Fred Gregory Bampton in the Royal Navy

Carol has kindly sent me information about Fred Gregory Bampton's service in the Royal Navy between 1907 and 1910. I have added this to the item about his life on this blog.

Henry Frank Ivall Photos

Helen, a granddaughter-in-law of Henry Frank Ivall (1896-1962), has kindly sent me photos of him, his daughter Mary Lilian (1932-2015) and sister Lilian Alice (1901-84). I have added these photos to the item on Henry’s life https://ivall.blogspot.com/search/label/Henry%20Frank%20Ivall%20%281896-1962%29 on this blog.

George Ivall (1888-1931): Canadian killed with a shotgun.

George Ivall was a grandson of Alexander “Sandy” Ival (1831-1911), who emigrated to Canada from Scotland in about 1837. George’s parents were Alexander’s third son, also called Alexander (1855-1922) and his wife Sarah nee Baldwin (1859-1941). My third cousin Val (who lives in Canada) helped me with the research for this item.

In 1983, Margaret Ivall Bymoen compiled a family history of the Ivall family in Canada. This says that George was born on January 17^th 1888 in the Mille Isle municipality of Quebec, a rural area about 50 miles NW of Montreal. The 1891 census showed Alexander Ival, aged 36, a farmer, living in Morin Flats (now called Morin Heights), near Mille Isle, with his wife Sarah (28) and children Joseph (11), James (6), George (3) and Thomas (1 month). George’s family moved to Rainy River, a small town in NW Ontario, near the US border, sometime between 1891 and 1907. Many Canadians moved westwards in the early 1900s to farm previously uncultivated land.

The spelling of the family surname in Canada seems to have changed from Ival to Ivall over the years. In the 19th century, Ival is the most common spelling in records that have survived. In the 20th century, the name is normally (but not always) recorded as Ivall.

I can’t find George or his parents in the 1901 census of Canada. The 1911 census shows George as a lodger, aged 22, living at Rainy Lake in the district of Rainy River, Ontario. The census return can be viewed (for free) at the Library and Archives Canada website but the image is poor quality and so some of it is difficult to read. He was a labourer in a lumber camp. He was paid $550 for 50 weeks work in 1910.

On 4^th April 1916, aged 28, George signed on to join the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. He would have done this voluntarily, as compulsory enlistment was not introduced in Canada until 1917. His service record can be viewed (free) on the Library and Archives Canada website. The attestation form gives his address as Rainy River, Ontario, he was a farmer and not married. He had previously served for 2 years in the 96^th Regiment. It seems that George could not write, as he did not sign the form, but a cross and the words “his mark” have been added. His army record gives his height as 5ft 8ins, weight 170lbs, physical development good, complexion fair, eyes blue, hair brown.

George was assigned to the 141^st Battalion at Fort Frances, Ontario as a Private. His record shows that he was soon breaking army rules. On separate occasions in May 1916 he forfeited a day’s pay for being absent without leave, was fined for drunkenness and detained for 24 hours for bringing liquor into barracks. He was absent without leave times four times in July 1916. He left the barracks without permission on 17^th August 1916 and did not return. On September 13^th 1916 he was discharged from the army for “Being illegally absent for a period of 21 days and struck off the strength as a deserter by Court of Enquiry.” It seems that he did not complete his training and did not travel to Europe to fight in the war. George’s discharge papers were not signed by him and his army record makes no mention of a punishment for his desertion. It seems likely that he was not caught by the army – perhaps he crossed the border into the USA ?

The USA declared war on Germany on April 6^th 1917 and The Selective Service Act (enacted May 18th, 1917) authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription. On June 5th, 1917 all men between the ages of 21 and 30, were registered. Another registration was held on September 12th 1918, for men aged 18 to 45. There is a registration card, dated September 12th 1918 for George Ivall. He registered in Lakota, Nelson County, North Dakota (220 miles from Rainy River). The card gives his age as 33 and his date of birth as January 16 1885. He was actually born in 1888 and probably gave an incorrect year of birth to avoid being included in the first registration (when he was 29). George is listed as a farm labourer. His nearest relative is shown as Alex Ivall (his father) of Rainy River. World War 1 ended soon afterwards (on November 11 1918), so it is unlikely that George was required to serve in the US Army.

I can’t find George in the 1920 US census, but the 1921 Canada census shows George, aged 30 (he was actually 33), living in the town of Rainy River, Ontario with his parents Alec (60) and Sarah (55) as well as his brother Joseph (41) and his adopted sister Mary (5). Their surname is given as Ival. Some of the census return has been overwritten making these parts hard to decipher. The house that the family lived in was owned by them. It was a detached, wooden building with 4 rooms. George was unmarried. He could speak English and French. His religion was C of E. According to the census, he could read and write. George was a labourer in a saw mill and had earned $1,000 in the previous 12 months.

George died on 5 October 1931 aged 43 in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, after being shot by a farmer called August Lickteig. The circumstances are described in an item dated 5 October 1931, printed in The Bismarck Tribune.

A further item, dated the following day, was printed in the same newspaper after the inquest into George's death.

George was buried in an unmarked grave in Potter’s Field, Grand Forks, North Dakota. This is an area the local government provided for graves of strangers, poor, elderly and ill people who died without any relatives to pay for their burial.

A relative of George has contacted me with the following comment : "I read with interest the account of George Ivall's murder.  He was my dad's uncle. The account in our family is that he went there to collect wages owed to him and was murdered by the farmer who owed him back wages. Unfortunately he was dead so the story line was left to the murderer. An interesting sideline to the story is that his mother Sarah Baldwin Ivall knew he was dead and told people before the official notification.  She was the last in our family to speak Gaelic." 

James Ivall (1832-96), charged with assault

The Surrey Comet dated 27 April 1861 reported the following case which was heard by Hampton Petty Sessions on 22 April 1861. The James Ivall referred to was the second son of David Ivall (1795-1850), a successful coachmaker. An article about James's life is on this blog. He married Sarah Benn in 1856 at Hampton Church. At the time of the incident described, James was one of three business partners running the London coachmaking firm Ivall and Large. He is shown in the 1861 census as a coachmaker master, meaning that he supervised apprentices. James was aged 29 and his wife Sarah was 22. They lived in Thames Street, Hampton with Sarah’s sister Charlotte, aged 34.

A NOVEL MODE OF TAKING TOLL :- LADIES BEWARE !

Mr James Ivall was charged with assaulting John White, Toll Collector of Hampton Court Bridge.

Mr Cann appeared for defendant.

The statement of complainant was that one evening last week, the two ladies passed through the toll gate without paying toll, and that he ran after them and stopped one of the ladies by catching hold of her dress at the back part and demanded the toll. The ladies said they would pay coming back, but he refused this and then they gave him a shilling to take his toll. Soon after this a gentleman (the defendant) returned with the ladies from the railway, and rushed up to him with his raised fist, shook it in his face, and called him “a beast” saying “how dare you kiss my wife, you scoundrel.” I strenuously denied this, and said I had my own wife to kiss, and did not want kiss his. Defendant was violent and would not listen to reason, threatening to summons me. I solemnly deny I took any liberties with his wife and did not put my arms around her. The accusation was so sudden on me, I scarcely knew what I was doing. It was about half-past nine in the evening.

Cross-examined: I have only taken toll at Hampton Court since January of this year. I have occasionally seen defendant pass over, but I don't recollect the ladies doing so. A solicitor called on me to ask my name so that be might summons me. I can’t say if I took out this summons after the solicitor called on me. I did not touch the lady's chin or shoulder, and said nothing about kissing.

Complainant’s son, a youth, corroborated some portions of his father's testimony.

Mr Cann addressed the bench, complaining that complainant had insulted Mrs Ivall when she passed over to meet her husband, who came regularly by the train from London, and she having told her husband of the treatment, naturally was incensed, but did not strike or in any way intimidate complainant. He certainly called him a “beast." but nothing more.

Miss Elizabeth Benn said she was sister-in-law to defendant and was with Mrs Ivall on the evening in question, going to meet Mr Ivall coming home by the mail train. In passing through toll bar she was first, and said they would pay on returning, as they frequently did before. Afterwards heard a scuffle, and saw complainant with his arms round Mrs Ivall, who said “unhand me, what are you doing ?” He let go with one hand, and with the other took hold of her chin and said “I want my toll.” Mrs Ivall said, then ask properly for it, and not serve me in this manner. She then gave him 1s. We met Mr Ivall and told him what had happened. Mr Ivall, on returning with us, demanded the toll keeper's name, as none was up at the bar. He did not go up to him with his fist or attempt to strike him, but he (defendant) did accuse complainant of insulting his wife, and complainant denied it. A female in the toll house made use of vary bad language, implying we were not respectable people. 

Cross-examined: I swear defendant did not raise his fist. I heard complainant say he had his own wife to kiss.

Mrs Elizabeth Rose was waiting for her sister at Hampton Court Bridge on the evening alluded to and saw what passed, and she stated positively defendant did not strike or raise his fist at complainant, but heard Mr Ivall call him a beast for attempting to kiss his wife, when complainant said in reply, he had something else to kiss, without kissing his (defendant’s) wife. She also heard very abusive language coming from the toll house, in a female voice.

Cross-examined: I have never worked as a dressmaker with Miss Benn. I have known her for some years. I have had no interview with her, except in the presence of Mr Ivall's solicitor.

Mr Cann was about to call more evidence, when the magistrates said it was unnecessary to do so, and immediately dismissed the case, granting a summons against White for assaulting Mrs Ivall, to be heard next sitting; condemning White in the costs of this summons.

The case against John White was considered at Petty Sessions held in May 1861. The same evidence was presented. Mr Gregg, Inspector of Weights and Measures, gave White, who he had known for many years, a good character. The evidence being contradictory, the case was dismissed.

Death of Elizabeth Ann Ivall (1817-92)

Elizabeth Ann Ivall nee Gibson was my great great grandmother. She married David Ivall (1816-67), a journeyman coachmaker, in 1837 and they had ten children, seven of which survived into adulthood.

The following item was in the Islington Gazette dated 30 March 1892.

DEATH FROM A FALL

At the Islington Coroner’s Court, on Friday, Dr Danford Thomas held an inquest on the body of Elizabeth Ann Ivall, aged 74, who died under the following circumstances:

George Ivall, son of the deceased, of 27 S Block, Beaconsfield Buildings, said his mother resided at 75 Pembroke Street, and enjoyed fairly good health considering her age. On the 21st inst, she came on a visit his house, and left in the evening. A few minutes afterwards she was found at the bottom of the flight of steps on the first landing. She was insensible and died soon afterwards.

By the Coroner - There were no rails either side the steps.

Dr John Thomas Slater, of 1 Thornhill Crescent, Barnsbury, who was called to see the deceased, said on arrival he found her dead. The nose was broken and the face bruised. In his opinion death was due to syncope, following concussion of the brain and shock.

The jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death”.

George Ivall (1853-1932) was Elizabeth’s 8^th child and my great grandfather.

Beaconsfield Buildings were situated off the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury district of Islington. They were designed by Charles Barry jnr. and were built by the Victoria Dwellings Association in the late 1870s. They were named after the Prime Minister, Lord Beaconsfield (Benjamin Disraeli) and aimed to provide “healthy and comfortable housing for the labouring classes”. The 383 flats were an attempt to alleviate overcrowding and were designed to accommodate 2,000 people. Conditions later deteriorated and the buildings became known as 'The Crumbles'. The flats were demolished during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the site became Bingfield Park. Pembroke Street is nearby.

Beaconsfield Buildings

Syncope is a word for a loss of consciousness resulting from a reduction in blood flow causing a shortage of oxygen to the brain. 

Henry Ivall (1842-99), Convict and Royal Navy Sailor

Henry Ivall was born on February 1^st 1842 at 22 Willsted Court, Somers Town. He was the third of ten children born to my ancestors David and Elizabeth Ivall. Somers Town was an area of mostly poor housing in London near St Pancras station where the British Library is now located. Henry was baptised at St Pancras church on February 27^th 1842.

The 1851 census lists David (aged 34, a coach maker) and Elizabeth (33) Ivall living at 29 Bull Place, St Pancras with their children Henry (9), Georgiana (7), David (2) and Elizabeth Ann (8 months). David and his family moved from St Pancras to Southwark sometime between 1851 and 1853.

Henry worked in the coach maker’s shop with his father. There is a story¹ that David showed Henry a piece of finished work and asked how long it would be before he could do as well. He answered “Never!” and was chased out of the shop.

On August 7^th 1856, Henry, aged 14, was tried² at Middlesex County Sessions for the offence of “Stealing from the person of Thomas Rickett Lovell, a handkerchief, value 2s, his property.” He was found guilty of “Larceny from person” and sentenced to 4 calendar months in the House of Correction, Cold Bath Fields. This prison was in Clerkenwell and was notorious for its very strict regime of silence and also for the way in which the treadmill was officially used. Today, the site is occupied by the Mount Pleasant Royal Mail Sorting Office. The court record says that Henry had been in prison before.

The National Archives has a record showing that Henry voluntarily joined the Royal Navy on November 10^th 1857. He was aged 15 and was assigned the rating “Boy Second Class”. He signed up until February 1^st 1870. The 1861 census shows him as a Royal Navy sailor, ordinary 2^nd class, on board HMS Narcissus, a wooden hulled frigate. This ship was launched in 1859 and was powered by sails as well as a steam engine (that drove a propeller). It was crewed by 540 men.

1859 painting of HMS Narcissus by J Wood (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)

In 1864, Henry signed (as a witness) the marriage certificate of his sister Emily when she married William Ralph in Walworth, S E London. I can’t find Henry in the 1871 census.

In 1872, banns³ were read for the marriage of Henry Ivall (a bachelor) to Ann Eliza Butterby (a spinster) at St Mary’s Church, Lambeth. As Ivall is a very unusual surname, I am fairly sure that the Henry Ivall named is the subject of this article. It seems that the marriage didn’t take place (there is no record of it in London Parish Records on Ancestry or on Free BMD), but I don’t know why. To add to the mystery, I can find no other records of anyone called Ann Eliza Butterby.

I can’t find Henry in the 1881 or 1891 censuses. He died on May 2^nd 1899 at St Saviour’s Union Infirmary in Dulwich (the building is now Dulwich Community Hospital). The death certificate gives his age as 61, whereas Henry was actually 57. Incorrect ages at death are common, especially when family members are not available to give the correct information. I am fairly sure that this is the “right” death certificate, because Henry Ivall is an uncommon name and I have information on all Ivalls in England at that time and can rule out other possible candidates. Henry was a scaffolder living at St Olave’s Chambers, Newington. The cause of death was phthisis (another name for tuberculosis), granular kidneys and uraemia. It was notified to the registrar of deaths by the Infirmary Superintendent.

Henry was buried in Brookwood Cemetery (in Surrey). His name is not in probate records.

Notes

1. Recorded by Dennis Endean Ivall (1921-2006), in notes on Ivall family history he consolidated in 1986.

2. From “Digital Panopticon” website www.digitalpanopticon.org, accessed 15 Sep 2017.

3. London Parish Records collection on www.ancestry.co.uk accessed 16 Sep 2017.

Ivall Blog Statistics

I started my Ivall family history blog in 2007 with an article about the life of James Ivall (1745-1809), but didn’t add the next item until 2012. I have now posted a total of 83 items (including this one). The blog is published using Google Blogger, which provides statistics on the number of people who have looked at it.

The total number of page views so far is 43,428. This seems a surprisingly large number, as I would expect that the blog would only be of interest to those related to people called Ivall, a very uncommon surname. The largest number of page views came from the United States (12,045) followed by the UK (7,512), Russia (5,267), Germany (4,398) and France (2,436). Why my blog has been viewed in Russia, Germany and France is not clear to me, since Ivall is not a surname in these countries.

The items with the most page views are

839 : David Victor Dick (1924-2001), jump jockey

568 : Samuel Oram MD, FRCP (1913-1991), eminent cardiologist

542 : Dennis Endean Ivall (1921-2006), artist and art teacher

435 : Charles Ivall (1779-1832), 4th child of James Ivall

355 : Emma Heywood nee Ivall (1835-1886), New Zealand pioneer

206 : George William Ivall (1880-1934), bus conductor and caretaker

202 : Fred Gregory Bampton (1891-1917), soldier who died in World War One

189 : William Frank Ivall (1871-1953), postman

153 : David James Ivall (1830-73), artist and coach maker

147 : Kenneth Bolton Legg (1889-1990), surveyor and centenarian

Several people have seen my blog and contacted me with additional information and pictures, for which I am most grateful.