Bev Weston and myself through several years of research and conferring back and forth,  have been able to reach back into time and find numerous of our ancestors as can be attested to in Bev’s site: -  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6500/.

My mother, Elsie Melita and Bev’s father, Cyril Gordon, were brother and sister.  Their mother, Lucy Elizabeth Springle, married Henry Turner.  Lucy’s parents were Robert Springle and Caroline Chilvers; Caroline, daughter of George Chilvers (1813 - 1862).

We found all too often that the name Springle (as with many other researched names) was  often spelled as Springall.  The Turner’s, Springle’s and the Chilvers all had their start in the vicinity of Castle Acre, Norfolk, England.  Although they might have had ancestors that may have been non-conformists religion-wise, a lot of their history had been recorded in the Castle Acre Parish records and/or the census of their time.  With the help of pictures that had been in my mother’s keeping, along with information Bev was able to put together from many of her trips to England, we have been able to put up quite a tree.

Our great grandmother, Caroline Springle (nee Chilvers) was born 21 June 1833, Castle Acre, Norfolk, the daughter of George and Lucy Anne (nee Harvey) Chilvers.  In the 1861 census she was a cook at Abbey Farm, Castle Acre, Norfolk.

The record of Caroline’s marriage reads:  Robert Springall, w, lab of CA, s/o Wm. Springle, married Caroline Chilvers, single of Castle Acre, d/o George Chilvers, baker, 23 October 1862; he marked, she signed; witness Benjamin Chilvers also marked.

Although Robert was widowed at the time of his marriage to Caroline, he had two daughters by his first wife, Alice Bloy - Margaret and Jemima.  Previous to the 1871 census,  both these daughters had separately been looked after by relatives.  However, at the time of the 1871 census both of them were back with Robert and Caroline.

Caroline gave birth to ten children: Pauline Mary Ann, Clement George, Basima, Caroline, Lucy Elizabeth, Ellen, George, Ellen, Herbert and Amelia ... all born Castle Acre, Norfolk.
Pauline Mary Ann, (often called Polly) was born 12 April 1863 married Charles Hensby.  Pauline died 1914, Charles about 1943, both in Snettisham, Norfolk.

Clement George, born 21 March 1964, married Lizzie (?).  He was a blacksmith in the 1881 census, later becoming a policeman.  He died 11 October1929.  No issue.

Basima, born 12 March 1866, married Edward Lloyd in 1896.  She died 07 January 1930 in London, England.

Caroline, born 20 September 1867, married Harry Harris.  She died June 1954.  No issue.
 Lucy Elizabeth, born 27 February 1869, married Henry Turner.  Lucy and Henry were the only ones to come to Canada to make their livelihood.  Lucy died 26 Mar 1942 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,

Ellen, born 14 August 1870, died 27 Oct 1871, Castle Acre, Norfolk.
George Robert, born 16 November 1871, married firstly Caroline Johnson, then Florence Pitts.  George was a mechanic and died January1946.

Ellen, (Nellie) married Arthur Harrison in 1901.  She died 05 July 1937 in Reepham, Norfolk.

Herbert, born 07 November 1875, married Ada (?).  He died 31 December 1944.  He had been a grocer/hardware owner in Colchester, Norfolk.  No issue.

Amelia, born 03 March 1878, married Dan Seaman.  Amelia died 1916 and was buried in Fring, Norfolk.  We have lost track of Amelia Seaman’s descendants, and would really be pleased to hear from any of them.

Robert died 13 February 1906 and Caroline lived on until 13 June 1913.  They both passed away in Castle Acre, and thus buried there as well.

These two hard working grandparents of ours were like everyone else, they lived, had a family, lost a child, loved music, their church, passing on that devotion down the line through their children.  Grandchildren and great grandchildren alike are still alive today, impressed with their lives.  The only sadness I feel is that I was not able to know them, living in Canada all my life.  So I have had to rely on many kind relatives, parish records, family bibles, family related stories, to keep their memory alive to this day.
 

Back to the Chilvers Story Index

Edited 27 April 2000