1) Many thanks to various listers for the suggestion that the birthplace "Nancis Jane
Hodges" is in fact Wiveliscombe, Somerset, c10 miles W of Taunton. I guess that this
is probably correct, although the census entry does look like Wicclescombe. I wonder if
"Prince Julius" wrote down all the information, which was later transcribed by
the enumerator. Would this explain why "Nancy" appears as "Nancis",
which might seem reasonable from a French point of view?
2) S.A.R. = Son Altesse Royale = His/Her Royal Highness = H.R.H.
3) According to Larousse, Ponthieu is a "county" in Picardy, northern France,
lying between the river Authie to the north & the river Somme to the south. Main town
is Abbeville. Crecy (site of battle 26 August 1346), just a few miles north of Abbeville,
is correctly known as Crecy-en-Ponthieu to distinguish it from (at least) 2 other Crecys.
Vismes is a village c6 miles SW of Abbeville - between the rivers Somme & Bresle.
4) How would the household have travelled to Llanuwchllyn? Presumably by train - the 1871
census shows at least 1 railway porter & 2 platelayers living in Llanuwchllyn, so I
reckon the railway had reached there by then. I wonder what life was like for Eliza, with
4 children to look after, and her husband's 2 elderly aunts, and "only" 1
servant to help!! Maybe the house wasn't large enough to accommodate any more live-in
servants, but they came in to work on a daily basis.
Jeff Delves