Titheradge Graves in Kingston Cemetery, Portsmouth

Grave of Joseph Blaik Titheradge and family 

On a dull afternoon I found myself in Portsmouth with a few hours to spare.  Now, normal people might seek out a local tourist attraction, or shops or gardens, but if you are interested in genealogy then a good cemetery is the best option.

So with daughter in tow we headed for Kingston Cemetery, St Mary's Road, Portsmouth armed with a pdf map of cemetery and a list of Titheridges and Titheradges known to be buried there.

The list of Graves read

• Richard Titheridge died 1870 buried in a Paupers grave

• James Fabian Titheradge died 1877 buried in Buckells Plot, row 15, grave 2

• Diana Frances Titheradge died 1884 buried with James

• Joseph Blaik Titheradge died 1904 buried in Allens plot

• Amelia Titheridge died 1918 buried in Triggs plot, row 2, grave 13 and half

• George Robert Titheradge died 1871 buried in a brick grave in Brambles plot row 1 grave 10. Buried with 5 other people (Sarah Isabella his wife died 1864, Augustus Fabian son died 1877, Herbert Hine, son died 1926, Robert son died 1864 and Emma died 1936)

Buckells plot, Paupers plot and Triggs plot produced no joy - just lots of missing stones and nothing that looked remotely like the names Titheridge \ Ttheradge on the old stones that remained.    

Kingston Cemetery, Portsmouth - Buckells Plot

Kingston Cemetery, Portsmouth - Triggs plot

We had visited Brambles plot several year ago and identified what was probably the grave of George Robert Titheradge and family.  We double checked that it really was the most likely grave and confirmed there really were no inscriptions or no markings to confirm its identify, so without an accurate map it is just  an educated guess that this is the right grave of George Robert and his family.

Kingston Cemetery Portsmouth
Probable grave of George Robert Titheradge and family

Success was finally achieved when we visited Allens plot at the far end of the cemetery.  This burial had been identified on the Billion Graves Website (https://billiongraves.com/ ) which had also included a helpful Google map showing the location of the grave.

The gravestone read

In loving memory of Joseph Blaik Titheradge died August 16 1904 aged 31
Also Ada Caroline beloved wife of the above died February 25^th 1936 aged 65
Christopher and Percival sons of above died 1904 Reunited.
 

So who are this family and what tragic events took place 1904 to leave Ada a widow and a grieving mother?  If you know the answer please get in touch.


Joseph Blaik Titheradge was one of six children born to James Walter Titheradge and Mary Ann Blaik.  Joseph was born in 1872 in Portsmouth.  He married Ada Caroline Matthews in September quarter 1893 in Portsmouth.  They had four children, William Joseph Blaik Titheradge born in 1895 died 1955, Walter Titheradge born in 1899 died 1955, Christopher born in 1900 died 1904 and Percival Titheradge born in 1902 died 1904.

Joseph was a stoker in the Navy.  He joined the navy on 14 May 1891 when he was 19, signing up for 12 years a service.  His first service was on HMS Asia and his last on HMS Firequeen.  The last entry in his naval service record is 5 May 1904, 3 months before he died.  He also served on HMS Euphrates, HMS Victory, HMS Serapis, HMS St George, HMS Duke of Wellington and HMS Racer.

The Portsmouth Evening News carried the following notice in the Deaths section on 19 August 1904

Titheradge On 16^th August at 45 Liverpool Road Kingston Joseph Blaik Titheradge late Chief Stoker in Royal Navy aged 31 years.

In the March quarter of 1904 Joseph's son Christopher aged three and a half had died.  In the June quarter of 1904 his son Percival aged 2 had died.  We do not know what the cause of death was.  When Joseph died his son William was 9 years old and son Walter 5 years old.  After their father's death the boys were taken into a naval orphanage in Commercial Road, Although Ada was still alive I presume she did not have the means to support the children.  When the orphanage at Portsmouth closed the boys were moved to an orphanage in Swanage.

Family Grave of Joseph Blaik Titheradge

If you are a relative or can tell us more please get in touch or add a comment below.

A. Titheridge Artist

Watercolour by A Titheridge

What do you know about, A. Titheridge, the artist? That was the question that I was asked about 4 years ago  - and the answer was nothing at all. 

I was contacted by the owner of three pictures all signed A TITHERIDGE (printed in capitals), with two dated 1934.  The owner had inherited these three pictures from a relative who lived in London Colney a village on the outskirts of St Albans Hertfordshire.  At the time all I could tell the owner was that there were more than 20 people called "A Titheridge" alive in 1934.

With further research I am now confidently able to narrow down the artist to one of two individuals who are a father and son and both called Arthur Titheridge. So the artist is either

Arthur Earnest Titheridge (born 1869 died 1937)
or
Arthur Ernest Titheridge (born 1900 died 1943)

Arthur Titheridge senior was born in the Stoke Newington area of London in 1869 and was christened Arthur Earnest Titheridge. He was the son of John Titheridge and Sophia Kent .  John had originated from Droxford, Hampshire but by 1867 had moved to London.  By the 1871 census the family had settled in London and were living in various addresses in Tottenham, Walthamstow and Edmonton.  Between 1861 and 1881 John and Sophia had 9 children and Arthur was the fourth child.

Arthur Titheridge senior was married to Sarah Maidment in December 1886 and seven children were born in the London area between 1887 and 1906.  The children were:

Edith Sarah born 1887 in Edmonton (married George Cobham 1912)
Grace born 1889 in Stoke Newington (thought to have died prior to 1911)
Arthur James born 1890 in Walthamstow (thought to have died prior to 1911)
James Herbert born 1892 in Walthamstow  (married Minnie Millest 1914)
Arthur Ernest born 1900 in Edmonton (batchelor )
Elsie May born 1903 in Edmonton (married Frederick Stocker 1927)
Claude Stanley born 1906 in Edmonton (married twice Ivy Aitkin 1933 and  Iris Blow 1953)

When Grace was born Arthur’s occupation was a painter and grainer and on the baptism of both James and Arthur his occupation is decorator but on the 1911 census the occupation changed to painter “artist”.

In July 1892 Arthur and Sarah set sail from Southampton for Durban, South Africa sailing on the Spartan.  Sailing with them was Edith aged 5, Grace aged 4, Arthur aged 3 and James aged 1. It is thought that Arthur went out to South Africa to join his elder brother James. In 1897 A Titheridge was living in Prince Alfred Street, Durban, South Africa, with J Titheridge also living in Durban.

Arthur and Sarah returned to London before 1900, probably because of the Boer War which started in South Africa in 1899. From the evidence of the 1901 and 1911 census we believe Arthur and Sarah had 9 children in total,  4 of which died.  We therefore believe 2 children were born in South Africa.   We also have information that suggests two girls were buried in South Africa, Grace who travelled with them and Daisy who must have been born there. We also think that Arthur who travelled with them age 3 must have died either on the boat over to South Africa or during their time there because on their return to England they named their next born Arthur Ernest Titheridge. It is this individual who was born in 1900 who is the other possible artist.

The 1911 Census shows the family living at 36 Bury Street, Edmonton, Middlesex.  Arthur senior lived until 1937 and died in the Edmonton district of London and his wife, Sarah, died in 1952 in Edmonton.

Arthur Ernest Junior was in the Army in World War 1, we believe he was in the Middlesex Regiment.  After the war he could not settle to civilian life. Arthur Ernest Titheridge junior died in St Albans district in 1943.  At the time he was patient of Napsbury Hospital which is situated in London Colney – a suburb of Saint Albans.  This link with London Colney provides the evidence to be sure it was either this father or son who painted the pictures.

I therefore think there are two possible explanations of who painted the pictures and how they got to London Colney. 

1. That Arthur senior painted the pictures and gave them to his son

2. That Arthur Junior, having inherited his father’s artistic talent, painted the pictures and gave to someone or sold them to a third party in the London Colney area

The paintings which are beautifully painted watercolours are reproduce here with kind permission of the owner. 

Watercolour by A Titheridge 1934

Watercolour by A Titheridge 1934

Are you related to the Arthur Titheridges? and if so can you throw any light on who the artist was?

Do you own any similar works of art by A Titheridge?

Do you have any idea where the pictures were painted? Does the scene look familiar, could they be scenes around St Albans?

So in 4 years we have come a long way towards identifying our talented artist and hope someone can tell us more.  If you can help please add a comment or email us.

Copyright © 2016 Ann and Mike Titheradge All rights reserved