Big Question
How can I track down the Stables family who Beatrix Potter sent this letter to?
Q I acquired a letter almost 10 years ago sent from Beatrix Potter to a Mr and Mrs Stables giving permission to fish in one of the rivers on her property. The letter was sent from Hill Top Farm. I thought it would be lovely to research the Stables’ family and even get in touch with any living relatives. Can you give me some pointers on how to do this?
A Thank you for sharing your letter with us. What a treasure! It is interesting to see that Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) signed the letter using her forename initials and with her married name of Mrs Helen Beatrix Heelis. She had married local solicitor William Heelis in 1913, ie 13 years before your letter was written. She bought Hill Top Farm, in Near Sawrey two miles from Hawkshead, in 1905.
You have some useful clues in identifying the recipient. You know that Mr A Stables lived at 16 Victoria Street, Windermere, on 31 May 1926.
You can establish his full forename using the Windermere electoral registers (1925–1927) at the Kendal Archive Centre. You can also see how long he lived at the property.
The letter was written just under five years after the 1921 census, which has recently been released on Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk). Searching the census with the surname ‘Stables’ in Windermere returned 19 results. There was only one A Stables in Windermere itself: Allen Stables (born 1895), who was living with a Dorothy Stables.
Checking the 1921 census entry for the Stables shows that he was a sorting clerk and telegraphist at the Post Office in Windermere, and that he and his wife had no children.
On the 1911 census, 15-year-old Allen was recorded with his parents and siblings at Butt Hill, Troutbeck, Windermere. He was working for the civil service as a telegraph messenger.
Using the marriage details from the 1921 census, we can identify Allen and Dorothy together at 31 Gray Street, Workington, in the 1939 Register. This also reveals that Allen’s birthdate was 25 July 1895. Checking the General Register Office (GRO) marriage index (www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content) shows that he married Dorothy Studholme in 1920. Searching the GRO birth indexes using the mother’s maiden name of Studholme gives one result: Joyce, born at Kendal in 1928. This suggests Allen and Dorothy had only one child.
In 1950, Joyce appears to have married Ian J Williams in the Westmorland area. Searching the GRO birth indexes using Joyce’s maiden name, it seems the couple had just one son, whose birth was registered in the January quarter of 1955 in Hammersmith. We won’t publish his name here, but will email it to you. A man of the same name born between 1954 and 1956 is listed as living in Dorking, Surrey, according to the electoral registers between 2003–2010 on the Findmypast database. There are also several marriage options possible.
If you order the birth certificate of the baby born in Hammersmith, this indeed Joyce’s son and to discover his middle name, because this might help with such a common surname.
Using these details and more recent electoral registers, you could then search to see if you can find up to- date contact information for him. Probate details can be helpful in providing family addresses, but since Allen appears to have died intestate on 6 September 1948 at Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, there is no will. However, there is an entry for an administration, which may help.