Louisa Colman Cogman
Compiled and Edited by W. Craig Burrell
Key
Points
Born: 9
November 1844
Parents: William
Colman and Martha Weaving
Spouse and
Marriage: John Cogman, 5 May 1862
Death: January
1915
Louisa
Colman was born to William Colman and Martha Weaving on 9 November 1844 in Kings Lynn, Norfolk ,
England . She grew up in a
family of seven children and was the second oldest. She was a lovely girl with
dark hair and an olive complexion.
She was
working at an inn in Norwich for her
aunt when she met John Cogman, who was working on construction with his uncles
nearby. When her aunt became aware of the relationship that was developing, her
aunt rushed her back to parents in Kings Lynn. John traveled the forty miles to
her home and presented himself to her father in a proper fashion. Her father
gave permission for them to marry. John was 21 and Louisa was only 16.
Louis’s
uncle, William Flowers was a prosperous carriage builder in Kings Lynn. He made
sure that the young couple had a gala wedding. After the ceremony, the couple
was carried to the railroad station in an elaborate carriage. It was drawn by a
classy team of horses and a postilion in a red uniform was mounted on the near
horse. As the train pulled out of the station, “Fog Signals” exploded to give
them a royal send off.
When they
arrived at their home in Norwich ,
Louisa found the home furnished and comfortable. The big copper kettle was singing
on the kitchen stove to greet them thanks to John’s sister Rachael.
Louisa did
not conceive for a year or more after she was married. She went to her mother
crying because she didn’t have any children. Her mother gently told her, “Some
day you will be crying because you have too many.” Louisa eventually had 15.
John and
Louisa were comfortable in Norwich ;
however, they found it necessary to move to London
for a while. New babies arrived while they were living there. Small Pox and
Typhus claimed the life of three of their little ones. Emma Louisa was born
while they lived in London , and
shortly after this they moved back to Norwich .
In Norwich
they settled in some of the property belonging to the Read family in what is
known as Crooks Place . John
Cogman’s granduncle, Charles Read, and his son William Reed lived in one of the
cottages. John Cogman and his growing family moved into the other cottage. John
latter built a larger home where Emma Louisa remembers growing up with her
family. She told her children about the apple tree and the private hedge that
separated the cottages from the larger home at the top of the yard. William
Read built another larger home on the property and the John Cogman family moved
into it later on.
Louisa was
very domestic and did beautiful sewing. She made many clothes for her own
children and also many clothes for the babies of her first daughter-in-law,
Polly. In those days baby’s clothes were decorated with tucks and laces and
required much hand work. On one occasion Emma Louisa saw her mother making
diapers and surmised that they were for Polly. “Don’t you think you should give
up sewing for Polly and let her do it herself?”
Her mother
replied, “I wish they were for Polly, these are for me.” They were for Kitty
the last of the 15 children. Emma Louisa was annoyed when she realized that her
mother was pregnant again.
Louisa
spent much of her time sewing. Emma Louisa was hard to sew for and it took a
lot of tucks to make her dresses fit. However, she made them fit. She spent a
major part of her time sewing while the older girls took care of the younger
children and cleaned house. Louisa spent her life in her home with her family.
She rarely went out of the house for anything.
After John
Cogman died, no one in the family was interested in managing the business or
maintaining the property. Louisa was quite heavy and had problems with her
legs. She retained water and there was no way to deal with the problem back
then. As she grew more helpless, she remained in a single room. Her daughter
Louie came by to help her on a regular basis.
Herbert
Burrell, one of Louisa’s grandsons told of this experience. “When I was 13
years old, I was living with my family on Vincent road and I grew flowers…. I
had fostered a Chrysanthemum plant and on this particular fall it burst out in
very full bloom.”
“When I
discovered what a lovely burst of yellow Chrysanthemums were on my bush, I
decided to pick them all and take them to Grandmother Cogman. They were
beautiful when I started out, but were somewhat bedraggled by the time I got
there.”
“We usually
walked everywhere in those days, although there was an Electric Tramway which
ran on rails with electric wire overhead. I never thought of taking the tram.
It may have been at least a 30 minute walk to Grandma’s home. We measured our
distance in walking time never in miles. This is the only time I remember
visiting her.”
“I was very
shocked to find her situation. As I recall, the steps up to her second floor
room were plain unpainted wood and the floor of the room was also plain and
unpainted without rugs. Grandma sat helpless in a plain wooden chair with a
curved back and arm rests, no padding. She was so very heavy and helpless. I
put the flowers in some container with water that I got from the sink myself. I
can’t remember what conversation may have taken place, but I know I went home
wondering just who would look after her. I knew that Aunt Louie lived nearby,
but I did not stop by to see her. Grandmother, Louisa Cogman suffered from
dropsy and died in January 1915.”
Source: This material
was compiled from the diaries and writings of Herbert Burrell and Doris Burrell
St Jeor.
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