Louisa's story has a tinge of sadness to it. She was born in the Spring of 1849. Her parents pronunciation can be detected from the fact that her name at birth is registered as Loas Agnes, and in the 1851 census she is recorded as Lois. She appears in the 1861 census as Louisa, the 12-year-old daughter of Samuel and Thurza, but by 1871 she is no longer at home. Maybe she is the Louisa CHILVERS who appears in the 1871 census as servant in the household of a varnish maker, Thomas PARSONS, who lived in Morden Lane, Mitcham, Surrey. Louisa is shown as being 21 years old, but her place of birth is "Not Known".
By 1881 Louisa A CHILVERS, born in Old Buckenham NFK is shown as Housekeeper to Charles H ANDERSON, a 73-year-old superannuated civil servant living at 9 Percival Terrace in Brighton. Percival Terrace is just off the Marine Parade, and in 1881 the street was occupied by a number of obviously well-off people. Louisa was clearly unmarried, but in service in a good household.
Whatever the circumstances, on the 13 September 1883, Louisa's father, Samuel, was in the house and accidentally fell down stairs and died. An inquest was held two days later and the death recorded as being due to "syncope produced by shock from concussion caused by his accidentally falling down stairs..."
We can only imagine the shock this was to Louisa, and Charles ANDERSON's feelings can only be guessed when on 3 October 1883, not quite 3 weeks later, Louisa herself died tragically, "in a Bath Room by stupefaction from contamination of the air by gas followed by action of scalding water." The whole scenario is one of a faulty gas geyser in the bathroom, maybe a fault that caused old Samuel himself to feel drowsy and fall (fatally) down stairs. It is perhaps worthy of note of some of the affection in the family, that her younger brother Samuel named his daughter born in 1896, 13 years after these tragedies, Louisa Agnes.
The footnote to Louisa was the administation of her estate: her wordly goods of £145 being administered by her eldest brother Albert.
Page last updated 30 November 2006
