Richard Shapley, died 1869

A faire-part of approximately the same dimensions as a carte-de-visite announcing the death of Richard Shapely, ‘who died 6th October 1869 / in the 42nd year of his age / Leaving a widow and ten children to lament his loss.’

Born in Marylebone in or about 1828, his father Richard Shapley was a saddler by trade.

On 28 September 1851 in Marylebone Richard Shapley married Georgina Key, daughter of John Key, a confectioner.

At the time of the 1861 census, the couple were living in Southampton at 14 Above Bar Street with the first six of their children, a ‘shopwoman’ and a ‘general servant.’ The first three children were born in Marylebone, the fourth in the Isle of Wight, and the fifth and sixth in Southampton. Richard gave ‘Confectioner’ as his profession.

Richard died on 6 October 1869 at 14 Above Bar Street in Southampton, leaving an estate valued at £200.

When the census was taken in 1871, his widow Georgina was still in business as a ‘Confectioner’ but had moved to South Stoneham in Hampshire. Also present on the night of the census were her eleven children. The youngest, Elizabeth, was only three months old, so Richard Shapley could not have been her father.

Georgina was a still a widow and still a confectioner in South Stoneham when the censuses were taken in 1881 and 1891.

Photographer unidentified.