Tree climbing: In search of my past: Nearly Forgotten: Mary Ann SMITH

The prompt 'Nearly Forgotten had me scratching my head, Until I looked at the middle pages of my takeout book. That’s what I call the now somewhat dogeared blue book where basic information is written down. Actually, it’s called Ancestral File: A Record book of family research.
Across the centerfold is a family tree, on the left my father’s family and on the right my mother’s. Each couple on the tree have their own page in the form of a family group worksheet. The pages up to my great great grandparents have at the very least their names, mostly more than that.

Ever since I started granny hunting all those years ago, I’ve focused on the main players, those carrying one of the four names of my grandparents, George Arthur Harvey and Florence May Porter, my paternals and Herbert Henry Hall and Georgina Pirrett, my maternals. On the tree I can see at a glance where the gaps. I am still learning about those whose names and dates and some I have only limited knowledge of so it’s one of those that I want to write about. My maternal great grandparents Thomas Hall and Mary Ann Smith.

Though a bit daunted by the common name of smith it’s ladies first so let’s see what I can discover. Mary Anne Smith was born on January 12, 1845, at 2 High Street Bromley, Middlesex, England, to Elizabeth House, age 23, and John Smith, age 31. John and Elizabeth went on to have eight children in all, Mary Ann their second child was their first daughter.

Today the street would be unrecognisable to my ancestors lined with shops on one side and a busy station on the other.

I was interested to discover the origin of the name Bromley by Bow, ancient parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It was once an area of bramble filled meadows and named as such Brembel lega, then Brembelega - Bramble meadow land. The rural village with its pond and village green in now an area populated by modern tower blocks. During our years in London I worked, just a stone’s throw from away at Canary Wharf.

At this stage I cannot find either of her parents on an 1841 census, my first sight of them is the 1851 census for Bromley St Leonard. There is the six-year-old Mary Ann, her parents and four siblings, as well as her mother’s unmarried sister Elizabeth House, age 11. John Smith’s occupation, the same as his next-door neighbour’s, though difficult to read is probably ‘wine porter’. Occupations of other neighbours include shopkeeper, butcher, and labourer. By 1851 the population of the UK had reached 21 million, with 6.3 million people living in cities.

The family would have known about and likely seen the huge glass and iron structure in Hyde Park built to house the Great Exhibition that opened in May 1851, that became known as the ‘Crystal Palace’. After the exhibition closed in October 1851 structure was dismantled and re-erected at Penge Place Estate, Sydenham as a 'Winter Park and Garden under Glass', and the area became known as Crystal Palace. At more than 560 metres long and 124 metres wide it must have been an impressive sight. Part of its gardens included a prehistoric swamp populated by model dinosaurs, and that only about 30 years after the first real dinosaur bones were discovered. Crystal Palace was completely destroyed by a huge blaze in 1936

During our years in London we lived at Crystal Place and often walked through the park and I could just imagine Mary Ann and her family wandering through the grounds, marveling at the dinosaurs just as we used to do.

On the 1861 census much of the family is still at 2 High Street Bromley, but not the now 16-year-old Mary Ann, neither is her older brother George.

Apart from her marriage c 1866 her where she was during the years between the 1861 and 1881 census will probably remain a mystery, there is no sign of her on the 1871. The most likely explanation for her absence from is 1871 census is that she was in domestic service somewhere.

There she on the 1881 with husband Thomas Hall and the four children. The youngest of the children Herbert Henry was my grandfather.

At that time marriages for ordinary working folks like Thomas and Mary Ann would have likely been on a Sunday at their local church as there would have been very little leisure time for families like Mary Ann’s.

Between August and November 1888, within a mile of each other and, only a few miles away from Thomas and Mary ‘s home an infamous murderer roamed the streets. Newspapers, full of speculation, fuelled public fear printing terrifying headlines and salacious images. It was the most sensational crime of its time. Newspapers printed letter from people claiming to be the murderer, some it was said were created by unscrupulous journalists. In one letter, the writer referred to himself as Jack the Ripper. Speculation of the murder’s identity included famous people like author Lewis Carrol. There was even rumour that the killer was one of Queen Victoria’s grandsons. Jack the Ripper terrorized London, killing at least five women and mutilating their bodies in an unusual manner, suggesting the killer had a substantial knowledge of human anatomy. The killer was never apprehended, and Jack the Ripper remains one of England’s, and the world’s, most infamous criminals.

Jack the Ripper terrorized London, killing at least five women and mutilating their bodies, suggesting that the killer had a substantial knowledge of human anatomy. The killer was never apprehended. Jack the Ripper remains one of England’s, and the world’s, most infamous criminals.

I cannot imagine how Mary Ann would have felt, going about her normal life during this time, especially if she needed to be outdoors after sunset. With no one being arrested for the awful crimes many months would have passed before women again felt safe enough to venture out in the evening.

By the 1891 census the family had moved to 29 Cypress Place, Manor Way, New Beckton.

Cyprus’s name dates from 1878, when Britain leased the Mediterranean island from Turkey. Also known as New Beckton, this tiny settlement with its shops and services was a ‘self-supporting community’, entirely owned by the Port of London Authority, providing homes for workers at Beckton gasworks and the Royal Docks. Unlike the earlier workers’ housing in ‘old’ Beckton, construction standards here were not high and the absence of mains drainage contributed to the poor health of the residents.

https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/beckton/

Though I cannot find any occupation for her on any census she would certainly would have worked. Employed in some sort of domestic service to a wealthier family or she could have found work as a barmaid or waitress. Besides going out to work Mary Ann would have all the household chores to do. Husband Thomas occupation was like many of his neighbours a general labourer. Horses were still in use to move goods, as evidenced by the occupation, stable boy, of the next-door neighbour’s son.

Sending children age five to ten years to school became compulsory in 1880, but it wasn’t until 1891 that schooling for all children aged five to thirteen years became free. With three children described as ‘scholars’ on the 1891 census it must have been a relief to no longer have to find the money to send them to school.

The filth of London’s streets in the 1890’s would have been awful. Thousands of tons of horse dung and gallons of urine wound up on the city streets as the more than 300,000 horses went about the business of keeping London moving. Not to mention the thousands of sheep and cattle driven through the streets every week to livestock markets. Early motorised vehicles were called horseless carriages and in 1896 the speed limit for them was increased from 4 miles per hour to 14 miles per hour.

In 1901 Mary Ann was still at 29 Cyprus Way, now described as a widow. With her were son Herbert, Joseph, Thomas, Alfred and Frederick, but none of the daughters. We can’t know if as a 62 year old she was still working somewhere, but her sons would ha most certainly been contributing to the household finances. So far, I have been unable to locate Thomas’ date of death, but must have been after the April 1881 census but before the March 1901 census. The sleuthing to find out more will have to wait until I write his story.

Mary Ann and her small family were still living at Cyprus Way according to the 1911 census, this time at number 31. This census entry is that last, I can locate of her in public records.