The handwriting of William Shirley junior - inscription in a bible given to his daughter Louisa in 1863 WS 169

The handwriting of William Shirley junior - inscription in a bible given to his daughter Louisa in 1863 WS 169

A few years ago (c. 2013) I was contacted by a young lady , saying she was a direct descendant of William Shirley from Caistor. She had happened across my site while researching her family tree. In due course we met up and I provided her with one of the distinctive spindle-backed chairs made in Caistor. More recently she discovered in her family possessions a bible which her mother had taken to Canada and then brought back to the UK. On opening the front cover she found the endearing note from William Shirley to his daughter, Louisa. It reads:

"Presented to Louisa Shirley on the occasion of her 21st Birthday. Read, live and exemplify the spiritual truths contained in this word and adorn your character with all the graces of a devout and Christian Spirit and then you will have fulfilled the desires of a kind and loving father. December 14th 1863. Wm Shirley" 

This is the very first piece of writing that I have discovered by a Lincolnshire chairmaker. It shows an elegant hand of a commited believer, expressing his hopes for a much-loved daughter. It also gives me hope that there are more notes written by chairmakers that have not been discovered yet.

© William Sergeant 2015 and 2020