Buss bios:

Frances Fleetwood Buss

(1804 - 1861)

By Michael C. Buss | Updated: 23 June 2006

In 1937, the Rev. Francis Fleetwood Buss commenced a handwritten account of the Buss Family - which he calls the Buss Book. Much of the biographical material on this site will come from this volume. Frank (as we shall call him) was the same generation as his cousin Robert Woodward Buss who, it appears, probably wrote more extensively on the Fleetwood family. I have yet to see his work.

Frank also wrote a companion volume which he called the Fleetwood Book, which I also possess, but it will take a long time to get this transcribed and published. It is rich with Fleetwood trees branches.

Pasted in the Buss Book is a copy (1st April 1938) of the marriage certificate of R.W. Buss to Frances Fleetwood at S. James Clerkenwell. The witnesses were John Fleetwood, the father of the bride, E Fleetwood - probably the bride's sister Elizabeth (afterwards Mrs. Paul) and William Anthony (probably the Best Man).

The marriage seems to have been by license rather than by banns, probably because John Fleetwood was living in John Street, which was in the parish of S. John, and he wished the marriage to take place in the adjacent Parish of S. James, where most of his family were baptized, and where the family grave is situated. Since then the two parishes have been amalgamated.

Here is the pedigree Frank knew for sure:

Frank notes that the story of Fleetwood descent from Oliver Cromwell is an "indubitable error". But he has a strong hunch that the father of John Fleetwood Senior was probably one Robert Fleetwood of Abchurch Lane. Note that Frances Fleetwood herself strongly believed she was descended from General Charles Fleetwood and his second wife, Bridget Cromwell.

John Senior was a watchmaker while John Junior was an auctioneer. Frank privately believed John Fleetwood derived his descent from one of the branches of the Fleetwood family who settled in Buckinghamshire in the days of the Tudors. None of the Buss ancestry researchers gives any credence to Annie Ridley's statement of pedigree in her biography of Frances Mary Buss.

Frank writes: "My Grand-mother appears to have been a most lovable woman and a regular tower of strength to the (North London Collegiate) school in its early days. My mother (Maria Emma) always spoke of her in the most enthusiastic terms. Unfortunately her health failed and she died comparatively young at the early age of 57." (March 8th, 1861 - the year Frank was born.)

In view of her having given birth 10 times, and raised five of them, it is not too surprising that she faded away at 57! But look at the strength and character in that face (left)!

The grave of R.W. Buss is (or was) to be found in Highgate Cemetery - N. 10939. On one side of the stone is the following inscription, viz: "Sacred to the Memory of FRANCES, the beloved wife of R.W. Buss, who died March 8th 1861 in the 56th year of her age. Her children will rise up and call her blessed. Prov: xxxi.28."

The grave stone also records, of  Robert William Buss, Born Aug 29th, 1804. Died Feb 26th, 1875.

Later in the Buss Book, Frank writes, "A recognizable trait of the Fleetwood family is the fact that in the case of many of the male members of the family , their hair turned white at an early age. This is evident from various portraits in my Father's Family album. It has appeared once or twice in the Robert Buss family: e.g. my Uncle Tave's (Octavius) hair began to turn white when he was about thirty; and in my own case gray hairs began to show at about the same age, though it took much longer before I was completely white.

"Another trait of the Fleetwood Family, but confined to the Fleetwood-Paul branch is hereditary deafness. My great-grandfather John Fleetwood became stone deaf comparatively early, so did his daughter, my great Aunt Elizabeth Paul; and in the next generation my Father's first cousin Sarah Ann (Saran) Paul."

THE FLEETWOOD FAMILY GRAVE AT CLERKENWELL.

Frank records: "During the year 1912 I got into communication with Mr. Leonard Fleetwood of Chichester about this family grave, then in a bad state of repair. At my (Frank's) suggestion he, aided by various members of the Fleetwood, Buss and Paul families, raised a small sum sufficient to put the grave into a state of thorough repair. Unfortunately the lower part of the headstone, containing the names of John Fleetwood Junior and his wife Frances is missing. The former died in 1844 and the latter in 1849.

Editor's note: I visited the Buss-Fleetwood grave some time back in the late 1960s or early '70s when I then lived in North London. Although somewhat overgrown, the grave was in quite good condition. It was a strange and marvellous feeling to stand at the very place where lay the mortal remains of my great-great grandparents - the most tangible direct link I would ever have back to those days.

The following note comes from the 'Fleetwood Family Records' by Robert Woodward Buss on page iv - "My great-grandfather, John Fleetwood (1774-1835), educated at St Paul's School, stood six feet. One of his great-great-grandsons is well over six feet, and bears some resemblance to General Charles Fleetwood. John's daughter Frances, (wife of R.W. Buss, the artist) resembled the portrait of Bishop William. ED." - Thanks to Sue Cawthorne.