Watch the Wall, My Darling

Sailing Cutter

               If you wake at Midnight, and hear a horse's feet,
               Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street,
               Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie.
               Watch the wall, my darling, as the Gentlemen go by!
                Five and twenty ponies
               Trotting through the dark.
               Brandy for the Parson.
               'Baccy for the Clerk;
               Laces for a lady, letters for a spy.
               And watch the wall, my darling, as the Gentlemen go by!

As Rudyard Kipling wrote a little over a hundred years ago. You can google for the rest of the poem. It's about smuggling, specifically in the eighteenth century of the King George's, but smuggling continued well into the nineteenth. Except that the smugglers were no gentlemen. For all the later romanticism, smuggling was a profitable and ruthless business. The Coastguard Service was organized in 1822 to rationalize the anti-smuggling efforts of Revenue Officers, Royal Navy and other institutions. By mid-century smuggling was in decline, and the lifesaving aspect of their service had became more prominent. As we continue with the Kennetts, we will find two generations of Coast Guard keeping law and order on the English coast.

The marriage certificate for John Beresford and Mary Ann Kennett, in Bishopwearmouth, Durham, 2 April 1867, gives her father as William Kennett, Coast Guard. Coast guards were moved around as a hedge against corruption. The authorities reasoned, that too long in one place and personal connections might grow into criminal acquiescence to smuggling. It's no surprise, then, to see evidence of this moving-around in census returns.

In the 1851 England Census in Bradwell-near-the-Sea, Essex, schedule 21 on the Waterside, we have:
     William Kennett   Head   Mar   32   Revenue Officer         Kent, Monkton
     Ann                     Wife    Mar   33                                     Devon, Budleigh Salterton
     Mary Ann            Daur              3                                     Essex, North Shoebury
     Martha                Daur              2                                      Essex, North Shoebury

And in 1861 in Kettleness Village, Yorkshire, schedule 126:
     William Kennett   Head   Mar   42   Coast Guard Service  Kent, Monkton
     Ann                     Wife    Mar   43                                     Devon, Budleigh Salterton
     Martha M            Daur             12                                     Essex, Southend
     Mahala E             Daur              9                                      Essex, Bradwell
     Richard T             Son               8                                      Yorkshire, Staithes
     Rosetta M            Daur             3                                       Yorkshire, Kettleness

You can see the move from Shoeburyness/Southend to Bradwell both in Essex, and then Staithes/Kettleness, Yorkshire. These latter two are just a couple of miles along the coast from each other. Staithes looks to be a pretty fishing village, where one can easily imagine the gentlemen going by, while on the Ordnance Survey for Kettleness I see a coastguard station.

In 1861, Mary Ann is staying with an aunt in Southwold, Suffolk.
     Mary Ann Pratt      Head   Un   38   Tailoress                        Devonshire, Weymouth
     Mary Ann Kennett Niece          13   Tailoress (App[rentice]) Essex, Southend

From which I deduce that, being unmarried, the aunt is her mother's sister, and their maiden name must be Pratt. And this is borne out by Mary Ann Kennett's birth certificate, dated 8 Jun 1847 and 6 a.m. in South Shoebury (interesting, since the 1851 census has "North"!). Her father is William Kennett, Boatman in the Coast Guard, and her mother, Ann Kennett formerly Pratt.

We have already looked at Mary Ann, but of the others, here's what I have gleaned so far:

Martha M is Martha Matilda Kennett of BMD Birth Index Dec1848 Rochford 12 176. Her marriage record to John Johnson Trotter is BMD Marriage Index Dec1870 Sunderland 10a 765. Violet Trotter (who we have seen in the 1881 England Census staying with her grandparents) is Violet Johnson Trotter of BMD Birth Index Mar1875 Sunderland 10a 697.

Mahala E is Mahala Emma Kennett of BMD Birth Index Jun1851 Maldon 12 176 (By an incredible coincidence the volume and page number are identical for the two sisters!). She is almost certainly the Emma Kennett of the 1871 England Census, unmarried, 19 years old, born in Essex, Bradwell and living as a "General Servant Domestic" at 11 North Bailey, Durham. Her mistress is Luise Brookhausen, unmarried, 38, from Prussia, a Prussian subject, and "Instructress of music and singing, and of languages: French and German".

Richard T is Richard Thomas Kennett of BMD Birth Index Sep1852 Whitby 9d 353. And he is likely Richard Thomas Kennett of BMD Death Index Dec1868 Sunderland 10a 333 Age:16.

Rosetta M is Rosetta Maria of BMD Birth Index Sep1857 Whitby 9d 382. She is the Rosetta M Wilson we saw living with her parents and husband for the 1881 England Census. At the time of the census they were newly-weds, as their marriage record is BMD Marriage Index Mar1881 Durham 10a 394. Her death may be that recorded in documents from a coroner's inquest from Sydney, Australia into the death of one Rosetta Maria Wilson, found dead in Mossman's Bay. The inquest concluded that she died "from asphyxia by drowning but how, by or through what means deceased got into water there is no evidence to show".
    

Of the parents, William and Ann, we have seen them in censuses from 1851 and 1861 above and in 1871 and 1881 in Middle Names in Middlesbrough. They both died at their home in 18 Poplar Street, Middlesbrough a few years later.

According to the National Probate Calendar, Administration of the estate of Ann Kennett "(Wife of William Kennett) of 18 Poplar-street Middlesbrough in the County of York who died 1 October 1887 ... was granted to said William Kennett ... Coast Guard Pensioner". This corresponds to BMD Death Index Ann Kennett Dec1887 Middlesbrough 9d 331 Age:74

According to the National Probate Calendar, Administration of the estate of William Kennett "Naval Pensioner Widower who died 9 April 1888 at 18 Poplar-street [Middlesbrough] was granted ... to Mary Ann Beresford. this corresponds to BMD Death Index William Kennett Jun1888 Middlesbrough 9d 327 Age:69

William Kennett and Ann Pratt were married in Suffolk, according to BMD Marriage Index Mar1845 Erpingham 13 149. The locals among whom the Coast Guard were stationed were none too sympathetic of their anti-smuggling efforts. Neither was a local, William from Kent and Ann originally from Devon, and I imagine that William was already in the Coast Guard service when they met.
Of the family of William Kennett's wife, Ann Pratt, the 1841 England Census for Cley-next-the-sea has Joseph Pratt (50), Coast Guard Boatman, and Ann (50) and children: Ann (25), Mary Ann (15), Martha (15), Mahala (12) and Matilda (10).

In the 1851 England Census for Near East Lane in Southwold:
     Joseph Pratt    Head Marr   62      Pensioner                    Devon, Budleigh
     Ann                Wife   Marr   64                                        Devon, Budleigh
     Martha            Daur  U        25      Straw Bonnet Maker  Dorset, Swanage
     Mahala            Daur  U        22      Dressmaker                Essex, Wakering

Ann, the daughter, we saw above, future wife of William Kennett and mother of Mary Ann Kennett. Ann would be my step 3x great grandmother.

Mary Ann is the unmarried aunt with whom Mary Ann Kennett was staying in 1861. She is still a tailoress in the 1871 census, living in Southwold. By 1881, she gives her occupation as Lodging House Keeper, still in Southwold and still unmarried. She is probably the Mary Ann Pratt of BMD Death Index Dec1889 Blything 4a 499 Age:68. There is baptismal entry for Mary Ann Pratt parents Joseph and Ann at Wyke Regis on 23 or 25 September 1823. Wyke Regis is a suburb of Weymouth, Dorset.

In Swanage, Dorset, there is a baptismal entry for Richard Pratt, son of Joseph and Ann, on 15 February 1824. A series Masters and Mates certificates and associated paperwork show his birthday as 24 January 1824. He was already an apprentice in 1839-43, so not at home during the 1841 census. He obtained his Only Mate's certificate in 1854 and his Master's in 1859.

Martha, daughter of Joseph and Ann Pratt also has a baptismal entry in Swanage, Dorset for 19 June 1825. She is likely the Martha Pratt who married George Ellis Wright as found in BMD Marriage Index Dec1854 Blything 4a 1496. He is found in England censuses of 1861 and 1871 in vessels at sea. In 1861 Martha is found in East Green Street Southwold:
     Martha Wright  Wife       Mar 36 Wife of a Master Mariner          Dorsetshire, Swanage
     Ann Pratt  Mother-in-law W  74 Widow of a Coast Guard Officer Devonshire, Budleigh
     Matilda Parker  Niece             5   Scholar                                    Essex, Bradwell

At this time George Ellis Wright is Master of the Pilot Cutter, "Dolphin", 50 miles off Lowestoft. Even though Martha is technically head of household for census purposes, all the relationships are with George Ellis. By 1881, George is a licensed victualler on East Street; his pub is called the Victoria Tavern by 1891. Martha's death record is probably BMD Death Index Jun1901 Blything 4a 557 Age:74. George Ellis Wright died 6th September 1891, according to the National Probate Calendar, corresponding to BMD Death Index Sep1891 Blything 4a 446 Age:63.

Mahala, born in Wakering, Essex near Southend-on-sea, married Charles Parker, Master Mariner from Bradwell, Essex at St Mary Whitechapel, where she was living at the time on 25 November 1854. A very nautical marriage: Charles's father, James, was a mariner and, of course, Joseph Pratt of the Coast Guard. By the 1871 England Census, Charles is a licensed Victualler and Coal Merchant in Maldon, Essex. Mahala was already a widow in 1881, herself now a Coal Merchant. The National Probate Calendar records Charles's death 22 Jun 1874, that he was a Master Mariner, an innkeeper and Coal Merchant of Maldon. This corresponds to BMD Death Index Jun1874 Maldon 4a 156 Age:46. Mahala Parker died nearly 30 years later. The National Probate Calendar records her death on 17 February 1904, Administration to sons Ernest Pratt Parker and Richard Pratt Parker. This corresponds to BMD Death Index Mar1904 Edmonton 3a 257 Age:75.

Matilda is the only one of the 1841 census group born in Norfolk. In the 1851 England Census for Prittlewell, one Matilda Pratt (20), unmarried is a Nurse, born in Palling, Norfolk, in the household of James G Payne. BMD Marriage Index have Matilda Pratt and John Parker Mar1854 Maldon 4a 183. In the 1861 England Census for Bradwell-on-sea, the next door neighbors of Charles and Mahala's family are John and Matilda (born in Palling) and their family, so possibly two brothers and two sisters. John is a Mariner. In 1871 John and Matilda are living waterside at the Green Man public house, where John is a bargeowner and (surprise!) publican. In 1881 they are at a different address in Bradwell, and John is merely a Coal Merchant. And in 1891 they are in Southwold, where John is a "Shipowner &c". John is most likely the "John Parker of Bradwell near the Sea Innkeeper and Hay and Coal Merchant the Brother" named as executor along with Mahala of James Parker's estate in the National Probate Calendar in 1874.

The birthplaces of Joseph and Ann's children move from Dorset to Essex to Norfolk. Of the parents of this generation, Joseph Pratt obviously died between 1841 and the next census, in which his wife is a widow. The most likely reference is BMD Death Index: Joseph Pratt Mar1858 Blything 4a 521. Ann Pratt disappears from census records after 1861. Her BMD Death Index entry is probably: Ann Pratt Jun1866 Blything 4a 445 Age:79.

Many transferred to the Coast Guard from the Royal Navy after the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815. Joseph Pratt is in the appropriate age-group, although I have no evidence that he had previously served in the Royal Navy.The Coast Guard Service during his time was concerned much with anti-smuggling efforts. The reorganization of the Coast Guard and an influx of trained personnel tipped the balance in favor of the authorities. Meanwhile, economic policies shifted toward increasingly free trade. There was increasingly less incentive to smuggle, and more chance of being caught. By mid-century the Coast Guard Service, as experienced by William Kennett, was increasingly focussed on life saving. Poets could now afford to romanticize the Gentlemen.