For several generations my Stocking ancestors lived and worked just South of the Thames, finding work in the building and decorating trades, London's Leather Market, Bermondsey's food and packaging works and in and around the docks and the areas South of Tower Bridge. Following the various jobs of my 2xgreat grand uncle William Thomas Stocking … Continue reading William Thomas Stocking: Life near the Thames
Child death
George Thomas Stocking: A long-stayer
My 2xgreat grand uncle George Thomas Stocking (1862-1947) was a Bermondsey Leather Dresser/Finisher. He and his wife had 17 children, but are said to have lost seven of them in infancy. He was also the first of his siblings to be able to sign his name. After marriage, he raised his growing family, staying put … Continue reading George Thomas Stocking: A long-stayer
Richard Daniel Stocking: The loss of six children
My 2xgreat grand uncle Richard Daniel Stocking was born in 1857 and worked for a Tripe Dresser in Bermondsey. He married in 1880, but by 1895, he had been widowed. He lived until at least his 80s. Sadly, the same cannot be said of his children: of the eight born between 1880-1894, six had died … Continue reading Richard Daniel Stocking: The loss of six children
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?
Mary Stocking: Nine kids, or eleven?
My great great grand aunt Mary Ann Susan Stocking was born in 1851, the eldest of 11 children. In her early years, she worked as a Flagmaker. In 1911, she states she and her husband William James Ward had also had 11 children since their marriage in 1873, seven of whom had by then died. … Continue reading Mary Stocking: Nine kids, or eleven?
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 Southwark life
Even though he was born before civil registration of births in England from 1837, the early life of my 3xgreat grandfather James Stocking was relatively easy to trace. He married Mary Ann Collins in 1849, lived in and around Kent Street, Southwark for a further 30+ years, and died there. I used old maps and … Continue reading James Stocking (1829-1883): A Southwark life
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?
My Stocking Roots 