A lovely Lincolnshire photo ... life in the 18-19th century.

Charles Rivers came up with a darling photo today.  Three gentlemen from West End, Burgh Le Marsh, near Skegness, photographed in 1867, when the total of their ages equalled 283 years...

I assume they are as billed, left to right ...

Mr Lee died before the year was out, and Mr Andrew(s) the next, but the eldest of the trio, Edward HOUGHTON soldiered on another five years, and passed along only aged 103.

Who were they? 

Edward HOUGHTON was from Hogsthorpe (c 1770), then Skegness where his son, William was born. He was a farmer and agricultural labourer, and not -- as the family historians insist, an Esq from Liverpool with lots of glamorous children. I think William was, perhaps, the only child from Edward's first wife, Sarah née Carrington (1793). I see that by 1851 he was the farmer and maybe the owner of 53 acres in Burgh. In 1836 he married for a second time, the much younger Elizabeth Green, but he was to outlive her, as well. He died 31 January 1872.

William carried on labouring agriculturally, fathered a son who he named Richard (1830-1901), and lost his wife, Mary née Teesdale in 1878. He and the son lived alongside of father, and I see in 1869 him selling some land in Bratoft. Possibly to bail out Richard who seems to have been rather a useless kind of fellow, had up several times for theft. I think 1869 was one of those times, when he got two years. 

In 1862 said Richard had got into debt, and had named William and Thomas Houghton of Skegness as his assignees. Thomas (19 March 1810-23 March 1887), cottager and coal merchant, may have been an uncle ...

The Houghtons, under various spellings, seem to have spread around the villages of Eastern Essex ... I keep finding odd mentions .. 'cousins', 'nieces' ..  who is Eliza Veal (?)

On to the next. Thomas ANDREW(S) was born in Partney, Lincs. There are too many TA's to know which is he, but by 1841 he was farming in Wrawby, by 1861 he was living in West End with a lady housekeeper ... Apparently he was by John Andrews out of Ann Stone, and married Letitia Richardson ... His will was executed by one Young Veall, husband of Mary née Andrews, so I guess there was family around to push his wheelchair. He died 12 June 1868.

John LEE 'cottager' (West End Burgh must have been all cottages) came from the village of Mumby, Lincs. He married an Ann Marie Baker in 1808, had four surviving children, and I guess it is he who is at one stage of Hogenthorpe. I see him in 1851 with a daughter and two grandsons ... one of them is a Doughty and living next door to him is Mary Doughty with her husband ... ex-Miss Lee, I suspect.

Seems as though we should all move to Skegness for a long life!

And look! A couple more photos from Burgh ...

Henry lived in the High Street, with his widowed mother Charlotte, her three daughters, one's husband, three servants and were in the coal merchanting business. Well, Henry seemingly dropped out before the 1871 census. 'Aged 26'. In April 1881 he is an engine driver in Blyton .. is it he an 'excavator' in 1871 ...?  in 1851 John Grantham (father) and Charlotte with a heap of family and 4 servants are living at Burgh House ... Father was a mill owner and corn miller, mother had 'houses, lands and an annuity' and Henry too is listed as a corn miller ... 

I think Henry may have had a secret. But I don't think I would have liked to be around when he (if it were he) was driving and engine.

Weirder still ..

So who took, and who kept, his photo ...

Little Tom (5ft 3") was born in Osgodby around 1803 the son of another Thomas and his wife Mary. In 1841 he was a 'agricultural labourer' at Wainflee. In 1850 he was jjailed for being 'idle and disorderly', in 1856 he was imprisoned for 6 months as 'an incorrigible rogue'. It was at least his second dose of six with hard labour in the past year. He admitted to 'odd jobs' while sleeping in someone's barn, and having been a 'cook' at some stage.

Well, I never knew anything of Burgh le Marsh, or any other of the myriad surrounding villages, until today. Maybe Charles Rivers has some more treasures from the same source ...

://maps.app.goo.gl/36ZA7s1nzzaKvJio6

There they all are. From Mumby to Wainfleet. Burgh, Skegness, Hogsthorpe, Thorpe, Bratoft, Willoughby, Partney ... 

PS Another Burgher! 

Born Burgh le Marsh/Anderby, Lincs c 1830 baptised 7 June 1831; died 1911 ....  1851 'groom',  1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 'hairdresser'. 1911 living on own means aged 81 ... eternally unwed ...

Seems he changed from grooming horses to grooming heads, and found his niche ..

But I also see him exhibiting 'some good carvings of his own handiwork' at the Peterborough Workmen's Show in 1870 .. acting as a real estate agent in the 1880s ... and an advertisement in 1888 shows him putting up for auction 'the whole of the contents of his valuable museum. The chuina, coins, articles of vertu &c are rare, old, and in good preservation, and have long been one of the few attractions to the town'. It can't have sold, for in 1890 the 'proprietor of the Burgh Museum' put up 'an elegant and massive carved English Oak Mantelpiece value 150L' for competitive prize ...  

What else went on in Burgh-le-Marsh?