Letters from Charlotte Mary Hayward (1849-1918), sister of Julius Sladden
"Aunt Lottie" c1893.
Charlotte Mary Hayward, née Sladden (1849-1918), was the younger sister of Julius Sladden. She was known as “Aunt Lottie” to her many nieces and nephews in Badsey, Kent and New Zealand. Charlotte was born at Ash next Sandwich, Kent, on 8th April 1849, and lived there until her marriage to John Hayward in 1893 when she moved to Folkestone. They had 12 years of married life until the death of John (who was 20 years older) in 1905.
Seven months after John’s death, Charlotte, accompanied by her niece, May Eugénie Sladden, voyaged to New Zealand to visit Charlotte’s brother, Dilnot. They stayed for a year and Charlotte kept a diary for some of this time; May also kept a diary.
In addition to the diary, the Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service at The Hive in Worcester contains four of Charlotte’s letters written between 1895 and 1913.