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Veargitt William MAUGHAN (1863–1888)
St Giles section: Row 31a, Grave J26½

 

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Veargitt William Vaughan was a member of the Guild of All Souls, which makes intercessory prayer for the dying and for the repose of the souls of the departed. In 2015 they were still remembering him in perpetuity at the Mass in The Guild Chapel at Walsingham on the anniversary of his death (29 May), and he is also remembered at the requiems in St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road, South Kensington.

Veargitt William Maughan was born in Hackney on 11 April 1863. He was the son of Veargitt Maughan (born 1833/4, the youngest son of W. K. Maughan, Esq., of Upper Homerton) and Emily Dixon Frodsham (born 1840/1, the second daughter of John Frodsham, Esq. of Hackney).

His parents were married at St John’s Church, Hackney on 6 February 1862, and their marriage was announced in the Morning Post, as was the birth of their only son Veargitt William Maughan a year later.

Veargitt’s father was a shipbroker, and at the time of the 1871 census he was boarding at an inn at 4 Groves Place, Falmouth. He died suddenly at the age of 46 on 28 September 1880 at 36 Kenninghall Road, Clapton, and his death was announced in the Pall Mall Gazette and The Standard. He left personal effects of less than £800, and his will was proved by young Veargitt's mother, Emily Dixon Maughan, and his unmarried uncle Andrew Johnson Maughan, described as a sail-maker, both of whom were living at the Kenninghall Road address.

At the time of the 1881 census Veargitt (17), described as a scholar, was living at 16 Downs Road, Hackney with his mother, Emily Dixon Maughan (40), described as a fund holder, and his uncle Andrew Johnson Maughan (53), plus one servant.

Veargitt William Maughan was matriculated at the University of Oxford from St John’s College on 11 October 1884 at the age of 21, and his father’s address was given in Alumni Oxonienses as Laura Place, Clapton.

Less than four years after matriculation, he died following a short illness:

† Veargitt William Maughan died on 29 May 1888 at the age of 25 at his lodgings at the north end of St John Street, Oxford and was buried in St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 2 June 1888 after a service at St John’s College Chapel (burial recorded in the parish register of St Giles’s Church).

His family put a death notice in the Morning Post and the following report on his death and funeral appeared in Jackson’s Oxford Journal on 9 June 1888:

DEATH OF MR. MAUGHAN, ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE. — We regret to have record the death, after a very short illness, at his lodgings in St. John-street, of this gentleman, at the early age of 25. He had been complaining of rheumatism for about a fortnight, the fever set in on the 25th ult., and reached his heart on the 29th, on which day he died. He was attended by Mr. W. L. Morgan, of Broad-street, and Dr. Gray was called in for consultation just before the end. Mr. Veargitt William Maughan, whose mother resides at Clapton, had all but completed his University course, and expected to be ordained shortly. He was a man of very varied tastes, with singular powers of conversation, and was much beloved by a large circle of friends, who were attracted at once by his sympathy, his kindness, and his earnestness. He was older than most undergraduates, and took a great interest in the “Apollo” Lodge of Freemasons (being the Hon. Sec. of the forthcoming Masonic Fête), in the Architectural Society, and in Church matters generally. The funeral took place on Saturday, when the first portion of the service was read in St. John’s College Chapel, which was filled with friends of the deceased and members of the College. The Vice-Chancellor (Dr. Bellamy, President of the College) officiated, and at the conclusion of the service the remains were borne in the SS. Philip and James’s bier, followed by those who had taken part in the service, to St. Sepulchre’s cemetery, Walton-street, where the remainder of the service was performed. The mother and three personal friends were the chief mourners, and several ladies were amongst those who took part in the procession. The wreaths were of an elaborate description, and profuse in quantity, having been contributed by the College, the Apollo Lodge, and from many other sources. The inscription on the coffin was simply—“Veargitt William Maughan, aged 25.” The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr. Ward, of Broad-street.

He left a personal estate of £463 2s., and his executor was his widowed mother, who was now living at 13 Goulton Road, Clapham.