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| St Mary Matfelon's footprint, Whitechapel cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff - geograph.org.uk/p/1278357 |
Elnathan Ayres (b. 17 Jul 1752) Bachelor, son of Elnathan Ayres and Martha Travally, married Elizabeth Perry (b. 28 Aug 1749) Spinster, daughter of John Perry and Ann Watlington, at St Mary's, Whitechapel (St Mary Matfelon), Whitechapel High Street, on 3 Oct 1771. Witnesses were William Dalton and Sarah Dalton; Esther Travally (either Elnathan's aunt or his cousin) and Ann Perry, who will have either been Elizabeth's sister, or her mother.
(Sarah Dalton (née Travally) - whose sister Elizabeth Travally was my 5x great-grandmother - was Elnathan Ayres' first cousin, daughter of Winnall Travally and Elizabeth Benbow. Winnall Travally, my 6th great-grandfather, thus was Elnathan's uncle; his mother's brother. As both Elnathan and his father were shipwrights and since the Daltons later lived in a house built by John Perry (shipbuilder), the founder of the Blackwall Yard, which built ships for the East India Company, I was certain Elizabeth Perry was related - she was John Perry's youngest sister. Elnathan Ayres was my 1st cousin seven times removed, as our nearest common ancestors were Thomas Travally and Rachel Winnall - his grandparents and my 7x great-grandparents.)
Elnathan Ayres had at least seven children with Elizabeth Perry:
- Elnathan Boulton Ayres b. Saturday, 5 Dec 1772, son of Elnathan, Shipwright of Queen Street and Elizabeth, bap. 30 Dec 1772 at St Anne, Limehouse (at 25 days old). Elnathan Ayres of Queen St, aged 2 years, 6 months, was buried at St Anne, Limehouse on 4 Jun 1775.
- Elizabeth Ayres (dates unknown, mentioned in will as eldest daughter)
- Martha Travally Ayres bap. 8 Oct 1780 at St Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol
- George Ayres (dates unknown, mentioned only in will)
- Charlotte Ayres bap. 9 Jun 1784 at St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe
- Sage Boulton Ayres bap. 2 Jun 1786 at St Mary's, Rotherhithe
- Martha Ayres b. Sunday, 4 Sep 1796, bap. 9 Oct 1796 at St Dunstan's, Stepney (baptism specifies that she was 35 days old).
For the child born in 1796 to be also named Martha, suggests that Martha Travally Ayres born in 1780 had died (not found record) and makes sense of the order in which the children are listed on Elnathan Ayres' will.
Eldest son and daughter Sage, were given the middle name Boulton, which has to be significant. Richard Boulton was one of four partners - all retired sea captains who had worked for the East India Company and were members of London's shipping community - who owned the Blackwall Yard (The Ownership of Blackwall Yard, 1724–79). Boulton, was a London merchant and an important figure in the East India Company, of which he was a director from 1718 to 1736 and on the Committee for Shipping from 1723 until 1726. He was also a member of the Honourable Company of Shipwrights.
Elnathan Ayres was listed among European inhabitants in Bengal, excluding those in the service of the East India Company or the Crown 1805.
The will of Elnathan Ayres is an eyebrow-raiser and probably creates more mysteries than questions it answers, but its highlights include:
In the Name of God: Amen: I Elnathan Ayres, Ship Wright of the Town of Calcutta Bengal being in bodily Health, and of sound and disposing memory; and considering the Evil, Dangers and other Uncertainties of this transitory life, do (for avoiding Controversies after my Decease) make, publish and declare this My last Will and Testament, in manner following:- that is to say, first I recommend my Soul to God, who gave it; and my body I commit to the Earth, or Sea, as it shall please God to order; and for and concerning all my Worldly Estate, I give bequeath and dispose thereof as followeth; that is to say; First I Will, that all my just Debts and funeral Charges be paid and discharged by my Executors hereinafter named and Secondly that my House and all my Effects be turned into ready money as soon as conveniently may be and Disposed in the manner following, Viz, I leave and bequeath to my son James Ayres, born in Calcutta the Sum of Sicca Rupees [1] three thousand five hundred to be laid out by my Executors, at Interest on good Security, for his Education (which is not to be under the charge of his mother), the principal not to be given to him untill (sic) he becomes of Age the remainder of my property I leave to my Wife Elizabeth Ayres of the parish of St Mary's Rotherhiethe (sic) London and in case of her Death to be equally Divided between my four children in England, Viz: George Ayres, Charlotte Ayres, Sage Ayres and Martha Ayres, of the parish Aforesaid and to my Oldest Daughter Elizabeth Ayres, I only leave one Rupee and in case of the Death of my son James born in this country before he becomes of age, then the property left him to go to my Children in England, to be equally Divided as above, and I do hereby nominate and appoint James Horsburgh and George Watson of the Town of Calcutta to be Guardians of my Son James and Executors of this my last Will and Testament ... dated 7 Jul 1808.
[1] Sicca Rupee - a rupee issued in Bengal before 1836 weighing more than the rupee of the British East India Company.
One wonders what eldest daughter Elizabeth had done to deserve the indignity of being left only 1 Rupee!
Elnathan Ayres, Ship Builder, was buried on 25 Apr 1812, in Fort William, West Bengal, India. His Executors presented his will before the Honourable Sir Henry Russell Knight Chief Justice at the Supreme Court in Fort William on 29 Apr 1812. The Executors produced an immensely detailed inventory, dated 9 May 1812, of his possessions, right down to teaspoons and six pairs of cotton stockings and even 'a bag with salt'. It also showed that Elnathan Ayres' estate totalled £8282 3s 6d (well over a million pounds now), of which almost £5,000 was to be paid to the Ayres Family in England. Clearly he was no ordinary shipwright. Probate was granted in England on 2 Apr 1816.
From the will, I'm reading that Elnathan Ayres was acknowledging a - clearly illegitimate - child he fathered in Calcutta with someone other than his wife. Even without the details of his estate, we had to know he was wealthy enough to do so. There is a transcript of baptism record of James Ayres, son of Elnathan Ayres, born on 3 Feb 1809 and baptised on 26 Feb 1809, in Bengal, India. The record doesn't say who the mother was. Having only seen the transcript and not the original, I cannot say where the anomaly lies, as surely the child had to have been born before the writing of the will in 1808. There's also a transcript of a burial record for James Ayres described as "Poor Boy From Free School", Race: White (if one were to speculate, presumably his mother was a western woman and more than likely someone else's wife, hence Ayres took responsibility for the child's upbringing), on 1 Dec 1812 at Fort William, West Bengal, India. Sadly, I'm sure this is the same child.
It appears Elizabeth Ayres (née Perry) had died, age given as 61, and buried on 6 Feb 1815 at St Anne, Limehouse, so probate had followed her death.
Even with this detail, I'm sure there's a much bigger story yet to uncover.