Caleb BEST (1826 - 1917) butcher of Kent

Caleb Best as a young man

Caleb Best (Neil's great grandfather) was was born on 14 October 1826 at Crockenhill in the parish of Eynsford, Kent. He, like his father, John, before him, owned and ran the local butcher's shop in Orpington.

Caleb married Jane Augusta Bath who appears to have been known as Augusta. She was born on 27 January 1832 in St Mary Cray, Orpington to Caleb Bath and his wife, Jane. She was baptised in Southwark Cathedral on 15 August 1832.

Jane Augusta Bath

Jane Augusta Best

Jane Augusta in later life as Jane Augusta Best

Caleb Best as an old man

Caleb Best in later life

According to the record in the family bible, the couple had a large family, even by the standards of the day:

Andrew Caleb Best, born on 14 April 1854, died 10 September 1854
Jane Augusta Best, born on 7 January 1856, died 19 March 1892
Robert Walpole Best, born on 19 June 1857, died 9 August 1922
Emilie Amelia Best, born on 16 February 1860, died 4 January 1934
Norman Frank Best, born on 5 August 1861, who went on to be managing director of a sawmills in Lewisham, Kent and died on May 20 1922 in Melbourne, Australia
Arthur Sidney Best, born on 21 May 1863, died 17 March 1924. He married Emily Rebecca Wood on 15 May 1889 in Lewisham.
Jessie Mildred Best, born on 25 March 1865, married Herbert Wood, and died 22 April 1938. Note that Jessie and Arthur married Wood siblings, Emily Rebecca and Herbert.
Kate Elizabeth Best, born on 29 August 1866, date of death unknown
Annie Ethel Best, born on 21 March 1869, died 6 February 1907.
Walter Spencer Best, born on 15 December 1869, who went on to be assistant manager at the Best sawmills, date of death unknown
Edith Gertrude Best, born on 14 May 1872
Frederick Barrington Best (Neil's grandfather)

Jane Augusta died on 20 February 1907 aged 75, and Caleb survived her by more than a decade. He died on 26 August 1917 aged 90. Both were buried at Orpington, Kent.