Thanks i did wonder if they were trying to protect what they had. Mary Jane's father died in the 1890s so would have been after the married women's property act. I think it was Lloyd George's liberal government that introduced national insurance. If I remember aright, initially it only covered the husband, the assumption being that if the working man was covered, he could look after his family. They were not to know it at the time, but Mary Jane predeceased William by many years. Chris PS That assumption about the husband carried on for a long time. I only paid my stamp at the married woman's rate. I now get my pension based on my husband's contributions. ________________________________ From: Jane Woodall <jane.woodall@virgin.net> To: CHRISTINE WILLOTT <christine.willott@btopenworld.com> Cc: yorksgen <yorksgen@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, 18 May 2012, 7:24 Subject: Re: [YORKSGEN] update on finding Emily Chatterton Hi Christine   I don’t read it as though she took him to court – more as though he had filed for bankruptcy because he owed £269 he couldn’t pay – it doesn’t even say his creditors forced him into it. From what they say about him starting the business with no capital, Mary Jane’s two houses and shops and her letting him trade from one and him being conned out of a pony and trap at a horse fair, it sounds as though he wasn’t a particularly good businessman  - or had been having stayed in business 25 years but had begun to lose the plot.   Under the Married Women’s Property Act 1882 the houses were Mary Jane’s  to keep and she was treated as a separate legal entity to her husband. She is making a claim here for £118 on life policies – presumably to protect her interests in the insurance policy (pre pensions which didn’t come in till 1908 I believe) and the furniture just like any other person to whom the bankrupt owes money. They’re both still living together in the 1901 and 1911 censuses so doesn’t seem to be anything other than her doing what she needed to to protect her interests.   Maybe others know more about bankruptcy but that’s my take anyway   cheers   Jane     From: CHRISTINE WILLOTT Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 12:42 AM To: Jane Woodall Cc: yorksgen Subject: Re: [YORKSGEN] update on finding Emily Chatterton   Thank you soooo much.   it looks as though the principal debtor was his wife Mary Jane Chatterton. She was a milliner who in one census is decribed somewhat grandiosly as a court milliner.   The properties in Cheapside were left to her in a codicil to her father Richard Kay's will.   I find it very odd that the prinicipal debtor seems to have been his wife. I could never have taken my husband to court! However perhaps it was a ruse to prevent the other debtors getting their hands on things like the furniture.   In her will, Mary Jane talks about my beloved husband, but perhaps that is 'standard' language.   Kew have replied today to say that only about 5% of records for bankruptcyproceedings survive. It therefore may be futile to go to Kew to find the record. They also said that the records would be difficult to trace. This seems odd to me as I know the date of the announcement in the London Gazette, which court it was and I know the name and address of the person made bankrupt.   I have had a reply from WYAS and have today sent them as much as we know about Emily. What I have sent, in the current day if Emily were to be admitted to hospital through A&E, would be enough to find her records Even if they do trace her in the West Riding Aslyum, we still may not be able to see her records. The archivist tells me we may have to use the freedom of information act and have to take our  birth certificates etc to prove our relationship.   Thanks again   Chris ________________________________ From: Jane Woodall <jane.woodall@virgin.net> To: CHRISTINE WILLOTT <christine.willott@btopenworld.com> Sent: Thursday, 17 May 2012, 21:22 Subject: Re: [YORKSGEN] update on finding Emily Chatterton Hi Christine I did a quick search on the Gale Collection of newspapers and found this which you might find interesting. Tells you a bit more about William Chatterton's circumstances. Keep us posted on your search! Jane -----Original Message----- From: CHRISTINE WILLOTT Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 8:47 AM To: yorksgen Subject: [YORKSGEN] update on finding Emily Chatterton Progress report - or otherwise I wrote to Dr Kathleen Webb, the York NHS archivist at the Borthwick (Thank you to the person who suggested her.) The reply indicates Emily was not a patient in what is now called Clifton Hospital. > From time to time I put my names into Google just to see what comes up. I did this this week for William Chatterton, Emily's father, and found a report in the Edinburgh gazette that he had gone bankrupt in 1900. This seems to rule out private care for Emily in the Retreat or Bootham Park. it also makes sense of something else. In His father in law Richard Kay's will, his wife was left the property where they had the butcher's shop and also lived. In the 1901 census they were living in Munich Villa, but a search of the Munich Villa (now called Gallon House) deeds some years ago revealed they did not own this property. I intend to go to Wakefield to see if the date the Cheapside property was sold would coincide with the debts being paid. So back to Emily - I have now written to the West Yorkshire Archives Service to see if Emily was in the West Riding Asylum. And - So much for the family story that William owned "half of Knaresborough". Fortunately I have always been sceptical about this one! Chris ..... Ancestors in Yorkshire? http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/index.html; www.ryedalefamilyhistory.org; www.wharfedalefhg.org.uk; www.yorkshireparishregisters.com; www.yorkshireroots.org.uk; ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to YORKSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message