Thomas Benbow Dalton and Mary Nedriff

Photo © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff (cc-by-sa/2.0)

St Matthias, Poplar, Thursday, 26 June, 2008

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

Thomas Benbow Dalton (b. 6 May 1770 in Stepney), son of William Dalton and Sarah Travally, married Mary Nedriff (b. 22 Nov 1764, bap. 26 Nov 1764 at Southwark St John Horsleydown) daughter of Daniel Nedriff (Corn lighterman) and Sarah Belch, in the parish of Poplar, on 6 Jul 1790. Witnesses were William Dalton, groom's father, and Richard Fleming.

The transcription of the marriage record suggests they were married at All Saints Church, Poplar, however, this cannot be true because All Saints wasn't built until 1821-23. It replaced an earlier chapel. Before becoming its own parish in 1817, Poplar was a hamlet and part of the mother parish of Stepney. The earlier chapel, St Matthias Old Church, which was built around 1653, had previously served a dual role as part of Poplar All Saints and the East India Company Chapel. One assumes that this is where they actually married.

(Mary's parents, Daniel Nedriff, of St John, Southwark, lighterman, bachelor, above 22, and Sarah Belch, of Croydon, Spinster, above 18, were married in Little Bookham, Surrey, on 12 Jan 1754, with the consent of Nicholas Wood, of Leatherhead, Gent, the legal guardian of the said Sarah Belch.)

There are records of six children of Thomas and Mary Dalton:

1. Thomas Dalton b. 15 Apr 1791 in Stepney. Present at the birth was Sarah Dalton (Thomas Benbow Dalton's mother or sister).
2. William Dalton b. 21 Jan 1793 in Stepney. Present at the birth were Ann Levitt, Sarah Dalton and Mary Cock.
3. Charles Winnal Dalton b. 1 Jun 1795 in Stepney. Present at the birth were Ann Levitt, Sarah Dalton and Mary Jackson.
4. Mary Dalton b. 17 May 1797 in Stepney. Present at the birth were Elizabeth Witherby and Sarah Dalton.
5. Samuel Dalton b. 9 May 1799 in Stepney. Present at the birth were Sarah Dalton and Elizabeth Carrington.
6. Sarah Ann Dalton b. 23 Aug 1806 in Naval Row, Poplar. Present at the birth were Martha Gee of Poplar and Mary Dalton of Stepney, Aunt. Sarah Ann's birth record, at Dr Williams's Library, lists her maternal grandfather as Daniel Nedriff of Ramsgate, Kent, Gentleman. 

The first three boys were registered on 8 Feb 1797 in England & Wales Non-Conformist Births And Baptisms as Protestant dissenters. (‘Dissenting’ tradition in Stepney). Mary and Samuel were registered on 5 Dec 1799. 

On 25 Jun 1800, Thomas B Dalton of Poplar, Caulker, took Isaac Dadd as his apprentice. And in 1805, Thomas B Dalton of Blackwall, Caulker, took Samuel Yorke as an apprentice.

Sarah Ann's birth record lists her father as Thomas Dalton, Caulker, of 2 Naval Row, Poplar, Middlesex. Although Thomas' elder brother, Winnall Travally Dalton, also followed their father, William Dalton, as a ship's caulker, it appears that Thomas Benbow Dalton is who remained at what had been their father's address. Laid out in the early 19th century, Naval Row was a small terrace constructed c. 1782 by John Perry (1743-1810), owner of Blackwall Yard, where he built ships largely for the East India Company. From this, I'd assume that Thomas had also worked for Perry at the Blackwall Yard.

It's reputed Mary Dalton died ~1819, but I've not seen a record to confirm.

Thomas Benbow Dalton died, apparently on his 71st birthday, 6 May 1841, death certificate would confirm, in Bromley Street, Ratcliffe, Bow, London (1841 J Quarter in STEPNEY Volume 02 Page 317).