Harry's Second Wife: Kunzle Cakes and the Showman.
Harry met Katura Treherne in the Midlands {see below for her true name}. After Harry's separation they lived together in Birmingham & then Jesmond. Katura was her Sunday Best name, but she was known in the family as Aunt 'Jim'. A note on the back of her photo tells us that she was "nee Treherne". I really don't know if Jim was short for Jemima, etc., but I suspect it was a pet name as she had such an unpronounceable/unusual given name. Katura's a pretty rare name; it comes from the Hebrew for incense (link to my source here).We were told her father was a Silversmith, in the Midlands.
From the separation papers for Harry & Kate Sennett, we know that (Keturah) Trehearn was a widow - but I can only presume that her maiden name was Trehearn.
{There is a marriage record from 1928, in the Worcester district between Joyce K Treherne and William T. SUFF. But if he died before 1936, the record for it has not yet been transcribed on FreeBMD. A Joyce Kathleen Treherne was born in 1900 in the Newent district, which borders Worcestershire.
A lady named Joyce could have been known as "Jim"?? - Yes, I know Jemima is much more likely and I'm clutching at straws!}
**LATEST**
511 Coventry Road (where Harry & Katura lived) is now a part of a vehicle hire company?? But I don't see it when I look on Google Street View.
Ah! This was exciting, to turn up this little snippet from the papers!
Thanks to the London Gazette searchable archives, I found an announcement by Keturah of her change of name by deed poll. It's from the paper dated 24th June 1938, so just after his separation was granted.
"I FLORENCE KETURAH SENNETT of 511, Coventry Road, Birmingham in the county of Warwick Widow of no occupation a natural born British subject, heretofore called and known by the name of Florence Keturah Trehearn hereby give notice that I have renounced and abandoned the name of Florence Keturah Trehearn and that I have assumed and intend henceforth on all occasions whatsoever and at all times to sign and use and to be called and known by the name of Florence Keturah Sennett."
So now that I have a good idea of the correct spelling of her name, I can search for other records about her. Keturah, Katurah - it is still a hebrew name meaning incense.
So far - Goggle has brought up this page of MI's from a church in Erdington, Warwickshire. Keturah is on page 90, along with a Percy Edward Trehearn. And a Florence Trehearn of Erdington in the census of year 1901 (but as she was then aged 34 - she can't be our Keturah).
Following on from the discovery that Keturah's first name was Florence, I was able to dig up some dates for her online - not seen all the certificates themselves, so I am assuming they are her at this stage.
Marriage cert for Florence Trehern: there are two possibilities - one in Barnet in 1911, one in South Stoneham in 1900. (There are none recorded in Warwickshire.)
(Her second marriage to Harry) - Marriage cert for Florence K Sennett & Henry Sennett in Wednesbury, Staffs, winter 1943.
Coincidentally in the same year, 1943, Kate L. Sennett died - in Birmingham, aged 57.
Now I have this 1943 certificate & it tells me that the bride's father was a Silversmith, Alfred Eagles. So Florence Keturah Eagles married a Treherne, was widowed, and then met & married our Harry.
Knowing this helped me find a reference on FreeBMD for her 1921 marriage to Percy E. Trehearn, in the Burton-on-Trent area. Ancestry further provided me with their ages (him 36, her 24) and their fathers' names (Harry Trehearn & Alfred Eagles), and that they married on the 19th October, 1921.
Presumably, then - he died between 1921 & 1936??
Indeed, I found him in the year 1929, Birmingham North district, died aged 40.
The info source Ancestry has a wills index in which we can read about poor young Percy:
{Many Thanks to Elliot for digging up this treasure!}
So, from that snippet we learn that he died in a Birmingham Hospital, in March 1929, and that he had left a will naming his wife although he was only 40. We see the address of No 511 confirmed again, and we are fascinated to read the amount of his estate (effects, not property) given as £1930 1s. 1d.
Measuring Worth.com helps us to calculate that amount of money in 1929 to be roughly equivalent to £90,000 in 2008, which helps to explain how Keturah came to be well-off!
In the Trade Directories (olde Yellowe Pages) for the Warwickshire area in 1912 I found a Treherne family business which seems to fit nicely:
Trehearn, P.E. & Co - baker's sundriesmen, at 511 Coventry Rd, Warks.
The 1943 marriage cert also tells me that Harry & Keturah lived in Rushall, at 18 Station Road (Walsall). This address was the home of Harry's sister Mary at that time, I'm assured by her family. {Thanks, Pat!}
Harry's father William was confirmed as still alive, and a retired Colliery Official. Harry himself gives his occupation as Civil Servant in the Ministry of Labour. The witnesses were E. Eagles (a relative of Keturah?) and M. Rogers (Harry's sister Mary).
Since Harry lived in Rushall and worked for the Ministry of Labour, I wonder if he enjoyed the pleasure of this Ministry of Labour office in Bloxwich - it was converted from a Music Hall in 1941. During WW II, the Ministry of Labour dealt with National Service and deployment of reserved occupations, as well as the peace-time Labour Exchange duties.
Eagles family in the Census
A likely match in the 1901 Census for our Florence is a 4yr old living alone with her mother (not widowed) - Keturah Eagles. So her father was away for the night, perhaps a man named Alfred Eagles who working in the potteries?
Alfred Eagles married Keturah Elizabeth Howl in 1896 in the Aston district. Their only child Florence Keturah Eagles was born in Birmingham in the last Q of 1897.
In the 1911 Census, Alfred Eagles (born 1871) was recorded living in a large house at 170 Cheshire Road, Smethwick (Worcestershire) - with Keturah Eagles (born 1872, Wolverhampton), and their child Florence Eagles (aged 13). The extra data in the 1911 form tells us that the couple had been married 14 years (fits with the year 1896) and had had only one child.
Alfred is described as a Stamper, working in the Silversmith industry. He must have been fairly well-paid, as the family of 3 lived in a house of 6 rooms.
Alfred Eagles died aged 51 in the Kings Norton district, in 1922. Keturah Eagles I haven't found in later records - perhaps her name changed, or was badly misspelled.
Percy Trehearn in the Census
In the 1901 census, a 12 year old Percy Trehearn was in his father's house (above the shop) - at 222 High St., Erdington - his father Harry Trehearn (36) managed a Boot shop. His mother's name was Florence {Harry & Florence!!}, and there is a Stafford connection there - both her sons were born in Burton-on-Trent. {RG13/2875/page 9}
Percy appeared in the 1911 Census, aged 22, living in Kings Norton, Worcestershire.
Florence Keturah Eagles, then, was born in Birmingham in 1897 to a silver-worker Alfred Eagles & Keturah Elizabeth Howl...
She married her first husband Percy Treherne in 1921.
Her father died in 1922. Her husband died in March 1929, leaving her almost £2000.
In 1937 she was named in the separation proceedings of Harry Sennett, and then she changed her name by Deed Poll to Sennett in 1938 (so they could live together, presumably?). They finally married in 1943 in Rushall. By 1946 they were living in the Jesmond area of Newcastle.
Keturah died in the late 1950's.
Keturah's work
Ever heard of Kunzle Cakes, or Lyons Showboat Cakes? [Some links here (that's my favourite one!), here, or here, for more info & pictures.]
Well, Great-Great-Aunt Keturah (Aunt Jim) made & supplied the wrappers! She had her own business, with a factory in Coventry - making wrappings for chocolates - and a major customer was Kunzle cakes. She also imported doilies from Czechoslovakia.
She was 'well off'!
My Grandad said,On Ancestry.com, you can actually search through an online database of old phone books. What a fantastic resource, but I wouldn't want to have to sit with a scanner & a vast pile of musty old books! Not so many phone numbers in those days, of course.
'When Uncle Harry came to visit they were always like a race apart from us.' Jim's business was in the Midlands. When Mary and Eric first married (1946) he had to work in Nantwich and lived in digs. When Mary was staying at Jim & Harry's house near Jesmond Dene (Tyneside), Eric enjoyed the rare treat of being able to talk to his new wife, because they had a telephone in the house! When he visited, 'they treated me very well. Had a good meal put on. Mary and Jim were obviously great pals and Mary was well-liked.'
Anyway - living in Wales as I do, with our own sensible government - we can access parts of Ancestry.com from the local Library without paying. Marvellous. So I looked up Harry & Keturah, and found these entries in the Newcastle books for 1948 ish.
A. - found H. Sennett in Gosforth in the 1948 & 1949 Phone Book Archive (BT),
Address: 52, Keyes Gardens, GOSFORTH 53402 {which seems to be near the modern-day Jesmond Dene Tennis Club}
B. - found H. Sennett in Gosforth in the 1950, 1951 & 1952 Phone Book Archive (BT)
Address, 13 Wiseton Court, Benton Park Rd, GOSFORTH 53402 (NB kept same number) {Wiseton Court isn't known by Google maps now - but it seems to be near the Catholic school.}
See map linked from here - marked with A & B. The area could be thought of as 'off Jesmond Dene'.
I did find other H. Sennetts - but they are in Midlands, London books. We are fairly happy that this is an entry for our Harry. We have also a record of an address, 29 Matthew Bank in Jesmond, which is right by the Tennis Club, too.
Two photos of Keturah here - (the first was a photo of Keturah with Harry in costume for a production they took part in) - things that make you say Whoah!!In the second photo; I wonder how old she is, which year? On the back was the tantalising note, Katura, nee Treherne. It seems to be, in fact, that Keturah Treherne was her married name (she was widowed before meeting Harry).
Aunty Jim was a singer, and also a 'wonderful pianist'. Eric remembers, when visiting her at Jesmond, "she brought tears to the eyes as she played the baby grand." She also had a small dog.
When did Keturah die?
Not sure what year Aunt Jim died - sometime in the late 1950's? We are told it wasn't a very long gap before Harry had married again (which was 1960).
Death cert in Northern Durham region, 1957 - Florence Sennett, aged ~65 (so born in approx 1892 and we think our Florence was actually born in 1897). But note that I also found this entry: Death cert in Bournemouth Hampshire, 1960 - Florence K Sennett, aged ~62. This is too close to Harry's third marriage to match up with memories, but it's not impossible, especially as we know for certain he lived in Bournemouth district when he married his third wife.
My Gran also had a rather spooky photo of Aunt Jim which Harry sent out to all the family ... of his wife Jim in her open coffin! This was not considered 'normal', by the way. He loved her a very great deal and was very upset by her passing.
I'll save you all from that photograph, unless you beg!! Perhaps it'd be a good Halloween posting. No respect at all, these young uns...
Let the show go on!
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