Letitia Sarah (Leake) Billyard-Leake (1859 - 1923)

Born 28 May 1859 in Glenelg, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Charles Arthur Moresby (Billyard) Billyard-Leake — married 5 Mar 1891 in Ross, Tasmania, Australia

Descendants

Died 2 Jul 1923 at age 64 in Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, England

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Biography

Letitia (Leake) Billyard-Leake migrated from Australia to UK.

Letitia Sarah Leake was born on 28th May 1859 and her birth was registered in the district of Glenelg, in the south western corner of Victoria, Australia. She was the daughter of Edward Leake and Letitia Clarke.^[1] Her birth was announced in "Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser" on Wednesday 8th June 1859.

"Birth.

On Saturday, 28th May ult., the wife of E. J. Leake, Esq., of a daughter." ^[2]

Letitia's father, Edward John Leak, died in 1867, when she was only about 7 years old. Her mother, Letitia Amanda Leak, had previously been admitted to a lunatic asylum in Tasmania in 1855. Letitia Sarah inherited the vast "Glencoe" estate from her father and her uncle, Arthur Leak, was the executor and administrator of his brother's will. It is unclear exactly how, but Arthur became Letitia Sarah's guardian, no doubt because of her mother's mental condition.

When her mother remarried in 1870, Letitia went to live with Uncle Arthur and a governess at "Ashby" in Tasmania.

Letitia was sent to Vieusseux Ladies College in East Melbourne, a protestant school that was arguably the pinnacle of private girls boarding school in Australia in the nineteenth century. Her mother was not happy about this because she had only given up Letitia on condition that she be raised as a Catholic. In 1876, Uncle Arthur took Letitia to England where she had further schooling in London before a trip around Europe.

When Letitia came of age in 1880, she was a very wealthy woman. When Arthur Leake died in 1890, her wealth increased as Arthur's will divided the major portion of his estate between his wife, Mary Leake, and his niece, Letitia Sarah Leake.

Letitia Sarah Leake married Charles Arthur Moresby Billyard on 5th March 1891 at St Johns Church, Ross, Tasmania, Australia.^[3]

The couple chose to use the surname Billyard-Leake after their marriage which was celebrated in lavish style at two different locations. Firstly, approximately 200 guests were entertained at "Ashby", which Letitia had purchased, on the afternoon of the wedding. They even hired a private train to transport guests from Hobart to Ross, which didn't arrive on time so they missed the church service. The wedding cake was 5ft 6in high and weighed 3cwt (approximately 150kg). The following day, Mrs. Billyard-Leake opened "Ashby" and its grounds to the inhabitants of Ross, en masse, to "partake of the pleasures". The couple then made their way back to their new home at Riversdale in New South Wales where they threw another lavish fete for 800 people. Money it seemed was simply not an issue.^[4][5]

Meanwhile, Charles Arthur Moresby Billyard-Leake was going through bankruptcy, with a certificate issued, somewhat reluctantly on 29th September 1892. ^[6] Presumably, all the creditors had been fully paid.

Letitia and Charles Billyard-Leake had 4 children.

1. Letitia Elizabeth Billyard-Leake b. 1896
2. Mary Deyncort Billyard-Leake b. 1893 d. 1898
3. Edward Whaley Billyard-Leake b. 1895
4. Charles Robert Billyard-Leake b. 1898

In 1897, Charles and his family migrated to England. They purchased a property called Harefield Park in Middlesex. In November 1914 they gave up the property during World War 1 when it became an Australian Military Hospital. Charles also donated the cenotaph in the Australian War Cemetery at Harefield Church. At the time of the acceptance of the offer it was estimated by the military authorities that the house would accommodate 50 soldiers under winter conditions and 150 during spring and summer. In fact, the hospital accommodated over 1,000 beds at the height of its use, and also a large nursing and ancillary support staff. A total of about 49,000 sick and injured Australian soldiers were treated there.

Letitia didn't forget her brother, John Leake, who was omitted from their father's will which was drawn up before John was born. John died, age 42, in 1904, and Letitia took on some responsibility for the care of his six children, paying for the four boys to be educated at St Xavier’s College in Melbourne. She also maintained contact with John’s wife Agnes.

Letitia Billyard-Leake died on 2nd July 1923 at Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, England.^[7]

Letitia was buried in St Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Harefield, Middlesex, London, England.^[8]

Reference Notes

It is likely that Letitia Sarah was born at "Glencoe" near Mount Gambier in South Australia and the Victorian registration may have been the most convenient place to register the birth. No evidence to support this. Pure speculation on my part, but I still maintain it to be the most likely place of birth.

Sources

1. ↑ Vic BDM Index Birth 1859/14528 Letitia Sarah Leake, Edward John Leake(F), Letitia Amanda Leake(M), Glenelg, Victoria, Australia [1] Accessed 28 Feb 2020.
2. ↑ "Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser" (Vic. : 1842 - 1843; 1854 - 1876) Wed 8 Jun 1859 Page 2 Family Notices; NLA trove newspapers [2] Accessed 29 Apr 2021.
3. ↑ Tasmania BDM Index Marriage Names Index 908224 Letitia Sarah Leake and Charles Arthur M Billyard, 5 Mar 1891; [3] Accessed 9 Mar 2020.
4. ↑ "Daily Telegraph" (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) Fri 6 Mar 1891 Page 3 Fashionable Wedding At Ross; NLA trove newspapers [4] Accessed 27 Feb 2020.
5. ↑ "Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer" (NSW : 1884 - 1901) Sat 2 May 1891 Page 2 The Riversdale Fete; NLA trove newspapers [5] Accessed 10 Mar 2020.
6. ↑ "Evening News" (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) Tue 6 Dec 1892 Page 6 Billyard-Leake's Bankruptcy; NLA trove newspapers [6] Accessed 10 Mar 2020.
7. ↑ UK BMD Index, Leake Letitia S B, age 64, Maidenhead, Vol 2c Page 375; [7] Accessed 9 Mar 2020.
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144814287/letitia-sarah-billyard-leake) accessed 06 October 2021), memorial page for Letitia Sarah Leake Billyard-Leake (28 May 1859–2 Jul 1923), Find A Grave: Memorial #144814287, citing St Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Harefield, London Borough of Hillingdon, Greater London, England ; Maintained by DeeBee (contributor 47710196).

See also:-

• Harefield Hospital Centenary: Local Stories- Letitia Sarah Leake Nov 17, 2015 by Schaney Harefield with thanks to Annette Guterres for submitting this story; [[8] Accessed 8 Mar 2020.

• Leake Family Papers: Bequest of Dorothy Foster 1964, Additional items given by J. Hudspeth 1978; University of Tasmania Library Special & Rare Collections Leake L1; [9] and [10] Accessed 29 Feb 2020.