William Henry Vize (bef. 1833 - 1878)

Born before 3 Nov 1833 in Mill Hill, Middlesex, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Walker) Harney — married 19 Oct 1860 in Sale, Victoria

Descendants

Died 25 Jun 1878 after age 44 in Sale, Victoria

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Sue Vize [send private message]

Biography

William was baptised at St Mark Kennington on 3 November 1833; his birth date was not recorded ^[1]. He was the second son of John Vize a schoolmaster and Matilda Lucy. The family settled in Clapham around the time of William's baptism. According to the 1851 census he was born in Mill Hill ^[2]. The family was known to have stayed in this area briefly after his father's bankruptcy, probably living with his grandmother.

Both his parents died relatively young, his mother in 1837 ^[3] and his father in 1840 ^[4]. William and his surviving siblings John Edward and Lucy Lockwood, were recorded living in South Hackney in the 1841 census ^[5]. They appear to be alone, though this particular record is difficult to decipher as it appears to be a tenement with no addresses listed against the occupants. Also resident is William Lockwood and his wife Ann, possibly the children's uncle and aunt. It was William Lockwood that registered his father's death ^[6].

Both John and William received a good education, John becoming an accountant and later a clergyman ^[7], and William taking an apprenticeship as a druggist in Tunbridge Wells ^[8]. He is recorded here in the 1851 census, though there is no record of him every registering as a druggist so he may not have completed his apprenticeship (his master William Wickham is registered) ^[9].

In 1855 he sailed for Melbourne, Victoria ^[10], reputedly missing his return passage due to a side trip to Stratford in Gippsland, the namesake of his mother's home town.

William entered a partnership with Charles Duval as "Duval & Vize" Chemists. This was dissolved in 1864 and the business then became the "Vize Pharmacy" ^[11]. He was also involved in promoting aerated water, with this partnership dissolved in 1865 ^[12]. He had an interest in land at Stratford, though was unable to pay the licence fees and registered as a defaulter in 1869 ^[13].

He married Mary Walker, the sister-in-law of his good friend William Frederick Parker in 1860 in Sale ^[14].

He was also involved with the Sale Municipal Council, running for office in 1863 and 1865 ^[15][16]. It seems unsuccessfully.

Sometime in the late 1860s he opened his first photography studio in Sale, later opening additional studios in Maffra, Lucknow and Bairnsdale ^[17]. The family lived mainly between Lucknow and Bairnsdale during the the early 1870s. He is considered one of Australia's pioneers of photography, with his surviving collection housed at the Victoria State Library ^[18].

William's health was not good and his businesses did not do well. The family returned to Sale in about 1877, but he died from an abscess of the liver in June 1878 ^[19]. He was buried the next day in an unmarked grave with his stillborn daughter ^[20].

Sources

1. ↑ Parish register baptism St Mark Kennington Oval, Surrey
2. ↑ 1851 England Census: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, household of William Wickham
3. ↑ England & Wales Free BMD Death Index JulQ 1837 Lambeth
4. ↑ England & Wales Free BMD Death Index JanQ 1840
5. ↑ 1841 England Census: Tower Hamlets, London
6. ↑ Certified Death Certificate of John Vize, in possession of Sue Vize
7. ↑ UK, Crockford's Clerical Directories
8. ↑ 1851 England Census: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, household of William Wickham
9. ↑ correspondence between Sue Vize and Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
10. ↑ Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839–1923 "Seringapatam" passenger list
11. ↑ Melbourne Argus 1 January 1864
12. ↑ Melbourne Argus 11 December 1865
13. ↑ Gippsland Times 10 July 1869
14. ↑ Vic marriage #4018
15. ↑ Gippsland Times 25 September 1863
16. ↑ Gippsland Times 9 August 1865
17. ↑ https://www.daao.org.au/bio/william-henry-vize/
18. ↑ https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/
19. ↑ Vic death #6664
20. ↑ Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current