Watching Downton Abbey I remembered the letter that I had found in Laura's collection of Walker-Sharpe memorabilia. The letter is from Annie Cooke Walker Younger Croston to Betsy Sharpe Walker written December 7, 1917. Annie is Edward's sister who was four years younger than he. Also surviving is a letter from Ada to Laura remarking on how fond Betsy was of Ann and her family. In this letter from 1917 Annie writes of her children and other relatives. She had a son, Charles, and a daughter, Sarah Beatrice whom she called Beattie from her marriage to Charles Younger. From her marriage to Samuel Blakely Croston she had four daughters, Mary, Henrietta,[Etta], Isabella and Lalla.
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| Russia Hall in England drawn by Lalla Croston |
Dovedale; 9 Rockville St
Rock Ferry
Dec 7th 1917
My dear sister
We received the college syllabus
and thank you very much for sending it. We are all going on wonderfully well.
Though of course we have to pay much more for food etc and coal.
My brother is not at all well; got
a bad cold awhile ago and I think it has settled in his back (lumbago I think).
My girls are all very busy – Mary and Belle at their offices and Etta at her
teachings. Lalla, of course, is busy with her . . . . classes, painting and
dress making so her days are filled up I can assure you. Sarah and the girls
and boys are doing well. . .. . Mere are of the girls going to be married in
the spring, both marrying farmers so that will be all right for they are both
good cheese makers. Etta is now living with us – her husband is in the R.G.A.
[Royal Garrison Artillery]. We are hoping he will be able to come home for Christmas.
Beattie and her two girls are doing nicely at her farm. Muriel the eldest makes
cheese and butter. Norah is still going to school. Charlie my son is not at all
strong. He is a farmer and Leslie his eldest boy just about 16 years (has only
2 boys and Beatrice just the 2 girls) attends as well as he can to all outside.
Well dearest Bessie we all wish you
all a very Happy Christmas and we thank the Lord for all his goodness to us
and . . . Your loving sister Annie E Croston
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| This is the wedding of Annie's daughter Etta with her two sisters, Belle and Lalla and her brother Charles. As another note connecting Edward and Betsy's family to Annie's, Edna wore Etta' s veil at her wedding to Edgar in 1913. |
Annie mentions in her letter that Etta's husband is serving in the Royal Garrison Artillery. In a photograph from after the war it appears he lost his arm during that service. From another letter in Laura's collection is one between Ada and Lalla from the 1960s. Reinforcing the connection Ada named her second son Donald Croston Smith. Annie died the next October at the age of 67.
What an interesting letter, the female side of the faming community in the UK at least were assumed to be cheese ,makers if they lived in Cheshire. The county was and is famous for producing milk and making cheeses from the milk. The county is still a very big producer of milk but (I assume) the fridge means that we don't need to make so much cheese anymore and the production of cheese is now only carried out on a handful of farms in the county.
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