Joseph Chitty
(1775-1841) of London (continued)

In the following eight or nine years, Elizabeth bore Joseph five children, before he left her to set up house with one Mary BOAK. According to M-C, it was a Judicial Separation and Mary died 1812 Jan 12 aged 29 and was buried in a London church, having borne another five children to Joseph. He was then reconciled to his wife Elizabeth, who bore him a final son in 1815. This child was named 'Tompson', which perhaps indicates that Joseph's sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Jeremiah Jellicoe TOMPSON, were instrumental in the reconciliation.

Joseph, of Southampton Street, Fitzroy Square, and of the Inner Temple, barrister, died 1841 Feb 17; and Elizabeth followed him within a year, dying 1842 Jan 5 in Calthorpe Street, Guildford Street, aged 64 (GM), and both were buried in All Souls' Cemetery, Kensal Green. A grant of administration of Elizabeth's estate (£200) was made 1842 Feb 7 to her son Tompson. As she had not taken out letters of administration of Joseph's estate, and as their son Tompson, his sister Eliza HULME and sisters-in-law Sarah DE MERIC and Janet CHITTY, mothers of Joseph's grand-children, renounced their claims, administration of that estate was granted to a creditor, William Henry LEGGETT. It appears that Elizabeth's small estate was the subject of a Chancery suit, 'HULME v [Tompson] CHITTY' in 1846, Apr 21/22. Some of Tompson's descendants in Australia believe that this case severely damaged his financial position, but details have not been researched or reported.One of Joseph's first family died in infancy during the separation, and another at about the time of his return; all his other nine children lived to marry, though two sons predeceased him.

It appears that all - whether children of Elizabeth or of Mary - were brought up as one family, with equal educational and professional opportunities for the boys, and marital chances for the girls; and it seems likely that he divided what fortune remained to him among them during his lifetime to avoid embarrassment in a Will.

A remarkable family occasion must have been the double wedding at Wilmington in 1824 of Elizabeth's daughter Eliza and Mary's daughter Sarah.

As Joseph treated all his eleven children equally as CHITTYs (though Mary BOAK's descendants could not, of course, claim the family Arms), we will list them as one family - but note that Nos 6 to 10 are 'non-armigerous'.

continued ...

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Page created 29 Sept 2001 by Mike Chitty, based on the late Erik Chitty's 1975 text