The Hampson Family
It looks like the Hampsons were among some of the oldest and best-established British families in Moscow, but unfortunately, there are not very many documents to base this assumption on. Neither have I found any photographs of this family. According to this Russian site, the first Hampsons came to Russia from Scotland during the times of Peter the Great. It also claims that there is an 1809 document that can be found at the Russian archive which shows the boundaries of the property that belonged to James, son of James Hampson in the Danilov area of what today would be Moscow. I haven't personally seen that document, but what I have found on the Russian State History Archive website is a reference to a 1849 document about "foreigners Hampson and Praagst being granted the privilege for a special way of making velvet and velveteen out of fine woollen yarn". By privilege, I think, they meant some sort of a patent. Hampson and Praagst must have been friends, James Hampson was a witness at the wedding of Jane Praagst in 1862 (entry in the British Chapel in Moscow register). The oldest map that shows a "velveteen factory" in Danilov area that I found is that of 1838. All the earlier maps don't show mills and factories at all. It can also be seen on the 1852 French map of Moscow: "Manu. de velours":
But quite surprisingly, it is not the documents, it is the street in the Danilov area itself that reminds us now of the Hampsons. The lane where their velvet factory used to be located is still named after them: Gamsonovsky pereulok (or lane), "Gamson" being the Russian pronunciation of "Hampson". This is also confirmed by this Wikipedia article: "The street takes its name after Yakov Vasilievich Gamson, the British subject who had a cotton factory here." "Yakov Vasilievich" being "James, son of William".
There are, however, quite a few Hampsons in St Andrew's (and the British Chapel's before that) registers to try and figure out their family. Much of what I've done is guesswork, but there are some facts as well. In the baptism registry we find 7 children of James Hampson: Edward Joseph, Emma Matilda, Edith Mary, Walter Edward, Walter, Edmund and Arthur Edward. One of them is registered as Edward Joseph, born 22 Oct 1841, "son of James and ANN Hampson", while all the rest are registered as children "of James and MARY ANN(E) Hampson". Considering that it looks like James Hampson had about 17 or 18 children born between 1841 and 1868, I tend to believe that these were two different women. The first child registered as Mary Ann's is Emma Matilda, born in 1861. There is also George Hampson who was born around 1858, but it is his death that is registered (1905, aged 45), not birth/baptism, and therefore he is mentioned as just "son of James Hampson". These 8 confirmed children of James Hampson are in the family tree below in black:
The ones in blue I only guess were James Hampson's children.
James Jr, just because his signature has "Jr" when he signs his name underneath the very recognisable signature of the original James Hampson, I think is quite safe to believe was James Hampson's son. He is mentioned as a witness of several of Hampsons' marriages: those of Elizabeth, Edmund, Edith Mary, Emma Matilda and Olga Hampson. He also married Maria Rybnikova in 1876. Rybnikovsky Lane was right next to Gamsonovsky, because the Rybnikov merchant family owned their own mill back to back with the Hampsons. One of the witnesses at their wedding was Alexander Rybnikov, most likely Maria's father. Several Russian websites telling the story of the Rybnikovs point out that Alexander was the last owner of the Rybnikov mill. It would make sense to suppose that James Jr married a neighbour. There is another James Hampson mentioned in St Andrew's registers, this time, the burial register: a commercial traveller from Moscow who died in Saratov (a city on the Volga River) in 1906 and was buried in Moscow. If this is the same James Jr, he was born around 1843, which again makes sense.
All we know about Sarah is that she died in 1914 at the age of 69 (so was born around 1845) and was a witness of marriage of Elizabeth, Edith Mary and Emma Matilda, as well as sponsor of public admittance of Arthur Edward Hampson into the church. It is possible that she was one of James Hampson's children, but she could just as easily have been married to one of them.
Albert Hampson is another witness at many of Hampsons' weddings, including those of James Jr and Maria; Hannah and Robert Gudgeon; Emma Matilda and William Gudgeon; as well as Edmund and Olga. In the burial register he is registered as a commercial agent who died in 1913 at the age 59, so he was born around 1854, which is the right age to be another of James Hampson's children.
Hannah Hampson married Robert Gudgeon who was most likely the brother of William Gudgeon who married Emma Matilda, which is probably reason enough to believe that Hannah and Emma Matilda were sisters.
Elizabeth is only mentioned once - in the marriage register, she married William Ashworth in 1871 and the witnesses were James Hampson Sr, James Hampson Jr and Sarah Hampson. So, she was probably James Hampson's daughter as well.
The other 5 Hampsons at the bottom of the family tree may or may not have been related to James Hampson's family - all we know is their dates of death and ages, which are the right ones for being James Hampson's children, but are not good enough to be sure. Edwin's entry also mentions his abode - Danilovka, which is a little more convincing.
There are two other people of a different generation that I've included into the family tree - Olga and Lydia.
Olga Hampson married Robert Holdcroft in 1898 at the age of 20 (so, born around 1878), and James Jr was one of the witnesses. It is a long shot, but she might have been James Jr's daughter.
Lydia is not mentioned in the registers at all. Her name can be found in the 1914 Moscow Address book. And because it mentions the name and patronymic - Lydia Edmundovna, it is safe to presume that she was Edmund's daughter.
Moscow Address books, depending on the year, mention different Hampsons as home owners. Apart from Yakov Vasilievich - the original James Hampson (1884-1890) - and Edmund (1900 - 1903), most of them are women:
James Jr, just because his signature has "Jr" when he signs his name underneath the very recognisable signature of the original James Hampson, I think is quite safe to believe was James Hampson's son. He is mentioned as a witness of several of Hampsons' marriages: those of Elizabeth, Edmund, Edith Mary, Emma Matilda and Olga Hampson. He also married Maria Rybnikova in 1876. Rybnikovsky Lane was right next to Gamsonovsky, because the Rybnikov merchant family owned their own mill back to back with the Hampsons. One of the witnesses at their wedding was Alexander Rybnikov, most likely Maria's father. Several Russian websites telling the story of the Rybnikovs point out that Alexander was the last owner of the Rybnikov mill. It would make sense to suppose that James Jr married a neighbour. There is another James Hampson mentioned in St Andrew's registers, this time, the burial register: a commercial traveller from Moscow who died in Saratov (a city on the Volga River) in 1906 and was buried in Moscow. If this is the same James Jr, he was born around 1843, which again makes sense.
All we know about Sarah is that she died in 1914 at the age of 69 (so was born around 1845) and was a witness of marriage of Elizabeth, Edith Mary and Emma Matilda, as well as sponsor of public admittance of Arthur Edward Hampson into the church. It is possible that she was one of James Hampson's children, but she could just as easily have been married to one of them.
Albert Hampson is another witness at many of Hampsons' weddings, including those of James Jr and Maria; Hannah and Robert Gudgeon; Emma Matilda and William Gudgeon; as well as Edmund and Olga. In the burial register he is registered as a commercial agent who died in 1913 at the age 59, so he was born around 1854, which is the right age to be another of James Hampson's children.
Hannah Hampson married Robert Gudgeon who was most likely the brother of William Gudgeon who married Emma Matilda, which is probably reason enough to believe that Hannah and Emma Matilda were sisters.
Elizabeth is only mentioned once - in the marriage register, she married William Ashworth in 1871 and the witnesses were James Hampson Sr, James Hampson Jr and Sarah Hampson. So, she was probably James Hampson's daughter as well.
The other 5 Hampsons at the bottom of the family tree may or may not have been related to James Hampson's family - all we know is their dates of death and ages, which are the right ones for being James Hampson's children, but are not good enough to be sure. Edwin's entry also mentions his abode - Danilovka, which is a little more convincing.
There are two other people of a different generation that I've included into the family tree - Olga and Lydia.
Olga Hampson married Robert Holdcroft in 1898 at the age of 20 (so, born around 1878), and James Jr was one of the witnesses. It is a long shot, but she might have been James Jr's daughter.
Lydia is not mentioned in the registers at all. Her name can be found in the 1914 Moscow Address book. And because it mentions the name and patronymic - Lydia Edmundovna, it is safe to presume that she was Edmund's daughter.
Moscow Address books, depending on the year, mention different Hampsons as home owners. Apart from Yakov Vasilievich - the original James Hampson (1884-1890) - and Edmund (1900 - 1903), most of them are women:
Three of them have the same patronymic - Pavlovna, or Paul's daughter: Maria (1884-1899), Sophia (1899) and Ekaterina (1914).
It is hard to imagine who Maria Pavlovna was. She lived together with James Hampson while he was alive and then moved to a house located right across the street from St. Andrew's Anglican church (it has survived all these years and is still there). In 1900 it is no longer Maria Pavlovna but Maria Yakovlevna (=James' daughter) who lived in that house across the street from St. Andrew's. Neither is mentioned again. Could they be James Hampson's third wife and another daughter? Mary Ann(e), James's second wife died in 1868.
Sophia Pavlovna is mentioned only in 1899 and she lived far from Danilovka.
Ekaterina Pavlovna is the only one who continued to live in "her own house in Hampson's lane" (1914, 1917), so she's got to be from this family but it is impossible to tell how exactly she was related to them.
It is hard to imagine who Maria Pavlovna was. She lived together with James Hampson while he was alive and then moved to a house located right across the street from St. Andrew's Anglican church (it has survived all these years and is still there). In 1900 it is no longer Maria Pavlovna but Maria Yakovlevna (=James' daughter) who lived in that house across the street from St. Andrew's. Neither is mentioned again. Could they be James Hampson's third wife and another daughter? Mary Ann(e), James's second wife died in 1868.
Sophia Pavlovna is mentioned only in 1899 and she lived far from Danilovka.
Ekaterina Pavlovna is the only one who continued to live in "her own house in Hampson's lane" (1914, 1917), so she's got to be from this family but it is impossible to tell how exactly she was related to them.
As for the factory, according to several Russian sites, from 1888 its new owner was another British subject - Thomas Fletcher, who turned it into a lace factory. 1888 was the year that James Hampson Sr died. So, this can explain the transfer of ownership. Thomas Fletcher probably bought it from James's children. Why they decided to sell it - is another question.
After the Revolution, in 1925 the factory was turned into a pencil-making factory. This is the only photo of the factory when it was a pencil factory that I managed to find:
After the Revolution, in 1925 the factory was turned into a pencil-making factory. This is the only photo of the factory when it was a pencil factory that I managed to find:
Now the whole area where the factory used to be located contains office buildings. It is hard to tell by just looking at google maps images whether they are all new or just renovated. So, I decided to take a little walk.
Hampson's factory was located in the middle of a very industrial place, with the Ryabovs' factory to its north, the Rybnikovs' factory to its south and with the huge "Daniloffka" further down south. The Ryabovs' place is now in the process of being turned into a fashionable office space:
Hampson's factory was located in the middle of a very industrial place, with the Ryabovs' factory to its north, the Rybnikovs' factory to its south and with the huge "Daniloffka" further down south. The Ryabovs' place is now in the process of being turned into a fashionable office space:
The same has happened to Danilovskaya Mill:
Nothing is left of the Rybnikovs' factory. The only building that has partially survived (its left side has been devoured by the road) is their beautiful manor house:
It looked like the same had happened to the Hampson's mill. Not a single old building in the whole area!
But I still walked around these buildings trying to find anything at all. It took me some time before I started noticing the oddly shaped windows of some of the buildings, very similar to those at the Ryabovs' mill and Daniloffka:
On closer examination it became quite clear that the old buildings are still there, underneath the cheap ugly tiles that are not even that well attached to the walls! They are sort of clipped on with these clips! One of the tiles fell off the fence, revealing some old bricks underneath!
So, my conclusion is, Hampson's mill had been turned into an office space before it became fashionable to preserve the old red-brick look of these industrial 19th century buildings. Considering the poor state of the tiles, sooner or later the owners may decide to follow the example of the adjacent buildings.
Other Hampsons
There are some other Hampsons in St Andrew's registers that don't appear to be related to the Hampsons from Danilovka.
There's a family of William Hampson, a carding master from Pokrovsky Mills at Dmitrov, Moscow Government, his first wife Mary Jane who died from consumption in 1907, their son Fred born in 1907, and William's second wife Evdokia whom he married in 1919, a year before the three of them fled to Britain on board of the Tagus in the status of 'refugees from Russia'. Together with them, on board of the same ship fled James and Emma Hampson, who were witnesses at William and Evdokia's wedding. There is also a mentioning of Herbert Hampson - Fred Hampson's baptism sponsor in 1907.
Probably unrelated to either of these families was Anne Jane Hampson, "widow of Edward Hampson, a Merchant of Manchester", who happened to die at the age of 73 at Alyaukhova, Zvenigorod District of Moscow Government, in 1892, and was buried in Moscow.
There's a family of William Hampson, a carding master from Pokrovsky Mills at Dmitrov, Moscow Government, his first wife Mary Jane who died from consumption in 1907, their son Fred born in 1907, and William's second wife Evdokia whom he married in 1919, a year before the three of them fled to Britain on board of the Tagus in the status of 'refugees from Russia'. Together with them, on board of the same ship fled James and Emma Hampson, who were witnesses at William and Evdokia's wedding. There is also a mentioning of Herbert Hampson - Fred Hampson's baptism sponsor in 1907.
Probably unrelated to either of these families was Anne Jane Hampson, "widow of Edward Hampson, a Merchant of Manchester", who happened to die at the age of 73 at Alyaukhova, Zvenigorod District of Moscow Government, in 1892, and was buried in Moscow.