Solomon Abraham Wade

Solomon Abraham Wade (1806-1881), St Kitts-born son of Abraham Solomon Wade and Frances Wade née Paget (q.v.), brother of Ann Maria Paget Wade and Ann Garvey Wade (both q.v.), based in St Kitts until at least the 1850s when his wife and children (probably without him) moved to England. Died in Beckenham, Kent, in 1881.

1. According to the DNB entry for his grandson Charles Paget Wade, Solomon Abraham Wade was "originally a successful dry goods supplier on St Kitts in the West Indies, [and] had acquired sugar cane plantations on the island that established the family's fortune." 

2. Solomon Abraham Wade married Mary James (born 31/12/1817 in St Kitts). They had at least 7 children between 1845 and 1856, all born in St Kitts. At some point between 1856 and 1861, Mary Wade moved to England with her 7 children, where she can be found in the censuses of 1861-1911. 

3. Solomon Abraham Wade has not been located in any of the England censuses but he died at St Martin's, Beckenham, Kent, 11/05/1881. His will was proved by his son Paget Augustus Wade, one of his executors. Personal effects £7,279 12s. 

4. According to an unsourced online family tree, the family had three estates in St Kitts (White House, Mansion and Codrington) and were connected to the shipping company Sendel [=Sendall] & Wade. Their third son Paget Augustus Wade inherited the estates as his brothers died before him. Paget Augustus was described as a merchant of 34 Fenchurch Street, City of London, when his father's will was proved in 1882  and was a "West India Merchant" in the census of 1891 when he was living with his mother in Teddington, Middlesex. "Paget Augustus Wade of Elmsley Yoxford Suffolk died 25 December 1911 at St Kitts West Indies Probate London 5 January [1912] to Charles Paget Wade artist. Effects £11,885 5s. Further grant December 1912." "Paget Augustus Wade of Elmsley Yoxford Suffolk died 25 December 1911 at St Kitts West Indies Probate London 5 December [1912] to Amy Blanche Wade Widow. Effects £31,077 13s 0d. Former grant January 1912." 

5. Upon the death of Paget Augustus Wade, his son Charles Paget Wade "inherited a substantial interest in the family sugar estates, enabling him to devote the rest of his life to his own pursuits, and more immediately to art and illustrating." Charles Paget Wade spent part of his inheritance buying Snowshill Manor in the Cotswolds, which he extensively restored and used as a living museum for his "spectacular collection of everyday and extraordinary objects from across the globe".

T71/879 St Kitts claim nos 169 and 391. 

1. Jonathan Howard, ‘Wade, Charles Paget (1883–1956)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008) available at http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/53029 [accessed 09/05/2012]. 

2. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=nickhelm&id=I255 [accessed 09/05/2012]. Addresses for Mary Wade in the censuses: 1 The Grove, Lee, Kent (1861), 39 Weighton Road, Penge, Surrey (1871), St Charteris, Westgate Road, Beckenham, Kent (1881), Fairfax House, Fairfax Road, Teddington, Middlesex (1891), 31 Waldegrove Park, Twickenham, Middlesex (1901 and 1911). Years of birth of her children inferred from the census records. 

3. National Probate Calendar 1882. 

4. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=nickhelm&id=I255 [accessed 09/05/2012]; 1891 census online; National Probate Calendar 1912. 

5. Jonathan Howard, ‘Wade, Charles Paget (1883–1956)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008) available at http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/53029, [accessed 09/05/2012]; http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/snowshill-manor/ [accessed 09/05/2012].