Frederick Oakley, 5th Child of John Oakley & Jane Meabry.

Frederick Oakley, pictured above, was born on February 22, 1838, at 34 Parliament Street, Westminster, the home and business place of grocer father John Oakley and his wife Jane Meabry. Frederick at the time of his birth had older siblings John Jeffryes, William Alfred, Jane Elizabeth and Edwin Thomas. Eight years after his birth final child Fanny Fortnum Oakley was born, completing the family of six children.

Of the sort of person Frederick Oakley was, we can only guess. Our only clues of his life come from census returns and other various indexes. He never married, and lived with his mother and her female servants until her death in 1893.

  Frederick’s places of residence throughout his life were all mainly in London, except for the period spent as a child at the Oakley family’s country residence at Golders Green .

 His London addresses were as follows:

34 Parliament Street, Westminster.

182 Piccadilly, London.

25 Cavendish Road West, St. John’s Wood.

39 Springfield Rd, Hampstead, London.                                     

 I don’t believe that Frederick ever worked for a living, being one of the ‘gentlemen’ who relied on their inheritances to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. Certainly in various census returns his occupation was always listed as ‘living on own means’.

  Frederick’s life as traced through the censuses of 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 was as follows:

1841: 182 Piccadilly, London.

John Oakley / 35 / grocer / not born in county

Jane Oakley/ 35 / born in county

Jane Oakley/ 9 /   born in county

Edwin Oakley/ 7 / born in county

Frederick Oakley/ 3 / born in county

1851: 182-183 Piccadilly.

John Oakley/ head/ mar/ 48/ tea & wine merchant/b Shrewsbury

Jane Oakley/wife/ 49/ b St. George, M’sex.

Jane E. Oakley/ dau/ 19/ b St. Margarets, Westminster

John J. Oakley/ son/ 22 / b St. Pauls Covent Garden

William Oakley/ son/ 21/ b St. Pauls Covent Garden.

Frederick Oakley/ son/ 12/ scholar at home/ b St. Margarets.

Fanny Oakley/ dau/ 4/ b St. James Westminster.

Also at this Fortnum & mason address lived six ‘shopmen’, a general servant and a cook.

1861: Golders Green, Hendon.

Jane Oakley/ head/ widow/ 59/ lady/

F.F. Oakley/ dau/ unmar/ 14/ lady/ b St. James

F. Oakley/ son/ 22/ son/ unmarr/b St. James.

Julia Bachelor/ servant/ unmar/ 28/

William Oakley/ son/ unmarr/ 31/ estate agent/ b Westminster.

George Johnson/ servant/ marr/50/ b Lincolnshire.

Ann Johnson/ servant/ marr/ 43/ b Warwickshire.

George Baddon/ servant/ unmarr/ ? / b Hert.

1871: 25 Cavendish Road West, St. Johns Wood.

Frederick Oakley / son/ unmarried/ 33 years/ income from funds/ born Middlesex

Sarah Raynor/ 40/ servant/ b Norfolk/ widow

Mary Smith/ 29/ servant/ b Berkshire/ unmarried

1881: 25 Cavendish Road West, St. Johns Wood.

Jane Oakley/head/ widow/ 80 years/ born Bloomsbury/ annuitant.

Frederick Oakley/ son/ single/ 38/ born Middlesex.

Sarah Rayner/ 40/ servant/ single/b Norfolk/ cook

Mary Smith/ 30/ servant/ single/ b Berkshire/ housemaid.

1891: 25 Cavendish Rd West, Marylebone.

Jane Oakley/ head/90/ widow/ living on own means/employer/ b London.

Alfred Oakley/ son/ single/52/ living on own means/ b London.

Mary(or May) W. Day/ servant/ single/ 22/ b Ipswich.

Mary Smith/ servant/ single/49/ b Shrivenham, Berkshire

1901: 39 Springfield Rd, Hampstead.

Frederick Oakley/ 63/ head/ single/ living on own means/ b London.

Mary Smith/ 59/ single/ cook domestic/ b Shrivenham Berkshire.

Mabel E. Tillcock/ 21/ b Marylebone/ single/ servant housemaid.

 Jane Oakley and her family moved from their Golders Green country home to 25 Cavendish Rd West, in fashionable St. Johns Wood, after her husband John’s death in 1861, so Frederick spent over thirty years in the same house. He also had the same servant, Mary Smith, for over thirty years- how wonderful to read romance or even friendship into their relationship over this long period, but that is something we will never know!

  Frederick’s mother, Jane Oakley, must have valued Mary Smith as a servant… in 1882 she made her will, and left Mary and her co-worker, Sarah Ann Rayner twenty five pounds each if still in her employ at the time of her death. Mary certainly was still with the Oakley family at the time of her mistress’s death in 1893, but Sarah was not.

  Frederick spent his final years at his home in Hampstead, dying on October 4, 1910 at the age of 72.
As can be seen below, administration of his estate was granted to his sisters, Fanny Scorer and Jane Grain, and his brother Edwin Oakley.