 4.5 million pounds compared to the current cost of living, and over 50 million pounds in terms of economic status. However, the business had begun to feel cash-flow problems and had to operate with a bank overdraft. It turned out that Charles Denoon Young's accounting practices were somewhat lax and over-optimistic - not accounting for unrecoverable debts, for example - and his house of cards came undone.

I wonder if his sister, Mrs. Catherine Ponsonby, who went bankrupt about the same time, was caught up in all this. We last left her (Lays of the Lakes and More) awaiting a (presumably positive) decision from her creditors in 1859. The Australian National Library a Sydney Morning Herald announcement from 6 April 1860 of her marriage to John Benjamin Smith. This also raises the possibility of another sister, she being described in the article as the third daughter of the late Rev. James Young of Edinburgh.

Charles Denoon Young is associated with two patents reported in the London Gazette. There is his own patent no. 943, dated 4 April 1865, for "improvements in double acting life and force pumps." There is also, no. 2332, recorded 5 July 1873, communicated to him by John Ryle, junior, engineer, for "improvements in ice boxes for the artificial production of solid and transparent ice."

A third bankruptcy of Charles Denoon Young is recorded in the Edinburgh Gazette between 1874 and 1876, beginning with a sequestration 28 April 1874 of the "Estates of C. D. Young and Company, Engineers, Boiler Makers, and Contractors, Saint Leonard's Works, Perth." By 13 October the same year, he had presented a "Petition for Liberation, Interim Protection, and Decree of Cessio Bonorum." At this time he was "Prisoner in the Prison of Perth", a condition that lasted a total of seven months.

The Journal of Jurisprudence, Vol. 21, pp.353-355 reports that Cessio Bonorum was denied on account of only two creditors and he was released on bail. It appears that this minority of creditors (2 out of 105, and owed 6,559 pounds out of 34,787) held out for three years against his discharge, finally granted 1 March 1877. The judge noted Young's "very considerable talent, ingenuity and enterprise" and that "at his more mature age, it may reasonably be expected he may act with greater sobriety and discretion than in former years, when his creditors assuredly showed no disposition to mistrust him, and therefore were accessories somewhat to his speculations." That is, they extended too easy credit, perhaps, and were happy for him to take the risk. Besides, the judge remarked, he had a large family to support, and being free on bail, was not likely to obtain profitable employment. However, his census returns show no dependents who would have been under 16 years old in 1877, although maybe he was referring to his wife several adult unmarried daughters.

As with his brother, William, we can see his economic fortunes mirrored in occupational data on his census returns. In 1851, his occupation was listed as "Ironfounder and Wire Work Manufacturer and Master Employing 300 Men and 70 Women". By 1861 (around the time of his first bankruptcy), he was "Engineer Master Employing 22 Men 22 Women." By 1871, just before his final bankruptcy, he is "Engineer Master Employs 6 Men." In 1881, we find him in lodgings with his wife, and one daughter at 18 Summerfield Road, Hornsey Rise, Middlesex, employed as a Civil Engineer.

According to LDS Scotland Marriages 1561-1910, Charles Denoon Young married Hannah Cupples at St Cuthbert Edinburgh on 4 July 1844. From their various census returns, I can identify 7 daughters and 2 sons. He died in 1887 (BMD Death Index Charles Denson Young [sic] Dec1887 Islington 1b 171 Age:65).

So, three iron men, my 3xgreat grandfather and two 4xgreat uncles, their inventions and some business disappointments.

John Taylor, Straw Hat Manufacturer

Knowing an unusual family name (like Kapadia in late 19th century England) makes it fairly easy to locate a family's documentary record. Slightly more common, but still unusual, the name Hanrott helped in finding Zoe Young, and so on. Records for Zoe's great grandparents Taylor seemed beyond reach. But it was her grandfather, William Taylor, who had the good fortune to receive a legal training, and this proved enough to locate some records about his father.

In the early 19th century, legal training involved serving as clerk to an established attorney for five years. The contracts made by aspiring solicitors are recorded in Articles of Clerkship, which, at the very least, name the Clerk and the Attorney to whom he was articled. Given that most young men entering the profession were about 16 years old, their fathers are often mentioned as parties to the contract. In addition, Articles of Clerkship take the form of an affidavit made by someone who was not a party to the actual agreement, and these names can be useful in finding connections among family members.

As you might suspect, simply searching (on ancestry.com) for Articles of Clerkship for William Taylor yields many results, even if we specify 1810s London. But if we specify additionally that John Birkett must be named, there they are, Articles of Clerkship 1817 assigning the young William Taylor as clerk from John Blow to John Birkett for the remainder of his five-year term. This was also a geographical move from Carlisle to London - for his training at least, since it's unclear where he was born, although his 1841 England Census return claims he was not born in Middlesex.

We already have records indicating a professional relationship between Birkett and Blow; by 1847 there were law partnerships of Messrs. Blow and Relph in Carlisle working with Messrs. Birkett, Taylor and Cox at Cloak Lane, London. By 1847, John Birkett had died, but a son had taken up the mantle. Meanwhile, John Blow of Carlisle had died in July 1829, although the law practice still bore the name Blow. And Birketts, The Next Generation describes evidence for a likely family relationship between the two as first cousins.

Back to the Articles of Clerkship. There are actually two documents, each of them a sworn statement to the effect that William Taylor, son of John Taylor, was assigned from John Blow to John Birkett on the date 6 February 1817. The parties to the contract are "John Blow of the City of Carlisle in the county of Cumberland Attorney at Law of the first part John Taylor of Maiden Lane in the City of London Straw Hat Manufacturer of the second part William Taylor Son of the said John Taylor of the thrid part and John Birkett of Cloak Lane in the City of London attorney at Law of the fourth part". One of the documents is from Carlisle (dated 29th March), recording the execution of the Articles of Clerkship by John Blow and John Taylor. The other document is from London (dated 10th April), recording its execution by John Birkett and William Taylor. How much of the term of the clerkship was remaining as of April 1817, I don't know. By December 1821, however, William Taylor married John Birkett's daughter, Sarah Halton Birkett.

We do know, now, the name, address and occupation of William's father, John Taylor of Maiden Lane, Straw Hat Manufacturer. A google search of these terms gives two useful leads. First, the National Archives at Kew has a Will for such a person (PROB 11/1660/105). I purchased a copy, in which he wrote:

          I John Taylor of Maiden lane in the City of London Straw hat manufacturer 
          do make and publish this my Last Will and Testament in manner following that 
          is to say I give devise and bequeath all my household goods linen plate book 
          and other debts sureties for money and all other my estate and effects of what 
          nature and kind soever and wheresoever unto my dear wife Ann Taylor her 
          heirs and assigns and I do hereby nominate and appoint my said Wife and my 
          friends John Botts and John Birkett Executrix and Executors of this my Last 
          Will and Testament...

One of the witnesses to this Will is George Cox 3 Cloak Lane, presumably Birkett's law partner. The Will was made 24 November 1821, and proved 20 July 1822. Confident that he was buried between these dates, I searched ancestry.com for a burial record in London. Needless to say, many John Taylors died in 1822, but I just looked at each record until I found John Taylor of Maiden Lane, who died aged 58 years, and was buried 12 July 1822 at St Ann and St Agnes Aldersgate. This sets his birth year about 1768.

From the Will we learn that at the time of his death his wife's name was Ann, although this does not mean that Ann Taylor was William's mother. John Taylor might have been widowed and remarried for all we know. I did look for baptismal records for parents John Taylor and Ann, but I'm stymied by the lack of information in parish registers of this period, with neither address nor father's occupation to differentiate between the several families of this name.

For example, the most promising list comes from the parish records of St John Zachary City of London, which has five baptisms of children of John Taylor and Ann, including a William Taylor (born 30 June 1798, bapt. 30 Sept 1798 - but note the claim of the 1841 census that he was not born in Middlesex). St John Zachary had been incorporated into St Ann and St Agnes, which is why it caught my attention. The other children are Elizabeth Ball Taylor (born 4 June 1797, bapt. 16 July 1797), Caroline (born 12 Aug 1801, bapt. 1 Jan 1802), Jane (born 6 Sept 1802, bapt. 17 Nov 1802) and James (born 19 May 1804, bapt. 30 May 1804). These are names I am keeping in mind, especially Elizabeth Ball, on the off chance that further evidence might make sense of them.

The second lead into John Taylor's life comes from the London Gazette, the pages of which are filled with legal notices. Many of these notices concern the administration of bankruptcies, from which law firms, like Birkett, Taylor and Cox, made their living (although I do not see them in this particular case).

A series of notices dated from 28 January 1800 onwards chronicle some bankruptcy proceedings against "John Taylor, of Maiden-lane, in the City of London, Weaver and Straw Hat-manufacturer, Dealer and Chapman". The notices announce the various meetings and examinations to which he would have been subjected by his creditors. He would have made some kind of offer to pay them dividends periodically. His creditors appear to have been favorably inclined. By 9 September "his Certificate will be allowed... unless Cause be shewn to the contrary on or before the 4th day of October next [1800]". Less fortunate debtors might end up in prison at the pleasure of their creditors. The last record I found was an announcement 16 July 1805 of a dividend to be paid. And we know from the Articles and from his Will that he was still trading from an address at Maiden Lane well after this.

So, here are John and Ann Taylor who turn out to be 5xgreat grandparents of mine. On the one hand a small gain in information; on the other hand, I am surprised that I found them at all given a name as widespread as Taylor.

Birketts, The Next Generation

Thomas Girtin, Carlisle Cathedral c.1795

The familysearch.org site of the Latter Day Saints indexes many parish records not available on ancestry.com. This is where I go to look for evidence of pre-1838 families outside of London. Today then, off to Carlisle, so to speak, and the report of a next generation of Birketts - actually a prior generation - the possible siblings and parents of John Birkett, solicitor of London. These dates are the furthest back I have gone for any family line, comparable to the Arnolds of Thoroughly Thoroly and Beyond. Beforehand, though, I offer this disclaimer; as with that post, the conclusions here are not as certain as I would like, based only on a single series of baptismal entries. But I also see some connections between the Birkett and Blow families.

Several months ago, in Meet the Birketts, I introduced the family of John Birkett, and his wife, Charlotte (possibly nee Lloyd). Their second-oldest daughter was Sarah Halton Birkett. At the time I speculated that Halton was a family name. Two generations later, Halton was one of my 2xgreat grandmother's middle names, Zoe Davina Halton Young Hanrott. (For more on the Young Hanrott story, see A Change of Name and How Many Ways to Spell Zoe).

Articles of Clerkship had revealed that John Birkett, solicitor of Cloak Lane, London was the son of John Birkett, Yeoman of Carlisle. So my first search was for any marriage record of John Birkett and Sarah Halton in Carlisle. I was in luck, since the parish records for St Mary Carlisle have just such a marriage dated 12 June 1762. Unfortunately, no fathers' names are recorded.

My next search was for baptisms of children belonging to any couple with names John Birkett and Sarah at this church from 1760 to 1800. The following list is the result. Note that all are children of John Birkett and, except for the first four below (as John Birket, no mother listed), have mother's name Sarah. The last has Sarah Halton as mother, that is, including her maiden name, which I have not seen much in England, but which is routine on this kind of record in Scotland. The dates are for their baptisms, except for the two burial dates.

     Margaret      27 Mar 1763 of John Birket
     Burial          12 Jul 1764 of John Birket
     Jane             3 Mar 1765, buried 2 June 1769 of John Birket
     Mary          24 May 1767 of John Birket
     Elizabeth    25 Mar 1770 of John Birkett and Sarah
     John           27 Sep 1772 of John Birkett and Sarah
     Jane              7 Apr 1775 of John Birkett and Sarah
     Henry          15 Feb 1778 of John Birkett and Sarah
     Sarah           22 Oct 1780 of John Birkett and Sarah
     Ann             12 Oct 1783 of John Birkett and Sarah
     Anna Maria  7 Jan 1787 of John Birkett and Sarah Halton

There is no guarantee that these are all children of the same parents, but this list certainly looks like the issue of a single family with the spacing between siblings I have come to expect. The sixth entry, John Birkett, would be my 5xgreat grandfather. As we saw previously, his Articles of Clerkship were filed in 1788. He would therefore have been 16 years old when he began it, which seems about right to me.

We could take this a little further, looking for marriages of Birkett children at St Mary, Carlisle, from which I found these two:
     Mary Birkett to Henry Pottinger on 31 May 1792
     Elizabeth Birkett to John Barnes on 2 October 1790

Nor are there guarantees that these are the same Mary and Elizabeth as on the baptism list above, since Birkett is a common name in the area. And perhaps we ought not go too much further on this path so speculatively. However, I find it interesting that one of the husbands is named John Barnes, who is possibly the attorney (or the son of the attorney) from whom John Birkett junior received his legal training, and the name he gave to his eldest son.
A marriage in 1762 suggests that John Birkett, senior and Sarah Halton were born about 1740. There are many John Birketts born 1735 to 1745 in the neighborhood of Carlisle, making it difficult to locate our specific John Birkett. On the other hand, I found only one Sarah Halton. She was baptized 4 Nov 1742 in Dalston, Cumberland, her father's name: Jeremiah. Again, this is suggestive without being conclusive.

You may remember that during one recorded bankruptcy in 1847, Messrs. Birkett, Taylor and Cox were working on the case in London, while Messrs. Blow and Relph were on the same case in Carlisle (where the bankrupt resided).  Note also, that John Birkett, junior had given Blow as a middle name to two of his children, suggesting, perhaps, a close professional, or even family, relationship. (By 1847, the Birkett of the law partnership is a son, Frederick Blow Birkett, his father John Birkett having died the previous year).

Raising the possibility of the record of a sister of Sarah Halton, St Cuthbert Carlisle records the double baptism on 13 August 1786 of Jeremiah and Mary Blow, the children of Edward Blow and Rachel Halton. Perhaps Sarah and Rachel are sisters, making Edward Blow and John Birkett senior, brothers-in-law. At St Mary Carlisle, Edward Blow and his wife Rachel (probably, the same Edward and Rachel), baptized the following:
     Jane        9 Oct 1774
     John      17 Aug 1777
     Edward  9 Apr 1780

At St Mary Carlisle, Jane and Jeremiah Blow, children of Edward Blow are recorded as buried 16 Dec 1796 and 11 Sep 1799 respectively, while one Edward Blow (father, son or whoever) was buried at the 14 Apr 1800.

The John Blow, above, baptized 1777, may be connected to the Blow of the law partnership in Carlisle. The more so since there are Articles of Clerkship between the father/son pair Edward and John Blow on the one part and John Barnes on the other, the same attorney with whom John Birkett (junior) had served his clerkship. Furthermore, the deponent witnessing the agreement is none other than John Birkett, Yeoman (that is, the senior)! These Articles describe Edward Blow as Innkeeper of Carlisle.

          John Birkett Senior of the city of Carlisle in the County of Cumberland yeoman
          Maketh Oath, that he this Deponent did see John Barnes one of the Attorneys
          of his Majesty's Court of Kings Bench Edward Blow of the City of Carlisle
          aforesaid Innkeeper and John Blow his son severally Sign Seal and as their
          several Acts and deeds in due form of Law deliver certain Articles of Agreement
          bearing the Date the Twenty Second Day of July last past [1791] and made between
          the said Edward Blow and John Blow his son of the one part and the said John
          Barnes of the other part.

Thus I am pretty sure that John Blow and John Birkett (junior) are cousins through their mothers, Rachel and Sarah Halton respectively. And it's possible that the father of these sisters is Jeremiah Halton. The father of Sarah Halton born 1742 is definitely Jeremiah; and then there is the possibility that the young Jeremiah Blow was named for his grandfather.