Edith Brent (1784-1871) and her soldier husband

Edith Brent (1784-1871), Charles Prigg (1782-1814) and Alexander McKenzie (c1786-1832).
My 4th great-grand aunt and uncles.

Edith Brent was born to Henry Brent and his wife Mary and baptised on 31 January 1784 at Holy Trinity Church in Wonston, Hampshire. The family continued to live in and around the village.

She married Charles Prigg from Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, at St Ann’s Church in Radipole, Dorset, on 16 May 1807. Charles, the son of Joseph and Ann Prigg, had enlisted in the 15th Regiment of Light Dragoons (also known as the 15th King’s Hussars) in 1801, rising to the rank of Sergeant, and was based in several parts of England during his service, judging by where their children were baptised – Woodbridge in Suffolk and Winchester in Hampshire.

In 1808 the regiment was sent abroad, landing at A Coruña in northern Spain for service in the Peninsula War, which saw the British allied with Spain and Portugal in the battle against the invading French forces led by Napoleon. However, the French proved overwhelming in this part of Spain towards the end of 1808 and the British were forced into a retreat. The bedraggled forces, which had suffered significant losses, managed to escape with the help of the British fleet. Charles and his fellow men returned home early in 1809.

Later in the Peninsula War, in 1813, the dragoons sailed for Lisbon in Portugal to support the Duke of Wellington’s British army in their drive to chase French forces back into France. In March 1814 the men began the advance towards Toulouse, via Monfaucon, Samatan and St Lys. On the approach to Toulouse later in the month the French launched a surprise attack of infantry and cavalry, which forced the British back. In the battle, Charles, a fellow trooper and eight horses were killed. Letters from his comrades collated in the book ‘From Corunna To Waterloo: The Letters and Journals of Two Napoleonic Hussars’ noted that Charles died later in the day from his wounds. His brother Samuel was also serving with the regiment as a sergeant on the day, according to the family gravestone. In April the French were defeated at Toulouse and the dragoons returned home. Charles was buried in the family plot at his home village of Stoke-sub-Hamdon in Somerset, the grave noting that he “fell while fighting for his King and country in the south of France 25 March 1814 aged 31 years”.

Royal Hospital Chelsea: Prize Records mentioned Charles. These documents outlined the distribution of military prize money granted to British Army soldiers and their families in the 18th and 19th centuries for success in battle. When British forces captured enemy property or territory, the spoils (or their monetary value) were allocated to officers and men as rewards. Dated 1816, so two years after his death, the records noted allocations to Charles of £2 14s and 3.5d and £10 7s. It’s unclear whether his family actually claimed them.

Edith was left alone to bring up their children – two of whom had only been baptised in 1813 – but she married again. She wed Alexander McKenzie, a painter and decorator, on 13 January 1817 at Portsea in Hampshire. They lived in Winchester, Hampshire, and had children together but he died in 1832 and was buried in the city on 27 April. In reporting his death the Hampshire Chronicle of 23 April 1832 noted that he had been a member of the North Hants Militia – at the time a reserve force.

In 1841 Edith was living with several of her children in Colebrook Street, Winchester, working as a shopkeeper but 10 years later her occupation was given as day nurse at the county hospital in the city. In 1861 and 1871 she was living at the St John’s Hospital almshouses. Edith died on 19 June 1871.

Edith’s children were:

• Charles Henry Prigg (1807-????), who was born to Edith and Charles and baptised at Woodbridge in Suffolk. I’ve not traced him beyond being admitted into the church at Wonston the following year when the couple had moved to Hampshire.
• Louisa Prigg (1813-1875), who was born to Edith and Charles and baptised at Winchester in Hampshire. She married local man Joseph Williams there in 1831. He was a greengrocer and, later, a market gardener. They lived in the city and raised their children there. Louisa died in 1875, Joseph in 1878.
• Matilda Prigg (1813-1855), who was born to Edith and Charles and baptised at Winchester in Hampshire. She married local man William Gaiger there in 1835 and together they remained in the city for the rest of their lives. They had children and he worked as a cellarman and later as a porter but Matilda died young in 1855. William remarried and died in 1880.
• Alexander Montrose McKenzie (1817-1853), who was born to Edith and Alexander and baptised at Winchester in Hampshire. He married Sarah Rogers in Chilcomb, Hampshire, in 1838, and worked as a whitesmith and a painter and decorator. They had children and lived in Winchester but he died young in 1853. Sarah went on to work as a nurse and died in 1875.
• Henry Mckenzie (1821-1872), who was born to Edith and Alexander and baptised at Winchester in Hampshire. He married Angelina Matilda Fielder in Buckinghamshire in 1842 – using the name Henry Alexander Montague Stuart Mackenzie – and was living in Woolwich, Kent, in 1871 with his wife and children, while working as a tailor. He was buried in Plumstead, Kent, in 1872.
• Frederick McKenzie (1824-????), who was born to Edith and Alexander and baptised at Winchester in Hampshire. By 1841 he was working as a carpenter and then followed that trade in the Royal Navy and the merchant navy. In 1844 he married Elizabeth Lewis in Portsmouth but I’ve not found them subsequently.
• Caroline McKenzie (1825-????) was born to Edith and Alexander and baptised at Winchester in Hampshire. I’ve not been able to trace her with any confidence.
• George McKenzie (1828-1833) was born to Edith and Alexander and baptised at Winchester in Hampshire (although his mother’s name was incorrectly given as Elizabeth on the parish record). He was buried in Winchester in 1833.

Sources: BMD, military, census and other records from Ancestry.co.uk, Findmypast.co.uk and familysearch.org.
British Newspaper Archive (titles in text).
From Corunna to Waterloo: the Letters and Journals of Two Napoleonic Hussars, 1801-1816 by Gareth Glover, Greenhill Books 2007.
15th King’s Hussars.
Royal Hospital Chelsea: Prize Records at The Genealogist.