2. The Hildick Family
As mentioned earlier, the story starts (so far) in the direct male line in the mid 1500’s.
Robert Hildyke or Hildike was born in
In a recently obtained copy of a letter that Mona Hildick-Smith (b 1892) wrote in 1965 to Kit and Pete Hildick-Smith in the
As has been mentioned earlier they were more than likely to have been Protestants (Hugenots) from the Low Countries, most likely The Netherlands, as many were forced to flee from religious and political persecution in the mid to late 1500’s but as yet I have not traced their origins, what the 4 brothers were called and have found no trace of the early Sheffield connections although there were certainly Hildicks in this area in the late 1800’s.
The connection of the family to the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury has yet to be more fully investigated.
The first definite date is Roberts wedding to Joice Walker at St Mathews Church,
Only one offspring has so far been traced.
Thomas b c 1596
They had one son, born in
From: 'Walsall: Economic history', A History of the
Samuel b1689 c 7/7/1689 died young
Thomas b1691 c 26/11/1691 d 1723
Mary b1693 c 30/1/1693 married John Creage 4/5/1718. Mary died before 1738.
Robert b1695 c 9/3/1695 died young
John b1698 c 5/1698
Robert b1698 c 24/5/1698 d 1737
Hannah b1700 c9/10/1700
Moses b1702 c20/2/1702
Aaron* b1705 c 16/5/1705
One of the main offshoot branches of the family occurs here and Aaron* will be followed here for a while as one of his descendants married back as a cousin into the extended family of Thomas (1665) offspring.
*Aaron (1705) married Martha (maiden name unknown).
They had 8 children but although I have details of all of them I will follow only one, their eldest son Thomas b 1728 in Rushall.
He married Mary Tennant in 1755 at St Mathews Church in
Thomas 1728 also had a son Thomas b1758. This Thomas married Ann Worallo and their son Aaron b1795 married the Elizabeth Dukes featured below, where we get a hint of the Hildike origins and of the origins of family firm Aaron Hildick Ltd.
Aaron Hildick Ltd was based in Sheffield, the family had moved there from
Robert took over the firm when Aaron died in the late 1800’s although I have not yet found his date of death. The firm seems to have passed down this line through Roberts family, principally to Ernest Thornton, husband of his daughter Beatrice. Ernest died in 1940 and was sold to another company at the end of WW2. The firm produced very high quality blades for woodworking under the brand name “Diamic”, a name which exists today. The company was allied to Henry Taylor Ltd in 1948 and in 1974 the company became Henry Taylor Ltd (proprietor Aaron Hildick). In 1974 it became Henry Taylor (Tools) Ltd incorporating Aaron Hildick. The company is still in business, situated on
Aarons wife Elizabeth Dukes was born in Pelsall, Staffordshire in 1797 and when she reached her century in 1897 an article was published in the Walsall Advertiser celebrating this momentous event. The article is not fully transcribed here but crucially it goes into the origins of her husband Aarons family name. The information must have come from the lady herself or one of her children. It reads:
“For nearly two centuries the Hildicks’ had been stationed there (Coal Pool, Walsall) in that trade (edge tool making), carrying their goods to
She lived to be 101. The following has been found recently and I reproduce it here as it gives an insight to the times and hints at the origins of the Hildicks in
A Remarkable Centenarian: Elizabeth HILDICK nee DUKES (1797-1899).
Elizabeth HILDICK nee DUKES was born in Pelsall, Staffordshire 13 December 1797 and was baptised at St Michael, Pelsall on the 6 January 1798 the daughter of John & Sarah DUCKES (sic). On the 29th December 1825
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DEATH OF A _____________________ MRS ELIZABETH HILDICK OF PITSMOOR. Our readers will remember that on December 14th 1897, we announced that Mrs. Elizabeth HILDICK, who was then living at Crabtree, had completed her 100th year. A year later we recorded the celebration of the old lady's 101st birthday, when she was in capital health and spirit. It now becomes our duty to record Mrs Hildick's decease, which took place on Wednesday evening at Mrs Hildick was born at Pelsall, Staffordshire on December 13th 1797. her earliest recollection was of being held up in her grandfather's arms, when four or five years of age, to see a man flogged tied to the rear of a cart in Walsall Market Place. She remembered the crowd expressing their approbation by groans and shouts. After leaving school, she went to live with her uncle at Writing last December on Mrs Hildick's 101st birthday, one of our representatives stated that with the exception of a slight deafness, which has overtaken her during the last year or two, Mrs Hildick has the use of all her faculties, and these she utilizes to the fullest extent. Her eyesight is better than enjoyed by some persons eighty years her junior, and as a proof, she proudly shows to visitors different shawls she has knitted without the aid of spectacles only a few months ago, and delicate book-marks which she has clipped into pretty shapes with scissors. A short time ago she made a large patch-work bed quilt, which is a model of neatness and skill. if her physical strength permitted she would still ------- worker, for she detests idleness. In her younger days she was full of energy, not selfish energy, but energy which was exercised for the benefit of all who sought her assistance, and the hard work which she accomplished, instead of wearing her out seems to have had the reverse effect and to have given her a store of strength to keep her going in her old age. Even now she hastens to be of service in the house, but her relatives not daring to trust her necessarily feeble hands with work of any magnitude, humour her in small ways and allow her to perform unimportant duties, the accomplishment of which afford the centenarian the greatest pleasure. That she has full possession of her senses is evident when she plays a game at cards, a pastime, by the way, to which she is particularly attached, but woe to her opponent or partner who makes a bad lead or plays the wrong card for Mrs Hildick is all quickness and detects the smallest breach of the rules of the game. For a centenarian Mrs Hildick is an early riser. half-past eight o'clock each morning sees her dressed and downstairs, and she retires at night promptly at ten o'clock. Her habits are extremely systematic, and she is the very essence of regularity. To these two qualities those who know her well attribute her longevity. She has always been very temperate in all things, and has not, like many other old ladies, taken either to the habit of smoking or snuff taking. She still writes a legible hand, and can read without employing glasses. Of late she has not walked out so frequently as before. When she celebrated her centenary a year ago she rode in the 'bus' as far as _______________________ Published with the kind permission of Mr Brian Hildick. |
Pat Mangwana who descends from this branch of the family has obtained a photo album with pictures of Elizabeth Hildick and her family.
Elizabeth Hildick (nee Dukes) c 1898
Aaron and Sarah (Bayley)Hildick
I have many more details of this branch of the family coutesy of Pat Mangwana and the
Back to the main line of our family:
Thomas Hildike died in early 1738.
In his will* of that date he left 4 houses in
Nothing is known of Roberts childhood but he is recorded as having inherited his fathers business as a smith and edge tool maker at Coalpool,
On 23rd June 1717 he married Dorothy Latchford, also from Walsall, at St Matthew's Church in
William b1719 c 16/1/1720 Tettenhall
Sarah b1721 c 26/1/1720 Tettenhall
Robert b1723 c 4/8/1723 “
John b1726 c 17/4/1723 “ d 1738
Moses b1728 c 30/7/1728 “
Joseph b1732 c 25/1/1732 “
Cordelia b1733 c 26/12/1733 “
Hannah b1736 c 28/12/1723 “
All of the children were christened in Tettenhall, Staffordshire, a small town some 5 miles from
Robert Hildike died in 1737.
(* The eldest son Thomas had a son Joseph. His son Moses b1778 was the first Hildick to live in Lapworth, as is more fully described later.)
Up until now all records show the name Hildike but with the next generation the name is shown as Hildick.
Joseph Hildick, as he is next recorded, married Elizabeth Spencer on 3rd September 1757 in Kingsbury, Warwickshire.
(This is a very large parish in area, and the village stretches along the
It is likely that
Of the three children , one, a son, died in infancy.
Joseph b 1759 c 24/2/1759 d 18/1/1761 (d=died) Kingsbury
Joseph b 1765 c 18/12/1765 Kingsbury
Francis b 1767 c 30/11/1767 Kingsbury
[Martha was a cousin of Francis, her family being based at Rushall, Staffordshire. She was christened on 9/11/1760 at Rushall, at the parish church. Her father was John Hildick and her grandfather Aaron was brother to Robert (1698). There has been some doubt about this link but the only other Martha Hildick b 1760 possible, daughter of Thomas Hildick b 1728, and also son of Aaron 1705, has been disproved by the discovery of her marriage to a William Jackson in 1784. My thanks to Brian Hildick for this link and to Pat Mangwana for the family information on another Martha b 1783 who could not have married either due to her age.]
All of Francis and Martha's children were christened at Rushall so they obviously lived there. Francis was recorded as being a retired file manufacturer in Whites Trade Directory of 1834 when he was 67.
Their 10 children were:
John b1792 c 25/11/1792
Thomas* b1794 c 28/12/1792
Martha b1798 c 12/8/1798
Joseph***** b1800 c 20/7/1800
William** b1802 c 13/10/1802
Benjamin b1805 c 28/4/1805
Francis Spencer*** b 23/11/1807 c 20/12/07 d 1873
Lucy b1810 c 8/2/1810
Robert **** b1812 c 25/10/1812
Of these children, details of some have included below.
Thomas* married Eleanor Healey and had 8 children. He became a furniture manufacturer. One of his children, Alfred Healey Hildick, emigrated to the
[Peter Hildick-Smith in New York reports: “In the US, there was a brand of "Apple Jack" (apple brandy) being distilled in New Jersey as recently as the 1970's, known as Hildick's Apple Jack, we used to have a bottle of it, now lost, don't believe they are in business. There was also a Hildick working at GE when I was an SVP there, but he did not respond to an email query about his family background.]
The Apple Brandy was made by Walter H Hildick Co of 265
Recently I have had contact with Patricia Maxson, an MD from
Francis James Hildick b1868
Thomas Henry Hildick b1871
Walter Heeley Hildick b1876
(The two girls, making up the 5 were Eleanor b1879 and Clara b1880, neither are recorded as having been to the
Francis James initially settled in
Patricia Maxson writes:
“The two brothers (Walter and Francis) wrote each other every day, always having a piece of paper in the typewriter headed to each other. I have visited with my great uncle in the Battery section of
She continues:
“My Dad often mentions that my granddad designed and made every single machine in the apple cider mill. My grandfather was well known for innovation in the Central Mass community of
Francis James married Elizabeth Bexon and they had 4 children.
Francis George 1892-1970
Eleanor 1894-1960
Dorothy 1896-1988
Walter Edmund 1906
Walter is Patricia’s father by his marriage to Ann Follin and he is still going strong at nearly 101, a retired chemist and scientist.
Patricia says of her father:
“My dad was Vice President of the Textron Corporation when I was a small child. During WW2 he worked on parachute lines. One of my first toys was a parachute teddy bear compliments of Dad. His degree is from MIT in 1928 in chemical engineering. I feel there is a strong 3D ability going through the family and that is well used in engineering and medicine. My dad was so good at 3D thinking he was used to standardize a famous aptitude test called the Wiggly Block invented by Johnson O'Connor. This is the essential aptitude for both engineering and medicine. I see it going from him to me to my daughter Kate. I think his Dad Francis J. had it as well.”
Carol Button from
She writes:
“Walter H. Hildick had a son Walter H. Hildick, Jr., who is my grandfather. Hildick Brandy evolved into Sterling Cider, Co. (owned/run by my grandfather in
http://cidermillrunsterling.com/
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My grandfather ended up with Alzheimer’s disease and eventually could no longer run the company. My father (William Kenneth Hildick) and his brother (Alan Hildick) decided to sell the company rather than take it over in the 80’s. When the new owners took over they tried to make some changes – like the taste of the apple juice, bottling design, etc., which didn’t work out so well for them. They later dissolved the company. Too bad...the apple juice was so good!
I am particularly interested in the brandy side of things as well. I have some articles I will forward. Interesting...the way I came across your site was when I was trying to do a little more research on it this past weekend. There are 4 articles that I found on Time Magazine’s website re. Distilled Liquors Corp. - Hildick Brandy (which was on the
The financial dealings are a bit of a mystery but relate to Distilled Liquors Corp, which bought the Hildick and cider plants in the mid 1930’s. I am uncertain as to whether they bought the whole lot or just created a public company. Whatever it was a man called Richard Whitney who invested heavily in the stock despite having no capital of his own and eventually was made bancrupt and was jailed for his financial mistakes. In any event the company carried on.
She also forwarded an article relating to her great grandfather which can be seen by going to the link shown here.It was published in “The Glass Container” in December 1922.
http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/collections/umarmot/g.htm
The article does give a flavour of the man both as a salesman and entrepreneur.
One of Thomas* b1794s other children was Edmund Septimus Hildick 1845-1900. He became a prosperous saddle merchant in
William** became licensee of the Sir John Falstaff pub in
Francis Spencer*** died at Lapworth in disturbing circumstances, this is detailed later.
Robert**** moved to
Moore Hildick became a file and iron square manufacturer, like his father, and conducted business in
“ My Great Grandfather (Moore) Hildick had a large flour mill and he wanted my Grandfather John to take it over- but the flour upset my grandfathers chest so an iron and steel tube works was started for him”
Joseph Moore b1823 c 15/10/1823
John b1825 c 31/3/1825
Sarah b1826 c 1/1/1827
Martha b1841 (This not proven but comes from a source through Genesreunited.)
The following has again been found recently and refers to the iron businesses in
From: 'Walsall: Economic history', A History of the
Monas letter continues:
John Hildick married Jessie Isabella Torrance in Douglas,
I have done a little more research into the
Gavin Torrance was born in
Gavin b1810 d1917 buried at Bradden, IOM but born in
Gilbert b1812 d 1858
Joseph Alexander b1815 d1894
Jessie Isabella b1821 d1903 married John Hildick
Christian Ann b1812 d1852 unmarried
Maria Martha b1826 no other records found
Helen Martha b1826 no other records found
Jane b1831 d1904 poss marriage 1858
In 1841 Gavin and his family were living at
http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/famhist/v10n3.htm
The Quay on the Castle side was known as the Castle Quay, and the Quay on the other side as the Irish Quay. There were three warehouses on this quay, two of them having been demolished The remaining building is known as the Umber House, for the following reason. It was used by a Mr. Torrance, a ship's chandler and provision dealer, who carried on his business at the Fleetwood Corner on the North Quay at
And from Thwaites 1863 Commercial directory
To Glasgow, The Christiana and William, every three weeks; G. Torrance & Co., owners
To London, The Bessie, during the summer months; G. Torrance & Co., owners
Also from the first souce comes: http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/pb1925/text.htm
Jessie obviously moved to Walsall soon after as John was successful in building up the factory and grocery business and set up a shop at 60/61, Stafford Street , Walsall as noted in Whites Directory for 1854. Later on he seems also to have inherited the file business either from his brothers or father and he became a respected member of the
Grandfather had a cousin who was a farmer and lived at Gospel Oak Farm-Lapworth-Warwickshire-when he died he left the farm to Grandfather(John). The house was a very old farm house so it was pulled down and rebuilt-it is there today. When he died in 1895 grandmother still lived there until she died 10 years later. Uncle John then went to live there and Aunt Mary and the three boys. When Uncle John and Aunt Mary had both died the house and farm were sold. Uncle Gavin died on his 21st birthday from typhoid which he got from the milk-I believe he was a very nice young man- Mother was very fond of him and often talked about him-that is why your father* is called Gavin. (*This is Monas brother Gavin b 1884)”
John and Jessie had four children.
Jessie Elizabeth b1853 c 28/10/1853 St Mathews Walsall
Sarah b 8/3/1855 c 4/4/1855 St Mathews
John* b1857 inherited Gospel Oak Farm , Lapworth
Gavin b1860 d1881
There is a minor mystery in the 1861 Census. The family were living 61,
By the 1881 Census, the family were living in
John* Hildick (Uncle John in Monas letter) who inherited Gospel Oak from Jessie, was born in 1857 in
He married Mary Jane Howard Smith (b1855). She was Frederick Charles Smiths' sister. (
The officiated vicar was Frederick Smith, Mary Janes uncle. (See The Smith family pages for more details.)A new contact made with Greta (Hildick) Morley, who was Mona Hildick-Smiths god-daughter has now established that they had three boys. In 1901 they were living 33, Lysways St,
Lapworth and the Hildicks.
How the Hildick family became involved with Lapworth is worth documenting at this point as the story is related in a book called “A Portrait of Lapworth” written by Joy Woodall and although I have not yet managed to definitely identify the original land owners with those Hildicks I have already described, the tale is an interesting one.
According to transaction records much land in the Lapworth area came into the possession of the Hildick family in 1792. It was then that 2 members of the family bought farms and land as an investment. These were Robert Hildick, a box iron manafacturer from Wolverhampton and Benjamin Hildick, a metal toy maker from
The two bought substantial lands in the Lapworth area including Brome Hall (later described as Broomham Farm) and Gospel Oak Farm. These were initially let out to various tenants and their holdings grew as a result of further purchases and additional “free” allocations of common land under the Enclosure Acts of the early 1800’s where land was allocated to existing land owners pro rata.
The first recorded Hildick to take up residence was one Moses Hildick in 1814 who took over the running of the holdings on behalf of Robert and Benjamin and lived at Brome Hall. Moses b 1778 was the son of Joseph, who was (I think) Roberts brother and therefore Roberts nephew.
In 1824 Moses married a cousin, Martha Hildick (1801). Martha was the daughter of Francis (1767) and Martha Hildick(1760). (You may recall that Francis and Martha were also cousins, it seems that the Hildicks liked to keep it in the family!)
Together they ran the all the Hildick holdings.
In 1824 he married a cousin Martha Hildick, not yet definitely identified, and together they ran the all the Hildick holdings.
They had two children, Benjamin b 1830 d 1867 and Joseph Robert b 1833.
When Joseph Robert was only one, his father Moses was killed in a stagecoach accident in 1834. At about the same time Benjamin Senior (one of the original landowners) also died and in the absence of Robert, who may have been dead by then, Martha apparently took over the running of the family farms. I have a copy of Moses will but all his goods were left to Martha, no other family are mentioned. One of the executors was Joseph Parsons, is this the same man who in 1873 shot and killed another member of the Hildick family? See later for details.
Martha disliked Brome Hall and rented it out in the mid 1840’s and moved to Gospel Oak Farm. The original very old Gospel Oak farmhouse was not to her liking either and this was pulled down and rebuilt although the precise date is unknown.
A recently obtained copy of the 1861 Census lists the following:
Martha Hildick Widow 60 Farming 130 acres with 4 men and 1 boy
Benjamin Son 31
Joseph Son 27
Elizabeth Hildick Niece 14 Born
Frances Hildick Nephew 6 Born
Henry Parsons Servant 33 Born Warwick A carter
It seems that Elizabeth and Frances were children of two of Martha Hildicks brothers, respectively Benjamin (b1805) and William (b1802). (Their father and mother Francis and Martha had 10 children.)
Henry Parsons may have been related to the infamous Joseph.
Also on the same record a widow, Mary Hildick, 59 (nee Lea) was living with her widowed mother Sara Lea, 89, at The Punch Bowl Inn, Lapworth. As yet the family connection is unknown.
Martha Hildick died in June 1867 aged 69. The cause of death was the “dropsy”, a term used for retention of fluids in the body.
Her younger son Benjamin also died on 5th June 1867, the entry of his death in the official records is on the same page as his mothers. He died from diabetes and bronchitis, and his death was reported by Francis Spencer Hildick.
Her other son Joseph Robert inherited and was living at Gospel Oak on his own in the 1871 census records.It was he that dedicated a window in St Marys Church in Lapworth to Martha, his mother and Benjamin, his brother.
Soon after, Brome Hall was sold and on Joseph Roberts death, in December 1877, aged only 45, the farm at Gospel Oak was passed to John Hildick (b1825) who was my great-great grandfather.
John lived at Gospel Oak with his family until his death on 9th March1895, his widow Jessie Isabella continued to live there until passing it on to their son John b 1857 at her death on 11th April 1903 aged 82. Both are buried at St Marys in Lapworth.
Their son John married Mary Jane Howard Smith, his sister-in-law, in 1884 and they had three sons:
Howard (1885),
Howard took over the family steel firm after his fathers death and in 1923 married Winifred Mary Evans at Chessetts Wood,
Mary (Joyce) b 1926
Margaret (Greta) b 1929 (Mona Hildick-Smith was her Godmother)
John died in 1912 and the business was carried on by his eldest son Howard. Greta reports that for a long time Mary (Joyce) worked for her father at the company and it is hoped that in the future she may be able to fill in details about the firm.
Greta has kindly supplied the photograph below which is the only one I have showing the majority of the Hildick, Smith and Hildick-Smith family, although there are some faces that need to be definitely identified.
Standing L-R: John Hildick 1857, poss ? Alan Hildick 1889 ,Ida H-S 1888, Douglas Hildick (Johns son) 1887,Mona H-S 1892, Howard Hildick 1885, unknown lady, poss Fredk "Atwood" Hildick-Smith 1889
Sitting middle L-R: Jessie H-S 1885, Frederick Smith 1858, Mary Jane Howard Hildick (nee Smith,
Front L-R: John Norman H-S 1894, Joseph Don H-S 1895, Dorothy H-S 1890.
The gaps and uncertainties:
1. The fact that Frederick Smith reportedly had deserted his family in 1901 or 1902
2. Alan Hildick bears an uncanny resemblance to Attwood H-S
3. There is one H-S “missing”, probably Gavin who may already have gone to
Records from the church in Lapworth shows that Mary Jane was buried there, date as yet unknown. The farm was sold on his death and family comnnections to Lapworth seemed to have ceased. Incidentally at the time of the 1891 census Frederick and Sarah (Hildick) Smith were staying with John Hildick at Gospel Oak.
Other members of the Hildick family have also lived in Lapworth although the only definite link was one Francis Spencer Hildick b1807. He was the son of Francis b1767 and Martha Hildick, their son Moore is the direct link to our family.
He initially lived at Common Farm,
By all accounts they were an eccentric pair and when the farm was sold they moved together to firstly, The Bird in Hand Beer House, Lapworth (in the 1861 Census Joseph was recorded as a butcher and Francis a farmer of 50 acres) and then to a small house called Grove Cottage.
According to the writings of Sir Robert Arundel Hudson in “Memorials of a Warwickshire Parish” published in 1904:
The death certificate confirms the murder took place at Kingswood on 22/7/1873, an inquest was held in Warwick on 26/7/1873 to confirm this.