See also
Name:
Rebecca Thornton1
Sex:
Female
Father:
Mother:
2007, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth for Rebecca Thornton
1921, 1921 Census for Household of Rebecca Dowell in Shoreditch, London
Birth:
15 Jun 1861
Address: 1 Octagon Place
Baptism:
25 Jul 1861 (age 0)
St Bartholomew's Church4
Address: Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Birth Registration:
27 Jul 1861 (age 0)
the Register Office5
Address: Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Caroline signed the papers with her mark, indicating that she could not write.
Occupation:
frm 1866 to 1873 (age 4-12)
Although she is shown as a Scholar in the 1871 Census, which was taken when she was 9, she could not not read or write and signed documents (her Marriage Certificate, the Birth Certificates for her children, and the Death Certificate for her husband) with her mark. According to her daughter Alice although she could not read or write she was extremely good at mental arithmetic and could add up her grocery bill quicker than the assistant. If the two sums did not agree she would make the assistant add it up again. This may have been an indication that she was dyslexic. She probably left school at 12.
Present (sibling):
17 Mar 1867 (age 5)
Present at Baptism of her sister Louisa
Present (sibling):
18 Jul 1869 (age 8)
Present at Baptism of her sister Emma
Census (living with parents):
2 Apr 1871 (age 9)
1871 Census - living with parents
Occupation:
frm 1873 to 1882 (age 11-21)
In the 1881 Census she is shown as a chair caner and it is assumed that she started work as soon as she was able to leave work on her 13th birthday. As her father was a chair maker it is quite likely that he got her a job at the place where he worked. She continued to work after he marriage to Thomas Dowell; how she managed with a small baby and her husband working as a carman is not known. She may have worked at home. However, they shared a house with John and Harriett Pope and their five children. Harriett was Rebecca's older sister and worked as a boxmaker which was probably a home worker's job so she could well have minded Rebecca's baby as well as looking after her own one year old. When Rebecca gave up work is not known but it is assumed it was around the time of the birth of her second child in 1882.
Parent:
22 Feb 1880 (age 18)
Birth of daughter Rebecca Harriet
Mother:
2 Apr 1880 (age 18)
Reported her daughter Rebecca's birth to the Registrar
Parent:
5 Mar 1882 (age 20)
Birth of daughter Caroline Emma
Parent:
26 Mar 1882 (age 20)
Baptism of daughter Caroline Emma
Witness:
23 Dec 1883 (age 22)
Rebecca witnessed the Marriage of Thomas Thornton and Elizabeth Ann Darby
She was the sister of the groom and the other witness Thomas Dowell was her husband.
Parent:
2 Mar 1884 (age 22)
Baptism of son Thomas
Parent:
23 May 1886 (age 24)
Baptism of son Charles Hezekiah
Parent:
1 Dec 1889 (age 28)
Baptism of daughter Louisa Alice
Mother:
18 Dec 1889 (age 28)
Reported her daughter Louisa's birth to the Registrar
Parent:
8 Mar 1893 (age 31)
Baptism of daughter Harriet Ethel
Parent:
13 May 1896 (age 34)
Birth of daughter Alice Eleanor
Parent:
21 Jun 1896 (age 35)
Baptism of daughter Alice Eleanor
Parent:
21 Jun 1896 (age 35)
Baptism of son William John
Mother:
23 Jun 1896 (age 35)
Reported her daughter Alice's birth to the Registrar
Mother:
23 Jun 1896 (age 35)
Reported her son William's birth to the Registrar
Parent:
16 Oct 1898 (age 37)
Baptism of son Arthur Herbert
Adoptive Mother:
Jun 1901 (age 39-40)
Adopted Louise Mary Fippen
Guest:
2 Nov 1902 (age 41)
Guest at marriage of Thomas Fippen and Caroline Emma Dowell
Son's marriage:
18 Apr 1903 (age 41)
Marriage of son Thomas to Elizabeth Alice Anderson
Residence:
14 Apr 1907 (age 45)
126, St John's Street, Hoxton, Bethnal Green, London14
It is assumed that the address given on the Marriage Certificate of their daughter Louisa was the family home.
Daughter's marriage:
14 Apr 1907 (age 45)
Marriage of daughter Louisa to Edward Charles Kelly
Sister's marriage:
25 Sep 1910 (age 49)
Marriage of sister Louisa to Thomas Gillett
Surviving Spouse:
23 Apr 1919 (age 57)
her husband Tom; Shorditch Old Town15
Address: at their home in 23 Holms Street, Great Cambridge Street
She was with him when he died and reported his death to the Registrar the following day
present:
23 Apr 1919 (age 57)
Present at death of Thomas Frederick Dowell
reported:
24 Apr 1919 (age 57)
Reported death of Thomas Frederick Dowell
Son's marriage:
25 Sep 1920 (age 59)
Marriage of son Arthur to Susan Ethel Hutton
Census:
19 Jun 1921 (age 60)
Shoreditch, London16
Address: 23 Holms Street
The household (which lived in 5 rooms) consisted of Rebecca, her son William, her daughters Harriet and Alice, her grandson Thomas Fippen, and her granddaughters Louisa Fippen and Louisa Kelly. Rebecca was illiterate and had signed all previous documents (e.g. marriage register, children's birth registrations, her husband's death registration with her mark X) so one of her children or a neighbour must have filled in and signed the form on her behalf. William is shown as a French Polisher which is an error. He was an upholsterer and his older brother Tom (who had married the previous year and moved away) had been trained as a French Polisher. Thomas and Louisa Fippen although shown as Rebecca's grandchildren were actually her step-grandchildren. They were the children of Thomas Fippen and his first wife Louisa Jane Dorset who died on 19 July 1901 and had asked Rebecca to "look after her children". Thomas subsequently married Rebecca's daughter Caroline on 2 November 1902. Louisa Kelly was the daughter of Edward Kelly and Rebecca's daughter Louisa who died on 28 October 1918 of Spanish 'Flu. Edward did not die before the 1921 Census (by the declaration 'Both parents dead' for Louisa Kelly entry on the census return) but must have abandoned his children and so was dead as far as Rebecca was concerned. He married Martha Watts in 1922 and was alive at the time of the 1939 Register.
Rebecca and the members of her household shared the house with the household of her daughter Caroline Fippen, widow of Thomas Fippen (see previous paragraph), and their three daughters May, Mary and Alice who lived in a single room.
Death:
25 Dec 1936 (age 75)
Cause: cerebral haemorrhage
Address: 8 Devonshire Road
William had never married and at the time of her death she was living with him. Her grandson Jack who was 2 years 9 months old at the time can just remember her death. At the time he was living at 55 Binfield Road which was nearby and must have been taken by his mother Alice to see her. She was lying unconscious on a chaise lounge in her usual long black dress and apparently he kept saying "Wake up Grandma". Later Jack was told by his mother that Rebecca had been in a coma for three days between the stroke and her death.
Death Registration:
29 Dec 1936
the Register Office20
Address: for Lambeth
Daughter: Caroline Emma Dowell, 1939?, age 57
Daughter: Alice Eleanor Dowell, c. 1950, age 54
Son: William John Dowell, c. 1938, age 42
2007, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Thomad Dowell and Rebecca Thornton
1881, 1881 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Hoxton Old Town
1891, 1891 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Bethnal Green
1901, 1901 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Shoreditch
1911, 1911 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Bethnal Green
Spouse:
Children:
Marriage:
15 Mar 1880 (age 18)
Address: Baroness Road, Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Thomas could have been either the father (although this is unlikely as he was an inmate of the Bethnal Green Workhouse at the time) or the younger brother of the bride. However, as Harriett was the eldest sister of the groom Thomas was almost certainly the bride's sibling. Who the other guests were is not known but the wedding would almost have certainly been attended by the groom's and bride's families although it is unlikely that the groom's parents attended in view of his father's situation. After the marriage the couple shared a house with John & Harriett Pope at 25 Hobbs Place, Shoreditch. The groom, the bride and the both witnesses signed with their marks indicating that they were illiterate. This confirms Rebecca's daughter Alice's recollection that her mother could neither read or write (but was very good at mental arithmetic). Thomas must have learnt to read and write to some extent as towards the end of his life he was a caterer's traveller and a tailor's assistant.
St Thomas' Church was damaged by German bombing during the 1939-45 war and demolished in 1954.
Census for household:
3 Apr 1881 (age 19)
Address: 25 Hobbs Place
The household consisted of Thomas, his wife Rebekah and their daughter Rebekah (age 1). They shared the house with John Pope's family whose wife Harriett was Rebecca's older sister. Harriett's and Rebecca's brother Hezekiah was also lodging with the Popes.
Census for household:
5 Apr 1891 (age 29)
Bethnal Green, Middlesex26
Address: 17 Fuller Street
The household consisted of Thomas, his wife Rebecca, and their children Rebecca, Caroline, Thomas, Charles and Louisa. They occupied three rooms in a house which they shared with two other families. How a family of seven fitted into three rooms is not known. It is assumed that each of the three families cooked for themselves in their own living rooms but probably shared a sculley and a toilet in the yard. Thomas and Rebecca probably slept in the living room with the boys in one room and the girls in the remaining room.
Census for household:
31 Mar 1901 (age 39)
Shoreditch27
Address: 91 Phillip Street
The household consisted of Thomas, his wife Rebecca (née Thornton), and their children Caroline (age 19), Thomas (age 17), Charles (age 14), Louisa (age 11), Harriett (age 8), William (age 4), his twin sister Alice (age 4) and Arthur (age 2). The family had the whole house to themselves although there is no indication as to its size. However, nearby houses in Phillip Street occupied by more than 1 family appear to have 4 rooms so it is assumed that there were 4 rooms probably split up as a living room, the parents bedroom, a bedroom for the boys and a bedroom for the girls. In addition there was probably a scullery with a copper for use on washdays which may also have served as a kitchen and a privy in the yard.
Census for household:
2 Apr 1911 (age 49)
Address: 26 Baroness Road
The household consisted of Thomas and his wife Rebecca, their children Harriett, Alice, William, and Arthur, and Herbert Dowell, and their granddaughter Louise Fippen. Thomas, Harriett, Alice and William were all working whilst Arthur and Louise were at school.
Although Louise Fippen is shown as the granddaughter of Thomas Dowell technically she was his step-granddaughter. Louise was the daughter of Thomas Fippen and Louise Jane Dorsett who died on 19 July 1901 of tuberculosis of the brain. Thomas Fippen then married Caroline Emma Dowell a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca on 2 Nov 1902, and they went on to have five children of their own. When Louise came to live with the Dowells is not known - probably shortly before or after Louise Dorset's death because Rebecca had promised to take Louise in if anything happened to her mother. Louise never married and continued to live with Rebecca or after she died Alice. As children Louise and Alice shared a bedroom and had to turn the mangle together on washdays.
The return was probably filled in by Thomas' daughter Harriet as both Thomas and his wife Rebecca were illiterate. Thomas added his mark X after his name in the signature box.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth for Rebecca Thornton, (21 December 2007). Custom Id: BXCC903308; Date of Birth15 Jun 1861NameRebeccaFather' NameThomas ThorntonMother's NameCaroline Thornton. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
Ibid. Date of birth. Cit. Date: 15 June 1861. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Civil Registration Index (England & Wales) for Birth of Rebecca Thornton, (FMP website). Custom Id: Births 1861 Q3, Vol. 1c, Page 250; Quarter and YearJul-Sep 1861Registration DistrictBethnal GreenVolume1cPage250SurnameThorntonGiven NamesRebecca. General Register Office. Call Number: Births Jul-Sep 1861.
Parish Register for Baptism of Rebecca Thornton, St Bartholomew, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, 25 July 1861, London Metropolitan Archives.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth for Rebecca Thornton, (21 December 2007). Custom Id: BXCC903308; Registration date. Cit. Date: 27 July 1861. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Thomas Dowell and Rebecca Thornton, (Issued by General Register Office on 6 Aug 2007 in response to Application NoCOL330700). Custom Id: MXD 350320; Bride's signature, Rebecca Thornton X her mark. Cit. Date: 15 March 1880. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth for Alice Eleanor Dowell, (Issued on 6 Aug 2007 in response to Application No COL330700). Custom Id: BXCC 641846; Informant, X The mark of Rebecca Dowell. Cit. Date: 23 June 1896. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth for William John Dowell, (Issued on 6 August 2007 by General Register Office in response to Application No COL330700). Custom Id: BXCC 641845; Informant's Signature, X The mark of Rebecca Dowell, Mother. Cit. Date: 23 June 1896. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death for Thomas Frederick Dowell, (Issued on 6 Aug 2007 in reponse to Application No COL330700). Custom Id: DYB 617157; Informant's Signature, X The mark of Rebecca Dowell. Cit. Date: 24 April 1919. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
J P W Ward, Reminiscences of Alice Eleanor Dowell, (Created 2007 with subsequent additions). Her mother, Rebecca, could not read or write but was very good at mental arithmetic. She could ‘beat’ the shopkeeper with the speed with which she added up the bill and frequently challenged the shopkeeper’s total. Inevitably she was right. Dowell-Lauderdale Database.
1871 United Kingdom census, 2 New Street, Bethnal Green, London, RG10/502, head of household: Thomas Thornton, National Archives.
1881 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Shoreditch, London, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: RG11/399, Folio 22, Page 32, Schedule 174; Occupstion. Cit. Date: 3 April 1881. National Archives. Call Number: RG11/399.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Thomas Dowell and Rebecca Thornton, (Issued by General Register Office on 6 Aug 2007 in response to Application NoCOL330700). Custom Id: MXD 350320; Rebecca Dowell married Thomas Thornton on 15 March 1880. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Edward Charles Kelly and Louisa Alice Dowell, (Issued 7 Aug 2007 in response to Application No COL330700). Custom Id: MXD 354024; Bride's address at time of marriage. Cit. Date: 14 April 1907. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death for Thomas Frederick Dowell, (Issued on 6 Aug 2007 in reponse to Application No COL330700). Custom Id: DYB 617157; Cit. Date: 23 April 1919. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
1921 United Kingdom census, 23 Halms Street, Shoreditch, London, head of household: Rebecca Dowell, National Archives.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death for Rebecca Dowell, (7 Aug 2007 for Applicant COL330700). Custom Id: DYB 617643; Cit. Date: 25 December 1936. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Civil Registration Index (England & Wales) for Death of Rebecca Dowell, (FMP website). Custom Id: Deaths 1936 Q4 Lambeth Vol. 1d Page 266; Deaths Dec 1936Registrition District Lambeth----------------------------Surname First name(s) ----------------------------DOWELL Rebecca. General Register Office. Call Number: Deaths.
J P W Ward, As I Remember It, (Not published). See Chapter 1. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death for Rebecca Dowell, (7 Aug 2007 for Applicant COL330700). Custom Id: DYB 617643; Signature, description and residence of informant. Cit. Date: 29 December 1936. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Thomas Dowell and Rebecca Thornton, (Issued by General Register Office on 6 Aug 2007 in response to Application NoCOL330700). Custom Id: MXD 350320; Cit. Date: 15 March 1880. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.
General Register Office, Civil Registration Index (England & Wales) for Marriage of Thomas Dowell and Rebecca Thornton, (FreeBMD website). Custom Id: Marriages 1880 Q1 Bethnal Green, Vol. 1c, Page 543; Cit. Date: Q1 1880. General Register Office.
St Thomas, Bethnal Green, (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol11/pp217-226 ). St. Thomas, Baroness Road [formed 1844/51]. Dowell-Wallace Data Base. Call Number: Places.
1881 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Shoreditch, London, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: RG11/399, Folio 22, Page 32, Schedule 174; Cit. Date: 3 April 1881. National Archives. Call Number: RG11/399.
1881 Census for Household of John Pope in Shoreditch, London, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: RG11/299 Folio 22 Page 32, Schedule 173; Cit. Date: 3 April 1881. National Archives. Call Number: RG11/229.
1891 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Bethnal Green, London, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: RG12/265, Folio 201, Page 27; Cit. Date: 5 April 1891. National Archives.
1901 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Shoreditch, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: RG13/278, Folio 11, Page 14, Schedule 88; Cit. Date: 31 March 1901. National Archives.
1911 England Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Bethnal Green, (Find My Past website). Custom Id: RG14/1452 RG78PN50 RD17 SD2 ED35 SN50; Cit. Date: 2 April 1911. National Archives. Call Number: RG14/1452.
J P W Ward, Reminiscences of Alice Eleanor Dowell, (Created 2007 with subsequent additions). Para 2.3 - Her Siblings. Dowell-Lauderdale Database.
General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death for Louise Fippen, (13 August 2019 in response to Application No 10316560-1). Custom Id: DYE 398811; Cit. Date: 20 July 1901. Jack Ward, The Nook, Silver Street
Bampton
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 9NR. Tel: 01398332458, Email: familyhistory@blackwithies.demon.co.uk.