ELIZA HOLT
Subject Name : Eliza Holt née Garrett (b ca1810 – d1881)
Researchers : Jo Patrick and Mike Brock
Eliza Holt née Garrett’s origins are shrouded in doubt. Census records indicate that she was born in Surrey in about 1810, but the three successive Censuses from 1851 to 1871 give her birthplace as Reigate, Tooting and Godalming respectively (1,2,3). There are no records from any of those three areas showing the birth of an Eliza Garrett, but one possible clue to her parentage is in the 1881 Census (4). Eliza, 71, was in the Guildford Union Workhouse with her name in the list of inmates written alongside that of William Garrett, 66, who was the illegitimate child of Elizabeth Garrett and born in the Guildford Union in 1814 (5). Could therefore Eliza be his older sister or half-sister?
The first definitive record of her is as spinster Eliza Garrett, marrying bachelor Benjamin Holt on 25th January 1834 in St Peter & Paul Church, Godalming, with both noted as being of that parish. Eliza signed the certificate while Benjamin just made “his mark” (6).
Over five years later their only child, Ann, was born on 27th August 1839 in Godalming (7). Benjamin was noted as a labourer on the birth certificate. On Ann’s baptism record a few weeks later on 11th October at the St Peter & Paul Church, the family’s address was given as Mead Row (8).
Life was a struggle for the family. An entry in the Guildford Poor Law minute books for 13th March 1841 showed that they would be receiving “2 shillings (10p) and 4 loaves for 2 weeks” as “able-bodied outdoor relief cases” (9). This meant that they were living in their own accommodation and not in the Guildford Union Workhouse as this would have been termed as “indoor relief”.
The Census less than three months later in June 1841 gave their address as Lone Barn, Godalming, a short distance from Mead Row (10). Eliza was age 30, Benjamin a 30-year-old labourer (actually somewhat older, having been baptised in 1806 (11)), and daughter Ann age one.
There were no further entries in the Poor Law minute books concerning the family, so it would seem that their circumstances did improve. In the 1851 Census they were still living in Godalming (1). Eliza was 41, Benjamin a 44-year-old farmer’s labourer, and Ann 12.
On Christmas Day 1857, Eliza’s daughter Ann married Alfred Court, a groundsman, in Godalming (12). The marriage certificate incorrectly showed Ann to be 19 as she was actually a year younger. Ann signed her name, so Eliza and Benjamin had clearly made sure Ann had received some education. Schooling was not made compulsory in the UK until the Education Act was passed in 1870.
In the 1861 Census, Eliza (51) and Benjamin (58), a “jobbing labourer”, were living in Mill Lane, Godalming. Their three-year-old grandson Alfred Court had the rare honour of making two appearances in the Census, as he was both noted being with them as well as at his parents’ house at The Mint, just a minute’s walk from his grandparents (2, 13). Eliza and Benjamin also had a boarder, Elizabeth Wait, a 92-year-old widow who was on parish relief.
As Benjamin turned 60, it became clear that his ability to work was waning. The Guildford Poor Law Half-Yearly Accounts showed that he was receiving outdoor poor relief due to “infirmity” or being “partially disabled” from 1864 to 1867 (14). Despite this assistance, he was struggling to keep himself and Eliza fed, as in February 1866, he was charged with stealing swede greens worth sixpence (2 ½ pence) from a farmer’s field in Godalming (15). In court, 64-year-old Benjamin pleaded “downright want” so the Bench decided to release him with a caution.
Just two months later, Eliza and Benjamin’s daughter Ann passed away at 26 years of age leaving her husband Alfred with three children under the age of eight to care for (16). She was buried at Godalming’s Nightingale Cemetery on 4th May 1866 (17).
By 1868, Benjamin’s health had deteriorated further, so he was forced to go into the Guildford Union Workhouse for periods of time, which became permanent the following year (18).
Eliza also spent 12 days in the Guildford Union in 1868, and after receiving outdoor relief for “debility” about a year later, the Poor Law Half-Yearly Accounts show that she spent almost half of the year from the end of September 1870 in the Guildford Union (19).
At the time of the 1871 Census on 2nd April, Eliza, age 60, was not in the Guildford Union but was lodging at the White Hart Inn in Godalming’s High Street (3). Benjamin, now 69, had remained in the Guildford Union, but somewhat surprisingly was noted as a bricklayer’s labourer (20). He passed away in the Workhouse less than a year later on 21st February 1872 from “age” (21), and was buried in the Nightingale Cemetery, Godalming (22).
There are no records to show what became of Eliza in the next few years, but it seems very likely that she would have moved into the Guildford Union permanently well before the 1881 Census which noted her there as a 71-year-old widow and domestic servant (4). She died in the Guildford Union on 28th July 1881 from “decay of age” and, like her husband and daughter, was laid to rest in the Nightingale Cemetery (23, 24).
September 2022
References
1. ‘Benjamin, Eliza, Ann Holt’ (1851) England Census return for Godalming, Guildford, Class HO107; Piece 1594; Folio 762; p28. Ancestry.co.uk
2. ‘Benjamin Holt, Eliza Holt, Elizabeth Wait, Alfred Court’ (1861) England Census return for Godalming, Guildford, Class RG 9; Piece 429; Folio 90; p57. Ancestry.co.uk
3. ‘Eliza Holt’ (1871) England Census return for Godalming, Guildford, Class RG 10; Piece 815; Folio 18; p29. Ancestry.co.uk
4. ‘Eliza Holt’ (1881) England Census return for Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Class RG 11; Piece 778; Folio 90; p2. Ancestry.co.uk
5. ‘William Garrett’ (1814) Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey England. Surrey Church of England Parish Baptism Registers, Godalming, St Peter & St Paul, 1813-1833, Ref GOD/4/1,
page 13. Ancestry.co.uk
6. ‘Benjamin Holt & Eliza Garrett’ (1834) Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey England. Surrey Church of England Marriages and Banns, Godalming, St Peter & St Paul, 1813-1837, Ref GOD/2/3, page 213. Ancestry.co.uk
7. ‘Ann Holt’ (1839) England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915. Jul-Aug-Sep Quarter 1839; Guildford; vol 04; p147. Mother Garrett. Ancestry.co.uk
Original available from General Register Office gro.gov.uk
8. ‘Ann Holt’ (1839) Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey England. Surrey Church of England Parish Baptism Registers, Godalming, St Peter & St Paul, 1833-1877, Ref GOD/4/2, page 88. Ancestry.co.uk
9. ‘Benjamin Holt’ (13 March 1841) Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey England. Guildford Poor Law Union Minute Book, BG6/11/3 Page 294.
10. ‘Benjamin, Eliza, Ann Holt’ (1841) England Census return for Godalming, Guildford, Class HO 107; Piece 1073; Folio 25; p45. Ancestry.co.uk
11. ‘Benjamin Holt’ (1806) Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey England. Surrey Church of England Parish Baptism Registers, Godalming, St Peter & St Paul, 1793-1812, Ref GOD/1/5. Ancestry.co.uk
12. ‘Alfred Court & Ann Holt’ (1857) Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey England. Surrey Church of England Marriages and Banns, Godalming, St Peter & St Paul, 1851-1875, Ref GOD/2/5, page 89. Ancestry.co.uk
13. ‘Alfred, Ann, Alfred J, Maria Court’ (1861) England Census return for Godalming, Guildford, Class RG 9; Piece 429; Folio 82; p39. Ancestry.co.uk
14. ‘Benjamin Holt of Godalming’ Surrey History Centre, Guildford Poor Law Half Yearly Accounts, 1864-1871, BG6/33/1. Half Year Ended Lady Day 1864, page 18; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1864 page 16; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1865, page 16; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1865, page 16; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1866, page 15; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1867, page 18.
15. ‘County Bench. Stealing Swede Greens’ The Surrey Advertiser, Saturday 10 February 1866, page 2. FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
16. ‘Alfred James Court’ (1858) England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915. Apr-May-Jun Quarter 1858; Guildford; vol 2a; p51; mother Holt
‘Maria Court’ (1860) England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915. Oct-Nov-Dec Quarter 1860; Guildford; vol 2a; p62; mother Holt
‘Maria Court’ (1863) England and Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915. Jan-Feb-Mar Quarter 1863; Guildford; vol 2a; p45
‘Emily Eliza Court’ (1863) England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915. Jul-Aug-Sep Quarter 1863; Guildford; vol 2a; p63; mother Holt
‘Frederick Court’ (1865) England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915. Oct-Nov-Dec Quarter 1865; Guildford; vol 2a; p59; mother Holt
General Register Office gro.gov.uk
17. ‘Anne Court’ (1866) Burial, Nightingale Cemetery record book N1/0663, page 34. Godalming-tc.gov.uk/burial-records
18. ‘Benjamin Holt of Godalming’ Surrey History Centre, Guildford Poor Law Half Yearly Accounts, 1864-1871, BG6/33/1. Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1868 page 10; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1869, page 10; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1869, page 9; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1870, page 9; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1870, page 9; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1871, page 9; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1871, page 9.
19. ‘Eliza Holt of Godalming’ Surrey History Centre, Guildford Poor Law Half Yearly Accounts, 1864-1871, BG6/33/1. Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1868 page 10; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1869, page 10; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1869, page 9; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1870, page 9; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1870, page 9; Half Year Ended Lady Day 1871, page 9; Half Year Ended Michaelmas 1871, page 9.
20. ‘Benjamin Holt’ (1871) England Census return for Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke-next-Guildford, Guildford, Class RG 10; Piece 813; Folio 78; p2. Ancestry.co.uk
21. ‘Benjamin Holt’ (1872) England and Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915. Jan-Feb-Mar Quarter 1872; Guildford; vol 2a; p43. Ancestry.co.uk
Original available from General Register Office gro.gov.uk
22. ‘Benjamin Holt’ (1872) Burial, Nightingale Cemetery record book N2/1902, page 4. Godalming-tc.gov.uk/burial-records
23. ‘Eliza Holt’ (1881) England and Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915. Jul-Aug-Sep Quarter 1881; Guildford; vol 2a; p44. Ancestry.co.uk
Original available from General Register Office gro.gov.uk
24. ‘Eliza Holt’ (1881) Burial, Nightingale Cemetery record book N2/2027, page 51. Godalming-tc.gov.uk/burial-records