Fisher Ormandy, Railway Manager
This is the story of Fisher Ormandy who was born in Liverpool and died in London. I first became aware of Fisher when Elaine Marshall contacted me about the will of Thomas Falcon Marshall which was witnessed by Fisher and Bridget Ormandy of 148, Grove Street, Liverpool. Curiously, shortly afterwards, my Mum told me that she had just remembered walking along Grove Street and seeing a house with 'Ormandy' in the window above the door - I wonder... Unfortunately, number 148 is no longer there.
This is Elaine's account:
I have found no connection with Fisher Ormandy and the Marshall family that I am researching, although I know that Fisher and his sister Bridget were friends of Thomas Falcon Marshall and his wife Amelia Jane. With no tree as such, I think that it is best from the point of clarity if I start from the earliest point of my research and work forwards as follows:-
1) I believe that William Ormandy married Mary Vicars on 8 October 1791 at St James, Whitehaven, Cumbria. They had a son
2) John Ormandy who was christened on 1 July 1794, also at St James, Whitehaven. Around 1817 John married Sarah Ann (born 1800, surname unknown, although we believe that her maiden name may have been Fisher). John was a bookkeeper who lived in Upper Pitt Street, Liverpool (number 25 in 1829 and number 45 in 1832). John and Sarah Ann had three children.
3a) Bridget Ormandy who was christened on 1 December 1818 at St James, Whitehaven.
3b) Fisher who was born on 6 February 1821 and christened on the 7 March
1821 at St Mark's in Liverpool.
3c) Sarah Anne who was born in 1825
Their youngest daughter Sarah Anne died at the age of 8 years in 1833. Sadly John died a few years later on 26th November 1839 from asthma. Sarah Ann, his wife, died on 8th March 1850 at the age of 50. Their eldest daughter Bridget, who never married died on 9 July 1862 and all four of them are buried at St James's Cemetery in Liverpool.
In an 1848 Directory of Liverpool, Fisher and his mother were living at 29 St James Road and he is described as the Manager of Cattle Traffic for the London and North Western Railway. Fisher's mother died in 1850 and the first time I came across Bridget and Fisher was when I saw a will written in 1850 by my sons great great grandfather, Thomas Falcon Marshall (born in Liverpool in 1818). The two witnesses on the will were Bridget and Fisher Ormandy of 148 Grove Street, Liverpool - so obviously Bridget and Fisher were living together after their mother's death until Bridget's early death at the age of 44 years on 9th July 1862. Fisher was the beneficiary in Bridget's will (£1,000) in 1862 and in 1863 Fisher married Ellen Rackham at Ely. I assume that Fisher and Thomas were close friends, or may even have been related in some way yet to be discovered. Thomas was a well known artist, born in Liverpool but living in Kensington, London from 1851 onwards.
There is a report in the Times in 1860 of a trial where Fisher was called as a witness. The trial concerned the deaths caused by a railway accident involving a cattle train. I assume Fisher was called as he was the Manager of the Cattle trains.
Fisher and Ellen had four children who were as follows:-
4a) George Noden Ormandy born 1864
4b) Ellen Bridget Ormandy born 1865
4c) Amy Fisher Ormandy born 1866
4d) Fisher Ormandy born 1869
All the children were born in the Liverpool area
We know from a further report in the Times that Fisher left the Railways and set up business as a Wine Merchant (maybe from his inheritance left by his sister?). Unfortunately this business venture was not successful as in 1867, Fisher was bankrupted. Fisher and Ellen's daughter Amy died on 25th September 1870 at the age of 4 years and she was buried at St James Cemetery with Fisher's mother and father and two sisters. I assume that it was at this time that Fisher and Ellen moved to London as Fisher himself died only four years later in Hendon in 1874 and Ellen was left to bring up her three remaining children on her own.
In the 1881 census Ellen is living at 20 Brondesbury Villas, Willesden which was very near Thomas Falcon Marshall's widow, Amelia Jane. Living with Ellen were George (16, a commercial clerk) and Ellen (15) plus two of Ellen's nephews - Matthew Rackham (23, Student of Theology, King's College) and Handworth Rackham (20, living on interest of capital). Both nephews had been born in Liverpool. Ellen's youngest child Fisher (aged 12) was boarding at the Royal Asylum of St Ann's in Streatham. I believe that this was a charitable institution for "orphan children of impoverished gentlemen". I assume that children did not need to have both parents dead - maybe just fatherless. Ellen died on the 28th July 1887 and George was the beneficiary
In the 1901 census George was aged 36 and an assurance clerk living in Twickenham which is where one of Thomas Falcon Marshall's children also lived and who was of the same age as George and was also employed by an assurance company - just another connection involving the two families.
There is no mention of Fisher Ormandy in the 1901 census so I do not know what happened to him - neither can I find Ellen Bridget Ormandy but then she was probably married.
I have just found a marriage reference for George for the September Quarter 1905 in Norwich 4b 259 (where his mother was born) - but I do not know to whom he was married.
George died on 5 February 1930 at the Royal Midland Counties Home for Incurables in Leamington Spa. He left his money to Ellen Louisa Dawes, spinster, which amounted to £99.7s.6d. Who was Ellen Louisa Dawes??
As far as Ellen's family the Rackhams I have not done much research but there is an interesting website re the Abel family involving the Rackham's who were their family solicitors and intermarried over two generations. The website is as follows:-
http://www.btinternet.com/~marion.mcleod/page6.html