James Clark and Alice Flint

Photo © John Salmon (cc-by-sa/2.0)

All Hallows, Devons Road, Bromley by Bow, London E3

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

James Clark (22) (b. ~1879 in Poplar, London) Batchelor, Labourer of 9 Eastward Street, who listed his father as James Clark, Hair Dresser, married Alice Flint (19) (b. 24 Jul 1883 in Poplar, London) Spinster, of 17 Hawgood Street, Bromley-by-Bow, listing her father as Harry Flint, Coal Porter (deceased) - she will have thought so - (Francis Henry Flint and Ellen Wilton), at All Hallows Church, Devons Road, Bromley-by-Bow, on 31 Mar 1902 (in the previous church built 1873-1874 that was damaged by bombing in WWII). Witnesses were John Smith and Hannah Elizabeth Smith.

James and Alice Clark had 12 children in all:

1. James Clark b. 1902 S Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 558. Did not find registration of death, however, must have died as an infant.
2. Alice Clarke (sic) b. 1904 J Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 595
3. William Clark b. 8 Oct 1905 (1905 D Qtr in POPLAR  Vol 01C P 554)
4. Charles Clark b. 23 Jun 1907 (1907 S Qtr in POPLAR Vol 01C P 528)
5. Ellen Elizabeth Clark b. 1909 D Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 484. Did not find registration of death, but must have died by 1911.
6. Arthur Clark b. 1911 J Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 531
7. John Joseph Clark b. 26 Feb 1913 (1913 J Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 894)
8. Florence Elizabeth Clark b. 1916 M Quarter in POPLAR Vol 01C Page 828. Died, aged 1, in 1917 S Quarter in POPLAR Vol 01C Page 349
9. James Victor Clark b. 1 Mar 1920 (1920 J Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 868)
10. George Clark b. 1922 M Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 756. Died 1922 J Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 419
11. Leonard Leslie Clark b. 3 Jun 1923 (1923 S Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 619)
12. Joan Amelia Clark b. 1927 M Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 555

Four of the birth registrations for James, Alice, William and Ellen Elizabeth quote the mother's maiden name as FINCH. While those for Charles, Arthur, John Joseph, Florence Elizabeth, James Victor, George, Leonard Leslie and Joan Amelia were all registered with the mother's maiden name FLINT. Initially, I'd thought that Finch was a miss-hearing or misspelling of Flint, however, further research showed that after Alice's father had disappeared, her mother Ellen had lived with a John Finch (with whom she had two further daughters), listing all of her children under the name Finch. So Alice had possibly grown up using that name rather than her birth name. 

In 1911, James Clark (31) General Labourer was living at 70 Barchester Street, Poplar, with Alice Clark (28), Alice Clark (7), William Clark (6), Charley Clark (4) and Arthur Clark (1). On this census Alice is listed as having had 6 children, of whom 4 were then living and 2 had died. 

In 1921, James Clark (40) Seaman Now Home, was living at 10, Blackthorn Street, Poplar (immediately opposite the church in which they married), with Alice Clark (37), Alice Clark (17), William Clark (15), Charles Clark (13), Arthur Clark (11), John Clark (7) and James Victor Clark (1). 

James Clark, it seems, was deceased by the time of William's marriage in Apr 1927, however, I haven't been able to find a record of his death in the relevant period. As he had become a Seaman, could he have died at sea?

In 1939, Alice Clark (b. 24 Jul 1883) Widowed, was living at 446 Old Ford Road, Victoria Park, Hackney with John Clark (b. 26 Feb 1913) Painter; James Clark (b. 1 Mar 1920) Labourer Van Boy; Leonard Clark (b. 3 Jun 1923) Van Boy Labourer; and a closed record which presumably relates to Joan.

Alice Clark died, aged 61, on 13 Jan 1945 (1945 M Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 241).

Richard Wilton and Catherine Byatt

Quaker Meeting House (Grade II Listed), New Street, Great Dunmow

Richard Wilton (bap. 20 Mar 1811 in Royston, Hertfordshire), middle son of Stephen Wilton and Elizabeth Hankin, married Catherine Byatt (bap. 4 Apr 1824 in Little Canfield, Essex), daughter of John Byatt and Jane Stokes, at the Independent Meeting House (Quaker Meeting House), New Street, Great Dunmow, on 25 Mar 1843, according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Protestant Dissenters. Richard Wilton, who had been listed on the 1841 census, living in the High Street, Great Dunmow, as a harness maker (as he is on the marriage certificate), was 32 at the time of the wedding and Catherine Byatt, then 19, was listed as a minor. Witnesses were Richard's younger brother Joseph Wilton and Maria Staines (then 17) sister of Richard's brother, Henry's wives (both), daughters of Thomas Staines and Sally Hockley.

Richard and Catherine had seven children:

1. Ann Wilton b. 1844 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 76, mother's maiden name BYATE. (Died 27 Apr 1850 (1850 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 56), aged 6, buried 2 May 1850)
2. Elizabeth Wilton b. 9 Aug 1847 (1847 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 69). Many places, online and off, have listed Elizabeth's date of birth as 6 August, however, I've now obtained a copy of her birth certificate from the GRO and it clearly reads Ninth August 1847.
3. Richard Wilton b. 1848 (No GRO birth registration, under any name) (Died, aged 41, in 1889 J Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 322)
4. Walter Wilton b. 1850 D Quarter in DUNMOW Volume 12 Page 79 (Died, aged 1, in 1852 M Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 219)
5. Martha Wilton b. 1853 M Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 317 (Died, aged 1, in 1854 J Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 209)
6. William Wilton b. 1855 J Quarter in DUNMOW Volume 04A Page 311 (Died, aged 3, in 1858 J Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 223)
7. Ellen Wilton b. 1857 J Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 335

On the birth registrations for Elizabeth, Walter, Martha, William and Ellen, the mother's maiden name is correctly listed as BYATT. On Elizabeth's birth certificate, her father is listed as Richard Wilton, Harness Maker and her mother, Catherine Wilton, formerly Byatt, Informant, made her mark.

Richard Wilton, Harness maker (journeyman), died on 3 Mar 1858 (1858 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 262), from Phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis). He was 46. The informant, present at his death, at Dunmow Down, was Ann Whybrow. (Formerly Ann Chandler, she had married Thomas Whybrow, a Currier (specialist in the leather trade) in 1823.) Richard's burial on 8 Mar 1858, is in Non-Conformist Church Records, so may have been in the burial ground attached to the Quaker Meeting House in Great Dunmow (PDF), lists his cause of death as Consumption. 

George Wilton, born in the Dunmow Union (Workhouse) on 3 Feb 1860 (1860 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 361), birth certificate says his mother's name was Caroline Wilton, no father listed, but I cannot find a Caroline Wilton in the area at any time. On later census returns George was listed as Catherine's new husband - John Eldred's - step-son, so George appears to have been Catherine's 'mystery' illegitimate son.

In 1861, the widowed Catherine (surname transcribed as Wilson), was living with her brother, William Byatt, in Little Canfield. George Wilton, aged 1, was listed there as nephew to the head of the household. There was a Stephen Wilton (13) Baker, lodging in the household of Elizabeth Edwards (73) at Dunmow Down, Great Dunmow, however, I believe this was a pseudonym used by Catherine's son Richard Wilton (see 1884 below). While, the 13 year old Elizabeth and her 4 year old sister, Ellen (listed as being 6), were that year, listed as inmates in the Great Dunmow Union Workhouse.

Catherine then remarried to John Eldred, widower, on 27 Sep 1862 in Great Dunmow. (Various records list her previous surname as Walton or Wilson.)

John Eldred (bap. 10 Mar 1822 in Great Dunmow) son of William Eldred and Eleanor Fewell, had married for the first time to Harriett Page, on 20 Aug 1848, in Great Dunmow. John and Harriett Eldred had three sons:

1. John Eldred b. 1849 D Quarter in DUNMOW Volume 12 Page 73, bap. 10 Jul 1853 in Great Dunmow. (Died aged 10, in 1860 J Quarter in DUNMOW Volume 04A Page 224)
2. Walter Eldred b. 1852 D Quarter in WHITECHAPEL Volume 01C Page 355, bap. 10 Jul 1853 in Great Dunmow. On the baptism, his father's occupation is listed as Brewer's Servant and address given as No 12 Smith Place High Street Wapping London. (Died, aged 18, in 1871 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 256)
3. Alfred Eldred b. 1855 M Quarter in SAINT GEORGE (IN THE EAST) Volume 01C Page 468 (for reasons unknown the mother's maiden name is listed as PORTER, but there does not appear to be another Alfred Eldred it could relate to) bap. 12 Aug 1855 in Great Dunmow

But Harriet Eldred died aged 28, in 1855 D Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 312.

John Eldred remarried to Elizabeth Tennisse, Widow, daughter of John Pitts, Mariner, on 2 Nov 1856 at Christ Church, St George in the East. Elizabeth Pitts had previously married James Tennisse (born Jacobus Teunisse on 8 Feb 1823 in Amsterdam, Netherlands) on 5 Jun 1854, in Bethnal Green. The pair had three children, all of whom died as infants: Maria Sophia Tennisse (1849-1853); James John Tennisse (1851-1856) and Sarah Tennisse (1853-1855). James Tennisse also died, aged just 32, in 1855, in Stepney.

John and Elizabeth Eldred had one daughter:

1. Thomazine Maria Eldred b. 24 Jul 1857 S Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 413, bap. 4 Apr 1858 in the parish of St George in the East, Stepney. Her father's occupation was listed as Drayman and their address again as 12 Smith's Place.

Then Elizabeth Pitts Eldred died, aged 30, on 1 Apr 1859 (1859 J Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 271).

So when Catherine Wilton married John Eldred, she became his third wife.

In 1871, living in Braintree Road, Great Dunmow, were John Eldred (44) Ag Lab, Catherine Eldred (42) both had lost 5 years; Walter Eldred (18) Son, Alfred Eldred (16) Son, Maria Eldred (13) Daughter, Ellen Wilton (14) Step-Daughter; George Wilton (11) Step-Son; and Alice Wilton (2) Granddaughter (Alice Catherine Wilton born 12 Feb 1869, to Elizabeth Wilton.)

Then John Eldred died, aged 49, in 1876 D Quarter in WEST HAM UNION Volume 04A Page 54.

In 1881, Catherine Eldridge (sic) (56) Widow, Dressmaker from Canfield, Essex, was living at 23, Powis Road, Bromley, Poplar, with Richard Wilton (31) Labourer; George Wilton (21) Labourer; Ellen Wilton (24) Match Maker; Susan Robinson (21) Match Maker (Boarder) and four Lodgers: William Wardley (20) Labourer from Sudbury, Suffolk; Arthur Seatch (36) Labourer from Bromley; Frank Poulter (24) Carman from Cambridge and James Howard (18) Match Maker (Fusee) from Bromley.

Matchgirl strikers, several showing early symptoms of phosphorus necrosis. Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

White Slavery in London

Living little more than half a mile from the Bryant & May's factory in Bow, it's probably reasonable to assume this was where they were all employed, where conditions were especially bad. 

"The match girls worked from 6.30am (or 8am in winter) until 6pm, with just two breaks, standing all the time. “A typical case”, wrote Besant, “is that of a girl of 16, a piece worker; she earns 4s a week ..." (Worth around £26 in 2020).

"Conditions were appalling for the 1,400 women and girls who worked at Bryant and May's match factory in Bow, East London. Low pay for a 14-hour day was cut even more if you talked or went to the toilet, and 'phossy jaw' - a horrible bone cancer caused by the cheap type of phosphorus in the matches - was common."

"If you handled white phosphorus or came into contact with it too much, then it caused serious damage to your health and you ended up with a terrible condition known as ‘Phossy Jaw’ – where you would get severe toothache followed by swelling of the gums. Abscesses would then form on the jaw-bone, and the facial bones would glow a greeny white in the dark. If untreated then ‘Phossy Jaw’ would develop into brain damage and ultimately multiple organ failure." As a result of these appalling conditions, the London Matchgirls Strike of 1888 started in the factory, which led to the establishment of the first British trade union for women. Match Girls Strike at Bryant and May Factory: The 1888 Uprising for Workers’ Rights in London

The Essex Herald of 20 Oct 1884 reported on "WHOLESALE SHOP LIFTING. - Richard Wilton, a navvy, of Bromley-by-Bow, was brought up in custody charged with stealing a black rep cloth overcoat and 12 pairs of tanned leggings, value £1, from the shop of Edwin Joseph Wilton, in High Street, Dunmow on Saturday night last. Prisoner was further charged with stealing six twill jackets, value 24s, the property of Mr John Beard, of North Street, Great Dunmow, on Saturday night. Superintendent Ackers stated that the greater part of the property had been recovered and identified, and, it being believed that others were implicated in the robbery, he asked that the prisoner, who was only arrested on Sunday night, might be remanded. The prisoner was accordingly remanded for a week. Later reports, which (named the perp as Stephen Wilton (36) Baker) noted that Mr [Edwin] Wilton stated the prisoner was his cousin. The prisoner was acquitted. (There were two cousins, to both Richard and Edwin, named Stephen Wilton [1] [2] - neither were angels - but I'm sure this was Richard and not either of them.

Of Catherine's surviving children and two step-children: her daughter Elizabeth Wilton; her son George Wilton; Alfred Eldred and Thomazine Maria Eldred ... all four gave the name Catherine as the first or middle name to their first child. In the case of her step-son, Alfred's wife's mother was also named Catherine to account for this, but for all of them to use the name, I think tells us far more about Catherine as a person than records usually can.

So far, I've not found a death for Catherine, but with so many incorrect names given throughout her life, it's not easy to guess what it might be listed under. There's also the chance, of course, that she remarried once again and therefore this is under yet another totally new name.

Morris Glede and Sarah Thorn

St Dunstan & All Saints, Stepney
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/3477077

Morris Glede (or Gleed) b. 1783, married Sarah Thorn b. 1793, at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney on 14 Sep 1812. Both of them were listed as from the Hamlet of Ratcliff, a sub-district, in Stepney and Limehouse parishes. The marriage was solemnised in the presence of [unreadable] and Ann Gleed. 

Records exist for the following children: 

1. William Gleed b. 26 Dec 1813, bap. 20 Feb 1814 at St Dunstan
2. Sarah Glede b. 1 Aug 1815, bap. 3 Dec 1815 in Edmonton
3. Marian Glead b. 3 Aug 1818, bap. 18 Oct 1818 in Edmonton 
4. Esther Gleed, bap. 12 Nov 1829 at St Dunstan and All Saints
5. Robert Morris Gleed, b. 8 Oct 1833, bap. 14 Jan 1844 at All Saints, Poplar

All of the baptisms show them as children of Morris and Sarah. On Sarah's baptism, their address is listed as Fore Street, Edmonton.

In 1841, Morris Gleed (58), wife Sarah (48), daughter Esther (17) and son Morris (8) were living in Water Lane, Fore Street, Edmonton. Also in the household were Thomas Acland (20) and Sarah Batts (4). (There is no indication of relationships, but could she be a granddaughter?)

Morris Gleed died, at 58, in 1843 M Qtr in EDMONTON Vol 03 Page 97. 

In 1851, Sarah Gleed (58), widow, laundress, from Bromley, Middlesex, was at Victory Row, Mile End Old Town, with Morris (18) dock labourer. 

There is a death of a Sarah Gleed with age estimated as 74, in 1865 M Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 01C Page 553, which may relate.