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Alfred William HALLETT (1842/3–1878)
St Paul (St Barnabas) section: Row 26, Grave E9½

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This grave marker has a completely separate inscription on each side.

Alfred William Hallett (died 1878) was the first person to be buried in this grave. This inscription to him faces west and his footstone is on the other side, suggesting that the grave marker was turned round so that over 30 years later the plot could be reused

The inscription on the other side of the grave marker can be seen on the separate page about Robert Coombs (died 1909) and his wife Emma (died 1930)

The footstone to the grave (visible on the Coombs page) has the initials A.W.H. and obviously belongs to Hallett

 

Alfred William Hallett, also known as William, was born at Newport, Isle of Wight in 1842/3 (reg. first quarter of 1843), the son of (Benjamin) John Hallett and Sophia Coates, who were married in the Whippingham district of the Isle of Wight on 4 August 1833. It is difficult to find a record for Alfred's baptism, but his five siblings were all baptised in the Whippingham district: Fanny Nancy (1837), Benjamin Tom (1839), Edmund (1845), Harry or Henry (1846), and Emily Harriett (1852).

At the time of the 1861 census (Alfred) William was a 17-year-old ironmonger's apprentice, living at Reed's Farm at Carisbrooke, on the Isle of Wight with his father John (48), who was a farmer of 100 acres employing one man and two boys, his mother Sophia (48), and his siblings Frank (18), who was a cabinet maker; Edmund (16), who was a carpenter's apprentice, and Henry (14) and Emily (9), who were at school.

Near the beginning of 1869 in Oxford, Alfred William Hallett married Thirza Temple. Thirza was born at Union Street in Jericho in 1847 and baptised at St Paul's Church on 28 February. She was the daughter of Thomas Temple, a gardener, and his wife Sarah, and at the time of the 1861 census her family was living in the lodge of St Sepulchre's Cemetery. Her father died the following year, and her mother moved to 31 Cardigan Street.

Alfred and Thirza Hallett had the following children:

• Emily Thirza Hallett (born in Oxford on 20 October 1869 and baptised at St Barnabas's Church on 9 January 1870)
• Benjamin John Hallett (born at 30 Cardigan Street, Jericho, Oxford on 17 April 1871 and baptised at St Barnabas's Church on 2 July)
• William Edmund Hallett (born at 30 Cardigan Street, Jericho, Oxford on 13 November 1873 and privately baptised by St Barnabas's Church on 23 November; died the same day aged ten days, and buried at St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 26 November)
• Beatrice Alice Hallett (born in Oxford on 28 March 1875 and baptised at St Barnabas's Church on 15 August)

The birth of their daughter Emily towards the end of 1869 was registered in the Headington district (which included north Oxford), but by the time they had her baptised in early January 1870 they had moved to the Jericho district, probably straight into 30 Cardigan Street, the house next door to the one where Thirza's widowed mother now lived.

Alfred worked as an ironmonger's assistant for Mrs Margaret Wyatt and her son George Wyatt, whose shop was at 70 St Giles's Street. (For more about his employers, see George Wyatt's grave.)

At the time of the 1871 census Alfred (28) was was living at 30 Cardigan Street with his wife Thirza (24) and their daughter Emily (1). His younger brother Edmund had also moved to Oxford to work as a carpenter & joiner, and was living nearby at 5 Albert Terrace with his family; and by the time of the 1881 census another younger brother, Henry, was living at 2 Albert Street with his family and working as a butcher.

William, the second son of Alfred and Thirza Hallett, was born in November 1873 but only survived ten days: he was buried in St Sepulchre's Cemetery, probably in the area of the St Paul's section reserved for infants. Their daughter Beatrice was born in 1875.

Alfred died in 1878:

† Alfred William Hallett died at 30 Cardigan Street at the age of 34 (correctly given in GRO, but wrongly recorded on grave marker and in register as 33) on 9 February 1878 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 14 February (burial recorded in the parish register of St Barnabas's Church).

The inscription shows that this grave marker was put up as a mark of esteem by his employers.

His widow Thirza, who was still only 30, was left with three children aged 2, 6, and 8, and she was evidently in financial trouble, as an Oxford Board of Guardians Report shows that she received outdoor relief at 30 Cardigan Street just after Alfred's death. She soon moved next door to live at 31 Cardigan Street with her widowed mother and her unmarried sister Emma Temple, and all three worked there as laundresses. The house must have been very crowded, as at the time of the 1881 census Thirza (34) was living and working at the laundry there with her mother and sister, and four children were in the house: her own three, namely Emily (11), Benjamin (9), and Beatrice (6), and her sister's illegitimate son William Morris Temple (10).

On 15 April 1883 at St Ebbe's Church, Oxford, Mrs Thirza Hallett (36, but recorded as 33) married her second husband, John Bossom (42): they were both then living at 28 Church Street, St Ebbe's. This marriage only lasted just over a year, as she died at 6 Wellington Street in Jericho at the age of 37 in October 1884. She was buried on 9 October 1884, and as her burial is recorded in the register of St Barnabas's Church, she is likely to be buried in this grave with her first husband, but is not named on the headstone.

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Surviving children of Alfred and Thirza Hallett

• Emily Thirza Hallett (born 1869) was orphaned at the age of fifteen. In 1891 at the age of 21 she was paying a visit to Northampton to the family of the cabinet maker Frank Hallett (48), who was born on the Isle of Wight and was doubtless her uncle. On 8 December 1896 at St Barnabas's Church, Emily (27), who was working as a shop assistant, married Alfred East (32), a milkman, the son of the painter Alfred East. Her husband died in Oxford at the age of 35 in 1900. At the time of the 1911 census Emily (41) was living at 21 London Place, St Clement's, which she ran as a lodging house, with her daughters Florence Beatrice East (13), Emily Mary East (10), Ethel East (5), and Doris Edna East (2). She may be the Emily T. East who died in the Finsbury district at the age of 89 near the beginning of 1939.
• Benjamin John Hallett (born 1871) was orphaned at the age of twelve. In 1891 at the age of 20 he was back living at 31 Cardigan Street with his aunt Miss Emma Temple and her son Benjamin (19): Emma was still working as a laundress, and the two young men were both postmen. On 1 August 1898 at St Barnabas's Church, Benjamin (27) married Theresa Webb (25), the daughter of Staff Sergeant Edwin Webb. At the time of the 1901 census Benjamin was described as a Post Office porter and was living at 26 Jericho Street with his wife Theresa and their nephew Joseph Thomas Goring (9). In 1911 they were living at 5 Albert Terrace Jericho with their only child Gladys Theresa Hallett (7): Benjamin was now a GPO cleaner, his wife was a tailoress, and their nephew Joseph was a college bedmaker. Benjamin died in Oxford at the age of 81 near the beginning of 1953.
• Beatrice Alice Hallett (born 1875) was orphaned at the age of nine. In 1891 she was a 16-year-old housemaid in the home of Lieutenant-Colonel Lindsay and his family at 1 Cowley Road, Temple Cowley. In 1901 Beatrice (26) was a nurse at the Warneford Lunatic Asylum in Headington. In 1911 Beatrice (37) described herself as a fully-trained nurse, and was paying a visit to a friend in Leamington Spa. Sometimes she was listed as Alice rather than Beatrice, and so may be the Alice B. Hallett who died at Chippenham, Wiltshire at the age of 89 in 1965.