A Panther shot and killed in Hertfordshire

A long account from the Herts Mercury of how Ralph Thrale shot and killed a panther at Wheathampstead is available [Click Here].

In addition to being an interesting and unusual story it turns out that most of the people named are related - and are already mentioned on this site. 

Ralph Norman Thrale (1803-1876) and William Thrale (1805-1876) were brothers, the sons of Ralph Thrale (1778-1852) and Sarah Burchmore (1767-1820) - see Who is related to Who. Their sister was Harriet Thrale (1801-1879) who married James Mardall (1784-1844). The Thrale Family is well documented in the books A New Thraliana and A Newer Thraliana. The stuffed panther was the prize exhibit in the museum at their farm at No Mans Land. The Mardall family owned the Harpenden Brewery.

The Mr House whose dog was killed may have been John Isaac House (1793-1849) whose wife Ann Kidman (1792-1859) was aunt to Alfred James Elliott Kidman (1831-1875) who appears in a different part of the Who is related to Who tree.

Charles Higby Lattimore (1806-1889) was a major farmer with land in Wheathamstead and Sandridge. In 1873 he urged local farmers to sack all strikers in the Sandridge Agricultural Workers Strike.  The Lattimore family owned the Hope Brewery at Wheathampstead - See the Harpenden Brewery. 

Isaac Field (born c1813) was, in 1841, an agricultural labourer living with his wife Mary at Gustard Wood, Wheathampstead.

The name "William Smith" was too common to make a reliable identification from the 1841 census.

St George's School, Harpenden

St George's School, Harpenden.

I have just added some new information about St George's School, including a list of the staff and boarding pupils in 1891, and details of two books about the school. I was interested to discover that when the school was built Mr Wix, the first headmaster, had purchased the land from a Mrs Mardall. This is the Martha Mardall, nee Long who appears in the series of pages on cousin marriages Who is related to who?