Birth:
1793 (est)
The 1841 Census give his age as 50 and the 1851 Census as 58. As ages in the 1841 Census were rounded to the nearest 5 years the age given in the 1851 has been used to calculate his year of birth. This was confirmed as being the more accuate by the age given on his Death Certificate.
A search of the IGI and FreeReg failed to produce a baptimal record which may have given a more accuate date of birth. Also a search by the Norfolk Record Office of the main Kings Lynn parishes for a baptismal record c. 1793 failed to find a record which means that he was either not baptised (a most unusual occurance) or he was baptised in one of the surrounding parishes.
Occupation:
frm 1805 to 1854 (age 11-61)
The Baptismal Register entries for all his children (except for Edward where a full record is not yet available), the 1841 and 1851 Censuses and his Death Certificate all give his occupation as a sawyer so it is assumed that he started work at the age of 12 (i.e. in 1805) and worked until illness just before his death in 1854 prevented him from doing so. He started work in Lynn as he was married and his first child Hannah was born there. At the time of his daughter's birth the family were living in Jews' Lane and Matthew probably worked for Willim Capps who had a business at 23 Jews' Lane.
Sometime between the birth of his daughter Hannah in 1820 and the birth his son Edward in 1825 he moved to Chelsea in Middlesex. Why he moved is a matter of speculation but it was probably because of the building boom which was taking place in Chelsea in the late 18th century and early part of the 18th century. Whether he worked on house construction of in one of the timber yards along the River Thames is not known.
From Chelsea he moved to Islington probably in 1825 and remined there until his wife's death in 1842 probably working at one of the sawmills on the Regents Canal. Whether he remained with the same employer all the time is not known; probably not as he moved around within the area. After his wife's death he appears to have moved to Shoreditch.
Parent:
5 Mar 1820 (age 26-27)
Birth of daughter Hannah
Parent:
9 Mar 1820 (age 26-27)
Baptism of daughter Hannah
Parent:
4 Sep 1824 (age 30-31)
Birth of son Edward
Parent:
24 Oct 1824 (age 30-31)
Baptism of son Edward
Parent:
25 Sep 1826 (age 32-33)
Birth of son Henry
Parent:
11 Mar 1829 (age 35-36)
Birth of son John Loyal
Parents:
23 May 1830 (age 36-37)
Matthew and Susan Drew were present at the burial of their child John on 23 May 1830 in Spar Fields Burial Grounds, in the parish of St James, Clerkenwell according to the Church of England rite. Spa Fields Burial Grounds was privately owned but nearby there was a Duchess of Huntington non-conformist chapel. It is probable that the burial service was conducted by by a minister from the chapel. Whether there was service in the chapel is not known. His parents would have been present at the burial. The cause of his death is not known but as his twin brother Matthew was buried 6 days later on 29 May it was almost certainly some infectious childhood disease.
Parents:
6 Nov 1832 (age 38-39)
Matthew and Susan Drew were present at the burial of their child Mary on 6 November 1832 in Spa Fields Burial Grounds, in the parish of St James, Clerkenwell according to the Church of England rite. Spa Fields Burial Grounds was privately owned but nearby there was a Duchess of Huntington non-conformist chapel. It is probable that the burial service was conducted by by a minister from the chapel. Whether there was service in the chapel is not known. Her parents would have been present at the burial. The cause of her death is not known.
Witness:
2 Sep 1839 (age 45-46)
Matthew witnessed the Marriage of Hezekiah Dowell and Hannah Drew
Mathew was the bride's father
Son's marriage:
2 Sep 1844 (age 50-51)
Marriage of son Edward to Hannah Newsom
Parents:
21 Feb 1847 (age 53-54)
Matthew and Susan Drew were present at the burial of their child Henry on 21 February 1847 in St Mary's Churchyard, Islington, Middlesex according to the Church of England rite. The burial was attended by Charlotte Drew. The minister at the burial was the Rev. the Rev. Hutchison. His parents were almost certainly present and probably his sister Charlotte but who else was there is not known. What he died of is not known.
spouse:
23 Jun 1852 (age 58-59)
Death of spouse Susan
Death:
22 May 1854 (age 61)
Cause: hemoptysis
Address: Kingsland Road
Hemoptysis is coughing up blood from the respiratory tract and was almost certainly due to tuberculosis probably brought about by the conditions in which he had lived. Acute hemoptysis causes asphyxiation due to blockage of the airways. Although the cause of his death was certified the Death Certificate does not say by who. On his death certificate he is described as a sawyer which may indicate that he was working and was hospitalised because of his illness rather than because he was destitiute. A search of the workhouse records is necessary to establish the reason for his admission.
Death Registration:
26 May 1854
the Register Office for Haggerstone West, Shoreditch10
John Rose was probably the Superintendent of Shoreditch Workhouse
Burial:
26 May 1854
a pauper's grave at St John the Baptist Church12
Address: Hoxton, London
Two Registers were kept. The standard Burial Register with a printed ‘box’ for each burial and a Fees Register recording the cost of each burial. The Abode of workhouse inmates in the Burial Register is not give as the workhouse but as the road in which the workhouse was situated. In the fees register it is evident that burials of workhouse inmates are not charged for and the abode is shown as the workhouse. Entries in the Fees Register were initialled (D S for Matthew’s entry) and it was determined from the Burials Register that D S stood for D Shaboe who was one of the curates.
Was not showing the workhouse as the Abode in the Burials Register an attempt to keep it ‘respectable’ or give inmates a degree of dignity in death?
1841, 1841 Census for Household of Matthew Drew in Islington, Middlesex
Spouse:
Children:
Marriage Banns:
15 Nov 1818 (age 24-25)
St Nicholas Chapel13
Address: Lynn, Norfolk
Both Matthew and Susan lived in the parish
Marriage:
3 Dec 1818 (age 24-25)
Address: Lynn, Norfolk
The witnesses were George Goddard, Mary Abraham and John Vine who signed with his mark. Having three witnesses is slightly unusual and their relationship to the couple is not known - probably friends. Who else attended the wedding is not known.
St Nicholas was a chapel of ease and served the relatively affluent northern part of the parish of St Margaret's, Kings Lynn.
Census for household:
6 Jun 1841 (age 47-48)
St Mary Islington, Finsbury, Middlesex3
Address: City Gardens
The household consisted of Mathew & Susan Drew and their children Edward age 15, Henry age 14 and Charlotte age 5. They shared the house with another family of 5 and two single men. The size of the house is unknown.
Their daughter Hannah and her husband Hezekiah Dowell also lived in City Gardens just 4 houses away.
Census for household:
30 Mar 1851 (age 57-58)
St Lukes, Finsbury, Middlesex17
Address: 8 Howards Green
The household consisted of Matthew, his wife Susan and their daughter Charlotte who was 18. Three families shared the house. In all there were 12 people. There is no indication as to the size of the house.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Hezekiah Dowell and Hannah Drew, (Issued 6 Aug 2007 in response to Application No COL330700). Custom Id: MXD 350264; Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
Church of England, Register Entry for Baptism of Hannah Drew, (9 March 1820). Norfolk Records Office. Call Number: Registers.
1841 Census for Household of Mathew Drew in St Mary Islington, Finsbury, Middlesex, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: HO107/664, Folio 19, Page 4; Cit. Date: 6 June 1841. National Archives.
1851 England census St Lukes, Middlesex, Census Type: 1881 England, Census Place: St Lukes, Middlesex, Folio: 305, Page: 39, (1881 England Census for St Lukes, Middlesex, Folio 305, Page 39). Matthew Drew age 58 (i.e.) born 1793 in Norfolk, Lynn. National Archives. Call Number: 1851 Census.
Church of England, Register Entry for Baptism of Hannah Drew, (9 March 1820). CountyNorfolkPlaceKings LynnBaptism Date09 Mar 1820Father ForenameMatthewFather SurnameDREWAbodeJews' Lane, LynnFather OccupationSawyer. Norfolk Records Office. Call Number: Registers.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Hezekiah Dowell and Hannah Drew, (Issued 6 Aug 2007 in response to Application No COL330700). Custom Id: MXD 350264; Date Married 02 Sep 1839Bride's Name Hannah DREWBride's Father Mathew DREWBride's Father's Occupation Sawyer. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
1841 Census for Household of Mathew Drew in St Mary Islington, Finsbury, Middlesex, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: HO107/664, Folio 19, Page 4; Matthew Drew employed as a sawyer. National Archives.
1851 England census St Lukes, Middlesex, Census Type: 1881 England, Census Place: St Lukes, Middlesex, Folio: 305, Page: 39, (1881 England Census for St Lukes, Middlesex, Folio 305, Page 39). Matthew Drew employed as a sawyer. National Archives. Call Number: 1851 Census.
White's Norfolk Trade Directory for 1836, Directory Type: White's Norfolk Trade Directory, (1836). Sawyers. Cit. Date: 1836. Norfolk Records Office, The Archives Centre. Tel: 01603 222599, Email: E-mail: norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk, Call Number: Directories.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death for Matthew Drew, (Issued by GRO on 13 Aug 2009 in response to Application No1506282-1). Custom Id: DYC410888; Cit. Date: 26 May 1854. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
Application No1506282-1 Issued ByGRO Issue Date13 Aug 2009, CRI(E&W) for Death of Matthew Drew, Event Type: Death, Registration District: Shoreditch, Volume: 1c, Page: 146, (Period, Apr - Jun 1854). Custom Id: DYC410888; Quarter and YearJun 1854SurnameDrewGiven NamesMatthewRegistration DistrictShoreditch. General Register Office. Call Number: Deaths.
Church of England , Register Entry for Burial of Matthew Drew, (LMA Reference Number: p91/jnb/094). Cit. Date: 24 May 1854. London Metropolitan Archives.
Church of England , Banns of Marriage for Mathew Drew and Susan Harrison, (Find My Past Archive Reference BD 9/119). Cit. Date: from 15 November 1818 to 29 November 1818. Norfolk Records Office, The Archives Centre. Tel: 01603 222599, Email: E-mail: norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk.
Church of England , Register Entry for Marriage of Matthew Drew and Susan Harrison, (Initially transcribed from a FreeReg Marriage Register entry with minor additions from copy of register page provided by Norfolk Record Office ). Cit. Date: 3 December 1818. Norfolk Records Office, The Archives Centre. Tel: 01603 222599, Email: E-mail: norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk, Call Number: Parish Registers.
St Nicholas Chapel, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, (1200-2009). Dowell-Wallace Data Base. Call Number: Places.
Church of England, Register Entry for Baptism of Hannah Drew, (9 March 1820). Mattthew Drew and Susanna are shown as the parents of Hannah Drew. Norfolk Records Office. Call Number: Registers.
1851 England census St Lukes, Middlesex, Census Type: 1881 England, Census Place: St Lukes, Middlesex, Folio: 305, Page: 39, (1881 England Census for St Lukes, Middlesex, Folio 305, Page 39). Cit. Date: 30 March 1851. National Archives. Call Number: 1851 Census.