Thomas Back and Mary Drake

Photo © Stephen Craven (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Plymouth Minster: nave, Friday, 30 June, 2023

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

The Minster Church of St Andrew, also known as St Andrew's Church, Plymouth

Thomas Back (39), Labourer, listing himself as a Bachelor and misnaming his father as Thomas Back, Shipwright, married Mary Drake (42) (b. 20 Apr 1810 and baptised in Stoke Damerel on 15 Dec 1812), daughter of Thomas Drake, Shipwright and Frances Poad, at the Chapel of East Stonehouse (St George, which was badly damaged during World War II in 1941, and demolished in 1957) on 22 Jun 1852. Both gave their address as 20 George Street, which is in Devonport, so a marriage in Stonehouse definitely seemed an odd choice. Thomas Back undoubtedly thought he was committing bigamy and these anomalies certainly make it look like he was actively trying to hide it.

Thomas Back (bap. 24 Oct 1813 in Stoke Damerel), actually the son of John Back, Shipwright and Martha Norton, had previously married Eliza Stafford (bap. 28 Jul 1814 in Stoke Damerel), 'Spinster', daughter of Samuel Stafford, said to have been a Sergeant in the 43rd Regiment of Foot, on 7 Aug 1837 at St Andrew's Church, Plymouth. On this marriage certificate, Thomas Back was (correctly) listed as a Mariner (Thomas Back b. 1813 is listed among Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1835-1857), son of John Back, Shipwright.

However, George Wright, Seaman, and Elizabeth Stafford, Spinster, had married at Stoke Damerel Church on 7 Aug 1832. Witnesses to this marriage were John Williams and Geo[rge] Nettle. Oh and just to double-check, I have researched and Samuel Stafford didn't have another daughter called Elizabeth, so this had to have been Eliza. As she didn't call herself a widow - and was again marrying under her maiden name of Stafford - when she married in 1837, we have to assume that Eliza was committing bigamy, so actually Thomas Back's marriage to her would have been automatically void. 

(Under English common law in that period, a bigamous marriage was classified as void from the very beginning and needed no decree of annulment.)

We know this is her, because George and Eliza Wright had a son: 

1. Samuel George Stafford Wright, bap. 11 Apr 1834 at Stoke Damerel Church, son of George Wright, Mariner, and Eliza.

And we know this because, in 1841, listed as Samuel Stafford, aged 8, this child was living with his grandparents, Samuel and Mary Stafford. (Thomas Back may have been led to believe he was Eliza's illegitimate son.) In 1851, he was listed as Samuel Wright, then 18, and was living with Eliza's father. 

So what did happen to George Wright? Sadly, I don't have the answer. I did find a George Wright (~25) on the Stirling Castle, Convict Hulk, in Stoke Damerel in 1841, but no means of knowing if he was the right George Wright. If he was a seaman, he could have sailed off into the sunset, or have had wives in every port. That would change things, but I can see no way of tracking him down, nor isolating the correct records from so many with that name.

Thomas and Eliza Back had two daughters:

1. Mary Ann Elizabeth Back b. 1838 J Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 418 (mother's maiden name Stafford), bap. 25 Jul 1839 at Stoke Damerel Church, daughter of Thomas Back, Mariner and Eliza.
2. Eliza Ann Beck (sic) b. 1840 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 395. Died, aged 1y 11mts, on 26 Aug 1842 (1842 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 332), and buried on 30 Aug 1842 in Stoke Damerel. The address on the burial record was 26, Clowance Lane, Devonport. (Eliza's father lived in Clowance Lane in 1841).

In 1841, Thomas Back (25) occupation 'Navy'; Eliza Back (20), Eliza Back (2) and Mary Back (0) were among a long list of people in Pembroke Street, one of Devonport's principal streets, with a great number of retailers and public houses. In fact, the names of the their daughters were transposed, so I suspect either they or the enumerator had visited one of those pubs.  

Thomas and Eliza must have parted ways in the early 1840's, because in the second quarter of 1844 William Hill and Eliza Stafford married in Stoke Damerel. (Awaiting certificate for confirmation, but I believe him to have been William Hill bap. 28 May 1826 in Stoke Damerel, son of John Hill, Mariner and Sarah Staton). Eliza's marriage to Thomas Back was void, but George Wright would need to have died, otherwise she was committing bigamy again, and it certainly looks like she knew she was, because if she'd been a widow, she wouldn't have been marrying for a third time as Eliza Stafford. 

So Eliza's marriage to William Hill was technically invalid too. And what was she telling her dad, that these mariners kept getting lost at sea? 

Nevertheless, William and Eliza Hill had six more children together:

1. Caroline Hill b. 23 Sep 1844 (1844 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 437), bap. 11 May 1845 at Stoke Damerel
2. Sarah Maria Hill b. 1846 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 445 (No baptism record found)
3. Lavinia Hill b. 22 Jul 1849 (1849 J Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 464), bap. 3 Oct 1855 at St Mary's Church, Devonport
4. John William Hill b. 2 Jun 1852 (1852 J Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 300), bap. 3 Oct 1855 at St Mary's Church, Devonport
5. Eliza Ann Hill b. 16 Sep 1855 (1855 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 268), bap. 3 Oct 1855 at St Mary's Church, Devonport
6. Elizabeth Jane Hill b. 1858 D Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 286 (No baptism record found)

The mother's maiden name on all six birth registrations was Stafford.

In 1851, William Hill (the curly writing had been miss-transcribed as Still) (32) Waterman from Devonport was living at 6, Pembroke Street, Stoke Damerel, Devon, with Eliza Hill (36) Wife, Charwoman; Caroline (~12), Sarah (6) and Lavinia (4) and Mary A Back (12) described as his Daughter-In-Law - often used interchangeably, as here, to mean Step-Daughter. Both Caroline and Lavinia were also names of Eliza's sisters, which is how I found them and the correct surname, searching for anybody with those given names, whose mother was Stafford. Also living at 6, Pembroke Street, Stoke Damerel, in 1851, in a separate household, was Eliza's father, Samuel Stafford (59) Widower, Chelsea Pensioner; with his son William Stafford (22) Waterman (same occupation as William Hill) and grandson, Samuel Wright (18). 

In 1861, at 4, Canterbury Street, Stoke Damerel, were William Hill (35) Waterman from Devonport; Eliza Hill (~45) Wife; Caroline Hill (17), Sarah Hill (15), Lavinia Hill (12), John Hill (9), Eliza Hill (7) and Elizabeth Hill (3).

In 1871, at 5, Prospect Row, Stoke Damerel, Devon, were William Hill (46) Waterman; Eliza Hill (56), Eliza Hill (16) and Elizabeth (12). (Next door were William Eustes (26) Seaman RN and wife Sarah (24) (née Sarah Maria Hill).

Eliza Hill, wife of William Hill, a Labourer, died on 28 Jan 1881 (1881 M Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 241), at 5, Prospect Row, Stoke Damerel, with her age under-estimated to 63. The informant was Caroline Langmead, daughter, in attendance, of 4, Prospect Row, Stoke Damerel. (Source: Andrews Newspaper Index Cards.)

In 1881, William Hill (54) Widower, General Labourer was a 'Boarder' in the household of Eliza Felwick (26) Seaman's Wife at 18, Monument Street, Devonport. (Eliza Ann Hill had married Arthur Felwick in 1876.)

In 1891, William Hill (with his age over-estimated to 69) Widower, appears to have been living alone at 15, Pembroke Street, Devonport.

William Hill died, aged 67, in 1893 J Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 228. He was buried on 16 May 1893, in Milehouse Cemetery.

43rd Regiment of Foot 1810

Eliza's parents: Bans were read on the 1st, 8th and 15th of August 1813 for the marriage between Samuel Stafford and Mary Winn, Widow, both then of the parish of St Andrew, Plymouth. Presumably they married there, however, I've not yet found the record of the actual marriage. As Mary was a widow, obviously, Winn was not her maiden name, but I've not yet been able to confirm what her maiden name was, nor when or to whom she was previously married (or indeed what happened to her previous husband - for all we know, there could be a pattern here). 

When I read on the marriage certificate of the (bigamous) marriage of Eliza to Thomas Back in 1837, that her father was allegedly of the 43rd Regiment of Foot, my first search was to see if that regiment had been in Plymouth at the relevant time and indeed, "The 1st Battalion of the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot arrived in England from overseas in July 1814 and was quartered at Plymouth, Devon."

Clearly, Samuel Stafford had arrived before the rest of the regiment and his service records provide the rest of the story: Samuel Stafford, born ~1789 (well, he said he was 16) from Lambeth, Surrey, service number 121034976, had joined the army on 14 Mar 1805. His rank was Private, so (no surprise), his daughter had given him a couple of promotions. Samuel Stafford was discharged from the army on 15 Apr 1813, "in consequence of a gunshot wound to the hip at Badajoz on 27 Mar 1812". This will have been sustained taking part in the Siege of Badajoz (1812), during the Peninsular War.

At the time of his discharge, Samuel was 24 years old, 5ft 3in tall, with dark hair, grey eyes and a pale complexion. He was granted a pension from 6 May 1813. This fits in neatly just before the date the banns were read. 

Samuel and Mary Stafford had these six children:

1. Eliza Stafford bap. 28 Jul 1814 at Stoke Damerel Church
2. Lavinia Luke Stafford bap. 29 Jul 1818 at St Andrew's, Plymouth
3. Mary Ann Luke Stafford b. 18 Feb 1818, bap. 27 Jan 1819 at St Andrew's, Plymouth
4. Samuel James Stafford bap. 25 Dec 1820 at St Andrew's, Plymouth. Died aged 3yrs 4mts and was buried on 8 Jun 1824 at Stoke Damerel 
5. Caroline Stafford b. 30 Sep 1822, bap. 3 Feb 1823 Wesleyan Methodist
6. William Daniel Stafford bap. 26 Dec 1825 at Stoke Damerel Church

The family's address was Plymouth Dock (Devonport). With two of the girls being given the name Luke as a middle name, could this have been Mary's maiden name? I've not found a marriage of a Winn and a Luke to confirm it. 

In 1841, living in Clowance Lane, Stoke Damerel, Devon, were Samuel Stafford (55) Army P[ensioner] (Samuel Stafford is marked as NOT being born in Devon); Mary Stafford (55), Caroline Stafford (15), William Stafford (14) and Samuel Stafford (8). There are no indications of relationships on this census, but we now know this boy was their grandson, Eliza's son.

Mary Stafford died, with her age listed as 67, in 1849 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 459, suggesting a year of birth of 1782. 

In 1851, as listed above, Samuel Stafford (59) Widower, Chelsea Pensioner; was living at 6, Pembroke Street, Stoke Damerel, with his son William Stafford (22) Waterman and grandson, Samuel Wright (18). Curiously, on this census, Samuel Stafford lists his place of birth as St Peters, Worcester. That's a bit too specific to be some random error, but is a long way from Lambeth that's on his army records. I cannot find a baptism for him at either, but would probably surmise from this that he was born in Worcester, but at some point went to Lambeth and thus was 'from' there at the time he enlisted.

Samuel Stafford, Pensioner, died on 29 Dec 1852 (1853 M Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 225) and his cause of death was "An accidental fall". He was buried at Stoke Damerel Church on 3 Jan 1853. Mentioned in The Western Courier of 5 Jan 1853. His army records erroneously killed him off on 28 Dec, then corrected it to the 29 Dec. His age was given as 69, which would compute back to a year of birth of 1783, which is a few years older than on his army records. In this case, I think the reason for that was because his wife was older than him and his children would probably have thought, or been led to believe, their parents were both around the same age. 

Research for a future date: Eliza's son Samuel George Stafford Wright married and all six of Eliza's children with William Hill lived to adulthood and married too. The only one of Eliza's children who I can't locate is her daughter with Thomas Back, Mary Ann Elizabeth Back, not yet confirmed after 1851. Well, there are some potential options, but only as either Mary or Mary Ann, but none that can be absolutely proven with corroborating evidence.

So, finally back to our original protagonists ...

In 1841, Mary Drake (30) had been residing in Hill Street, St Helier, Jersey, along with her widowed mother, Frances Drake (75), and children Edward Drake (9) and Mary Drake (5). There is a baptism for this latter child, in St Helier, Jersey on 25 Jun 1837, illegitimate daughter of Mary Drake.

(As an aside, Mary Drake's father, Thomas Drake, was reputed to have been descended from Sir Francis Drake. This I doubt, but cannot actually rule out some sort of distant familial link. Mary's brother, John Poad Drake (1794–1883), inventor and artist, enjoyed some fame and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich has a collection of his manuscript volumes.)

Mary Drake actually had 4 illegitimate children:

1. Edmund Drake b. 5 Oct 1831, bap. 22 Jan 1849 in Stoke Damerel, Devon, son of Mary Drake, Single Woman. Mary's eldest illegitimate child was listed, in 1841, as Edward Drake, born around 1832 on the Isle of Jersey. On both of his marriages, Edmund named his father as Edmund Drake (often correct, but also common is saying the same as one's own name when the father is not known). He also lists his father as a Tailor. Mary was a Tailoress and again, when people make stuff up for the records, there's usually a grain of truth in it, as we can see here.
2. Mary Drake (bap. 25 Jun 1837 in St Helier, Jersey) died on 3 Jun 1878 (1878 J Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 261) with age estimated as 38 (she was 40). She was buried on 7 Jun 1878, with her abode on the burial record as 40, Cannon Street, Devonport.
3. George Drake b. 23 Jun 1843, bap. 30 Jul 1843, illegitimate son of Mary Drake with abode given as Workhouse. George Drake from Devonport, Devon, with his date of birth listed as 23 Jun 1843 joined the Royal Navy at the Royal William Yard on 31 Jul 1857 as a Boy 2nd Class, service number 34047. At that time, the 14 year old was 4ft 9in tall, with a fair complexion, brown hair and blue eyes. He was at the Royal William Yard until Oct 1857; from Jan-Dec 1859 with HMS Impregnable (1810); from Dec 1859 to Aug 182 with HMS Hydra (1838) on the North America and West Indies Station; In 1861, at 17, George was with the "Royal Navy At Sea And In Ports Abroad", with HMS Hydra in Havana, Cuba; from Aug 1862 to Feb 1864 with HMS Trafalgar (1841); then six months at HMS Wellesley; his last ship was the armoured frigate, HMS Achilles (1863) with the Channel Fleet, from 30 Sep 1864, until his date of discharge, 13 Feb 1868, when his record states that he was invalided. (He wasn't with the Navy in 1871 and he was NOT the George Drake who died at sea in 1878, as he'd left the Navy a decade earlier.) Our George Drake, from Devonport, Devon, next turns up, in 1881, aged 39, as a Boarder in the household of Cornwallis Johnson from Shelford, Cambridgeshire at 19, Pitt Street, Stansfield, Todmorden, Yorkshire, employed as Cellarman at cotton mill. Not found him again.
4. Thomas Drake, later known as Thomas Back b. 15 Oct 1850 in Stoke Damerel Workhouse, bap. 17 Nov 1850 at Stoke Damerel Parish Church of St Andrew with St Luke, son of Mary Drake, Single Woman. 

In 1851, we still find Mary Drake (44) Unmarried, Tayloress (sic) living in Stoke Damerel Workhouse, accompanied by Mary Drake (14) born in St Helier, Jersey; George Drake (8) and Thomas Drake (0). 

(In 1851, there is a record of a Thomas Beck (also transcribed as Bick) (37), by occupation a Sail Maker born in Devonport, Unmarried, living at 7, Mount Street, Stoke Damerel, Devon, listed as being Deaf. While this is the only record of someone who is about the right age, about the right name and in about the right place, I am certain this is NOT him. Sail maker is a skill that this Mariner or Labourer hasn't otherwise used and the disability of deafness is not mentioned on any of the subsequent census records that we can identify as Thomas Back, who appears to have evaded this census.)

After their marriage in 1852, Thomas and Mary added a daughter:

1. Eliza Back b. 21 Aug 1853 (1853 S Qtr in STOKE DAMEREL Vol 05B Page 266), bap. 12 Jan 1855 at St Mary's Church, Devonport, daughter of Thomas, Labourer, and Mary of 5 Trafalgar Court, Devonport

In 1861, living at 19, Dockwall Street, Stoke Damerel, Devon, were Thomas Back (42) Town Commissioner's Labourer; Mary Back (49), Mary Drake (22) Domestic Servant born in Jersey, Chanel Islands; Thomas Back (9) and Eliza Back (6). The jury's still out on whether Thomas was the biological son of Thomas Back, however, this census gives us the strongest evidence to suggest that he was, because they've made the distinction that Mary's daughter had the surname Drake and could have done the same for Thomas.

In 1871, at 17, Dockwall Street, Stoke Damerel, were Thomas Back (~57) Labourer; Mary Back (59) Tailoress; Mary Back (sic) (30) Servant born in Jersey; Thomas Back (20) Tailor and Eliza Back (17) Tailoress.

In 1881, Thomas Back (~70) Labourer and Mary Back (72) Tailoress, were at 40, Cannon Street, Devonport, in a separate household, but the same address as their daughter, Eliza and her husband, Samuel Eastabrook.

Mary Back of 40, Cannon Street, Devonport died on 20 Apr 1883 (1883 J Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 226), with her age over-estimated to 75. As Mary Beck (sic) she was buried at Milehouse Cemetery in Devonport, on 24 Apr 1883. Thomas Back, then of Chapel Street, died five years later, on 12 Nov 1888 (1888 D Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 217), with his age over-estimated to 78. He was buried (again miss-transcribed as Thomas Beck) on 16 Nov 1888 also at Milehouse Cemetery. On the cemetery records, M Back and T Back and the relevant dates are written next to each other on the page, so it it may be that they were reunited for a time. Sadly, in 1967, the cemetery was closed and cleared.

(My interest is because I'm VERY distantly related to Mary Drake, by marriage, through her eldest son, Edmund Drake. His son, Edward Charles Drake, married Emma Jane Gloyne. Her sister, Maria Gloyne probably met my dad, when he was 3 weeks old, at her daughter, Kathleen Mullarkey's wedding to Frederick Thomas Stone on 4 Aug 1923. My grandfather, Charley Stone was his 1st cousin and was best man at that wedding.)

John Benbow Gabbedy and Isabella Cleghorn

St Bride, Fleet Street, London EC4 - East end
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/1213706

John Benbow Gabbedy (b. 17 Nov 1771 in Limehouse, London) son of John Gabbdey and Elizabeth Travally, married Isabella Cleghorn (b. 7 Jul 1771 in Shadwell), daughter of Anthony Cleghorn and Margaret Jane Murray on 28 Apr 1795 at St Bride's, Fleet Street - the church with the famous "wedding cake" spire, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The record states they were married by banns and were both of the parish. Witnesses were John Brown and Martha Masters. What were these "Eastenders" doing up west?

John and Isabella Gabbedy had these seven children:

1. William Anthony Gabbedey b. 5 Feb 1796, bap. 8 May 1796 at St Dunstan's, Stepney at 93 days old.
2. John Cleghorn Gabbedey b. 25 Feb 1798, bap. 8 Apr 1798 at St Mary Magdalene Woolwich
3. Margaret Elizabeth Gabbady (sic) b. 30 May 1800, bap. 6 Jul 1800 at St Mary Magdalene Woolwich 
4. Charles Gabbedey b. 23 Dec 1803, bap. 5 Apr 1812 at St Dunstan's
5. Mary Gabbady (sic) b. 19 Aug 1805, bap. 11 Sep 1805 at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich
6. Henry Ralph Gabady (sic) b. 18 Dec 1807, bap. 17 Jan 1808 at St Dunstan's, Stepney
7. Anne Elizabeth Gabbaday, b. 23 Feb 1811, bap. 14 Apr 1811 at St Anne's Limehouse 

In the Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices' Indentures, on Friday, 30 Dec 1785, when he'll have just turned 14, John B Gabbedey was apprenticed to Owen Temple of Poplar in the County of Middlesex, Shipwright.

On William Anthony's baptism, the family's address was given just as 'Rat' (Ratcliff, between Limehouse and Shadwell), son of John, a Shipwright and Isabella. In 1808, John Benbow Gabbedy's occupation was again listed as Shipwright and on Henry Ralph's baptism, their address was Poplar. In 1811, John's occupation was listed as a Mariner, living in Gill Street, Limehouse. At the time of Charles' baptism in 1812, their address was listed as M.E.O.T. (Mile End Old Town) and John was again described as a Shipwright.

It seemed a strange career change for John to suddenly become a Mariner, when he already had a skill as a Shipwright, especially as he was 40. However, there's a record in British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations in 1811, where he's listed as John Gabidy (sic), with rank Co Mate, allotting part of his pay to his wife, Isabella. This record shows that he was with HMS Tortoise, an ex-East Indiaman, Sir Edward Hughes (1784 EIC ship). "Between March and July 1808 Tortoise was at Woolwich being fitted as a storeship for the Royal Navy." It would make total sense if he was involved in that conversion.

Under the columns for "When Allotment Ceases", is "D 27 Sept 1811 Invalid". The single D, I think means Discharged (it's DD for Discharged Dead), but, particularly as they don't have any more children after 1811, I wonder if he died then, or maybe shortly afterwards. Maybe that prompted Charles' baptism in 1812? John Benbow Gabbedy had certainly died by 1841.

In 1841, Isabella Gaberdey (sic) (70) was living in Wade's Place, Poplar in the household of William Newton (60) Mariner and his wife Margaret (40).[1]

In 1851, Isabella Gabedy (84) Widow, from Shadwell, was a Pauper Inmate of Poplar Union Workhouse, then her only option for health or elder care.

Isabella Gabadey (sic) died in 1852 M Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 01C Page 419, with her age over-estimated to 86 (she was 'only' 80), and was buried at All Saints Church, Poplar on 20 Feb 1852.

---

[1] It would be easy to assume that Margaret, wife of William Newton, with whom Isabella Gabbedy was lodging in 1841, could have been her daughter Margaret Elizabeth Gabbedy and, they are, coincidentally, of similar vintage. And at MyHeritage I found two trees where she listed as 'Margaret Elizabeth Newton (born Gabbadey)'. However, by researching methodically through this family, it became easy to prove that this assumption was wrong:

William Newton of this parish, Widower, and Margaret Jacobson, of this parish, Widow, were married at St Dunstan's, Stepney on 10 July 1826. As it shows that she was a widow, the next step was to see if a Margaret Gabbedy had married anyone named Jacobson. There was no such marriage. (Actually, the first clue that this Margaret was not Isabella's daughter, was because on the 1851 Census, Margaret Newton's birthplace is shown as South Shields, Durham.) The only marriage of a Jacobson and a Margaret, was that of John Jacobson of the Hamlet of Ratcliff, Batchelor, and Margaret Charlton, of the same, Spinster, also at St Dunstan's, Stepney, on 24 Jan 1820. 

 John and Margaret Jacobson had two daughters:

1. Mary Anne Jacobson b. 23 Feb 1822, bap. 4 Aug 1822 
2. Elizabeth Jacobson b. 2 Aug 1823, bap. 27 Aug 1823 

Both baptisms, which took place at St Anne's Limehouse, list their parents as John Jacobson, Mariner and Margaret.

It then appears that John Jacobson (46) - so born ~1777 - of Mile End Old Town, was buried on 5 Nov 1823 at at St Dunstan's, Stepney.

William and Margaret Newton then had four children:

1. Margaret Newton b. 21 May 1827, bap. 14 Oct 1827
2. Eleanor Newton b. 3 Jun 1829, bap. 20 Sep 1829
3. Lawrence Newton b. 1 Jul 1831, bap. 15 Jul 1831. (Died at 27 in 1858 D Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 01C Page 492.)
4. William Newton b. 16 Jul 1834, bap. 16 Nov 1834

All of these baptisms, which also took place at St Anne's Limehouse, list their parents as William Newton, Mariner, and Margaret.

In 1841, the household at Wades Place, All Saints Poplar, consisted of William Newton (60) Mariner; Margaret Newton (40), Margaret Newton (14), Ellen Newton (12), Lawrence Newton (10), Mary Bowers (40) and Isabella Gaberdey (sic) (70). All of them had Y in the column for being born within the county [in this case, Middlesex], which was not always correct. There are no indications of the relationships between the members in the household.

(John James Sebastian, Ship's Carpenter, had married Ellinor Newton (sic), Minor, daughter of William Newton, Mariner, at All Saints, Poplar on 13 Apr 1847. One of the witnesses was her mother, Margaret Newton.)

In 1851, living at 32, Wade Street, All Saints Poplar, were William Newton (72) General Dealer from Dorset, England; Margaret Newton (54) from South Shields, Durham; Margaret Newton (23) Dressmaker; Lawrence Newton (19) Engineer and Maria Salter (7) Granddaughter. (Born Emma Maria Salter on 2 Jan 1844 (1844 M Quarter in STEPNEY Volume 02 Page 495 mother's maiden name JACOBSON), bap. 21 Jan 1844, she was the daughter of Robert Salter, Joiner and Mary Anne Jacobson.)

Margaret Newton died, aged 54, in 1852 M Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 01C Page 421. This suggests she was born around 1797/8.

In 1861, still at 32, Wade Street, All Saints Poplar, were William Newton (80) Widower, Milkman from Dorsetshire; Margaret Newton (32) Dress maker, Daughter and Frances Phillips (3) Granddaughter. (Born Frances Coudun Phillips in 1857 D Quarter in MILE END OLD TOWN Volume 01C Page 542 mother's maiden name JACOBSON, bap. 20 Sep 1857 in Stepney, she was the daughter of Alfred James Phillips and Elizabeth Jacobson.) 

(Wade Street in Poplar, East London, was part of the 19th-century Wade Estate developed to the north of Poplar High Street, historically characterized by two-storey brick terraces. The Wade Estate, including Wade Street and Wade's Place , was developed over 40 years starting around 1823.)

William Newton (83) was admitted to Poplar Workhouse on 8 Dec 1864 and discharged from that institution on 19 Dec 1867, it appears to Wapping. 

William Newton died, aged 88, in 1868 D Qtr in STEPNEY Vol 01C Page 358.

Two of this Margaret's granddaughters being in the Newton households in 1851 and 1861, confirm the continuity and her maiden name of Charlton, and thus shows clearly that she was not Margaret Elizabeth Gabbedy. 

NB: I wasn't able to isolate Margaret Charlton's baptism in South Shields. William Newton, I believe, was probably bap. 23 Aug 1778 in Portland, Dorset, the son of James and Jane Newton. I haven't researched William Newton's previous marriage, as it did not seem crucial to this question. But, there does not appear to be any family connection between the Newtons and Isabella Gabbedy. Then going back to the children of John Benbow Gabbedy and Isabella Cleghorn, despite many attempts, so far I can find no further, verifiable, records for any of their first five children.