John Perry and Elizabeth Brown

The Mast House and Brunswick Dock at Blackwall, drawn, engraved and published
by William Daniel, London, October 20th, 1803, and dedicated to John Perry. 
The first ship masted here on the 25th October, 1791, was the "Lord Macartney," East Indiaman. The whole suit of masts and bowsprit were raised and fixed in 3 hours 40 minutes. [Source]

John Perry (b. Tuesday, 4 Jan 1743, bap. 25 Jan 1743 at St Dunstan's, Stepney), Batchelor, son of John Perry and Ann Watlington, married his first cousin Elizabeth Brown (b. Wednesday, 3 Jul 1745, bap. 11 Jul 1745), Spinster, Minor, daughter of John Brown and Elizabeth Perry, at St Dunstan's, Stepney on 19 Mar 1765. They were married by Licence dated 6 Mar 1765. Witnesses to their marriage were John Brown, Elizabeth's father and Philip Perry, John's older brother. John Perry's father, also John Perry, was the brother of Elizabeth Perry, Elizabeth's mother, so both were grandchildren of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming. And if any further confirmation of this were needed, it's literally spelled out in a Codicil to the Will of their uncle, Ephraim Seehl, where he leaves bequests "... to my nephew John Perry and also to my niece Elizabeth Perry his wife ... as had given and bequeathed before in the Will to their fathers John Perry and John Brown".

For the absence of any doubt, this is the 'famous' John Perry, Shipbuilder credited as the founder of the Blackwall Yard, where he built ships largely for the East India Company (although due credit needs to be given to his father, John Perry, and grandfather, Philip Perry, before him). [The Perry Family: Shipbuilders at Blackwall.] The information on their shipbuilding appears to be pretty well documented, but the family history is scant and not at all accurate. My reasons for researching this family are two-fold: initially, because John Perry's sister, Elizabeth Perry, married my 1st cousin seven times removed, Elnathan Ayres, so we're distantly related by marriage, but whomever, these people deserve to be remembered more accurately than they have been.

John and Elizabeth Perry had nine children:

1. Elizabeth Perry b. 15 Jan 1767, bap. 16 Jan 1767 at St Dunstan's, Stepney, as Elizabeth, daughter of John Perry Junr of Poplar Ship Builder & Elizabeth at 1 day old. Reputedly died on 25 Jan 1767, there is a burial of Elizabeth Perry at St Dunstan's, Stepney on 27 Jan 1767.
2. John Perry b. 27 Jun 1768, bap. 28 Jun 1768 at St Dunstan's, as John, son of John Perry Junr of Poplar Ship Builder & Elizabeth, 1 day old.
3. Philip Perry b. 7 Feb 1770, bap. 8 Feb 1770 at St Dunstan's, as Philip, son of John Perry Junr of Poplar Ship Builder & Elizabeth, 1 day old.
4. Elizabeth Perry b. 15 Jan 1772, bap. 16 Jan 1772 at St Dunstan's, as Elizabeth, daughter of John Perry Esq of Poplar & Elizabeth, 1 day old.
5. Sarah Perry b. 20 Sep 1776, bap. 22 Sep 1776 at St Dunstan's: Sarah, daughter of John Perry of Poplar Ship Builder & Elizabeth, 2 days old.
6. Richard Perry b. 2 May 1779, bap. 31 May 1779 at St Dunstan's, as Richard, son of John Perry Shipwright & Elizabeth of Poplar, 29 days old. This Richard Perry died, at the age of 17, and was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church) on 29 Jun 1796.
7. Thomas Perry b. 13 Jun 1781, bap. 13 Jul 1781 at St Dunstan's, as Thomas, son of John Perry Ship builder & Elizabeth, 30 days old.
8. Charlotte Perry b. 28 Oct 1783, bap. 30 Oct 1783 at St Dunstan's, Stepney, as Charlotte, daughter of John Perry of Poplar Ship Builder & Elizabeth at 2 days old.
9. Louisa Perry b. and bap. 4 Aug 1785 at St Dunstan's, Daughter of John Perry of Poplar Shipwright & Elizabeth born the same day.

It has been suggested that in 1791, John Perry may have been one of the principals financing the expedition named the Butterworth Squadron, along with London ship-owner Theophilus Pritzler, who was the maternal uncle of George Green, who later married John's second daughter, Sarah.

In 1793 (here it says 1797) the estate of Moor Hall, Harlow (Moor Hall, near Harlow, Essex, [later] the Seat of Thomas Perry, Esquire) was bought by John Perry, ship owner from Blackwall, in Poplar. The family made it their home, enlarged the house and improved the grounds, especially when it was occupied by John Perry-Watlington. Moor Hall was an important estate located on the north side of Harlow near Matching Tye Road. 

In 1795, John Perry bought the head lease of the Orchard House Estate for £1,657. Orchard House, had been a moated property comprising a house and a large orchard, which formerly occupied much of the eastern peninsula, where the River Lea joins the River Thames at Leamouth, in Blackwall.

Portrait of John Perry from
The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard

The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard (PDF) by Henry Green and Robert Wigram (published 1881), which is never that accurate on the Perry family history, says that in 1796, "At Blackwall, Mr. Perry's first wife, Elizabeth, died on the 25th of January at the age of forty-nine. Elizabeth Perry had actually died in 1795 - at which date she was indeed 49 - and the parish records of St Dunstan's, Stepney list the burial, on 2 Feb 1795, simply as 'Elizabeth Perry at Poplar', this being Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church). A tablet to her memory in Poplar Chapel records "... the goodness and sincerity of her heart and her parental and conjugal virtues."

In 1798, John Perry of Moor Hall, Harlow was High Sheriff of Essex.  

"Travelling from Blackwall to Harlow, Mr. Perry's road lay through Epping Forest, which was considered both a long and dangerous journey. Mr. Perry drove this with his own horses, and frequently stopped to dine at Woodford ; he always took his own wine with him, but at the same time he made a point of paying at the inn for the amount which he might be supposed to have consumed. In the neighbourhood of Woodford he had a great friend. Sir Robert Preston, a large shipowner and Deputy Master of the Trinity House, who used to send him the dessert for his dinner."

St Pancras Old Church, seen in 1815

Next, John Perry, of this parish, Widower and Mary Green of the same parish, WIDOW, were married, by Banns, at Saint Pancras Parish Church (St Pancras Old Church, which is reputed to be the oldest Christian church in Britain) on 31 May 1798. Witnesses were Mary Hutchinson and Mary Green[1]. 

Once more a year out, The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard, claim that in 1799, "About this date Mr. Perry, having purchased the estate of Moor Hall, Harlow, married for his second wife Mary, the sister of his son-in-law, George Green, forming thus the double connection of father and brother-in-law." This assertion is accepted and repeated on many family trees, and at Wikipedia it says John Perry married 'Green's sister Mary', but was she really George Green's sister? The record says otherwise. Upon her marriage to John Perry, Mary was clearly identified as a widow, so this would mean that Green was her previous married name, not her maiden name. It's hard to imagine that the church would call her a widow by mistake and both of them signed their own names, so were presumably able to have challenged any error; Mary was 29 at the time of this marriage, an age at which, back then, she was less likely to have been a spinster too. The most plausible explanation for the situation would be if she was the widow of George Green's brother. 

People considered a sister-in-law as an actual sister in those days. We only have to reference Elizabeth Bennet's conversation with Wickham, in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which was of this era, at Longbourn (when he and her sister Lydia visit after their 'infamous elopement') and Wickham, now her brother-in-law, is attempting to retell history to his own advantage, and Lizzy retorts, "Come, Mr. Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know."

So, did George Green have a brother, who had died? Yes, apparently, he did. An elder brother, John Green, bap. 29 Oct 1764 in Chelsea, who is purported to have died in 1786 "At Sea", Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia. In one family tree he is even shown represented by the flag of the East India Company (for whom the Perrys built ships). I'd like it a lot better if I'd seen a record from a primary source substantiating this, but as yet I have not. Similarly, it would be horrendously difficult to absolutely prove as there are probably thousands of marriages between a John Green and a Mary 'something', but one marriage record looks tantalisingly promising: that of John Green and Mary Spooner, both of the parish of St Andrew, Holborn, City of London on 6 Jan 1785. Interestingly, one of the witnesses to that marriage was a Richard Perry.

[1] Mary Green is listed as being Mary's mother in both John's and Mary's wills, but I still don't think this is a discrepancy, nor is it 'proof' that she was Green at birth, because if Mary had indeed married John Green, she would have become part of that family and been considered as a daughter.

John and Mary Perry had a further six children:

10. Richard Perry b. 14 Feb 1801, bap. 14 Mar 1801 at St George's Church, Bloomsbury, London Borough of Camden
11. George Perry b. 2 Jun 1802, bap. 1 Aug 1802 at St Mary & St Hugh, Old Harlow, Essex
12. Mary Ann Perry b. 23 Aug 1803, bap. 1 Oct 1803 at St Mary & St Hugh, Old Harlow, Essex
13. Caroline Perry b. 5 Sep 1805 (allegedly). Caroline Perry of Poplar (7m), was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church) on 1 May 1806.
14. Charles Perry b. 17 Feb 1807, bap. (date not transcribed) at St Mary & St Hugh, Old Harlow, Essex
15. Amelia Perry b. 15 Nov 1808, bap. 16 Jan 1809 at St Mary's Church, Battersea

When the Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard wrote about the construction of Brunswick Dock, in 1789, "This basin, which in honour of King George he named the Brunswick basin, though by nearly everybody else it was called "Perry's Dock," it went on to say, "At the time of its construction, this dock, which belonged entirely to Mr. Perry, was the only dock of its kind in London, though there were several at the out ports. Its construction occupied two years, which were to Mr. Perry two years of the deepest anxiety and toil; the work was successful, but the trouble attending it laid the foundation of a heart complaint which some years later terminated fatally." 

John Perry Esquire (66) died on 7 Nov 1810 in Battersea, at his house there, Terrace House (now Old Battersea House, 30 Vicarage Crescent, Battersea, London, SW11). "... built in 1699 and probably replacing a house called Stanlies. This is late 17th, plain but substantial. It was restored, by Vernon Gibberd, in 1972-4. A carved frieze with globe and instruments may refer to Samuel Pett, Controller of Victualling to the Navy who lived here in the 17th. There is a sundial with the date 1699. The house was occupied by a series of industrialists and business people – many connected with shipbuilding and with Pett family connections. In the early 19th this included member of the Perry family, and George Green of Blackwall Yard lived nearby as an apprentice." [Source]. John Perry had bought the house in 1810 and "Changes to Perry’s will make clear that the Terrace House was intended as his permanent residence, but he died soon after his purchase in 1810, leaving it to his second wife Mary." [Source] (More recently it was owned by billionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes. It last sold, for a mere £8M, in 2020.)

The Parish Register of St Dunstan's, Stepney lists his burial on 15 Nov 1810, as "John Perry Esquire of Popar at Poplar". He's buried with his [1st] wife in the family vault at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church). 

A note about John Perry's date of birth: It's said that he was born on 6 Apr 1743, but the only source for that appears to be the inscription on his grave. That date has been accepted without question by many, but by that time, somebody must have remembered incorrectly, because the contemporary baptism record cannot lie: John Perry was baptised on 25 Jan 1743 at 21 days old, meaning he was born on 4 Jan 1743. Or at least it was 1743, on the Julian calendar, then in use. Before 1752, the year began on March 25th, not January 1st. Thus entries between January 1st and March 24th of a given year would be, confusingly, one year behind our calendar. His birth, in the modern Gregorian calendar, would be in the 1st month of 1744. The calendar change happened when John Perry was about eight and in the same year that his mum is reported to have died. Little wonder then that he might get it wrong later. Pure speculation, but if someone later just knew his birthday (not that they celebrated birthdays then) was shortly after 'the beginning of the year' (in the 1st month), but then remembered that the year had started at the end of March previously, I can see how they might conflate it to a date in early April, because April was the 1st month of the year at the time he had been born. 

Of other details I've been able to learn about John Perry from this research is that he's listed as having attended Harrow School; he retired in 1803, "In this year Mr. Perry retired entirely from business, selling his remaining half of the yard and his interest in the business to Messrs. John and William Wells.", and, apparently, his hobby was felling trees. I can see why this might be because he'll have worked with a lot of wood. From NOTES AND QUERIES Series 11 - Volume 6 tn s. vi. AUG. 24, 1912: The Mast-house at Blackwall. The Mast-house at Blackwall was an ugly building used by the firm of Perry, shipbuilders of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, for preparing masts. "Masthouse," I may remark, is a "dictionary word," and is found both in ' The New Oxford Dictionary ' and in ' The Century Dictionary.' The Mast-house at Blackwall' was taken down by the East and West India Dock Company in 1862. Those who may be further interested in the history of this matter, and in the firm to which the Mast-house belonged, should refer to " Chronicles of Blackwall Yard, by Henry Green and Robert Wigram, Part I. [no more issued], 1881." This book is one of great interest and research, and gives many delightful biographical details of John Perry (born 1743; died, Battersea, 7 Nov., 1810), whose dockyard was " more capacious than any other private dockyard in the Kingdom, or probably in the world." In the ' Chronicles of Blackwall ' (facing p. 42) will be found an oval portrait of the head and shoulders of John Perry, revealing him as possessed of a very handsome face. His hobby was felling trees. One of his sons, Richard, wrote: "I think I see my father now, with his face slightly elevated and beaming with intelligence (he was one of the handsomest men of the day), issuing from his hall door armed with a saw or billhook attached to a long pole, with which he operated on the top branches of lofty trees." One of John Perry's sons [Charles] was Bishop of Melbourne and a Senior Wrangler. Further details of the family and of their connexion with Blackwall and Moor Hall, Harlow, Essex, will be found in early editions of Burke's ' Landed Gentry.' There are several illustrations of the Mast-house in the British Museum. A. L. HUMPHREYS.

John Perry met King George III, who, "it is related, was fond of inspecting the embarkation of his troops, and would at such times ask Mr. Perry many very pertinent questions". "So courteous was the old King to Mr. Perry on all occasions, that at last he was jokingly stilled (sic) among Mr. Perry's intimates, 'The friend of the family.'" The Prince of Wales "did not show him the same kindly consideration as his Royal father." Mr. Perry's career was throughout marked by extreme liberality and by a magnanimous and public spirit. His family believed that he might have obtained a peerage [given his achievements, this had occurred to me too], and he is stated to have refused a baronetcy.

The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard suggest that the following lines inscribed on his monument are worth recording:

"If private worth, combined with public zeal,

Demand a tribute of the love we feel;

If honor, truth, nobility conspire

To form examples which the just admire,

This frail memorial may awhile suspend

The swift oblivion that succeeds our end;

Preserve some record for the stranger's eye

Of generous virtues that should never die,

Of active merits mixed with ardent mind,

Which made his own the good of human kind,

Diffus'd around the bounty Heaven bestows,

And sooth'd the sharpness of malignant woes;

The poor attest it, whom he clothed and fed.

The sick he nourished on their dying bed ;

The friends he succcur'd, and the youth he reared.

To Christian hope by Christian promise cheered;

In deeds like these, revere his honor'd name,

In Brunswick Dock his arduous skill proclaim

That bold achievement of his useful toil

Which bless'd with consequence his native soil.

First taught this humble spot with wealth to smile.

And rise Emporium of the British Isle;

May such benevolence, from Earth removed,

Await its destiny from God he loved.

Celestial grace and mercy guard his tomb.

And endless glory seal his final doom.''

Photo © DS Pugh (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Chester Terrace, Tuesday, 24 September, 2024

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

In 1841, Mary Perry (age rounded down to 70), was living at 18, Chester Terrace, St Pancras, London. (The Grade I listed terrace has the longest unbroken façade in Regent's Park.) Sadly, this is the only Census she appears on, so although there is a N (for NO) indicating that she was born outside the County (of Middlesex), there is no indication of where she actually was born. Living with her was her youngest daughter Amelia Perry (~30) Ind (of independent means) and they were attended by Milly Ward (25) and Elizabeth Hall (35) Female Servants and William Blondell (25) Male Servant. That year, Richard Perry (40) Barrister at Law, was at Moor Hall, Harlow; while Charles Perry (~30) Clergyman, was then resident at Trinity College Cambridge.

Mary Perry, widow of John Perry, Gentleman, died, aged 74, on 23 Mar 1843 (1843 M Quarter in SAINT PANCRAS Vol 01 Page 275) from Inflammation of the Lungs. Her death was registered on the same day by Elizabeth Capon, Servant, present at the death at Chester Terrace. However, I can find no burial record for Mary Perry anywhere, which given her family and position, seemed a little strange. Nevertheless, I believe I have the explanation for this: In many cases I've seen first wives buried with their husbands (as we see here with Elizabeth and John), but second wives are often buried with their family of origin. In fact, I was hoping to find Mary's burial to get clues to her origins. In this case, I think it's the lack of a burial record that's the clue in itself and suspect she was buried at the Trinity Independent Chapel, the construction of which had been financed by George Green in 1840-41. George was buried there and this is known, because George Green's tomb still exists in Trinity Gardens, Poplar. His son Richard Green was buried there, and I suspect George's second wife. Elizabeth (née Unwin), was too. Trinity Chapel was destroyed by a V-2 rocket in 1944. Historical documents for the chapel, deeds, etc., it's thought are held at Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives, but so far, I've found no trace of the parish records for the chapel, which could have been lost with the building and, if so, would explain why no records are coming up for any of these burials. Probate was granted on the Will of Mary Perry, of Chester Terrace, Regent's Park, Widow of John Perry, late of Moor Hall, Harlow, to her son Richard Perry on 15 Apr 1843.

NB: John Perry's Will with 4 Codicils, which runs to 13 folio pages of period handwriting and Mary Perry's Will of a further five handwritten pages, will be the subject of further research (at some unspecified time in the future). Any new information discovered therein will be added here in due course.

Several of John Perry's children didn't marry:

1. John Perry, of Harlow Essex, allegedly died on 5 Jul 1824, at 56, and was buried, on 16 Jul 1824 at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church). 
2. Philip Perry, of Brunswick Square, died, aged 60, on 19 Jan 1830. He was buried, on 27 Jan 1830 from All Saints Church, Poplar. He is also buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).
3. Louisa Perry [photo], I was unable to find in either 1841 or 1851 (abroad maybe?), but in 1861, Louisa Perry (75) Fundholder, was living in Avenue Road, Marylebone, London. She had four servants: a Butler, Cook, Lady's Maid and Housemaid looking after her. The Chelmsford Chronicle of 18 Jun 1869 reported on her death, "PERRY - 11th inst. At 5 Avenue Road, Regent's Park, in the 84th year of her age, Miss Louisa Perry, daughter of the late John Perry, Esq., of Blackwall, and of Moor Hall, in this county." (1869 J Quarter in MARYLEBONE Volume 01A Page 399). She was buried at St Mary & St Hugh, Old Harlow on 18 Jun 1869. On 19 Jul 1869, "The Will with a Codicil of Louisa Perry of 5 Avenue Road, Regent's Park in the County of Middlesex Spinster deceased who died 11 June 1869 at 5 Avenue Road aforesaid was proved at the Principal Registry by the oaths of Amelia Perry of 32 Avenue Road aforesaid Spinster the Sister by the Half-Blood, John Watlington Perry Watlington of Moor Hall Harlow in the County of Essex Esquire Nephew and Charles Cancellor of 7 Token House Yard in the City of London Esquire the Executors." Effects under £35,000 (only ~£5M today).
4. In 1851, Richard Perry (50) Practicing Barrister was head of the household at Chester Terrace, St Pancras, London with his sister Amelia Perry (42) and Emily A Perry (19) Niece. The household employed a Footman, Housemaid, Cook and Lady's Maid, the housemaid being Elizabeth Capon (39) from Rochester, Kent who had been the informant and present at the late Mary Perry's death in 1843. And in 1861, Richard Perry (60) Barrister retired was still the head of the household at 18, Chester Terrace, St Pancras, London with his sister Amelia Perry (52) Fundholder, and three servants. Richard Perry died at 61 on 24 Apr 1862 (1862 J Quarter in PANCRAS Volume 01B Page 4). The London Evening Standard of 28 Apr 1862 carried the announcement, "PERRY - On the 24th inst., at 18, Chester Terrace, Regent's Park, suddenly, Richard Perry, Esq., aged 61, elder surviving son of the late John Perry, Esq., of Moor Hall, Harlow, Essex and formerly of Blackwall, Middlesex." Richard Perry was buried, on 2 May 1862 at St Mary & St Hugh, Old Harlow. Also on 2 Jun 1862, "The Will of Richard Perry, formerly of Lincoln's Inn but late of Chester Terrace, Regent's Park both in the County of Middlesex Esquire deceased who died 24 April 1862 at 18 Chester Terrace aforesaid was proved at the Principal Registry by the oaths of John Watlington Perry Watlington of Moor Hall in the County of Essex Esquire and the Reverend George Perry of Camberwell in the County of Surrey Clerk the Nephews and the Reverend John Edward Hall of Cleveland Terrace Hyde Park in the said County of Middlesex Clerk the Executors." Effects under £35,000 (less than a paltry £5.5M today.)
5. Amelia Perry, in 1841, was living with her mother; In 1851 and 1861, in the household headed by her brother Richard Perry. In 1871, Amelia Perry (62) of Private Means was living at 32 Avenue Road, Marylebone, London, with a Cook, Housemaid and Footman. Amelia, was for many years known at Blackwall as a most active, regular, and intelligent member of the managing committee of her uncle George Green's Schools, for which she maintained the deepest interest until her death in 1874. Amelia Perry died, aged 65, on 27 Feb 1874 (1874 M Quarter in MARYLEBONE Volume 01A Page 476), and was buried on 5 Mar 1874 at St Mary & St Hugh, Old Harlow. On 30 Mar 1874, "The Will of Amelia Perry late of 32 Avenue Road, Regent's Park in the County of Middlesex Spinster who died 27 February at 32 Avenue Road was proved at the Principal Registry by John Watlington Perry Watlington of Moor Hall Harlow in the County of Essex Esquire the Nephew the sole Executor." Effects under £40,000 (only around £5.75M today.)

West Ham and South Essex Mail of 20 Nov 1931:

A LONDON SHIPPING FAMILY

An interesting account is given in the November issue of "The P.L.A. Monthly" of the family of the Perry's, so closely associated with docks and shipyards at Blackwall. As early as 1701 [no evidence] there was a Perry shipbuilding at Blackwall, but it was not until 1779 that John Perry "purchased the whole of the Blackwall Yard estate, together with other property in Poplar, for £8,000." About the same time George Green was starting as an apprentice at the Yard which became more famous when he and Wigram were building fine ships there. Brunswick Basin, now incorporated within the East India Docks, was begun in 1789 by John Perry, and was always known locally as "Perry's Dock". Here stood the famous "Mast House" which remained a striking riverside landmark until removed by the East and West India Dock Company in the 1860's. After John Perry retired to a country estate in Essex, he married as his second wife the sister of his son-in-law, George Green, this becoming father-in-law and brother-in-law to his partner. [See notes above] The Blackwall Yard was then owned by John Perry (the third of the name), Philip Perry (also the third of  the name), George Green, and the Wells brothers who had been shipbuilders at Deptford. Various descendant of the Perry family remain, but the surname is borne only by a John Perry - now a very old gentleman - who is a grandson of the second John Perry.

Further links:

• John Perry (shipbuilder)
• John Perry (1743-1810) at Three Decks
• Blackwall Yard at Three Decks
• 'View of Mr Perry's Yard, Blackwall'
• Poplar History up to the 19th Century
• The East India Docks: Historical development
• Poplar High Street: The church of St Matthias

Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming

Photo © John Salmon (cc-by-sa/2.0)

St Mary, Church Road, Little Ilford - Chancel

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

Mr Philip Perry (b. ~1678) married Elizabeth Flemming (purportedly b. ~1685) at St Mary the Virgin, Little Ilford, Essex, on 6 Feb 1706. This couple were paternal grandparents of the 'famous' John Perry, Shipbuilder credited as the founder of the Blackwall Yard, which built ships largely for the East India Company. (Philip and Elizabeth Perry were also the grandparents of John Perry's first wife, Elizabeth Brown, as John married his first cousin.) It was Philip Perry who began the family's connection with Blackwall Yard.

Philip and Elizabeth Perry had eight children:

1. Thomas Perry b. 7 Dec 1708, bap. 14 Dec 1708
2. Philip Perry b. 3 Oct 1710, bap. 22 Oct 1710
3. John Perry b. 13 Dec 1712, bap. 1 Jan 1713 (Gregorian)
4. Elizabeth Perry b. 27 Feb 1714, bap. 27 Mar 1715
5. Susanna Perry b. 1 Mar 1715, bap. 27 Mar 1715
6. Fleming Perry b. 4 Jan 1717, bap. 12 Jan 1717. Fleming, son of Mr Philip Perry, buried 21 Oct 1720 at St Margaret's, Barking
7. Sarah Perry b. 27 May 1719, bap. 14 Jun 1719. Sarah, daughter of Mr Philip Perry, buried 26 May 1720 at St Margaret's, Barking
8. Sarah Perry bap. 12 Mar 1720 (Julian) 1721 (Gregorian). Sadly, the church official had stopped putting in the actual birth dates.

All of the baptisms took place at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich. Elizabeth and Susanna, baptised together in 1715 (Gregorian), were presumably born in different years, but the record doesn't show which. Elizabeth is listed first on the baptism, as well as later in her father's Will, so I'm assuming she was the older of the two. St Margaret's Church, Barking a.k.a. the Church of St Margaret of Antioch is where Captain Jonathan Collett, to whom Philip Perry left a bequest, was baptised and later buried. Susanna Perry would seem to have been named after Collett's wife, Susanna Hill (whom he had married at Saint Helen Bishopsgate, City of London on 6 Jul 1706).

The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard (PDF) by Henry Green and Robert Wigram (published 1881), claim that in 1708: "About this time the manager of Sir Henry Johnson's Yard was a certain Philip Perry, whose history and introduction to Blackwall has been given as follows. In or about the year 1690, Philip Perry was a carpenter on board of one of His Majesty's ships. During a severe storm the vessel was in much danger of foundering from a bad leak, but in consequence of Philip Perry's skill and ingenuity the ship was saved and brought safely back to port. The Commissioners of the Admiralty, to mark their appreciation of his service, gave him an important post at Plymouth Dockyard, whence he was transferred to Deptford, where he greatly increased his reputation. This position he is said to have relinquished to superintend Sir Henry Johnson's business at Blackwall."

Ship's carpenters went on voyages to make running repairs, so I suspect there may be some truth in the story, but it bears all the hallmarks of family making it sound more dramatic than reality. If we were to be really pedantic, the reigning monarchs in 1690 were William III and Mary II, who ascended the throne after the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, so a reference in 1690 should have been to one of 'Their Majesties' Ships'. It seems more likely this event was after the death of Mary II in 1694, and before the accession of Queen Anne in 1702. Besides, if Philip Perry was born in 1678, then he'll have been around 12 in 1690, which is plenty old enough to be at sea, but a later date would be more reasonable given the skill and ingenuity they suggest. Of course this could all just be a completely romanticised family myth. 

Green & Wigram's chronology is pretty sketchy with regard to this period, but the earliest reports confirm that Perry's career began in Plymouth and this, I feel, helps make a case for him originally being from that area. Both British History Online and Three Decks think he was born in 1678 (the latter will have got the information from the former). If so, there's a potential baptism of Philip Perry, son of John Perry (and reputedly grandson of Philip Perry) in 1679, in Maker, Cornwall (just across the Tamar from Plymouth), which several people have accepted and I agree that, circumstantially, this looks incredibly reasonable, but may be unlikely to be absolutely proven.

"Perry, a working shipwright, was employed in the Naval Yard at Plymouth during the first years of the eighteenth century.", according to British History Online. He was then posted to Kinsale in 1702, where he was appointed Master Shipwright and there are references to substantiate him being in Kinsale from Mar 1702 until Jun 1705. He'd been sent to Ireland with other shipwrights for the purpose of 'their taking shipping there' at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession. Records listed at The National Archives (not downloadable) also confirm these postings: on 18 Mar 1702 "Plymouth Officers on behalf of Philip Perry, Shipwright. A testimonial of the good service of Phillip Perry." Then on 25 Sep 1702 "Philip Perry, Shipwright, Kindsale, Petitioner. He asks to be registered at Kinsale as a skilled man and to receive a higher level of pay." And "Kinsale Officers for Philip Perry, Shipwright, provide a Testimonial on behalf of Phillip Perry, Shipwright."

Then on 6 Aug 1705, "Philip Perry, Sheerness. Regarding his service in Kinsale where he acted as Foreman and assisted in repairs to masts and boats. Requests an allowance to take into consideration his 13 years service, including two spells in Kinsale." And on 17 Aug 1705 "Philip Perry, Sheerness. Further request for acting foreman pay for his time at Kinsale."

The other question that arises is, where and when did he meet Elizabeth? He'd only been in the London area for eight months when they married, but could he have known her longer? Could she have been from Plymouth? It seems that I'm not the first person to suggest this, but no evidence was offered.

A view of the Thames and Woolwich Dockyard in 1698, prepared for King William III.
The church of St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich is on the mound to the left.

The church where all of their children were baptised, St Mary Magdalene Woolwich, is right next to Woolwich Dockyard, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich, "where many ships were built from the early 16th century". It's some distance (~4 miles) from Deptford Dockyard, the nearest church to which is St. Nicholas, on Deptford Green, so surely attending the church in Woolwich suggested Philip Perry was employed at Woolwich? And indeed, confirmation is in a record listed at The National Archives (not digitised so not downloadable), dated 1708, "Folio 396: Philip Perry. Petition for employment as Boatbuilder at Deptford Yard. Places mentioned: Kinsale, Woolwich. People mentioned: Mr. Stacey, Mr. Philips, Commissioner Wright."

Mr. Stacey was Richard Stacey, English shipbuilder and ship designer. In 1695, Stacey was Master Boat Builder at Plymouth Dockyard; "In 1698 he transferred briefly to Kinsale (until Apr 1705). He then worked for a few months at Sheerness Dockyard in 1705 before being appointed Master Shipwright at Woolwich Dockyard in November 1705." From 1709 until 1715, Richard Stacey was Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard and this is the only time Perry doesn't go with him. Then in 1715, Stacy was Appointed Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard. Stacey, being around 15 years older than Perry could have been his master (with whom Perry served his apprenticeship), or Perry was a highly trusted employee, but they must have known each other, because Perry generally went wherever Stacey went. Did Philip Perry work at Deptford perhaps with Stacey after 1715?

The Master Shipwrights House at Deptford, "... was rebuilt in 1708 for master shipwright Joseph Allin who, dissatisfied with his existing house, persuaded the Navy Board to invest in a remodelling. However, Allin overspent on the house and, amidst rumours of corruption, he was dismissed in 1715." [Source]. That's when Richard Stacey was appointed Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard, a position he held until 1742, so he will have lived and worked in this magnificent house for 27 years. British History Online, also tells us that, "In the mid-1730s, when it was rumoured that Philip Perry was about to desert Blackwall for Deptford, he was described as 'the Great Builder'." You can quite imagine this rumour being taken seriously. Philip Perry must have visited there during that time and may have worked there too. And Philip Perry's son-in-law, Philip Gilbert, certainly must have done so, as he was briefly Assistant Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard in 1740.

Inside The Master Shipwright’s House

"During the 1720s he [Perry] worked as manager for John Kirby and was later employed in a similar capacity by Collett and Boulton." (As an aside, but nevertheless important to note, Philip Perry's granddaughter, Elizabeth Perry and her husband (my cousin) Elnathan Ayres, gave the middle name Boulton to two of their children.) The baptisms in Woolwich suggest the Perrys were still there until around 1720/1, which confirms the statement, "there is no evidence of his being at Blackwall before 1722". By 1722 Perry was living in Blackwall Yard, where he occupied the mansion house 'and garden adjacent with the garden and terrace walk on the east side of the same'. This mansion house was probably the new house erected, between 1677 and 1679, when Johnson (Sir Henry Johnson) paid two builders, John Rogers and Thomas Marchant, for 'the Alterations of the new house and Repairing the ould'. When the new house was built, Richard Gibbs was paid £26 4s 10d for 'painters work' of a highly decorative nature about the property. One room was painted 'olive wood and tortell shell' (sic) and murals depicted battles and ships built at the yard. The new house was probably the detached house to the east of the wet dock which can be seen in Francis Holman's mid-eighteenth-century painting of the yard (below) and which survived into the 1840s. [Source]

Francis Holman (1729-1784) - Blackwall Yard from the Thames

In the parish registers of St Dunstan's, Stepney is the record of the burial of Elizabeth Perry on 21 Apr 1734. I'm certain this is Mrs Philip Perry, because it says "Elizabeth Perry of B'Wall to Poplar", indicating that she was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church) built by the East India Company in 1654, where her husband, sons and grandson were also later buried.

In his Will, drafted on 20 Jun 1741, "Philip Perry the Elder of Blackwall in the Parish of Stepney in the County of Middlesex Shipwright" ... directed, "My body I commit to this earth to be decently buried by walking burial in as frugal a manner as conveniently may be at the discretion and management of my sons Philip Perry and John Perry and my Son-in-Law John Brown (whom I herein make Executors ...)" A walking burial, I assume, is his coffin taken in procession on foot, without hiring expensive carriages. Philip left £120 to Abraham Cropp Esq., "by borrowing securities to him for my late son Thomas Perry deceased". (Thus Thomas must have died before 1741, but I've not found when or where). He made bequests to his said son Philip Perry the Younger; his son John Perry; Son-in-Law John Brown; Captain Jonathan Collett; Captain Richard Gosfreight (Collett and Gosfreight were the principal ship's husbands for whom he'd built many ships); his sister Sarah Price, Widow; Philip Littlepage* (grandson of my said sister Sarah Price ten pounds to put him out apprentice); George Case the Clerk of Blackwall Yard; and his three daughters Elizabeth Brown, Susanna Perry & Sarah Perry. Philip Perry makes no mention of his wife in his Will, suggesting she pre-deceased him, adding circumstantial confirmation to the above. There are various stipulations as to how his estate should be divided among his children, depending upon what the total amounted to and it's obvious he was pretty well off.

*(Philip Littlepage bap. 3 Jul 1734, was the son of Sam Littlepage of Poplar, Gent, and Sarah Price, who married on 7 Feb 1728 at St John At Hackney, but I've been unable to find a marriage of a Sarah Perry to anyone named Price.)

The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard (PDF) claims that John Perry and his brother, Philip Perry, became Yard Managers at Blackwall when their father, "Philip Perry, died on the 26 Sep 1732, at the age of sixty-one years, and was buried near the first Sir Henry Johnson, in the ground adjoining the East India Company's, or Poplar, Chapel, as it was now called. After his death the business was carried on by his son, who, as we learn from local records, had become by this time a person of considerable influence in the neighbourhood." Philip Perry died in 1742, not 1732 (although I suspect he retired in 1732, as John Perry was managing the yard from then), and this is probably just a 'typo', but it's also not the first time details in Wigram & Green's account just don't add up and, at best, have probably been wrongly remembered.

Philip Perry died on 26 Sep 1742 and was buried on 2 Oct 1742. The parish records of St Dunstans, Stepney lists, "Philip Perry of Blackwall at Poplar", indicating he too was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).

Philip Perry and Hellen Hubbard

St Dionis Backchurch

Philip Perry (b. 3 Oct 1710, bap. 22 Oct 1710 at St Mary Magdalene Woolwich, son of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming, married Hellen Hubbard at St Dionis Backchurch, on 20 Dec 1734 - the same church where Philip's sister, Elizabeth Perry married the following February. The record reads, "Philip Perry of the Parish of St Dunstan, Stepney in the County of Middlesex Batchelor & Hellen Hubbard of the same parish (Spinster) were married (by Licence) on Friday the 20th Day of December 1734." There are no clues as to why both couples chose to marry in this church.

Records suggest that the couple had three daughters:

1. Elizabeth Perry b. Friday, 7 Nov 1735, bap. 27 Nov 1735 (at 20 days old) at St Dunstan, Stepney. Elizabeth, daughter of Phil Perry of Pop[lar] & Hellen. She was buried on 20 Dec 1735. The record lists, "Elizabeth Perry of Pop[lar] to Poplar", indicating that she was more than likely buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).
2. Elizabeth Perry b. Saturday, 24 Jan 1736 (Julian) 1737 (Gregorian), bap. 22 Feb 1736 (Julian) 1737 (Gregorian) (at 29 days old) at St Dunstan, Stepney. The baptism record for this child also specifies, "Elizabeth, daughter of Phil Perry of Pop[lar] Shipwright & Hellen."
3. Susanna Perry b. Sunday, 8 Jul 1739, bap. 31 Jul 1739 (at 23 days old). "Susanna, daughter of Phil Perry of Pop[lar] Shipwright & Hellen."

Philip Perry died, aged 35, and was buried on 30 Mar 1746. In the parish registers of St Dunstan's, Stepney is the record of the burial of "Philip Perry of B.Wall at Poplar", indicating that he too was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church, built by the East India Company in 1654).

The only record of the birth of a Hellen Hubbard, around the relevant time, anywhere in the world - and it is with two LLs as it was upon marriage, as well as on the baptisms of all three of their daughters - is of a Hellen Hubbard b. 30 Jul 1701, bap. 3 Aug 1701 in Hardingham, Norfolk, the daughter of Robert and Mary Hubbard. (There no records whatsoever of a likely Helen Hubbard with the usual spelling with one L). It could be Hellen born in 1701, which would make her nine years older than Philip Perry, which is not unheard of. She would have been 33 when she married and, whilst late having children at that time, still of childbearing age. But, whilst it would seem reasonable, I cannot see a way to either confirm or refute this. There are no obvious records either as to when Hellen Perry died, although she must have died before 29 Apr 1775, because in a Codicil to the Will of her brother-in-law, Ephraim Reinhold Seehl, of that date, he states that she had died.

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 Orren, 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 Qtr in MEDWAY Vol 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 on 18 Dec 1874, at All Saints Church, Haggerston, Selina Mary Ann Caddy (24), 'Widow' (no she wasn't, unless her father-in-law listed a ghost in 1881 - see below), who, nevertheless, listed her father (correctly) as John Harcus, Tailor, married Lewis Betjemann (31) Bachelor (nope), Sergeant in the Army, who named his father as John Jacob Betjemann, Gunsmith. 

John Jacob Betjemann, Gunmaker, had married Elizabeth Bull in 1825 and was in Whitechapel in 1841 and Bethnal Green in 1851. He died in 1853. Baptised Ernst Luy Ficktohr Betjeman (sic) on 3 Mar 1844 at Christ Church, Spitalfields, he was their youngest child, listed as Ernst (7) in his parents' household in 1851 and as Lewis Betjemann (17) Cabinet Maker, when living with his widowed mother, Elizabeth, in Haggerston, in 1861. 

As 'Herns' Lewis Betjemann, Cabinet Maker, he'd previously married Mary Sarah Jane Blumson, daughter of Benjamin Blumson, Dyer, at St James', Shoreditch, on 5 Nov 1863. This couple had at least two daughters: Mary Ann Betjemann b. 1 Dec 1863 (1864 M Quarter in SHOREDITCH Volume 01C Page 204), bap. 20 Dec 1963 at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green; and Caroline Betjemann b. 1866 M Quarter in SHOREDITCH Volume 01C Page 182. When daughter Mary Betjemann (20) married on 2 Feb 1884, she listed her father as Lewis Betjemann, Cabinet Maker and George Christian Betjemann, Lewis' brother, was one of the witnesses at her marriage. Reverting to Bachelor in 1874 was very fishy and leads me to be certain they were both knowingly committing bigamy. That Mary Sarah Jane Blumson went on to have another four children with Henry Thomas Comte and lived until 1924, confirms it.

Selina claiming to be a Widow, one might assume Henry Caddy had died ... However, in 1881, we find Henry Caddy (34) Shipwright, alive, 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, 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. Instinct makes me suspect he may have jumped on a ship and emigrated.

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. It's clear that Lewis Betjemann has Anglicised himself to George Lewis. Subsequent records, which I found first, show that these are the right people however.

On 13 May 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 and was demolished.)

William and Selina Sarah Slate had at least eight 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. Wilmet Geraldine Slate b. 24 Mar 1908 J Quarter in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 455, bap. 19 Apr 1908 at Walthamstow St. James the Greater. Died at 16 months in 1909 S Quarter in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 170 and buried on 21 Aug 1909 at Queen's Road Cemetery, Walthamstow.
6. Lily Slate b. 12 Aug 1910 in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 474, bap. 9 Sep 1910 at St. James' Church, Walthamstow
7. William Leonard Slate b. 1913 D Qtr in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 929
8. Philip Albert Slate b. 1917 M Qtr in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 724

'George Lewis' was buried at Queen's Road Cemetery, Walthamstow, Grave 656A, on 14 July 1898 (there was a death of a George Lewis, aged 54, in 1898 S Quarter in LONDON CITY Volume 01C Page 8, which I'm sure relates), however the burial record shows that the purchaser of the plot was Selina Sarah Slate, confirming that this certainly was the correct burial.

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; Victor (5), Selina (3) and Alfred (0).

In 1911, at 23 Camden Road, 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 (mother-in-law), Widow, Dressmaker from Chatham, Kent.

In 1921, William Slate (51) Book Binder; Selina Slate (49), Violet Slate (25), Eleanor Slate (23), Alfred Slate (20), Doris Slate (16), Lily Slate (10), William Slate (7), Philip Slate (4) and Frederick Crisp (30) Visitor were all at 13 Forster Road, Walthamstow. (Frederick Crisp later married Eleanor Slate.) Selina Ana Lewis (71) was a boarder at 89, Hartington Road, Walthamstow.

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

In 1939, William Slate (b. 1 Jul 1869), Groundsman and Sarah Selina Slate (b. 15 Jan 1872) were at 13 Forster Road, Walthamstow. William Slate died, at 89, in 1958 and Selina S Slate died, at 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 (b. 30 Apr 1809 in Portsmouth), son of William Tubb and Sarah Chard, married Sarah Pearce (b. 16 Dec 1810 in Portsmouth), daughter of Thomas Pearce and Sarah Hall, at St. Mary's, Alverstoke, on 27 Oct 1830.

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

1. Sarah Pierce (sic) Tubb b. 26 Feb 1830, bap. 18 Jan 1835
2. James Thomas Tubb b. 6 Nov 1833, bap. 18 Jan 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. James Tubb may have been maintaining or converting the vessel. If I were to speculate, my feeling is that this already long-standing dockyard employee was 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, James and Sarah Tubb both died in 1896, within a week of each other. James Tubb (87) Pensioner of Church Path, Landport, died in 1896 S Quarter in PORTSEA ISLAND Volume 02B Page 324 and was buried from St Mary's, at Kingston Cemetery, on 22 Jul 1896. Sarah Tubb (86) Widow of Church Path, Landport was likewise buried at Kingston Cemetery, from St Mary's, seven days later, on 29 Jul 1896.

Elnathan Ayres and Elizabeth Perry

St Mary Matfelon's footprint, Whitechapel
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff - geograph.org.uk/p/1278357

Elnathan Ayres (b. 17 Jul 1752) Bachelor, son of Elnathan Ayres and Martha Travally, married Elizabeth Perry (b. 28 Aug 1749) Spinster, daughter of John Perry and Ann Watlington, at St Mary's, Whitechapel (St Mary Matfelon), Whitechapel High Street, on 3 Oct 1771. Witnesses were William Dalton and Sarah Dalton; Esther Travally (Elnathan's aunt or cousin) and Ann Perry. 

(Sarah Dalton (née Travally) and her sister Elizabeth Travally, who was my 5x great-grandmother, were Elnathan Ayres' first cousins, daughters of Winnall Travally and Elizabeth Benbow. Winnall Travally, my 6th great-grandfather, thus was Elnathan's uncle; his mother's brother. As both Elnathan and his father were shipwrights and since the Daltons later lived in a house built by John Perry (shipbuilder), the founder of the Blackwall Yard, which built ships for the East India Company, I was certain Elizabeth Perry was related - she was John Perry's youngest sister. Elnathan Ayres was my 1st cousin seven times removed, as our nearest common ancestors were Thomas Travally and Rachel Winnall - his grandparents and my 7x great-grandparents.)

Elnathan Ayres had at least eight children with Elizabeth Perry:

1. Elnathan Boulton Ayres b. Saturday, 5 Dec 1772, son of Elnathan, Shipwright of Queen Street and Elizabeth, bap. 30 Dec 1772 at St Anne, Limehouse (at 25 days old). Elnathan Ayres of Queen St, aged 2 years, 6 months, was buried at St Anne, Limehouse on 4 Jun 1775
2. Elizabeth Ayres b. ~Jul 1774. Elizabeth Ayres of Queen Street was buried at St Anne, Limehouse on 21 May 1775, aged 10 months.
3. Elizabeth Ayres b. Friday, 25 Sep 1778, bap. 18 Oct 1778 (at 23 days old), as Betsey Ayres daughter of Elnathan Ayres (Shipwright, Ropemakers Fields) & Eliz, at St Anne's Limehouse 
4. Martha Travally Ayres bap. 8 Oct 1780 at St Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol
5. George Ayres bap. 31 Mar 1782 at St Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol
6. Charlotte Ayres bap. 9 Jun 1784 at St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe
7. Sage Boulton Ayres bap. 2 Jun 1786 at St Mary's, Rotherhithe
8. Martha Ayres b. Sunday, 4 Sep 1796, bap. 9 Oct 1796 at St Dunstan's, Stepney (baptism specifies that she was 35 days old)

For the last child in 1796 to be also named Martha, it's clear that Martha Travally Ayres born in 1780 must have died (not found record) and makes sense of the order the children are later listed on Elnathan Ayres' will.

Eldest son and daughter Sage, were given the middle name Boulton, which had to be significant. Richard Boulton was one of four partners - all retired sea captains who had worked for the East India Company and were members of London's shipping community - who had owned the Blackwall Yard (The Ownership of Blackwall Yard, 1724–79). Boulton, was a London merchant and an important figure in the East India Company, of which he was a director from 1718 to 1736 and on the Committee for Shipping from 1723 until 1726. He was a member of the Honourable Company of Shipwrights. During the 1720s Elizabeth's grandfather, Philip Perry, worked as manager for John Kirby and was later employed in a similar capacity by Collett and Boulton. (Blackwall Yard: Development, to c.1819). And her brother, John Perry, purchased the yard from Boulton, Gosfreight and partners. 

Elnathan Ayres was listed among European inhabitants in Bengal, excluding those in the service of the East India Company or the Crown 1805.

The will of Elnathan Ayres is a real eyebrow-raiser and probably creates more mysteries than questions it answers, but its highlights include:

In the Name of God: Amen: I Elnathan Ayres, Ship Wright of the Town of Calcutta Bengal being in bodily Health, and of sound and disposing memory; and considering the Evil, Dangers and other Uncertainties of this transitory life, do (for avoiding Controversies after my Decease) make, publish and declare this My last Will and Testament, in manner following:- that is to say, first I recommend my Soul to God, who gave it; and my body I commit to the Earth, or Sea, as it shall please God to order; and for and concerning all my Worldly Estate, I give bequeath and dispose thereof as followeth; that is to say; First I Will, that all my just Debts and funeral Charges be paid and discharged by my Executors hereinafter named and Secondly that my House and all my Effects be turned into ready money as soon as conveniently may be and Disposed in the manner following, Viz, I leave and bequeath to my son James Ayres, born in Calcutta the Sum of Sicca Rupees [1] three thousand five hundred to be laid out by my Executors, at Interest on good Security, for his Education (which is not to be under the charge of his mother), the principal not to be given to him untill (sic) he becomes of Age the remainder of my property I leave to my Wife Elizabeth Ayres of the parish of St Mary's Rotherhiethe (sic) London and in case of her Death to be equally Divided between my four children in England, Viz: George Ayres, Charlotte Ayres, Sage Ayres and Martha Ayres, of the parish Aforesaid and to my Oldest Daughter Elizabeth Ayres, I only leave one Rupee and in case of the Death of my son James born in this country before he becomes of age, then the property left him to go to my Children in England, to be equally Divided as above, and I do hereby nominate and appoint James Horsburgh and George Watson of the Town of Calcutta to be Guardians of my Son James and Executors of this my last Will and Testament ... dated 7 Jul 1808.

From the will, I'm reading that Elnathan Ayres was acknowledging a - clearly illegitimate - child he fathered in India with someone other than his wife. Even without the details of his estate, we had to know he was wealthy enough to do so. There is a transcript of the baptism record of James Ayres, son of Elnathan Ayres, born on 3 Feb 1809 and baptised on 26 Feb 1809, in Bengal, India. The record doesn't say who the mother was. The Will must have been drawn up as soon as Elnathan knew she was carrying the child. Alas, there's also a transcript of a burial record for James Ayres described as "Poor Boy From Free School", Race: White (if one were to speculate, I'd bet his mother was a western woman and more than likely someone else's wife, hence Ayres was taking responsibility for the child's upbringing), on 1 Dec 1812 at Fort William, West Bengal, India. Sadly, I'm sure this was the same child.

[1] Sicca Rupee - a rupee issued in Bengal before 1836 weighing more than the rupee of the British East India Company.

One wonders what eldest daughter Elizabeth had done to deserve the indignity of being left only 1 Rupee!

Elnathan Ayres was buried on 25 Apr 1812, in Fort William, West Bengal, India. On the original record of 'Burials at Calcutta Fort William in Bengal A.D. 1812', it reads: "Mr E Ayres Ship Builder at Sulkea Shot Himself." One assumes this was not accidentally. Was it because of the scandal and shame of his indiscretion, or was there some other reason? I'm sure we'll never know.

(Sulkea (now Salkia), is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal, opposite Calcutta (now Kolkata). It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, the westernmost distributary of the Ganges. Sulkea, originally a place where salt was brought and stored in warehouses, was one in a long list of shipyard locations on the Hooghly River in the early 19th century. The area was of truly global significance, enduring for centuries. Because of the rich textiles like muslin and silk, it attracted merchants, missionaries, mercenaries, statesmen, labourers and others from Europe and beyond, making it a mini 'Europe on the Hooghly'!)

His Executors presented his will before the Honourable Sir Henry Russell Knight Chief Justice at the Supreme Court in Fort William on 29 Apr 1812. The Executors produced an immensely detailed inventory of his possessions, dated 9 May 1812, right down to teaspoons and six pairs of cotton stockings and even 'a bag with salt'. It also showed that Elnathan Ayres' estate totalled £8282 3s 6d (well over a million pounds now), of which almost £5,000 was to be paid to the Ayres Family in England. Clearly he was no ordinary shipwright. Probate was granted in England on 2 Apr 1816.

It appears Elizabeth Ayres (née Perry) died, age listed as 61, and was buried on 6 Feb 1815 at St Anne, Limehouse, so probate followed her death.

Even with this detail, I'm sure there's a much bigger story yet to uncover.