Today’s Image: Gatesgarth, date unknown, from my mother’s collection of fotos.
Gatesgarth in Lindley was in the family for at least 5 generations. Benjamin was not born there as his parents had already moved to Longwood, but it became his home on his marriage and he passed it on to his son and grandchildren.
There is more to come on Benjamin, including fotos and old documents, but for now – meet my great-grandparents. :).
Benjamin Broadbent.
Born on 7 May 1850, Benjamin was the 4th son, and 7th surviving child of John and Esther Broadbent of Longwood.
– His maternal grandfather was also named Benjamin.
– He was the younger brother of Sir William Broadbent, physician to the royal house.
Louisa Ann Keighley
Benjamin married Louisa Ann Keighley, the daughter of William Keighley and Elizabeth Lockwood. William Keighley was a woollen manufacturer and merchant who had a business in Huddersfield called Lockwood & Keighley, inherited from his father-in-law Joshua Lockwood.
This is one of the fotos in the collection that my elder sister recently sent to me. Taken in 1879, it shows Louisa Ann the year before her marriage to Benjamin. She would have been between 29 and her mid-thirties at the time.
100 Years
I placed the foto on Abuelo’s desk, and sent a copy to JB in London. No explanations, just the image.
– Abuelo’s immediate reaction – sounding slightly baffled: This is you.
– And JB: No Way! Mom, that’s you!
I’m interested to hear comments from those who knew me when I was younger.
I have not yet done any research into the Keighleys, but a second Very Kind Person has just contacted me to say that he has more info on her family. Thank you Steve, and I will be getting back to you.
Back to Benjamin
His education was at Huddersfield College, King’s College, London, and Queen’s College, Oxford. His political/philosophical position has been described as ‘Liberal with Independent leanings’, and his persuasions concerning social reform reflect this.
Above everything, however, were his biblical beliefs. Benjamin was a lifelong committed christian, following the Wesleyan/Methodist initiative of his father, and – like him – serving faithfully as a Sunday School teacher and superintendent. He had wanted to be a clergyman, but circumstances held him close to home, and he entered his father’s business in the mills.
He held that private charity for the poor was part of the christian ethic, whilst presenting a scriptural balance of self-help, industry and thrift. His commitment to living out his ideals shaped his influence on the economy and government of his borough, and extended into his life’s work in child welfare.
He dedicated his altruistic efforts to public service, serving two terms as mayor of Huddersfield. In that time he occupied himself with several branches of municipal activity – the tramways system, the purification of rivers, the model lodging-house movement, and the campaign to abolish cellar dwellings.
But his most important work, and the one for which he gained national recognition, was his work in the Health Committee.
His reforms in child welfare had first a local and then a national impact.
His Work in Child Health Reform
“Huddersfield’s infant welfare initiatives owed much, indeed almost everything, to the efforts of Benjamin Broadbent, a local manufacturer and prominent civic figure, the ultimate ‘Edwardian Yorkshireman’; and Dr S. G.H. Moore, the town’s MOH.
“Together they dominated the scheme from the start. Moore provided the medical evidence and expertise which Broadbent
required. Broadbent provided the push, organization, financial backing, personal influence, and, in one instance at least, his own money to put the programmes into operation.”
In recognition of his work he received the Freedom of the Borough, and was awarded the CBE.
Their Children
I have only located one date of birth for Louisa, which date makes her the same age as Benjamin. However, it has been posited that she was older than Benjamin. She was a friend of his sister Sarah, who was 8 years Benjamin’s senior, so this is feasible.
Benjamin was 30 years old at the time of his marriage in 1880.
If Louisa was older than he, it could explain why she had difficulty with childbirth.
– The first baby, a daughter, was stillborn.
– Their only surviving child, a son, was William Keighley Benedict, my grandfather. Born premature at 7 months, he weighed 2½ pounds and was kept alive in an incubator.
– There were no more children.
Data
Benjamin
Born: 7 May 1850
Married: 15 April 1880
Died: 25 June 1925
Louisa Ann
Born: 1850
Died: One record has it as 3 Feb 1938, another presents her death as having happened around 1915.
Their Children
Daughter: Died at birth, date unknown.
Son: William Keighley Benedict
Born: 1889
Married: 1916
Died: 25 Feb 1949
Yes I know that, working chronologically, I still have to cover Benjamin’s two older brothers, Butterworth and John. But since today is my birthday I just felt it was fitting to feature my direct ancestry line.
References:
The Society for the Social History of Medicine, A Pioneer in Infant Welfare: the Huddersfield Scheme 1903-1920. Hilary Marland.
Huddersfield Examiner, 7 Oct. 1916
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