It's been a while since I've written anything about my particular family group in London England. The newly released 1911 census has given me more previously unpublished information about them.
My great great grandparents John and Caroline Fitz-Henry (nee Thompson) are still living at Katharine Buildings, the tenements near the St Katharine's docks on the Thames next to the Tower of London. Here's where the tenement used to be before it was demolished in the 1960s.
John and Caroline have been married 42 years and have had 9 children, 7 of whom are still living. I've only collected 8 of the set so far and I'm missing one of the ones who have died before 1911.
John is 63 years old and now described as a shopkeeper, having been a carman (driver of a horse and cart) and a coalwhipper (coal deliverer) in previous documents. He was born in Stepney, London. My father talks about a shop in the Katharine Buildings, that John and Caroline's daughter Elizabeth took over with her husband William Dongray.
Caroline is 60 years old and was also born in Stepney.
Their address is 27 Katharine Buildings, Tower Hill, E6.
And here we have William Joseph and Elizabeth Maria Dongray living in a single room at 80 Katharine Buildings with their 2 daughters:
Valentine Amelia aged 4
Ellen Teresa Annie aged 15 months
At this time William is a horsekeeper.
John and Caroline's eldest son Thomas and his wife Rebecca (nee Lamb), my great grandparents and the subjects of my very first post on this blog are living in rooms 200, 201 and 202 of Katharine Buildings, although they give the road as Royal Mint Street. The blog link shows a photo of the pair of them taken at the tenement.
They are both aged 43, have been married 23 years and had 6 children 4 of whom are still living in 1911. (Rebecca may think her child-bearing days are over but in 1913, my great-uncle Jim is born!)
Both were born on Shadwell, London and Thomas was a carter.
Living with them in these three rooms were their children:
Thomas James aged 21 a yeast packer
Mary Ann aged 17 a lace maker
John Lawrence aged 15 a plumber
Henry Edward aged 10 (my grandfather)
and also Edward John aged 11, a nephew.
This nephew Edward ("Teddy") Fitz-Henry was the son of Thomas' brother John. John's first wife Julia Dibben had died shortly after Teddy's birth, and Thomas and Rebecca had adopted him into their family.
The remarried John Fitz-Henry (father of Teddy) is lving with his second wife Isabel (nee Day) in Forest Gate (further out in the leafy suburbs of East London) with a daughter Eileen aged 9. John is an accountant and has a six roomed house.
John and Caroline's eldest daughter, the widowed 36 year old Caroline Gilburns (sewing machinist) is living in a single room with her 11 year old daughter Theresa in Royal Mint Square.
Living just round the corner in Royal Albert Buildings (another tenement) are John and Caroline's youngest daughters:
Annie Fitz-Henry aged 25 a military tailoress
Amelia Fitz-Henry aged 23 a clerk in a stockbroker's business
The census was on the night of 2nd April, and on the 13th April Amelia married Sylvian Romaine.
The only one of John and Caroline's children that I've not been able to find as yet is Henry born 1882. The search goes on.
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Hello. I was very interested to read your blog my great grandmother was amelia fitzhenry who married sylvain romain, I have done a little research on the family so it's good to see what others have found
ReplyDeleteWilliam Joseph and Elizabeth Maria Dongray went on to have 4 daughters: Valentine Amelia (b.1908-07-20 d.1990-01-06), Ellen Theresa Annie (b.1910-01-31 d.1990-06-07), Caroline Elizabeth (b.1913-02-25 d.1957-07-17), Beatrice Julia (b.1915-04-14 d.1992-07-22)
ReplyDeleteThey also had 2 sons who didn't live long: William (b.1917 d.1918), Henry (b.1919 d.1919).
Each of the daughters married, had children, including descendants living today.