See also

The Venerable Robert FRENCH (1836-1904)

1. The Venerable Robert James FRENCH, son of Robert FRENCH (1814- ) and Margaret MANN (1807- ), was born on 18 March 1836 in Marylebone, London. He was christened in In both Watford and St. Marylebone. He was a Clergyman. He died on 9 March 1904 in Mottingham, Eltham, nr. London. He was buried in St. John the Baptist Church, Eltham, London. He married Celesia DEANE.

 

In the 1881 census, the family were living at 10 Linden Gardens, Chiswick. In the house at the time were Robert, his wife, his mother-in-law, his three daughters, a servant (Rosina Dent) and a couple of visitors from Scotland, probably a man and his wife. Robert's profession is listed as "Clergyman, Church of England, Incumbent of St. Mary, Port Louis, Mau.ritius.

 

Robert French first appeared in Crockford (C of E Reference Book) in 1895. The 1901 and 1903 editions of Crockford read:

French, Ven. Robert James
Beau Bassin, Mauritius. d 1871 Dover, by authority of Cant. for Maur. for Col. p 1872 Bp Ryan for Maur. Dioc. Sec. S.P.G. Dio. Maur. 1884. Chap. to Bp of Maur. 1892. Hon. Can. of St. Jas. Cathl. Maur. 1893. f Miss. (S.P.G.) at St. M. Maur. 1871-84; I. of St. Thos. Beau Bassin, Maur. 1884-94. Hon. Can. of Maur. 1894; Archd. of Maur. 1895; Exam. Chap. 1899.

He does not appear in the 1905 Crockford.

The entry in "Clergy Directory" 1903 reads simply:
French Robt. Jas.Pr. 1872, archdn. '95, of Mauritius.

 

From "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel", pages 372-3.

"The fact that two thirds of its present population are Indians flowing form and returning to India makes Mauritius a Mission field of extraordinary value and interest. The Creole race (of Malagashe and African extraction) are dying out, and the Hindu coolies are likely eventually to be the permanent inhabitants of the Island.

"The difficulties of the Anglican Mission in dealing with the polyglot population are increased by the fact "that the proprietorship, or at least the management, of almost all the estates "is subject to Roman Catholic influence.

"The superintending Missionary of the Society, the Rev. RJ French, has had much to do with the training of Tamil agents both in India and in Mauritius; and in 1879 a Telugu Deacon, Mr. Alphonse, was ordained. He had come to the island "steeped in the idolatry of India"[!!PW]. On his conversion he volunteered to work as a catechist among his own race, which he did for eight years.

"As yet, however, it has not been found possible for Mauritius to supply all its needs in regard to native agency and the Church in India is now giving promise of assistance in furnishing well-trained evangelists and pastors. The first ordained native Missionary from India to Mauritius - the Rev. G David Devapiriam (an old pupil of Mr. French in Tinnevelly) - arrived in 1890, and already under his care the Tamil and Telegu congreagations in Port Louis have "greatly increased". Since 1889 the local affairs of the two congregations of St. Mary's Church have been well managed by an "Indian Church Council" under the direction of the Missionary.".

 

Robert, the son of a shoemaker and the grandson of a publican, became a missionary with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and spent the early part of his career in Southern India. Later, he moved to Mauritius, a natural move on account of the emigration of many of his Indian converts to Mauritius, where there was a large Indian community. There he took holy orders, eventually rising to the rank of Archdeacon, in a part of the world where many Europeans suffered badly or died from tropical diseases and where hurricanes and other natural disasters were rife. Robert was known for his compassion, the respect with which he treated non-Europeans, and for his work in education.

 

Celesia DEANE, daughter of unk DEANE ( - ) and Cecilia UNK (c. 1812- ), was born between 1836 and 1837 in Eye, Suffolk. She and Robert James FRENCH had the following children:

 

+2

Margaret FRENCH (frm1861- )

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Frances Kate FRENCH (1867-1961)

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Cecilia Maud FRENCH (aft1873-1964)

Second Generation

2. Margaret FRENCH, daughter of The Venerable Robert James FRENCH and Celesia DEANE, was born from 1861 to 1862 in India. She was a Painter. She married Thomas Charles MARTIN.

 

Margerett (spelling in 1881 census). In the 1871 census there is a Margeret French, aged 10, listed as being a boarder at "Elm Farm", Ockham, Surrey. This girl is listed as being born in India, and it is likely that this is the same person, and was in boarding school in England whilst her father was working as a missionary in India.

Margaret apparently (according to her granddaughter Iris Martin) was also a musician, and may have studied at one of the London Music Colleges, but is known to the present family for her gifts as a painter. Included in her work are pictures of Mauritius, where she spent much of her youth.

 

Margaret apparently was also a musician, and may have studied at one of the London Music Colleges, but is known to the present family for her gifts as a painter. Included in her work are pictures of Mauritius, where she spent much of her youth, her father having the position of Anglican Archdeacon of the island. It is not known where Margaret met her husband.

 

Thomas Charles MARTIN, son of James MARTIN (c. 1807- ) and Maria UNK (c. 1816- ), was born circa 1859 in Marylebone, London. He was a Printer, Bookbinder, Stationer. He appeared in the census. He and Margaret FRENCH had the following children:

 

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Daisy MARTIN (c. 1888- )

+6

Charlie James MARTIN (c. 1892- )

+7

Violet Valentine MARTIN (1899-1985)

 

3. Frances Kate FRENCH, daughter of The Venerable Robert James FRENCH and Celesia DEANE, was born in 1867 in India. She died in 1961 in Sutton, Surrey. She married William Baker BROWN.

 

Brigadier General William Baker BROWN was born in 1864 in Colne Engaine, Essex. He died in 1947 in Sutton. He and Frances Kate FRENCH had the following children:

 

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Dorothy Baker BROWN ( - )

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Winifred Baker BROWN (1895-1979)

+10

Kathleen Baker BROWN (1901-1992)

 

4. Cecilia Maud FRENCH, daughter of The Venerable Robert James FRENCH and Celesia DEANE, was born between 1873 and 1874 in Mauritius. She died on 22 July 1964. She married Thomas MCCULLOCH.

 

Cecilia lived in Marlborough Gate, St. Albans for many years - certainly from the 1960's - as did her two daughters Elsie and Meg.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas MCCULLOCH, son of Thomas MCCULLOCH ( - ), was a Soldier in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He died on 25 June 1915. He was buried in Netley Military Cemetery. He and Cecilia Maud FRENCH had the following children:

 

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Thomas Cecil MCCULLOCH (1905-1984)

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Elsie MCCULLOCH ( -1980)

+13

Meg MCCULLOCH ( -1995)

+14

Robert Arthur Douglas MCCULLOCH (1896-1915)

Third Generation

5. Daisy MARTIN, daughter of Thomas Charles MARTIN and Margaret FRENCH, was born circa 1888 in Marylebone, London. She was a Music Hall Artiste. She married Raymond METCALFE.

 

Raymond METCALFE was a Music Hall Artist.

 

6. Charlie James MARTIN, son of Thomas Charles MARTIN and Margaret FRENCH, was born circa 1892 in Brondesbury. He was a Civil Servant. He married Emily Mabel "Girlie" WALLER. He married Bessie WIRE.

 

Not much is known about the life and occupation of Charlie James Martin. His daughter Iris knew that he was a civil servant, working in London, but never knew the exact nature of his work. His first wife died young, and apparently he had some health problems later in his life (it is unsure whether they were mental or physical) and required the attention of a nurse. His second wife Bessie was apparently his nurse; Charlie's daughter Iris never accepted this marriage and hardly ever saw him in later life, after he had retired to St. Mawes, Falmouth, Cornwall.

According to his daughter Iris he was an extremely strict father who often made her lie for long periods on hard boards to straighten her back, for example. He was a religious man.

 

Emily Mabel "Girlie" WALLER, daughter of George Edward WALLER (1863-1955) and Emily Charlotte WILLIAMS (1863-1949), was born on 13 March 1888 in Camberwell. She died on 19 May 1941. She was buried in Golders Green Crematorium. She and Charlie James MARTIN had the following children:

 

15

Iris Margaret MARTIN (1920-2001). Iris was born on 21 February 1920 in Finchley, London. She was a Housewife. She married Peter Fiennes WILSON on 21 May 1949 in Ilminster Church. She died in December 2001 in Crowborough, E.Sussex.

 

7. Violet Valentine MARTIN, daughter of Thomas Charles MARTIN and Margaret FRENCH, was born on 14 February 1899 in Brondesbury (Birth registered in Hendon district). She was a Music Hall Artiste. She died in January 1985 in Hove, Sussex.

 

8. Dorothy Baker BROWN, daughter of Brigadier General William Baker BROWN and Frances Kate FRENCH, married John SALT.

 

Sir John SALT Bart. had the title 'Baronet'.

 

9. Winifred Baker BROWN, daughter of Brigadier General William Baker BROWN and Frances Kate FRENCH, was born on 12 September 1895 in Colne Engaine, Essex. She died in 1979 in Great Malvern, Worcestershire. She married Robert Arthur WILLIAMS. She married Richard Launcelot Deane WOODHOUSE.

 

Robert Arthur WILLIAMS was born in 1882 in Caernarfon, N. Wales. He died on 23 June 1979 in Tientsin, China. He and Winifred Baker BROWN had the following children:

 

16

Kathleen Bulkeley WILLIAMS (1920-1928). Kathleen was born in 1920 in Shanghai, China. She died in 1928 in at sea near Vancouver.

17

David William Bulkeley WILLIAMS (1922- ). David was born on 22 January 1922 in Tientsin. He married Frances Felicity LATHAM on 11 January 1947 in Eastbourne.

18

Rhonwen Bulkeley WILLIAMS (1928- ). Rhonwen was born on 19 January 1928 in Sutton, Surrey. She married Peter GOODALL on 14 June 1942 in Chievely, Newbury.

19

Joan Winifred Bulkeley WILLIAMS (1929- ). Joan was born on 21 October 1929 in Tientsin. She married Alexander FORBES ROBERTSON on 12 April 1952 in Chieveley, Newbury.

 

Richard Launcelot Deane WOODHOUSE was born on 30 May 1892 in Tientsin. He died in 1940. He and Winifred Baker BROWN had the following children:

 

20

John WOODHOUSE (c. 1934-c. 1934). John was born circa 1934. He died circa 1934.

 

10. Kathleen Baker BROWN, daughter of Brigadier General William Baker BROWN and Frances Kate FRENCH, was born in 1901. She died in 1992. She married Geoffrey STOUGHTON-HARRIS.

 

Geoffrey STOUGHTON-HARRIS was born in 1894. He died in 1966. He and Kathleen Baker BROWN had the following children:

 

21

Robert William STOUGHTON-HARRIS (1925- ). Robert was born in 1925.

22

Pamela STOUGHTON-HARRIS (1928- ). Pamela was born in 1928.

23

Anthony STOUGHTON-HARRIS (1932- ). Anthony was born in 1932.

 

11. Thomas Cecil MCCULLOCH, son of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas MCCULLOCH and Cecilia Maud FRENCH, was born on 10 December 1905 in Lewisham or Eltham. He died on 26 November 1984 in Rusape, Zimbabwe. He married unk UNK. He married Nell Westgate BLACKWELL.

 

Thomas and Nell died together in a car accident in Zimbabwe, where he had lived for many years. His death certificate is DC 046526.

 

unk UNK and Thomas Cecil MCCULLOCH had the following children:

 

24

unk MCCULLOCH ( - )

25

unk MCCULLOCH ( - )

 

Nell Westgate BLACKWELL died in 1984 in Zimbabwe. She and Thomas Cecil MCCULLOCH had the following children:

 

26

Donald Westgate MCCULLOCH ( - )

 

12. Elsie MCCULLOCH, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas MCCULLOCH and Cecilia Maud FRENCH, died in 1980.

 

Neither Elsie nor Meg married. They both lived in St. Albans for many years.

 

13. Meg MCCULLOCH, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas MCCULLOCH and Cecilia Maud FRENCH, died in 1995.

 

Neither Elsie nor Meg married. They both lived in St. Albans for many years.

 

14. Robert Arthur Douglas MCCULLOCH, son of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas MCCULLOCH and Cecilia Maud FRENCH, was born in 1896. He died in 1915 in Ypres.

 

Robert died a few weeks before his father and is commemorated on a memorial in France. He reached the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.