Eighth Generation

91. Ernest William REGESTER was born on 7 February 1861 in Heeley, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. He died on 22 December 1930 at the age of 69 in Providence, RI. He was buried on 6 June 1931. North Burial Ground, Providence, Lot #5439 in section 19, north side of Acorn Avenue and 83 ft. west of the junction of Acorn and Elmwood Avenues Resided: 135 Reservoir Avenue, Providence, R.I. . He was born in Sheffield, but moved to Birmingham with his family as a child. He left a book -- Bidlakes Practical Arithmetic -- with his signature dated August 22, 1873 and listed his residence at Laburnum Place, Bull Street, Harborne, North Birmingham, England. Harborne is near Birmingham, and Laburnum Place is still there It is probable he met his wife, Sarah, while serving his apprenticeship in Birmingham. The Empsons lived in Birmingham. He and Sarah married in Providence, RI, in December 1885. He is listed as working for Gorham Manufacturing in Providence in May 1882, so he must have sent for Sarah.

A rock fell on one leg when he was about 10 years old. He wore a heavy steel brace with a built-up shoe on the deformed leg for the rest of his life. He used to walk from his Reservoir Avenue address to Gorham Manufacturing Company daily, arriving at work at 6 a.m. and leaving at 6 p.m. (noon on Saturdays). Some of his pictures show him with two canes.

He and Sarah Empson's step brother, Lawrence W. Pennington, were apparently close. Pennington, who was very successful in the jewelry design and trade, had been in Providence, RI, in the 1870's and may have encouraged Ernest and his family to emigrate. He may have paid for his stepsister to come over in 1882. He may have taught Ernest to paint and could have been supportive in his finding an apprenticeship. They both raised bulldogs. Ernest named his only son Lawrence.

According to Gorham records, he began working as a silver chaser May 8, 1882, for $12 a week. In 1883 he was living with his parents and made $12 a week. He was raised to $14 in 1884 and $16 in 1885. By 1900 he was at desk #9 and drew $22 a week, implying that he was rather good at his craft. The silver chasers' room was known as the House of Lords. He was earning $64 a week when he retired, a good salary in those days. Gorham's employment records are archived at the John Hay Library at Brown University.

The U.S. District Court in Providence lists his arrival in the U.S. and 1 May 1882, New York, and his date of naturalization as 3 Feb 1902.

His hobby was painting, and six or more of his oil paintings are still in the family.

He apparently lived in East Providence for a time -- at least one daughter was born there. He is listed in the 1886 and 1893 Providence City Directory as living at 20 Summit Avenue. In the 1890 Providence Directory, he is listed as a silversmith with a house at 477 Potter's Ave. By 1900 he owned his home at 135 Reservoir Avenue and had a German-born housekeeper named Pauline (who married his brother). His daughters Lillian and Edith and his son Lawrence were living with him. He rented rooms to Charles Thomae from Germany, also a Gorham silver chaser, Charles' wife Margaret, and their two daughters, Florence and Marrin. The 1920 Census has him still living at 135 Reservoir Avenue. Arthur and Lillian Regester Dodge were also living there, as were Walter and Edith Regester Leonard and their son Charles.

He is buried in North Burial Ground, Providence, RI, no. 5439 in section 29, situated on the north side of Acorn Avenue and 83 feet east of the junction of Acorn and Glenwood Avenues. Lot cost $112 in 1931.

According to a newspaper article, he was stricken sick while watching a group of boys attempting to enter their locked home late in the day and died before medical aid could be summoned. He was living with a daughter, Mrs. Arthur Dodge, of 135 Reservoir Avenue, Elmwood. He came to the United States in about 1883 (about 48 years before he died).He worked as a silversmith for Gorham Manufacturing Company until 1926. At the time of his death, he had three daughters, Mrs. Arthur Dodge, Mrs. Walter B. Leonard, and Mrs. Morse Preeman of Glendale, California, and one son, Lawrence R. Regester of Swampscott, Massachusetts. Funeral was at Remington Funeral Home on Broad Street, Providence, and burial at the North End Burial Ground in Providence.

There was an exhibit of a collection of Gorham Martele silver put together by the Sheltons of Lafayette, LA, in the fall of 2001. That led Samuel Hough, who was to give a lecture on the silver collection, to identify the 40 or so silver chasers (nicknamed "The House of Lords") working for Gorham around 1900. A number of Regesters were. Ernest was probably the most skilled of them, and the collection exhibited included 4 or 5 pieces by him. The exhibit is apparently in a permanent collection in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ernest William REGESTER and Sarah Lillia EMPSON were married on 29 December 1885 in Providence, RI.³⁶ Sarah Lillia EMPSON, daughter of William Thomas EMPSON and Sarah Shaw Cook PENNINGTON, was born on 16 December 1863 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.³⁷ She died on 19 November 1898 at the age of 34 in Providence, RI. She was buried in PV004 - Locust Grove Cemetery, Elmwood Ave., Prov., RI. Her mother was known as Lillian.

Her step brother was an English artist and jewelry designer, Lawrence Pennington (Lon Penn). I have one of his paintings with note in what appears to be Edith Regester's hand -- "painted by my mother's brother." Sarah's mother was married to an Arthur Pennington who died while they were crossing the Atlantic to Boston in 1854. Arthur W. Pennington, a second chiid, was born during the voyage. Sarah's mother returned to Birmingham from Boston in 1856 with the two boys. She married Thomas Cook, who also passed away, and then married Sarah's father, William Empson.

Exactly how Sarah Empson met Ernest Regester is a mystery. The Empson family was living on Icknield St., Birmingham, across Warstone Lane Cemetery from the jewelry quarter where it is likely that Ernest Regester served his apprenticeship. It also appears that Lawrence Pennington, Sarah's step brother, was acquainted with the Regester family.

Sarah was born at 55 Howard Street, St. George, Birmingham, Warwickshire. Her mother could not sign her name, but signed the registration as informant with a mark. She and her sister Emma were christened December 30, 1867, at St. Martin's, Birmingham.

She arrived in New York on October 9, 1882, from Liverpool, England, on the City of Chester. (Picture of ship on file).

Another Lillie Empson, age 20, arrived on the Samaria on 1 January 1884.

Ernest William REGESTER and Sarah Lillia EMPSON had the following children: