Edward John Sackett

Edward John Sackett, son of Henry Samuel Sackett and Martha Paterson, was born in Bermondsey, Surrey, on 6 March 1840.^1,2 He died aged 59 in the London County Asylum, Claybury, Ilford, Essex, on 14 October 1899.^3,4 He married at St Giles Church, Camberwell, Surrey, on 31 January 1859, Eliza Vincent, daughter of George Vincent.^5,6
     In 1841 Edward was living at 18 Marigold Ct, St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, Surrey, in the household of his parents Henry and Martha, and was recorded in the census as Edward Sackett, aged four [actually one] and born in Surrey.⁷
     In 1851 he was living at 3 Castle Street, Camberwell, Surrey, and was recorded as Edward Sackett, a scholar, aged 11, born in Bermondsey, the son of Martha Sackett.⁸
     After leaving school, Edward completed an apprenticeship to become a leather shaver.
     In 1864 Edward was the victim of a mugging when, on 29 July, he was assaulted in the street while walking to his home in Elizabeth Terrace, Bermondsey, and had his watch and some money stolen. The assailants, a man and a woman, were tried at London's Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, found guilty, and sentenced to prison with hard labour for, respectively, ten years and five years.⁹
     Edward left Bermondsey in May 1866, moving to Dresden in Germany where he continued in his trade as a leather shaver. Within weeks of his arrival, he was to witness the invasion of Dresden by the Prussians during the Austro-Prussian War, writing home to his parents with a description of what he had seen.¹⁰
     He remained in Dresden for about four years, with several visits home, and, from about 1868, was joined by his brother Samuel and his family who had moved from Freiburg, Germany, where Samuel had also worked as a leather shaver. Edward's wife Eliza, and presumably their children, also spent some of this time in Dresden, although there would appear to have been lengthy periods of separation, with Eliza remaining in Bermondsey. Letters from Edward to his parents tell of problems caused by Eliza's excessive drinking. Edward returned to Bermondsey in 1870, while his brother Samuel remained in Germany, returning two or three years later.
     In 1874, Edward joined Samuel and his family who had returned to England and were living in Leeds, Yorkshire. While there, Edward suffered a mental breakdown, exhibiting signs of mania. Following an incident during which he jumped through his landlord's parlour window, Edward was remanded for a week "to see the state of his mind". In November of that year, he was admitted to the Brookwood Asylum in Surrey. He was to remain in various asylums for the rest of his life.
     In 1881 he was living in the Brookwood Lunatic Asylum, Woking, Surrey, and was recorded as Henry [sic] Sackett, a patient, a leather shaver, married, aged 41 and born at St Olaves, Surrey. (It would seem that an error was made in recording his name in the census. The other census data and the asylum records confirm that this must have been Edward John Sackett).¹¹
     Edward was transferred in 1882 to the Moulsford Asylum, near Wallingford, Berkshire, one of a group of patients moved to relieve overcrowding at Brookwood. His mental disorder was described as "dementia". He was transferred in 1884 to the London County Lunatic Asylum (the Cane Hill Asylum) at Coulsdon, Surrey. His wife Eliza was living at 14 Prospect Place, Rotherhithe, Surrey and was recorded as Eliza Sackett, head of household, married, aged 41 and born in Isleworth, Middlesex. Living with her were their daughters, Eliza (20), and Alice (19), Eliza's 64-year-old widowed mother Eliza Vincent, and a nine-year-old niece, Annie Eliza Vincent.¹²
     In 1891 he was living in the London County Lunatic Asylum, Coulsdon, Purley, Surrey, and was recorded as Edward Sackett, a patient, aged 49, a retired leather shaver, a lunatic.¹³
     Edward was transferred back to the Brookwood Asylum in 1895, at which time he was described as suffering from chronic mania. His last move was in 1896 to the London County Asylum, Claybury, in Ilford, Essex, where he died of heart disease on 14 October 1899.