P is for Philadelphia Starr was my 5th great grandmother. I’ve always loved the sound of her name as it’s so different from your regular names like Ann or Jane or Sarah. Not that they aren’t good names, but Philadelphia just seems such an interesting name to have. When I first found Philadelphia, I was surprised and it seemed such an uncommon name to me. After all, the only time I’d heard it before was in reference to the city in the USA. Upon digging further though, the name Philadelphia was apparently wildly popular across the entire East Sussex area starting in the mid 1500s right through to the mid 1800s. My relatives apparently enjoyed this popular name as there are many, many Philadelphia Starr’s in the region of East Sussex in which my Philadelphia lived.
St John the Baptist Parish Church, Westfield
My Philadelphia Starr was born sometime in late 1793 in Westfield, East Sussex to parents WilliamStarr and Ann Crisford. Philadelphia was then promptly baptised on 27 October of the same year at the local Church of England parish church, St. John the Baptist. Philadelphia was part of a fairly standard sized family, being one of nine children. Not much is known of Philadelphia’s early life, but she grew up in the Westfield and Maresfield areas of East Sussex. However, by 1807 Philadelphia was living in Sedlescombe which was where her first child William Starr was born. Philadelphia was just 14 years old at the time. Surprisingly, Philadelphia did not marry the father of her child though he was known to her.
It is recorded in parish documents that William’s father was a Richard Milham, a 20 year old bricklayer. The baptism records at the time record William as being Baseborn, that is illegitimate, but further records reveal that Richard Milham acknowledged that he was the father and made continued payments for the support of his child. Despite the financial support, it must have been a hard time for Philadelphia as she was so young.
Philadelphia did eventually marry, but it wasn’t until 1821 that she married Edward Stevenson at St. Nicholas’ Church in Brighton, Sussex. After their marriage, Philadelphia settled with her husband in the Maresfield area of Sussex where the couple had three sons. Philadelphia’s three sons were still residing with her and her husband on the 1841 Census at Fletching, which is part of the Maresfield district. On the 1851 Census, Philadelphia and Edward are still living at the same address this time with only their eldest son at home along with a three year old granddaughter. I have bene working hard to figure which child of Philadelphia’s this granddaughter belonged to, but haven’t succeeded yet. As the child bears the Stevenson surname, she obviously was the child of one of Philadelphia’s sons.
Sadly, in 1854 Philadelphia’s husband Edward died at the age of 65 years old leaving Philadelphia a widow. Philadelphia may have continued to live in Fletching, or she may not have. That is something we really just don’t know. On the 1861 Census, Philadelphia appears at Staplehurst, Kent where she is listed as a visitor in the household. However, on the 1871 Census Philadelphia is found living in the same household in Staplehurst, Kent. This time she is not listed as just a visitor, but is indicated as a relative. The household was that of Philadelphia’s sister Harriet.
The workhouse at Uckfield, Sussex which has since been demolished
Unfortunately, when Philadelphia died in 1877 she was a resident of the Uckfield Workhouse in Sussex. The Workhouses were places reserved for paupers and those who were too old to look after themselves. Based on everything I have ever read about the living conditions in the Workhouses, I can just imaging how horrible it would have been to live in such a place. At the time of her death Philadelphia was aged 83 years old.