View Full Version : Lillie Langtry
Olde Crone
02-12-09, 19:52
No, not that one, another one!
I have this in a book about the Parish of Gawsworth in Cheshire (St James, parish church) describing all the stained glass windows:
"The next window to the West has the following inscription:
'To the Glory of God and in loving memory of William Donald Lawton, who died May 22nd 1931 AD, aged 9 years'
This window is dedicated by Lillie Langtry (Miss Langtry, now Mrs Steel, lives in Macclesfield)".
The book was written in 1957.
I am intrigued as all Lawtons in Gawsworth are related to me. I cannot find a Langtry marrying a Steel and I cannot find any Lawton/Langtry/Steel marriage at all. Young William's mother's maiden name was Hanna and I can't find anything if I add that to the combination. I cannot find the birth of a Lillie Langtry either!
If anyone is at a loose end........William Donald Lawton's father was Lincoln Lawton. I no longer have access to Ancestry which is why I am not looking myself! I would love to know also who this other Lillie Langtry is.
Thankyou in advance.
OC
Can't find anyhting obvious, OC.
There is a marriage between Martha Lawton and Arthur Steel 1947, Leeds.
Another Lilian Steel and Stanley LAYDON 1942, Durham.
At a pinch the Laydon could be Lawton...lol Can't see the original of course.
Nothing else seems to fit the dates. I wonder if Lillie was godmother???
samesizedfeet
02-12-09, 20:11
I got all excited then as I have a connection to the other Lillie Langtry
Olde Crone
02-12-09, 20:19
Oooh, I never thought of godmother, silly me.
(One wonders though, why someone would call their child Lillie Langtry???)
OC
I can see this is goin to drive me to distraction!
Maybe Miss L's first name wasn't really Lillie, but she became known as that because of her surname, like my father's first wife who was called Gloria because her maiden name was Swanson, but her real first name was completely different. Then we only need Miss L to have married to a Mr 'something associated with metal', but her new husband was actually Mr Cutler, or something, and she instantly becomes untraceable!
There, now I don't need to try and find her :D
*****quickly crosses Merry off my Chrissie card list******
Olde Crone
03-12-09, 10:28
Merry
If you didn't want to play, wouldn't it have been easier just not to answer my post???!!!
But you are right. Thankyou. I think.
OC
If you didn't want to play....
But I did play for ages last night, but she was being mean and not revealing herself!
If I had oodles of money, I would be looking at the little boy's death cert, seeing if there were a report in the paper of the death or burial, just in case Miss Langtry was mentioned.
If I had access to Ancestry, I would also be looking at telephone directories for Macclesfield c 1950s. Anyone who paid for a stained glass window had to be worth a few bob.
Memorials are usually put up by the grieving relations, with that relationship stated, so the boy himself or the manner of his death must have been something special. And were there any Langtrys in the directories in the 1930s?
If I had access to Ancestry, I would also be looking at telephone directories for Macclesfield c 1950s. Anyone who paid for a stained glass window had to be worth a few bob.
And were there any Langtrys in the directories in the 1930s?
Tried those yesterday without any luck.
Mary from Italy
03-12-09, 12:18
This is the nearest possibility I can find:
Births Sep 1903
Langley Beatrice Lily Nantwich 8a 357
Marriage
Beatrice L Langley / Percy Steele Oct-Nov-Dec 1923 Nantwich Cheshire
but I guess the marriage is too early for it to be the right person.
Mary from Italy
03-12-09, 12:31
Macclesfield phone book, 1937:
Steele Manufacturing (Gowns & Blouses) Co. Ltd., Brook St.
Macclesfield phone book, 1962:
- EBD Steel, Higher Beech Cottage, Manchester Road.
- AC Steele, 59 Ecton Ave.
- AC Steele (elec., TV and radio). 6 Church St.
- L Steele, 41 Coare St.
Her death is onAncestry, but I can't tell which year she died. I would have thought someone paying for a window would have been older, though (and not using her maiden name)
Mary from Italy
03-12-09, 13:16
Death:
Beatrice Lily Steele 1903 Q2-Apr-May-Jun 1978 Congleton & Crewe Cheshire
There's a death on Ancestry for Lillie Steele aged 74, Q/E June 1951, Wirral, Cheshire. Vol 10a page 722
Olde Crone
03-12-09, 18:25
Thankyou everyone - I haven't been ignoring you, I lost my connection about noon and went off out for the afternoon instead!
Yes, that's what I was thinking - a stained glass window costs a few bob and you would have to be fairly well involved with the family to do such a thing, I would have thought.
Apparently all the mediaeval glass windows in the church were destroyed in 1851 by the incumbent at the time, who wanted a new, "purer" religion. Some of it was priceless...and some of it found its way into the Rectory and private homes in the area!
I think I may write to the church and see if they can throw any light on this - it is starting to irritate me, lol! If the name should be Langley and not Langtry, it wouldn't be the first spelling mistake in this book, I have to say.
OC
Erm, what social background did Lincoln Lawton have?
Olde Crone
03-12-09, 18:55
I'm not sure, Merry - although all the Lawtons in Gawsworth belong to me, lol, I cannot at this exact moment in time lay my hands on the blinky folder with them all in it!
OC
Dad, William Lawton, 44, farm bailiff in 1901.
Hi
I am new to all this but have just started on family tree and I have always been lead to believe that Lillie Langtry (from Macclesfield) was my grandmothers cousin. I googled her name and came up with this site. Can anyone help me?
Many thanks
Viv Ford
Welcome to the site Viv.
To establish a connection - if there is one - you need to start with you and work back. I assume you know your grandmother's name? Her birth cert will tell you both her parents' names and you can then look for their births. If this takes you back to 1911 you can look on the census.
The trouble with "cousins" is that people often use the term loosely and may not be meaning someone who is a child of your grandmother's immediate aunts and uncles, but maybe a child of a cousin or someone less distantly related.
For those interested in the OTHER Lillie, the "Jersey Lillie" who was Edward VII's mistress - family legend has it that one of my mother-in-law's aunts by marriage was once a lady's maid for Lillie and when aunt married, Lillie gave her a wedding dress.
garstonite
08-08-10, 12:26
Welcome to the site Viv.
To establish a connection - if there is one - you need to start with you and work back. I assume you know your grandmother's name? Her birth cert will tell you both her parents' names and you can then look for their births. If this takes you back to 1911 you can look on the census.
The trouble with "cousins" is that people often use the term loosely and may not be meaning someone who is a child of your grandmother's immediate aunts and uncles, but maybe a child of a cousin or someone less distantly related.
For those interested in the OTHER Lillie, the "Jersey Lillie" who was Edward VII's mistress - family legend has it that one of my mother-in-law's aunts by marriage was once a lady's maid for Lillie and when aunt married, Lillie gave her a wedding dress.
Ann and I lived in Jersey for a couple of years in 1972 /1974 and Lillie Langtry`s house was turned into a pub..it was a huge ¬house¬...so it would appear she was rich when she went to be Edwards mistress...maybe she was just completely in love with Edward....you know how you ladies fall completely in love...THEN YOU EAT WEDDING CAKE.....ha ha...allan:d
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