28 May 2011

The Weiss family in Manchester

This afternoon I discovered a new bit of information about Charles Weiss. He is listed under his full name of Charles Nicholas Weiss in the 1837 Pigot's Directory (Pigot and Co's National Commercial Directory of Scotland and the Isle of Man, including important towns such as Manchester) as a Professor of Music (and languages), 47 Rosamond St, C. on M., in the Manchester section. It took me a little bit of time to work out that C. on M. stands for Chorlton on Medlock. Chorlton on Medlock is now part of Manchester.

I'd always wondered about the fact that some of Charles and Benigna's children were born in Manchester - Caroline, Egmont and Frederick were, and probably Benigna and Derby as well. It seems reasonable to think that a Professor of Music (and Languages) might teach in the home in which he lives. So it seems reasonable to think that the children were born there in the house at 47 Rosamond St.

Sadly, Rosamond St doesn't exist anymore. Rosamond St West does, but to the east of it is the Manchester Aquatics Centre. I'm trying to work out what churches may have been close by, and also what cemeteries. There's a good chance that if Benigna (junior) died while they were in Manchester she is buried somewhere in a cemetery nearby. And the baptism records for Benigna, Caroline and Derby may be somewhere there too. Unfortunately the parish records for FreeReg are from 1837, and Benigna, Caroline and Derby were all born before this. If anyone has any good ideas on where to look for baptism and burial records for Chorlton on Medlock please let me know! I can only assume that considering Adelaide, Egmont and Frederick were baptised in Church of England parishes that the family was also associated with a Church of England parish when they lived in Chorlton on Medlock.

I still haven't worked out if a Professor of Music needed any qualifications for such a title. Seems to just be the title of a glorified music teacher!

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