These small dishes made the journey with Anna Levers King from Cornwall to America on the Majestic in 1894. They came in the bottom of her trunk. There are six of each pattern. They must have been of sentimental value to her; a reminder of home.
In the possession of Margaret Hansen Boothby.
The marriage certificate of Charles and Anna King (original in the family collection).
On the 20th of January, 1887, 23 year old Charles John King married 24 year old Anna Levers in the United Methodist Chapel in the Eastern Hill area of St. Austell, Cornwall. The chapel's official title was the United Methodist Free Church, East Hill.
Left hand side enlarged.
Right hand side enlarged.
The chapel is no longer standing, but was located somewhere in the East Hill neighborhood, possibly near the junction of East Hill and Eastbourne Road. The chapel was most likely a small and unassuming stone building, perhaps similar to the Bridge United Methodist Free Church of 1881, pictured below.
Bridge United Methodist Free Church Clifden Road St. Austell, England
Flickr image credited to Cornwall Memory
Anna and her family attended the East Hill Chapel as early as 1878. This was one of Anna's books she brought with her to America. It was given to her as a reward when she was 16 years old.
Christie Redfern's Troubles was printed in London by William Clowes and sons, Stamford Street and Charing Cross for the Religious Tract Society. I could not find a publishing date in the book, which is now falling apart and in very fragile condition. It may have been published in 1866. In the family collection.
This book was brought to America in Anna's trunk. She and my great grandmother Emma Lavinia came on the ship Majestic in 1894.
This is Anna's copy of the 1878 Methodist Hymnal, published by Nelson & Phillips in New York. At the time it was the official hymnal of the Methodist Church, and included 308 Charles Wesley titles and 29 John Wesley titles. She may have had this in her possession when she boarded the Majestic in 1894, or may have acquired it after she came to the U.S.
"O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing"; the poem was written by Charles Wesley around 1740 to commemorate his renewal of faith after a time of extreme doubt. It was set to the tune Azmon written by Carl Glaser. It is the first hymn in this hymnal.
The Levers sisters
St. Austell, Cornwall, England
iPhone photo of the original taken by Patti Alden 2023
The picture above was shared by JoanK; I have dated it to right around 1876 from the style of clothing and from when Elfreda married John George and left Cornwall (1876). It shows Lavinia Caroline Levers (left) around the age of 18, Elfreda (sitting) around the age of 25 and Anna Levers (right) around the age of 14. These were the three Levers sisters. They lived with their parents Francis Levers and Emma Craze Levers on Carvath Road. Francis was a cooper and a grocer.
Francis Levers
St. Austell, Cornwall, England
b. 1816 d. 25 January 1885
Francis had passed away before Charles and Anna were married.
Picture shared by JoanK.
This map is from 1880 and shows the relationship of Holy Trinity Church (top left) to East Hill and what was Carvath Road at that time. Carvath Road was later named Eastbourne Road. The area between East Hill and Carvath Road was called Carvath and was listed as such on the 1881 Census. The Methodist Chapel looks like it was near the junction of East Hill and Carvath/ later Eastbourne Road.
You can see the imposing medieval tower of the Holy Trinity Church (the parish church of St. Austell/Church of England). This picture was taken from East Hill. The church itself is from the 15th century and was restored in 1872. From the Francis Firth Collection
Witnesses to the marriage were Lavinia Levers (one of Anna's sisters) and George P. Bunt. George Petherick Bunt can be found in the 1881 English Census. He was living on East Street and was working as a solicitor's clerk. He would have been 25 years old when he witnessed the marriage. When Lavinia and her husband Harry Trist died in 1936 and 1937 an Alfred James Bunt was listed as solicitor clerk in their index of wills. I could not find a connection to Geo. P. Bunt, but the two men may have been related and had the same occupation.
George P. Bunt must have been a friend of Anna's as he wrote in her autograph book, which also came over on the Majestic....
Anna Levers King
Autograph Book (in the family collection).
C. J King, R. E. also signed Anna's autograph book! There is no date attached to the entry, but it must have been while he was still with the Royal Engineers. He left the army in the late spring of 1886.
These Medal and Award Rolls were shared with me by the author of Pharaoh, David Gibbons, in 2022, and were much appreciated!
Can you find Sapper King, C.J.?
Top of above form, enlarged.
Charles King must have seemed very dapper and exciting to Anna after his service in the British Army and his trip up the Nile in 1884-1886. They were married shortly after he came back from Egypt. His Nile Expedition adventure and pictures of his medals can be found in a separate blog; see the right sidebar for the link to My Trip to Egypt and Back....
I don't know how or when Charles and Anna met; they were most likely second cousins so may have known of each other or visited family back and forth from Devon to Cornwall before his service. They shared John Levers and Catherine Rowett from Cornwall as great grandparents. I am still working on proving this relationship. Charles' sister Laura and his father William King had moved to St. Austell sometime between the 1881 and 1891 censuses and were also living on Carvath Road just a short distance away from the Levers.
Emma Lavinia King
Emma Lavinia King was born April 13th 1888 in St. Austell Cornwall. My great grandmother!
The 1891 England Census shows that Emma Levers (Anna's mother) was living as head of household with her middle daughter Lavinia (oldest daughter Elfreda had married John George in 1876 and was in Grass Valley by this time), her youngest daughter Anna Levers King and her son-in-law Charles King. My great grandmother Emma was 3 years old.
Emma Levers was a grocer; her husband Francis was a cooper/grocer as early as the 1871 census, and they were on Carvath Lane at that time. After Francis' death in 1885 Emma continued to run the grocery store. Daughter Lavinia worked as a tailoress and was 32 years old. Charles worked as a builder/contractor. The Carvath Lane name was changed to Eastbourne Road by 1911 when Lavinia was living there with her husband Harry Trist and they continued to run the grocery store. Emma Levers passed away in 1899.
Photograph on cardboard of the Eastbourne Road grocery store. These pictures were with Anna King's belongings.
A postcard of the Eastbourne Road grocery store. A set of different people are out front. Written on the back: "These are the pictures Uncle Harry sent me so please send them back when you & papa see's them".
Google Street View 2021
Harry and Lavinia (Levers) Trist were married in 1897.
In the 1891 Census Charles King's sister Laura was living with their father William King and were the 155th household enumerated on Carvath Lane. The Levers and Kings were the 137th household enumerated on Carvath Lane, so they were in close proximity to each other.
Emma Lavinia King aged 2 1/2 years. This was taken a few months before the 1891 Census.
An enlarged copy of the above original.
In 1892 Laura King married Richard Corey and they were living on Eastbourne Road by the 1901 census with three children. They were living several doors down from the Trists who were running the grocery store. They may have lived on Eastbourne Road at the time of Emma's birth; she would have had doting aunts, uncles and cousins within walking distance!
Emma Lavinia King with unknown girl; she may have been a cousin or a daughter of a family friend. Taken around 1894.
Since his discharge from the army, Charles King worked to get his builder/contractor business off the ground in St. Austell. His apprenticeship with his father and his time spent with the Royal Engineers prepared him for a career as a builder. He also became a master woodworker.
A blank invoice from Charles King's business. He wrote parts of his memoirs of his trip to Egypt on the backs of these blank pages.
Unhappily, by April of 1894 Charles King found himself a victim of poor financial and business decisions and as a result he was declared a bankrupt by the Truro Bankruptcy Court. He felt he was not in the wrong, but he also decided that his only recourse was to leave the country under disguise and move to America. You can read more about the mystery surrounding these chain of events in this previous post from July 4, 2021 The Mystery is Solved....Bankruptcy At St. Austell and Claims By the Relatives . The complete transcription of his journal describing his trip to America can be found in the post from January 24, 2023. Anna and Emma's separate trip aboard the Majestic is described in this previous post from July 11, 2021 Anna and Emma King Took a Protracted Sojourn on the Majestic to Begin a New Life in California. Or just click on the links for Charles J. King and Anna King on the right sidebar.
With the decision to go to America and start fresh Charles and Anna's life in St. Austell was over. But, they always kept in touch with family members, snipped stories of the Royals out of the newspapers, and sent postcards back and forth. Many Cornish traditions were passed down in California as well as an ongoing practice of faith through membership in the Methodist Church. They made the best of their new lives and Charles became a successful builder in both San Francisco and Grass Valley, California.
Even though Charles and Anna lived most of their lives in and around San Francisco, their time in Grass Valley made a lasting impression on my great grandmother, which in turn gave me my link to all things Cornish.
Relationship Reference: Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma Lavinia King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles King and Anna Levers King