Thomas Drake and Frances Poad

Ancient Dockyard
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © jeff collins - geograph.org.uk/p/1204244
This was the first Dockyard built at Devonport at a point just west of Mutton Cove.

Thomas Drake married Frances Poad (bap. 15 Jul 1764), daughter of John Poad and Honor Joll (m. 26 Nov 1760), at Stoke Damerel on 25 May 1784. There is a record which appears to be John Poad giving his permission for his daughter to marry, presumably as she was then 20 (i.e. under 21). 

Possibly the most likely candidate for this Thomas Drake is the one baptised on 24 Jul 1757 in Stoke Damerel, son of William and Patience Drake. What I can categorically say is that he isn't the Thomas Drake, born 1751, that had been attached to this family on one website, where it was quite clearly stated on the baptism record that the child had died within days. That appears to have been wishfully attempting to attach lineage to ancient history.

Thomas and Frances Drake appear to have had 11 children:

1. Thomas Drake bap. 2 Jan 1785
2. Frances Drake bap. 14 Oct 1787
3. George Drake bap. 7 Apr 1790
4. Elizabeth Drake bap. 29 Jan 1792
5. John Drake bap. 20 Jul 1794
6. Francis William Drake bap. 6 Mar 1796
7. James Drake bap. 10 Dec 1797. (Buried at 2 y 8 m on 19 Jul 1800.)
8. Hannah Drake b. 1799, bap. 3 Feb 1800 *
9. James Drake bap. 28 Dec 1801 *
10. Charles Drake b. 10 Oct 1802, bap. 15 Dec 1812
11. Mary Drake b. 20 Apr 1810, bap. 15 Dec 1812

* All were all baptised in Stoke Damerel, but the venue for the baptisms of Hannah and James in 1800 and 1801 was listed as Princes Street Independent, presumably the Princes Street Congregational Chapel.

The last sighting there is of Frances Drake (75) was in 1841, residing in Hill Street, St Helier, Jersey, with her youngest daughter, Mary and two of Mary's illegitimate children. One assumes that Thomas Drake had died by then. 

Frances Drake does not appear to be alive by the next census in 1851, but I have [as yet] been unable to isolate death records for either of them.

On Mary's marriage certificate in 1852, she lists her father as a Shipwright.

The other question, of course, is what, if any, link is there between this Drake family and the famous Devon-born slaver, pirate/privateer, bowls player and trouncer of the Armada, Sir Francis Drake? Absolutely no idea whatsoever. Can't disprove one [yet] either. What I discovered during this research is that Drake is a surprisingly common name around Devon. Reckon he had a bike!

Thomas Back and Mary Drake

Church of St Paul, Durnford Street, East Stonehouse, Plymouth
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/5625201

Thomas Back (39) married Mary Drake (42) at the Chapel of St Paul, East Stonehouse on 22 Jun 1852. They both gave their address as 20 George Street, which is in Devonport. Thomas is listed as a Labourer, son of Thomas Back, Shipwright and Mary Drake as daughter of Thomas Drake, Shipwright. This, I believe, is all nearly true. Thomas Back, born 1813 and bap. 24 Oct 1813 in Stoke Damerel, was the son of John Back, Shipwright and his wife Martha. (There is a potential marriage of a John Back to a Martha Norton, in Topsham, Devon, on 26 May 1793, but this is so far uncorroborated.)

Mary Drake, born 20 Apr 1810 and baptised in Stoke Damerel on 15 Dec 1812, was indeed the daughter of Thomas Drake, Shipwright and Frances Poad (who in turn had married, in Stoke Damerel, on 25 May 1784).

On the 1852 marriage, Thomas Back is listed as a Bachelor, however, it is my belief that he had previously married an Eliza Stafford on 7 Aug 1837 at St Andrew's Church, Plymouth. On this marriage, Thomas Back is listed as a Mariner, son of John Back, Shipwright. (There is a Thomas Back b. 1813 listed among Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1835-1857.) In 1841, Thomas Back (25), Eliza Back (20), Eliza Back (2) and Mary Back (0) were among a long list of people (boarders perhaps) in Pembroke Street, one of Devonport's principal streets, with a great number of retailers and public houses. I've not found birth registrations for the girls and cannot trace what became of them.

In 1841, Mary Drake (30) was among a similarly long list of people residing in Hill Street, St Helier, Jersey, along with Frances Drake (75), Edward Drake (9) and Mary Drake (5). There is a baptism record for this latter child, in St Helier, Jersey on 25 Jun 1837, illegitimate daughter of Mary Drake.

We next find Mary Drake (44) Unmarried, Tayloress (sic) in Stoke Damerel Workhouse in 1851, accompanied by Mary Drake (14) born in St Helier, Jersey; George Drake (8) and Thomas Drake (0). George Drake, was born 23 Jan 1843 and bap. 30 Jul 1843, illegitimate son of Mary Drake with abode given as Workhouse. Thomas Drake b. 1850 D Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 429, has no mother's maiden name (illegitimate). He was later known as Thomas Back and named Thomas Back as his father.

After their marriage in 1852, the couple added a daughter:

1. Eliza Back b. 1853 S Qtr in STOKE DAMEREL Vol 05B Page 266

We lose sight of them then until, in 1881, Thomas Back (70) Labourer and Mary Back (72) Tailoress, were found living at 40, Cannon Street, Devonport, seemingly in a separate household, but nevertheless at the very same address as their daughter, Eliza and her husband, Samuel Eastabrook.

Mary Back died in 1883 J Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 226, with age estimated at 75. Thomas Back died five years later, in 1888 D Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 217, age given as 78.

Mary Drake's children: 

1. What link is there between this Mary Drake and the Edmund Drake, birth year estimated as 1830, from Jersey, Channel Islands? Mary's oldest illegitimate child was listed, in 1841, as Edward Drake, born around 1832 on the Isle of Jersey. Edmund Drake, from Jersey, Chanel Islands, born 1831 is listed, in 1845, among Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1835-1857. Are Edmund Drake and Edward Drake one and the same person? I think he must be. Adding to the circumstantial evidence is that Edmund named his eldest son Edmund George and he named his second son Edward and, on both 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. If Mary is his mother, she was a Tailoress and again, when people make stuff up for the records, there's usually a grain of truth in it.
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 Jan 1843, bap. 30 Jul 1843. George Drake from Devonport, Devon, whose date of birth was listed as 23 Jun 1843 - January and June could be confused, especially if abbreviated - joined the Royal Navy at the Royal William [Yard] on 31 Jul 1857 as a Boy 2nd Class. In 1861, at 17, George was with the "Royal Navy At Sea And In Ports Abroad". He appears to have served until 13 Feb 1868, when he was invalided. He 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. After that, we lose sight of him unfortunately.
4. Thomas Drake, later known as Thomas Back b. 1850

Henry Caddy and Selina Mary Ann Harcus

St Mary, Dock Road, Chatham
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Kemp - geograph.org.uk/p/4674626
The church, now closed, is mainly late C19 but a few Norman features still remain.

Henry Caddy (24), Shipwright, son of John Henry Caddy and Sarah Kirkby, married, Selina Mary Ann Harcus (20), daughter of John Harcus and Selina Patrick, on 18 Dec 1870 at St Mary's Church, Chatham. Witnesses were her brother Henry George Harcus and Sarah Caddy, Henry's sister.

In 1871, Selina Caddy (21), Henry Caddy (24) Shipwright, were living with Selina's widowed mother, Selina Harcus (47) Licensed Victualler at the Chest Arms, 55 High Street, Chatham.

Henry and Selina Caddy then had one daughter: 

1. Selina Sarah Caddy, b. 15 Jan 1872 (1872 M Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 470), bap. 11 Feb 1872 at St Mary's Church, Chatham.

Selina Mary Ann Caddy was one of the witnesses to the marriage of her brother Henry George Harcus and Susan Alice Tubb, on 29 Dec 1872.

Then in the forth quarter of 1874, in Shoreditch, Selina Mary A Caddy married either Lewis Betjemann or Christopher Court Harmes (Jane Edmunds married the other), but without buying the certificate, it's not clear which one married which. None of the combinations are listed on subsequent census returns. 

This is a mystery, because one might assume that Henry Caddy had died ...

However, in 1881, we find Henry Caddy (34) Shipwright presumably alive therefore, listed as married, living in the home of his father, John Henry Caddy (59) Joiner (he had been a Joiner at the Dockyard) and his second wife Elizabeth Caddy (61) at 50, Church Road, Gillingham, Medway, Kent, but with no mention of Henry's wife or child. (Henry's mother, Sarah Caddy, had died in 1866 and John Henry Caddy had married widow, Elizabeth Fowler, on 26 Mar 1874).

After that I can find no more records for Henry Caddy, not even a death.

Selina Sarah Caddy doesn't appear on a census either, until 1891, when we find George Lewis (47) Caretaker from Mile End, Middlesex at James Allen's School, Townley Road, Camberwell (James Allen's Girls' School), with wife Selina Lewis (41) Housekeeper from Chatham, Kent; daughter listed as Selina Lewis (19) also from Chatham, Kent, with two Assistant caretakers in the household.

There is no obvious record of a marriage of George Lewis to a Selina anything in the relevant timeframe that I can find and it's interesting that Lewis is the surname here, where it was a forename on the 1874 marriages. Coincidence? Is it possible that Lewis Betjemann, for whom I can find no other record, Anglicised himself to George Lewis? Was that a bigamous marriage? Did Selina have a good reason to escape Henry Caddy? We will probably never know. Subsequent records, which I found first, show that these are the right people however.

In 1894, Selina Sarah Caddy (22) married William Slate (24) at the church of St Michael, Burleigh Street, Westminster (Initially a chapel within the parish of St. Martin in the Fields, closed 1905. The church was demolished.)

William and Selina Sarah Slate had five children:

1. Victor Alfred William Slate b. 30 Nov 1895 in HOLBORN 01B 683
2. Eleanor Selina Slate b. 11 Nov 1897 in HOLBORN 01B 687
3. Alfred John Slate b. 10 Aug 1900 in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 469, bap 2 Sep 1900 at St. James' Church, Walthamstow
4. Doris Margaret Slate b. 13 Oct 1904 in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 458, bap. 13 Nov 1904 at St. James' Church, Walthamstow
5. Lily Slate b. 12 Aug 1910 in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 474, bap. 9 Sep 1910 at St. James' Church, Walthamstow

George Lewis (55) had died, in Camberwell in 1900.

In 1901, Selina Lewis (51) Widow, General shop dealer, from Chatham, Kent, was living at 52, Gladstone Road, Walthamstow, West Ham. William Slate (32) Bookbinder, was living at 81, Gladstone Road, Walthamstow, West Ham with Selina Slate (29) from Chatham, Kent; Victor (5), Selina (3) and Alfred (0).

In 1911, at 23 Camden Road Walthamstow, Walthamstow, were William Slate (41) Bookbinder, Selina Slate (39) from Chatham, Kent; Victor Slate (15) Junior clerk; Eleanor (13), Alfred (10), Doris (6), Lily (0) and Selina Lewis (61) Mother, Widow, Dressmaker from Chatham, Kent.

William and Selina Slate were still living in Walthamstow in 1921. There was nobody with the surname Lewis in their household, however, there is a Selina Ana Lewis (b. 1850), from Kent, also living in Walthamstow in 1921.

Selina M A Lewis died, aged 88, in Sep 1938 at 13 Forster Road, Walthamstow and was buried on 26 Sep 1938 at Queen's Road Cemetery, Walthamstow.

In 1939, William Slate (b. 1 Jul 1869), Groundsman and Sarah Selina Slate (b. 15 Jan 1872) were living at 13 Forster Road, Walthamstow. William Slate died, aged 89, in 1958 and Selina S Slate died, aged 95, in 1966, in Waltham Forest.

James Tubb and Sarah Pearce

St. Mary's Church - Alverstoke
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Colin Babb - geograph.org.uk/p/1093207

James Tubb (bap. 1809), son of William Tubb and Sarah Chard and younger brother of this William Tubb, married Sarah Pearce, daughter of Thomas Pearce and Sarah Hall, at Alverstoke, on 27 Oct 1830. 

James and Sarah had nine children, the first two of whom were baptised in the 12th Century, first St Mary's Church, Portsea.

1. Sarah Pierce (sic) Tubb b. 26 Feb 1830, bap. 18 January 1835 
2. James Thomas Tubb b. 6 November 1833, bap. 18 January 1835 
3. Emma Tubb b. 1838 M Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 07 Page 143
4. William Tubb b. 1840 D Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 07 Page 109
5. Alfred Tubb b. 1843 J Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 07 Page 122 (Died 1844 M Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 07 Page 102)
6. Caroline Tubb b. 1844 D Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 07 Page 122
7. Henry Edward Tubb b. 1847 J Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 07 Page 126
8. Mary Ann Tubb b. 1849 D Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 07 Page 173
9. Elizabeth Tubb b. 1853 J Quarter in PORTSEA Volume 02B Page 401

Once again, as civil registration was introduced, baptisms were abandoned.

In 1851, we find this family living in Upper Church Road, Portsea with James Tubb (42) Shipwright at Dock Yard; wife Sarah Tubb (40), daughter Sarah Tubb (20), James Tubb (17), Shipwright's Apprentice; Emma Tubb (13), William Tubb (10), Caroline Tubb (6), Henry Tubb (4), Mary Tubb (1) and Sarah's father, Thomas Pearce (74), Widower, Retired Grocer.

In 1871, James Tubb (61) Superannuated Shipwright, Sarah Tubb (60), Mary A Tubb (21) and Elizabeth Tubb (17), were at Church Path, North, Portsea.

Shortly before his 65th birthday, James Tubb, DOB 30 Apr 1809, from Portsea, Hampshire, 5ft 7in tall, with grey hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion, enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Shipwright. From 1 Jan 1874 until 13 Feb 1875, he was assigned to HMS Asia, flagship of the Admiral-Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard. From 31 Mar 1875 to 31 Mar 1876 and from 1 Apr 1876 to 9 Jun 1877, he was assigned to HMS St Vincent, which had been commissioned as a training ship in 1862, and specifically as a training ship for boys, moored permanently at Haslar from 1870. He may have been maintaining the vessel, or perhaps teaching. If I were to speculate, my feeling is that this already long-standing dockyard employee had been taken into Royal Navy service at such a 'ripe age' to provide him with a pension.

In 1881, James Tubb (73), Shipwright Pensioner and Sarah Tubb (70), were living at 2, Charles Street, Portsea, with William Jeffery (7), listed as their nephew. He was their grandson, William James Jeffery, born 1874, son of their youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who married William Jeffery in 1872.

In 1891, James Tubb (81), Retired Shipwright and Sarah Tubb (80) were living in Church Path North, Portsea, with the house to themselves.

After more than 65 years of marriage, both James Tubb (87) and Sarah Tubb (85) died in the same, third, quarter of 1896, on Portsea Island.

Edward Tubb, Hannah Bussey & Sarah Elizabeth Joy

The second St. Mary's Church, Portsea, built in 1843, incorporated the Tudor
west tower of the old church. Image: Simon Wright. Some rights reserved

Edward Tubb (b. 1827), son of William Tubb and Sarah Ruff, married Hannah Bussey, daughter of Benjamin Bussey and Elizabeth Bowen at St Mary's Church, Portsea on 13 May 1850. (That will have been in the previous, second church, built 1843, not the current building, built in the 1880s.)

Edward and Hannah had three children:

1. Elizabeth Tubb b. 1850 D Quarter in PORTSEA ISLAND UNION Volume 07 Page 173, bap. 29 Dec 1850 at St Mary's Church, Portsea
2. Susan Alice Tubb b. 23 Jul 1852 Quarter in PORTSEA ISLAND UNION Volume 02B Page 334, bap. 7 Oct 1855 at St Mary's Church, Portsea
3. Edward Tubb b. 1860 D Quarter in SHEPPEY Volume 02A Page 575, died, aged 2 in 1863 M Quarter in SHEPPEY Volume 02A Page 461, buried on 28 Mar 1863 at Sheppey Cemetery.

In 1851, the couple had not yet set up home. That year, Edward Tubb (23) Shipwright, was a visitor in the household of Jane Watsworth (40), Seaman's Wife in Nelson Street, Portsea (she may well have been a relative). While Hannah Tubb (21) and their daughter, Elizabeth Tubb (0) were in the household of Hannah's widowed mother, Elizabeth Bussey (56).

They must have moved to the Isle of Sheppey, Kent between 1855 and 1860, because in 1861, the family lived at 4 James Street, Minster in Sheppey, Sheerness with Edward Tubb (33), Shipwright from Portsmouth; Hannah Tubb (32), Elizabeth Tubb (10), Susan Tubb (9) and Edward Tubb (0).

Then Hannah Tubb died, aged only 33, and was buried, on 27 Jun 1862, at Sheppey Cemetery.

In the 3rd quarter of 1864, Edward Tubb remarried, in Thanet, Kent, to Sarah Elizabeth Joy (bap. 8 Mar 1829 at St. John The Baptist, Margate), daughter of Edward Joy and Harriet Mary Garling. 

Edward and Sarah added another three children:

4. Herbert Joy Tubb b. 8 Oct 1865 D Qtr in SHEPPEY Vol 02A Page 716
5. Harriet Mary Tubb b. 21 May 1867 J Qtr in SHEPPEY Vol 02A Page 752
6. Grace Hannah Tubb b. 9 Aug 1871 S Qtr in SHEPPEY Vol 02A Page 754

In 1871, living at 5 Rock Cottages, Minster, Sheppey, were Edward Tubb (43) Shipwright, Sarah E Tubb (42), H J Tubb (Herbert Joy) (5), HM Tubb (Harriet Mary) (3) and Harriet Curtis (13) Boarder. I've been unable to find either Elizabeth or Susan, who at 20 & 19, were presumably out working.

In 1881, they were living at Cheyney Rock Cottages, Minster in Sheppey. Edward Tubb (58); Sarah (51), Herbert (15), Harriet (13) and Grace (9). 

Edward Tubb died 26 Jan 1884, in Sheppey. He will have been 56. He is buried at Sheppey Cemetery, a.k.a. Halfway Cemetery, Sheerness.

In 1891, Sarah E Tubb (61), widow, was a lodger in the household of John Parrett (31) Upholsterer in Trinity Road, Minster in Sheppey. Visiting were daughter, Harriet Mary Penfold (26), Harriet M Penfold (6) and George E Penfold (2). Herbert J Tubb (25) Merchant's Clerk, was in Cornwall. Grace Tubb (19) was a General Servant Domestic in the household of George Harper (49), Upholsterer & Auctioneer in Castle Street, Ashford, Kent.

Sarah Tubb, with her age estimated to 64, died in 1895 J Quarter in WEST ASHFORD (Volume 02A  Page 432). There is a record of a burial of a Sarah Tubbs (sic) in Ashford, on 10 May 1895, which very likely relates.

James Street, Sheerness
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Chris Whippet - geograph.org.uk/p/4410961

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, son of John Gabbdey and Elizabeth Travally, married Isabella Cleghorn, daughter of Anthony Cleghorn and Margaret Jane Murray on 28 Apr 1795 at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street - the church with the famous "wedding cake" spire, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. 

Quite what any of my Eastenders were doing "up west", I have no idea.

John and Isabella had at least six children:

1. William Anthony Gabbedey b. 1796, bap. at St Dunstan's, Stepney
2. John Cleghorn Gabbedey b. 1798, bap. at St Mary Magdalene Woolwich
3. Margaret Elizabeth Gabbedey b. 1800, bap. at St Mary Magdalene Woolwich
4. Charles Gabbedey b. 1803, bap. 1812 at St Dunstan's, Stepney
5. Henry Ralph Gabady (sic) b. 1807, bap. 1808 at St Dunstan's, Stepney
6. Anne Elizabeth Gabbaday, b. 23 Feb 1811, bap. at St Anne's Limehouse on 14 Apr 1811

In 1807, John Benbow Gabbedy's occupation, like his father's, is listed as Shipwright. By 1811, he's listed as a Mariner, living in Gill Street, Limehouse. It seems a strange career change at any time, when he already had a skill and the more so as he'll have already been 40 years old. There has to be a story behind this, but no obvious record to look for or means of uncovering it.

John Benbow Gabbedy's second name is his grandmother's, Elizabeth Benbow, maiden name. Could she have been related to Admiral John Benbow?

John Benbow Gabbedy seemingly died in 1841 and Isabella on 20 Feb 1852.

St Anne, Limehouse - Interior
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/4559597

John Gabbdey and Elizabeth Travally

St Dunstan & All Saints, Stepney - East end
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/3477017

John Gabbdey married Elizabeth Travally, daughter of Winnall Travally and Elizabeth Benbow at the church of St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, on 11 Jun 1769. John Gabbdey was born on 20 July 1745 and baptised on 11 Aug 1745 at St Anne's Limehouse, the son of Henry Gabbdey and Ann Stewart. This pair of my 5th great-grandparents married, by licence, and, witnessing the marriage were the bride's father, Winnall Travally and a James Bryant. 

Information suggests that John and Elizabeth had four children: 

1. William Travally Gabbedy b. 1770 in Limehouse, London
2. John Benbow Gabbedy b. 1771 in Risby's Rope Walk, Limehouse, London
3. Thomas Gabbady b. 1773 in Risby's Rope Walk, Limehouse, London
4. Esther Gabbedy b. 1775 in Limekiln Hill, Limehouse, London

In 1771, John Gabbdey's occupation is listed as Shipwright.

John Gabbdey must have died before 1781, because the widowed Elizabeth Gabbedy remarried, at St George in the East, to Edward Penfold on 7 Aug 1781. Witnesses were R Soper and, again, the bride's father, Winnall Travally.

Marriage of John Gabbdey and Elizabeth Travally