My great grandmother Susan Caroline Hill had seven siblings, but only four survived beyond their third birthdays. Research into the surviving four reveals stories of further loss and survival, changing circumstances, military and civilian war casualties and emigration. Some of them are told here. Loss and survival My 2xgreat grandparents, Elsted-born Labourer John Hill and … Continue reading My great grandmother’s four surviving siblings
Windebank Elizabeth Sarah 1849-1911
The short lives of John David (1870-1872), Emily Elizabeth (1877-1879) and Mary Ann Hill (1879-1882)
My 2xgreat grandparents John Hill and his second wife, Elizabeth Sarah Windebank brought up their family in some of the poorer parts of south and east London. My great grandmother was their second child, but the first, third and fourth each died in their early years, a result perhaps of poor sanitary and housing conditions. … Continue reading The short lives of John David (1870-1872), Emily Elizabeth (1877-1879) and Mary Ann Hill (1879-1882)
Stocking homes: Beechfield Road, Catford
My Stocking ancestors (amongst others) tended to stay in one place, often with several branches and generations of the family living very close to, or with, each other. Beechfield Road in Catford, South London, was the centre of the family's life from the early-mid 1900s until after WW2. I wonder what stories those properties could … Continue reading Stocking homes: Beechfield Road, Catford
Was John Hill (b1836) alive when his wife/widow remarried?
It took me a while to trace my 2xgreat grandparents John Hill and Elizabeth Sarah Windebank in later censuses, as his age and her birthplace were inconsistently recorded. Tracing him in earlier censuses revealed a previous, mystery marriage. Elizabeth remarried in 1895, but I have failed to find a reliable death record for him. So … Continue reading Was John Hill (b1836) alive when his wife/widow remarried?
John Hill (b1836): An Elsted lad’s first marriage?
With such a common name and occupation, I knew that my 2xgreat grandfather, Labourer John Hill, was always going to be difficult to trace before his marriage to Elizabeth Sarah Windebank in 1869. From the later censuses, I knew he was born in Elsted in rural Sussex, and from his marriage certificate, that he was … Continue reading John Hill (b1836): An Elsted lad’s first marriage?
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’??
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 