This is my great great grandmother,Mrs Eliza Haarnack - who was born and bred in the Sussex countryside where her family took pride in their gardens and allotments - but who brought up her own family in the crowded streets of Victorian London.
Granny Haarnack ran a coffee shop in Newman Street, was an active member of the Good Templars and became a Governor of the London Temperance Hospital.
My great great grandmother, Eliza Emma Hemsley, was christened on 28 June 1835 in Ditchling church.
Her
parents - James Hemsley and Anne Jeffery - had been married on 22nd March, 1828 in the same church.
To see some pictures of Ditchling, take a little diversion here. But don't forget to hit the back button on yout toolbar to return to this page!
By 1851, James and Ann Hemsley were living at North Street but
Eliza was not at home at the time of the census.I suspect she was working in London - possibly in service - because five years later she married a young man from London called Henry Haarnack.
Here are the details
Parish Church of Marylebone, Middlesex.
16th March 1856
Henry David Haarnack Minor Harp Maker St Marylebone
Father Henry
Haarnack Harp Maker
Eliza Hemsley Minor No occupation St Marylebone Jas
Hemsley Carrier
The witnesses were I. Clark and C. Clark.
In 1881 the census recorded the family at 50 Newman Street, Marylebone
Granny Haarnack was very strict with the family and in the winter of 1898, as she lay on her deathbed, she became concerned that the family would not continue to uphold her beliefs in total abstention from alcohol so she asked them all to " sign the pledge".
These are extracts from booklets about Ditchling which have references to the Hemsleys.
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More Hemsleys from Ditchling
The family in the first picture lived at Wings Place - the amazing old house opposite Ditchling church-and
I believe they were Eliza Haaarnack(nee Hemsley)'s cousins.
If you can shed any further light on the identities of the people below ,please contact me at moira@bonn25.freeserve.co.uk
I would like to express my thanks to Michael Alford of Stoneywish Farm, Ditchling who so generously made copies for me.
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Research and copyright by Moira Bonnington.
First published on 2nd January 2001 and last updated on 20th January 2004.