My 3xGreat grandparents Aaron Wales and his wife, Catherine Alice Stoney, lived their married life in and around Bermondsey and Southwark, South London, close to the Leather Market - convenient perhaps for Aaron's trade as Harness Maker and Saddler. He was originally from the Burnhams in Norfolk, but was in London by the time they … Continue reading Aaron and Catherine Wales: A crime in the family
Bermondsey
Posts that mention Bermondsey, South London
Caroline Jane Stocking: How many children?
My great-great grand aunt Caroline Jane Stocking married Carman Charles Baker in 1878. By 1911, she has been widowed, but states that she had had 11 children, four of whom had died by the census date. I have not been able to find records for more than eight of them. She had a relatively short … Continue reading Caroline Jane Stocking: How many children?
Family at War: V2 rocket attack 1945
The Stocking and Hill families suffered losses in WW1. The last months of WW2 were to bring even more. My great grandfather Jim Stocking died at the beginning of the conflict; the family of his widow, Susan, were later caught in one of the worst V2 rocket attacks on London, an impact which must have … Continue reading Family at War: V2 rocket attack 1945
James Stocking (1829-1883): A Hawker or Policeman?!
On just two records, my 3xgreat grandfather James Stocking is shown as a Policeman. How can that be? He was born around 1829 in Southwark, South London, the son of Thomas Stocking and Susan Brown. Various records, including censuses and family birth, baptism, marriage and death records, show him to have had fairly lowly occupations, … Continue reading James Stocking (1829-1883): A Hawker or Policeman?!
The Hills of London in World War I
My great grandmother was born Susan Caroline Hill in London in 1875. Two of her brothers, William and John, were wounded in action in WW1. One of her Stocking brothers-in-law was killed, and two were awarded the Military Medal. How did the conflict impact on their lives? She married in 1900, and while her husband … Continue reading The Hills of London in World War I
Where was ‘Churvey the Slough’??
The 1881 and 1891 census entries for my 2xgreat grandparents John Hill and Elizabeth Sarah Windebank are intriguing for the birthplaces shown. Unlike their children, they were not, it seems, Londoners. He was born in Elsted, Sussex,; her birthplace was variously described as Chalvey or Churvey, and 'Churvey the Slough', and variously Buckinghamshire or Berkshire. … Continue reading Where was ‘Churvey the Slough’??
Alice Mary Wales: Bride at 17, mother to 19, dead at 49 [Updated]
When Alice Mary Wales married James Thomas Stocking in November 1874, she was just 17 years old (b1857). They were to become my 2xgreat grandparents, and parents of 19 children, 16 of whom survived beyond infancy. Her youngest son was just five when she died aged 49. Her early life proved difficult to piece together, … Continue reading Alice Mary Wales: Bride at 17, mother to 19, dead at 49 [Updated]
Did James & Alice have 21 Stocking children?
Early in the 2000s, my father received a type-written letter from someone researching the ancestry of one Ronald Stocking. The letter claimed that Ron's grandparents - my 2xgreat grandparents James Thomas Stocking and Alice Mary Wales - had had 21 children "all of whom were known to have survived". I was intrigued to find out … Continue reading Did James & Alice have 21 Stocking children?
Great-grandad James Aaron Stocking: A South London boy
My Dad's grandfather, James Aaron Stocking, was born in Southwark in 1876. He spent his early years in one of the poorer parts of South London, abutting the Leather Market area, home to London's tanneries, glue and size factories and allied trades. Later, he and his ever-growing family of siblings moved to Camberwell, living cheek-by-jowl … Continue reading Great-grandad James Aaron Stocking: A South London boy
Susan Caroline Hill: Born in Victorian London’s slums
The Charles Booth Archive paints a grim picture of the area where my great grandmother Susan Caroline Hill (1875-1951) lived with her family until her marriage in 1900. Her parents were far from rich, and the areas south of the Thames where she grew up were over-crowded, with people living cheek-by-jowl with the expanding railways … Continue reading Susan Caroline Hill: Born in Victorian London’s slums
My Stocking Roots 