Grace Hendy Lugg 1828 – 1914

Grace is my Gr Gr Gr Aunt, one of 10 children born in Gunwalloe, Cornwall, this is her gravestone in St Winwaloe’s Church in Gunwalloe.  From memory it is the biggest one in the cemetery, and made me think that she must be of some importance, or prosperous…so the search began to find out where her ‘money’ came from.

I ordered her will and it tells me that she did have some funds, £800 in total (approx equivalent of £93K in 2020).  Distributed as follows

  • £200 Preference stock in the Canadian Railway Company to Josiah Paull and wife Ann
  • £130 Debenture stock in the Grand Trunk Railway Company Canada to Nephew Henry George
  • Remainder of all other property split between Thomas and Henry George.

Grace Hendy Lugg Will

…so I know how much she had, but not where she got it from,  Grace never married, and she never seemed to be living in her own property.  So next I needed a snapshot of her residences as an adult.

  • 1871 – The Glebe, Lee, Kent as a cook for Joseph Fenn (widowed) and his children, and also his Mother in Law, Sarah Williams.  I had 3 wills in the end, from this census record Sarah Williams and her daughter, I never spotted Grace being mentioned
  • 1881 – 5 Kensington Crescent, Kensington as a lady’s maid with the family of W H E Ellis b1846 in Jersey a builder and decorator, I have no managed to find a will for him yet.
  • 1891 – 97 Marlborough Rd living with her nephew Edward Lugg, my gr gr grandfather, ‘living on her own mean’
  • 1901 – back in Cornwall, in Truro living with her niece Grace Caddy Hockaday (Nee Lugg)
  • 1911 – in New cottage, Gunwalloe – see owned by  nephew Edward Lugg

Next I checked her siblings – she did outlive all bar one, however most of them went on to have children.

  • 3 brothers went to Ballarat in Australia – Edward left his funds to Samuel, he in turn left his to his wife.  William left his to his wife and daughter, and only a few hundred pounds.
  • Ann married Henry George and had 4 children and remained in Cornwall.
  • Thomas (my gr gr grandfather) remained in Cornwall had 8 children.
  • Juliana married farmer Peter Moyle and had 12 children (8 living in 1911).
  • Elizabeth married William Caddy Freeman remained in Cornwall had 11 children (10 living in 1911).
  • Ellen died at the age of 28.

Her father was a blacksmith and died in 1898 left £149.

So after all this I am still stumped! I can only assume that she just kept all her earnings and lived rent free!  Had some lovely help on the forum