Seven Pictor Daughters Chris Gale April 2024
Several of the daughters lived with their brother Cornelius at Fogleigh House (courtesy Geoff Richardson)
Children of Job and Mary Pictor
Job and Mary Pictor are well-known as founders of a stone-quarry company in Box. They started with a range of enterprises including farming, and running Box post office. Their three sons who reached adulthood, have had their lives explored in previous issues of Box People & Places. Job and Mary’s seven daughters are perhaps less well-known. Unlike their brothers, who pursued the family business by remaining around Box and Corsham, the sisters’ lives ranged far and wide, following their respective marriages. Nearly all of them moved away from the area for greater or lesser periods, and some moved location numerous times.
This account, written by a descendent of William Smith Pictor, their brother, aims to trace the main events in each of the sisters’ lives, and through this to hint at the variety of experience encountered by women of their background and period.
Job and Mary Pictor are well-known as founders of a stone-quarry company in Box. They started with a range of enterprises including farming, and running Box post office. Their three sons who reached adulthood, have had their lives explored in previous issues of Box People & Places. Job and Mary’s seven daughters are perhaps less well-known. Unlike their brothers, who pursued the family business by remaining around Box and Corsham, the sisters’ lives ranged far and wide, following their respective marriages. Nearly all of them moved away from the area for greater or lesser periods, and some moved location numerous times.
This account, written by a descendent of William Smith Pictor, their brother, aims to trace the main events in each of the sisters’ lives, and through this to hint at the variety of experience encountered by women of their background and period.
Ann Maria Pictor (1829 – 1914)
Moved to Corsham
Ann Maria Pictor was the eldest of Job and Mary’s eleven children. The census of 1851 showed her living at the family home in Box with her parents and seven of her siblings. Her father was recorded as a builder and quarry master, and her mother as postmistress and shopkeeper.
In 1855 Ann Maria was married by Certificate to Sydney Aust, baker, at St James Church, Bath. This type of marriage was common for Methodists as they did not attend regular Church of England services enabling them to be married by banns. Kelly’s Directory of 1889 showed Sydney Aust keeping a grocery shop at Pickwick Road, Corsham, not far from Ann’s brother William at Pickwick House. Members of the wider Aust family had businesses nearby. The 1901 census listed Ann Maria and Sydney Aust living at South Street, Corsham; but Sydney died later that year.
The four Aust children were each given Pictor as an additional forename. Ann Maria Pictor's elder daughter Adela, married Albert Kinnier, brother of the celebrated Corsham cricketer, Septimus Kinnier, who played Test cricket for England. The 1911 census showed that Ann Maria had moved to Plaistow, East London when she was living with her daughter Mary and family. The head of household was Mary’s husband, Horatio Barnes Howell, cycle maker and dealer. He was recorded as having been born in South London, but other records show a family connection with Wiltshire. Ann Maria’s sons, Cornelius James Pictor Aust and Joseph Pictor Aust, both moved to the United States and died there in the 1920s. Ann Maria Aust’s death was recorded at West Ham in 1914 at the age of 85.
Moved to Corsham
Ann Maria Pictor was the eldest of Job and Mary’s eleven children. The census of 1851 showed her living at the family home in Box with her parents and seven of her siblings. Her father was recorded as a builder and quarry master, and her mother as postmistress and shopkeeper.
In 1855 Ann Maria was married by Certificate to Sydney Aust, baker, at St James Church, Bath. This type of marriage was common for Methodists as they did not attend regular Church of England services enabling them to be married by banns. Kelly’s Directory of 1889 showed Sydney Aust keeping a grocery shop at Pickwick Road, Corsham, not far from Ann’s brother William at Pickwick House. Members of the wider Aust family had businesses nearby. The 1901 census listed Ann Maria and Sydney Aust living at South Street, Corsham; but Sydney died later that year.
The four Aust children were each given Pictor as an additional forename. Ann Maria Pictor's elder daughter Adela, married Albert Kinnier, brother of the celebrated Corsham cricketer, Septimus Kinnier, who played Test cricket for England. The 1911 census showed that Ann Maria had moved to Plaistow, East London when she was living with her daughter Mary and family. The head of household was Mary’s husband, Horatio Barnes Howell, cycle maker and dealer. He was recorded as having been born in South London, but other records show a family connection with Wiltshire. Ann Maria’s sons, Cornelius James Pictor Aust and Joseph Pictor Aust, both moved to the United States and died there in the 1920s. Ann Maria Aust’s death was recorded at West Ham in 1914 at the age of 85.
Baptismal record of Jane’s son, Alfred William Elwood, recorded in Latin at Redruth in 1858 (courtesy Bristol Methodist on-line records)
Jane Pictor (1831 – 1902)
Married into an Irish Catholic Family
Job and Mary’s second daughter, Jane was born at the end of 1831, when her father’s occupation was given as mason. Surprisingly, she was baptised by the vicar of St Thomas à Becket Church, Box, on 1 January 1832. The reason for her baptism into the Church of England possibly reflects the lack of Methodist facilities in Box (the first Ebenezer Chapel only built in 1834).
In November 1852, when Jane had just reached the age of 21, she married Irishman Michael Elwood at St James Parish Church, Bath. The marriage was by certificate rather than banns, with siblings Robert and Elizabeth Pictor as witnesses. Jane’s address was given as Kingston Buildings, Bath, and Michael’s as Manvers Street. The Catholic family life which Jane now embarked on would have been a great contrast to the Methodist tradition of the Pictors.
Michael Elwood was a government tax officer, and moved between various locations in Britain and Ireland. Their eldest two sons were shown as having been born in Ireland, the third at Paisley near Glasgow, and the next two in Cornwall and the 1861 census recorded the family at Redruth, Cornwall, with the first five of their children.
Jane and Michael Elwood must have returned to Ireland shortly after 1861 as each of their remaining seven children was born there. Initially they lived at Great Britain Street, Cork (probably now renamed), but by about 1870 their residence was shown a short distance from the city centre at Ballyvolane House (now a commercial venue), where their two youngest children were born. A number of Pictor family names were given to the children, including Jane Emmeline, Margaret Louisa, and Arthur Job. After Michael’s retirement the couple moved to Liverpool, and were recorded as living at various addresses around Toxteth Park. Michael died in 1896 and Jane in 1902. They were buried together at the Ford Catholic Cemetery in the city.
Jane and Michael’s son, Alfred William Elwood, married Robert Pictor’s grand-daughter, Lottie Millicent Humphries, in California in 1920. Lottie was the daughter of Robert Pictor's eldest daughter, Catherine Ellen Pictor who married George Humphries.
They were buried at the Holywood Forever Cemetery. Other descendants by that time are known to have been living variously in Ireland, the United States, and Essex.
Married into an Irish Catholic Family
Job and Mary’s second daughter, Jane was born at the end of 1831, when her father’s occupation was given as mason. Surprisingly, she was baptised by the vicar of St Thomas à Becket Church, Box, on 1 January 1832. The reason for her baptism into the Church of England possibly reflects the lack of Methodist facilities in Box (the first Ebenezer Chapel only built in 1834).
In November 1852, when Jane had just reached the age of 21, she married Irishman Michael Elwood at St James Parish Church, Bath. The marriage was by certificate rather than banns, with siblings Robert and Elizabeth Pictor as witnesses. Jane’s address was given as Kingston Buildings, Bath, and Michael’s as Manvers Street. The Catholic family life which Jane now embarked on would have been a great contrast to the Methodist tradition of the Pictors.
Michael Elwood was a government tax officer, and moved between various locations in Britain and Ireland. Their eldest two sons were shown as having been born in Ireland, the third at Paisley near Glasgow, and the next two in Cornwall and the 1861 census recorded the family at Redruth, Cornwall, with the first five of their children.
Jane and Michael Elwood must have returned to Ireland shortly after 1861 as each of their remaining seven children was born there. Initially they lived at Great Britain Street, Cork (probably now renamed), but by about 1870 their residence was shown a short distance from the city centre at Ballyvolane House (now a commercial venue), where their two youngest children were born. A number of Pictor family names were given to the children, including Jane Emmeline, Margaret Louisa, and Arthur Job. After Michael’s retirement the couple moved to Liverpool, and were recorded as living at various addresses around Toxteth Park. Michael died in 1896 and Jane in 1902. They were buried together at the Ford Catholic Cemetery in the city.
Jane and Michael’s son, Alfred William Elwood, married Robert Pictor’s grand-daughter, Lottie Millicent Humphries, in California in 1920. Lottie was the daughter of Robert Pictor's eldest daughter, Catherine Ellen Pictor who married George Humphries.
They were buried at the Holywood Forever Cemetery. Other descendants by that time are known to have been living variously in Ireland, the United States, and Essex.
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Elizabeth Pictor (1833 – 1918) Married a Quarry Owner The third sister to be born was Elizabeth, also baptised in the rites of the Established Church on 12 May 1833. Apart from Rosina, who died young, Elizabeth was the only sister to have lived in Box throughout her life. In the 1851 census Elizabeth was shown as head of household in a residence at Box Quarries along with her cousin, another Elizabeth Pictor (aged 39) as housekeeper. In 1861 Elizabeth was living at Clift Quarry Works with her mother, who had been widowed in 1857, and five younger siblings. In 1864 Elizabeth married Samuel Rowe Noble, member of another important quarry-owing family in Box. Census records show them living at various addresses in Box: in 1891 at Manor Farm and in 1901 at Frogmore House, Market Place. After Samuel’s death in 1904, Elizabeth inherited various of her husband’s properties and moved to Lorne House, where the 1911 census showed her as the head of household, along with her unmarried son and daughter. Her son Frederick Thomas later married and moved to Bristol and her daughter Mildred Mary Noble moved to the Harrow area of London to live with her married sister Ethel. Elizabeth Noble died at Box in October 1918 at the age of 85. |
Headstone of Elizabeth and Samuel Rowe Noble in Box Cemetery (courtesy Carol Payne)
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Rosina Pictor (1835 – 1854) (also recorded as Rosanna or Rosena in some records)
Died as a Teenager
Job and Mary Pictor’s fourth daughter was baptised in August 1835. She died young, aged nineteen, in November 1854. Her death certificate stated that for some years she had been living with a wasting condition, Phthisis, often caused by tuberculosis of the lung. The informant was Ann Little, in attendance at the death, who recorded the information by making her mark (illiterate). Ann was likely to have been her mother’s sister. The registrar was Aaron Little, presumably a relative, given that Aaron was also the name of Ann Little’s husband. Eighteen months later, Rosina’s brother Robert gave the names Rosina Maria to his newborn daughter.
Mary Pictor (1840 – 1907)
Marriage Cut Short
Mary was born in 1840 and in 1866 married Edward Sampson Pay, a schoolteacher and trainee missionary. They lived initially in Aberdare, Wales, then Bristol, but Mary was widowed six days after the birth of their twin daughters in 1868. She and Edward had only been together for two years. Mary returned to Box, with the twins and their elder sister, living initially with her mother at Clift House. After her mother’s death in 1872 Mary lived with her brother Cornelius James Pictor (Uncle Jim) at Fogleigh House, Box. Mary died there in 1907. There is much more detail about Mary’s life at Pictor Women and their Uncle Jim.
Emmeline Ellen Pictor (1844 – 1903)
Family Emigrated to USA
Job and Mary Pictor’s sixth daughter was baptised on Christmas Day, 1844. She was shown in the 1851 census with her sister Elizabeth at Box Quarries, and in 1861 at the family home at Clift Quarry. In 1868 she married Joseph John Merriman at Box Parish Church. Joseph had grown up in Bristol, where his father William was in the drapery trade. At the time of his marriage, Joseph was described as a commercial traveller, living at Bradford, Yorkshire. The couple’s eldest son was born in Hackney, London; but by 1871 they had returned to Box, where their other two sons were born. In the census records of 1881 and 1891 the family was shown at an address at Patshull Road, Kentish Town, North London, with Joseph as a draper’s agent, and the sons working in a draper’s warehouse.
At some point in the early 1890s the whole family re-located to the United States where Joseph died at New Jersey in 1896. Emmeline’s middle son Percy died in 1902 and she herself died almost exactly a year later. Her remaining two sons had by then both married, and remained in the United States. Emmeline was the only one of the Pictor sisters to move permanently overseas and spend her final years abroad.
Died as a Teenager
Job and Mary Pictor’s fourth daughter was baptised in August 1835. She died young, aged nineteen, in November 1854. Her death certificate stated that for some years she had been living with a wasting condition, Phthisis, often caused by tuberculosis of the lung. The informant was Ann Little, in attendance at the death, who recorded the information by making her mark (illiterate). Ann was likely to have been her mother’s sister. The registrar was Aaron Little, presumably a relative, given that Aaron was also the name of Ann Little’s husband. Eighteen months later, Rosina’s brother Robert gave the names Rosina Maria to his newborn daughter.
Mary Pictor (1840 – 1907)
Marriage Cut Short
Mary was born in 1840 and in 1866 married Edward Sampson Pay, a schoolteacher and trainee missionary. They lived initially in Aberdare, Wales, then Bristol, but Mary was widowed six days after the birth of their twin daughters in 1868. She and Edward had only been together for two years. Mary returned to Box, with the twins and their elder sister, living initially with her mother at Clift House. After her mother’s death in 1872 Mary lived with her brother Cornelius James Pictor (Uncle Jim) at Fogleigh House, Box. Mary died there in 1907. There is much more detail about Mary’s life at Pictor Women and their Uncle Jim.
Emmeline Ellen Pictor (1844 – 1903)
Family Emigrated to USA
Job and Mary Pictor’s sixth daughter was baptised on Christmas Day, 1844. She was shown in the 1851 census with her sister Elizabeth at Box Quarries, and in 1861 at the family home at Clift Quarry. In 1868 she married Joseph John Merriman at Box Parish Church. Joseph had grown up in Bristol, where his father William was in the drapery trade. At the time of his marriage, Joseph was described as a commercial traveller, living at Bradford, Yorkshire. The couple’s eldest son was born in Hackney, London; but by 1871 they had returned to Box, where their other two sons were born. In the census records of 1881 and 1891 the family was shown at an address at Patshull Road, Kentish Town, North London, with Joseph as a draper’s agent, and the sons working in a draper’s warehouse.
At some point in the early 1890s the whole family re-located to the United States where Joseph died at New Jersey in 1896. Emmeline’s middle son Percy died in 1902 and she herself died almost exactly a year later. Her remaining two sons had by then both married, and remained in the United States. Emmeline was the only one of the Pictor sisters to move permanently overseas and spend her final years abroad.
Chineside in Shanklin, Isle of Wight 2024. The last home of Louisa Edwards, née Pictor (courtesy Chris Gale)
Louisa Pictor (1850 – 1919)
Moved to Isle of Wight
Louisa was Job and Mary Pictor’s youngest daughter and last of their eleven children. She was recorded in earlier census records as living in the family home, then in 1881 with her sister Emmeline and family in London. She had been brought up in the United Methodist tradition and mixed in the society of Established Church-goers and the Primitive Methodist movement, where she played the harmonium for the opening of the Primitive Chapel at Box Hill in 1877. In 1891 she was living at Fogleigh House, Box, with her brother Cornelius James and sister Mary.
At the age of 52 in 1902, Louisa married 45-year-old widower John Edwards, a minister with the United Methodists at that time serving in Bath. This strand of Methodism is the same one of which the Pictor family were adherents. A native of Dundee, John had previously ministered for some years in New Zealand. Upon her marriage, Louisa became step-mother to the five surviving Edwards children. The youngest, aged five in 1902, had poignantly been given the names Jennie Heartsease; her mother having died around the time of her birth.
After their marriage, the couple moved between successive towns, following John’s calling as a minister. These included Camborne, London, Chesterfield and Exeter; then in 1915 to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. The United Methodist chapel there was in Victoria Avenue; the building survives today as the Shanklin Youth & Community Centre. The Bible Christian movement, whose chapel the Shanklin building had been, was strong on the Island as well as Cornwall, and had only recently become part of the United Methodists when the Edwards family were there. Louisa’s step-daughter Marion Julianna was married in the Shanklin building in the year of their arrival. Louisa’s final place of residence was Chineside in Church Road, Shanklin, where she died in the presence of her husband in October 1919. John continued as a minister, moving to Mevagissey the following year.
He died in Aylesbury in 1934.
Louisa was the last surviving of the seven Pictor sisters. She was buried in plot 1209 in Box Cemetery; her memorial noting that she was the youngest daughter of Job and Mary Pictor.
Moved to Isle of Wight
Louisa was Job and Mary Pictor’s youngest daughter and last of their eleven children. She was recorded in earlier census records as living in the family home, then in 1881 with her sister Emmeline and family in London. She had been brought up in the United Methodist tradition and mixed in the society of Established Church-goers and the Primitive Methodist movement, where she played the harmonium for the opening of the Primitive Chapel at Box Hill in 1877. In 1891 she was living at Fogleigh House, Box, with her brother Cornelius James and sister Mary.
At the age of 52 in 1902, Louisa married 45-year-old widower John Edwards, a minister with the United Methodists at that time serving in Bath. This strand of Methodism is the same one of which the Pictor family were adherents. A native of Dundee, John had previously ministered for some years in New Zealand. Upon her marriage, Louisa became step-mother to the five surviving Edwards children. The youngest, aged five in 1902, had poignantly been given the names Jennie Heartsease; her mother having died around the time of her birth.
After their marriage, the couple moved between successive towns, following John’s calling as a minister. These included Camborne, London, Chesterfield and Exeter; then in 1915 to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. The United Methodist chapel there was in Victoria Avenue; the building survives today as the Shanklin Youth & Community Centre. The Bible Christian movement, whose chapel the Shanklin building had been, was strong on the Island as well as Cornwall, and had only recently become part of the United Methodists when the Edwards family were there. Louisa’s step-daughter Marion Julianna was married in the Shanklin building in the year of their arrival. Louisa’s final place of residence was Chineside in Church Road, Shanklin, where she died in the presence of her husband in October 1919. John continued as a minister, moving to Mevagissey the following year.
He died in Aylesbury in 1934.
Louisa was the last surviving of the seven Pictor sisters. She was buried in plot 1209 in Box Cemetery; her memorial noting that she was the youngest daughter of Job and Mary Pictor.
The Pictor daughters of Job and Mary enjoyed a middle-class lifestyle but one which had been touched by the death of their father in 1857. The daughters probably took personal inspiration from the role of their mother in securing the business and guiding it towards her young sons with its re-naming as Pictor & Sons. The circumstances repeated in 1877 with the tragic death of their brother Robert and some of the daughters sought refuge with their surviving brother, Cornelius James. Many of the daughters set up lives for themselves outside of Box and their story has rarely been told until now.
Acknowledgements:
Philip Thornborrow of “My United Methodists”, for details of the ministry of John Edwards
Chris Goddard of Plymouth, for details of the death and burial of Louisa Edwards, and much other information
Acknowledgements:
Philip Thornborrow of “My United Methodists”, for details of the ministry of John Edwards
Chris Goddard of Plymouth, for details of the death and burial of Louisa Edwards, and much other information