St Michael's and All Angels Church in Llanmihangel
According to Old Buckenham parish records Albert was born on Sunday 1 November 1829 and baptised on 29 November 1829, also a Sunday. Samuel, his father, is recorded as a labourer.
Albert was born before civil registration commenced in 1837, but he appears in the 1841 census as an 11-year-old. In 1851 he can be found in London, lodging in the house of an umbrella maker Henry IPASHOTT (sp?) at number 32 Southampton Street in Pentonville. He is stated to be 21, and a clerk for a Mariners Benf Society. You may wish to note that the entry is transcribed as CHILOERS.
The next trace we have is his marriage on Wednesday 19 July 1854 in the Parish Church of Llanmihangel in Glamorgan in Wales. He is described as a "Gentleman" of full age. His bride was Jane Harriet THOMAS, the daughter of William THOMAS, a farmer of Llanmihangel. Llanmihangel was a very small parish outside Cowbridge in Glamorgan. Cowbridge seems a very well-to-do area with a Grammar School with links with Jesus College, Oxford and the kennels of the Glamorganshire Foxhounds.
It seems that we can find William THOMAS (with difficulty with a name like THOMAS in Wales!) in the 1851 Welsh census. There is a William THOMAS shown as farmer of 313 acres and employing 5 labourers in Colwinstone, also described as a village outside Cowbridge - we can assume that the 313 acres lay between. This William has a 21-year-old daughter Jane born in Colwinstone. Three of the labourers come from Wiltshire, Shropshire and Ireland, so it seems William drew his staff from all over. It is therefore quite likely that Albert was working on the farm when he fell for the boss's daughter.
In 1861 the couple were still living in London at 1 William Street in the parish of St Matthew, Bethnal Green. Albert is described as a 30 year old Railway Clerk for the E.C.Railway Company. While Albert is stated to have been born in Norfolk, Jane is shown as coming from Middlesex, Bethnal Green. It is interesting that a number of neighbours on the Census return are shown as being railway employees.
The 1871 census returns have an Albert A CHILVERS, aged 39, as station master at Flordon in Norfolk. His wife was 37-year-old Jane H CHILVERS, she is shown as born in Cowbridge in Wales. There is also a 2-year-old son, Hamilton born in Flordon. Hamilton's birth certificate shows him being actually born on 4 March 1869 at Flordon Station to Albert Alexander CHILVERS, station master at Flordon and Jane Harriet CHILVERS née THOMAS.
In the 1873 Return of Owners of Land for Norfolk we find the entry:
From 1875 to 1877 Albert was the licensee of The Griffin at 19 Church Street, Attleborough. He gains two entries in the 1877 Harrod's Norfolk directory - one as "Griffin, commercial inn and posting house", and one as "CHILVERS ALBERT A coal and salt merchant, manure, and general agent". Obviouslya man of many skills.
The 1881 census shows up an apparent anomaly. This shows an Albert CHILVERS seemingly born in 1836 (and we must remember that ages and dates of birth were far less important then) living in Heigham (now a part of Norwich) with his wife Jane H CHILVERS who was 44 in 1881. Albert was then publican of the Somerleyton Tavern in Somerleyton Street, Heigham. The thing is that Jane is shown as having been born in Old Buckenham. The enumerator got other things wrong, too, as their son Hamilton is shown incorrectly as aged 19. Whites Directory of 1883 shows Albert still in residence, but the Kellys Directory slightly later in the year shows the licence being held by John HOOD. The norfolkpubs.co.uk website shows that the licence for the Somerleyton Tavern was held by Albert from 10 October 1879 to 12 December 1882. The pub was destroyed by enemy action on 27 April 1942.
In late 1883 we get a glimpse of where Albert was. On 2 October his younger sister Louisa died tragically (qv), and Albert was named as administrator of the estate, which amounted to the grand sum of £145. In the administration index Albert is described as resident at Raynham Park Station in Norfolk. It looks like he had returned to his old occupation of station master.
However, by the time the 1891 census comes round we find Albert now as Innkeeper of the Black Boys in Main Street, Thornage, near Dereham. His wife is recorded as Jane, born in South Wales, confirming that the 1881 census was incorrect. No children were at home. He was in fact the licensee of the Black Boys from 2 March 1889 to 16 March 1896.
Hamilton was working in 42 Blair Street in Bromley in London where is boarding with a railway porter, Charles CLEMENTS and his family. Hamilton was a railway booking clerk. It surely cannot be a coincidence that Hamilton's aunt Eliza's husband, Charles FIRMAN, was stationmaster at Poplar station - about half a mile away.
By the time of the 1901 census Albert himself was living at 206 Harpham (sp?) Road in Attleborough. He is recorded as a 70 year old widower, a retired station master. The Records Office shows the death of a Jane Harriett (sic) CHILVERS in the March quarter of 1901 in Wayland District (Vol 4b Page 181) - the Registration Disrict of Attleborough and Old Buckenham.
Hamilton has however moved back with his Dad, still being single. He has obviously followed into the family business as he is a Railway Clerk. There is record of a Hamilton Chilvers (surely there can't be many of them) marrying in Depwade District in the March quarter of 1905, the reference is Volume 4b Page 625. FreeBMD shows an entry with the same reference for Agnes Beatrice WATSON, so it seems likely this was his wife. There is also a Hamilton CHILVERS who died in the latter part of 1936 in Blofield in Norfolk aged 67 (Vol 4b Page 215).
There is the record of the death of an Albert Alexander CHILVERS, noted however as being 75 years old, in the June quarter 1910 in Mutford in Suffolk (Vol 4a Page 519).
Page last updated 15 May 2007
