Anne Longden

Benjamin Smith met Anne Longden who was a 25 year old milliner from Alfreton.
She became pregnant and he took her to a rented lodge at Whatlington, in Sussex.
There she lived as Mrs Leigh, the surname of his relations on the Isle of Wight.They went to America in 1828, for two years.
On their return to England they lived in Sussex at Brown`s Farm. By 1833 Anne had become ill and Ben took her to Pelham Place in Hastings, for the fresh sea air.
Later that year he took her to Ryde on the Isle of Wight, she died on 30 August 1834.
The record of her burial, in the name of Anne Smith states only that she died at Ryde, no home address.
She was buried at St. Edmunds Church Wooton. He never married Ann, they had 5 children

Anne [1831-], 

Barbara 

Isabella [1830-1873], 

William [1833-] 

Benjamin [Leigh Smith]
He was elected MP for Norwich and while at the House of Commons, he asked his wifes Aunt Dolly Longden or Aunt Julia Smith to look after his children.

thanks to many books about Benjamin Smith  Anne Longdon and their children.

Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale

In a will Benjamin Leigh Smith named as a Beneficiary's Name: Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale.

In this corona time we hear the name Florence Nightingale a lot.
so we look at the familytree first to see if Louis Hilary Shore Smith Nightingale is a familymember

The Nightingale family is known to have been in the Ashover area in the seventeenth century. Thomas Nightingale (1666-1735) started the family's fortunes by smelting lead in a Cupola in Lea where he acquired property.
His second son Peter (died 1763) inherited the smelting business and increased his property holdings in Lea and elsewhere.
He was succeeded by his son Peter (1803) who ran both the business and the estate.
Peter II died childless and both the business and the estate passed to his great-nephew William Edward Shore (1794-1874), whose grandmother Anne was Peter's sister.
In 1815 William Edward Shore took the surname Nightingale.
In the 1820s he rebuilt the house at Lea Hurst and bought an estate in Embley/Hampshire.
His younger daughter was Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the nursing pioneer popularly known as "The Lady with the Lamp".
William Edward Nightingale had no direct male heir and the estate and business passed to his nephew William Shore Smith (1831-1894) who took the surname Nightingale.
William was succeeded by sons Samuel Shore (Smith) Nightingale (1860-1925) and Louis Hilary Shore (Smith) Nightingale (1866-1940).
The estate was sold in 1946 although the business, Lea Lead Works, had ceased operation some time earlier.
When we google Louis Hilary Shore Smith Nightingale we find that he is also a Beneficiary of Florence Nightingale.
Name: Florence Nightingale
Event Type: Probate
Event Date: 31 Oct 1910
Event Place: Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
Event Place (Original): Middlesex, United Kingdom
Death Date: 13 Aug 1910
Beneficiary's Name: Henry Bonham Carter Samuel Shore Nightingale
Second Beneficiary's Name: Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale
Additional Person's Name: Arthur Hugh Clough


Lea Hurst

So we know he and Florence are related .

What about Louis Hilary Nightingale .

census 1901

Name: Louis H Nightingale

Event Type: Census

Event Date: 31 Mar 1901

Event Place: Paddington, London, England, United Kingdom

County: London, Middlesex

Civil Parish: Paddington

Ecclesiastical Parish: Christ Church

Sub-District: St John Paddington

Registration District: Paddington

Gender: Male

Age: 34

Occupation: Clerk In The Office Of The Masters In Surrey Law Courts

Relationship to Head of Household: Head

Birth Year (Estimated): 1867

Birthplace: Westminster, London

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

Louis H Nightingale Head M 34 Westminster, London

Mary E Culver Servant F 42 Dunkirk, Kent

Ellen Wallis Servant F 27 Newnham, Cambridgeshire

Ada A Wyatt Servant F 23 Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire

he died in WW2

Name: Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale

Event Type: Probate

Event Date: 3 Dec 1940

Event Place: Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom

Event Place (Original): Derbyshire, United Kingdom

Death Date: 27 Sep 1940

Beneficiary's Name: Frederick George Bonham Carter

Second Beneficiary's Name: Lillias Mary Coltman

Additional Person's Name: Herbert Clifford Brooke Taylor