Working back from Hannah Thurley, mother of Thomas John Blacketer, and my 2x great grandmother, I was greatly assisted by prior research on ancestry.com. The program links records that others have already attached to the same person, much as retail sites suggest other items bought by customers who had purchased your item. In fact, I have noticed that the search tool tends to lift those linked records above others which are more obvious fits for the search, but haven't been attached yet. Still, it's always worthwhile to cross-check records to be sure they belong to one's own family, and not some distant relatives'.
Hannah Thurley comes across to me as a remarkable woman. Married at about 21 years old, she bore four children in eight years, and was widowed before her last was born. She went on to raise her children as a single mum. Her son, Thomas John, at least repaid some of that loyalty in his reluctance to be married before she died, but she lived to be 87, dying only in 1939. She had lived through a truly remarkable era.
Her married census returns consistently have Loughton, Essex as Hannah's birth. Working the census returns backwards, we have the 1861 England Census for Baldwin Hill, Loughton:
Rebecca Thurley Head Widow 45 Bucks, Swanbourne
Sophia Daur Un 21 Essex, Ardleigh ) ?
Harry Son Un 17 Ag Labourer Essex, Smead )
Ned Son Un 14 Ag Labourer Essex, Loughton
Martha Daur 11 Essex, Loughton
Hannah Daur 9 Essex, Loughton
George William Son 6 Essex, Loughton
The "?" was added by a census clerk, unable to identify the places names. Later census returns for Sophia has Hornchurch, Essex - later Hardleigh Green - for a birthplace. For Harry this is later given as Smead, Kent, although I have not found this.
Back ten years for the 1851 England Census
John Thurley Head Mar 40 Ag Lab Essex, Epping
Rebecca Wife Mar 36 Bucks, Swanbourne
Sophia Daur 11 Scholar Essex, Hornchurch
Susanna Elisabeth Daur 9 Scholar Kent, Eaton Bridge
Harry Son 7 Scholar Kent, Smead
Ned Son 4 Essex, Loughton
Martha Daur 1 Essex, Loughton
It looks as though the couple started out closer to London (Hornchurch), moved to Kent for a few years (although I can find neither location), before settling in Loughton. I haven't found a census return for 1841, but Kent or Hornchurch in Essex would be places to start looking.
Extracting the children from these two censuses. Likely BMD Birth Index entries are:
Sophia Thurley Dec1839 Romford 12 198
Susanna Thurley Dec1841 Epping 12 85
Edward Thurley Sep1846 Epping 12 91
Martha Thurley Sep1849 Epping 12 94
Hannah Thurley Mar1852 Epping 4a 39
George William Jun1855 Epping 4a 41
I cannot find a potential birth record for Harry.
Going foward to the 1871 England Census for Baldwin Hill, Loughton has:
Rebecca Thurley Head Widow 56 Buckinghamshire
Sophia Daur Un 31 Hornchurch, Essex
Harry Son Un 27 Gardener Smead, Kent
Ned Son Un 24 Ag Lab Loughton, Essex
George W Son Un 16 Ag Lab Loughton, Essex
Edward H Green Grandson 8 Chigwell, Essex
Margaret E Green Granddaur 3 Hackney, Middlesex
Susannah Elizabeth Thurley married Henry Green Dec1860 Epping 4a 53, and Rebecca's grandchildren in this census are their children. By this time Suzanna Green is already a widow, living by herself in Stratford, Essex. This may be a permanent arrangement, since Edward and Margaret Green are still with their grandmother for the 1881 England Census for Pump Hill, Loughton.
Rebecca Thurley Head Widow 65 Charwoman Buckinghamshire NK
Sophia Daur Unm 41 Laundress Essex, Hardleigh Green
Edward Son Unm 34 General Labourer Essex, Loughton
Martha Daur Unm 31 General Servant Domestic Essex, Loughton
Edward Green Grandson Unm 18 General Labourer Essex, Chigwell
Margaret Green Granddaur Unm 13 Scholar Middlesex, Hackney
And now we find a couple of connections between the Blacketers and this family of Thurleys. The 1881 England Census for Gladstone Road, Nights Cottages, Chigwell, we have:
Harry Thurley Head Mar 37 Gardener Sury, Kent
Elizabeth Wife Mar 40 Laundress Fenny, Essex
Florence A Blacketer Niece 6 Bow, Middlesex
Florence is the daughter of Harry's sister, Hannah.
The parish records of All Hallows, Bromley, Middlesex have the marriage of George William Thurley and Mary Ann Miller on 13 September 1875. The witnesses to the ceremony were Joseph and Hannah Blacketer, George's brother-in-law and sister. The newly-weds give their address as 163 Campbell Road, to become a familiar street for the Blacketers. This corresponds to BMD Marriage Index Sep1875 Poplar 1c 1097.
By 1891 England Census for Pump Hill, Loughton we have only:
Rebecca Thurley Head Wid 75 Charwoman Swanbourne, Buck
Sophia Daur S 51 Essex, Hardley Green
Ned Son S 44 General Labourer Essex, Loughton
The last column on the census was intended for deaf or dumb, blind, and mental disabilities. For Sophia she is listed as "deformed". The BMD Death Index records: Sophia Thurley Mar1895 Epping 4a 228 Age:55
In the 1901 England Census at Woodberrie Hill, Loughton:
Edward Thurley Head S 54 Epping Forest Labourer Loughton, Essex
In the 1911 England Census at the same address, Woodberrie Hill, Loughton:
Ned Thurley Head 64 Single General Labourer Epping Forest CL Corpor
[?Council Corporation]
George William Brother 55 Married Guard GER Co
[Great Eastern Railway Company].
The G.E.R. ran the trains from London through Loughton, which is one of the reasons for the town's growth in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Also, the BMD Death Index has the following:
Harry Thurley Dec1926 Epping 4a 410 Age:83
Ned Thurley Jun1928 Epping 4a 465 Age:81
George William Thurley Dec1936 Essex SW 4a 198 Age:81
The boys all lived into their 80s. I haven't followed Martha and Susanna Gree, both of whom seem to disappear after 1881.
As to the parents, John and Rebecca Thurley, ancestry public member trees have attached BMD Marriage Index Mar1838 Leighton Buzzard 6 105 for Rebecca Herbert and John Thoroly. Leighton Buzzard is just a few miles from Swanbourne, Rebecca's birthplace, and "Thoroly" might just be a phonetic spelling of a rustic-sounding Thurley. The BMD Death Index has Rebecca Thurley Mar1900 Epping 4a 262 Age:82 John Thurley is present for the census in 1851, but had died by 1861. Seven John Thurleys are recorded as dying between 1851 and 1861, three in Essex, three in London, and one in St Ives.
In two generations, we see two working, single mums raise families after their husbands have died. The experience of Hannah Blacketer reflects that of her mother, Rebecca Thurley, who, in addition, may have raised a couple of grandchildren. We also see some of the family connections that make it all possible.
Paul Peterken has written to me to point out that on Ned Thurley's 1911 census "CL Corpor" is likely to mean City of London Corporation, which owns and runs Epping Forest. Thank you.
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