William Henry Vize 1833-1878

William was born in the Mill Hill area of Hendon, Middlesex [1], probably in late 1833. It is not certain where the family was living at this time as his father had been having financial difficulties and his business as a bookseller and circulating library had been bankrupted the previous year [2]. His father had to return to teaching to make a living.

 The family moved to Guildford Place, Kennington shortly after William’s birth and it was at St Mark’s Kennington Oval that he was baptised on 2 November 1833. The parish register shows his father’s occupation as schoolmaster [3].

 William was the second child of John Vize (1804-1840) of Rotherhithe, Surrey [4] and Matilda Lucy (1797-1837) of Stratford On Avon, Warwickshire [5]. Both families were relatively well-off middleclass tradespeople. Matilda received a financial settlement from her father’s estate when she married John [6] – these were probably the funds used to establish John’s business, as until 1830 he worked as a school master but John Edward’s 1831 baptism registration shows John’s occupation as bookseller.

 By 1835 the family had moved again to Foster Place, off Bedford Road in Clapham. William’s sister Lucy Lockwood Vize was born here and baptised at St Mark’s on 2 August 1835 [7]. William’s father John continued to work as a schoolmaster at this time.

 The family stayed on at Foster Place and in 1837 a third son was born, Charles Lucy Vize [8]. By this time William’s mother was quite unwell with tuberculosis [9], affecting both the health of the baby and her own. They both died within days of each other and were buried at St Matthew’s Brixton on 26 August 1837 [10]. At this time John Edward was 6, William Henry was 3 and Lucy Lockwood was 2 years old.

 In August 1938 William’s grandmother Esther Vize died [11], presumably leaving to her three surviving children the assets from their father’s brewing business – mainly savings in the Bank of England [12]. At this time the family was still living at Foster Place in Clapham [13].

 John continued to work as a schoolmaster and moved the family to Tower Hamlets in South Hackney some time before March 1840 [14]. Sharing the same tenement with the Vize’s was William Lockwood, probably Esther’s brother (John’s uncle) and his wife Ann [15]. William also worked as a schoolmaster [16] and the Lockwoods may have helped with the children.

 On 28 March 1840 John died, also from tuberculosis [17], leaving the three children aged 9, 6 and 5 years, orphans. It was John’s uncle William Lockwood that registered his death [18]. John was buried at St Matthew’s with Matilda and Charles. In 1841 they were still living in the tenement in South Hackney and described as having “independent means” [19]. This is most likely the funds left by their grandmother.

 It appears that the children stayed on in Hackney, possibly under the care of the Lockwoods, as John Edward reportedly attended Hackney Grammar [20]. It seems likely that William received the same education. This would appear to be the Church of England Grammar School established in 1830 and later amalgamated with Hackney Proprietary Grammar and King’s College [21].

 Lucy went to live with her aunt Mary Power (Matilda’s sister) in Atherstone, Warwickshire [22] and the two boys went on to their respective careers: John as an Anglican clergyman [23] and William as a druggist. In 1851 William was living with William Wickham and his wife in Tunbridge Wells, serving his apprenticeship [24]. At this time professional registration of druggists had not commenced (it started about 1860) so though records of William Wickham can be found, there are none for William Vize. It s not clear whether he completed his apprenticeship, as there is a family story that he did not.

 It is possible that the Vize family had connections in Tunbridge Wells, which led to William’s apprenticeship there. William’s aunt Harriet Bowen Vize had married Joseph Collis [25]. A well-known and wealthy Tunbridge builder [26], William Willicombe was married to Maria Collis [27]. William’s sister, Lucy Lockwood Vize, later married William Willicombe’s son Henry [28]. William Williacombe’s first wife Mary Ann Morgan may have also had connection to William and Lucy’s grandmother who was probably Ann Morgan.

 On 1 September 1855, William set sail from Bristol on the Seringapatam [29]. This ship was a 587 ton barque carrying 8 adults in cabin berths and the voyage to Australia took over three months. William is reputed to have served as the ship’s doctor and recruited for a return passage but is listed as a cabin passenger in the Argus "Shipping Intelligence" for 21 December 1855. He arrived in Australia in December 1855 but did not take the return passage to England.

 The family legend goes that he heard of a town called Stratford On Avon in the east of the state, and eager to see this namesake of his mother’s home, rode out to view the area (some 300 miles), missing the departure of the ship. He decided to settle in Gippsland, but Stratford at this time was a very small settlement and he opted for the larger town of Sale where he could establish a business as a druggist.

 He opened the Vize Chemist in Raymond Street Sale in partnership with Ferdinand Duval [30] in about 1856. This business seems to have been moderately successful and William settled, married and became involved with the affairs of the town. At this time there were few doctors in rural Victoria and a druggist would have been the key health care provider for the community.

 He married Mary Walker on 19 October 1960 [31]. Mary was 20 years old and had arrived in Australia from Scotland with her older brother and sister in 1857. Her sister Catherine had married William’s good friend, William Frederick Parker Vize in 1859 [32]. It seems these families remained very close, though Catherine died in 1867 leaving two young daughters [33].

 Mary was the daughter of Thomas Laurie Walker and Catharine Laing from Linlithgowshire [34]. She was born about October 1840 in Gogar Bank [35], just outside Edinburgh, but the family soon moved to Edinburgh where her father was able to gain employment with the railways. In 1851 her mother died [36] and her father soon remarried [37]. It seems that the children from his first marriage all scattered from this time.

 William and Mary’s first child, a baby girl, was stillborn on 1 November 1861 [38]. Though her birth and death were not registered (not a requirement for stillborn births at this time) and the newspaper announcement of her birth does not name the baby, I believe she may have been named Catherine after Mary’s mother and favourite sister. The Walker family had a strong tradition of naming daughters after their maternal grandmother.

<p style="margin-top:6.0pt"> William and Mary were luckier with their remaining seven children who all survived to adulthood. The second was William Henry Vize, after his father, born in Sale on 4 November 1862 [39]. He was followed by Charles Lucy Vize in 1864, named for William’s uncle in Stratford and Frederick Parker Vize in 1866 [40], named for William’s friend and brother-in-law.



<p style="margin-top:6.0pt"> In 1864 William and Ferdinand Duvall dissolved their partnership in the Sale Pharmacy [41] and William established a new partnership in aerated water with Frederick Liston. This venture was not successful and was dissolved in 1865 [42]. Also at this time, Sale was forming its first municipal council and William stood for election, along with his friend Robert Topping [43]. It was also in 1865 that William established his first Photographic Studio in Sale [44]. As one of the pioneers of photography in Australia he enjoyed some modest success and soon opened a second studio in Maffra [45]. Advertisements for his business can be found in contemporary issues of the Gippsland times and some photographs and carte de visite survive in the State Library of Victoria [46].

<p style="margin-top:6.0pt"> The next child Robert Topping Vize, also named for a friend of William, was born in 1868 in Valencia Creek, a small town to the north of Maffra, Victoria. Edgar was also born near Maffra in 1870 [47].

<p style="margin-top:6.0pt"> William then opened a third studio in Bairnsdale [48]. It is not certain whether he operated all three studios through this period, though it is possible. At some point he had obtained a licence to a block of land in Stratford, but this was forfeited in 1869 due to non-payment of fees [49]. He also secured tenure over land at Cunninghame (later called Lakes Entrance) in partnership with two others [50].

<p style="margin-top:6.0pt"> Helen Lucy Vize, named after Mary’s eldest sister Helen and William’s sister Lucy, was the next child to be born in 1872 in Bairnsdale. Their final child George Thomas was born in Lucknow, just adjacent to Bairnsdale, in 1874 [51]. The origins of his name are unknown, but as there were no George’s in either William’s or Mary’s families, likely to be another family friend.

<p style="margin-top:6.0pt"> By this time it seems that all William’s business ventures were not doing well and he was suffering from chronic illness. This had possibly been the case for some time and may explain the failure to pay the debt on the Stratford land in 1869. In 1877 the businesses had all closed and the family moved back to Sale [52]. Mary nursed William, who by this time was unable to work, and supported the family.

<p style="margin-top:6.0pt"> William died from an abscess of the liver on 25 June 1878 and was buried next day at Sale Cemetery [53]. His granddaughter Edna reported that the grave was shared with an unknown infant – possibly the stillborn “Catherine” who died in Sale in 1861. He left Mary and seven young children destitute [54].

[1] 1851 England Census – William Henry Vize, druggist apprentice Tunbridge Wells

[2] Times of London 21 April 1832

[3] St Mark’s Kennington baptism register

[4] See John Vize 1804-1840

[5] William Henry Vize marriage certificate; St John Deritend baptism register; Matilda Vize death certificate

[6] See John Vize 1804-1840

[7] St Mark’s Kennington baptism register

[  8]  England Free BDM Charles Lucy Vize 1837

[9] Matilda Vize death certificate

[10] National Burial Index; St Matthew’s Brixton burial register

[11] Esther Vize death certificate

[12] Will of Esther Vize, widow of Edmonton Middlesex, 1838

[13] Ibid.

[14] John Vize death certificate

[15] 1841 England Census William and Ann Lockwood, South Hackney, schoolmaster

[16] Ibid.

[17] John Vize death certificate

[18] Ibid.

[19] 1841 England Census, John Vize, William Vize & Lucy Vize, South Hackney, independent means

[20] Preece date

[21] History of Middlesex – Hackney - Education

[22] 1851 England Census Lucy Vize, Atherstone

[23] Crockfords

[24] 1851 England Census William Henry Vize, Tunbridge Wells druggist’s apprentice

[25] Faculty Office London, marriage licence

[26] FTG

[27] St ? marriage register

[28] The Gentleman’s Magazine date; England Free BDM

[29] ship info

[30] Victoria Gazette date

[31] Marriage certificate of William Henry Vize and Mary Walker

[32] Victoria BDM William Frederick Parker and Catherine Laing Walker

[33] Victoria BDM Catherine Laing Parker; Victoria BDM Catherine Sophia Parker; Victoria BDM Isabella Bubier Parker

[34] Marriage certificate of William Henry Vize and Mary Walker

[35] 1841 Scotland Census Mary Walker, Gogar Bank age 6 months

[36] Death Certificate Catharine Laing

[37] Marriage Certificate Thomas Laurie Walker and Mary Anderson

[38] Melbourne Argus 7 November 1861

[39] Birth Certificate William Henry Vize

[40] Victoria BDM Charles Lucy Vize; Victoria BDM Frederick Parker Vize

[41] Victorian Government Gazette Supplement 1858 No 116 page 1686 – Tuesday 31 August 1858

[42] Victorian Government Gazette Supplement 1865 No 181 page 2875 – Friday 8 Dec 1865

[43] Gippsland Times 9 August 1865

[44] Gippsland Times 21 September 1869

[45]  DAAO www.daao.org.au/bio/william-henry-vize/

[46] State Library of Victoria

[47] Victoria BDM Robert Topping Vize; Victoria BDM Edgar Vize

[48] DAAO www.daao.org.au/bio/william-henry-vize/

[49] Gippsland Times 10 Jul 1869

[50] DAAO www.daao.org.au/bio/william-henry-vize/

[51] Victoria BDM H

elen Lucy Vize; Victoria BDM George Thomas Vize

[52]  DAAO www.daao.org.au/bio/william-henry-vize/

[53] William Henry Vize death certificate

[54]  DAAO www.daao.org.au/bio/william-henry-vize/

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