Generation Nine - David Breach and Elizabeth Fairhall 1845 - 2014

This is Generation Nine of the Main Ancestral Line. Use the links to go forward and back and the main ancestral tree to navigate. Names in bold type continue the ancestral line down.

Click here to return to the previous page - Generation Eight - Richard Breach and Mary Cheal 1814 - 1943.

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East Sussex Map

This generation of the Breach family lived in East Sussex. Places include, Alfriston, Bolney, East Dean, Friston, Hamsey, Kingston, Westdean.

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G9 - David Breach and Elizabeth Fairhall 1847 - 1920

Elizabeth and David in about 1910

David was born on the 9th of February 1847, the son of Richard Breach (b. 1814) and Mary Cheal (b. 1818). He was the fourth of nine children born to the couple. He was born in the village of Westdean, Sussex.

The 1861 census shows that David was working as an agricultural labourer at the age of fourteen but all subsequent census records show that he became a shepherd (see Related Article 1).

David married Elizabeth Fairhall (b. 1845 in Bolney) (daughter of Stephen Fairhall and Henrietta Miller), on the ninth of February 1867 (his twentieth birthday) at St Nicholas’ Church, Brighton.

David Breach, about 1900

The couple moved around a lot during their marriage due to David’s job as a shepherd; they would have had to move every hiring season to find work at various farms. The first of their eleven children was born in Kingston, Sussex, while the next was born in Alfriston a year later. Their next four children were all born in Hamsey so this suggests they stayed in that area for six or more years. Their next child was the only one born in Friston, while the following four were all born in East Dean. The 1901 census for David and Elizabeth shows they were living in Westdean at a dwelling called ‘Fox Hole’. David was aged fifty four and still working as a shepherd.

David died on the twenty first of October 1920 at the age of seventy three (see photo of grave below).

Elizabeth Fairhall 1845 - 1917

Elizabeth Breach in about 1910

Elizabeth Fairhall was born in 1845 in Bolney, Sussex, the daughter of Stephen Fairhall (b. 1816) (d. 1895) and Henrietta Miller (b. 1823) (d. 1865). She was the eldest of seven children.

Elizabeth married David Breach on the 9th of February 1867, and went on to have eleven children over the next nineteen years, moving from village to village with the shepherding work David took on.

Elizabeth died on the twenty third of January 1917 at the age of seventy two.

Grave of David and Elizabeth

The parents of Elizabeth Fairhall:

Stephen and Henrietta Miller 1816 - 1895 

Stephen was born in 1816 in Bolney, Sussex to John Fairhall and Maria Horum (married 30th April 1807 in Bolney). Stephen had two siblings, Mary (b. 1807) and Sarah (b. 1810). Stephen married Henrietta Miller in 1843 in Cuckfield, Sussex. 

 

Henrietta Miller 1823 - 1865 

Henrietta was born on the 2nd of February 1823 in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, the daughter of Thomas Miller and Elizabeth (unknown). Henrietta had two siblings, Rosina Jane (b. 1833) and Frederick George (b. 1835). After marrying Stephen Fairhall in 1843, the couple settled in Bolney and went on to have seven children, as follows:

1. Elizabeth (b. 1845) wife of David Breach above.
2. Mary Ann (b. 1847)
3. Walter (b.1849 - d.1905)
4.  James (b.1851 - d.1852)
5. Fanny (b,1853 - d. 1934)
6. Sarah (b.1857)
7. Jane (b.1860)
8. Emily Maria (b.1864) 

Stephen died in 1895 and Henrietta died in 1865.

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David and Elizabeth had eleven children as follows:

1. William Richard 1867 - 1950

William was born in 1867 in Kingston, Sussex. He is shown on the 1881 census as a shepherd boy, aged fourteen.

William married Edith Cousins on the 16th of May 1891 in Eastbourne. They had four children as follows:

1. George Henry (b. 1892)
2. Margaret Elizabeth (b. 24 Dec 1896, d. 21 Aug 1978)
3. Arthur Stephen (b. 1909, d. 1979)
4. Grace Henrietta (b. 1914, d. 30 Jun 2007)

William died in 1950, and Edith died on the 15th of November 1940, both in Lewes.

2. James Edward 1869 - 1950

James Edward Breach

James was born in 1869 in Alfriston, Sussex. On the 1881 census James is shown working as an agricultural labourer at the age of twelve. 

James left England sometime after 1881, and settled in Canada, where he became a mounted police officer.

 

Annie Isabella Breach 
(Guest)

James married Annie Isabella Guest (b. 1873) in Ontario, Canada. They had six children as follows:

1. Albert (b. 1895)
2. James Harold (b. 1896)
3. Gladys Margaret (b. 1897)
4. Victor Frederick (b. 1898)
5. Victoria Annie (b. 1900)
6. Arthur Morris (b. 1903)

James died in Canada on the 20th of July 1950, Annie died in 1938.

The photo below, is of the ship 'Metagama', James sailed on this ship on a visit home, from Montreal to Southampton, arriving on the 12th of July 1930. 

Canadian Pacific Line ship 'Metagama'

3. Mary Jane (Jenny) 1871 - 1940

Mary Jane in about 1895

Mary (or Jenny as she was popularly known) was born in 1871 in Hamsey, Sussex. In 1891 she married Albert Foord (b. 1865 in Folkington) in Eastbourne. By 1901 Albert was working as a cowman on a farm and they were living at Ocklinge Hill in Willingdon, Sussex. They had eleven children as follows: 

1. Phyllis Annie (b. 1892) (d. 1977) 
2. David Herbert (b. 1894) (d. 25 Feb 1958) 
3. William Albert (b. 25 Sep 1895) (d. 25 Jun 1916) William died in Boulogne, France, after receiving a gunshot wound to the head on 31 May. He is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Pas de Calais. He is remembered on his parents' headstone in Chailey churchyard, on the Eastbourne Town Hall Memorial and commemorated on the Willingdon memorials in the church and Memorial Hall.  
4. Arthur Roland (b. 1898) (d. 14 Oct 1970) 
5. Hubert Stanley (b. 1900). Hubert married Gladys Louisa Lettice Bishop (b. 1897 in Hailsham). They were good friends with my Grandparents, David Percy Breach and Nora Fox until their deaths. Hubert died on the twelfth of July 1973 and Gladys died on the tenth of February 1971. Their graves are at East Dean Church.
6. Frederick (b. 1901) (d. 1906)
7. Mabel Lillian (b. 17 Jun 1904) (d. 1976)
8. Edward Clarence (b. 6 Sep 1907) (d. 13 Apr 1967)
9. Rosamund Grace (b. 1909) (d. 1986)
10. Monica Kathleen (b. 3 May 1911) (d. 1989)
11. Gerald Timothy (b. 11 Apr 1914) (d. 1992) 

Mary Jane died in 1940 and Albert died in 1948. both in Lewes.

Click here for a related post, Relationship Path 2 - Rollo Duke of Normandy to Foord 846 - 1948.

Mary Jane and Albert Foord in about 1895

Mary Jane Foord (Breach) sits in the centre with her daughter
Monica far left, and two members of Albert Foord's family

Mary Jane Foord (Breach)

William Albert Foord,
son of Mary Jane and Albert

Arthur Roland Foord,
son of Mary Jane and Albert

L to R, Mary Jane, Mabel Lilian, Rosamund Grace and Monica
Kathleen Foord, three daughters of Mary Jane and Albert

Gerald Timothy Foord,
son of Mary Jane and Albert

G10 - 4. Albert Walter 1872 - 1960

Albert Walter Breach in May 1942

Albert was born on the 31st of December 1872, in Hamsey, Sussex. He married Helen Lavinia Read Hall (b. 8th of April 1873 in London) on the 26th of December 1902. Albert became a Police Officer and the couple settled in North Yorkshire, where they had three children:

1. Susan Phyllis Marjorie (b. 3 Nov 1903) (d. 21 Oct 1986)
2. Alberta Marguerita (b. 3 Jan 1906) (d. 23 Aug1952)
3. David Percy (b. 25 Nov 1907) (d. 9 Nov 1974)

Helen died on the 8th of February 1940, and Albert died on the 4th of February 1960.

Albert continues the main ancestral line in Generation Ten, see below.

5. Arthur Frederick b.1875

Arthur was born on the 21st of January 1875 in Hamsey. On the 1891 census he was working as an agricultural labourer at the age of sixteen.

Arthur emigrated to Canada sometime after 1891 and a marriage was found for him in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he married Margaret C Rice (b. 1888) (daughter of John Rice and Mary unknown) in 1911. All trace of Arthur and Margaret is lost after this point.

6. Phillis Mabel 1877 - 1881

Phillis was born in 1877 in Hamsey. She only appears on one census, the 1881 as she died just a few months later at the age of four.

7. Alice Clara 1879 - 1948

Alice was born in 1879 in Friston, Sussex. She married Frederick Smith (b. 1875 in Willingdon, Sussex) in 1899. The 1901 census shows them living in Ocklinge Hill in Willingdon next door to Albert and Mary Foord (see above). Frederick also worked as a cowman on a farm, possibly with Albert.

The couple had nine children as follows: 

1. Phillis May (b. 1900) 
2. Frederick (b. 1902) 
3. Florence (b. 1904)  
4. George Ernest (b. 1905) (d. 1906)
5. William Arthur (b. 1906)
6. Thomas Henry (b. 1909) 
7. Albert Percy (b. 1912) Albert had a daughter, Frances (living).
8. Cecil (b. 1913)
9. Ronald E (b. 1922)

Frederick died in 1938 and was followed ten years later by Alice in 1948.

8. Ethel Annie 1881 - 1955

Ethel was born in 1881 in East Dean, Sussex. Ethel appears as 'Anne' on the 1891 census.

Ethel married Adolphus Henry Bond (b. 1877) in 1905 in Eastbourne. They lived in Willingdon and had three children as follows:

1. Bernice Freda (b. 1906)
2. Albert Henry (b. 1908)
3. Phyllis Lilian (b. 1909) 

Ethel died in 1955 and Adolphus Bond died in 1948. both in Eastbourne.

9. Nelson Charles 1882 - 1957

Nelson was born in 1882 in East Dean. He appears on the 1901 census, aged nineteen, with his parents; he was working as an agricultural labourer.

He married Rose Annie Holter (b. 1885 in Eastbourne) in 1908 in Eastbourne. They had three children as follows:

1. Albert (b. 1908)
2. Alfred F (b. 1912)
3. Phyllis May (b. 1924)

Nelson died in 1957 in Eastbourne. Rose died in 1969.

10. Harry Lawrence 1884 - 1963

Harry Lawrence

Harry was born in 1884 in East Dean. On the 1901 census Harry was working as a carter’s mate (on a farm) and at the age of seventeen was still living with his parents.

Harry married Annie Beatrice Taylor (b. 1889) in 1913, and they lived at Birling Gap on the Sussex coast. They had nine children as follows:  

Harry and Annie had nine children as follows:

1. Jane Elizabeth 1913 - 1991

Jane Elizabeth

 

Jane Elizabeth was born on the 6th of April 1913. She married Reginald Snelling in 1936 and had one son (living). Reginald died in 1974, and Jane died in November 1991. 

2. Laurence Nelson 1914 - 1931

Laurence Nelson

Laurence Nelson was born in 1914, he died in an accident while in the Territorial Army on the 29th of June 1931.  

Grave at East Dean

3. Dorothy B 1916 - 

Dorothy B was born in 1916. She married William Robinson in 1939.   

4. Richard Henry 1918 - 2003

Richard Henry

Richard Henry was born on the 19th of May 1918. He married Julia C Thompson in 1944, in Maidstone, Kent. They had four children, Colin, Carol A, Robert J and Lynda P (all possibly living). Richard died on the 29th of July 2003.

5. Alfred Thomas 1920 - 1994

Alfred Thomas

Alfred Thomas was born on the 8th of October 1920. He married Daisy M Rhodes in 1943 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. They had three children, Maureen A, Susan M, and Keith M (all possibly living). Alfred died on the 12th of December 1994.  

 

Alfred and Daisy 1943

6. John David 1922 - 2002

John David

John David (Jack) was born on the 23rd of April 1922. He married Ivy Plumb (1916 - 2003) in 1945, in Northwich, Cheshire. John died on the 23rd of July 2002.

John and Ivy's memorial,
with his parents.

7. William 1926 - 1926

 

William was born in 1926 and died the same year.  

8. Ellen L 1927 -

 

Ellen L

Ellen L was born in 1927. No further information is available at present.

9. Barbara Joan 1932 - 2009

Barbara Joan

Barbara Joan was born in 1932. she married John Eve (possibly living). They had two daughters, Maria and Brenda (living). Barbara died on the 6th of January 2009.

Barbara and Maria Eve

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Annie died on the 14th of February 1945 in East Dean while Harry Lawrence lived until the 4th of April 1963. 

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11. David Thomas 1886 - 1967

David Thomas

David was born in 1886 in East Dean. At the age of fourteen he was working as a shepherd boy, which means all the boys in this family went into agricultural work at some point.

David married Annie Elizabeth Collyer (b. 1885 in Lee, Hampshire) in 1922 at Romsey in Hampshire. 

They had three children as follows:

1. David William Arthur 1923 - 2014 

David W A

David was born on the 11th of February 1923. He married Jean Ivy Miller on the 15th of October 1949 in Eastbourne. They had four children (private). David died in January 2014 and Jean died in 2015.

David in 2010

2. Elizabeth 1923 - 1923

Elizabeth was David's twin sister. Born on the 11th of February 1923 she only lived for nine days, dying from gastroenteritis on the 20th of February.

3. Frederick T 1924 - 

Frederick (Fred) was born in 1924. He married Helen Cumming in 1955 in Hailsham, Sussex. They had two children (private). No further information is available at the present time.

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David Thomas (second right) with Annie, Annie's brother Will (left)
and two of their Grandchildren

David Thomas with his lambing hut and dogs

David Thomas died on the 24th of December 1967 and Annie died on the 4th of January 1968.

Grave of David and Annie Breach
East Dean churchyard

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Click here to continue to the next page for Generation Ten.

Thanks to the late David W A Breach for photos and information.

Alison Vainlo 2022.