51.4 Siblings of Fanny Larard (née Mousley)

Thomas and Rebecca Mousley had eight children, seven in Ellesmere, Shropshire, and one in Lambeth.

• 51.2.1 - William Thomas Mousley (1838-1919)

William Thomas Mousley

• Married Sarah Anne Whittle (1845-1927) in Wavertree, Liverpool in 1864
• Children:
• (William) Henry Mousley (1865, Taunton)
• Thomas Edwin Mousley (1866, Taunton)
• Arthur Mousley (1868, Clifton)
• My photos of Taunton are here.
• This was an interesting one to follow through the births and censuses:
• 1861: Angel Hotel, Cardiff. Visitor. Civil engineer.
• 1871: 16 Redland Park (nice), Westbury-on-Trym. Civil engineer.
• 1881: 25 Caledonia Place (also nice), Clifton, Bristol. Railway contractor.
• 1891: Brocton House (Savills, £800k), Eccleshall, Staffordshire. Railway contractor. With father Thomas (farmer)
• 1901: Lancaster Villa, Ripon. My photos of Ripon are here.





Ripon Baths, 1905 (my photo)

• 1911: 21 Irving Road, Bournemouth. My photos of Bournemouth are here.

• Some of William's career pieces together like this:

• 1876

"The Ely, Haddenham and Sutton Railway Extension Act was passed on 7 April 1876; the Act authorised £60,000 in share capital and borrowing powers of £20,000. The EH&SR was also authorised to change its name to the Ely and St Ives Railway when the extension was open for traffic. William T Mousley got the contract for construction of the line, having tendered £17,840; materials, land etc were to be supplied by the GER." My photos of Ely and St Ives are here and here.

• 1878

"The Wolverhampton Tramways (Extension) Order, 1878, enabled a further extension outside the boundaries from Bilston to Moxley. Construction on all lines commenced early in 1878 under the direction of the contractor, W T Mousley of Clifton. The offices and main depot were in Darlington Street, with another depot situated at Newbridge and a third at the Moxley terminus. Colley, Gerald (2015)." Electrifying the streets : the surface-contact controversy in five English towns 1880-1920. PhD thesis The Open University.

• 1880

"The initial service [of the Derby Tramways Company] was provided with four tramcars, each hauled by one horse, except for the stretch along St Peter’s Street where an additional horse was attached. The horses had bells attached to their collars. The first line opened on 6 March 1880 from the Market Place along St. Peter's Street to Midland Railway station. Further lines on Osmaston Road and Friar Gate lines had a total length of about two and a half miles. The lines were laid by Messrs. Mousley & Co. The Ashbourne road extension was opened on 1 October 1880, and the Osmaston extension was opened on 8 October 1880."

Derby Tram c. 1895 (credit)

• 1883

"Due to the success of the Bridport branch line, it was decided to extend it down to the coast at Bridport Harbour and on 21st July 1879 the necessary Act of Parliament was passed. Messrs Mousley and Lovatt were chosen as the main contractors for the Bridport Railway Company and construction began in 1883. This railway is preserved as the Bridport Railway." My photos of Bridport are here.

• 1885 

There had been proposals, agitations and abortive Bills of Parliament for several years before the Midland Railway (Additional Powers) Act to construct an 11 mile 6 furlong line from Ilkley to Skipton received Royal Assent in July 1883. In April 1885 a contract was awarded to Mousley and Company of Bristol for the construction of the Skipton to Ilkley railway. Actual construction commenced in the June of 1885 with the line being opened on 1 October 1888. This line is preserved as the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. My photos of Skipton, Yorkshire and Ilkley, Yorkshire are here and here.

Lobb Ghyll Viaduct on the Skipton to Ilkley Railway (credit)

• 1890 

The Eastern & Midlands Railway Company was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1882. To fill a missing link, the Bourne to Saxby Railway Act was authorised in 1888, allowing the Midland Railway to push east from Saxby, while the E&M pressed west from Bourne whilst the Midland pushed eastwards from Saxby. For the E&M, the resident engineer supervised the work of contractor William Mousley of Eccleshall. [My photos of Bourne are here.

"Theirs was the most challenging section of the overall route and involved penetrating a ridge to the west of Bourne through which the 330-yard Toft Tunnel had to be driven. Preliminary work got underway in November 1890... An initial workforce of 100 navvies soon increased to about 400. Work on the tunnel proved difficult and demanded the excavation of 300,000 cubic yards of shale... It was the spring of 1893 before the tunnel was completed, with around 2.5 million Staffordshire blue brindles being needed for the lining. The first goods train to pass through departed from Leicester on 4th June 1893, one of 30 to make the journey that day." Forgotten Relics.

• 1892

"The Weston-super-Mare Branch & Loop. An Act for laying a loop line was obtained on 19 July 1875 and then the B&E was taken over by the GWR… Probably due to GWR’s financial problems, the building contract was not let to W. Mousley of Clifton, Bristol until January 1892, but then work began immediately." Colin Maggs. My photos of Weston are here.

• 1898

Mousley was the main contractor for the Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railway in two stages: Runton-Mundesley and North Walsham to Mundesley.

• 51.2.2 - Clara Mousley (1838-1925)
• Born in Lambeth
• Married Joshua Ponton (1840) in West Derby, Liverpool in 1867
• Joshua was a book-keeper and they lived at 83 Woodville Terrace, Everton, Liverpool (redeveloped) in 1871
• Children:
• Joshua Hubert Ponton (1868)
• Edith Mary Rebecca Ponton (1872)
• William Warman Ponton (1873)
• (James) Alfred Ponton (1875)
• 1891: 15 Avon Road, Everton, Liverpool
• 1901: 30 Crosby Green, West Derby, Liverpool
• 1911: 87 Urmson Road, Liscard [Wallasey], Cheshire. Widowed.

• 51.2.3 - Henry Knight Mousley (1838-1910)
• 1861: Boarder at St John's Street, Whitchurch, Shropshire. Bank clerk. My photos of Whitchurch are here.
• Married Alice Beaksall (1845) in Ellesmere in 1865. No known children.
• 1871/1881/1891/1901: 'Casula', Tarporley Road, Whitchurch. Bank cashier/bank manager. If the man living there in 1906 took over their phone, Mousley's number was Whitchurch 26!
• Died in Bournemouth

• 51.2.4 - Marion Mousley (1838-1937)
• 1871: At home in Croydon
• Married Thomas Atkinson (1829) at St John, Croydon in 1871
• He was a cashier, and they lived at 13 Derby Lane, Liverpool
• Children:
• Thomas Mousley Atkinson (1872)
• John Henry Atkinson (1874)
• Charles Inman Atkinson (1876)
• Arthur William Atkinson (1876)
• Alice Marian Atkinson (1878)
• Francis James Atkinson (1880)
• 1891: 107 Moscow Drive, West Derby. Widowed; 1901: West Derby
• 1911: 31 Kremlin Drive, West Derby

• 51.2.5 - Frances (Fanny) Mousley (1838-1922)
• See Chapter 51

• 51.2.6 - James Alfred Mousley (1838-1937)
• 1861: Pupil in Willon St, Ellesmere
• 1881: Bulwell, Nottinghamshire. Head of household, with a servant. Civil engineer.
• Married Ada Churton (1856-1931) in Westminster in 1884
• Children:
• John Harold Mousley (1885)
• Janet Elsie Mousley (1890)
• Ada Kathleen Mousley (1896)
• 1891: Pangbourne, Berkshire. Contractor's agent. A. C. E. Wife absent.
• 1901: St Michaels St, St Albans, Hertfordshire. Public works contractor's agent. Wife and children present. My photos of St Albans are here.
• 1911: St Germains, St Albans. With wife, daughter Ada, and two servants. Railway and public works contractor.

Six Bells, St Albans. (with St Germains on the left) (my photo)

• 51.2.7 - Thomas Solomon Mousley (1838-1936)
• 1871: At home in Croydon
• Married Marguerite Mercier (1855) in New York in 1875 (ten years after the Civil War). My photos of New York are here.
• Children:
• Harry Stanley Mousley (1876, Florida)
• Marion Louise Mousley (1879, New Jersey)
• Frederick William Mousley 
• The Statue of Liberty was started in 1875 and dedicated in 1886.

Statue of Liberty (my photo)

• 1907: Arrived in Liverpool on the White Star Celtic - the first ship bigger than the SS Great Eastern. His mother was in her last few months, which might explain this visit.
• Died in New York
• I believe I had contact decades ago from Thomas' American descendants, and that they told me that he had been a railway pioneer over there

• 51.2.8 - Charles Edward Mousley (1838-1937)
• 1881: With is mother in North Meols nr Southport. He is a property owner.
• 1891: With his widowed sister Marion, and mother in West Derby. Frances was visiting, which makes three widows in the house. He was an architect's clerk.
• 1911: Boarding at 6 Craigs Road, West Derby. Private means.

More on these individuals in Chapter 58.

Next (Fanny's paternal cousins)