It occurred to me that Abigail and Edith Courtney may have been sent away to school at Holdenhurst whilst their parents had gone away. Perhaps they had family residing there. They were clearly not estranged from their mothers family as their cousins Henry and Martha Paice were visiting at the time of the 1881 census, suggesting their stay with the Brown family at Holdenhurst was not just a few days.
Most of the Paice family lived around Droxford, Hampshire. Their fathers family was possibly from Middlesex.
There was one Courtney family residing in Holdenhurst at the time of the 1881 census. Four women of independent means born in Ireland and boarding at 'Stoney Crop'. Sidney, Eleanor, Charlotte and Florence Courtney. It does accord with the family story that the Courtneys were 'a bit better' - assuming that means wealthy of sorts? Also, in his memoirs Ted Roberts describes his mother Abigail Courtney to have 'a little bit of Irish in her make up'. Could George be Irish, perhaps he and his wife have gone there at this time?
In 1881 Abigail and Edith were residing with the Browns at Madiera Vale in the parish of Holdenhurst, where where they in relation to Stoney Crop? There is only 2 pages difference in the census, but Holdenhurst was a small village at that time.
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History of the Saxon Village of Holdenhurst - Location and Settler
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The four Courtney sisters are the children of
Henry Courtney Esquire and his wife
Sydney Gosselin of 24 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin Henry and Sydney may have had up to 12 children but none by the name of George, Arthur or William. These women are of the age to possibly be perhaps cousins or siblings of George. Henry’s mother was
Anna Marie D’Olier. The D’Olier family are known Huguenot emigrants to Ireland and one of their ancestors was said to have been imprisoned in France during the French Revolution. My grandfather Edward Arthur Roberts was well known for his story that one of his ancestors was imprisoned during that time, a story that was often treated with much chagrin from his children, suggesting it was more likely that his ancestors were one of
Madame Defarge’s compatriots! Could there be some truth in the story?
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Sydney Sophia Courtney was born in 1836 in Ireland. She was attending school at Clifton, Gloucestershire, England by aged 15, with her sister Charlotte. She and her sisters appear living together at Holdenhurst in 1881. She died unmarried in Switzerland in 1906, her residence stated as 15 Essex Villas, Kensington, Middlesex (her three sisters can be found at this address in 1891 and 1901, but she is not there). Her estate of 2234 pounds (Irish records) or 403 pounds (English records) was left to her brother Major David Courtney. What was she doing in Switzerland? There is a family story that an aunt of some sort was a courtelaine in Belgium - could this have been her?
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Eleanor Courtney (Helena) was born in 1840 in Dublin, Ireland. She was living in England from at least 1881 with her sisters. She later moved to 15 Essex Villas Kensington can be found in the 1891 and 1901 censuses living with Charlotte and Eleanor. She died in 1907 and also left her estate of 2935 pounds to her brother Major David Courtney.
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Charlotte Elizabeth Courtney was born in 1837 in Dublin, Ireland. She is with Sydney in 1851 attending school at Clifton, Gloucestershire, she is living with her sisters throughout her life, still with Florence in 1911. She died a spinster in 1929 and left her estate of 3422 pounds to her nephew Henry Gother Courtney, son of her brother Major David Courtney who had died in Dublin in 1910.
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Florence Courtney was born in 1844 in Dublin, Ireland. Like her sisters she attended school at Clifton, Gloucestershire at aged 17. She living with her sisters throughout her life, still with Charlotte in 1911. In 1934 she died a spinster also leaving her estate of 8900 pounds to her nephew Henry Gother Courtney.
Other siblings
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Major David Courtney was born in 1845 in Dublin, Ireland. It is interesting to note that David Courtney and his wife Alice (nee Mann) were living in Woolwich Kent at the time of the 1881 census. He may have been in Malta around the time of the census in 1871, his daughter Sydney Margaret being born there in 1873. He was however at Tunbridge Wells, Kent at the time of the 1861 census. He was a major in the military so may have moved around a lot. He died in 1909 living at Nullamore, Milltown, County of Dublin. He left a significant estate of 1771 pounds (England) and 14402 pounds (Scotland) to son Henry and his son in law Edward Watson (husband of Adeline).
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Jane b1831, married Charles Furlong (brother of Robert)
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This blog is dedicated to finding my second great grandfather Arthur 'George' Courtney c1841. To see a summary of my research click here.
If you help with any of questions raised in this post, please contact me using the contact form on this blog or send me a private message via Wikitree, Ancestry or Facebook.
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