Eliza (Howes) Rising (1829-1895) of West Somerton and Martham
Plus her husband James Bane (1822-1883)
Eliza Rising was born in 1829 at West Somerton Hall and was baptised the same year at St Mary the Virgin, West Somerton as the sixth child of William Rising & Elizabeth Howes. She had five siblings, namely: Harriet, William, Robert, Thomas and Benjamin.
Little is known about her early life but when her father died in 1846, she inherited “a dwelling house, lands and hereditaments in Martham.” These appear to have left her financially independent for the rest of her life.
Eliza was living with her family in 1851 at Martham House, White Street; she was 21 and unmarried. At this time her father was one of the largest landowners in the area and Martham House – shown on the right, was the largest mansion in the village.
With the death of her father the family finances must have taken a downturn and their estate was split between the six children. As a consequence, by the time of the 1861 census Eliza was living with her mother at 5 Britannia Terrace, Great Yarmouth and was listed as being a landed proprietor. They were by no means poor and would have lived off income from farmland which was let and cottages that were rented out. Their status is reflected by the fact that they had three servants for just the two of them. In 1861 Britannia Terrace was made up of very smart four storey houses on the seafront opposite Britannia Pier and were very desirable. Nowadays they are mostly restaurants with flats above.
When she was 41, Eliza married James Bane on 4th August 1870 at St Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth. He was the son of James Bane & Esther Martin and while Eliza was a spinster, he had been married before to a lady called Mary Abigail Land. The Bane family were successful farmers and windmill owners in Martham who you can read more about by clicking here on ‘Bane Family‘. Following her marriage, she was back at Martham the following year and living at Back Lane from where James farmed 160 acres. Eliza and James had a daughter named Eliza Catherine Harriet Rising Bane who was born on 6th July 1871 at Martham.
James died in 1883 at Great Yarmouth, aged 60 and by the time of the 1891 census Eliza was living at 66 Southtown (Road), Great Yarmouth with her sister-in-law Martha Rising, nee Walpole who was the widow of William Rising Howes (1812-1871). They had both inherited sufficient money to be living on independent means. She died in 1895 at Great Yarmouth and was buried at St Nicholas Church on 28th October.
