“Love to your wife and the boys and accept the same for yourself.

 Your affectionate father – Alfred Dorrell”

This is how the correspondence ends for each of the 9 letters I have from Alfred Dorrell (1813-1894) London, England written to his son Alfred (1847-1899) in Brooklyn, NY.  So much love in these two sentences.

I am very fortunate to be in possession of these handwritten letters from Alfred, the older to Alfred, the younger. These are dated from April 1889 – June 1891. That makes these over 125 years old!  Each one is written on very thin paper with fountain ink -making some of them difficult to read.  I have done my best to transcribe them for safekeeping.

These letters tell so much about their father/son relationship both by what is written and what is not.  This is also a one sided conversation – I have none of the letters that were sent to England.  So we get to fill in the blanks – guess about what is missing – educated guesses of course, but guesses nonetheless.

 

Trying to get perspective on this branch of my family tree- let’s look at Alfred the older’s family of origin. His parents are as far back as I can substantiate – so we will start with him.

 

Edmund Dorrell.

 

 

July 5, 1801, at the age of 25, Edmund Dorrell married Ann Robson. My three times great grandparents. Married by banns (the public announcement in a Christian parish church or in the town council of an impending marriage between two specified person’s) in England.

 

Edmund Dorrell, is my maternal great, great, great grandfather.  He  was an artist. He belonged to the Olde Water Colour Society of England.  According to the historical information available, he mostly painted “landscapes and rustic scenes”.  There is evidence of his work on the internet. There are some companies who will make reproductions of these for you.  I have one than my husband purchased for me.  This one to be exact.

 

So … painter Edmund marries Ann, in 1801 in Lambeth England.  This is essentially the London area.  This area is where, one day, Royal Doulton delftware would be produced.  During the early 1700’s, this location grew so rapidly, many of those who came to this area were considered poor and necessitated the building of parish workhouses.  By the time Edmund was born, it is recorded that one parish workhouse had 270 inmates. It appears that Edmund’s family was not one of them. So no starving artists here….

 

I know that he was born in Warwick England, about 95 miles NE of London. He was sent to live with his uncle and be schooled in the medical field.  I guess that didn’t work out for him.  History shows that at at one point in time, he lived on Beaufort Street ( Row) on a piece of property which was once part of Sir Thomas More’s estate.  That’s pretty cool!  Don’t know who he is? Find a history blog…

 

Edmund Dorrell was born in Warwick, England. He was taught by his uncle, a physician, who, seeing his nephew’s disposition toward art, helped him pursue his vocation. Dorrell settled in London and began exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1807. He was an early Associate of the Society of Painters in Watercolors, from 1809 to 1812.

 

From 1819 to 1832, he exhibited with the Society of British Artists. His exhibited work is quite rare; only 84 examples are recorded. Stylistically, his work resonates with that of John Varley(1778-1842) and William Havell (1782-1857) at the same period.Examples of his work can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University; the Manchester City Art Gallery; and elsewhere.

 

DORRELL, EDMUND, water-colour painter. Born at Warwick in 1778, and was brought up by his uncle, who had a good medical practice there, and intended him for his own profession, but yielded, however, to his love for drawing and etching, and assisted him to study art. He soon attained some proficiency, and for many years prac tised in London as a water-colour painter. He was an occasional exhibitor at the Academy from 1807 to 1828,  He contributed to the Water-Colour Society in 1809 as “fellow exhibitor,’ and the following year as a member. In 1814 he seceded from the Society, but sent some drawings, 1816–18, as an outside exhibitor. He painted landscape scenes, sometimes with effects of storm. Among his contributions was a view of Ranelagh Gardens. He died in London in 1857, in his 80th year. (Redgraves)

 

Who knew….and I inherited none of this talent.

 

I can prove that Edmund and Ann had 7 children.  5 daughters, 2 sons. One of them was Alfred Dorrell – my great, great grandfather. This is his story……

• Born in 1813 (along with his twin sister Emily)  
• Married Mary Ann Buswell in 1846
• Alfred Edmund William Dorrell is born to them in 1847 

 

Remember that name…. All of those names… for one little boy.

 

The Dorrell’s lived in London where Alfred was a Dancing Instructor.  

 

 

Advertisement from 1839 and 1844:

 

December 31, 1847, one month following the birth of their only child, Mary Anne dies of consumption, – tuberculosis. Leaving Alfred with Alfred Edmund William.  

 

Deeply regretted…. 

 

By January 24, 1848, Alfred is back to work:

 

INST- short for instant – usually used to mean “of this month”.

 

What happens to this family with a young father, a month old baby boy and no mama?  While these letters do not tell that story,  my research does tell some part of it.  The letters do speak of an aging father, left alone in his native city of London, while his only child lives with his young family in the land of opportunity of America – namely, Brooklyn, New York.

 

Northampton 29th April 1889

My dear Alfred,

It seems a long time since I have heard from you or that I have written to you last so I wish to have a little chat in the first place, to ask how you all are, I think I answered your letter dated 18 Dec-1888-where you acknowledged the receipt of the 100 pounds paid in by a week or two after I sent that sum to you, I hope your son grows a nice quick boy, and I think that he will be a comfort to you .  I hope business has gone as well as you expected it would, at the beginning of this year.  My dear sisters have been great invalids the past 6 months and now they are a little better.  They start on Wednesday 1st May for change to their favorite place Brighton so hope  soon to hear that it does them good, but a very little knocks them up now, my brother William is also under the doctor’s hands as he has been suffering from Rheumatism and can use his hand very little upon the piano. He is now staying at Hurst about 6 miles from Brighton.  The air there suits him so well.

 

There is so much spoken and unspoken information here in a letter written from a father to a son. A father who seems to be lonely, sad and ailing. Who wants his child to stay connected to his extended family so far away. Who wants to be a part of his son’s life. Who knows he will never see his son again nor meet his own grandchildren. Who is in the last season of his life – connecting with one who is in the beginning of his adventure.  All of this in these 9 one sided letters.

 

“Love to your wife and the boys and accept the same for yourself.  

Your affectionate father – Alfred Dorrell”

to be continued…….