William Connolly VC

[Blue70]

Hi Mary

Yes the link to this thread has been e-mailed to the councillor trying to find any family members of William Connolly. He's still optimistic though that someone from the family will get in touch.


Blue

[retiringtype]

From the Lord Clive Military Fund Pension Registers and Payment Books (viewable on FMP "British India Office Army & Navy Pensions"):
Info in this post is Crown Copyright, from National Archives

Gunner William Connelly
Pension 1/4 from 5 July 1859 (pension number 518)
5'7", brown hair, brown eyes, fresh complexion, age 43
Character indifferent; occupation stableman
21 years service. Cause of discharge: gunshot wound rec'd in action
Born Liverpool, residence Liverpool

[Blue70]

Thanks retiringtype. Shaun on RC says that the 1861 census occupation is "pensioner HEI Compy" (HEI Compy= Honourable East India Company). He also rightly has doubts about the 1891 Census man in the Workhouse. He is recorded as a labourer rather than a pensioner. I take it there is no mention of a next of kin on any of the military records.


Blue

[retiringtype]

No mention of next of kin on any records found so far. His will is probably the best bet. Who did he leave the money to?

[Blue70]

His probate was to Thomas Hill, surgeon. I'm not sure whether this means he was the executor of the will or the beneficiary. Thomas Hill looking at the census records was from Bermuda originally and moved about a bit living in Belfast and Somerset. He lived in Westminster Road Kirkdale in 1891 near to where William died. I can't find him on the 1901 Census and after.


Blue

[retiringtype]

I'm not sure whether this means he was the executor of the will or the beneficiary

It means he was the executor

[Blue70]

Unfortunately Councillor Hanson has ignored our research. We know that William Connolly VC did not die in poverty and he was buried in a public grave not a pauper grave yet this link shows that some people prefer the pauper myth because the facts get in the way of a good story:-

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv ... o-10075958


Blue

[luxor]

... some people prefer the pauper myth because the facts get in the way of a good story:-

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv ... o-10075958


Blue

Standard press template, isn't it?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/article ... ed-36.html

[MaryA]

They call it freedom of the press, I'd rather have honesty.

[Blue70]

Death Certificate

Registration district: West Derby
1892 Death in the Sub-district of Kirkdale in the County of Liverpool

No: 275
When and where died: Thirty first December 1891 14 Westminster Road U.S.D.
Name and surname: William Connolly
**********: male
Age: 75 years
Occupation: An Army Pensioner
Cause of death: Bronchitis Certified by T Hill L.R.C.S.
Signature, description and residence of informant: X the mark of Emma Cattrall present at the death 14 Westminster Road Kirkdale
When registered: First January 1892
Signature of registrar: RH Webster Registrar


Notes:-

U.S.D. = Urban Sanitary District
L.R.C.S. = Licentiate of Royal College of Surgeons
T Hill = Thomas Hill, surgeon, of 6 Westminster Road
Emma Cattrall = Emma lived at 10 Westminster Road, her mother Elizabeth Johnson and her family were at 14 Westminster Road


Blue

[Blue70]

For future reference:-

This is my text to the Liverpool Echo addressing the two main biographical facts that Mayor Anderson and councillor Hanson got wrong about William Connolly VC. They wrongly said: William ended his life in poverty and that he was given a pauper burial:-

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Further to the unveiling of the plaque on the grave of William Connolly VC at Kirkdale Cemetery, I was surprised by the inaccurate information provided.

William Connolly, VC did not die in poverty and he was not given a pauper’s burial. Any decent researcher should have found out about William’s true situation at the end of his life.

William Connolly, VC left a will dated August 18, 1891, that was proved on May 26, 1892, at Liverpool. He left a personal estate of £37 12s to his friend Thomas Hill, a local surgeon, who he also appointed the executor of his will. William had an Army pension and sold his VC at auction for £10 in 1886, so he wasn’t poor in later life.

The will includes the sentence, “After payment of my just debts and funeral expenses”, so William paid for his own burial. He was not given a pauper’s burial.

The Kirkdale Cemetery burial register says that William received a “Public” burial. This is where one space in the grave or “single interment” is paid for.

The majority of burials in that register at that time were public burials, so there was no stigma attached to this type of burial.

____________________________________________________________________________________________


There are other biographical concerns besides the above that the limitations of letter writing for publication prevented me from pursuing. All the issues are examined below.


Examination of biographical information about William Connolly VC found in these links:-

http://www.liverpoolexpress.co.uk/forgo ... -honoured/

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv ... o-10075958


1. William Connolly was born in May 1817

I don’t know where this information comes from I can’t find any baptisms to match up with this birth.


2. He lived in Oakes Street, off London Road and worked as a stableman and groom before enlisting

I don’t know where this information comes from and I can’t verify it.


3. 1859 living with relations before moving into lodgings off Netherfield Road

I don’t know where this information comes from and I can’t verify it.


4. William spent some time in a workhouse in Rice Lane before moving to 14 Westminster Road

The idea that William was in a Workhouse probably comes from there being a man of the same name at West Derby Workhouse, Rice Lane, Walton on the 1891 Census. The problem with this man is he is described as a labourer. Our man was an army pensioner. Why would a man receiving a pension be a pauper in a Workhouse? I can believe that William could have gone to a Workhouse for medical treatment as they had medical facilities but not out of poverty. I doubt the Rice Lane man is our William and I think if he needed treatment he would have gone to see his doctor, Thomas Hill.

William Connolly, army pensioner, was lodging at 124 Upper Mann Street Toxteth on the 1861 Census and lodging at 40 Seacombe Street Everton on the 1881 Census. He was at 14 Westminster Road when he died on 31 December 1891. The Johnson family lived at this address so William was probably a lodger. The informant on the death certificate was Emma Cattrall she was Mrs Johnson’s daughter. Emma Cattrall lived at 10 Westminster Road. All these addresses were houses, none were courts.

The cause of death, bronchitis, was certified by Thomas Hill (of 6 Westminster Road). According to the probate documents William lived and died in Great Homer Street so there is some confusion there. Perhaps he had only recently moved from Great Homer Street to Westminster Road because of his illness and chose that location because of Thomas Hill or perhaps his ‘fixed place of abode’ really was Great Homer Street and he was staying temporarily at 14 Westminster Road. He was known to have a deposit at Great Homer Street Post Office Savings Bank. The death certificate gives his age as 75 (born c1816). Some sources say he was 74 perhaps to fit in with the belief that he was born in 1817.


5. He was a local man whose life, unfortunately, ended in poverty

William Connolly VC left a will dated 18 August 1891 that was proved on 26 May 1892 at Liverpool. He left a personal estate of £37 12s to his friend Thomas Hill, a local surgeon, who he also appointed the executor of his will. William had an army pension and sold his VC at auction for £10 in 1886 so he wasn’t poor in later life.


6. Buried on 4 January 1892 in a pauper’s grave

The will includes the sentence, “After payment of my just debts and funeral expenses” so William paid for his own burial. He was not given a pauper burial. The Kirkdale Cemetery burial register says that William received a ‘Public’ burial. This is where one space in the grave or ‘single interment’ is paid for. The majority of burials in that register at that time were ‘Public’ burials so there was no stigma attached to this type of burial.


Blue

[MaryA]

Well done Blue, much better researched than either our councillors or Echo reporters have done. It shows your expertise - that they just do not have.

[Blue70]

Thanks Mary. By the way if anyone is wondering the word that the forum has automatically asterisked out on the transcript of the death certificate is another word for gender


Blue

[Blue70]

Biography supported by original source material:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Connolly_(VC)


Blue

[BarbaraW]

Well done Blue great research, no wonder I stopped buying newspapers many years ago, they just print any old rubbish, true or not.

[Blue70]

Liverpool Heroes: The Stories of 16 Liverpool Holders of the Victoria Cross,
Book 1
Edited by Ann Clayton
Researched by Sid Lindsay, Bill Sergeant and Ann Clayton,
Noel Chavasse VC Memorial Association
2006

Need source - gives possible birth as May 1817
Need source - gives enlistment date of 2 May 1837 when 20 years old
Right - gives section and grave number at Kirkdale Cemetery
Right - identifies William at 40 Seacombe Street in 1881
Wrong - mentions a possible 1839 marriage wasn’t he in India?
Right - identifies William’s place of death as 14 Westminster Road
Wrong - confuses William with labourer in Workhouse in 1891
Wrong - suggests there was a Workhouse in Westminster Road


Liverpool VCs
by James Murphy,
Pen and Sword Books,
2008

Wrong - he was 5 foot 7 inches tall not just under six foot
Wrong - he had brown hair not black hair
Wrong - he had a fresh complexion he was not swarthy
Need source - gives possible birth as May 1817
Wrong - gives parents as James & Rebecca of Oakes Street (see 1841 census)
Need source - gives enlistment date of 2 May 1837
Right - identifies William with the Burrows in 1861
Wrong - other addresses on census show it is Upper Mann Street not Mann Street
Right - Catherine Burrows was a Connolly (married St John The Baptist Toxteth 1848)
Wrong - Catherine is not daughter of James & Rebecca her father is called Michael Connolly
Right - identifies William at 40 Seacombe Street in 1881
Wrong - assumes a decline into poverty in later years
Wrong - confuses William with labourer in Workhouse in 1891
Right - identifies William’s place of death as 14 Westminster Road
Wrong - says he was laid to rest in a pauper’s grave

Notes

James Murphy provides an interesting lead to William’s background in the fact that William was lodging in 1861 with a Catherine Burrows formerly Connolly. Unfortunately he says this Catherine is the daughter of James and Rebecca Connolly at Oakes Street on the 1841 census, she is not, her father was Michael Connolly, warehouseman and she was living in Mill Street Toxteth according to her marriage record. Witnesses: John and Jane Charnley.


Blue

[BarbaraW]

Sounds like some of those Ancestry hints I keep getting off other members trees

One person starts it and they all copy without checking for themselves.....

[Blue70]

A big thank you goes to Lizzie for finding this:-

Burnley Express, 29 September 1883





Blue

[MaryA]

All snippets add to a bigger picture.

[Blue70]

Some updates:-

Additions made in May 2017 as I realised that not only was Catherine Burrows formerly Connolly a possible relation but an Ellen Cheetham formerly Connolly is another possible relation (Ellen lived in Cotter Street off Mill Street, Toxteth):-

"Possible clues to his background include a possible relationship to Catherine Burrows formerly Connolly who he lodged with in 1861. She could have been his sister or related in some other way. In 1851 the Burrows had a 2 year old boy living with them called John Cheetham. The child's mother's birth name was Ellen Connolly. Ellen married husband John Cheetham on 9 April 1837 at St Nicholas church in Liverpool. There are no baptism records for Ellen, Catherine or William Connolly so why would that be if the three were related, perhaps as siblings? With a surname like Connolly you would expect an Irish Catholic background but none of the three had any Catholic associations in terms of baptism, marriage or burial. The absence of baptisms might be explained away by the parents deciding to avoid such a commitment altogether perhaps because they were from different backgrounds?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Connolly_(VC)

http://williamconnollyvc.webs.com/


I've given my criticism of James Murphy's Liverpool VCs on Amazon. Other writers have just got it wrong about William Connolly VC but they haven't pretended to know all the facts like Murphy and they certainly haven't made things up like Murphy. I've left the other writers alone but I think Murphy deserves criticism for his part in establishing the Pauper Myth in people's minds. I've been getting some stick back too off someone who is either Murphy himself, a relative, friend or connected to the publisher:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liverpool-VCs- ... tag=vig-21


Another review. I've not seen this book before it's only been out a year or so. As it specifically relates to the Indian Mutiny and was written by Brian Best the founder of the Victoria Cross Society I felt I needed to get his attention to try to put an end to any more poverty stories coming out about William Connolly VC. He doesn't go into great detail but paints the same sad picture as other authors about the later years. I get the feeling that these authors are borrowing to an extent from earlier sources and copying rather than researching. It is like people on Ancestry who copy other people's trees and copy mistakes in the process. When you see all those trees for the first time you think, "all those people can't be wrong!". They can! Best uses harsh phrases he refers to Connolly as an 'out-of-work cripple', says Connolly sold his VC to 'stave off total beggary' and alleges he pawned the original VC that was lost. Instead of being penniless his estate when he died was actually worth over 3 times the amount received from the sale of his VC:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Victoria-Cross ... tag=vig-21


Blue