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Frederick OSBORN (1809–1897)
His wife Mrs Ann Elizabeth OSBORN, née Shields (1808–1894)
Their daughter Mrs Maria HUNT, née Osborn (1836–1860)
St Giles section: Row 5, Grave B42

Frederick Osborn or Osborne was born in Holywell, Oxford and baptised at St Cross Church on 26 February 1809. He was the son of the glazier Robert Osborn (born in Chiselhampton 1786) and Ann Watts (born at Forest Hill in 1785), who were married at St James’s Church in Cowley on 18 August 1806: both were described as lodgers, and Robert appears to have signed his surname Oxborn. Their first two children Charles and Frederick were born in Holywell and baptised at St Cross Church in 1806 and 1809 respectively. By 1811 the family had moved to St Giles’s parish, and in 1814 their address was given as Cock’s or Cox’s Row (possibly Observatory Street). Their next six children were baptised at St Giles’s Church: Maria (1811), John (1814), Charles Henry (1819), Ann (1821), George (1825), Robert junior (1826), and Edwin (1827).

Ann Elizabeth Shields was born in Southwark, London on 16 July 1808 and baptised at St Clement Danes, Westminster on 4 December. She was the daughter of William Shields and his wife Ann Elizabeth.

On 12 September 1831 at St Thomas’s Church in Oxford, Frederick Osborn married Ann Elizabeth Shields: both were described as being of that parish. As Frederick was a printer at Oxford University Press, he may have lived in the Jericho area, which was is St Thomas’s parish until St Paul’s Church was consecrated in 1837. They had the following children:

• Ann Louisa Osborn (born in Oxford in 1832 and baptised at St Thomas’s Church on 30 September)
• Caroline Amelia Osborn (born at Blackfriars, London on 12 November 1834 and baptised at St John the Baptist Church, Hoxton on 7 December 1834); died at the age of three at Observatory Street in 1837 and buried at St Giles’s Church on 20 November
• Maria Osborn (born at Tagg’s Garden in 1836 and baptised at St Giles’s Church on 16 October)
• Frederick Osborn (born in Observatory Street in 1839 and baptised at St Paul’s Church on 9 June)
• Emily Osborn (born in Great Clarendon Street in 1841 and baptised at St Paul’s Church on 14 November)
• Caroline Osborn (born in Observatory Street in 1843 and baptised at St Paul’s Church on 5 November).

The Osborns evidently lived in St Thomas’s parish at the start of their marriage, probably in Jericho. They then appear to have spent a short time in London, where Caroline was born in November 1834. They were back in Oxford by October 1836 and living at Tagg’s Garden, then at Observatory Street by 1837.

At the time of the 1841 census Frederick and Ann were living in Observatory Street with Ann (8), Maria (5), and Frederick (2).They appear to have been in Great Clarendon Street later that year when Emily was born.

By 1843 they were living in Observatory Street again. Frederick Osborn continued to work as a printer for the rest of his life.

Frederick’s mother Ann Osborn died at Observatory Street at the age of 59 in 1844 and was buried at St Giles’s churchyard on 12 March. Six months after her death, on 15 September 1844, his father Robert Osborn, described as a glazier of Observatory Street, married his second wife Miss Jemima Golby of St Giles at St Paul’s Church, and Frederick was one of the witnesses.

At the time of the 1851 census Frederick (42) was living at “Walton Road” (which could be either Walton Street or Walton Well Road) with his wife Ann (42), who was a staymaker, and their children Ann Louisa (18), who was a dressmaker, and Maria (14), Frederick (11), Emily (9), and Caroline (7).

Two of their daughters were married in the 1850s:

• On 20 August 1853 at Christ Church, Southwark, London, Ann Louisa Osborn (21) of 1 Walton Terrace, Oxford married the compositor William Page (22) of 57 Brunswick Street, Southwark, the son of the plumber & glazier Willilam Henry Page.
• On 1 October 1859 at St Clement’s Church, Oxford, Maria Osborn married the tailor Marshall Mariott Hunt, son of the tailor Isaac Hunt: both were described as being of that parish.

Mrs Maria Hunt died thirteen months after her wedding, and was the first to be buried in this grave (although she is listed last on the inscription):

† Mrs Maria Hunt née Osborn died at Little Clarendon Street at the age of 24 in December 1860 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 9 December (burial recorded in the parish register of St Giles’s Church).

By the time of the 1861 census Frederick Osborn (52) was living in Little Clarendon Street with his wife Ann (52) and their children Frederick (21), who was a compositor; Emily (19), who was a book-folder; and Caroline (17), who was a dressmaker; plus a lodger. Their third and fourth daughters were married in the 1860s:

• In Islington, London near the beginning of 1862, Emily Osborn married John Theophilus Hallier Smith
• On 2 April 1864 at St Thomas's Church, Oxford, Caroline Osborn (20) married the bookbinder Henry Morley (21), the son of the bookbinder Thomas Morley: both were then living in Walton Place (now Walton Street).

At the time of the 1871 census Frederick (62), described as a printer, and Ann (62) were living in Walton Street with their daughter Mrs Emily Smith (29) and her husband John (31), who was a painter employing four men and two boys, and their four children Theophilus Osborn Smith (8), Henry Smith (7), Emily Smith (5), and Frederick Smith (2), as well as a lodger and servant.

At the time of the 1881 census Frederick (71), described as a retired printer, and Ann (72) were living at 133 Walton Street with their daughter Emily Smith (39, not as recorded) and her husband John Theophilus Hallier Smith (about 40), a plumber & decorator employing twelve men and three boys. Seven of their grandchildren were in the house: T. Osborn Smith (18), a plumber’s clerk; Henry Smith (17), a plumber’s assistant; Emily (15), Frederick (12), and George Smith (9), who were at school; and Frank Smith (3) and Stanley Smith (1). They had one servant.

At the time of the 1891 census Frederick (82) and Anne (83) were living at 84 Kingston Road with their daughter Mrs Emily Smith and her husband John, who was now the manager of a decorating & plumbing business. Five of their Smith grandchildren were still living in the house: Harry (26) and George (19), who were boat-builders; Emily (24); and Frank (13) and Sidney (11), who were still at school.

Mrs Ann Osborn died in 1894:

† Mrs Ann Elizabeth Osborn née Shields died at 84 Kingston Road at the age of 85 on 20 January 1894 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 24 January (burial recorded in the parish register of St Giles’s Church).

Her husband died three years later:

† Frederick Osborn died at 78 Kingston Road at the age of 87 in February 1897 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 16 February (burial recorded in the parish register of St Giles’s Church).

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Surviving children of Frederick and Ann Elizabeth Osborn

• Ann Louisa Osborn, Mrs William Page (born 1832) was living in Tyndale Street in St Clement’s (then called William Street) in 1861 with her husband, who was a compositor, and her children William (7), Frederick (5), George (2), plus a lodger. In 1871 they were at 2 Cleveland Villas in James Street with their two younger sons. In 1881 they were living at 64 Iffley Road with their son William, and they were still there in 1891. By 1901 they had retired to 18 Denman Street in Camberwell. died in Camberwell at the age of 72 near the beginning of 1905.
• Frederick Osborn (born 1839) emigrated to New Zealand, leaving on the Tiptree on 20 October 1863 and arriving in Lyttleton on 20 January 1864. On 19 October 1867 he married Betsey Ellen Foden (born in Bilston, Staffs), and they later lived in Timaru, South Island. Frederick continued to work as a compositor. His wife died in 1913, and he died in 1915.
• Emily Osborn, Mrs Thomas Smith (born 1841) was widowed in 1898. At the time of the 1901 census she was living at Burnham, Essex with five of her grown-up children: Henry (39), who was the manager of a yacht-building company; Emily Maria (36); Frederick (32), who was the foreman of a yacht-building company; and Frank (23) and Sydney (21), who were yacht builders. In 1911 Emily was still living in Burnham, just with Emily Maria. Mrs Emily Smith died at 14 Parker Street, Oxford at the age of 89 on 19 November 1930.
• Caroline Osborn, Mrs Henry Morley (born 1843) was living at 18 Cowley Road in 1871 with her husband, who was a bookbinder. By 1881 their address was given as 218 Cowley Road, and they had two daughters: Edith (7) and Gertrude Maud (2). They were still there with their daughters in 1891; by 1901 they were at 50 Cowley Road, just with Gertrude, who was an elementary school headteacher. Mrs Caroline Morley died at 278 Iffley Road at the age of 94 on 31 March 1938.