Thomas Clark and Sarah Wilton

Part of the carriage drive in Southwark Park
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Marathon - geograph.org.uk/p/2649163

Thomas Clark (bap. 15 Mar 1818 in Great Dunmow), son of Claudius Clark and Hannah Cornell, married Sarah Wilton (b. 1819 in Royston), daughter of Stephen Wilton and Elizabeth Hankin, on 3 Apr 1839 in Royston, Hertfordshire. Thomas, like Sarah's brothers, was a Harness Maker.

Thomas and Sarah had ten children:

1. Thomas Clark Wilton b. 1838 S Quarter in ROYSTON Vol 06 Page 528
2. Ann Clark b. 1841 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Vol 12 Page 72
3. Emma Clark b. 1842 D Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Vol 12 Page 69
4. Sarah Wilton Clark b. 1845 M Quarter in BRAINTREE Vol 12 Page 26
5. Alfred Clark b. 1847 M Quarter in BRAINTREE Vol 12 Page 32
6. Robert Clark b. 1849 M Quarter in SAINT GEORGE THE MARTYR SOUTHWARK Volume 04 Page 525
7. Caroline Clark b. 1851 J Quarter in CAMBERWELL Vol 04 Page 84
8. Elizabeth Clark b. 1854 M Quarter in CAMBERWELL Vol 01D Page 465 (Died at 13 in 1867 D Quarter in CAMBERWELL Vol 01D Page 413)
9. Thomas William Clark b. 1857 S Qtr in CAMBERWELL Vol 01D 433
10. Walter Edward Clark b. 1862 M Qtr in CAMBERWELL Vol 01D 514 (Died at 18 in 1880 D Quarter in CAMBERWELL Vol 01D Page 443)

In 1841, Thomas Clark (23) and Sarah Clark (22) were in Great Dunmow, with Thomas Clark [dropped the Wilton] (2) and Ann Clark (3m).

In 1851, they were at 4 South Place, Camberwell, with Thomas Clark (33) Coach Trimmer; Sarah Clark (32), Emma Clark (8), Sarah W Clark (6), Robert Clark (2), Caroline Clark (1 Mo), Ann Wilton (34) Visitor (Sarah's sister) and Stephen Wilton (3) Nephew (Ann's illegitimate son).

In 1871, in Camberwell, were Thomas Clark (53) Harness Maker, birthplace Dunmow; Sarah Clark (52), birthplace Royston; Robert Clark (22), Harness Maker, birthplace Southwark; Thomas Clark (13), Scholar, and Walter Clark (9), Scholar, birthplace Peckham. Also living with them again were Ann Wilton (54), Needlewoman, birthplace Royston, wife's sister; Stephen Wilton (23), Harness Maker, birthplace Southwark, Nephew and Martha Wilton (10), Scholar, birthplace Peckham, Niece, both Ann's illegitimate children.

Then Thomas Clark died, in Camberwell, aged 59, in 1877 D Quarter in CAMBERWELL Volume 01D Page 524.

In 1881, Sarah Clark (62), widow, was lodging in the household of her married daughter, Caroline Thornhill (30) at 57, South Street, Camberwell.

In 1891, Sarah Clark (72), widow, was employed as a General Servant Nurse in the household of Henry R Weller (29) in Kimberley Road, Lambeth.

Sarah Clark died at 84 in 1903 M Qtr in ST. PANCRAS Vol 01B Page 24.

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), and listed 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.

(George can't have been Richard's son - unless sperm freezing was invented MUCH earlier than we've been led to believe - and an attempt to 'legitimise' this birth by suggesting a death of a Richard Wilton, in Whitechapel, in 1862, I can categorically refute, as now that the GRO provide a search facility, a quick look showed that this record was the death of a child, aged 1.)

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 (although listed as married); 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.

Stephen Wilton and Elizabeth Hankin

St Mary Ashwell - Chancel
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/2474397

Stephen Wilton (bap. 25 Dec 1777 in Sawston, Cambridgeshire), Bachelor, son of Richard Wilton and Mary Robinson, married Elizabeth Hankin (bap. 28 Aug 1777 in Royston, Hertfordshire), Spinster, daughter of Robert Hankin and Elizabeth Edwards, both 'of the parish' of St Mary the Virgin, Ashwell, Hertfordshire on 24 Mar 1803. Both appear to have signed their own names. One of the witnesses was an Elizabeth Abbot.

Stephen and Elizabeth had nine children, the first six baptised in Royston: 

1. Mary Wilton b. 1804, bap. 25 Feb 1807 
2. Elizabeth Wilton b. 1805, bap. 25 Feb 1807
3. Martha Wilton bap. 25 Feb 1807 
4. Henry Wilton bap. 15 Jan 1809
5. Richard Wilton bap. 20 Mar 1811
6. Ellenor Hannah Wilton b. 5 Aug 1812, bap. 11 Jan 1829
7. Joseph Wilton b. 1815
8. Ann Wilton b. 1817
9. Sarah Wilton b. 1819

In 1792, at the age of 15, Stephen Wilton had been apprenticed to William Haggis in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, as a Collarmaker. On Ellenor's baptism, Stephen's occupation is listed as Harness Maker (trade also carried on by his sons Henry and Richard). Originally, I'd assumed a Collarmaker had meant he was making collars for men's shirts, but it appears this was actually leather collars for horses. "Historically there were three separate trades: saddlery, collar making and harness making. There are two types of collars: heavy horse collars and driving collars. However, today the demand dictates that collar making is done as a complete service with harness making." [Horse Collar Making] (Draught Harness and Horse Collar Making). On his second marriage in 1873, son Henry Wilton describes his father as Stephen Wilton, Deceased, Sadler (sic), which now makes perfect sense with the leather-working traditions in Sawston, Cambridgeshire and his sons' trades.

Stephen Wilton died, at 62, in 1839 M Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 389.

In 1841, Elizabeth Wilton (60) was living at Lewers Cottages, Royston with Ellen Wilton (22), Ann Wilton (20) and a Mary Whitechurch (16), all Dressmakers. Ellen will actually have been 29, but when unmarried daughters are beyond 'one and twenty', you probably won't tell the whole truth. :)

There is a record of a death of an Elizabeth Wilton of the right age (69) on 10 Sep 1846 (1846 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 61) and non-conformist burial on 17 Sep 1846 in Great Dunmow.

Nazareth Gardens, Peckham Rye
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Anstiss - geograph.org.uk/p/2620932
In 1878 Gordon Road Workhouse was built in the grounds of Nazareth House

Ann Wilton despite never marrying, had two children: 

1. Stephen Wilton b. 1848 J Quarter in SAINT GEORGE THE MARTYR SOUTHWARK Volume 04 Page 461
2. Martha Wilton b. 1860 J Quarter in CAMBERWELL Vol 01D Page 469

In 1851, Ann Wilton (34) Visitor and Stephen Wilton (3) Nephew, were staying with her brother-in-law and younger sister, Thomas and Sarah Clark, at South Place, Saint Giles Camberwell, Camberwell, London.

On 5 Aug 1867, Stephen Wilton (18) Harness Maker, 5ft 3in with brown hair, blue eyes, a fresh complexion and a scar on his chest, was sentenced to 20 days in Wandsworth Prison and a £2 fine, for Assault. Again, on 19 Apr 1870, Stephen Wilton (21) Harness Maker, 5ft 6in, with one previous conviction, was sentenced to 1 month in Wandsworth Prison, also for Assault.

In 1871, Ann Wilton (54), Needlewoman, 'wife's sister' was again living with Thomas and Sarah Clark, in Blakes Road, Camberwell, with her children, Stephen Wilton (23), Harness Maker, and Martha Wilton (10) Scholar. 

In 1881, Ann Wilton (64), was listed as an inmate at the Workhouse Gordon Road, Camberwell. (With Thomas Clark, having died in 1877 and sister, Sarah then lodging with her own daughter, options must have run out for Ann.) Martha Wilton (21), in 1881, was a General Servant to John Newlands (61) Warehouseman Fancy Goods, at 16, Talfourd Road, Camberwell.

In 1891 Ann Wilton (73) was again an Inmate in Camberwell Workhouse.

She must have left the workhouse at some point, because the Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records show Ann Wilton (77) being (re)admitted to Camberwell Workhouse on Thursday, 18 Jul 1895.

In 1901, Ann Wilton (83) Pauper was once again at Camberwell Workhouse.

According to the Register of Deaths in the Constance Road Workhouse, Camberwell, Ann Wilton died there, on 18 Feb 1909 (1909 M Quarter in CAMBERWELL Volume 01D Page 594), and was buried on 23 Feb 1909 at Camberwell Old Cemetery, Square 75, Grave 21367.

Andrew Arthur Padbury and Elizabeth Sarah Maslin

High Street and the Assembly Rooms, Epsom, Surrey
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Hugh Craddock - geograph.org.uk/p/2361441
High Street, looking east from the junction with South Street and West Street.

Andrew Arthur Padbury (b. 1 Jul 1844, bap. 10 Nov 1844 at St Martin of Tours church, Epsom, Surrey), son of Andrew Padbury and Sarah Zeal, married Elizabeth Sarah Maslin (b. 19 May 1850), daughter of William George Maslin and Charlotte Bland, in Deptford, Kent, on 14 Feb 1869.

Andrew and Elizabeth had four children:

1. Andrew William Padbury b. 16 May 1869 in GREENWICH Volume 01D Page 699, bap. 12 Sep 1869 in Deptford, Kent.
2. Emily Ada Padbury b. 16 Dec 1870 in GREENWICH Vol 01D 763
3. Elizabeth Sarah Padbury b. 19 Dec 1872 in GREENWICH 01D 809
4. Edith Padbury b. 1874 D Quarter in GREENWICH Volume 01D Page 828, died 1875 S Quarter in GREENWICH Volume 01D Page 515

In 1871, in Tanners Hill, St Paul, Greenwich, were Andrew Padbury (26), Elizabeth Padbury (20), Andrew (1), Emily (0) and Alice, a Servant.

Andrew Padbury, Slipper maker, of 9 Glocks Cottages, Tanner's Hill died, aged 30, on 5 Jan 1875 at that address, leaving effects of under £100 to his widow, Elizabeth Sarah Padbury of 14A Victory Street, Deptford New Town.

In 1881, there is an Elizabeth Padbury (27), Widow, Laundress, living at 26, Cold Blow Road, St Paul Deptford, which may relate. Certainly, Emily Padbury (10), that year was living with her grandparents, William and Charlotte Maslin. While Elizabeth Padbury (8), had been admitted to the Union Workhouse, Infirmary, Green Lane, Greenwich. Someone, hopefully, must have taken the then 11 year old Andrew William in, but I've been unable to find him.

I can find no further records of Elizabeth Sarah Padbury (née Maslin).

Five generations of Andrew Padbury:

1. Andrew Padbury, son of Thomas Padbury and Ann Edney, bap. 7 Mar 1778 in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire. This Andrew Padbury married Ann Camshall, on 27 Sep 1801, in Epsom, Surrey. In 1841, Andrew Padbury (60) Grocer, Ann (55), son Andrew and daughter Ann, were living in New Inn Lane, Epsom. In 1851, Andrew Padbury (75) Grocer was in South Street, Epsom, with wife Ann (70) and two lodgers. He died, aged 83, and was buried at St Martin's, Epsom on 17 Feb 1860.
2. Andrew Padbury, son of Andrew Padbury and Ann Camshall, bap. 22 Dec 1811, at St Martin of Tours church, Epsom. He married Sarah Zeal, again by Licence, on 20 Apr 1843, in Lambeth, Surrey. In 1845, The London Gazette published details of the Bankruptcy of Andrew Padbury the younger of Epsom, Grocer. In 1851, Andrew Padbury (40) Master Watchmaker, wife Sarah (31), Arthur A Padbury (7) and Emily (1), turn up in High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. But by 1871, he is found at Victory Street, St Paul, Greenwich, with wife Sarah and daughter Emily. This Andrew Padbury died in Greenwich, in 1877.
3. Andrew Arthur Padbury, son of Andrew Padbury and Sarah Zeal, was born on 1 Jul 1844 and baptised 10 Nov 1844 at St Martin of Tours church, Epsom, Surrey. As above, he married Elizabeth Sarah Maslin in Deptford, Kent, on 14 Feb 1869 and died, aged 30, on 5 Jan 1875.
4. Andrew William Padbury, son of Andrew Arthur Padbury and Elizabeth Sarah Maslin, born 16 May 1869, in Deptford. Despite not locating him in 1881, Andrew Padbury (21) Printer machine minder turns up, in 1891, in Barnsbury Road, Islington, London, as a boarder in the household of Arthur Evans. Andrew William Padbury married Honora Rose Brown, in Islington, in 1894. In 1901, were living in 20, Perth Road, Hornsey, Edmonton, Middlesex. Honor Rose Padbury died in 1904, at 29, so he remarried, to Gertrude Annie Cole on 15 Oct 1905 at St Mary the Virgin, Walthamstow. In 1911, they were living at 19 Cairo Road, Walthamstow and in 1939, at Tudor Cottage, Shoebury Road, Southend-On-Sea. Andrew W Padbury died, aged 83, in Southend-On-Sea, in 1952.
5. Andrew Thomas William Padbury, son of Andrew William Padbury and Honora Rose Brown, was born in Islington, in 1894. He married Elsie May Payne at St Mary the Virgin, Walthamstow, on 27 Feb 1916. Andrew T W Padbury died, aged 72, in 1967, in Braintree, Essex.

Emily Ada Padbury married George Philip Heath in St Pancras, London on 5 Sep 1891; and on the very same date, Elizabeth Sarah Padbury married John Carpenter Wade also in St Pancras, London. Double wedding?

In 1901, George P Heath (33) from Teignmouth, Devon and Emily A Heath were at 32, Winchester Road, Edmonton, Middlesex. Their third child, George P Heath, was born, in 1898, in Portsea, Hampshire. In 1911, they were living at 77 Fore St, Upper Edmonton, Edmonton. In 1939 they were at 65 Portland Crescent, Harrow. Emily A Heath died in Harrow, on 26 Feb 1960.

In 1901, John C Wade (29) Plumber and wife Elizabeth S, who also had 3 children then, were living at 24, Kingsdown Road, Islington, London. In 1911, they'd gone no further than 28 Kingsdown Road. Still in Islington in 1921 and 1939, Elizabeth S Wade died, aged 82, in Hendon in 1955.

Charles Prior and Mary Wilton

Shops in Great Dunmow
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Stephen McKay - geograph.org.uk/p/6483373

Charles Prior (b. 1812 in Great Dunmow), son of John Prior and Elizabeth Suckling, married Mary Wilton, daughter of Stephen Wilton and Elizabeth Hankin, at an unknown venue, in Great Dunmow on Christmas Eve, 24 Dec 1833. 

Charles and Mary Prior had four children: 

1. Henry Prior b. 1835
2. Mary Prior b. 1838 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 71 (Mother's maiden name listed as WILSON.)
3. Elizabeth Prior b. 1840 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION  Volume 12 Page 73 (Mother's maiden name listed as HILTON.)
4. Ann Prior b. 1842 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 77 (Mother's maiden name, finally, listed correctly as WILTON.)

In 1841, Charles Prior (29) Basket Maker, Mary Prior (33), Henry Prior (6), Mary Prior (3) and Elizabeth Prior (1) were in the High Street, Great Dunmow. The census record reveals that the family monopolised this part of the High Street with Charles and Mary Prior being next door to John and Elizabeth Prior, Charles' parents, who in turn, were next door to Mary's brother, Henry Wilton (who had Henry Wilton Pryor in his household, apprentice tailor). The other side of them was their uncle Henry Wilton. The other side of Charles and Mary Prior was another of Mary's brothers, Richard Wilton. (It wasn't until years later when comparing all the records, order, location, that I was able to work out that Charles and Mary Prior were living in the exact property in the image above that I'd already chosen to represent them.)

Charles Prior (and his father, John Prior) were listed as Basket Makers and Mary Prior as a Straw Hat Maker in White's Directory of Essex 1848.

In 1861, still in High Street, Great Dunmow, were Charles Prior (49) Basket Maker from Great Dunmow; Mary Prior (58) Bonnet Maker; Mary Prior (23) Bonnet Maker and Elizabeth Prior (21) Dressmaker.

In 1871, in New Street, Great Dunmow were Charles Prior (59) Basket Maker, Mary Prior (66) and Elizabeth Prior (30) Straw Bonnet Maker. 

In 1881, with address as High Street New Street, Great Dunmow (were they on the corner?), were Charles Prior (69) Basket Maker; Mary Prior (75) Basket Maker's Wife and Elizabeth Prior (40) Straw Bonnet Maker.

Mary Prior (née Wilton) died, aged 83, in 1887 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 319.

In 1891, in the High Street, Great Dunmow, were Charles Prior (79) Widower, Basket Maker and daughter, Elizabeth Prior (50) Bonnet Maker.

Charles Prior died, aged 79, in 1891 D Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 343.

(Elizabeth Prior died, aged 59, in 1899 D Quarter in RISBRIDGE Volume 04A Page 483. Ann Prior had married Charles Probart Keeble in 1865 and they had been living in Queen Street, Haverhill, Risbridge, Suffolk.)

Now, I realise they're hardly the Bennet Sisters (also from Hertfordshire), but the Wilton girls - who were born between 1804 and 1819 - will have come of age between 1825 and 1840 and it helps to look at the styles of their age.

Getting Dressed in the 1830s

John Byatt and Sarah Pewter

St Mary the Virgin Elsenham - East end
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/3285903

John Byatt (bap. 30 Sep 1753 in Elsenham, Essex), son of Edward Byart and Ann Brown, married Sarah Pewter (bap. 4 Apr 1754 at St Mary's Church, Ware, Hertfordshire) daughter of George and Grace Pewter, at St Mary's Church, Elsenham, Essex on 17 Nov 1775. Various records spell his surname as Byart or Biatt and one calls him James, but as time goes by, the spelling Byatt becomes consistent and all other records are for John.

John and Sarah had ten children, baptised at St Mary's Church, Elsenham:

1. William Byat (sic) bap. 21 Apr 1776
2. John Byatt bap. 3 May 1778
3. James Byat (sic) bap. 15 Mar 1780
4. Elizabeth Byatt bap. 10 Dec 1782 and again on 6 Mar 1783 (There isn't time for this to have been a different child, so I wonder if the first is a private baptism at home and a second in the church?)
5. Mary Byatt bap. 17 Jul 1785
6. Susan Byatt bap. 23 Nov 1788 (Died 31 Dec 1788)
7. George Byatt bap. 28 Feb 1790
8. Thomas Byatt bap. 26 Aug 1792
9. Samuel Byatt bap. 3 Jul 1796 (Buried 8 May 1797) The baptism, as Sal, specifies the sex as male. On the burial, the child is described as a daughter. We may have found our first transgender relative.
10. Joseph Byatt bap. 25 May 1800 

Sarah Byatt died, at 69, and was buried on 8 Feb 1824, in Elsenham.

Not yet been able to identify a death or burial for John Byatt.

Thomas William Colwill and Olivia Trevail

St George's, Hanover Square
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Anthony O'Neil - geograph.org.uk/p/4518508

Thomas William Colwill (b. 1861 in Pimlico), son of Henry Colwill and Mary White, married Olivia Trevail (b. 1854 in Luxulyan), daughter of Joseph Trevail and Jane Rundle, at St George, Hanover Square on 13 Nov 1886. Witnesses were Kate Archer and Charles Trevail, the bride's sister and brother.

Thomas and Olivia had two children:

1. Harry George Colwill b. 29 Oct 1888 D Quarter in ST GEORGE HANOVER SQUARE Volume 01A Page 438, bap. 1889 at St Saviour's, St George's Square, Pimlico. Died in France, in WWI, on 19 Apr 1915.
2. Elsie Mary Colwill b. 30 Jul 1896 in Dalston, Hackney (1896 S Quarter in SHOREDITCH Volume 01C Page 118)

In 1891, Thomas Colwill (29) Labourer joiner, living at Chichester Street, St George Hanover Square, with wife Olivia Colwill (33), son Harry (2), as well as four boarders: Charles Usher (26), Walter Wilham (35), Constance Wilham (25) and Ernest Aller (24). (Thomas claimed to be from Taunton, Somerset. He wasn't. Following the clues, we discover that Thomas William Colwill, born in Pimlico in 1861, was the son of Henry Colwill, Joiner, and Mary White - who had married in Wells, Somerset, on 24 Dec 1857. Thomas William Colwill was merely baptised at St Thomas, Wells, Somerset, in 1861.)

By 1901, Thomas Collwell (sic) (39) Builder's foreman, living at 24, Back Common Road, Lake Avenue Terrace, Chiswick, with Olivia (36), Harry (12) and Elsie (4), had remembered that he was born in Pimlico.

In 1911, Thomas Colwill (49) Foreman Joiner, Olivia Colwill (53), Harry Colwill (22) Joiner and Elsie Colwill (14), were living at 21 Slowmans Cottages, Ashingdon Road, Rochford, Essex. This census confirms that they had two children during their 24 year marriage, both then still living.

Sapper H G Colwill #24926 Royal Engineers, 2nd Field Coy, died on 19 Apr 1915 and is buried at Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, Plot: I. C. 47.

In 1921, T W [Thomas William] Colwill (59) Commercial Traveller; Olivia Colwill (63) and Elsie Mary Colwill (24) Clerk at the Ministry of Pensions, were living at 108, Oval Road, Croydon, Surrey.

Thomas William Colwill died, aged 69, in 1930 J Quarter in CROYDON Volume 02A Page 401. Olivia Colwell died, aged 83, in 1937 S Quarter in CROYDON Volume 02A Page 605.

• Elsie Mary Colwill married Tom Bristow Bates (b. 27 Jan 1894 in Croydon, Surrey) in Croydon in 1922. In 1939 Tom B Bates, Elsie M Bates and Clifford H Bates (Clifford Harry Frank Bates b. 1924 D Quarter in CROYDON Volume 02A Page 439 (died 2001) and one other person were living at 27 Abbey Road, Croydon, Surrey. Elsie Mary Bates died on 27 May 1946 (1946 J Quarter in CROYDON Volume 02A Page 762). Tom B Bates remarried to Beatrice A D Hayes in Croydon, in 1951 and died in 1969.

James Pearce and Hannah Jackson

Melbourn High Street
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Sutton - geograph.org.uk/p/6508075

James Pearce (bap. 29 Apr 1804 in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire), Widower, son of William Pearce and Elizabeth Hunt, married Martha Wilton (bap. 25 Feb 1807 in Royston, Hertfordshire), Spinster, third daughter of Stephen Wilton and Elizabeth Hankin, in Royston, in 1849.

James Pearce of Royston, Bachelor, had previously married Hannah Jackson, of Guilden Morden, Spinster, daughter of James Jackson and Hanna Webb, on 10 Nov 1829, at St. Mary, Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire.

James and Hanna Pearce had seven children:

1. 

   Photo © Jim Osley (cc-by-sa/2.0)

   Royston Museum and Art Gallery

   The Museum and Art Gallery occupies a 

   former Congregational Church schoolroom.

   Photo available for reuse under 

   this Creative Commons licence.

   William Pearce b. 19 Jan 1832, bap. 20 May 1832 at the New Meeting House (Congregational chapel), Royston
2. Hannah Jackson Pearce b. 1837 S Quarter in ROYSTON UNION Vol 06 Page 403. Died, aged 19, in 1857 S Qtr in ROYSTON Vol 03A Page 141
3. Mary Pearce b. 1839 D Quarter in ROYSTON & BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 560
4. James Pearce b. 1841 D Quarter in ROYSTON & BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 542
5. Samuel Pearce b. 1844 J Quarter in ROYSTON & BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 577
6. Thomas Pearce b. 1846 M Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 607
7. Alfred Pearce b. 1848 M Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 587. Died in the same quarter 1848 M Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 502

In 1841, when Martha was looking after her late sister Elizabeth's children, James Pearce (~35), Hannah Pearce (~30), William Pearce (9), Hannah Pearce (2) and Mary Pearce (1) were living in Kneesworth Street, Royston. 

Hannah Pearce died, aged 42, 1848 M Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 498. Given that she died in the same quarter as her last child was born and had also died, I think we would be pretty safe to surmise what had contributed to her death.

In 1851, James and Martha Pearce were in Melbourn, Hertfordshire, with James (47) Wool-stapler (a wool-stapler buys wool from the producer, sorts and grades it, and sells it on to manufacturers), Martha (43), and James' six surviving children: William Pearce (19) wool-stapler, Hannah Jackson Pearce (13) dressmaker, Mary (11), James (9), Samuel (7) and Thomas (5).

In 1861, living in Baldock Road, Bassingbourn, Royston, were James (57), Martha (53), with James (19), Samuel (17) and Thomas (15). Mary Pearce (21) was a Cook to Peter Ashton, Schoolmaster, in Melbourn Street, Royston.

James Pearce died, aged 64 in 1868 M Quarter in ROYSTON Volume 03A Page 180.

In 1871, Martha Pearce (62) was in West Terrace, Baldock Road, Bassingbourn, with step-sons James Pearce (29) Wool stapler and Samuel Pearce (26) Cabinet maker. (Thomas Pearce had married in 1869).

In 1881, Martha Pearce (70), widow, annuitant, was living alone at Alms House, 8, Kneesworth Street, Royston.

In 1891, at Alms House, Kneesworth Road, Bassingbourne, Royston.

In 1901, Martha was at Mill Yard, Alms House, Kneesworth Street, Royston.

Alms houses in Kneesworth Street are mentioned in Royston Register of Buildings of Local Interest (PDF), as a building of local architectural and historic interest and illustrates the social history of the town:

Mrs. Barfield’s Almshouses, Kneesworth Street

Mrs. Barfield was the widow of Reverend Barfield and purchased the land on the west side of Kneesworth Street for 4 Almshouses. These were built in 1833 for poor windows. At a later date 3 others were built opposite from the accumulation of funds with the fourth funded by C. Beldam Esq. The Almshouses were built in 1858 and are constructed of gault brick in Flemish Bond with hip slate roofs. Tall gault brick chimneys project at intervals along the roof line and out of the end hips close to the eaves. The Almshouses are designed as two single storey elongated blocks situated parallel to each other and orientated to end onto the road. A lower central outhouse block is situated at a central point at right angles between the two rows of houses, creating an 'H' shaped layout. The balance and symmetry of the layout, form and design of the Almshouses are key to their local architectural and historic interest and their design contribution within the street scene.

Martha Pearce died, at the grand old age of 97, in 1904 S Quarter in ROYSTON Volume 03A Page 403. 

Robert Hankin and Elizabeth Edwards

Kneesworth Street, Royston, Herts
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ruth Sharville - geograph.org.uk/p/6687304

Robert Hankin (bap. 7 Jan 1742 in Royston), Batchelor, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Hankin, married Elizabeth Edwards, Spinster, in Royston, on 15 Oct 1767. Witnesses were William Stamford and Elizabeth Chapman.

Robert and Elizabeth had nine or ten children:

1. Robert Hankin bap. 30 Jan 1769
2. Sarah Hankin bap. 26 Jun 1770
3. Joseph Hankin bap. 23 Sep 1772
4. Ann Hankin bap. 8 Mar 1775
5. Elizabeth Hankin bap. 28 Aug 1777
6. William Hankin bap. 28 Oct 1779
7. Mary Hankin bap. 29 Nov 1781
8. Unnamed child bap. Feb 1786. This record does not show the exact date, name or gender of the child. This also could be either of the following:
9. James Hankin, for whom I can find no birth / baptism
10. Thomas Hankin, for whom I can find no birth / baptism

Given the dates, all of these Non-Conformist baptisms must have taken place at the Royston, Old Meeting (Independent) House, that had existed in Middle Row, Kneesworth Street, since 1706. [Source] These Non-Conformists, it seems, were Congregationalists. In 1790, a dispute arose over doctrine and a group withdrew from the Old Meeting, to form a New Meeting. In 1791 a New Meeting house was built on another site in Kneesworth Street. 

On 7 Sep 1759, when he will then have been the correct age of 15, Robert Hankin was apprenticed to John Thrift of Royston, Barber. The premium was £9 0s 0d. In turn, on 7 Dec 1770, Robert Hankin took an apprentice, named Edward Lilley, for whom the premium had gone up to £10 0s 0d.

On 6 Mar 1812, "E Hankin" was buried and the record is in the burials at Royston, New Meeting House (Independent). I'm sure this is Elizabeth Hankin because the record next to it is the burial of Robert Hankin on 21 Apr 1812.

Between those burial dates, on 4 Apr 1812, Robert Hankin wrote his will, directing that all his personal household furniture be sold with his other property [and] the product of its sale to be disposed of as follows: twenty pounds to his son James; twenty five pounds to his daughter Sarah; to his daughter Elizabeth wife of Stephen Wilton twenty pounds; Mary twenty pounds; Thomas (with a whole list of conditions) twenty pounds; Joseph five pounds; William five pounds; and another bequest to his daughter Ann. He appointed his son James Hankin and John Butler as joint Executors. Probate was granted to James Hankin on 15 Oct 1812. As the Will was written after the burial of E Hankin and there is no bequest to his wife, this tends to confirm that Elizabeth had pre-deceased him and that burial relates.

Herbert Fleming Trevail and Alice Maud Stanley Blazey

Kensington: St. John the Baptist Church, Holland Road
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Dr Neil Clifton - geograph.org.uk/p/3161496

Herbert Fleming Trevail (b. 1877 in Lambeth), son of Charles Trevail and Mary Fleming, married Alice Maud Stanley Blazey (b. 21 Dec 1875 in Dinapore, India), daughter of Francis Robert Blazey and Louisa Susan Stanley, both of 155 Holland Road, Kensington, on 5 Sep 1898, at St John the Baptist church, Holland Road, Kensington, London. Witnesses were Francis Robert Blazey, the bride's father and Edwin Fleming Trevail, the groom's brother. 

Various records point to Herbert and Alice having seven children:

1. Daisy Trevail b. 1899 S Quarter in LAMBETH Volume 01D Page 464. (Died 1899 S Quarter in LAMBETH Volume 01D Page 343)
2. Winifred Constance Stanley Trevail b. 16 Sep 1900 (1900 D Qtr in LAMBETH Vol 01D 386), bap. 4 Nov 1900 at St Anne, South Lambeth
3. Eric Herbert Stanley Trevail b. 29 Jul 1904 (1904 S Qtr in HATFIELD Vol 03A Page 796), bap. 18 Sep 1904 in Welwyn, Hertfordshire
4. Stillborn child b. 25 Oct 1908 in Christchurch, New Zealand
5. Lancelot Edwin Stanley Trevail b. 30 May 1910 in Christchurch, NZ 
6. Edna A S Trevail (if I was betting, I'd go for Alice Stanley), born and died in 1915 in Balmain North, New South Wales, Australia
   
7. Carmen Joyce Stanley Trevail b. 1917 in New South Wales, Australia

The mother's maiden name on the first three in England was BLAZEY.

In 1901, Alice (25) was at her father's household at 31, Sinclair Gardens, Hammersmith, Fulham, along with her daughter, Winifred Constance Stanley Trevail, while Herbert (24) Carpenter and Joiner, was alone at what was presumably their home at 83, South Lambeth Road, Lambeth. 

SS Miltiades (1903)

On 5 Aug 1908, Mr H Trevail (31), Mrs A Trevail (32), Miss W Trevail (7) and Master E Trevail (2½), embarked in London on the SS Miltiades. They were bound for Sydney, where they arrived in the September. 

There is only a record of a burial of a stillborn child (gender unknown), simply listed with the surname Trevail, born 25 Oct 1908, and buried at Linwood Cemetery, Linwood, Christchurch City, Canterbury, New Zealand. That would indicate that Alice was pregnant during the voyage. This pregnancy also fits neatly into the otherwise long gap between 1904 and 1910.

They were in Lyttelton, New Zealand in 1909 - where Herbert's aunts, Ellen Higgs and Mary Ann Burn Trevail Bawden then lived - because reports in the Lyttelton Times in Oct 1909 detail that Miss Winnie Trevail was appearing in one of the principle roles in a production staged by the Garrick Juvenile Opera Company, at the Opera House there.

In 1911, Herbert Fleming Trevail, carpenter, and Alice Maud Trevail were listed on the New Zealand Electoral Rolls at 56 Stanmore Rd, Linwood, Christchurch. (Herbert's aunt, Jane Rundle Robinson, lived in Christchurch.)

Then in 1913, we find both of them listed on the Australia Electoral Rolls at Mount Victoria, Hartley, New South Wales, Australia.

Painting of the British ocean liner RMS Olympic by Fred Pansing

On 2 Feb 1927, Herbert Trevail (49), Alice (50), Lance (16) and Carmen (10) sailed from Southampton to New York on the White Star Line's RMS Olympic. They gave their last address in the UK as 62 Milton Road, Wallington, Surrey, the home of Herbert's parents. On 29 Aug 1927, they left San Francisco, bound for Sydney, on the RMS Tahiti. (Known for the Greycliffe disaster.)

Herbert must have made another visit to England, because on 1 Mar 1933, he sailed, on his own, from Southampton to Sydney on the SS Moreton Bay.

In 1935, Herbert and Alice Trevail are both listed on the Australia Electoral Rolls at 3 Griffiths Avenue, North Bondi, New South Wales. 

On 8 Jul 1949, Mr H. F. Trevail (72) Builder, and Mrs A. M. Trevail (74), travelled from London (Port of Tilbury) to Sydney on the SS Orontes. 

Herbert Fleming Trevail died on 26 Nov 1961 in Ashfield, Sydney NSW.

Alice Maud Stanley Trevail died on 9 Mar 1965, in Dade, Florida, USA.

• In 1923 Eric H S Trevail married Miriam E Tuppling, in Balmain South, New South Wales, Australia. They went on to have two children: Conway Eric Stanley Trevail who married Beryl Pearl De Berg and Lois Winifred Stanley Trevail who married Ross Munro Brown, both in Waverley, New South Wales, Australia in 1944.
• Lancelot Edwin Stanley Trevail married Nancy Mary Harris Matthews in Waverley, New South Wales, Australia in 1935. However, Lancelot Edwin Stanley Trevail, Casket Maker, died on 6 Sep 1947, in Bondi, NSW.
• On 30 Sep 1937, Miss C. J. S. Trevail (21) travelled from Wellington, New Zealand to Sydney on the MS Wanganella, her profession listed as Theatrical. Carmen Joyce Stanley Trevail married Leslie Earnest Hull in Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia in 1938.

John Pryor and Elizabeth Wilton

Royston: early blossom in Kneesworth Street
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Sutton - geograph.org.uk/p/4814372

John Pryor (b. 22 Aug 1803 in Royston, Hertfordshire), son of John Pryor and Lydia Bateson, married Elizabeth Wilton (b. 1805, bap. 25 Feb 1807 in Royston) daughter of Stephen Wilton and Elizabeth Hankin, in Royston, Hertfordshire (the transcript does not specify venue) on 4 Sep 1823. 

John and Elizabeth appear to have seven children:

1. Lydia Pryor b. 17 Jun 1824, bap. 24 Jun 1837
2. Henry Wilton Pryor b. 14 Nov 1827, bap. 24 Jun 1837
3. Francis Pryor b. 4 Mar 1830, bap. 24 Jun 1837
4. Matthew John Pryor b. 14 Nov 1832, bap. 26 Jun 1837 (Died, aged 5, in 1838 M Qtr in ROYSTON & BUNTINGFORD Vol 06 Page 454)
5. Elizabeth Pryor b. 9 Dec 1834, bap. 24 Jun 1837 (Died aged 6, in 1841 D Quarter in ROYSTON & BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 396)
6. William Bateson Pryor b. 1837 S Qtr in ROYSTON UNION Vol 06 400
7. Alfred John Pryor b. 1839 J Quarter in ROYSTON Vol 06 Page 600

All baptisms took place at the New Meeting House, Royston. Maybe they felt the need to catch up before Civil Registration came in on 1 Jul 1837.

Listed as Elizabeth Pryer (sic) she died, aged 35, in 1840 S Quarter in ROYSTON & BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 361. 

In 1841, John Pryor (35) Tailor was living in in High Street, Royston, with Lydia Pryor (17), William B Pryor (3) and Alfred Pryor (2), Martha Wilton (30) Housekeeper (Elizabeth's sister); John D Tier (18) and Charles Robinson (15) Apprentices. Henry Wilton Pryor (listed as Henry Prior) (14) Apprentice Tailor, was living in the household of his Uncle Henry Wilton (Elizabeth's brother) in High Street, Great Dunmow; Francis Pryor (11), was in the household of Benjamin Batt (55) in Padler's Lane, Therfield, Hertfordshire.

John Pryor remarried, in Royston, to Edith Sell, daughter of Tempest Sell (Veterinary Surgeon) and Sarah Docwa, on 25 Aug 1842. 

They had two further children:

1. Edith Sell Pryor b. 1843 J Quarter in ROYSTON & BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 555, bap. 25 Aug 1844
2. Tempest Simeon Sell Pryor b. 1846 J Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 607

"Edith Fossey Prior, daughter of Tempest Sell, who departed this life, April 5th, 1850 (1850 J Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 407), aged 37 years", was buried on 12 Apr 1850 at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, Bassingbourn. (There are monuments to Tempest Sell at Bassingbourn Parish Church, Edith's brother and ancestors.) 

John Pryor died, aged 47, in 1850 D Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 385. 

In 1851, Alfred (12), Edith (7) and Tempest (5), surname spelt Prior, were all at the Bassingbourn Union Workhouse (Royston Union Workhouse).

(Alfred John Pryor died, in Hackney, London in 1898; in 1861, Edith [Sell] Pryor was visiting her maternal aunt Sarah Hitch in Bell Lane, Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire. Edith Pryor married James Clements Howard in Royston, Hertfordshire, in 1867 and died, aged 43, in 1886; Tempest Simeon Sell Pryor died on 28 Feb 1929 in Uralla, New South Wales, Australia.)

New Street at the junction of Great Dunmow High Street
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Howard - geograph.org.uk/p/5359570

Henry Wilton Pryor (b. 14 Nov 1827), son of John Pryor and Elizabeth Wilton married Ann Hockley (b. 1830), in Cambridge in 1849. It will need a copy of the marriage certificate to discover more about Ann's origins. She claimed to have been born in Bethnal Green, Hackney and Brixton Hill on different censuses, but there are no relevant records in those areas.

In 1841, there was an Ann Hockey (11) living at Park Corner, Great Dunmow in the household of Steel Lambert (65) and wife Elizabeth [formerly Willsher] (65). This Ann is of the right age, but what, if any, relation are the Lambert's? Steel and Elizabeth Lambert had a daughter, Ann Lambert (30), living with them. And Ann Lambert had been one of the witnesses at the marriage of HENRY HOCKLEY of the Parish of (Saint Andrew Undershaft in the County of Middlesex) and MARTHA LAMBERT of this Parish at St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow on 18 Aug 1825. This Henry Hockley was a Tailor. The other witness was Ebenezer Hockley (Draper & Tailor), son of Robert Hockley, Tailor and Draper. Although I cannot find a baptism for Martha, there was a newspaper announcement in the Essex & Herts Mercury of 23 Aug 1825, which read: "18th at Great Dunmow, Mr Hockley of London to Miss Martha Lambert of Mr S Lambert ..." Mr S Lambert could be Steel Lambert. Either way, we certainly have this marriage link between the Hockleys and the Lamberts. This still doesn't prove exactly how Ann Hockley was related, but from this, I'm sure this was her in 1841 and that the Lamberts were family. And Henry Hockley (53), in 1851, was living in Bethnal Green.

In 1841, Henry Wilton Pryor, listed as Henry Prior (14) Apprentice Tailor, had been living in the household of his Uncle Henry Wilton (his mother's brother) in High Street, Great Dunmow. It seems entirely possible, he may have been apprenticed to another Uncle, Joseph Wilton, who was a Tailor.

Henry Wilton and Ann Pryor had eleven children:

1. Harry Pryor b. 1850 S Quarter in CAMBRIDGE Volume 14 Page 2, bap. 29 Jul 1855 in Felsted, Essex
2. Lydia Ann Pryor b. 1852 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 312, bap. 29 Jul 1855 in Felsted, Essex. Died, aged 21, in 1873.
3. Elizabeth Pryor bap. 29 Jul 1855 in Felsted, Essex. Died, aged 20, in 1874 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 271
4. William John Pryor b. 1855 D Quarter in BURY SAINT EDMUND'S Volume 04A. Died, at 19, on 28 Mar 1875 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 309 and was buried on 1 Apr 1875
5. Alice Pryor b. 1858 S Qtr in DUNMOW UNION Vol 04A Page 291. Died, aged 16, in 1875 M Qtr in DUNMOW UNION Vol 04A Page 305
6. Charles Thomas Pryor b. 1860 J Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 333. Died, aged 16, in 1877 M Qtr in DUNMOW UNION Vol 04A Page 268
7. Hubert Edwin Pryor b. 1862 J Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 357
8. George Joseph Pryor b. 1864 M Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 381
9. Fanny Pryor b. 1866 M Qtr in DUNMOW UNION Vol 04A Page 386. Died, aged 14, in 1880 J Qtr in DUNMOW UNION Vol 04A Page 270
10. Alfred Francis Pryor b. 1868 M Qtr in DUNMOW UNION Vol 04A Page 379. Died, aged 22, in 1890 J Qtr in FULHAM Vol 01A Page 144
11. Frederick Clarance Prior b. 1870 M Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A P414

All of the GRO birth registrations confirm the mother's maiden name as HOCKLEY. The 1855 baptisms list Henry Wilton Pryor as a Tailor.

In 1861, Henry Wilton Pryor (33) Master Tailor Employing 1 Man, from Royston, Hertfordshire was living in Great Dunmow, Essex, with Ann Pryor (31) birthplace listed as Bethnal Green, Middlesex; Harry Prior (10) birthplace St Andrew The Less, Cambridgeshire; Lydia A Pryor (9) and Elizabeth Pryor (7) both born in Felsted, Essex and William John Pryor (5) born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Obviously, the family had been moving around quite a bit in the previous decade before returning to Dunmow.

In 1871 and still in Great Dunmow were Henry W Pryor (43) Tailor; Ann Pryor (41) birthplace London; Elizabeth Pryor (17), Alice Pryor (13), Thomas Pryor [Charles Thomas] (11), Herbert Pryor [Hubert Edwin] (9), Joseph Pryor [George Joseph] (7), Fanny Pryor (5), Alfred Pryor (3) and Frederick Pryor (1).

If the level of loss in Joseph Wilton's family in the 1870's had been heart-breaking, in Henry Wilton Pryor's family, it was overwhelmingly cruel with the deaths of six of their children in a seven year period: Lydia Ann at 21 in 1873; Elizabeth at 20 in 1874; William John at 19 in 1875; Alice at 16 in 1875; Charles Thomas at 16 in 1877 and Fanny at 14 in 1880. Without seeing the death certificates, it's mere speculation, but for this pattern to be in both households it suggests an infectious agent and a close association. As the deaths are spaced over years, perhaps Smallpox or Tuberculosis.

Henry Wilton Pryor died, at 51, on 12 Oct 1879 D Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 277 and was buried on 17 Oct 1879. His burial is listed among "England, Essex Non-Conformist Church Records".

In 1881, Ann Pryor (51) Tailor's widow with birthplace this time listed as Hackney, Middlesex, Infirmity: Deaf was living in New Street, Great Dunmow with Alfred Pryor (13) and Frederick C Pryor (11). Harry Pryor (30) Drapers accountant was living in Hastings, Sussex; Herbert E Pryor (18) Draper's Assistant was at Messr Tarns Establishment, Newington, Southwark, London. The Elephant and Castle area became a thriving shopping area with its own department store, Tarns: "William Tarn and Co. were Linen drapers, silk mercers, boys' and ladies' outfitters, boot makers, carpet warehousemen, ironmongers, bedding, bedstead and general cabinet furniture manufacturers" of 165 to 173 Newington Causeway, London SE17. They were a kind of Department Store employing a large number of staff, of whom many were accommodated in a hostel or in dormitories provided by their employer. It housed 221 in total on 03 Apr 1881" [Source]

In 1891, Ann Pryor (61) Widowed, Living on own means was still living in New Street, Great Dunmow, with Frederick C Pryor (21) Solicitor's Clerk and Ann Trott (63) Widowed, Housekeeper Domestic Servant.

Ann Pryor died, at 61, in 1891 J Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 390.

• Lydia Ann Pryor married Porter Gentry in Dunmow, Essex, in 1871. Lydia Ann Gentry died, at 21, in 1873 S Quarter in BRAINTREE Volume 04A Page 232. (Porter Gentry remarried in 1895.)
• George Joseph Pryor married Emma Selina Piper on 7 Nov 1886. George Joseph Pryor died at 77 in 1941 D Qtr in BRENTFORD Vol 03A Page 261 and was buried on 26 Nov 1941, according to Essex Monumental Inscriptions, in Takeley, Essex.
• Herbert Edwin Pryor married Annie Stark on 9 Apr 1887 at St John the Evangelist, Smith Square, Westminster. He and his wife did not appear to have any children. When Herbert (84) died on 30 Oct 1946, his beneficiaries were his nephews, sons of George Joseph.
• Harry Pryor married Elizabeth Corps in Hastings, in 1890. Harry Pryor (64) died on 18 Sep 1914 S Qtr in HASTINGS Vol 02B P32.
• Frederick Clarance Pryor married Alice Blake Pitts in Dunmow, in 1897. Frederick Clarence Pryor died at 62, in 1932 J Quarter in BROMLEY [Kent] Volume 02A Page 696.