Minnie Keohane - my grandfather's older sister

We saw that Minnie Keohane was born in 1888. 

Aunt Nellie pointed out a cottage by the side of the road where her sister Mary or Minnie was born – I think it was on the Battle Road. This was just one of the cottages were the family lived.

We know that Minnie was keeping house for her family in 1901 after her mother died - she was only 13.

Maternal and infant mortality were high in these days - heck, it was high in the first part of the twentieth century! So mothers knew that there was a possibility that they would die in childbirth. So they began teaching housekeeping skills to their daughters at a very young age in case anything happened to the mother - the daughter(s) could take over. This seems to be exactly what happened with our family.

Minnie was not living with the family in 1911. I guess her father, Patrick Keohane, remarried soon after the 1901 census judging from Minnie's half sister Julia's age - she is 8 years old in 1911 - so she was born about 1903? This was shortly after the earlier census.

So I wonder when Minnie left home? I couldn't find her in the 1911 Irish cenus for Cork. When did she leave home and where did she go?

We know that Minnie ends up in London, but I couldn't find any information about her until I found an index for marriages from October to December 1915. It lists Robert Banham marrying Keohane - not even a first name!! - in Wandsworth District - volume 1 d - page 2038. Wandsworth forms part of inner London. 

I presume this is our family - I know from family history that Minnie's husband is Robert Banham from England. Their daughter Theresa told me that her father swept Minnie off her feet.

And this might be our family - Robert Banham was born in 1889 in Battersea, London - I think it says on July 10, and he was baptized July 14 - but look and see what you think. His father was Frederick and his mother was Susan Banham.  His address looks like 58 Cheltam Road in Battersea, but I can't find that street on a map. Areas of Battersea were redeveloped several times so the street may no longer exist. The baptism took place in the parish of St. Michael's Church in the county of London, and A. W. Houghton, the assistant curate, performed the ceremony.

The Church's website - http://stmichaelsbattersea.org/church-building/ - provides this information:

The History of St.Michael’s

In the early 1880s, following the construction of the railway, the farmland of this part of Battersea was re-developed as a residential neighbourhood. The Vicar of Battersea, Canon John Erskine Clarke, worked hard to raise the funds to build a number of churches to serve the area. He also commissioned the Bolingbroke Hospital.

St.Michael’s began as a temporary mission church in 1872. The present building was dedicated in 1881 ... 

The Building

The church was designed by William White, one of the leading church architects in Victorian times. Although the cheapest materials were used, the interior of the church is both gracious and beautiful. The architect H.S.Goodhart-Rendel, a keen advocate of the Gothic revival, once commented of St.Michael’s, “Everything very honest and thoughtful.” 

Special features include the font, the clerestory windows, the reredos, rood screen and pulpit. The angels on the wooden pulpit were carved by Hems, and the stained glass windows were designed by Lavers, Barruad and Westlake. The organ is a particularly fine example of Henry Jones’ work. 

A school was added to the building in 1887-88, which is now used as the church halls."

I couldn't find a better picture than these.

The interior of Church of England's St. Michael's Church 

I went to the Falmouth Library to use the library edition of www.ancestry.com. The 1891 census of the civil parish of Battersea, the ecclesiastical parish of St. John, county of London for 34 Mendip Road shows a Banham family living in 2 rooms. Frederick Banham is the head of the family - he is about 37 years old and works as an excavator. He was born in Skepney in London. His wife Susan is 26 and was born in Easton in Hampshire. Daughter Maria is 5 and was born in Wandsworth, London. Frederick is 4 and was also born in Wandsworth. Our Robert is 9 months and was born in Clapham, London.

I found a Robert Banham listed in the 1901 census of England. He is an 11 year old "inmate" at Macclesfield Certified Industrial School for Boys on Brook Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire. His profession is a scholar. I don't know if this is our Robert, but it is the only Robert I found. 

Bob Banham and his two sisters.

So Robert and Minnie marry sometime between October and December 1915 in Battersea which is an area of London lying on the south bank of the Thames river. For Americans it is notable because Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold, his wife and daughter are buried in a crypt in St. Mary’s Church. 

Minnie was about 25 when she married. I wonder if any of her family was present - Aunt Nellie maybe? And did they marry in Robert's Church of Ireland or Minnie's Catholic Church? I guess I'll have to send for the marriage certificate.

I love this picture of Minnie. I don't know when it was taken. 

Battersea is at the bottom left of the map - the red icon.

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/regions/battersea/ describes Battersea as follows:

"Battersea is located in the London Borough of Wandsworth and is situated in South West London. Considered very much inner city London, Battersea is less than 3 miles away from Charing Cross, making it readily accessible from just about any part of Central London.  

Battersea’s most famous landmarks are Battersea Power Station, famously depicted on the cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ and the sprawling Battersea Park, frequent host to funfairs and other events throughout the year, and let’s not forget Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the UK’s most well-known animal sanctuary. 

Considered by some to be designated for Chelsea’s residential overspill, Battersea has in fact existed since Saxon times; Lavender Hill is so-called because up until the Industrial Revolution the area’s main business was the production and sale of flowers, fruit and vegetables. Today Battersea is a relatively affluent neighbourhood with wine bars and gastropubs galore, as well as the splendid Battersea Arts Centre which has an eclectic programme of music and theatrical events." 

Cover of Pink Floyd's Animals

https://www.kfh.co.uk/south-west-london-and-surrey/battersea/ further describes Battersea's past:

"By the late 19th century Battersea had developed into a major town and railway centre. The effect of this was that a population of 6,000 in 1840 had increased to 168,000 by 1910 and, except three parks, farmland was built over for railway sheds and tracts of housing. The creation of Battersea Park by the Crown in the mid 19th century also marked a turning point for the area when housing was built in the south and west. The peak of building here came in the 1880s and 1890s, with the construction of Queen Anne style houses, mansion blocks and cottages. 

In the south of the area, the streets surrounding Northcote Road have well preserved Victorian terraces. World War II bomb damage led to a large part of the industrial riverside area being swept away in a vast rebuilding plan. At the same time the industries west of Albert Bridge began to close or relocate, with apartment blocks now filling both areas. There remains a wealth of period conversions in Battersea, and a selection of complete Edwardian homes and Victorian villas, as well as a stock of ex local authority flats and terraces. Battersea Square offers a stock of mansion blocks and riverside apartments."

Battersea Park with Power Plant in background

The Register of Electors of 1918 for the Parliamentary Borough of Battersea's North Division lists #4480 Mary Banham and # 4481 Robert Banham living at 61 Winstanley Road. Mary is qualified to vote in Parliamentary and Local elections by her husband's occupation. Robert is qualified to vote due to being a Navy or Military voter.  

The above map shows how close to central London the Banhams were living. The picture below is an aerial view of the current neighborhood.

Bob and Minnie's first child, Irene Banham, was born in 1918 - she was likely born while they were living at 61 Winstanley Road. 

Frederick (Freddie) Banham, below, was born in 1920. According to the Electoral Registers, the Banhams lived at 109 Winstanley Road in 1923. So I am not sure where the family was living when Freddie was born.

But they moved to 2 Raywood Street in Battersea by 1925 and are listed here through 1929.  I couldn't find Raywood Street on any map - when I put the address in, Newton Prepatory School popped up. Perhaps Raywood Street was razed during a redevelopment.

The Banham family is living at 4 Latchmere House in Latchmere Wood in 1933. I can't find this on a map - there is Latchmere Road and Latchmere Close in two different areas of Battersea. The family is listed living here until 1956.

Theresa Banham is born 9 September 1930 in Battersea. I don't know if the family was living at 4 Raywood Street or 4 Latchmere House.

I found this information about the Latchmere Estate on https://municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/the-latchmere-estate-battersea-happy-healthy-homes-for-sober-and-industrious-workmen/

"The Latchmere Estate, opened in August 1903, was the first council estate in Britain to be built by direct labour – by the Council’s own workforce.
An area of allotments on the former Latchmere Common had long been identified as potential building land but it took the perseverance of Burns (Member of Parliament) and others to secure acts of parliament in 1899 and 1900 which finally granted the right to build.

The dwellings were novel of their kind, containing as they did what had once been regarded as luxuries, such as baths, combined ranges and electric light. Not many working men had such accommodation in which to bring up their families, but the Battersea Borough Council had come to the conclusion that such accommodation was an absolute necessity.

The provision of electric lighting was particularly controversial. There were those who did ‘not see why the working people of Battersea should be allowed electric light at all: it [was] a luxury…which should be confined to the well-to-do’.(1)  The Council’s pragmatic response was that the scheme was self-supporting.

That electricity was supplied from the Council’s own generating station whilst the Estate’s water supply came from an artesian well sunk by the Council which served the adjacent Latchmere Baths ...

315 dwellings were provided in total: 28 five-room houses, one four-room house, 70 houses each with two three-room tenements with bath scullery and 73 houses each with two four-room tenements with bath scullery. Each tenement had its own entrance and its own back garden (with stairway access in the case of first-floor tenements). Of 11 acres, three were preserved as open space."

Theresa was young during the Nazi Blitzkrieg of England - she told me that she remembered hiding under the kitchen table during one raid.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/germany_bombs_london  tells us that:

"On 4 September Hitler, frustrated by the RAF's superiority over the Luftwaffe and enraged by its bombing of German cities, vowed to destroy the British capital and the spirit of its people.

In response, the Luftwaffe shifted its focus from attacking RAF Fighter Command's bases and communications networks to bombing Britain's cities. Hermann Goering, the Head of the Luftwaffe, had severely lost face over both the bombing of Berlin, and his force's failure to defeat the RAF. He hoped that the intense bombing of British cities would both destroy public morale and draw the remaining RAF fighters into battle and annihilation.

The bombing begins

After a preliminary raid on 5 September, the bombing started proper on the afternoon of the 7th. Almost 1,000 German aircraft - over 300 bombers escorted by 600 fighters - crossed the Channel. It was the largest collection of aircraft ever seen. Fighter Command had not expected raids on London, but now attempted to intercept the waves of bombers. A huge dogfight developed over London and the Thames Estuary. 

Convinced that the German invasion of Britain was imminent, the country was put on the highest alert. Signals of impending invasion went out - the code word "Cromwell" was sent to military units and church bells rang.

Some of the German bombs did fall on their intended target of the docks, but many fell on the residential areas around them. Substantial parts of East and South-East London were devastated, 430 civilians were killed and 1600 seriously injured. Firestorms ravaged the city, acting as beacons for the second wave of bombers that evening.

After the raids Winston Churchill shared the public's fury and defiantly announced: "He [Hitler] has lighted a fire which will burn with a steady and consuming flame until the last vestiges of Nazi tyranny have been burnt out of Europe".

Bombing continues for the next 76 nights

Although no-one knew at the time, this was the beginning of the Blitz. With the exception of one night, when the weather was bad, the bombing continued for the next 76 nights consecutively, with daytime raids as well. Liverpool, Manchester, Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton were also targeted."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/germany_bombs_london  reports that from 7 October 1940 to 6 June 1941 the German Luftwaffe dropped 738 high explosive bombs in Wandsworth, the borough in which Battersea is located. The map below shows where those bombs dropped. This website also has memories of people who lived during the Blitz - they are amazing. Take a look at  them.

The map below shows where 29 bombs fell in Latchmere during WWII from 7 October 1940 to 6 June 1941. There are more interesting memories of the war on http://www.bombsight.org/explore/greater-london/wandsworth/latchmere/ where I found this map.

Winston Churchill inspecting damage in Battersea from Nazi bombs on 10 September 1940.    http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/germany_bombs_london

As far as I know, the Banham family survived the war without injury.

Theresa said this is her sister Irene’s son John, Irene’s husband Charlie, Madge Keohane (Uncle Jim Keohane’s daughter), Minnie Keohane Banham, Aunt Nellie Keohane, Freddie Banham and Minnie’s husband Bob Banham in the back.

 Minnie Keohane

Freddie, Iris, their sons and the sons' girlfriends.

Freddie Banham

Freddie and Iris and a family relative.

Iris, Fredie, and Theresa

Theresa, her brother Freddie, her husband Johnny, and Freddie's wife Iris.

Freddie and his granddaughter

Theresa and her two children   

Josie Keohane Nelson (Uncle Jim Keohane's daughter,) Hannie Keohane Huliston, Theresa Banham Vespa, and Rita Keohane Walsh kicking up their legs in Hannie's living room in Watertown during one of Theresa's trips from Montreal to visit her cousins. Theresa and Johnny would drive down and spend several days at Hannie's.

Theresa with Hannie's daughter Joan and Joan's grandson at Hannie's.

Theresa Banham Vespa

Rita Keohane Walsh and Theresa at Hannie's. Theresa loves to sing and enjoys a good joke.

I guess my aunt Rita Keohane and her husband Dick Walsh stopped off in England for a visit with Freddie Banham before they went to Scotland. Unfortunately, I don't know what year it was. Here is the letter from Freddie to them.

"383 London Rd.

Aylesford

Maidstone Kent

England

ME207QA

19th Oct.

Dear Rita & Dick,

I'm sorry it's been so long in replying to your letter, but we have had problems. We went to the Canary Ilse Spain on the 26th of June for a fortnight vacation, and had only been in our apartment 6 hours when Iris cut her leg badly on the sharp edge of the wooden bed frame.

We called the doctor who took her to the hospital at once and after treatment she was allowed to the apartment, but we had to attend the Hospital for treatment every day and we are still visiting our own Doctor based in the U.K. after 14 weeks since it occurred.

I am pleased to say that the wound which was in the shin bone area

                                                                     PTO (Please Turn Over)

"is almost closed and it will be nice not to have to visit the surgery so often.    I'm glad you enjoyed the scenery in Scotland, as you say it's out of this world. I('m) glad you enjoyed a drink in the Scotch pub, not many years ago, you could not have a drink in a Scotch pub or Hotel on a Sunday less you could prove you were a traveller. I'm pleased Aunt Nellie likes her rosary beads & glad she's doing well. I have phoned Terry recently & she's had a slight accident in the car but she sounds O.K.

We (are) very pleased you enjoyed your day out with us. Myself & Iris loved your company - after all we like to show our Capitol City off. Plus our lovely County of Kent. God Bless you & Dick & give my love to Aunt Nellie.

Love Iris & Freddie

Please excuse writing. I am just getting over the flu."

Bob Banham died 28 December 1955 in Battersea. On www.ancestry.com, I found an index to Battersea District deaths 

from October - December 1955 - volume 5 page 15. The death was registered in the civil parish of Battersea, ecclesiastical parish of St. John, in the county of London - registration district of Wandsworth for West Battersea. Bob was 66 year old when he died.

Minnie also died in Battersea, London – I believe she died in a fire.