Frederic Edward Hilleary was born on 13 December 1841 in Stratford, Essex, the son of Gustavus Edward Hilleary (1806-1890) and Susan Hilleary née Mount (1820-1903). On 12 January 1842 he was baptised at All Saints Church, West Ham, Essex. His father was a solicitor.
In the 1851 census he was shown as a pupil, boarding at 8 Park Place, Greenwich, a school run by W. C. Smithers, a schoolmaster and clergyman not having care of souls.
Having attended Shrewsbury Public School he was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge, where he obtained his BA (Bachelor of Arts) in 1863, his MA (Master of Arts) in 1866, his LL.M (Master of Laws) in 1874 and his LL.D. (Legum Doctor or Doctor of Laws) in 1886. In the 1861 census he is described as an undergraduate at Cambridge, living at Addington House, Romford Road, West Ham, with his parents and his maternal aunt Jane Thorne (1816-1881), together with a cook and a female house servant.
On 28 June 1865 he married Alice Smith (1841-1923) at St John the Evangelist Church, Notting Hill, and they went on to have eight children: Frederick Edward Aubyn Hilleary (1866-1893), Leicester Mount Hilleary (1867-1910), George Edward Hilleary, OBE (1869-1936), Ida Alice Hilleary Hilleary (1870-1933), Ella Corasande Hilleary Hilleary (1872-1960), Edward Langdale Hilleary, OBE (1872-1939), Roland Hilleary (1875-1958) and Vera Millicent Hilleary Hilleary (1876-1939).
In the 1871 census he is described as a solicitor and Clerk to the Guardians of the Poor of the West Ham Union & Superintendent Registrar of the said Union. He was living in Tottenham with his wife, their four children: Frederick, Leicester, George & Ida, together with three servants: a nurse, a cook and a housemaid. The 1871 census shows him as a solicitor living at Bleak House, The Green, Stratford, Essex, with his wife and five of their children: Ida, Ella, Edward, Roland & Vera, together with four servants: two nurses, a cook and a housemaid.
Still described as a solicitor in the 1891 census his address was recorded as 43 The Green, Stratford, where he was shown as living with his wife, five of their children: Leicester, George, Ida, Edward & Vera, together with three servants: a nurse, a cook and a housemaid. Still living at the same address in the 1901 census he was described as a solicitor, Town Clerk West Ham, Clerk to Guardians of West Ham, Superintendent Registrar. Also at his home was his wife, five of their children: George, Ida, Ella, Roland & Vera, together with a cook and a housemaid.
Telephone directories from 1901 to 1923 show his solicitor's practice at both 5 Fenchurch Buildings, London, EC and at 49 Broadway, Stratford. When he completed the 1911 census he described himself as a solicitor living in a 13 roomed house at 187 Romford Road, Stratford, with his wife, their daughter Vera, together with a cook and a housemaid.
He died, aged 79 years, on 21 January 1921 at Fern Bank, 187 Romford Road, Stratford. Probate was granted on 31 October 1921 to his widow and his son, George, who was also a solicitor. His effects totalled £57,362-18s-7d. He is , along with his wife and their third son, George, on a brass panel in All Saints Church, West Ham.
Andrew draws our attention to the naming of the daughters in this family: "The three daughters each had four forenames, the last always being Hilleary, the same as their surname. I haven't come across this before, but cannot say with any certainty that it is unique. I can only assume he wanted to perpetuate the family name of Hilleary should the daughters marry and adopt their husbands' surnames, as was extremely common at the time."
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk and Andrew Behan.
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