Search Sussex, Eastbourne Newspaper Notices

Each transcript includes a combination of the following information:

• Title and name

• Role – explains why this individual was included in the news report. For example, s/he may be listed as accused, deceased, spouse, magistrate, etc.

• Event date

• Event type

• Event place

• Event details

• Publication date

• Page

• County

The papers were weekly tabloids; the Eastbourne Gazette was first published in 1859, and the Eastbourne Chronicle appeared in 1865.

The index includes names found within the newspaper pages related to birth, marriage and death notices. The collection also includes names found in the paper in relation to other events such as divorce, murders, shipwrecks, lynching and paternity cases.

The newspapers reported on stories in Sussex, but also nationally and even internationally, with stories from Ireland to Switzerland to the USA. Use the Keyword search to discover indexed reports from specific countries.

The collection was created by “Family Roots” the Eastbourne & District Family History Society between 2002 and 2020. Below we have included the editorial conventions used by the society and a list of abbreviations found within the records.

The records include details from a wide variety of events and stories featured in the Eastbourne Gazette. Some of the stories discovered are bizarre or strange and others are tragic. Here are some examples:

• On 4 March 1863, General Tom Thumb was mentioned in an article detailing a number of married dwarves.
• Mr Folan died in April 1879. While collecting seaweed Folan tried to kill a fish by biting off its head. However, the fish blocked his windpipe and the man died.

Witchcraft

• The Eastbourne Gazette reported on a murder case on 30 September 1863, describing it as an ‘Extraordinary case of witchcraft.’ The records include all those involved in the trial from the medical examiner, prosecutor and witnesses. By using Findmypast’s newspapers we can find further reports of the case. The victim was a local resident known as ‘Dummy.’ He is described as a deaf and dumb Frenchman about 86 years old, living alone in a wretched hut. The community believe that he had supernatural powers. The Derby Mercury reported, 30 September 1863, ‘He appears to have adopted the character which the superstition of his neighbours gave him, and to have traded upon it. Being credited with supernatural power, he turned the belief to his profit, told fortunes, held consultations, predicted events and sold events.’ In the case of his death, one of the defendants, Emma Smith, claimed that ‘Dummy’ came to her house to ask if he could sleep in her shed and Smith allowed him to stay. After a few days she asked him to leave. Smith claimed that he spat at her and cursed her with an illness. Smith became ill ten days later, as predicted by ‘Dummy.’ No doctors were able to help her.

Then Emma Smith approached ‘Dummy’ and begged him to cure her of the illness. She asked him to come home with her and she would pay him three sovereigns for his help, but he refused. With the help of Samuel Stammers, together they threw ‘Dummy’ into the brook and pushed him into the water repeatedly. One explanation for their actions was that they believed the Frenchman to be a wizard. ‘It will be easily seen that the poor creature was “swum” for a wizard – this is to say, he was thrown into the water in pursuance of the tradition still unhappily surviving. The original idea pointed only to the detection of diabolical dealings by the floating or sinking of the alleged culprit; but in practice a witch was “ducked” either as a punishment for her doings or as a counter-charm against her sorceries and this appears to have been the nature of the atrocity in the case before us’ (Derby Mercury, 30 September 1863). Within weeks ‘Dummy’ died in the workhouse of pneumonia caused by the immersion. Smith and Stammers were charged at Castle Hedingham with having caused his death.

1 Where specific information has not been reported in the newspaper then the entry ‘Not reported’ has been used.

2 Where no initials or first name has been given for a married woman then she is recorded under her husband’s first name or initials. For example, if the husband were Mr Robert J Brown, the wife can be recorded as either Mrs Robert J Brown or Mrs R J Brown.

3 Where the 'Event Place' is not recorded but a hint is given in the text, then it is recorded with a question mark in parenthesis for example, Brighton (?).

Similarly, if the last name is not given, but may be inferred from the article, then it will also be followed by a question mark in parenthesis for example, Smith (?).

4 Where a person has an award or honour then this is shown after the last name. For example, Mr James Welfare, Member of Parliament would be shown as: Mr James Welfare MP

For an explanation of some of these suffixes see the following Abbreviations section.

5 Double barrelled names are not always evident as such. To deal with this, the convention followed is that if the name does not have a hyphen, only the last name is shown as the last name. Any other names are shown as additional first names. For example, Miss Jane Lisbett Smith would be entered as Smith, Jane, Lisbett, Miss.

6 Where no date is recorded for an event then the date of that issue of the newspaper will be given. Where this occurs, the date entry will be followed by the asterisk symbol () for example, 14 Jan 1874.

7 Where only the year is given the mid-year date of 30 June will be recorded followed by a hash (#) sign for example, 30-June-1872#.

Similarly, when only the month and year are given then the mid-month date of the 15th will be recorded followed by a hash (#) sign for example, 15-Jan-1879#.

8 Where no name is reported for an individual then they will be named by the surname of the parents, or they will be recorded as either "John Doe or Jane Doe"

9 Page numbers are counted from Page 1 (Front page), please note that they are not recorded in the earlier newspapers.

10 Where relationships are identified then they refer to the situation before the event recorded. For example, where the death of a husband is recorded, the widow will be shown as the wife of the deceased.

11 Where companies are recorded then each partner (if known) will be recorded separately. The full name of the company will also be recorded in the first name.

12 If the County is not identified and could be one of several, then it is not recorded. For example, Event 559 refers to Bury which could be in Cambridgeshire, Greater Manchester, Somerset or West Sussex.

13 If the address of "Maternity Home, Eastbourne" is given then this is the Maternity Home in Upperton Road.

14 The entry under ‘Event details’ will of necessity be a summary of the detail in the paper. Therefore readers may be able to gain more information by reading the actual entry.

15 Occasionally a second name is recorded in parenthesis in the paper. This second name will be shown separately and referenced to the first name recorded. For example, the record in the paper reads (Event 3889): Martin Brown (Reuben Harvey) - This is entered as Harvey, Reuben - see Brown, Martin.

It is strongly recommended that you always check the spelling of names of persons and/or places against the original entries in the relevant newspapers.

Where space is limited abbreviations will be used. In addition, most honours, awards, etc. are also abbreviated. Not all abbreviations have been identified and explained. The following is a list, in alphabetical order, of some abbreviations used:

A

ACO: [1] Admiralty Compass Observatory [2] Association of Children’s Officers

ACS: [1] Admiral Commanding Submarines [2] American College of Surgery (?)

AJC: Australian Jockey Club

AKC: Associate of Kings College

ALS: [1] Associate of the Linnean Society or [2] Agricultural Land Service

AMICE: Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Engineers (?)

AMS: [1] Agricultural Marketing Service, [2] American Mathematical Society, [3] American Meteorological Society, [4] American Microscopical Society, [5] American Musicological Society, [6] Ancient Monuments Society or [7] Australian Medical Society

ARA: Associate of the Royal Academy

ASC: Administrative Staff College (Henley)

Att: Attempted

B

BA: Bachelor of Arts

Bart.: Baronet

BCh: Bachelor of Chemistry (?)

BCL: [1] Bachelor of Canon Law or [2] Bachelor of Civil Law

BD: Bachelor of Divinity

Bros: Brothers

BSc: Bachelor of Science

C

Camb: Cambridge

Cantab: Cantabrigeiensis (Latin) - of Cambridge University.

CB: Companion of the Order of the Bath

CC: [1] City Council, [2] County Council or [3] Cricket Club

CE: [1] Church of England or [2] Civil Engineer

CH: Companion of Honour

Chas: Charles

Chmn: Chairman

CMG: Companion of St Michael and St George (abbreviation)

Co: Company

Col: Colonel

Cont: Continued

CSI: Companion of the Order of the Star of India

D

DCL: Doctor of Civil Law

DD: Doctor of Divinity

Dep: Deputy

DL: [1] Deputy Lieutenant (of the County) or [2] Doctor of Law

DO: [1] Doctor of Optometry or [2] Doctor of Osteopathy

DPW: Department of Public Works (Ceylon)

Dr: Doctor

D Sc: Doctor of Science

DSO: Distinguished Service Order

E

E: East.

E/B: Eastbourne.

EIC: East India Company

Eng: [1] England or [2] Engineer.

Ex: Outside of; out of; former.

F

FAS: [1] Fellow of the Anthropological Society or [2] Fellow of the Antiquarian Society

FGS: Fellow of the Geographical Society

FICS: [1] Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers or [2] Fellow of the International College of Surgeons

FRAS: [1] Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society or [2] Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society

FRCP: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

FRCS: [1] Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, [2] Fellow of the Royal College of Science or [3] Fellow of the Royal Corps of Signals

FRGS: Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

FRIA: Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy

FRIBA: Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

FRS: Fellow of the Royal Society.

FRZS: Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society

FSA: Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

FSS: Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society

G

GB: Great Britain

GC: George Cross

GCB: Knight of the Grand Cross of Bath

GCMB: Dame/Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George

GM: [1] George medal or [2] Grand Master

GSL: Geographical Society of London

H

Hants: Hampshire

HEICS: Honourable East India Company Service

HM: His/Her Majesty’s

Hon: Honourable

HRH: His or Her Royal Highness

I

IA: Indian Army

IMS: [1] Indian Medical Service or [2] International Musicologist Society

J

Jas. James

Junr/Jnr. Junior

JP Justice of the Peace

K

KCB: Knight Commander of the Bath

KCIE: Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire

KCH: Knight Commander of the Hanoverian Order

KCMG: Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George

KCSI: Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India

KH: [1] King's Hussars or [2] Knight of the Hanoverian Order

KG: Knight of the Order of the Garter

KNT: (Knt) Knight

KS: [1] Kings School, [2] Kings Scholar, [3] Kipling Society or [4] Kitchener Scholar

KSI: Knight of the Order of the Star of India

KT: [1] Knight of the Order of the Thistle or [2] Knight Templar

Kt/KT: Knight

L

L&B: London and Brighton (Railway)

LB & SC: London, Brighton & South Coast (Railway)

Ldn: London

LLB: Batchelor of Laws

LLD: Doctor of Laws

Lond: London

LRCP: Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians

LRCS: Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

LSA: Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries

Lt: Lieutenant

Ltd: Limited (company)

M

MA: Master of Arts

MB: Bachelor of Medicine

MCP: Member of the College of Preceptors

MD: Doctor of Medicine

Messrs: Messieurs

MFH: Master of Foxhounds

MICE: Member of the Institute of Chartered Engineers (?)

MM: Military Medal

MP: Member of Parliament

Mr: Mister or Monsieur

MRCP: Member of the Royal College of Physicians

MRCS: Member of the [1] Royal College of Surgeons, [2] Royal College of Science or [3] Royal Corp of Signals

MRCVS: Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

MRGS: Member of the Royal Geographical Society

MRIA: Member of the Royal Irish Academy

MRIBA: Member of the Royal Institute for British Architecture

Mus. Bac: Bachelor of Music (abbreviation)

Mus. Doc: Doctor of Music (abbreviation)

N

N: North

N/R: Not recorded

O

Oxon: of Oxford - ref Degree

P

P&D: Probate and Divorce

PC: [1] Parish Councillor, [2] Police Constable or Privy Councillor

PGM: Past Grand Master (Freemasons)

PhD: Doctor of Philosophy

PM: Prime Minister

Q

QC: Queen’s counsel

R

RA: [1] Rear Admiral, [2] Royal Academy, [3] Royal Academician or [4] Royal Artillery

RC: Roman Catholic

RCSI: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

RD: Rutherford (Physics)

RE: Royal Engineers

Retd./Rtd: Retired

Rev: Reverend

RHA: Royal Horse Artillery

RM: Royal Marines

RMA: Royal Military Academy

RMLI: Royal Marine Light Infantry

RN: Royal Navy

RNR: Royal Navy Reserve (?)

RSA: [1] Royal Scottish Academy, [2] Royal Scottish Academician or [3] Royal Society of Arts

Rt: Right (e.g. Right Reverend)

S

S: South

S.A: South Africa

(sic): ‘copied as written’

SNC: Steam Navigation Company

Senr/Snr: Senior

Soc: Society

Sx or Ssx: Sussex

T

Thos: Thomas

U

USA: United States of America

V

VC: Victoria Cross

VD: [1] Victorian decoration or [2] Volunteer decoration

Vs: Versus

W

W: West

WO: [1] War Office or [2] Warrant Officer

WSS: Women’s Suffrage Society

Symbols

(?): Indicates an uncertain entry

This project started in May 2001 and was carried out by volunteers from “Family Roots” FHS. Management of the project was by Bob Spilsted and John Crane.

• The following members of “Family Roots”, listed alphabetically, gave their time and effort in order to identify and record the data contained in this record set:

G Bonnick, J Crane, M Davies, F Gardener, B Gomersall, T Gomersall, R Hankins, E Hutchins, D Ireland, L Irving, L Mostran, B Penfold, M Perez-Lopez, C Spence, R Spilsted and P Stemp.

• The data was collated and entered into computer format (Microsoft ’Excel 97’) by:

P Brown, J Crane, E Down, T Hancock, C Harrison, J Haughan, M MacKean, A Martin,

D Martin, I Martin, T Morgan, S Slaughter, S Smith, C Spence and R Spilsted.