Inherited Craziness
A place to share all the nuts found on my family tree

Showing posts with label Tompson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tompson. Show all posts

Friday 5 January 2024

Job Sweeney and Eliza Louisa Tompson

Globe Road, Bethnal Green
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Stephen McKay - geograph.org.uk/p/4697355
Very much a part of the traditional East End, Globe Road runs north from Stepney Green station to Roman Road, and then on to this northern stretch up to Old Ford Road. 

Job Sweeney (b. 6 Feb 1870), son of John Henry Charles Sweeney and Susannah Harvey, married Eliza Louisa Tompson (b. 24 Aug 1868), daughter of Dan Tompson and Mary Ann Green, on 5 Jan 1893, at the Parish Church of St Anthony, Globe Road, Stepney. (The church of Saint Anthony stood in the borough of Bethnal Green, but was part of the rural deanery of Stepney. It closed in 1936 and the building was demolished in 1937.) Both claimed to be 24 and both gave their address as 3 Monteagle Street, Stepney. 

Their only son, Job Thomas Sweeney (right), was born at 25 Monteagle Street, Stepney (which further research suggests was a boarding house) on 27 Aug 1897 and baptised at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, on 19 Sep 1897.

In 1901, Job Sweney (sic) (33) Warehouseman, Eliza Sweney (sic) (32) and Job Sweney (sic) (3), were living at 8, Repton Street, Limehouse

My mother always claimed that her father and grandmother, Eliza Louisa, had been living in Sidney Street at the time of the Siege of Sidney Street, or Battle of Stepney that took place in January 1911. It's not impossible, but I can find no records to support this. Eliza Louisa was well away from the area when Cable Street (where she was born) had it's own battle in 1936.

By the time of the census on 2 April 1911, the family were living at 102 Fore Street, in the City of London. They lived in a flat above the warehouse that came with the job, where Job Sweeney (41) was employed as Packer and Caretaker; Eliza Louisa Sweeney (41), Job Thomas Sweeney (13) and Amy Dobson (19) Domestic Servant, Friend (Amy Dobson b. 1892, was the sister of Ruth Christmas Dobson, wife of Job's brother Charles Sweeney.) 

In 1921, Job Sweeney (51) Packer, was still living and working at 102, Fore Street, City of London, for Hoffnung & Co Shipping Merchants; with wife, Eliza L Sweeney (52) and son, Job T Sweeney (23) Warehouseman, working for Wills & Co (W.D. & H.O. Wills) at their Holborn Viaduct factory (for whom he eventually worked for around 36 years.) (Calling herself Amy Margaret Dobson (29) Charwoman, in 1921 - no idea where the Margaret came from - living at 102, Hind Street, Poplar, this census tells us she was working for Messrs Hoffnung & Co Ltd at 102 Fore Street, City, E C.)

Job Sweeney died, on 6 December 1924, aged 54, of Tuberculosis. 

Eliza Louisa Sweeney (née Tompson)
with her granddaughter, Ivy. On a A Day
Out in Clacton-on-Sea in the 1930s
Eliza Louisa was still living at 102 Fore Street with her son Job and his wife, Elizabeth (Bet) and granddaughter, Ivy, in 1939 and remained there until their home was destroyed in WWII, thought to have been on or around the night of 29–30 Dec 1940, the so-called Second Great Fire of London.

Eliza Louisa Sweeney, otherwise Sweney (as it says on her death certificate), died on 13 Feb 1953, in Hornchurch, Essex, from coronary thrombosis, influenza, chronic bronchitis and old age. She was 84.

Wednesday 25 October 2023

Daniel Thompson and Mary Adcock

Pytchley Church
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ian Rob - geograph.org.uk/p/5413142

Daniel Thompson, son of Solomon Thompson Jnr and Maria Willis and Mary Adcock, daughter of Joseph Adcock and Sarah Cooka pair of my 3x great-grandparents, married, on 25 Oct 1832, at All Saints Church, Pytchley.

Daniel and Mary had five children:
  1. Sarah Elizabeth Thompson bap. 15 Dec 1833
  2. George Thompson bap. 15 Apr 1836 
  3. Benjamin Thompson bap. 3 Oct 1841
  4. Louisa Thompson bap. 15 Dec 1844
  5. Dan Thompson b. 12 Oct 1848, bap. 5 Nov 1848
Sarah and George were baptised in Broughton, while Benjamin, Louisa and Dan were all baptised at St Andrews of Cransley, Northamptonshire.

In 1841, Daniel Tompson (sic) (30), carpenter, was living in Cransley StreetBroughton, with his wife, Mary (30), daughter Sarah (8) and son George (5). Also staying with them were Maria Blackett (25), Dressmaker (Daniel's sister); Ann Ray (30); Emily Ray (1) and Sarah Hewitt (10).

In 1851, still at the same address, were Daniel (42) and Mary (41), Sarah (17) Dressmaker; George (14) Carpenter; Benjamin (9), Louisa (6) and Dan (2).

Daniel Thompson, Carpenter and Wheelwright, died, aged 45, on 15 Feb 1854 and was buried, on 19 Feb 1854, at St Andrew's Church, Broughton

His effects, under £100, were granted to his widow, Mary Tompson (sic), in 1861. That year, the widowed Mary was living in the household of her son George, at the same location, who appeared to have taken over the family business as a Carpenter employing 2 men and 1 boy, in Broughton. 

Then in 1871, Mary and younger daughter, Louisa, were staying with eldest daughter, Sarah and son-in-law, Daniel Botterill, in Deptford. 

Mary Thompson died, aged 69, and was buried, on 15 Oct 1879, at St Andrew's, Broughton.

Sunday 8 October 2023

Benjamin Thompson and Sarah Munn

Pytchley Church
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ian Rob - geograph.org.uk/p/5413142

The earliest of my Thompson ancestors in Northamptonshire I can confirm [so far] are a pair of 6th great-grandparents: Benjamin Thompson, who married Sarah Munn on 8 Oct 1744 at Pytchley, Northamptonshire. (Records show a baptism of a Benjamin Tompson (sic) b. 19 Jul 1714 on 21 Jul 1714 at St Andrew's Church, Cransley, son of Samuel & Mary Tompson.)

This couple had four children, all baptised at St Andrew's ChurchCransley:
  1. Solomon Thompson Sr bap. 25 Aug 1745
  2. Priscilla Thomson bap. 6 Mar 1748
  3. Sarah Thompson bap. 28 Apr 1751
  4. William Thompson bap. 24 Jun 1753
Records are not available for this couple's deaths or burials.

Tuesday 15 August 2023

Dan Tompson and Mary Ann Green

Junction of Cable Street and Watney Street, Shadwell
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Robin Stott - geograph.org.uk/p/6067988

Dan Thompson, one of my 2nd great-grandfathers, was born in Broughton, Northamptonshire on 12 Oct 1848 and baptised, on 5 Nov 1848, at St Andrew's Church, Cransley. His parents were Daniel Thompson and Mary Adcock. He ended up in Canada, but via a pretty indirect route:

In 1851, Dan (2) was with his parents, in Broughton. Following his father's death in 1854, by 1861, the 12 year old Dan was living in the household of his eldest brother, George Thompson (b. 1836), who appeared to have taken over the family carpentry business in Broughton, along with their widowed mother, Mary Thompson (née Adcock). Dan's brother Benjamin (19) was then living with their aunt and uncle, in St George in the East, Middlesex. So it's presumably as a result of this latter connection that Dan also went to London and it seems to be that when the brothers reach the East End they drop the aitch from Thompson. My mother always insisted it was Tompson.

On 15 Aug 1867, aged 19, Dan Tompson married Mary Ann Green (17), daughter of Edward Green and Eliza Goodman (landlords of the King and Queen public house in St George in the East), at the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, in Limehouse (bombed in 1940 and since demolished). Witnesses to their marriage were Robert Davis and Harriet Blundell (in 1861, Harriet, then around 12, had been a visitor in the household of Mary Ann's parents, so she may well have been family and was very possibly bridesmaid.)

Dan and Mary Ann had two children:
  1. Eliza Louisa Tompson b. 24 Aug 1868 at 299 Cable Street (1868 S Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 417)
  2. Dan Edward Green Tompson b. 12 Mar 1870 (1870 M Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 466). Died 1870 J Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 288.
Mary Ann Tompson, wife of Dan Tompson, Bricklayer (present at the death), died on 19 Mar 1870 at 363 Cable Street, St George in the East, after giving birth to their son. The causes listed on Mary Ann's death certificate state "Childbirth 7 days, Scarlet Fever 4 days, exhaustion". She was just 20.

In April 1871, the widowed Dan Tompson (22) was lodging in Cable Street, while his daughter Eliza Louisa (2) (listed as Thompson), was living with her widowed maternal grandmother, Eliza Green, then landlady at The King and Queen Public House in Tait Street, St George in the East (Wapping). 

On 4 June 1871, Dan Tompson (23) remarried to Sarah Jane Baker (19), daughter of Charles Hoile Baker and Amelia Young, at Christ Church, Watney Street, Stepney (four of the five Tompson siblings married in this church). Witnesses were Charles Richard Baker, Sarah Jane's brother; Amelia Baker, who was either her mother or sister and Louisa Tompson, Dan's sister.

Dan and Sarah Jane went on to have a further TWELVE children:
  1. Amelia Mary Tompson b. 1872 (died 1874, aged 1)
  2. Jessie Elizabeth Tompson b. 1874 (died 1876, aged 1)
  3. Sarah Sophia Tompson b. 9 Oct 1876
  4. Mabel Grace Tompson b. 6 Aug 1878
  5. Mary Adcock Tompson b. 1880 (died 2nd quarter of 1881)
  6. Dan Baker Tompson b. 1882 (died 1883)
  7. Charles Frederick Tompson b. 1884 (died 1887, aged 3)
  8. George Daniel Tompson b. 1885
  9. Ernest Wilberforce Tompson b. 1888 (died 1890, aged 1)
  10. Amelia Mary Tompson b. 14 Nov 1890
  11. Ellen Hoile Folville Tompson b. 22 May 1893
  12. Ivy Maud Tompson b. 23 Feb 1895
In 1881, Dan Tompson (32) and Sarah Jane Tompson (29) were living at 27 Watney Street, St George in the East, with Dan's daughter Eliza Louisa Tompson (12) - listed as Elizabeth L - Sarah Sophia Tompson (5), Mabel Grace Tompson (3) and Mary Adcock Tompson (0). (Living at the same address were Sarah Jane's younger sister, Sophia and her husband Charles Frederick Burden. Both couples followed similar naming patterns for their children, with Dan and Sarah Jane naming one son Charles Frederick, which suggests they were close. Burden went to Canada in 1900. Did this have a bearing on Dan and Sarah Jane's decision to emigrate in 1912?)

Mabel Grace (b. 1878), George Daniel (b. 1885) and Amelia Mary (b. 1890), were all baptised on Christmas Day 1890, in Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire.

In 1891, in High Street, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire were Dan Tompson (40) Bricklayer; Sarah Jane Tompson (39), Mabel G Tompson (12),  George D Tompson (5) and Amelia M Tompson (0). Eliza Louisa Tompson (22) 'Fancy box maker' was living with William and Ellen Burton, in Knapp Road, Bromley, Poplar, listed as their niece (Ellen Burton (née Baker) was Sarah Jane' sister). Sarah Sophia Tompson was visiting her aunt Mary Thompson, widow of her father's brother, Benjamin, at the Spotted Cow, Hither Green, Lewisham.

St Michael & All Angels,
Waddesdon - Font
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon
geograph.org.uk/p/3267102
Sarah Sophia, Ellen Hoile Folville (b. 1893 in Ashby Folville, Leicestershire and Ivy Maud (b. 1895) were also baptised, in Waddesdon, on 5 Jun 1895. The denomination on all of the baptisms is listed as Anglican, so I assume this was at the church of St Michael & All Angels, Waddesdon. In later documents, Dan lists himself as Wesleyan and there is a Wesleyan Chapel in Waddesdon High Street.

In 1901, Dan Tompson (52) and Sarah Jane Tompson (49), are listed as living in Gracious StreetWhittlesey, Cambridgeshire with George Daniel (15) Bricklayer; Amelia Mary (10), Ellen T H (7) and Ivy Maud (6), plus lodger, William Warren (61), described as 'Draper But Not In Occupation'. 

Dan's obituary details that, in 1904 he was elected to the Whittlesey Urban District Council and that "Mr Tompson came to Whittlesey in July 1896 and became landlord of the "King's Head" (now in residential use, see image) in, Gracious Street, which he kept until he left for Canada in 1911."


Gracious Street, Whittlesey (1897) A decorated house on Whittlesey’s Gracious Street during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria in 1897. Image Peterborough Images Archive

In 1911, Dan Tompson (63), Sarah Jane Tompson (60), Ellen Thoila Tolnilla Tompson (sic) (18), Ivy Maud Tompson (16) and William Charles Kritzer (7), Grandson, born "At Sea", were living at Lattersey Field, Whittlesey. Mabel Grace Tompson (29) was employed as a Lady's Maid in the household of Sir Philip Hickson Waterlow, 2nd Baronet (Waterlow and Sons); Amelia Tompson (23) from Waddeston, Bucks was a Domestic Servant in the employ of James Hainsworth Ismay (second son of Thomas Henry Ismay, founder of the White Star Line) at Iwerne Minster HouseIwerne Minster, Dorset.

R.M.S. Corsican Image: Eric Eggertson Some rights reserved

Family stories, at best, usually have a mere grain of truth in them, almost universally contain large measures of exaggeration and "self-aggrandisement" and sometimes, huge amounts of complete fiction. Researching family history, therefore, becomes an exercise in debunking the family myths. Some relatives are more prone to bigging themselves and their forebears up, so you learn to question (read completely disbelieve) their tales, so you could honestly have knocked me down with a feather when I found this one was mostly true.

My mother said that one of the Tompsons had gone to Canada and set up a business. The story wasn't without some exaggeration, as she did make it sound like they'd set up a massive corporation and given the impression that if one were to go to any place in that vast country and mention "Tompsons" everyone would instantly know the household name - when reality was a couple of self-employed brickies - but they do turn up in Canada.

To be fair, she will have got this story too from her grandmother, Eliza Louisa Sweeney (née Tompson), but my mother didn't seem to know who among the Tompsons had gone to Canada and the way the story came across is as if it was some distant relative, not Eliza Louisa's own father, Dan Tompson.

Son George Daniel Tompson, had travelled, initially to the US, in 1908, but on 6 Jul 1912, Dan Tompson (63), with daughters Amelia (21) and Ellen (19), embarked in London bound for Montreal on the R.M.S. Corinthian. They're listed on the passenger list under "The Salvation Army Pantel", with Dan's Profession, Occupation or Calling listed as "Farming" and of the girls, "Domestic". They travelled 3rd class, or Steerage.

Then separately, on 18 Oct 1912, wife Sarah Jane (listed as 36, was actually 61), youngest daughter, Ivy (17) and Willie Thompson (8) - this has to be the grandchild listed on the 1911 Census as William Charles Kritzer - embarked in Liverpool aboard the SS Corsican, also bound for Montreal.

House on the left 131 Morrison Avenue, Toronto, Canada

The family set up home in the Earlscourt neighbourhood in Toronto, settled in 1906 by labourers from the British Isles. Even in 1914 it still had a “shack town” reputation. This article about the area, which talks of a "Building Boom", indicates why the Tompsons went there, "The modest sized lots on empty fields appealed to those looking for affordable land, low taxes and lax building regulations." Reading between the lines, my belief is that the family acquired one of the plots and split it between father and son. George Daniel initially lived in the house on the right of the picture, 133 Morrison Avenue and Dan settled in the house on the left, 131 Morrison Avenue. Given they were bricklayers, there's a good chance they built the houses themselves.


In the 1913 Toronto City Directory, Dan Tompson is listed at 131 Morrison Avenue, Torontoas a bricklayer. In the 1917 directory, Dan is listed at 73 Ashburnham Rd, Toronto, with George at 131 Morrison Avenue, Toronto

On the 1921 Census of Canada, Dan (72), Sarah Jane (69), Amelia Mary (31), Ellen (29), Ivy Maud (27) and Willie Christie (18) - the grandson with the ever-changing surname - were all living at 131 Morrison Avenue, Toronto.

Dan Tompson died on Friday, 1 Aug 1924, at his home of 131 Morrison Avenue, Toronto. The record of his death says it was from "Senility", although his obituary contradicts that saying, "He was 77 years of age, but his vigour of mind made him appear younger." He was actually only 75. Dan was buried on 4 Aug 1924 at Prospect Cemetery, Section 17, Plot 509. (Plan

Grave of Dan Tompson at Prospect Cemetery in Toronto

August 23, 1924

DAN TOMPSON of WHITTLESEY
A Noted Builder's Death in Canada
Whittlesey Council Meetings of the Past

Old friends in the Whittlesey neighbourhood will learn with regret that Mr Daniel Tompson, formerly a well-known Whittlesey resident, of whom many will have lively and pleasing recollections, is dead.

The following is culled from the "Toronto Evening Telegram":- The Lloyd George of Earlscourt is dead. Dan Tompson he was to strangers, but Lloyd George to the hundreds of Earlscourt residents who saw a likeness to the British statesman in the shaggy crop of hair and the rugged, honest face - who watched him as he stood at rate payers' meetings denouncing some condition which he thought unjust - who heard his ejaculate "Shame!" at some big public gathering, when overpowering indignation forced a remark from him. Dan Tompson died on Friday at his home, 131 Morrison Avenue. He was 77 years of age, but his vigour of mind made him appear younger, and he rarely missed a meeting of his favourite organisation, the British Imperial Association. Born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, he lived over 30 years in London, and was nine years on the Whittlesey Urban Council. In 1912 he came to Toronto, and lived in Earlscourt for the last seven years. He was a member of the Church of England [?] And Royal Alexandra [?] No 2459. Surviving him are his widow, Mrs Sarah Jane Tompson; one son, George, 124 Hatherley Road; and six daughters, Mrs J Sweeney, Mrs J Christie and Mrs Mabel Martin, of England and Misses Amelia, Ellen and Ivy at home. He was always an outstanding figure at meetings. Head thrown back and blue eyes flashing, he could speak from his extensive experience on practically every subject which was under discussion.

The last paragraph of the above report is indeed a tribute to Mr Tompson's powers of expression and volubility.

His Whittlesey Associations

Mr Tompson came to Whittlesey in July 1896 and became landlord of the "King's Head" in, Gracious Street, which he kept until he left for Canada in 1911. Always original, and by no means hide-bound by convention, he combined the role of publican with that of a local preacher, truly a strange combination, and one not often seen nowadays. But "Dan" as he was intimately known to hundreds, could well sustain this dual role. There was one occasion when his dignity suffered a severe shock, and that was at Pond's Bridge. He had been invited over there in his capacity as a local preacher to take the service at the little chapel, which was given to the hamlet by Lord de Ramsey, and being unused to the pulpit, which was of [unreadable] design, he had no sooner got into it he tripped out!

By trade he was a builder and a very efficient and reliable contractor too. Among works undertaken by him was the building of the New Whittlesey Brick Company, now known as the Victory Brickworks, and he also assisted in the building of the Gildenburgh Brick Works, now known as the United Brick Company. An employer of labour, he was most generous and paid his men liberally. Inclined towards Liberalism in politics, and delivered many stirring orations in his advocacy of the cause. As will be realised by "Sub Rosa's" accompanying article, a meeting at which Mr Tompson was present was never dull and although Dan's electioneering motto - or shall we say, battle-cry - was "Actions speak louder than words", he was never a believer in the quiet subdued style of advocacy, but went "all out" with a force that told.

Besides the wider realm of national politics, local government attracted him, and in 1904 he was elected to the Whittlesey Urban District Council, fourteenth on the list of the eighteen successful candidates. Again in 1907 and 1910 he was returned, improving his position each time, and he retained his seat on the Council until he left for Canada in 1911. Arrived in the Dominion, he carried on his business as a builder.

His wife, who, as the Canadian report states, survives him, was a charming lady, and made a host of friends in Whittlesey.

Their daughters must have travelled back to the UK, because on 17 Sep 1926, Amelia Mary Thompson (35) and Ellen Hoile Thompson (32), embarked in Liverpool, bound for Montreal on the R.M.S. Regina. Interestingly, they gave their last address in the United Kingdom as c/o Mrs Sweeney, 102 Fore Street, London (my great-grandmother, their half-sister). 

Then on 19 Sep 1931, Ellen (38) and Ivy Maud (36) made the crossing from Liverpool to New York, in transit to Canada, on the R.M.S. Adriatic. They state that they are citizens of Canada. (Until 1947, settlers from Britain were considered citizens of Canada without needing to naturalize.)

The three Tompson girls then all appeared in the Toronto Centennial City Directory of 1934 at 131 Morrison Avenue, Toronto

Sarah Jane Tompson died on 4 Aug 1937 and was buried with her husband.

In 1939, the three daughters were back in the UK, living together at Way Homesteads, Broadway, Yaxley, Cambridgeshire. Amelia and Ellen were dressmakers, while Ivy was a School Teacher (Technical). Their brother George Daniel's father-in-in law, George Oldfield's parents were, George Oldfield and Mary Haddon and, in 1851, Mary was listed as having been born in Yaxley, then in Huntingdonshire. This may well explain why the three sisters were living in Yaxley after they returned to the UK from Canada.
 
None of these three sisters ever married and they returned to Whittlesey

On 12 Sep 1939, Probate was granted to Amelia Mary Tompson and Ivy Maud Tompson on the estates of both Dan Tompson and Sarah Jane Tompson. They left effects of £400 (worth around £26,000 today), hardly a fortune. 

Ellen died on 14 Jan 1976. She will have been 82. Amelia Mary Tompson of 81 Benwick Road, Whittlesey, died on 4 Mar 1986. She was 95. Ivy Maud Tompson of Keneydon House, 2 Delph Street, Whittlesey (a Residential Dementia care home) died on 12 Feb 1991, just eleven days before her 96th birthday. 

Wednesday 24 May 2023

Joseph Kritzer and Sarah Sophia Tompson

St Wilfrid's, Chelsea

Sarah Sophia Tompson, eldest surviving daughter of Dan Tompson and his second wife, Sarah Jane Baker married Joseph Kritzer, son of Wilhelm Kritzer and Flora Gleichaufon 24 May 1905 in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. 

Their daughter, Mary Amalie Kritzer was born on 21 Feb 1906, but she was not the couple's first child. On the census for the household of Sarah's parents, Dan and Sarah Jane Tompson, in 1911, there appeared a 'mystery' grandchild listed as William Charles Kritzer (7) (although his surname was originally mis-transcribed at Findmypast as Roizen, which added much to the confusion in tracking him down), who it says, was born in 1904 'At Sea'. 

The boy was born, actually in 1903, aboard the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II at Lat 40.45N/Long 56.52W, off the coast of North America. Launched at Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland), on 12 Aug 1902, the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II made regular trips between Germany and New York City. 

Baptised, William Karl Tompson, on 9 Dec 1903, at the church of St Matthew, Stepney, on the baptism record, his mother is listed just as Daisy (as she appears to have called herself), with their abode listed as 3 Monteagle Street, Stepney - which had been the address given by her half-sister (my great-grandmother), Eliza Louisa, at the time of her marriage to Job Sweeney some 10 years earlier. (Birth and baptism information was provided to me by Christine Miller of the wonderfully named, GIN AND GENEALOGY.)

In 1911, Joseph Kritzer (33), was butler to architect, Henry Louis Florence at 9 Prince's Gate, Knightsbridge, London. In that household also was a Rosina Christie employed as a housemaid. She was listed as single, but her year of birth agrees with that of Sarah Sophia - 1876 - born in Whitechapel. (Sarah Sophia's birth was registered in Mile End Old Town, which is next door, both in Stepney. Sarah Sophia is referred to as Mrs J Christie in her father's obituary, and both of Joseph and Sarah's children later use Christie as an Anglicized version of Kritzer.) Therefore, I'm inclined to believe this is Sarah using this assumed name to hide the fact that she was married to Joseph, which was more than likely verboten for servants. Sarah Sophia / Daisy Tompson / Kritzer / Christie isn't anywhere else in 1911.

At that same time, their daughter, Mary Amalia Kritzer (5) was listed as an 'Inmate' at St Wilfrid's Convent School in Cale Street, Chelsea.

On 18 Oct 1912, listed as Willie Thompson (8), their son sailed to Montreal from Liverpool aboard the SS Corsican with his grandmother, Sarah Jane, and his aunt Ivy. On the 1921 Census of Canada, Willie Christie (18) was living at 131 Morrison Avenue, Toronto, still with his grandparents. At Ancestry, there's a note on the 1921 entry suggesting he should be Critzer. 

In 1931, William Critzer (sic) (28) Sheet metal worker and wife Bertha Lilian Critzer (27) were Lodgers at 98 Nairn, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

As she had married a German, Sarah Sophia had become German and would have been subject to the restrictions of the Aliens Restriction Act 1914: As the law was at this time, British-born women who had married foreign nationals (who had not naturalised) acquired their husband’s nationality. Many British born women therefore found themselves to be enemy aliens during the war. Except in a very few cases women were not interned. [Source]

In 1921, listed as a Molly Kritzer (15), was an Inmate at St Edwards Residential College, Totteridge, Middlesex (St Edward's School for Roman Catholic Girls), along with her cousin, Flora Kritzer (15).

Joseph Kritzer is not listed in England in 1921. Nor is Sarah Sophia.

In 1939 'Daisy' S S Kritzer, Housekeeper, still listed as married, was living at 1 Pemry Villas, Elm Grove Road, Cobham, Surrey. Head of the household was her widowed sister, Mabel Grace Stedman and living with them was Daisy's niece, Mabel's daughter, Laura May Martin, born in 1920. Also in the household was a Gerald O Weston, a mechanic and lorry driver, born 1920, who may have been a lodger. Still no sign of Joseph. Sarah Sophia Kritzer, then of 2 Ashford Cottages, Tilt Road, Cobham, Surrey, again listed as wife of Joseph Kritzer, died, aged 68, on 20 Feb 1945. She left £595 13s (worth £25,849 in 2020) to her daughter, Mary Amelia Melhuish, married woman.

Other than those last records in 1939 and 1945 relating to Sarah alluding to Joseph Kritzer still being alive - where she's described as married and as his wife - there's no further sign of him in Britain and no trace of a record even of his death. Unlike his brother Karl, Joseph did not become naturalised British. Their sister, Amalia, will have escaped detention, being a woman. However, initial enquiries suggest that Joseph Kritzer (37) - as he would have been in 1914 - was interned at the Knockaloe Internment Camp Isle of Man during WWI. As "former enemy aliens were to be deported, unless granted a licence to remain", was he perhaps returned to Germany after the war? 

UPDATE: I've now received confirmation that Joseph Kritzer (37), was indeed interned at Knockaloe Internment Camp Isle of Man. "Joseph was interned as part of the mass internment of registered Enemy Alien men aged between 17 and 55 following the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915." 

Joseph’s Prisoner of War Information Bureau (POWIB) Index Card (available from the ICRC website), shows that he was interned on 31 Jul 1915. We still don't know when he was released or what happened to him later, although all the pointers seem to be towards him being repatriated to Germany. 

Their potential lie (albeit possibly necessary for their employment), hiding their marriage, in 1911, will have created the predicament that Joseph and Sarah will not have been able to demonstrate that they had lived together in a genuine relationship prior to the war. This may well have prevented Joseph from obtaining permission to return to the UK upon his release.

There are many questions that still need to be answered.

Thursday 27 October 2022

Harry Martin, Mabel Grace Tompson & Arthur Stedman

St Martin-in-the-Fields church, London
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Jeremy Bolwell - geograph.org.uk/p/6130198

Mabel Grace Tompson (b. 6 Aug 1878), daughter of Dan Tompson and Sarah Jane Baker, in 1911, was Lady's Maid in the household of Sir Philip Hickson Waterlow, 2nd Baronet, one of the Waterlow baronets, then Chairman of Waterlow and Sons, at 24 Carlton House Terrace, St Martin in the Fields, London. Listed as 29, she was actually in her 30s and presumably maid to Lady Waterlow, Sir Phillip's second wife, Laura Marie (née Jones).

Harry Martin (b. January 1883 in Westbourne, Emsworth, Hants, son of William Henry Martin and Mercy King, listed as 26 in 1911, was a Motor Car Driver, residing at The Stables, Trosley Towers Near Wrotham, Stansted, Kent. Sir Philip Hickson Waterlow had inherited the Trosley Towers (more images) estate from his father (part is now the Trosley Country Park), which confirms that Mabel and Harry both worked for the Waterlows.

Harry Martin and Mabel Grace Tompson married in the fourth quarter of 1913, in the district of London City. It would need a copy of the marriage certificate to find the actual date and venue. The couple had one daughter:
  1. Laura May Martin b. 27 May 1920, registered in Malling, Kent (J Quarter, Volume 02A Page 1800, with mother's maiden name THOMPSON), was baptised on 22 Jun 1920, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster.
That Mabel may have named her daughter after Lady Waterlow might indicate that there had been a particular friendship between employer and employee.

Harry Martin served as a Motor Driver & Mechanic during the First World War, having enlisted on 22 May 1916 at Whitehall, aged 31, in the Army Service Corps (M.T.) At that time he was 5 ft 9¼ in, weighed 140 lbs.

In 1921, Harry Martin (37) Motor Car and Electric Light Attendant; Mabel Grace Martin (40) and Laura May Martin (1) were living at Dairy Cottage, Fairseat, Nr Wrotham, Stansted, Kent.

Harry Martin died, at 37, on 20 December 1921 and was buried, on Christmas Eve, at Stansted (Saint Mary the Virgin) Churchyard (Kent). His military record states that he had developed valvular heart disease after suffering pneumonia - for which he was admitted to Stourbridge Military Hospital in 1919 - and gives his cause of death as "Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Mitral Stenosis." 

One cannot help noticing a great similarity in the style of Harry's grave site and that of the later grave of Sir Philip Hickson Waterlow (who died at Trosley Towers, Wrotham in 1931 and is also buried in Stansted Churchyard), which leads me to speculate that the Waterlows may have arranged their employee's burial. There is a note on the burial record, which says, "ex soldier died at Grosvenor Sanatorium, Kennington nr Ashford". It was used to treat Imperial soldiers & sailors suffering from tuberculosis during WW1.

In 1926, Mabel Grace Martin (47) remarried, to Arthur John Stedman (51) in Westminster, at the parish of St James, Piccadilly. Arthur John Stedman, bap. 7 Apr 1872 in Cobham, Surrey, was the son of John Stedman and Mary Ann (Marianne) Elvina Silvester (m. 1867 in Kingston, Surrey). Arthur's first wife, Harriet Jane Judge, who he married in Epsom, Surrey in 1909, had died on 18 Aug 1925 and is buried in Cobham Cemetery. Arthur John Stedman was a bricklayer, as was his father and as was Mabel's father, Dan Tompson.

Arthur John Stedman died on 5 July 1938, leaving his estate to Mabel Grace.

In 1939, Mabel Grace Stedman, widowed, housekeeper, was living at 1 Pemry Villas, Elm Grove Road, Cobham, Surrey, with daughter, Laura May Martin, Ladies Hairdresser; Gerald Owen Weston (mechanic and lorry driver) and Mabel's sister, Sarah Sophia, 'Daisy' S S Kritzer, housekeeper.

Mabel Grace Stedman, formerly Martin, née Tompson, died in the 1st quarter of 1967, in the district of Surrey North Western, in her 89th year.

Sunday 4 April 2021

Benjamin Thompson and Mary Ann Bottrell

The Spotted Cow (closed)
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Stephen Craven - geograph.org.uk/p/2331664

Benjamin Thompson, son of Daniel Thompson and Mary Adcock, married Mary Ann Bottrell, daughter of Stephen Bottrell and Mary Thompson, in 1866, at Christ Church, Watney StreetSt George in the East. Benjamin's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Thompson, had already married Mary Ann's brother, Daniel Botterill. Both sibling pairs, therefore, married their first cousins.

In 1861, Benjamin (19), bricklayer, had been living with his aunt and uncle, John and Maria Blackett, in St George in the East

By 1871, Benjamin Tompson (29) Master Builder and wife Mary were living at 299 Cable Street. (Benjamin's brother Dan and his wife Mary Ann Green were living at that same address two years later, when their first child, Eliza Louisa was born there.) One wonders if 299 was a boarding house?

Then in 1879, Benjamin Thompson was listed as the incoming licensee at the Victoria, 46 Three Colt street, Limehouse E14. He should be there at the time of the 1881 census. He was still there in 1882 and 1884. 


Records suggest that Benjamin and Mary had five children:
  1. Daniel Tompson born 1872
  2. Benjamin Adcock Tompson born 1874
  3. Sarah Tompson born 1879
  4. Thomas Tompson born 1883
  5. Mary Tompson born 1887
Benjamin Tompson died in 1890, aged 48. The probate record states, 5 February: The Will of Benjamin Tompson of the "Victoria" Tavern, Three Colt Street, Limehouse in the County of Middlesex, but late of the "Spotted Cow", Hither Green Lane, Lewisham in the County of Kent, Licenced Victualler, who died 6 February 1890 at the "Spotted Cow", was proved at the Principal Registry by Mary Tompson of the "Spotted Cow" Widow of the Relict and John Soppit of the "Railway" Tavern, Shortlands in the County of the Kent, Licensed Victualler the Executors. He left £1,140 17s 10d.

In 1891, Mary Tompson (46), widow, had become the Licenced Victualler of the Spotted Cow, Hither Green Lane, Lewisham. Living with her were her son, Daniel (19) Manager Public House; Benjamin (17), Cabinet Maker's Apprentice; daughter Mary (3); her niece Sarah Tompson (Dan Tompson's daughter), as well as a Sarah A Bunting (24), General Servant.

By 1901, Mary Tompson (55) was living at 44, Ringstead Road, Lewisham. With her were Benjamin Tompson (27), who had become an upholsterer; Thomas Tompson (17), Warehouseman; Mary Tompson (13), Sybil Thompson (2), granddaughter, and Ellen Guymer (20), General Domestic Servant.

Mary Tompson died, aged 58, in Lewisham, in 1903.

Saturday 23 January 2021

John Soppit: From Coal Mining to Pulling Pints and Emma Smith, Louisa Tompson and Marian Johnson

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

Two more pubs on the endless (that's not a complaint) family pub crawl ... 

Louisa Tompson, daughter of Daniel Thompson and Mary Adcock, married John Soppit, son of Joseph Soppit and Catherine Winship, who later became landlord of The Shortlands Tavern in Bromley. John Soppit had also been the licensee of the Princess Royal in Croydon, where he employed his nephew, John Benjamin Botterill, as his manager, but that was not his first marriage and his origins are very far and away from the pubs of South London: 

John Soppit 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, 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 early dates in the same year, must have been twins.
  1. Joseph William Soppit b. 1st quarter of 1871 in Guisborough, Yorkshire and baptised in Eston, Yorkshire on 17 Apr 1871. Buried, at St Nicholas Church, Hetton-le-Hole, on 27 Apr 1871.
  2. Catherine Emma Soppit, b. 1871, also baptised in Eston, Yorkshire on 17 Apr 1871. Buried on 30 April 1871, aged 2 weeks or months.
In 1871, John Soppitt (sic), now an 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.

But Emma Soppit (née Smith) died, aged 26, 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.

St Nicholas Church, Hetton-le-Hole, Graveyard
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Alexander P Kapp - geograph.org.uk/p/2443014

John Soppit then married Louisa Tompson at Christ Church, Watney Street, St George in the East, in the first quarter of 1875. They had another 6 children.
  1. Catherine Sarah Winship Soppit b. 4 Apr 1876 in Greenwich
  2. Joseph Daniel Soppit, b. 23 Sep 1877 in Greenwich
  3. John Benjamin Soppit, b. 1880 in Greenwich (died in the same quarter)
  4. John Winship Soppit b. 1 Mar 1882 in Greenwich, bap. 10 Jun 1883 at Christ Church, Watney Street [Source]
  5. Benjamin Tompson Soppit b. 13 Nov 1884, bap. 1 Mar 1885 at St Mary, Shortlands, Kent
  6. Louisa Adcock Soppit b. 26 Oct 1887 in Bromley, Kent
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's daughter, Mary, died, aged 24, in 1891, in Bromley, Kent. Then confirmed in the Kent 1891 Public House Directory Listings, by the time of the 1891 Census on 5 Apr, the family were living at The Shortlands TavernStation Road, Beckenham, Bromley. Living with John Soppett (sic) were wife Louisa (46), sons John Winship (9), Benjamin Thompson (6), daughter Louisa Adcock (3) and John Thompson (25), nephew, barman. 

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. 
20, Honley Road, Catford, Lewisham

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. 

Louisa Soppit (née Tompson) died, aged 57, in the 3rd quarter of 1902. 

Then on 27 Jul 1903, John Soppit married for the 3rd time to Marian Johnson in Bermondsey, in the district of St Olave, Southwark. And in 1911, John Soppit (66), Retired Licenced Victualler, was still living at 20, Honley Road, with new wife Marian (46), son Benjamin (26) and daughter, 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 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, in 1943, in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Thursday 17 December 2020

A Day Out in Clacton-on-Sea in the 1930s

Eliza Louisa Sweeney with her granddaughter, Ivy. Edited with ImageColorizer

The internet isn't just useful for looking up dry-and-dusty old genealogy records, there is so much more to discover. Take this for example. Among lots of family photos I inherited from my mother and hers before her was one of my mother and her grandmother, Eliza Louisa Sweeney (née Tompson), taken in the 1930s (my mother was 15 in 1939, so I estimate this is close to then). Only because there was a distinctive looking window on a building that looked like a church in the background behind them, it peaked my interest and I thought I would try to find out where the photo had been taken.

At that time, my mother, her parents and grandmother, still lived in the City of London, in Fore Street. It didn't look like anywhere I knew around there, but then it got a bit altered in the interim. I'd also tried the facility to Search with an image on Google, but it just told me it was a snapshot. Duh! 

Eventually, I asked the The East of London Family History Society Group for help, but whilst they weren't able to answer, members made many useful suggestions that led to more searches ... that finally turned up images of the Trinity Methodist Church, Clacton-on-Sea, which perfectly fit the round window, as well as other elements of the architecture. As confirmation, they sent me a link to this map of Clacton (Revision of 1939), which shows the position of the post box (marked L.B.) that you can see behind them. 

Trinity Methodist Church, Clacton-on-Sea
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © JThomas - geograph.org.uk/p/2944160


So, from this, we can deduce that, since this church is in the background, then they must be walking down Pier Avenue (shown here in c. 1925), in the direction of the sea front and pier and, as they lived in the East End, they can only have been on a day trip (no, I don't suppose they were flush enough for a whole holiday!) to Clacton-on-Sea. I'd wondered what they were up to that was special enough - in those pre-selfie days - for a photo. Now I know.

Mind you, "... if you stood where they were walking now you'd get mown down by the traffic, those trees, hedges and post box long gone too."

Sunday 6 December 2020

Daniel Botterill and Sarah Elizabeth Thompson

The "skull & crossbones" entrance to St. Nicholas' Church, Deptford Green Photo © Mike Quinn (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Daniel Botterill (bap. 20 Dec 1831), son of Stephen Botterill and Mary Thompson, married Sarah Elizabeth Thompson (bap. 15 Dec 1833), daughter of Daniel Thompson and Mary Adcock, at Christ Church Watney Street, St George in the East in 1856. Mary Botterill (née Thompson) - Daniel Botterill's mother - was the elder sister of Daniel Thompson - Sarah Elizabeth Thompson's father. Daniel and Sarah were, therefore, 1st Cousins.

Daniel and Sarah had five children: 
  1. Dan Stephen Thompson Botterill, born 1857, baptised at West Haddon, Northamptonshire on 13 Sep 1857. Birth registered in Greenwich. 
  2. Benjamin Adcock Botterill was also baptised at West Haddon, on 6 May 1861. (Died in the 2nd quarter of 1862, aged 1.)
  3. John Benjamin Botterill (b. 25 Aug 1864) was baptised on 27 Jan 1867 at Saint Nicholas, Deptford.
  4. Elizabeth Cox Botterill (b. 1867) was also baptised on 27 Jan 1867 at Saint Nicholas, Deptford. (She died in 1871, aged 4 years.)
  5. Mary Louisa Adcock Botterill (b. 19 Apr 1870) was baptised at Saint Nicholas, Deptford on 8 May 1870. (Died 1947, see below.)
In 1841, Daniel Botterill (10) was living with his parents in West Haddon, Northamptonshire, with his father, Stephen, then listed as a Publican.

Flagon Row 1880
In 1861, Daniel was living at 3, Wellington Street (formerly Flagon Row), St Nicholas, Deptford, listed as a "Boiler Maker Tobaconist" - between a Butcher and a Shoe Shop on one side and a Baker, a Greengrocer, a Chemist and a Clothes Dealer on the other. Emma Thompson (16) was listed as a Servant in his household, while his wife, Sarah, was visiting her brother George and their widowed mother, in Northamptonshire, along with sons Daniel (4) and Benjamin (0).

A report in The Era of 17 Nov 1867 lists the transfer of the licence for The White Hart, Deptford Green to Daniel Botterill. Situated at 33 Deptford Green, the pub closed c.1896 and has now been demolished. We find Daniel and Sarah Botterill there in 1869 and again on the 1871 census, where Daniel Botterill (39) is listed as a Licensed Victualler and living with him are his wife, Sarah E (37), sons; Daniel Stephen (14) and John (6), daughters; Elizabeth (4) and Mary (0), as well as Sarah's sister, Louisa Thompson (26), listed as "Barmaid" and Sarah's widowed mother, Mary Thompson (61). 

(1) Houses In Old Flagon Row, North Side (2) Corner of Flagon Row (3) Deptford Green c.1897

In 1874, D Botterill was listed as the licencee of The Old Centurion Pub on Deptford Broadway. Given the two following reports in the newspapers of the time, it would seem that this was probably a pretty rough establishment. 
Kentish Mercury 9 May 1874
STEALING A DRINKING GLASS
Jane Bartlett, about 70 years of age, a hawker, residing in Hales Street, Deptford, was charged with stealing a drinking glass, value 6½d., the property of Daniel Botterill, landlord of The Centurion, public house, Deptford Broadway. It appeared from the evidence of the barman that the prisoner came into the house on the previous evening, and remained there some time drinking with a navvy. After he had gone witness saw the prisoner place the glass under her arm, and upon speaking to her about it she dropped it. The prisoner, who denied any intention of stealing the glass, was sent to Maidstone gaol for seven days.

Kentish Mercury 6 Mar 1875
KICKING A LICENSED VICTUALLER
James Chapman, of Wood's lodging-house, Mill Lane, Deptford, was charged with being drunk, and assaulting the landlord of the Centurion public house, Deptford Broadway. Daniel Botterill, the landlord, said the prisoner came into his house on Saturday night and annoyed the customers. He was ejected, but got in again, and commenced another row. Witness put him outside, when the prisoner ran at him, and kicked him several times. Mr. Patterson sentenced the prisoner to 14 days' hard labour, refusing his application for the imposition of a fine. 

The Old Centurion Pub closed in 2004 and was converted into flats. 

(Top left) The White Hart, Deptford Green, (Top right) The Old Centurion Pub on Deptford Boadway, (Bottom left) Clock House, Leather Lane, (Bottom right) Holly Tree Arms, Lewisham

On the 1881 census and in 1882, Daniel Botterill was listed as landlord of the Clock House (formerly Coach & Horses), in Leather Lane, Holborn. Sarah's sister, Louisa, who married John Soppit in 1875, was living there, but Sarah was not on census day. Instead, she was lodging in the household of John Snell, a Lodging House Keeper, in Torquay in Devon. The transcription of that record describes her as "Sister to wife". That doesn't make sense and I believe the original actually says "Licensed Victualler's Wife" which is what she was. Was this a relative, a business contact, a holiday or perhaps a health break?

By 1891, the Botterills were back south of the river at the Holly Tree Arms, then in Holly Tree Terrace, between Hither Green and Lewisham. Staying there at that time were Daniel (59), Licensed Victualler, wife Sarah E (57), daughter Mary L (20), grandson John (11), granddaughter Alice (6), Alice J Pretty (28) Domestic Servant General, niece Catherine S Soppett (15), Edmund Allen (16) Pot Boy and Catherine Hancock (59) Laundress. 

A report in the Woolwich Gazette on 16 Feb 1894, showed Daniel Botterill as the outgoing licensee in the transfer of the licence of the Holly Tree.

Given they only seem to stay in one place for a couple of years at a time, there may well be even more pubs in the years between these various records. 

In 1901, Sarah, 'Wife of occupier (away)', is living at 49, Wisteria Road, Lewisham along with daughter Mary L A (30) a Teacher of Dressmaking and grandson John (21) a Sign Writer, while Daniel Botterill (69), "Living on own means", was away in the household of his son, John Benjamin Botterill, in Croydon, where Daniel was listed as a 'Widower'. Clearly he wasn't. 

Daniel Botterill died, aged 76, on 12 Feb 1908. 

Sarah died just a month later, on 11 Mar 1908, aged 74. The probate record shows that she left £2449 1s 3d (almost £300,000 today) to her three children. 

In 1911, Mary L A Botterill (40) was living at 49 Wisteria Road, Lewisham. Living with her was her nephew, John Botterill (31) Sign Writer.

In 1921, Mary L A Botterill was living at 69 Old Road, Lee, Lewisham. Her nephew, John Botterill (41) Sign Writer was still living with her, as well as an Evelyn L R Wadsworth (54) Working Companion, Boarder.

In 1939, and still living at 69 Old Road, Lee, Lewisham, were Mary L A Botterill and with her this time, Lucy E N Wadsworth (b. 1 Apr 1917). 

If you were looking for a happy ending to this story, sadly you aren't going to find it here. The Probate record for Mary Louisa Adcock Botterill, who had obviously never married, shows that at the time of her death on 4 Feb 1947, she was a resident at Leavesden Hospital (The Imbeciles Asylum). Leavesden Hospital was a mental health facility, which was called Leavesden Asylum for Idiots and Imbeciles when it opened. Mary Louisa Adcock Botterill was buried, on 11 Feb 1947, along with her parents and bother.