This photo I found at the Giant Fleamarket earlier this year, a great find. It originally was a Cabinet Card and has been cut, maybe to fit a frame, was there another person in the photo I wonder? It has some super information written on the back!

Mary Ann Ledger was born in 1834 in Wrotham, Kent, England as the fifth child of William Ledger and Elizabeth Ranger. She had eight siblings that I have found so far, William, Elizabeth, Harriett, John Thomas, Frances, Hanna, Emma, and Henry. When she was 22, she married Samuel Edmund Cozens, son of Samuel Cozens and Anne Bugg, in Apr 1856 in Malling, Kent.

Mary Ann Ledger lived in Wrotham, Kent in 1841, she was in a small private school, with her sister Mary. The Schoolmistress was Mary Saxley and there were three other different aged children. Her family in 1841 were all living at Tow Mill, Wrotham, Kent, William, Harriett, John, Frances, Emma and Henry with parents Elizabeth and William, father William is described as a Farmer.

I was looking for more information about Tow Mill, Wrotham after seeing the Ledger Family living there, I couldn’t seem to find anything and then I wondered about the 1851 census as it says they were living at Ford, father William Ledger, with his wife Elizabeth, he’s described as a Farmer with 300 acres and employing 16. Was this the same place? The family were still at Ford in 1871, William now with 250 acres and employing 5. So after sending a few messages to places that might be able to help me with no luck, I turned to my friend Simon from Charnwood Genealogy  and he came up with a super 1801 map (Below) he found on Mapco  and said to me “Also if you look at the 1841 census Tow Mill is listed after Wrotham Common so very definitely a connection between the two census records” thank you Simon!

 

 

After leaving home and marrying early in 1856, Mary Ann Ledger moved to London, she was with her new husband Samuel living in St Saviour, Southwark, Surrey in 1861. Samuel was a Wharfinger, a Wharfinger is described as an owner, operator or manager of a commercial wharf. It was interesting to see that in the 1851 census Samuel, had still lived at home with his family was a Wharfinger Flour, so presumably dealing with flour at the docks and his father, also called Samuel was a Clerk of the Works at Guys Hospital on this census.

Mary and Samuel with their children had moved to Deptford, London in 1871/1881 censuses, Samuel still a Wharfinger, in 1871 he employed 35 men.

Samuel died on 27 Feb 1884 at Ford Lodge, Wickham Road, Brockley, Kent. See Below:

The details here above are interesting because it actually tells us so much more about Samuel. So because of this information, I was able to go onto the wonderful site Layers Of London and I found this below!

“Pickford’s Wharf. This belonged to the removal company and the warehouse and was typical of wharves of its period with its loading doors on each floor and hydraulic cranes. In the mid 19th, it had giant pilasters to the river. It was originally built in 1864 by Fitch & Cozens, wharfingers as Phoenix Wharf. They constructed warehouses A & B and an enclosed brick and stone staircase. They extended forward from the previous river wall to give increased capacity and deeper water alongside. Goods doors were provided on both the river and landward sides. On an iron platform above the river at top floor level were boilers for working steam hoisting engines. The warehouses were then used for flour, hops and seeds. In 1882 (two years before Samuel’s death) it was taken over by the Phoenix Wharf Co. who was succeeded in 1897 by Pickford’s & Co. who used A & B as granaries and C & D as a general warehouse, renaming the complex ‘Pickford’s ‘ Wharf. The site was not used for their business as furniture removers or depository owners. The Proprietors of Hay’s Wharf Ltd took over in 1921 and premises became redundant in the 1960s. It now appears to be flats“.

Mary Ann died on 02 Apr 1910 in 192 BrixtonHill, Surrey, England. Her estate was probated on 18 Apr 1910 in London, everything in her will left to her son Frank Cozens a Flour Carman.

Samuel Edmund Cozens and Mary Ann Ledger had the following children:

Samuel Cozens (1) was born in Jul 1857 in Newington, Surrey, England (COZENS, SAMUEL LEDGER GRO Reference: 1857 S Quarter in NEWINGTON Volume 01D Page 157 )I believe he died at a young age but without ordering death certificates I cannot be sure which year he died.
Alice Cozens was born in 1860 in St. Saviour, Surrey. Alice never married and lived with her two sisters Elizabeth and Maud at their Boarding House at Brixton Hill, although she had her own job, she worked as a clerk to a Wigmaker. Alice died on 2 Sep 1940 and left all in her will, over £10,000 to her brother Ledger Cozens.

Elizabeth Cozens was born in 1862 in Southwark Surrey. Elizabeth never married, she was a Boarding House Keeper with sister Maud (below) at 192 and194 Brixton Hill and died 27 January 1939 in Surrey. Will to Ledger Cozens, brother.

Frank Cozens was born in 1864 in Southwark Surrey. He married Ellen Frances May, they had children. Frank was a General Cartage Contractor later in life but when they married he was a Flour Carman.

Ledger Cozens was born in 1865 in Deptford Kent. He became an engineer and married Alice Mary Lister. They had children. Ledger died on 1 June 1942 in Sussex.

Annie Cozens was born in 1868 in Deptford Kent. No conclusive records as yet?
Maud Cozens was born in 1870 in Deptford Kent. She never married and was a Boarding House Keeper with sister Elizabeth (above) at 192 and194 Brixton Hill died in Brixton on 17 August 1922. Her will left all to brother Ledger Cozens (Engineer).
Samuel George Cozens (2) was born in 1870 in Deptford Kent. He married Winifred Richardson in 1901, they had children. His occupation was an electrical engineer. He died 17 Jan 1941 in Sussex.

As usual, I have compiled a family tree on Ancestry, and it was while I was researching on Ancestry I came across this astonishing group family photo on someone’s public tree!

Wow Wow Wow Isn’t this just fabulous! I was blown away with being able to see this photo of all the family together, taken I believe not long after husband and father Samuel Edmund Cozens death on 27 February 1884 in Kent. They are all named too!!

This is the Direct link to the Ledger and Cozens family tree I have compiled on Ancestry: Ledger Cozens Family Tree

Till next time then………..