William Cafferata

Liverpool in 1839, the year of William's Marriage

William had made the transition from Book-Keeper to Share Broker before 1845, and was listed in Gore’s 1847 Directory as having offices in Exchange Street East. Working in a port town such as Liverpool inevitably meant that William’s share dealings would have included maritime undertakings. One such included “The Merchant Traders’ Ship Loan & Insurance Association” which proposed an issue of 20,000 shares at £50 each in

November 1845 in order to raise the not inconsiderable sum of £1,000,000. William was the Liverpool agent in the sale and the advertising for the sale promised “A total absence of risk for the shareholders.” (4)

William’s fourth son, Henry Taylor Cafferata, was born in Birkenhead in 1849 when the family lived at 4 Moore Terrace, but by the time of the 1851 census the family had moved back to Liverpool and were living at 17 Huskisson Street. The couple’s only daughter, Eliza Chamberlain was born in 1852 then four more sons followed; Adolphus (born 1854), Joseph (1856), Nicholas (1859) and Albert (1861). Socially the family remained involved with the local Catholic churches – Elizabeth was named as the “Lady Patroness” of the Birkenhead Catholic Charity Ball in January 1852, with tickets on sale at 7s 6d each.(5) The same year, William was a noted member at a meeting of Catholic electors in Liverpool. Politically, he defended his own interests, voting in the 1852 general election for the Peelite candidate Edward Cardwell and the Liberal Joseph Christopher Ewart. The Peelites were a party that proposed free trade. At the time there was no secret ballot and the names of the voters were published in the papers along with who they had voted for. William’s favoured candidates were both beaten by the Conservatives in the election.(6) William was also involved with the Catholic Female Orphan Society and was elected the organisation’s Treasurer in January 1855. (7)

The autumn of 1856 saw William called for jury service in the case of Parry v Barnes, in which a Liverpool jeweller, Mr W J Parry sought to recover a lady’s debt from her husband. Being a businessman himself, William may have sympathised with Mr Parry, but that didn’t stop both him and the rest of the jury finding in the defendant’s favour. (8)

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