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 (b. 12 Oct 1848 in Broughton, Northamptonshire), son of Daniel Thompson and Mary Adcock, at 19, married married Mary Ann Green (b. 3 Jul 1849 in Bethnal Green), 18, daughter of Edward Green and Eliza Goodman, at the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Limehouse (bombed in 1940 and since demolished) on 15 Aug 1867. Witnesses to their marriage were Robert Davis and Harriet Blundell (in 1861, Harriet, then 12, had been a visitor in the household of Mary Ann's parents, so may have been family.)

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.

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.

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 D Qtr in STEPNEY Vol 01C Page 473 (Died, aged 1, in 1874 M Qtr in MILE END OLD TOWN Vol 01C 399)
2. Jessie Elizabeth Tompson b. 1874 D Quarter in MILE END OLD TOWN Vol 01C Page 597 (Died, aged 1, in 1876 M Qtr in Vol 01C Page 433)
3. Sarah Sophia Tompson b. 9 Oct 1876 (1876 D Quarter in MILE END OLD TOWN Volume 01C Page 523), bap. 5 Jun 1895 in Waddesdon
4. Mabel Grace Tompson b. 6 Aug 1878 (1878 S Quarter in STEPNEY Volume 01C Page 443), bap. 25 Dec 1890 in Waddesdon
5. Mary Adcock Tompson b. 1880 S Quarter in ST GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 371 (Died, aged 1, in 1881 J Quarter in ST GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 280)
6. Dan Baker Tompson b. 1882 D Quarter in ST: GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 385 (Died 1883 J Quarter in ST GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 274)
7. Charles Frederick Tompson b. 1884 M Quarter in ST GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 409 (Died, aged 3, in 1887 M Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 451)
8. George Daniel Tompson b. 1885 S Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 349, bap. 25 Dec 1890 in Waddesdon
9. Ernest Wilberforce Tompson b. 1888 D Qtr in POPLAR Vol 01C Page 641 (Died, aged 1, in 1890 J Qtr in WEST HAM Vol 04A Page 81)
10. Amelia Mary Tompson b. 14 Nov 1890 (1890 D Quarter in AYLESBURY Volume 03A Page 648), bap. 25 Dec 1890 in Waddesdon
11. Ellen Hoile Folville Tompson b. 22 May 1893 (1893 S Quarter in MELTON MOWBRAY Volume 07A Page 323), bap. 5 Jun 1895 in Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire
12. Ivy Maud Tompson b. 23 Feb 1895 (1895 J Quarter in AYLESBURY Volume 03A Page 761), bap. 5 Jun 1895 in Waddesdon

The mother's maiden name on all of these birth registrations is BAKER.

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?)

On 4 Oct 1886 Mabel Grace and on 1 Nov 1886 Sarah Sophia, daughters of Dan Tompson of 106 High Street, were enrolled at Bow High Street School (Closed in 1932). This record provides their actual birth dates.

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), were listed as living in Gracious Street, Whittlesey, 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 Hoile Folville Tompson (18), Ivy Maud Tompson (16) and William Charles Kritzer (7), Grandson, were living at Lattersey Field, Whittlesey; Mabel Grace Tompson was a Lady's Maid in the household of Sir Philip Hickson Waterlow, 2nd Baronet (Waterlow and Sons) in Carlton House Terrace; Amelia Tompson (23) from Waddeston, Bucks was a Domestic Servant in the employ of James Hainsworth Ismay (son of Thomas Henry Ismay, founder of the White Star Line) at Iwerne Minster House, Iwerne 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.

Dan's 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), had embarked in London bound for Montreal on the R.M.S. Corinthian. Curiously, 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 as "Domestic". They had all travelled 3rd class, or Steerage. Then separately, on 18 Oct 1912, wife Sarah Jane (listed as 36, although she 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, Toronto, as 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 3 Aug 1924 at Prospect Cemetery, Toronto, 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).

On the 1931 Canada Census, Sarah Jane Tompson (81) widowed, arrival date 1912, was still listed at 131 Morrison Avenue, Toronto with Amelia Mary Tompson (41), Ellen Hoile Tompson (38) and Ivy Maude Tompson (36).

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 stated they were 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 spinster 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 in Yaxley after they returned to the UK from Canada. None of these three sisters ever married and they then 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. 

Ellen Hoile Tompson, Amelia Mary Tompson and Ivy Maud Tompson are buried in Whittlesey Cemetery.

William Henry Bridle and Emma Lucas

Interior of St Thomas a Becket's Church, Thorverton, Devon
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Derek Voller - geograph.org.uk/p/4038111

William Henry Bridle (b. 1844 in Rockbeare, Devon), son of Thomas Parsons Bridle and Elizabeth Wills, married Emma Lucas (bap. 2 Sep 1849 in Thorverton, Devon), daughter of William Lucas and Eliza Bamsey, at St Thomas a Becket's Church, Thorverton, on 14 Aug 1870. 

They had five sons:

1. William Bridle b. 1871 M Quarter in SAINT THOMAS Volume 05B Page 71 in Brampford Speke
2. James Bridle b. 1873 M Quarter in CREDITON Volume 05B Page 427. Died 1873 J Quarter in CREDITON Volume 05B Page 285
3. Mark Bridle b. 9 Jan 1876 (1876 M Quarter in CREDITON Volume 05B Page 428) in Newton St Cyres
4. John Lucas Bridle b. 11 Jun 1879 (1879 S Quarter in CREDITON Volume 05B Page 411) in Newton St Cyres
5. Harry Bridle b. 7 Aug 1887 (1887 S Quarter in SAINT THOMAS Volume 05B Page 57) in Stoke Canon

In 1871, Henry Bridle (26), Agricultural Labourer, Emma Bridle (21) and William Bridle (1) were living at Pound Cottage, Brampford Speke. 

In 1881, in Lilly Road, Newton St Cyres, were Henry Bridle (36) Railway Labourer; Emma Bridle (31), William (10), Mark (5) and John (1).

In 1891, at Barrow Cottages, 4, Barrow Road, Rewe, Stoke Canon, were William Henry Bridle (45) Agricultural Labourer; Emma Bridle (40), with Mark Bridle (14), John L Bridle (11) and Harry Bridle (3). William Bridle (20), Horse Driver, was a boarder in a household in Westexe South, Tiverton.

In 1901, at Hill Cottages, Netherene Village, Nether Exe (24 households in 1086), were Henry Bridle (56), Emma Bridle (51), and Harry Bridle (13). 

In 1911, in Stoke Canon, William Henry Bridle (66), Farm Labourer, and his wife, Emma Bridle (62), were living in the household of their son Mark Bridle and his wife, Maud Lucy Medcalf (who he married in St Pancras, London in 1905); with Harry Bridle (3) Nephew (son of Harry Bridle and Adeline Martha Coome) and Elizabeth Deroney (72), Boarder. 

In 1921, William H Bridle (76) described as 'Blind Retired' and Emma Bridle (71) were still living in Stoke Canon, Devon.

[William] Henry Bridle died, aged 84, on 22 Dec 1928 (1928 D Qtr in EXETER Vol 05B 114) and is buried at St Mary Magdalene, Stoke Canon. 

Emma Bridle died, aged 88, on 21 Jul 1937 (1937 S Quarter in EXETER Vol 05B Page 73) and was buried at St Mary Magdalene, Stoke Canon.

Victoria Street, Exeter
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Derek Harper - geograph.org.uk/p/293678

Mark Bridle (b. 9 Jan 1876), son of Henry Bridle and Emma Lucas, married Maud Lucy Medcalf (b. 20 Mar 1882 in Peckham, London), daughter of Arthur Charles Medcalf and Eliza Dale, in St Pancras, London, in 1905. Wonder how they met? Maud's father was from Ballingdon, then in Essex (now a suburb of Sudbury in Suffolk) and her mother from Kensington. 

In 1911, Mark Bridle (35) Blacksmith, Maud Lucy (29); Mark's parents, William Henry (66), Emma (62); nephew, Harry (3) and Elizabeth Deroney (72), were living in Stoke Canon, Devon. Could it be that they also moved away from Stoke Canon as a consequence of the strike at the paper mill, in which his brother John had been caught up in, in 1915?

Their only child, Arthur Albert Mark Bridle, was born on 18 Mar 1917.

In 1921, Mark Bridle (46) Motor Driver; Maud Lucy Bridle (38) and Arthur Albert Mark Bridle (5), were living at 68 Victoria Street, Exeter, Devon.

In 1939, Mark Bridle, Chauffer / Gardener, wife Maud Lucy and son Arthur Albert Mark Bridle, Electrician, were still at 68 Victoria Street, Exeter. 

Maud Lucy Bridle died in Exeter, in 1957, aged 75. 

Mark Bridle of 49 West Grove Road, Exeter died on 25 Feb 1958, aged 82, at 200 Woodwater Lane, Exeter, leaving his effects to Arthur Albert Mark Bridle.

Arthur Albert Mark Bridle died on 19 Jun 2005, also in Exeter.

Stoke Canon Post Office & Stores
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Bill Boaden - geograph.org.uk/p/4054054

John Lucas Bridle (b. 11 Jun 1879), son of Henry Bridle and Emma Lucas, married Alice Brewer, in Exeter in early 1899. Alice, born in Newton St Cyres, on 29 Jul 1881 and baptised there on 2 Oct 1881, was the daughter of Thomas Brewer from Morchard Bishop and Sarah Heywood.

John and Alice had five children:

1. Emma Bridle b. 29 Apr 1899, bap. 18 Jun 1899 in Stoke Canon
2. Frances Annie Bridle b. 12 Dec 1900, bap. 6 Feb 1901 in Stoke Canon
3. William Henry Bridle b. 1902 (Died aged 2, and was buried on 14 Apr 1904 in Stoke Canon. Curiously, the burial record specifies that the child was "unbaptised" and that "Burial Service not used".)
4. George Henry Bridle b. 6 Jan 1906, bap. 18 Mar 1906 in Stoke Canon
5. Frederick John Bridle b. 18 Dec 1912, bap. 22 Feb 1913 in Stoke Canon

All of the children's baptisms list John as a Paper Maker.

In 1901, John Lucas Bridle (21) Paper mill labourer, Alice (19), Emma (1) and Frances Anne (0) were living at Channings Court, Stoke Canon.

And in 1911, in The Square, Stoke Canon, were John Bridle (30) Paper millhand, Alice (30) Paper sorter, Emma (12), Annie (11) and George (5). 

In 1915 the village of Stoke Canon, just north of Exeter, was the centre of a bitter strike. [...] Workers were in dispute over a pay claim and recognition of the National Union of Printing and Paper Workers. Charles Tremlett, Managing Director of the Stoke Canon Paper Mill, responded by sacking the workers and evicting them from their tied cottages. With nowhere else to go, the union bought the families tents and they were forced to camp in a local field. The strikers won widespread support from around the area. The village schoolteachers took up the cause and funds were raised to support them.

Among the strikers (pictured here) were John Bridle and family, who lived at The Square. They must have moved on, as there's a note on George Henry's school record, dated 15 Oct 1915, which says "Left the Place".

In 1921, John Lucas Bridle (42) Paper Maker at Smith Stone & Knight Avon Side Paper Works, Bristol, was living at 117, Philip Street, Bristol, Gloucestershire with Alice Bridle (40), George Henry Bridle (15) General Factory Hand at Smith Stone & Knight and Frederick John Bridle (8), 

In 1939, John Bridle, Incapacitated and Alice, were at 17 Philip Street, Bristol.

John Lucas Bridle died in 1956, aged 77; Alice Bridle died in 1964, aged 83. 

Medjez-El-Bab Memorial Verity Cridland, CC BY 2.0

Frederick John Bridle, youngest child of John Lucas Bridle and Alice Brewer, married Florence Melita Louisa Coleman, in Bristol, in 1934. 

They had a daughter in 1935. And in 1939, we find them in Wells Road [Totterdown], Bristol, with Frederick working as a "Labourer Arp Shelters". 

Frederick John Bridle (30), Driver, Royal Army Service Corps, son of  J. and Alice Bridle; husband of Florence Melitia Bridle, of Totterdown, Bristol, died on 9 Feb 1943. He is buried at Medjez-El-Bab War Cemetery, Plot 15. G. 7., near Majaz al Bab, Tunisia. (Tunisia was the scene of Operation Torch (8 Nov 1942 – 13 May 1943), the Allied invasion of North Africa. CWGC Commonwealth War Graves in Béja & Medjez-el-Bab, Tunisia, North Africa.)

Frederick's widow, Florence M L Bridle, died in 1988, at 78, in Bristol.

Solomon Thompson and Ann Turner

Old Bethnal Green Road
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Stephen McKay - geograph.org.uk/p/1332206

Solomon Thompson (48) widower, builder, son of Solomon Thompson Jnr and Maria Willis, married Ann Burr (39), widow, on 14 Aug 1871, at St Jude's Church (Old Bethnal Green Road), Bethnal Green. Both gave their address as 8 Hare Street, Bethnal Green. Ann listed her father as William Turner, Paper Maker, which I have yet to confirm. Likewise, I've been unable to find the previous marriage of an Ann Turner to anyone named Burr, anywhere.

In 1851, Solomon Thompson (28) Carpenter, from Northamptonshire, alone, but listed as married, had been a Lodger in Mile End Old Town, Stepney.

In 1861, Solomon Thompson (37) Joiner, from Northamptonshire along with wife Jane (28) birthplace Clifton, Cumberland, were living in Seabright Street, Bethnal Green. Also in 1861, Henry M Thompson (10), Sugar Maker, Nephew, born in Stepney, was in the household of John and Maria Blackett (Maria was Solomon's sister). By elimination, I think it most likely he was the son of Solomon and Jane, but I can find no birth record to confirm this.

The only marriage I have been able to find between a Solomon Thompson and a Jane was that with Jane Coates, in Bethnal Green on 6 Jun 1842. IF that is the correct marriage, Jane would have to have been older than the 28 alleged in 1861. Solomon Thompson's father was listed as Thomas, which would not be correct either. [Yet to see original certificate for further clues - available at Ancestry]. One assumes Jane Thompson died between 1861 and 1871, but once again it hasn't been possible to pinpoint a relevant death.

There was an Albert Edward Thompson born in 1872 M Quarter in BETHNAL GREEN Volume 01C  Page 334, with his mother's maiden name as Turner, but I've found nothing that would corroborate this as a child Solomon & Ann.

It appears that Solomon Thompson died, aged 49, in 1872 S Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 310.

Sadly, too many people named Ann Thompson to follow her forward.

John Green and Mary Pritzler

Photo © Peter Trimming (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Chelsea Old Church, Wednesday, 19 March, 2025

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

John Green (bap. 8 Mar 1730 at Chelsea Old Church) son of William and Sarah Green, married Mary Pritzler (b. 15 Oct 1738, bap. 5 Nov 1738 at St John's Church, Wapping), daughter of Christian Pritzler, Sugar Baker, and Mary Woodard, at Chelsea Old Church, a.k.a. All Saints on 13 Aug 1760.

Jonathan Green, in his history of George Green, dated November 2018, has fallen into the trap laid by various inaccurate transcripts of these records, which claim the event: baptism, marriage or burial took place at St Luke's, Chelsea, which is impossible as that church was not built until 1824.

John Green's father, William Green, was listed as an Overseer of the Poor of Chelsea and the owner of the Lotts Brewery of Chelsea. There is even the well-known Lots Road in Chelsea, but there is surprisingly zero history online regarding this. The only possible mention I've seen is, "By 1729 William Green of Fulham, brewer, had built a brewhouse and other buildings on 2 acres which lay on the south side of King's Road at Stanley Bridge." [Source] Again from Jonathan Green's history, "The Greens had been longstanding brewers in Chelsea and Westminster. In 1682 George’s great-grandfather, John, had sold a ten acre meadow beside the river for £550 to the Commissioners of the Royal Hospital to form the riverside area of the Royal Hospital site."

As far as I can tell, the following children could belong to this couple:

1. William Green bap. 8 Aug 1761, buried 1 Sep 1761 in Chelsea
2. Maria Susanna Green bap. 23 May 1763, buried 12 Jul 1763 in Chelsea
3. John Green bap. 29 Oct 1764 in Chelsea, purported to have died in 1786 "At Sea", Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia (not seen primary source)
4. Ann Green bap. 1 Apr 1766 in Chelsea
5. George Green said to be b. 2 Nov 1767, the bap. 9 Dec 1767 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, thus appears to relate
6. Mary Green bap. 11 Apr 1769 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire
7. Charlotte Green bap. 18 Nov 1770 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire
8. Susannah Green bap. 3 Jan 1772 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire

All of the above are listed as the children of John and Mary Green.

Johnathan Green says that, "Of their six children, four died young, leaving George and his younger sister Mary, born in 1769." It hasn't been possible to work out what happened to Ann, although it is claimed here she was buried in Liverpool in 1776, but died in 1792. My feeling is that she would certainly have expired a lot sooner, incarcerated in a coffin, with presumably no food and water for 16 years, but what do I know? There is a chance that Charlotte and Susannah don't belong, or maybe also died as infants, but I'd rather include them as possible. In the case of Susannah, there's additional reason to do so, I feel, because John Green had an elder sister named Susanna.

That George Green was born in Cheshunt, is stated in the Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard (PDF) by Henry Green and Robert Wigram, published in 1881. Although over 100 years after the event, we have to trust was likely to have been based on fact. The family could have had a 'country seat' in Cheshunt, but I find it curious that there appears no mention nor evidence of such. 

Obviously (?) it's Mary Green b. 1769 who is thought to have beeb the second wife of John Perry, said to have married 'Green's sister' and she's exactly the right age, but I still call that into doubt, because the Mary who married John Perry was a widow, therefore Green was her previous married name, not her maiden name. My theory is that she was more likely the widow of John Green b. 1764, who, as a sister-in-law, would have been considered a sister. While I cannot prove or disprove it (I was hoping to find clues from this research, but just found more inconsistencies), I shall probably die on this hill.

Elsewhere, it is claimed that it was Maria Susanna Green who married John Perry. Quite apart from having been dead from around the age of 2 months, was, while baptised in 1763, supposedly not born until 1771. They managed to notice that the person was a widow upon marriage, but clearly without coming to the realisation that would mean she wasn't born Green.

There is one tree claiming that Mary Green, the daughter of John Green and Mary Pritzler, died as an infant of one year old, which fact would help support my theory. However, the claimed burial, for which they offer no source and I cannot find one either, in Nov 1770, is purportedly in Wing, Buckinghamshire, some ~45 miles from Cheshunt, which seems incredibly unlikely. 

When did John Green die? There seem to be as many people claiming he died in 1772 as there are suggesting it was 1776. There's no burial record in Cheshunt in 1772. There IS a burial, once more claimed to be at the as-yet-then-not-built St Luke's (therefore, must be at Chelsea Old Church) of a John Green on 29 May 1772. Bingo? Not so fast. There is a page for the burial claiming it to be of John Green, son of William and father of George Green, at Findagrave that still claims the burial is at St Luke's, so I'm not surprised that the photo request hasn't been fulfilled and am certain that the page was created, not from an actual grave, but from the burial record above. So, I had a look at the original burial record. Yes, it is the burial of a John Green. It even sounds like a 'quite important' position (as befits such a 'famous' brewer of the parish), as it details, "Head 21 feet from the back of the Vestry. Side 12 feet from North wall of the Church." There's just one problem. The church official has been very kind to put ages in brackets after the names on the page. It's round years for adults and a number and 'm' for infants. This burial is for an infant, because alongside in brackets, is (11m) for months. 

(Not to mention that the aforesaid burial page links to another, which claims that John Green's father, William Green, died at the age of two. Really?)

Elsewhere, a burial on 2 Apr 1772, in Prestbury, Cheshire is cited. Full marks for that being the burial of John Green whose father is listed as William Green. But ignoring that the same page claims he died in Cheshunt, in 1776, and the unlikely location of this burial, if a deceased's father is listed on a burial, it can be guaranteed that this again is the burial of an infant.

Despite copious digging (pun intended) I can find no convincing burial for our John Green in either Chelsea, or Cheshunt, neither in 1772, nor 1776. There also exists the possibility that he was buried in or near Westminster. Or Timbuktu for that matter. Wherever and whenever, there are just too many people named John Green to nail it down with absolute certainty.

There is a Will and Probate for a John Green in 1772. It begins, "This is the last Will and Testament of John Green of West Smithfield City of London (You might call that far west in the City 'Westminster' if you wanted to be posh.) Brewer (I will admit that the word 'Brewer' is indistinct, but the word seems to be the same shape as on documents pertaining to John Brown, who was also a brewer) made this 28th day of [unreadable] in the year of our lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy two." But then he mentions "my dear wife Elizabeth Green". Was that a simple error? Was he drunk? Had he committed bigamy? Any of those are possible, or else this is not the right person. It goes on to mention a sister Elizabeth Green and a brother Thomas Green, as well as children (not by name). The Will was proved on 20 Jun 1772. Nevertheless, I really can't say whether this relates or not.

Referring back to Jonathan Green's history, which again points to John's death being in 1772 (doesn't say where), he states that "extravagant living by John and his partner and nephew, Pitt Burnaby Green, saw the brewery and all its public houses sink under a mountain of mortgages". Elsewhere I've read that John Green ran the business along with his brother Richard Green.

After John Green's death (whenever that was), it is said that his widow Mary moved her family to Battersea. Jonathan Green says that, "Mary Green, with her two young children, went to live in Dulwich". Of course, we do not have the luxury of census returns to cross refer anything in this period, so it is very difficult to be sure of any of the details. But do we actually know she went to Battersea with two children, or is that just an assumption based on the belief that it was her biological daughter Mary Green who later married John Perry? We only have the reference that George Green was with his mother there in the Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard, which says that George Green "was in the habit of frequently walking from his mother's house, near Battersea, to Blackwall Yard". Land Tax Records certainly place Mrs Mary Pritzler, Mary's mother, in Battersea in the 1780's and she is listed here as Mary Pritzler of Devonshire House (44 Vicarage Crescent, Battersea, London). (Mary Pritzler, then a Mantua Maker, had taken an apprentice in 1747; then after her husband died*, she appeared, from 1755, in directories as a sugar baker still in Wellclose Square. Mary Pritzler (née Woodard) died, aged 80, in 1790 and was buried in the vaults at St Mary's Church, Battersea.)

(* Have not found the burial of Mary's father, Christian Pritzler (b. ~1704), however I'm sure he had died by 1755 because the will of Christoph Frederick Pritzler of the City of Zittau, Saxony, Germany (which says it was translated from High Dutch - I'm sure they meant Hockdeutsch (High German) in 1755, mentions the six children (five daughters and one son) left in London by his deceased brother Christian Frederick Pritzler, formerly Sugar Baker. The Lost Squares Of Stepney say of Wellclose Square, "By the early nineteenth-century, the square was losing its respectability as a consequence of its proximity to the docks and the gradual industrialisation of the East End." "As the numbers of lodging houses, pawn shops, pubs, and music halls multiplied, so did the sugar refineries. These refineries (or ‘bakeries’) had first appeared in the area in the seventeen-sixties. Manned mainly by poor German immigrants and belching sickly fumes into air, they did not help to improve the desirability of the neighbourhood." Clearly our records show that the Pritzler's sugar refinery was there earlier than that, "Some of the London-based German merchants, like the Pritzlers of Herford, diversified into manufacturing and insurance. In the eighteenth century London was the largest sugar-refining centre in Britain and one of the Pritzlers mentioned above became a sugar refiner. They ran a refinery at Wellclose Square for several generations. They [Theophilus Pritzler, Mary's brother] also sat on the board of directors of the Phoenix insurance company." [Source])

Of Mary Green (née Pritzler)'s burial on 16 Feb 1818, with her age at death correctly listed as 80, I am finally confident. Most likely, this was arranged by her son George Green. Once again the transcript at Ancestry cannot be relied upon, claiming that the burial was at All Saints Church, Poplar - this church wasn't built until 1821-23 - but on the original record is clearly written Chapel Poplar (Poplar Chapel, St Matthias Old Church), that was built by the East India Company and used frequently by the Perry family.

Anthony Dent and Sarah Dalton

Photo © John Salmon (cc-by-sa/2.0)

St Mary & Holy Trinity, Bow Church, Wednesday, 1 May, 2013

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

Anthony Dent married Sarah Dalton (b. 22 May 1778 in White Horse Street, Stepney), daughter of William Dalton and Sarah Travally, on 13 Aug 1799, at St. Mary, Stratford, Bow (Bow Church). As with the marriages of Sarah's brother and sister, Thomas Benbow Dalton and Martha Dalton, the transcripts of the records suggest they were married at All Saints Church, Poplar, which cannot be true because All Saints Church wasn't built until 1821-23. The writing and Rector are the same on all three of the original marriage records, showing this couple too were married by A H Eccles, Rector (Allan Harrison Eccles, Rector of Bow Church). One of the witnesses to this marriage is written as Jas [James] Ashfeild (sic) and the other E [unreadable].

There was a potential baptism for Anthony Dent on 20 Oct 1765 at St. Mary, Stratford, Bow, son of James and Martha Dent, but cannot confirm this. In 1791, Anthony Dent, when he was around the right age of 15, was apprenticed to David Taylor, Cabinetmaker, of St Paul Shadwell.

Anthony and Sara Dent had at least four children:

1. Elizabeth Dent b. ~1804
2. Alfred Dent b. ~1811. Died, at 34, in 1845 D Qtr in POPLAR UNION Vol 02 Page 249 and buried on 12 Oct 1845 at All Saints, Poplar
3. Sarah Ann Dent b. ~1815
4. Thomas Dent b. ~1819

This family has been non-conformist: Sarah Dalton and her siblings were not baptised but their births registered in the Independent church. Sarah's sister, Martha's children were baptised, but in a non-conformist, Congregational chapel. However, there are no records for any of Anthony and Sarah's children, neither births, nor baptisms. The only information being that picked up from census records, it may well be likely that there were others.

In 1841, living in Regent Street, All Saints Poplar were Anthony Dent (65) Joiner; Alfred Dent (30) Joiner; Thomas Dent (21) Joiner; Sarah Dent (63) and Sarah Jenkins (26). Of course, in 1841, there were no indications as to social status, nor the relationships between household members.

Anthony Dent died, aged 71, in 1847 D Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 02 Page 379 and was buried on 17 Oct 1847 at All Saints, Poplar.

In 1851, Thomas Dent (32) Joiner, Married was head of the household at 82, Regent Street North, Poplar, London. Living with him were Sarah Dent (76) Widow, Mother; Sarah Jenkins (35) Widow, Sister; Elizabeth Wise (46) Married, Sister; Thomas A Wise (11) Nephew; Fredrick Turner (6) Nephew; Jane Turner (4) Niece; Alfred A Turner (1) and Thomas Dealon (28) Lodger. (Unable to find any records to explain how the Turners are related.)

Sarah Dent died, aged 76, in 1855 M Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 01C Page 526 and was buried on 15 Jan 1855 at All Saints, Poplar.

1. Elizabeth Dent, Spinster, married Thomas Brightwell Wise (b. Friday, 10 May 1799, bap. 23 Jun 1799 at St Anne, Limehouse), Bachelor, son of Robert Wise, Shipwright of Ropemakers Fields, and Johanna Maria Baker, at St. Mary, Stratford, Bow (Bow Church) on 26 Mar 1837. Witnesses were Alfred Dent and Mary Ann Hazelwood. Thomas and Elizabeth Wise had three children, all of whom pre-deceased them: i. Thomas Robert Wise b. 1838 M Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 02 Page 258. Died 1838 S Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 02 Page 257; ii. Thomas Anthony Wise b. 1839 D Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 02 Page 294, bap. 27 Oct 1839 at All Saints, Poplar. Died, aged 15, in 1855 D Quarter in STEPNEY Volume 01C Page 322; and iii. Jane Joanna Wise b. 1842 J Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 02 Page 326. Died 1843 D Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 02 Page 302. In 1841, Thomas Wise (40) Shipwright; Betsy Wise (35) and Thomas Anthony Wise (2) were living in Regent Street South, Poplar. Seeing that he was a shipwright, it's possible that Thomas Wise was at sea when Elizabeth was living in the household of her brother in 1851. In 1861, Thomas Wise (60) Shipwright and Elizabeth Wise (57) were living at 91, Hare Street, Bethnal Green, London. Elizabeth Wise died, aged 58, in 1862 D Quarter in BETHNAL GREEN Volume 01C Page 253. Thomas Wise died in his 66th year and was buried on 26 Mar 1865 at Hackney, Victoria Park Cemetery ('The Resort of Thieves and Harlots'; Victoria Park Cemetery, Bethnal Green), later known as Meath Gardens.
2. Sarah Ann Dent, Spinster, then 20, married Anthony Jenkins, Batchelor, also at St. Mary, Stratford, Bow (Bow Church) on 1 Jun 1835. Witnesses were James Harris, Sarah Dent and E Taylor. They had one daughter, Frances Sarah Jenkins b. 12 Jul 1841 (1841 S Quarter in POPLAR UNION Volume 02 Page 314), bap. 3 Mar 1844 at St Leonard's, Shoreditch. In 1841, we can't tell whether Sarah Ann is married or widowed (clearly, she was about to give birth to her daughter), but is listed as widowed in 1851, nevertheless, I can find no suitable death of an Anthony Jenkins between 1835 and 1851. As he doesn't appear on any census, there are no clues to his age, origins, nor occupation. Sarah Ann Jenkins may have remarried, or she may have died, but I've been unable to isolate any further relevant records for her or her daughter.
3. Thomas Dent, in 1841, was listed as being married, but his wife is not in the household and I cannot find any suitable marriage. Thomas Dent died, aged 53, in 1873 M Quarter in POPLAR UNION Vol 01C Page 416.

Thomas Fudge and Ann Beedle

Church of St Andrew
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/5713509
The Minster Church of St Andrew, also known as St Andrew's Church, Plymouth.

Thomas Fudge (b. 1808), of the Royal Marines, married Ann Beedle (b. 1813), at St Andrew's Church, Plymouth on 12 Aug 1834. Neither could sign their own names. Witnesses were Catherine Murray and James Boulter.

Thomas and Ann had three children:

1. Lucy Elizabeth Ann Fuge (sic) bap. 7 Aug 1836 in East Stonehouse
2. Thomas James Fudge b. 1843 D Quarter in EAST STONEHOUSE Volume 09 Page 341
3. Sarah Jane Fudge b. 25 Dec 1850, reg. 1851 M Quarter in EAST STONEHOUSE Volume 09 Page 389

On Lucy Elizabeth Ann's baptism, her father's occupation is given as Drummer, Royal Marines. The registrations of Thomas and Sarah confirm their mother's maiden name as Beedle. Despite there being long gaps between each child, checking year by year through the records at the General Record Office did not reveal any others, possibly because Thomas was often away at sea.

Navy Allotment Records list Thomas Fudge of 26 High Street, Stonehouse as a Fifer aboard HMS Endymion (1797) in 1841; in 1844 with HMS Mutine (1844) and HMS Mutche in 1845. In 1845, Thomas Fudge from Stonehouse was listed among Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1835-1857.

In 1841, Ann Fuge (sic) (25) (ish) was one of a very long list of people (too many for a private house) in Fore Street - with Louisa Fuge (sic) (4) - Lucy, clearly. Fore Street was the site of various establishments such as the Wesleyan Sailors' and Soldiers' Home and the Royal Sailors' Rest and Institute and it could well be one of these establishments they were staying in.

In 1851, Thomas Fudge (43) Greenwich Pensioner, his birthplace listed as East Stonehouse, Devonshire was living in Edgcumbe Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth with wife Ann Fudge (38), Lucy Fudge (15), Thomas Fudge (7) and baby Sarah Jane, incorrectly listed as Sarah Ann Fudge (sic) (0).

In 1861, at 10 Providence Place, East Stonehouse was Thomas Fudge (53) Seaman; Ann Fudge (47), Thomas Fudge (17) Rope Maker; Sarah Fudge (11) Scholar and Anne L Fudge (3) Granddaughter. (Who I believe is Louisa Ann Bailey, daughter of Lucy Fudge, who had married Thomas Bailey in 1856.)

In 1871, then living in Bridport Street, Portsea, Hampshire, were Thomas Fudge (64) Seaman Pensioner, Anne Fudge (58) and Anne Fudge (13) listed as their daughter, but must be their granddaughter, Louisa Ann Bailey.

In 1881, Thomas Fudge (72) Navy Pensioner was living at 33, Bridport Street, Portsea with wife Ann (68). Living with them were their son-in-law George Charles Mew, married to Sarah Jane, along with four grandchildren.

Ann Fudge died, aged 71, in 1885 M Quarter in PORTSEA ISLAND Volume 02B Page 352. Thomas Fudge died back in his native EAST STONEHOUSE, in 1888 J Quarter, Volume 05B Page 205, with his age estimated as 83.

Charles Walter Street and Margaret Robertson

Former Devonport Market House, Duke Street
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/5191618
Duke Street, Devonport, ran from the junction with Catherine Street and James Street to George Street and the bottom of Ker Street. Devonport Market was on the northern side.

Charles Walter Street (29) Fireman RN of 15 Moon Street, Devonport, married Margaret Robertson (b. 6 Jul 1865 in Stoke Damerel, Devon), of 11 Moon Street, daughter of Archibald Robertson and Mary Ann Thomas Butters, at St James the Great, Devonport on 12 Aug 1894. 

Born Walter Charles Street in 1865 M Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 338, mother's maiden name COLLINGS, on his marriage certificate, Charles Walter lists his father as John Street (deceased), Sailor RN. Although I've not yet traced his parents, Margaret Street was reputedly his aunt.

Unlike her two older siblings, who were brought up by their step-grandfather, Daniel Pellew, Margaret Robertson, whose mother had died just 10 days after her birth, was brought up by Margaret Street, as her Foster Daughter. 

Charles and Margaret had two children:

1. Hilda Margaret Alice Street b. 7 Mar 1896 (1896 J Qtr in STOKE DAMEREL Vol 05B Page 291), bap. 26 Nov 1897 at Devonport, St Mary.
2. Walter James Alfred Street b. 1901 J Quarter in DEVONPORT Volume 05B Page 283, bap. 1901 at Devonport, St John.

In 1901, Charles Street (36) Leading Stoker Royal Navy; Margaret (35), Hilda (5) and Margaret Street (62) Widow, Aunt lived in Duke Street, Devonport. 

In 1911, Margaret Street (45) Tailoress was living in Devonport with daughter Hilda (15) and son Walter (9). Charles will have been away, because on 25 Aug 1910, he was loaned to the Canadian Naval Service for 2 years.

Charles Walter Street, giving his date of birth as 21 Jan 1863 (gaining two years), enlisted in the Royal Navy on 16 Mar 1881. His previous trade listed as Waterman. He served for 21 years, until he was pensioned on 6 May 1902. He then joined the Royal Fleet Reserve on 7 May 1902, from which he was discharged on 24 Aug 1910 in order to do his Canadian stint. He was redeployed, as a Stoker Petty Officer, from 2 Aug 1914 to 19 Oct 1914 at Vivid II, the Stokers and Engine Room Artificers School in Devonport.

Charles Walter Street died in 1917 D Qtr in DEVONPORT Vol 05B Page 376.

Margaret Street died in 1937 S Quarter in PLYMOUTH Vol 05B Page 281.

• Hilda Margaret Alice Street married Ernest Harold Harding (b. 22 May 1899 in Mile End Old Town, London), Engine Room Artificer RN, son of Thomas Harding and Emily Scotcher, on 5 Mar 1923 at Devonport, St John. Hilda died, at 69, in 1965, in Plymouth. Ernest Harold Harding died in 1980, in Liskeard, Cornwall.
• Walter James Alfred Street died, at 36, in 1938 J Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 05B Page 393.

Who was Margaret Street? Born Margaret Organ in 1838 D Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 09 Page 428, there was no mother's maiden name on her birth registration. By the time of her baptism on 13 Jan 1839, her mother was listed as Sarah Organ, 'Widow'. Margaret Ann Organ (24) married Frederick William Street (28) Seaman RN on 21 Aug 1862. Frederick listed his father as William Street, Waterman. Margaret, meanwhile, listed her father as James Organ, Shipwright. I can find no record of the existence of this person. The assumption, therefore, would be that Charles Walter Street's father was Frederick's brother, but I cannot find any records to prove this. There is still no explanation to suggest why Margaret Street took in and perhaps even named, the orphaned Margaret Robertson.

Philip Gilbert and Susanna Perry

View of St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich. Drawing by unknown artist, 1799.

Philip Gilbert of the Parish of Woolwich in the County of Kent, Widower & Susanna Perry (b. 1 Mar 1715 in Woolwich), daughter of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming, of Poplar in the Parish of St Dunstan Stepney in the County of Middlesex, Spinster, were married, by Licence, at St Dionis Backchurch in the City of London [the same church were her brother Philip Perry and sister Elizabeth Perry had also married] on 11 Aug 1743.

Philip and Susanna Gilbert had four children:

1. Philip Gilbert b. 18 Jun 1744, bap. 5 Jul 1744 at St Mary, Woolwich
2. Susanna Gilbert bap. 16 Aug 1745 at St Mary's Church, Chatham, Kent
3. Elizabeth Gilbert bap. 2 Jun 1748 at St Mary's, Chatham. Elizabeth Gilbert, an Infant, buried at St Mary's, Chatham on 8 Jul 1748.
4. Ann Gilbert bap. 11 Sep 1751 at St Mary's, Chatham

On 13 May 1743, Philip Gilbert of Woolwich, Kent, Shipwright, took as an apprentice Will, son of Will Reed. And on 7 Mar 1744, Phillip Gilbert of Chatham, Kent, Shipwright, took apprentice, Rich, son of Henry Everall.

No ordinary shipwright, Phillip Gilbert, held the position of Assistant Master Shipwright at three major Royal Navy dockyards. Having been appointed Master Caulker at Woolwich Dockyard in 1730, he was appointed Assistant Master Shipwright at Woolwich in 1732; in 1740, he was appointed Assistant Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard, then again appointed Assistant Master Shipwright at Woolwich Dockyard. Finally, from 1744 until his death in 1751, he was Assistant Master Shipwright at Chatham Dockyard.

As stated on the marriage record, Philip Gilbert was a Widower when he married Susanna Perry. Philip Gilbert previously married Margaret Watkins at St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham on 5 Aug 1725. It appears that this couple had two daughters: Catherine Gilbert b. 30 Nov 1726, bap. 15 Dec 1726 at All Hallows-by-the-Tower and Sarah Gilbert bap. 17 Aug 1731 at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich. Both baptisms list the parents as Philip and Margaret. However, "Margaret wife of Mr Phillip Gilbert Assistant [Ship]Builder at Woolwich" was buried at Saint Nicholas, Deptford on 13 Aug 1739.

Philip Gilbert was buried at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich on 29 Sep 1751.

The Will of Philip Gilbert of Woolwich had been drawn up in 1736, before the death of his first wife. In it he had left one pound one shilling to his brother Samuel Gilbert. The remainder of his possessions he left to his then 'loving wife Margaret Gilbert' and after her decease 'to my children born of her body to be equally divided between the then surviving children'. He had also appointed Margaret executor. Susanna's brother, John Perry and her brother-in-law, John Brown, appeared on her behalf and accordingly Administration of the Will was granted to Susanna Gilbert, Widow on 7 Oct 1751.

In her own Will, drafted on 16 Nov 1774, Susana Gilbert Widow and Solo Administrator of Philip Gilbert late of Chatham in the County of Kent Assistant [Ship]Builder at His Majesty's Yard there, left a Silver Tankard to her son Philip Gilbert; she also left bequests to her grandson, John Gilbert; her daughter Susanna Nuttall (including a pair of silver salts and salt spoons, a diamond ring that belonged to her late father, Philip Perry and another diamond ring from her late brother, John Perry); and to her daughter Ann Gilbert. She also left 'South Sea Annuities' to her nephew John Perry of Blackwall Esquire. She appointed her nephew John Perry and her sister Sarah Seehl as joint executors. Witnesses to her Will were E Brown (her sister Elizabeth, or Elizabeth's namesake daughter) and Joseph Hankey (who was married to her niece, Ann Perry, daughter of her late brother John).

The parish records of St Dunstan Stepney state that Susanna Gilbert of Poplar at 'Do' (Ditto, the same), was buried on 22 Jul 1777, presumably with her parents and siblings at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).