Louisa's Album

The album shown above, full of writings, poetry and pictures, appears to have belonged to a lady called Lousia Slade. ROADWAY and is an historical treasure of my family.  Inside the front cover is the name Louisa S. ROADWAY and the date 21st May 1872.  I have yet to establish the significance of this date but it likely that the 21st May could have been her birthday.  The middle initial "S" appears to have stood for Slade.  The surname SLADE is significant in the ROADWAY family and probably comes from Louisa's grandmother Susannah SLADE born c1783 at Lacock, Wiltshire, according to the 1851 census for Corsham.  Susannah was the mother of Louisa's father, John ROADWAY born in Corsham, Wiltshire c1817.

Part of my family research has been to find out who Louisa ROADWAY was and to try and establish the "authors" of many of these wonderful writings and pictures...sadly many are just initials, but perhaps one day I may be able to speculate who might have written them.

So who was Louisa S. ROADWAY?

Louisa appears to have been the youngest of four daughters born to John and Louisa ROADWAY (nee HULBERT) who married at St. Andrew's in Chippenham, Wiltshire on the 28th May 1838.  Her father John was already living in London at 4 Webber Street, Waterloo Road, Southwark, Surrey - this might have been the same street where we find the family in the 1851 and 1861 census, but by then their address was given as 80 Webber Row, Waterloo Road, Southwark, Surrey.

The eldest child I have found to date was Sarah Ann, but she sadly died on the 11th July 1841, aged only 14 weeks, from "inflammation of the chest".  John and Louisa's next daughter was Mary Ann baptised at St. George the Martyr Church in Southwark on the 3rd July 1842.  Maria Stone followed on the 17th December 1844 and was born at 80 Webber Row.  Then finally Louisa Slade was born in 1853 in Southwark.  I have yet to obtain her birth cert, but suspect that she too was born at the same address.  John and Louisa, quite possibly had more children - but either they died very young or had left home by the time of the 1851 and 1861 census.

Louisa's father John started his working life as a Carpenter, but later appears to have been a Builder too.  By 1891 his occupational status was classified as an employer, so he would appear to have had his own business, but he may have had a business much earlier than this, just that earlier censuses did not give this information..

Sadly I know nothing about the next twenty years of Louisa's life as by 1871, her family had moved from 80 Webber Row, but their whereabouts at present is unknown..  But, Louisa reappears in 1881 living with her elder sister Maria Stone.  By then Maria had married Law Stationer Thomas FORD and they were living at 13 St. Ann's Road, Lambeth, Surrey, with their two children, Percy Thomas (my grandad's father) and Alfred James.

From there on, in each of the following censuses in 1891 and 1901, where-ever the FORD's were, Louisa was always with them too!  She appears to have never married, still single in 1901 aged 58 and I have found no evidence of her ever working.  The FORD's had at least one servant at any one time, so it is likely that Louisa spent her life as a lady of leisure, but then why not if she was able!

In 1891 the FORD's were visitors at 1 Marine Parade, in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, possibly on holiday and staying with a BLAKE family.  Louisa's brother-in-law Thomas FORD appears to have been quite a successful Law Stationer, so presumably the family might have spent many holidays together.  By 1891, the FORD's, along with Louisa, had moved to 15 Thornton Avenue, in the Streatham district of London.  While the FORD's were on the Isle of Wight, this property was left in the hands of two servants.  The 1901 census, shows the FORD's living at this address in Streatham, but shortly afterwards they appear to have left their London roots and moved to the Isle of Wight.

Presumably Louisa continued to live with the FORD's after their move to the Isle of Wight until her death in 1925, aged 72. She was buried at Ventnor Cemetery, on the 29th April 1925, interestingly as Louisa Slade ROADWAY - thus confirming that she died a spinster.  I have still yet to obtain her death certificate and establish if she left a will... but what she did leave was undoubtedly a treasured possession for her to have kept it all her life...

Louisa's Album

At no point does Louisa's book mention that she called her book a "family album".  But I am calling it just that, as it contains writings, poetry and a few pictures, by various authors, so I believe that it was a book that she shared with her family and friends.  Some pieces are signed, but sadly many of these writings are only initialled, so I will never know for definite their authors and can only speculate.  But from what I have found so far, some of her family did leave their mark in her album, along with neighbours and presumably her friends as well.

Louisa was born in an era where education was still for a privileged few.  The first major education act was not until the Forster Education Act (1870), which then provided the foundations for the provision of elementary or primary education for all children in England and Wales, but this was not free and school boards could charge up to 9 pence per week for children to attend.  It wasn't until much later in 1891 with the passing of the Education Act 1891 that education finally became free.  

Tthe 1861 census shows that Louisa was a scholar, so she certainly received some form of education in London.  It is likely that she would have attended one of the local Church Schools, but to write with the flair and accuracy that she did, she must have attended for much more than just a few  years.  Evidently Louisa was a very literate woman, unlike many born in the same era.  Her elder sister Maria is also known to have been educated with her obituary telling us that  "she was passionately devoted to reading and had an extensive knowledge of literacy matters". (Source: Obituary - 12 Mar 1938, Isle of Wight County Press)  Louisa obviously had a love of writing, so like her sister Maria, it is likely that she loved reading too. 

Initially I found it strange that this book landed up with the FORD family, but having found Louisa with the FORD's in 1881, 1891 and 1901, believe that after her death in 1925, it must have been passed to her nephew Percy FORD and then onto future generations, first to my grandad Jack Clarence Roadway FORD and then onto my own father who I thank for allowing me to share these pages.

I find it quite sad that is has sat on my father's bookshelf collecting cobwebs for many years, untouched and unread, when it is such an historical piece.  Now looking somewhat dilapidated, so easily it could have been thrown away, but it has survived and remained in my family for at least 130 years.  So because of its historical nature and the fact that I believe both Louisa and her writings deserve "recognition", I would like to share its contents.  For those of you interested in Victorian Literature, it is most definitely a fascinating read.

JOD's Old Fashioned Clip Art