***LAST UPDATED: 29th June 2005***
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Up until the 1830's there were only two churches in Hammersmith and Fulham, St Paul's in Hammersmith and All Saint's in Fulham, with All Saints being the main church for the area - both Hammersmith and Fulham were villages at the time. I checked the baptism records for both churches and found only one record of a Joseph Smith with a father named William. I believe this to be the correct family for that reason and also as Joseph's first daughter was named Sophia, the same name as his mother. So far I have been unable to find a marriage entry for William and Sophia - I know that they weren't married in Hammersmith or Fulham. The baptism records, and Joseph's marriage certificate, state that William was a labourer. James and William were christened on the same day, a note was made that their father William was deceased. No mention of this was made on Sarah's baptism record so I presumed he was alive in March. I found a burial record for William Smith of Hammersmith at St Paul's Church. He was buried in April 1829 at the age of 40. This record was the only one for a William Smith in 1829. I also found burial records of a Sarah Smith (1830 aged 1 year and 8 months) and James Smith (1834 aged 8 years). I cannot be sure these are the same two children that were born into this family but the ages do seem to be about right. Sophia was buried at St Paul's Church in 1845 at the age of 55 years.
Joseph's baptism record of 1819 didn't state whether Joseph was a baby or a toddler when the event occurred. The 1841, 1851 and 1871 census records all state that Joseph would have been born a couple of years earlier, possibly in 1816, so I am unsure of when Joseph was born. Joseph and Susan were both of full age when they married. The marriage was witnessed by William Wells and Elizabeth Holder (presumably the sister of Susan). Susan's father - William Holder - was recorded as being a fisherman. Joseph was working as a labourer. Sophia and Mary Anne were christened on the same day in 1849. Mary Anne was buried a couple of months later aged 3 months. In the 1851 census, the family were living in
the Parish of St Paul's, Hammersmith with Susan Holder the 87 year old
widowed mother of Susan. The 1861 census shows Joseph working as a
labourer, Susan as a laundress and Joseph junior as an errand boy. Joseph
junior and Susan junior were both living at the same address on the day
of their marriages. When the census was taken 3 months later in 1871,
Joseph senior and his remaining family were at the same address given.
It
is due to the address given on the marriage certificates that I have
managed to work my way back with the rest of the family. The 1871 census lists an Eliza Smith aged 2
years. She was listed as the daughter of Joseph and Susan but in fact
she was the illegitimate daughter of Sophia. Eliza can be seen on the
1881 census living with Sophia's family but listed as Eliza
Branch. On the marriage certificate of Joseph junior,
Joseph senior is recorded as having been a carman. Susan died in 1878 aged 62 years. She died in
the Union Workhouse of syncope imbecility. She was noted as being the
wife of Joseph Smith, a labourer. Joseph died in 1879 aged 63 years. His cause of
death was bronchitis and exhaustion. He had had bronchitis for one
month, and exhaustion for 3 days. His death was registered by his
daughter Susan Stockwell. Susan was unable to write as she made a
cross. Both Joseph and Susan were living in Trafalgar Street at the
time. Joseph was living at number 4, and Susan was living at number 18.
Joseph was noted as having been a carman. In the 1881 census William was living with his
sister Rebecca and her family.
Joseph and Charlotte were both of 'full age' when they married. Joseph was presumably unable to write as he had made his mark on the certificate by his name. Charlotte's father, Richard Thorpe, was recorded as having been a carman. Joseph worked as a carman throughout his life.
It was noted on his marriage certificate, the 1881 census, 1901 census
and on William's birth certificate. In 1881 Joseph's wife, Charlotte,
was also working as a laundress. The 1901 census shows that Charlotte Hovell and
her family were living in the same house as Joseph and Charlotte.
Thomas is lisited as being a visitor in the Hovell household rather
than being Joseph's son. On William's birth certificate Charlotte had
made her mark, so presumably she could not write. Charlotte died in 1903, aged 57 years. Her
cause of death was bronchitis, which she had had for four months. Her
death was registered by her daughter, Charlotte Hovell. At the time, as
in the 1901 census, the two families were living in the same house.
According to their marriage certificate,
William and Kate were 20 years and 18 years old respectively. After
having found their birth certificates, I have found out that they were
actually only 18 and 15 (!) years old. When William and Kate married,
she was approximately 7 months pregnant. At the time of William
George's birth, Kate had only been 16 for 4 weeks! The two witneses at
their marriage were William's sister and her husband, Thomas and
Charlotte Hovell. On William George's birth certificate, William
James is recorded as being a chimney sweep. The 1901 census says that
William James was a contractor carman. Kate died in Fulham, 1946. After her death
William moved to Portsmouth to live with his son Edmund (Ted) where he
died in 1948 of cardiac failure and coronary thrombosis. To see a picture of William and Kate taken
about 1905 click here.
(Thanks to Virginia Millard, nee Smith, for this photo.) William
apparently always had a dove as a pet, and one is shown in this photo.
Kate is wearing a pendant with a photo around her neck, presumably of a
loved one. It looks to me as though it is of a sailor. Her older
brother was a sailer but died while on leave in 1900, so maybe the
photo is of him. The photo also shows the size difference between
William and Kate, with her being much taller than him.
When William and Nellie married they were
24 and 22 years old respectively. On their marriage certificate William
was a carman, as was his father William James Smith. Nellie was not
working, and her father - Henry Charles Rawlings - was a bricklayer.
The marriage was witnessed by Thomas Smith and Alice
Rawlings - William's brother and Nellie's sister. Thomas and Alice were
actually engaged at some point but the marriage never went ahead.
Thomas later married while Alice remained unmarried throughtout her
life. Nellie died in 1975, aged 75 years, in St
Stephen's hospital, Chelsea. Three reasons were given for her cause of
death: 1a. diabetic keto acidosis, 1b. faecal peritonitis, 2.
myocardial infarction. William registered her death. William died in 1981, aged 83 years. He
died in Coatbridge, Scotland, while staying with his son Bill. His
causes of death were noted as myocardial infarction, ischaemic heart
disease and chronic bronchitis. He was noted as having been a docker,
and unsurprisingly, both his parents were deceased.
John and Vera were 23 and 19 years old
respectively when they got married. John was a bus conductor, by this
time his father - William George - was a dock labourer. Vera was not
working, and her father - Francis Littlejohn Stock - was a caterer's
porter. The marriage was witnessed by a L.G.Stock - Vera's brother
Leonard, and a W.H.Smith who I presume was John's brother Bill. Vera died in 1959, aged 29 years, of
stomach cancer. She is buried in North Sheen cemetery, London.
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