Our high school, Wymondham College, was divided into houses, some named after notable figures in history who were associated with Norfolk. One such figure was the Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry (picture above), for whom Fry Hall was named. Fry was born Elizabeth Gurney in Norwich 1780. She and her husband, Joseph Fry, moved to Plashet House, East Ham in what was still rural Essex in the early nineteenth century. Later they moved to Forest Gate. She campaigned tirelessly to improve prison conditions, abolish capital punishment, and alleviate poverty. As well as being a respected public figure, she and her husband also raised 11 children. When she died at Ramsgate, Kent in 1845, the Seamen of the Ramsgate Coast Guard flew their flag at half mast until she was buried at the Friend's burial ground in Barking, Essex. Over a thousand mourners observed a silence as she was interred.
Her homeground in southwest Essex was also the family home of some Blacketers. I have already written of Thomas John Blacketer, who became the mayor of Poplar in 1930. Thomas John's father, Joseph, had died in 1880 before he could figure in a census with his young family. Joseph does, however, appear in censuses with his siblings.
In the 1851 England Census at Harrow Cottages, Stratford:
Thos Blacketer Head Marr 33 Shoemaker Essex, Stratford
Martha Wife Marr 30 Surrey, Guilford
Joseph Son S 2 Essex, Stratford
Thomas Son S 8 mos Essex, Stratford
In the 1861 England Census at 1 Harrow Cottages, Stratford:
Thomas Blacketter Head Mar 43 Carman Essex, W Ham
Martha Wife Mar 41 Guildford, Surrey
Sarah Ann Daugr Unmar 14 Essex, W Ham
Joseph Son Unmar 12 Scholar Essex, W Ham
Thomas Son Unmar 11 Scholar Essex, W Ham
Elizabeth Daugr Unmar 3 Essex, W Ham
Elizabeth Mother Widow 75 Petworth, Sussex
This not only begins to provide evidence of the next generation, but also sent me looking for Sarah Ann in 1851, and I found her staying with Thomas's parents. It would seem that his father had died between 1851 and 1861, and his mother, Elizabeth, came to stay with his family. Here is the 1851 England Census for 7 Bridge Place, Stratford:
Joseph Blacketer Head Mar 63 Carman Ratcliffe, Middlesex
Elizabeth Wife Mar 63 Carman Wife Sussex, Petworth
John Son U 25 Carman Essex, Stratford
Sarah A Granddaur U 4 Essex, Stratford
Back to Thomas and Martha's family. In the 1871 England Census for 76 High Street, Stratford:
Martha Blacketer Head W 50 Surrey, Gilford
Joseph Son Unm 22 Carman Stratford, Essex
Thomas Son Unm 20 Cow man Essex, W Ham
Sarah Ann Kearley Daur Mar 24 Essex, W Ham
Elizabeth Daur 12 Essex, W Ham
Thomas had died bewteen 1861 and 1871; Sarah Ann had just married. From BMD Marriage Index, Sarah Ann Blacketer married James Kearly Jun1871 Manchester 8d 480. The marriage certificate shows that James Kearly was a sergeant in the 4th Dragoon Guards. Ten years later, they appear in the census in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, and James by this time is a Police Constable.
Other vitals are:
Sarah Ann
BMD Birth Index Mar1847 W Ham 12 307
BMD Marriage Jun1871 Manchester 8d 480 to James Kearly
(I have not been able to deduce which BMD Death Index refers to her)
Joseph
BMD Birth Index Sep1848 W Ham 12 282
BMD Marriage Index Sep1873 W Ham 4a 8 to Hannah Thurley
BMD Death Index Sep1880 Poplar 1c 411 Age:31
Thomas
BMD Birth Index Sep1850 W Ham 12 306
(An ancestry public member tree has his death in Beachport, Australia, from which I could find:
Australia Death Index 28 Jul 1928 South Australia 1926-1930 p44 v506
Elizabeth
BMD Birth Index Sep1858 W Ham 4a 5
BMD Marriage Index Sep1881 W Ham 4a 17 to Albert Adolphus R Moor
They had one child together that I found in a census:
Lilian Rose Kathleen Moor
Albert Adolphus Moor died in 1891.
BMD Marriage Index Sep1893 Poplar 1c 812 as Elizabeth Moor to William Albert Hunt
This was at Bromley St Leonard 15 July 1893. In the parish record (which would is the same as the GRO marriage certificate), her father is given as Thomas Blacketer Shoemaker.
(I have not been able to deduce which BMD Death Index entry refers to her)
As always, from this kind of analysis, I cannot rule out that other children were born and died between censuses. I especially notice the eight years between Thomas's birth Elizabeth's.
For the parents, we have:
Thomas Blacketer BMD Death Jun1870 W Ham 4a 10 Age:52
Martha Blacketer BMD Death Sep1873 W Ham 4a 2 Age:53
Thomas Blacketer and Martha Greenfield BMD Marriage Jun1845 W Ham 12 415
Their births, around 1818 and 1820 are before the central registers, so one would need to search parish records to find them. Nothing came from such a search in ancestry.com, but LDS familysearch came up with the following birth registrations (non-conformist records) from the Society of Friends (i.e. Quakers). The Quakers did not baptize infants, but they did keep a record of birth registrations. All these are from the Barking, Essex Meeting, and born to parents Joseph and Elizabeth Blacketer.
Thomas Blacketer
Birth 25 December 1817
(my 3x great grandfather)
Joseph Blacketer
Birth 8 October 1820
(ancestry public member tree claims that he died 1839;
his death record is possibly BMD Death Mar1839 W Ham 12 202)
William Botting Blacketer
Birth 9 December 1822
(ancestry public member tree claims that he died 1829)
John Blacketer Birth 24 December 1825
(he was at least alive for the 1851 England Census shown above - I haven't looked further)
According to LDS familysearch, the parish records of Christ Church, Spitalfields, Stepney has the marriage of Joseph Blacketer and Elizabeth Botting on 7 April 1817. Browsing the appropriate register in ancestry.com reveals that these pages are missing from their transcript and scans. This is a marriage in an established church. Possibly Joseph and Elizabeth became Quakers soon after they were married. I have no evidence the Blacketers were much involved by the next generation.
LDS family search also records a Christening for a Joseph Blacketer, born 19 September 1787 in Middlesex, and parents named Thomas and Elizabeth, but no other information as to which parish, or whether this is another non-conformist record. This is consistent with, but not necessarily the same Joseph Blacketer who married Elizabeth Botting.
BMD Death Index has Joseph Blacketer Dec1856 W Ham 4a 3 and Elizabeth Blacketer Dec1863 W Ham 4a 6.
So, at least between 1817 and 1825, this Blacketer family were Quakers, living in Stratford, and connected with the Barking Friends Meeting. There is no documentary evidence that the Blacketers ever met Elizabeth Fry. I suspect that to be a non-conformist in the early nineteenth century was something of a commitment, so the family may well have heard her speak. I wonder if her radical social message, transmitted through the family, contributed some part in Thomas John Blacketer's political formation.
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