Bones Beside the Fire

"When I come home cold and tired / it's good to warm my bones beside the fire."
                                                                                                 (Pink Floyd, "Time").

Central heating is commonplace now (at least in places I've lived), but a good old warm fire, wood or coal, awakes in me a certain instinctive, and perhaps sentimental, pleasure. I remember coal hearths of my childhood, of the orange glow of dragon caves, and the wisps of flame that issued from them. I am too young to remember the killer pea-soup smogs that smothered London periodically from the nineteenth century until the 1950s. London had pretty well ran out of wood to burn before the 17th century, by which time tons of coal was shipped from Newcastle for its growing number of hearths. All this made for much smoke and thence smog. Before anti-pollution legislation in the 1950s, death by smog was frequent, particulary among those with weakened respiratory systems, especially the "old and tired".

Following on from my last blog post, I present here two families of my step-3x great grandparents, through my stepfather, John Beresford Tilley, his mother, Minnie Mary Frances Byrne, and her mother, Matilda Mary Capron. Her parents were John Bill Capron and Mary Allen. And it is their parents with whom we are concerned: James Capron, Hatter, and his wife Sarah; and Elisha Allen, Coal Porter (an occupation much needed to fill the hearths of Victorian London), and his wife Maria .

On the parish register for the marriage of Roger Fannon Byrne and Matilda Mary Capron, one of the witnesses to the marriage signed as Septimus E Capron. With such a distinguished name, I reasoned, I should find census groups fairly easily. But not so, and I resorted to searching parish baptismal registers. Since I already knew the names of John Bill Capron's parents, James and Sarah, I searched for all Capron baptisms in London. The search results returned the names of parents along with their children, and I could easily decide which records to inspect. All those below have James's occupation as Hatter or Hat Manufacturer.

(A further record of 1839 in Bramley for Harriott Capron has Gardener for occupation; that, plus the out of place address leads me to doubt that these are the same parents, and this baptism is not included below).

James and Sarah Capron changed address (and parish church) many times in their marriage. Here is the list with addresses and parish churches through the years :

     Name                    Baptized         Address                 Parish
     Matilda Mary        10 Mar 1815  Guilford Street        Southwark St Saviour
     Thomas William    23 Feb 1817  Guilford Street        Southwark St Saviour
     Alfred James         6 Sep 1818   Great Charlotte St  Southwark Christ Church
     Caroline Ann        10 Aug 1820   Wellington Street    Newington St Mary
     Alfred John           14 Jul 1824     Robert Street         Southwark Christ Church
     Frederick Charles 29 Mar 1826  Robert Street         Southwark Christ Church
     Edward George     1 Jun 1828     Borough Road       Southwark St George Martyr
     John Bill                 8 May 1831  Union Street           Lambeth St Mary
     Septimus Edwin     1 Feb 1833    Edward Street       Southwark Christ Church
     Robert Augustus   21 Jun 1835    Edward Street       Southwark Christ Church

Of these children, Alfred James died just 8 months old and was buried at Southwark, St Saviour 15 April 1819, and Edward George died 3 years old and was buried at Southwark, Christ Church 8 January 1831. I can find marriage records for the remainder except Robert Augustus.

With this list of children, I was able to find censuses for Thomas and Sarah Capron, once I discovered that a common mis-transcription is Capson. The records begin in 1841 in Edward Street, Christchurch Surrey:

     Thomas Capron 45  Hatter  Surrey
     Sarah                 45              Not Surrey
     Caroline             15              Surrey
     Fredrick             10              Surrey
     Septimus              8              Surrey
     Robert                 5              Surrey

The 1841 England Census does not indicate relationships, and ages are to the nearest 5 years for those above 10 years old, although, as I am finding, accuracy, even rounded to 5 years, is often poor. John would have been 10, but appears to have been absent census night.

In 1851 Thomas and Sarah are recorded in Ware, Hertfordshire living on High Street Water Row. They must be the same people: Thomas, 63, Hatter, born Westminster Road, Lambeth, Surrey; and Sarah, 58, his wife, born Middlesex St James. The following census sees them back in Surrey, so I'm wondering about their connection to Hertfordshire. Certainly John Bill's wife is from Harpenden, but that also may be due to a wider connection with the county, through family or trade.

The 1861 England Census has them living at 8 Hopton Alms Houses. Thomas is described as 73, Almsman formerly a Hatter, born Lambeth, Surrey; and Sarah as 68 born Middlesex St James. Hopton's Almshouses were built in 1752 to house the elderly poor, and included a stipend and coal for heating. Originally 26 units, the remaining 20 are still in use, and are listed grade II buildings. The view in the picture above is c1850.

On 2 January 1789 Thomas Son of John Capron and Mary was baptized at Lambeth St Mary. The record contains no other information, but is likely to be that for this same Thomas Capron. His death record in the BMD Death Index is likely to be Mar1869 St Saviour 1d 1 Age: 80. By this time Sarah had already died, her likely death record being Jun1866 St Saviour 1d 5 Age:73. Thanks to the benevolence of Charles Hopton, they had been able to warm their bones beside the fire for a few years.

Elisha and Maria Allen proved much easier to research. The ancestry database yielded censuses from 1841 to 1871, a marriage and death records. The marriage record is in the form of a transcript from England and Wales Parish Records in Wheathamstead, Hertfordshire on 18 May 1830 for Elisha Allen and Maria Lowe.

Their first census return is the 1841 England Census for Luton, Bedfordshire.
     Elisha Allen   30    Agricultural Labourer     not Bedforshire
     Maria           35                                         Bedfordshire
     Matilda         10                                        Bedfordshire
     Mary             7                                         Bedfordshire
     Thomas         2                                         Bedfordshire
     William          9 mos                                  Bedfordshire

In 1851 Elisha Allen is a Lodger in the Fitton household at 11 Norris Street, Christchurch, Middlesex, described as age 43, Married, Coal Porter from Hertfordshire. The advent of farm machinery sent many labourers to the cities in search of work, and Elisha may be one of those. Maria is with the children at Stakers Lane, Harpenden. Curiously she is described as a Widow, Age 43, Occupation PI (?Private Income) from Harpenden, but her marital status and occupation are clearly mistaken, probably at the hand of the census clerk with the job of transcribing the household returns into the census enumerator books. Her identity is confirmed by her children's names, which are identical to the 1841 return, but now aged 20,17, 12 and 11 years. Matilda was born in Offley, Hertfordhire, the others, just a few miles away, in Luton, Bedfordshire. Maria's county of birth varies among her records between Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, explainable by her being born in this border area between the two counties.

In 1861 Elisha and Maria are both living at 2 Haverstock Road in Kentish Town, with their son William, now 20 years old. This return, we have already seen, with John Bill Capron and Matilda living in the same house.

By 1871, Maria had died (probably Sep1867 Pancras 1b 88 Age:59 - this computes to the right year of birth, and is registered in the location one would expect of her address). William is now the head of household at 2 Haverstock Road, with his wife Jane and five children. Elisha is described as a Lodger, Age 63 and a Widower. His occupation and William's is Bricklayer's Labourer.

According to the National Probate Calendar for England and Wales, Elisha died 17 December 1879, corresponding to BMD Death Index Dec1879 Pancras 1b 142 Age:72. His will was proved by William Allen Son and Matilda Capron Daughter (wife of John Capron). His address (and William's) by this time is 10 Dukes Terrace, Malden Road, Kentish Town - where we find William, Jane and family for the 1881 England Census.

Elisha and William are both described as Coal Porters in the National Probate Calendar. Thus, the occupation given on the 1871 census may have been a transient occupation, what they had been doing that day or week. This would further suggest that Elisha was still working in 1871, on the supposition that someone would only write in a transient occupation if they had actually done it (as per census instructions), whereas they might write in their lifetime occupation even if they had retired (in spite of the census instructions). Whether Elisha ever retired is open, but he did enjoy the immediate support of his son and family. And he probably never lacked coal for his hearth!