be reduced to half that amount when the will was settled as Lucy had left Isaac £100.

Heading into that meeting on March 7, 1812, we have no way of knowing just how much money Isaac owed. We have no record of how many creditors there were or what other expenses were in- volved. We also don't have any idea of what fees were charged by the King’s Bench prison, nor how much Isaac had to pay for the privil- ege of living outside the walls under “The Rules of the King’s Bench Prison.” Neither do we have any idea of how much was charged by lawyers working to set him free. Whatever the total came to, it ap- pears to have been settled as there is no record of the case dragging on beyond that date.

It’s quite likely that Lydia’s share of her mother’s estate would have covered Isaac's debts if the matter could have been settled quickly. But six years in debtor's prison changed things drastically. It's quite likely that the bulk of the entire estate was eaten up by the expenses, be- cause Vere did not appear to have benefitted from any of the money. You would have to think that Lydia misappropriated the funds in her mother’s estate as the bulk of it was apparently used to pay off Isaac’s creditors. Vere, John and Charles apparently did not receive any of the money their mother left them.

Samuel Killick’s worst fears had come to pass. Despite the warning in his will that “Isaac Bull shall have no part in this bequest? it would appear that Isaac got it all. As you might expect, Vere certainly didn't take it well.

Vere and Elizabeth's first two children were born while living in Newington: Elizabeth Emma arrived on April 28, 1809, and Mar- tha Lucy was born on September 17, 1811. Both children were taken back to Mitcham to be baptized in the parish where Elizabeth grew up.

We don't know what Vere was doing to earn a living at this time. Perhaps he was lucky enough to find work in the engraving trade in Newington. There were silversmiths in the area at that time so he might have been employed by one of them.

By mid-summer of 1812 Vere would have known that he was un-