Phoebe Berry Hall, pictured above, was the wife of Allan Hughan. She was from Cambridgeshire, and her own family story prior to meeting Allan was a very interesting one.
Born in Cambridge in 1829, Phoebe's parents were William Hall, who was the brewer for Trinity College, Cambridge, and Charlotte Prior. William and Charlotte had married on December 2, 1819. The parish records of Holy Trinity, Cambridge, where they married, stated that William Hall was of St. Sepulchre, Cambridge, and that Charlotte Prior was "of this parish". Witnesses to the marriage were Henry Hall and Sarah Anderson.
Phoebe was baptised when she was five months old, at St. Giles Church, Cambridge.Her siblings were Catherine Prior Hall, baptised in 1822; Thomas Prior Hall baptised 1823; Alfred Hall baptised 1826; Edward Hall baptised 1828 and Frederick Hall, baptised and buried 1832.
The 1841 census for Cambridge had the following information:
William Hall, aged 48, brewer, born in county.
Charlotte Hall, aged 48, born in county
Kate Hall, aged 18, born in county
Alfred Hall aged 14, born in county
Phoebe Hall, aged 12, born in county.
Thomas is missing from the family home because at this time he was away in Yorkshire, apprenticed to Isaac Newton, Doctor. Thomas was 17 years old, and living in the Newton's home in High Street, Knaresborough. The household consisted of Dr. Isaac Newton, aged 35, his 30 year old wife Elizabeth, 74 year old father Isaac, and six children( and, of course, four servants).
By 1851, the Hall family has scattered. Elder daughter Kate had married Richard Deodatus Poulett Harris on June 25, 1844.The 1851 census saw Kate and her family at their family home in Lee, Kent:
Richard D.P Harris, head, aged 33, clergyman B.A.,??? teacher
Catherine P. Harris, wife, aged 28, born Cambridge
Georgiana P. Harris, daughter, aged 6
Catherine P. Harris, daughter, aged 3
Charlotte M.P. Harris, daughter, aged 1/3.
Alfred Hall, brother-in-law, aged 25, B.A mathematical teacher, born Cambridge.
Also in the household were eight male pupils aged between 10 and 16 years.
Thomas Prior Hall in 1851 was at East Bergholt, Suffolk, visiting the household of 33 year old grocer and draper, Joseph Bruce. Thomas's occupation was given as "Graduate London University", and his age as 27.
Phoebe Berry Hall was In Lambeth, aged 23, and working as a governess for the family of Joseph Maudsley and his wife Anna. Phoebe's charges were 11 year old Herbert; Isabell aged 9; Clara Rose 7; Walter 6; Athol 5; Charles 3 and Alfred Percival 1. As well as Phoebe, there was also five house servants and a footman working for the Maudsleys.
The Maudsley family were very famous in the world of engineering. Joseph's father was Henry Maudsley (1771-1831), whose most famous invention was the slide rest lathe, considered to be the most important invention in the history of machine tools.Henry formed a company called Maudsley & Fielding, making all types of machinery and engines. Henry's son Joseph was also considered a brilliant engineer, and patented many inventions.
It is not known how long Phoebe Hall stayed in the employ of the Maudsley family. Her family dynamic was about to change greatly in the middle years of the 1850s...her sister Catherine died in 1856 at the age of 33, leaving six young children without a mother;brother Thomas Prior Hall, now a qualified surgeon, contracted tuberculosis, and with his wife sailed to the warmer climes of Australia to recover;and Catherine's husband also left for Australia, taking three of the children and leaving the other three in the care of his family.
Following is a very brief outline on the lives of Phoebe Berry Hall's siblings:
1. Catherine 'Kate' Prior Hall: married Richard Deodatus Harris in 1844 and had four daughters and two sons.She died on June 27, 1856, and five months later her husband sailed for Hobart.The ship Mercia left for Australia on December 13, 1856, and arrived at Tasmania on March 17, 1857.The Hobart Town Mercury reports "Mercia, ship from London on 13th December.Passengers Richard Harris and Miss Charlotte and Masters Richard and Lovell Harris."
A descendant of Kate Hall and Richard Harris, Rory Cunningham, was kind enough to supply the following information about his Hall/Harris family:
"Of Catherine's six children I lay out below most of what I know.
First off on Georgiana Poulett (1845-1919). I have the following account of her life:
"When her father left for Tasmania, she and her sisters were left with their aunts at Clifton to finish their schooling, but then followed their father to Hobart. She opened a small private school in Kew, but within two years disposed of it to take up her position as first Lady Principal at Christchurch Girls' High School.
She was appointed on July 2nd, 1877, at a salary of £400 per annum, with £50 house allowance, and a bonus of five shillings per annum on account of each pupil. Her duties were to commence on September 12th, five days only before the actual opening of the School. She was chosen out of fifty-seven applicants, and had strong recommendations for the position from Hobart, where she was well known.
Her age at the time of her appointment was in the early thirties, though to the eyes of her pupils she appeared older. She was of middle height, with somewhat large features, a sallow complexion and dark hair. A little mannerism - what it was is forgotten - gave her an unforgettable personality; she was a woman of genuine character, and a lady in feeling as well as in up-bringing.
In addition, she, a stranger in a strange land, had the entire responsibility of bringing up a family of three young children, a girl and two boys, none of them at that time of a robust type, and her own health was not good. She faced her difficulties bravely; she was always actively busy; one never thought of her as resting, and she was often at School and teaching when obviously suffering from a severe nervous headache. To the large majority of her pupils she was an active and ever-occupied general manager rather than a successful teacher or personal guide. They learnt to respect her office, and the conscientious manner in which she carried out its obligations; but their affections were distributed among the staff teachers rather than centred on the Head.
Her limited spare time she devoted to her children. Under other circumstances she would probably have been found a genial woman; as it was she took little part in the social life of the city, made few acquaintances, and no close friendships. However on Saturday afternoons she invited girls of the Upper Classes to a Reading Circle at her home, mostly to read Shakespeare, and at its conclusion gave them tea.
In April 1882 she asked for leave-of-absence due to increasing ill-health, and in September she resigned her position, and she went with her family to England, where she resided for the rest of her life, with the exception of some time in Germany, and a few years spent in Mitylene as companion to a Princess.
On returning again to England she lived quietly in the country at Bognor, and afterwards at Horsham, in Sussex, devoting much of her time to her three granddaughters, in whose society she found her greatest pleasure. Her health failing, her last move was to her daughter's home in Sutton, Surrey."
Katharine Poulett Harris(1847-1940): Katharine married at Hobart in 1867, had four children and was at Launceston in 1927.
Charlotte Maria Poulett (1850-1941) She became of unsound mind & was committed to an institution in February 1872- presumably the asylum at New Norfolk (Lachlan Park Hospital) where she died on June 15, 1941.
Annie Louisa Poulett Harris (b. 1853) Is shown in the 1891 census as a music teacher in London (not far from where their parents had lived). Unfortunately I know no more about her. She died in 1922.
Richard Deodatus Poulett Harris(1854-1859) died young, in Hobart, of severe burns.
Lovell Andrews Poulett (b. 1856) married in North Carlton,Victoria, in 1887 and worked for the Education Department, Melbourne. He had four children, none of whom I think had children of their own. Lovell died in 1929."
Source: Rory Cunningham, descendant of Georgiana Poulett Harris.
THOMAS PRIOR HALL:second child of William Hall and Charlotte Prior, baptised Cambridge 1823.
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