Friday, December 20, 2019

LEESONS - by Joan Stenson, Aug 1996


THE LEESON FAMILY


By Joan Stenton B1920 
 Descendent of Mary Ellen Folwell, B1848  D1912
Written August 1994

Kath Harpley writes: I found this family document in mum’s (Jo Ellis) files. Whilst I know of none of these people, they are descendants of ours and reflect on the family in the early to mid 1900’s.

In the year, 1905, my G.Grandparents, Samual and Mary Ellen Leeson came back to Leicester from Gorleston in Norfolk to make some new family arrangements. They had moved to Gorleston when they retired, leaving Arthur their youngest son in the New Bridge Street Shop, Samual (Sam) in the King Richards Road Shop, Will in the one at Dorset Street, and their daughters, Louisa (married), Clara and ‘Ettie’ in the shop at Hamilton Street. My Grandfather, Harry had been buying for all the shops and doing the accounts. G.Grandfather wasn’t satisfied and decided that they should all take charge of their own shops and buy them. My grandparents at that time had a private house at Uppingham Road. Sam had two small children, Hubert and Elsie and he wanted to emigrate to Australia and have a farm. This was the opportunity to change things, so my G.Grandfather said he would lend my Grandfather Harry £200 to buy the King Richard Road Shop but it had to be paid back in two years. (So Sam and his family are going to Australia and now that leaves a vacancy for Harry and Clara to have the King Richard Road shop)

I was born in Leicester in October 1920 and for eighteen months lived with my Grandparents, Clara and ‘Harry’ Leeson at their Victorian house on the Uppingham Road. They had just moved in there from living over their Pork Butcher’s shop, 117 King Richards Road, having lived there since 1905.

In October 1905 they moved in and a month later little Harry, their nine year old son died. So they had sorrow, debts and my Grandmother was given twelve months to live as she had Asthma. She had bad attacks during the night but next day would struggle down into the shop whilst her husband went to the market and organised the making-up. They paid back the £200 in eighteen months. This made them sympathetic towards poorer families who lived roundabout and that sympathy was with them all their lives. Working all hours – they didn’t close until the ‘pubs’ shut at 11pm, but they prospered. During the 1914 =18 War, rumour was about that they were German and my Grandfather kept the ruffians at bay with a chopper in his hand whilst my Grandmother slipped out the back way to fetch the police.

In 1910 Arthur wanted to follow the example of his brother, Sam. His parents had returned to Mere Road in Leicester. His mother, Mary Ellen was ill. Arthur and his family landed in Australia on the day his mother died, 6th March 1911.

The farms were called “Bradgate” and “Wannamaal” and later on the latter was the name of Clara’s house when she married Sam Wooley in 1929.

I was 17 months old when my brother, Jim was born – we lived at Roselands Victoria Road East. He had pneumonia when six weeks old and needed care so once again I went back to my Grandparents. I was sturdy and energetic – they sent me to a dancing academy when barely four. I spent much time at the shop with my Grandmother and my Father. Father was a commercial Artist and had a studio over the shop. There his apprentice, Karl Wragg used to draw for me and I had my first painting book which I dried in front of the gas fire. My Father had a dark room which at one time had been my Mother’s bedroom and I used to watch the procession on May Day from there. The back room had stocks of grease-proof paper, printed bags, and carrier bags for the shop. It overlooked the yard where the tins of lard were setting. Downstairs, in the room behind the shop we had tea and snack lunches. Once I was taken into the shop to see a big man who bent down to kiss me. It was my Great Grandfather. I can remember the circumstances quite plainly. He died a short time later – that was 1925.

In 1912, after the death of Mary Ellen and that of his eldest daughter, Louisa earlier that year, Samual (G Grandfather) decided to go out to Australia with Clara and ‘Ettie’ with the idea of going to live there. He stayed with his son Sam, but wrote to my Grandfather that it was a land of heat, dust and flies and they were coming back to England. They went to live in a private house in Barclay Street. The war broke out in 1914.

Now Ettie had formed an attachment to a young man who worked on the farms in Australia and he came over with the Australian Corps. She came to my Grandmother/her sister-Clara with her problem. She loved Arch Slaven but there was the problem of leaving her ageing Father and her sister, Clara. My Grandmother advised her to go back with Arch and in January 1919 Arch and Ettie were then married and went to a fruit farm on the Murray River, South Australia. She wrote frequently to Clara, Hilda and my Mother and sent us boxes of dried fruit all through the Second World War-1939-1945. John, Hilda’s son went to visit her when on leave in India.

In 1922, Hilda, Aunt Ada and Uncle Will went to visit Ettie but not so my Grandfather. He had other things to manage besides the shop – he kept his own pigs, cows and poultry and employed an overseer. He also bought a farm, lost money on it – put money into a business for my Father as well as doing his own buying at Melton and Bourne markets.

Hilda married Sidney Folwell after the visit to Australia so once again one of the Leeson family married one of the Folwell one.

Auntie Clara was a regular visitor to our house, often on Sunday evenings, when she would read out letters she had received from Sam, Arthur and Ettie. She was on the Board of Guardians and later became a Magistrate at the Court.

In 1931 Will died and the following year we knew my Grandfather was very ill and in the April he died – one brother only 54 and the other 60.

Auntie Clara decided to go once more to Australia as Ettie had had an operation for Cancer and to see her for the last time.

I met Elsie, Sam’s eldest daughter when she visited England in 1957,1973 and with her husband, Art in 1981. Some members of Eva’s family have come over too. John and Esme visited Elsie about two years ago.

So this is a small tribute to those of Sam and Mary Ellen’s line both in the Old Country and ‘Down Under’.


Joan Stenton
August 1994



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