The story of Henry Vaughan is one of intrigue, full of tantalising clues and frustrating gaps. Piecing together his life from census records and a recent call-out on Facebook has revealed fascinating details, but many questions remain unanswered. Can we fully trust the sources we’ve uncovered?
Henry Vaughan appears in the 1881 census as a fly driver – a type of cab driver – living with his wife Mary at 3 Zion Gardens, Brighton. Together, they raised seven children: three daughters (Mary Ann, Caroline, and Fanny, who may have been named after his sister) and four sons (James, Alfred, Frederick, and Thomas).
But there’s more to Henry’s story. A Facebook comment added an intriguing twist:
“My great-grandad Henry Vaughan was one of the first ‘Cabbies’ in Brighton. He kept his horses near Gloucester Road. He also had an antique shop in the Lanes, and the shop still has his name on the steps in mosaics.”
This personal account suggests that Henry may have owned an antique shop at 10 Ship Street Gardens, where his name could still be preserved in mosaic on the steps. We found the steps but, despite scouring historical records, no firm evidence has surfaced to confirm Henry’s connection to the antique store link, or is it a case of family lore blending with local history?
Adding to the mystery, census records offer an incomplete picture of Henry’s life. He first appears as Harry Vaughan in the 1841 census, living with his parents, Alfred (a hotel keeper) and Mary, and his sister Fanny at 37 Queens Road, Brighton. By 1851, he’s listed as Henry Vaughan, but after that, there’s a puzzling 30-year gap in the records. Where was Henry between 1851 and 1881? Did he remain in Brighton, or did his work as a cab driver – or other ventures – take him elsewhere?
This patchwork of records leaves us wondering how much of Henry’s life we truly understand. Was he the pioneering cabbie described on Facebook? Did he own an antique shop, bridging Brighton’s transport history with its thriving market scene in The Lanes?
We invite you to help us solve the puzzle. If you have family stories, photographs, or records related to Henry Vaughan or Brighton’s cab drivers, we’d love to hear from you (share via Instagram: @videoclub_uk). Together, we can uncover more about the life of this enigmatic figure – and the city he helped shape.
