For some time now I have been interested in genealogical research by tracking the history of my own family. Here I will link to the stories I have uncovered. Because of some of the sensitive informaton contained in those stories, some documents may have restricted access.
I have provided two large documents under “Family History Stories“, which document my parents’ genealogy.
Much of this work has required research involving The London Archives, The National Archives, and Enfield Local Studies Centre. I have used Ancestry and Find My Past as well as the General Register Office for birth death and marriage certificates.
My Grandparents’ times 1870 – 1970
Introduction
The history of the time is made up of the history of the people, and the stories I uncovered make clearer the lives of working-class Londoners in the 19th century. I began my genealogy with my attempt to tell the story of the times of my four grandparents – Leonard Victor Robinson, Harriet Philpott, Charles Gates and Ellen Evans – only two of whom (Harriet and Ellen) I ever met. It has been a roller-coaster of discoveries and surprises since, as with many families, little was said of previous histories when they were alive. We tended to just get on with our lives. This is a story of struggles; of loves found and lost; of children loved and children lost. There are many who owe their lives to these four people, many of whom will know little about them. I hope this goes some way to fill the gap.
Their lives roughly spanned the 100 years between 1870 and 1970, during which huge social change occured. My father’s side of the family lived in Shoreditch/Bethnal Green for generations. My mother’s side lived in Kent and Essex before migrating to London for work aronbd the 1870s. One thing that is striking is just how small the area was in which they lived for most of their lives. In fact, it could be covered virtually by a double page spread in the London A-Z. This is not atypical for working class Londoners in the 19th century.
The London working classes were remarkably mobile over short distances (often moving from house to house within a neighbourhood every two or so years), they were much less mobile over greater distances. Historians have not paid sufficient attention to the sense of local community in London and its effect on working class mobility.
During those times, there was considerable overcrowding and insanitary conditions given the unsuitability of the sewage system and poor sanitary standards. Before the 1891 census, the four most overcrowded working-class districts of London were exactly those the Gates family lived in: Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Stepney and Southwark – all of which experienced a decline in overcrowding between 1891 and 1911 as people moved away. However, in 1911, 30% of the population of Stepney, Bethnal Green, Shoreditch and Southwark were living in one or two room tenements.
During my grandparents lives, the building of the railways also caused considerable disruption across London, and many houses were demolished as new lines were built across the city. The other side of that transport infrastructure was that it enabled working class employees to move out of the central metropolis to the new suburbs and travel in.
The infinitely cheaper land outside the built-up areas of the metropolis presented an opportunity to develop working classes estates if only cheap transport facilities could be provided.
We see this in the move of the Gates family from Shoreditch to Edmonton around 1880. But in addition, we see with the Robinson and Philpott families, the migration of working-class families from small villages in Kent and Essex, into the city looking for work in the brickfields of the fast-developing suburbs of London.
Events
Over the period my grandparents were alive Queen Victoria was on the throne, and Benjamin Disraeli was Prime Minister. The country witnessed the death of four monarchs, they lived through the Boar War, and the horror of two World Wars, the sinking of the Titanic, the independence of India, the birth of the NHS, the first Labour Government, commercial television, legalisation of homosexuality, the invention of the computer, Concorde, decimalisation, the UK’s entry into the Common Market – and more.
But working in genealogy forced me down other avenues – did they go to school? Where did they live and why did they move so often?
Education
Developments in the provision of education in the UK took place between 1830 and 1880. There would have impacted on the lives of Charles, Ellen, Leonard and Harriet as they grew up. Changes to the education system in the middle of the 19th century came as a result of the acceptance by various governments that the state had a responsibility for educating children. Previously this had been seen as the responsibility of the church or charitable foundations.
Some school admission records still exist for Charles and Ellen, but I had to make some assumptions for Leonard and Harriet. What was their school life like and how long did they remain at school? This is all somewhat less clear.
I have written a short background report on “Education 1830 – 1880” available for download here.
Housing
My grandparents all experienced frequent changes of address, often within the same small area, even within the same street, and this poses a number of questions about working-class housing in London between 1850 and 1920 when both Charles and Ellen, and Leonard and Harriet seem to have settled into the same house for an extensive period of time. Why did they move, sometimes short distances, sometimes up to 10 miles away? Why did they move so often? Why did this all seem to stop after World War I? How did they arrange accommodation? When did they join the property-owning class? A question I must admit I previously gave little thought to is about how people arranged their accommodation in the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the fast developing yet overcrowded areas of London, and in the newly built suburbs of Edmonton and Tottenham. Most working class families at the time rented their homes from wealthy landowners.
All my grandparents appear to have lived in rented accommodation, apart from Charles and Ellen who managed to get a mortgage around 1930 for the house in which I would eventually spend the first 7 years of my life.
I have written a short background report on “Property Ownership in 19th Century London” available for download here.
Going Back in Time
Looking at my grandparents’ childhoods inevitably led me back in time. Who were their parents, and how did their lives unfold? Just how far back is it conceivable to go with any certainty.
Using manily on-line sources I have been able to go back as far as my 3xGreat Grandparents, and in some cases 4x, though as we go back, the information available becomes sparser.
In my Family History Stories I will gradually fill the gaps. For now, I have provided very detailed life stories on some of my ancestors.