Joseph Soppit and Catherine Winship

St Bartholomew's Church, Longbenton
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Bill Henderson - geograph.org.uk/p/3641043

Joseph Soppit (b. 1 May 1806, bap. 19 Oct 1806 in Ovingham), who was the son of Joseph and Bridget Soppit, married Catherine Winship (bap. 9 Sep 1804 in Longbenton, Northumberland), daughter of John Winship and Mary Daggett on 1 Apr 1838 at All Saints' Church, Newcastle upon Tyne. 

Joseph and Catherine Soppit had three children; 

1. Bridget Soppit b. 1839 M Quarter in TYNEMOUTH UNION Volume 25 Page 388, bap. 3 Mar 1839 at St Bartholomew's Church, Longbenton
2. Winship Soppit b. 1842 M Quarter in TYNEMOUTH UNION Volume 25 Page 407, bap. 27 Mar 1842 at St Bartholomew's Church, Longbenton
3. John Soppit b. 1844 S Quarter in TYNEMOUTH UNION Volume 25 Page 424, bap. 6 Oct 1844 at St Bartholomew's Church, Longbenton

Longbenton had some notable residents, among them English physician and scientist, Thomas Addison, footballer Peter Beardsley and actor Jimmy Nail. The late wife and infant child of engineer, George Stephenson (1781 - 1848), are buried at St Bartholomew's Church, Longbenton. George Stephenson having worked as a brakesman and later appointed as engine-wright in 1812, in 1814, Stephenson constructed his first locomotive, 'Blucher', for hauling coal at Killingworth Colliery. (See Killingworth locomotives). This may even have been an influence, as later, John Soppit became an Engine Fitter. 

In 1839, on Bridget's baptism, the Soppit family were listed as living in Killingworth, with Joseph's occupation described as Waggonman.

In 1841, Joseph Sopwith (sic), Banksman (In Irish and British civil engineering, a banksman is the person who directs the operation of a crane or larger vehicle from the point near where loads are attached and detached); Catherine (30), Bridget (2) and Bridget Elias (60) [with the change of name, assume she remarried, but found no record] were living at Killingworth, Longbenton, Tynemouth. Longbenton has a long history of coal mining. 

By 1851, Joseph Soppit (44), a Colliery Labourer, Catherine Soppit (45), Bridget Soppit (12), Winship Soppit (9) and John Soppit (6), as well as Joseph's mother, Bridget Soppit (70), were all living at Hazbrigg, Longbenton, Tynemouth. (They subsequently moved to Durham, as Bridget Elias died in 1855 M Quarter in HOUGHTON LE SPRING Volume 10A Page 188.)

In 1861, Joseph Soppit (55), Labourer, Catherine (56), Winship (19), Blacksmith at Colliery, and John (14) Joiner at Colliery were at Four Lane Ends, Hetton Le Hole (where coal has been mined since Roman times).

Catherine Soppitt (sic) died, aged 66 (1871 M Quarter in HOUGHTON LE SPRING Volume 10A Page 269), and was buried on 9 Jan 1871 at St Nicholas, Hetton Le Hole. 

On the 1871 census, Joseph Soppitt (sic) (64) Labourer, and son Winship (29) Blacksmith, along with Isabella Hepple (42), Servant, were living at Lyons, Hetton-Le-Hole, Houghton Le Spring, Durham. 

In 1881, Joseph Soppit (74), Retired Coal Miner, was living in Caroline Street, Hetton-Le-Hole, with Martha Simpson (69) Widow, Housekeeper.

Joseph Soppitt (sic) died, aged 76, in 1882 M Qtr in HOUGHTON-LE-SPRING Vol 10A Page 254 and buried on 5 Feb 1882 in Hetton-Le-Hole.

St. Cuthbert's Church, East Rainton
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Trevor Littlewood - geograph.org.uk/p/3448633

John Pearson (b. 1836 in Durham), son of Andrew Pearson and Jane Brown, married Bridget Soppit (bap. 3 Mar 1839 in Longbenton), daughter of Joseph Soppit and Catherine Winship, in Sunderland, Durham in Q2 1858.

John and Bridget had six sons:

1. Joseph Pearson b. 1859 in HOUGHTON LE SPRING Vol 10A Page 355
2. Andrew Pearson b. 1862 J Quarter in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 328 (Died aged 17 in 1879 in HOUGHTON-LE-SPRING Vol 10A Page 224)
3. John William Winship Pearson b. 1864 in DURHAM Vol 10A Page 332
4. Robert Pearson b. 1866 in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 345, bap. 5 May 1867 in Pittington, Durham
5. Frederick George Pearson b. 1869 in DURHAM Vol 10A Page 362
6. John Henry Pearson b. 18 Sep 1873 in HOUGHTON-LE-SPRING Volume 10A Page 582, bap. 5 Dec 1873, in East Rainton, Durham.

Yes, two sons were registered as John, although census records suggest the elder was known as William and the youngest, as Henry. 

In 1861, the couple were living in Low Moorsley (wonder if they encountered serial killer Mary Ann Cotton there?) in the district of Hetton-le-Hole. John Pearson (25) Joiner & Cartwright, with Bridget (22) and Joseph (1).

In 1871, at Quarry House, Pittington, we find John Soppit (35) Joiner, Bridget (32) and sons Joseph (11), William (6), Robert (4) and Frederick (2). I cannot account for the absense of Andrew and cannot locate him elsewhere.

In 1881, John Pearson (45) Foreman joiner (colliery) was living in Overmans Row, Haswell, Easington, Durham, with wife Bridget Pearson (42), Joseph (21) Fireman (locomotive engine); William (16) Pupil teacher; Robert (14), Frederick (12) and Henry (7), as well as Mary Jane Bird (14) General domestic servant. One imagines Overmans Row was housing for foremen. 

In 1891, John Pearson (55) Ironkeeper joiner, was listed at the Screen Man Arms, Gale Street, Haswell, with Bridget Pearson (52), FG Pearson [Frederick George] (22) and Henry Pearson (18), John Soppit (12) Nephew (son of Winship Soppit and Ann Hall) and Sarah A Walker (18) General Servant.

Bridget Pearson died, at 61, in 1900 in BROMLEY (Vol 02A Page 286). Bridget's younger brother, John Soppit, Publican, lived Bromley, Kent, so it would seem likely she was staying with him at the time of her death. 

In 1901, John Pearson (65) widower, living on own means, was boarding in 15, Rawshorne Terrace, South Hetton, Haswell, Easington, Durham, in the household of Thomas Hodgson (68) Coal miner.

In 1911, John Pearson (75) widower, Lamplighter, was a boarder in the household of Robert Shanks (75) Tea and coffee dealer, at 4 Richmond St, South Hetton, Haswell, Durham. 

John Pearson died, aged 80, in Easington, in 1916.

Framwellgate Bridge, Durham
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Robinson - geograph.org.uk/p/6271900

Winship Soppit (b. 1842), elder son of Joseph Soppit and Catherine Winship, married an Ann Hall in Durham, in the 4th quarter of 1871. (There's more than one Ann Hall born in the relevant area, so it would require more clues.)

Winship and Ann had six children:

1. Winship Soppit b. 1872 M Quarter in HOUGHTON-LE-SPRING Volume 10A Page 475 (Died in the same quarter, 1872 M Quarter in HOUGHTON-LE-SPRING Volume 10A Page 345)
2. Catherine Soppit b. 1873 S Quarter in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 448 (Died in the same quarter, 1873 S Quarter in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 240.) There's a baptism of a Catherine Soppit, whose parents were Winship and Ann, in Durham, on 13 Oct 1874. A posthumous baptism, or perhaps more likely that the year has been transcribed incorrectly?
3. Joseph Soppit b. 1877 M Quarter in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 396 (Died aged 1, in 1878 M Quarter in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 197)
4. John Winship Soppit b. 1879 M Quarter in DURHAM Vol 10A Page 373
5. Margaret Soppit b. 1881 J Quarter in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 385 (Died in the same quarter, 1881 (Volume 10A Page 181)
6. Edith Annie Soppit b. 1885 S Quarter in GATESHEAD Vol 10A Page 795. (Died aged 2 in 1887 D Qtr in GATESHEAD Vol 10A Page 486)

In 1881, Winship Soppitt (sic) (38) Blacksmith at colliery, was living at Colliery Houses, 22, Framwellgate, Durham with wife Annie (29), John W (2) born at Framwellgate Moor; Margaret (0) and Annie Pallister (9) Niece.

Then Winship Soppit died, aged 48, in 1890 in Morpeth, Northumberland.

In 1891, Annie Soppitt (sic) (39) widow, was Housekeeper to John Scott (42) Deputy At Coal Mine, at Long Row, Harraton, Durham. John Soppit (12) was staying with his aunt and uncle John Pearson and Bridget Soppit at the Screen Man Arms, Gale Street, Haswell, Easington, Durham.

In 1901, Ann Soppit (49) widow from South Hetton, Durham, was listed as a Pauper Inmate in Preston Lane, Tynemouth, Northumberland - the Tynemouth Parish Workhouse was in Preston Lane, North Sheilds.

Annie then just disappears, with no further records on census, nor death. 

John Soppit and Louisa Tompson

The Shortlands Tavern, Station Road, Shortlands, Bromley
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Mike Quinn - geograph.org.uk/p/2255969

John Soppit (bap. 6 Oct 1844 in Longbenton, Northumberland), son of Joseph Soppit and Catherine Winship, married Louisa Tompson (bap. 15 Dec 1844 in Cransley, Northamptonshire), daughter of Daniel Thompson and Mary Adcock, at Christ Church, Watney Street, St George in the East, on 15 Feb 1875. One of the witnesses was Benjamin Tompson (Louisa's brother). 

This was not John's first marriage, however, because John Soppit had first married Emma Smith (23) (bap. 5 Apr 1848) - daughter of Martin Smith, Coal Miner, and Mary Picken (m. 1827) - in East Rainton on 12 Dec 1869. 

Mary Smith, illegitimate daughter of Emma Smith, had already been born in Houghton Le Spring and baptised on 11 Mar 1866 in West Rainton, Durham. Whether Mary was his natural daughter or not, John Soppit must have brought the child up as his own as she subsequently took his surname. 

John and Emma then had a further two children, who, given the same early dates in the same year, must have been twins.

1. Joseph William Soppit b. 1871 M Quarter in GUISBROUGH Volume 09D  Page 476 and baptised in Eston, Yorkshire on 17 Apr 1871. Buried, at St Nicholas Church, Hetton-le-Hole, on 27 Apr 1871. (1871 S Quarter in HOUGHTON LE SPRING Volume 10A Page 312).
2. Catherine Emma Soppit, b. 1871 M Quarter in GUISBROUGH Volume 09D Page 476, also baptised in Eston, Yorkshire on 17 Apr 1871. Buried on 30 April 1871, and the burial record says she was aged 2 weeks or months. The death is registered as 1873 S Quarter in DURHAM Volume 10A Page 240, which is either two years late, or there's an error.

In 1871, John Soppitt (sic), Engine Fitter, was living with wife, Emma, and children; Mary (5), Joseph Wm (0) and Catherine (0), and Elizabeth Turner (15), Servant, in Princess Street, Normanby, Guisborough, Yorkshire.

Emma Soppit (née Smith) died, aged 26, 1871 J Quarter in GUISBROUGH Volume 09D Page 405 and was buried on 17 Apr 1871, in Eston, Yorkshire. It looks very likely that she had died after giving birth to the twins, who were both baptised on the same day as their mother's funeral. 

John Soppit must have immediately taken the babies back to the home of his father, as his residence was listed at that time as South Hetton, Durham. At just weeks old, son, Joseph William Soppit died and was buried, at St Nicholas Church, Hetton-le-Hole on 27 Apr 1871. And just three days later, on 30 Apr 1871, his presumably twin sister, Catherine Emma Soppit, was buried, also at St Nicholas Church, Hetton-le-Hole. Heartbreaking.

John Soppit and Louisa Tompson had another 6 children:

1. Catherine Sarah Winship Soppit b. 4 Apr 1876 (1876 J Qtr in GREENWICH Vol 01D 925), bap. 4 Jun 1876 at St Nicholas, Deptford
2. Joseph Daniel Soppit, b. 23 Sep 1877 (1877 D Quarter in GREENWICH Volume 01D Page 973), bap. 2 Dec 1877 at St Nicholas, Deptford
3. John Benjamin Soppit, b. 1880 S Quarter in GREENWICH Volume 01D Page 941 (Died 1880 S Quarter in GREENWICH Volume 01D Page 560)
4. John Winship Soppit b. 1 Mar 1882 (1882 J Qtr in GREENWICH Vol 01D Page 943), bap. 10 Jun 1883 at Christ Church, Watney Street [Source]
5. Benjamin Tompson Soppit b. 13 Nov 1884 (1885 M Quarter in BROMLEY Volume 02A Page 415), bap. 1 Mar 1885 at St Mary, Shortlands, Kent
6. Louisa Adcock Soppit b. 26 Oct 1887 (1887 D Quarter in BROMLEY Volume 02A Page 424)

In 1881, John Soppet (sic), 36, Engine Fitter, was a boarder in the household of Jane Granger (58) at 29, Donald Street, Stockton upon Tees. Louisa was at the pub with her brother-in-law, Daniel Bottrill, with Emma's daughter, Mary; daughter Catherine and son Joseph, while her sister was away in Devon. 

Emma Smith's daughter, listed as Mary Soppit, died, aged 24, in 1891 M Quarter in BROMLEY Volume 02A Page 295. Then, confirmed in the Kent 1891 Public House Directory Listings, in 1891, John Soppett (sic); wife Louisa (46), sons John Winship (9), Benjamin Thompson (6), daughter Louisa Adcock (3) and John Thompson (25), nephew, barman, were living at The Shortlands Tavern, Station Road, Beckenham, Bromley. Daughter, Catherine S Soppett (15) was staying with her aunt and uncle, Daniel and Sarah Botterill, at the Holly Tree Arms, Lewisham; While Joseph D Soppit (listed as 18, he was 14) was a boarder at the Kent Coast College, High Street, Herne, Kent which was run by Samuel Neal Mobbs (57) Schoolmaster from Pytchley, Northamptonshire. (Louisa's aunt, her mother's sister, Lydia Adcock, had married Samuel Mobbs. Samuel Neal Mobbs was his nephew.)

The following report of The Bromley Petty Sessions appeared in the Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser of 6 July 1893:

REFUSING TO QUIT. George Herbert, builder, of 19, Plaistow Lane, Bromley, was summoned by John Soppit, landlord of the Shortlands Tavern, Shortlands, for being disorderly and quarrelsome on licenced premises and refusing to quit the same, on June 27. Mr Gregory appeared for the complainant, and Mr L. Lewis for the defendant, who pleaded guilty. Mr Gregory stated that the defendant used fearful language towards the complainant. Mr Lewis stated that the defendant had not the slightest idea of having used any bad language until he received the summons. He urged that as the defendant had made this apology the magistrates should inflict a mitigated penalty. The Chairman said he had never heard such bad language. The defendant would be fined 40s with 8s costs, or 21 days' hard labour. Mr Lewis asked for time, but this was refused. 

The London (South) 1896 Suburban Publicans directory still lists John Soppit at the Shortlands Tavern, but by 1901, the family were residing in a quite grand double-fronted house at 20, Honley Road, Catford, Lewisham. John Soppit (56), Licenced Victualler, is listed with wife Louisa (56), sons John (19) and Benjamin (16) - who have followed their father's original trade as Joiners - daughter Louisa (13) and they can afford a General Domestic Servant. 

John Soppit had also been the licensee of the Princess Royal in Croydon, where he employed his nephew, John Benjamin Botterill, as his manager.

Louisa Soppit died, aged 57, in 1902 S Qtr in CROYDON Vol 02A Page 117. 

John Soppit (58) married Marian Johnson (39) Spinster, who listed her father as Thomas Johnson, Tripe Dresser, at St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey, on 27 Jul 1903. Witnesses were Elizabeth Johnson and Henry Rugg Johnson.

In 1911, John Soppit (66), Retired Licenced Victualler, was still living at 20, Honley Road, with new wife Marian (46), Benjamin (26) and Louisa (23). 

In 1921, John Soppit (76) Retired Engineer and Marion Soppit (51) from Poplar, were still living at 20, Honley Road, Lewisham.

John Soppit of 20, Honley Road, Catford, died on 24 Jan 1924 (1924 M Quarter in LEWISHAM Volume 01D Page1544) at 390, High Street, Lewisham (University Lewisham Hospital, the former Lewisham Workhouse). He left £3467 18s 1d (£212,166 in 2020) to his widow, Marian Soppit and a further £2208 to son, Benjamin Tompson Soppit, engineer. 

Marian Soppit died, at 78 in 1943 D Qtr in BOURNEMOUTH Vol 02B 1045.

The Castle, Farringdon
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Andrew Abbott - geograph.org.uk/p/5107529
The Castle Tavern used to be the only pub in England with a pawnbroker's licence

Carl Bose (b. 18 May 1874), Licenced Victualler, son of Henry Bose and Anna Kracke, married Catherine Sarah Winship Soppit (b. 4 Apr 1876) daughter of John Soppit and Louisa Thompson, in Lewisham, in 1898. Carl's parents, both born in Germany, ran the Blue Anchor, in Dock Street, Wapping. Records show the pub had been in the family from at least 1881 until 1921.

Carl and Catherine Bose had six children:

1. Anna Louisa Bose b. 1899 D Quarter in PANCRAS Vol 01B Page 10
2. Charles Bose b. 1903 M Quarter in ST.PANCRAS Vol 01B Page 24
3. Stanley Bose b. 1904 J Quarter in ST. PANCRAS Vol 01B Page 9
4. Robert Bose b. 1909 D Quarter in ST. PANCRAS Vol 01B Page 28
5. Kathleen Bose b. 1912 M Quarter in HOLBORN Vol 01B Page 1110
6. Edith Bose b. 1915 S Quarter in HOLBORN Vol 01B Page 862

In 1901, at The Victory (a previous incarnation of the pub to the one pictured), 152, Albany Street, St Pancras, we find Carl Bose (26) Licenced Victualler, Catherine S W (24) and their daughter Anna L (1) with Lavinia C M Dwyer (20) Barmaid and Octavia R Andrews (24) Domestic Servant. 

Post Office Directories also place Carl Bose at The Victory in 1906 and 1910.

In 1911, the family were living at 15 Berlin Road, Catford S E. Carl Bose (36) Licensed Victualler, Catherine Sarah Winship (34), Anna Louisa (11), Charles (8), Stanley (7) and Robert (1), as well as Mary Maud Everest (21) Domestic General Servant. On the census return, Carl is described as "Son", Catherine as "Daughter-in-law" and each of their children is listed as "Grandchild" in relation to head of the household, so I think we may assume that this was Henry Bose' house, although there is no evidence of him residing there at that time. And one wonders what they will have thought of the road being renamed, given that Henry and Anna Bose were born in Germany. 

The Post Office Directory of 1915 shows Carl Bose as the landlord of the Castle, 34 & 35 Cowcross Street, EC1 (The Castle, Farringdon), which explains the registration of the last two children in Holborn. 

In 1921, at the Blue Anchor, 21, Dock Street, Wapping, we find Carl Bose (47) Licenced Victualler; Catherine Sarah Winship Bose (45), Charles Bose (18), Stanley Bose (17) and Blanche Good (41) Barmaid. That year the Post Office Directory also lists Carl Bose as the licensee at the Blue Anchor.

In 1939, Carl Bose, having Anglicised himself to Charles Bose was a Club Steward living at 9A Clarence Square, Brighton And Hove, Sussex with his wife, Catherine SW Bose. (Clarence Square - then & now.)

Catherine S W Bose died in 1945, in Brighton, aged 69.

Charles Bose also died in Brighton, in 1962, aged 87.

Canadian Avenue (formerly Berlin Road), Catford
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Chris Whippet - geograph.org.uk/p/4610261
This road used to be called Berlin Road but the name was changed during the
first World War because of the Anti-German sentiments felt at the time.

John Winship Soppit and Mary Ellen Bradley

Sangley Rd, Lewisham
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/3162332

John Winship Soppit (b. 1 Mar 1882 in Greenwich), son of John Soppit and Louisa Tompson married Mary Ellen Finch, at St Lawrence, Catford (built in 1887, demolished in 1968) on 24 Sep 1904. Born Mary Ellen Bradley in 1872 M Quarter in YORK Volume 09D Page 12, she was the illegitimate daughter of Mary Elizabeth Bradley. Following her mother's marriage to George Henry Finch she was known as Mary Ellen Finch. [Source]

John and Mary Ellen had three daughters:

1. Dorothy Louisa Soppit b. 18 Aug 1906 in LAMBETH Vol 01D Page 471
2. Hilda Mary Soppit b. 14 Aug 1908 in LAMBETH Vol 01D Page 477
3. Kate Winship Soppit b. 12 Oct 1910 in Lewisham 

The records for the first two girls show the mother's maiden name as Finch. 

In 1911, living at 78 Sangley Road, Lewisham, were John Winship Soppit (29) Joiner from Deptford; Mary Ellen Soppit (36) with birthplace listed as York; Dorothy Louisa Soppit (4) birthplace Brixton; Hilda Mary Soppit (2) birthplace Brixton and Kate Winship Soppit (0) born in Catford.

In 1917, then actually 35 (not 33 as listed) John Winship Soppit enlisted (was probably conscripted) into the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) at the 4th General Hospital, Birmingham. [See more at: Birmingham’s Military Hospitals] At the time of his discharge he was a nursing orderly. [Source]

In 1921, John Winship Soppit (39) Commercial Traveller was a visitor in the household of his brother, Joseph at 175, George Lane, Lewisham; while Mary Ellen Soppit (39ish) was living at 107 Reservoir Rd, Erdington, Birmingham with George Alfred Finch (41) Commercial Traveller (Brother), Dorothy Louisa Soppit (14), Hilda Mary Soppit (12) and Kate Winship Soppit (10).

Mary Ellen Soppit died, aged 51, in 1924 D Quarter in BIRMINGHAM NORTH Volume 06D Page 486 and was buried 13 Oct 1924 at the church of St Barnabas, Erdington, Birmingham.

John Winship Soppit (46), Widower, Commercial Traveller of 107 Reservoir Rd, Erdington, Birmingham, then remarried to Mary Baker (née Morrell), Widow (43), daughter of William Jabez Morrell and Sarah Waldron, at the Parish Church in Erdington, Birmingham (St Barnabas' Church, Erdington) on 8 Dec 1928. (Her first husband Samuel Horatio Baker had died in 1925 and she had at least two sons from that previous marriage.)

Second wife, Mary Soppit, died, aged 65, on 13 Jul 1950 (1950 S Quarter in BIRMINGHAM Volume 09C Page 15).

John Winship Soppit died, in Birmingham, on 6 May 1969. The death notice in The London Gazette gives his address as 15 Homecroft Rd, Yardley, Birmingham. It's ironic that growing up in Birmingham in the 1960's, at times we'd have been mere streets from there, while my mother felt as 'a fish out of water' in that city. If only she'd known she had blood relatives so close.

• Dorothy Louisa Soppit died in DOR Q2/1989 in BIRMINGHAM (0611K) Volume 32 Page 1041
• Hilda M Soppit married James F Lawless, in Birmingham, in 1933. James Frederick Lawless (bap. Jacobus Fredericus Lawless at the Roman Catholic parish of Most Holy Sacrament & St Osburg, in Coventry, in 1908.) The couple don't appear to have had children. In 1939, they lived at 286 Chester Road, Hardwick (286 Chester Road, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield). James Frederick Lawless died in 1980 in Carmarthen. Hilda Mary Lawless of 15 Homecroft Road, Yardley, Birmingham died, aged 86, on 18 Mar 1994 at Lapworth Nursing Home, Chessetts Wood Road, Solihull and was buried at Yardley Cemetery & Crematorium, on 25 Mar 1994.
• Kate Winship Soppit died in DOR Q3/1998 in SOLIHULL.

It's evident, therefore, that neither Dorothy, nor Kate ever married.

Joseph Daniel Soppit and Rachel Boad

Photo © Malc McDonald (cc-by-sa/2.0)

St Nicholas Church, Deptford

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

Joseph Daniel Soppit (b. 23 Sep 1877 in Deptford), son of John Soppit and Louisa Tompson, married Rachel Boad, daughter of Charles Boad and Elizabeth Short, in Milton-next-Gravesend, Kent, on 18 Aug 1907. 

In 1901, Joseph D Soppit (23) Beer and Wine Retailer, had been living at 60, Beckenham Lane, Bromley (confirmed in the Kent 1903 Beer Retailer Directory), with Rachel Boad (28), listed as his Servant and Housekeeper. The Bromley and West Kent Telegraph of 12 Dec 1903, shows that the licence for the beer and wine off licence at 60 Beckenham Lane, Bromley, had then been transferred from Joseph Daniel Soppit to a Rose Lindsay.

Joseph and Rachel Soppit had three children:

1. John Soppit b. 11 Jan 1908 (GRO Reference: 1908 M Quarter in EASINGTON Volume 10A Page 536)
2. Elizabeth Louisa Soppit b. 5 Jun 1909 (GRO Reference: 1909 J Quarter in EASINGTON Volume 10A Page 588)
3. Catherine Sarah Winship Soppit b. 8 Apr 1916 (GRO Reference: 1916 J Quarter in EASINGTON Volume 10A Page 947)

All three children were born in South Hetton, Easington, Durham, where Rachel had family. Rachel's late father, Charles Boad, had been a stone mason in a colliery there. Joseph's father, John Soppit, also had links with South Hetton and both John and his father had also worked in the collieries, so we must entertain the idea that these families already knew one another.

In 1911, living at 57 Holbeach Road, Catford, were Joseph Daniel Soppit (33) an Engineer's Fitter at the Manganese Bronze and Brass Co at Millwall, Propeller makers [Manganese Bronze Holdings], along with his wife Rachel Soppit (38), John Soppit (3) and Elizabeth Louisa Soppit (1).

On 7 Aug 1917, Joseph Daniel Soppit (39), then a Commercial Traveller, enlisted in the Army's Royal Flying Corps (RFC), transferring to the Royal Air Force (RAF) upon it's formation on 1 Apr 1918. At time of enlistment, Joseph was 5ft 5in tall with a chest measurement of 35 inches. He then transferred to the RAF Reserve on 21 Mar 1919 and was discharged on 30 Apr 1920.

In 1921, Joseph Daniel Soppit (43) Commercial Traveller was living at 175, George Lane, Lewisham with Rachel Soppit (49), John Soppit (13), Elizabeth Louisa Soppit (12) and Catherine Sarah Winship Soppit (5). John Winship Soppit (39) Commercial Traveller - both brothers worked for C Chancellor & Co Ltd, 13 Clerkenwell Rd, Paint & Enamel Manufacturers - was visiting.

Joseph Daniel Soppit died, aged 58, in 1936 M Quarter in LEWISHAM Volume 01D Page 1231.

In 1939, the widowed Rachel Soppit (b. 16 Jun 1872) was living with her widowed sister-in-law, Louisa A Broome, Laundry Director, at 57 Ladywell Road, Ladywell, Lewisham, with John Soppit, Wholesale Drapery Salesman; Elizabeth L Soppit, Civil Servant and Catherine S W Soppit, Railway Clerk.

Rachel Soppit, of 33 Shirley Park Rd, Addiscombe, Croydon, died, aged 76, on 27 Jul 1948 (1948 S Quarter in CROYDON Volume 05G Page 89) at The General Hospital, Croydon. Probate was granted to son John Soppit.

• John Soppit died in Durham in 1979. He appears to have married.
• Elizabeth Louisa Soppit died in Croydon, Surrey in 2006.
• Catherine Sarah Winship Soppit died in Surrey, in 2001.

Clearly, neither of the girls had ever married.

Beckenham Lane
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © DS Pugh - geograph.org.uk/p/3780404

Benjamin Tompson Soppit and Ida Lily Hepworth

St Nicholas Church, Durweston, Dorset

Benjamin Tompson Soppit (b. 13 Nov 1884 in Bromley, Kent), son of John Soppit and Louisa Tompson, married Ida Lily Hepworth (b. 16 Sep 1891 in Exeter), daughter of Vincent Hepworth and Mary Ann (Annie) Rogers, at St Mary Major, Exeter, on 2 Jul 1913. Ida Lily Hepworth gave her residence as 3 Cathedral Yard, Exeter (now the address of Al Farid restaurant). Witnesses were Annie Adams (Ida's mother who remarried in 1908), H W (Henry Wood) Adams, her step-father, and John Soppit, presumably Benjamin's father.

The Church of St Mary Major, Exeter, formerly Exeter Minster, stood in Exeter Cathedral Yard, between the west front of the cathedral and next to The Three Gables, the building which now houses Al Farid restaurant. Having been rebuilt several times, St Mary Major was demolished in 1971.

In 1911, Ida Hepworth had been a Hospital Nurse at The Croydon Borough Hospital for Infectious Diseases (Waddon Hospital). The Hospital was extended in 1911 to include two isolation pavilions and a Nurses' Home.

Benjamin and Ida had two children:

1. John Vincent Soppit b. 15 Jul 1914 S Quarter in YORK Vol 09D Page 27
2. Ida Louisa Soppit b. 1916 M Quarter in PLYMPTON ST. MARY Volume 05B Page 293

In March 1916 Benjamin Tompson Soppit M2/115307 was serving with the Royal Army Service Corps in Salonica [Thessaloniki] on the Macedonian front. He ultimately achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant and Adjutant.

In 1939, Benjamin and Ida were living at 46 Cambridge Drive, Lee, Lewisham.

Final resting place of Benjamin Tompson and Ida Lily Soppit

They later moved to 43 Barrack Row, Durweston, near to their daughter.

Benjamin Tompson Soppit died on 28 Jan 1969, aged 85. Ida Lily Soppit died on 3 Jun 1995, at the age of 103 years 9 months (DOR Q2/1995 in NORTH DORSET (4301) Reg 54 Entry Number 140). They're buried together in the churchyard at St Nicholas Church, Durweston, Dorset.

The inscription reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

BENJAMIN TOMPSON SOPPIT

WHO FELL ASLEEP

28th JAN 1969

Faithful in all things

ALSO OF HIS WIFE

IDA LILY

3rd June 1995

In her 104th year

• John Vincent Soppit married Olive Constance Archer in 1943 in Bromley, Kent. Listed in the 21 Jun 1945 edition of The London Gazette is Lieutenant-Colonel (temporary) John Vincent SOPPIT (124996), Royal Army Service Corps (Beckenham, Kent). They had one daughter, Amanda Janet Soppit, born in 1946. John Vincent Soppit died in London in 1990. Olive Constance Soppit of 54 Greenways, Beckenham, Kent, died on 1 Dec 2010. Amanda Janet Soppit appears not to have married and died on 9 Apr 2015.
• 'Betty' I L [Ida Louisa] Soppit married Alfred Ernest Woodley, in Deptford, London in 1938. In 1939, Alfred E Woodley (b. 22 Jan 1913) School Master, and Betty I L Woodley were living at 77 Salisbury Street, Blandford Forum, Dorset. They had one son, born in Carlisle, Cumberland, in 1942. Alfred Ernest Woodley of The Old Bank House, Blandford, died, aged 30, on 17 Feb 1943 at Bewaldeth Village, Cockermouth, Cumberland. Betty I L Woodley then remarried to Harold Greenleaves in Blandford, Dorset in 1944. They had one son in 1945. Harold Greenleaves, born 1904, died in North Dorset, in 2003. Betty Ida Louisa Greenleaves died, on 29 Jul 2014. Both sons appear to be still living.