See also
Name:
Caroline Ann Thornton1
Sex:
Female
Father:
Mother:
Birth:
16 Feb 1852
Her Baptismal Register entry gives her date of birth although she was baptised 9 years after her birth. Why the long delay is not known. However, her birth registration confirms the year and quarter and gives her full name. Although the 1871 Census gives her birthplace as Bethnal Green, London, she was born in Bethnal Green, Middlesex as Bethnal Green was only a London district (from 1837) for the purpose of registration. Before 1889 the civil parish of Bethnal Green was in Middlesex.
Census (living with parents):
7 Apr 1861 (age 9)
1861 Census - living with parents
Baptism:
25 Jul 1861 (age 9)
St Bartholomew's Church2
Address: Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Her siblings Mary Ann, Martha and Elizabeth were baptised on the same occasion presumably after the incumbent had persuaded their parents that they should have all their children baptised.
Present (sibling):
25 Jul 1861 (age 9)
Present at Baptism of her sister Mary Ann
Present (sibling):
25 Jul 1861 (age 9)
Present at Baptism of her sister Martha
Present (sibling):
25 Jul 1861 (age 9)
Present at Baptism of her sister Elizabeth
Occupation:
frm 1867 to 1917 (age 14-65)
The 1871, 1891, 1901 and 1911 Censuses gives her occupation as a chair caner. The 1871 Census does not indicate where she worked but the 1891 and subsequent Censuses show that she worked at home on her own account. It is likely that she started work at the age of 14 and probably learnt how to cane in a nearby workshop specialising in the manufacture of chairs. Her younger sister Mary who was 16 at the time of the 1871 Census was also employed as a chair caner so they may have been trained in the craft as soon as they left school. When Caroline branched out on her own is not known. Later, according to the 1881 Census, another sister Rebecca was also employed as a chair caner but she had stopped working before the 1891 Census. When Caroline stopped working is not known except that it was sometime between the 1911 and 1921 Censuses - say 1917 when she was 65.
Present (sibling):
17 Mar 1867 (age 15)
Present at Baptism of her sister Louisa
Present (sibling):
18 Jul 1869 (age 17)
Present at Baptism of her sister Emma
Census (living with parents):
2 Apr 1871 (age 19)
1871 Census - living with parents
Death:
1925 (age 73)
Hackney, London11
Although her son Alfred who was unmarried and was living with his parents at the time of the 1921 Census was recorded in the 1939 Register together with his sister Caroline and her daughter Minnie she was not which means she must have died before September 1939. A search of death registrations between 1921 and 1939 produced only one registration for her name and age at death.
1872, Register Entry for Marriage of George Gregory and Caroline Thornton
1881, 1881 Census for Household of George Gregory in St John Hackney, London
1891, 1891 Census for Household of George Gregory in Bethnal Green, London - Page 2
1901, 1901 Census for Household of George Gregory in Shoreditch, London
1911, 1911 Census for Household of George Gregory in Hackney, London
1921, 1921 Census for Household of George Gregory in Dalston, London
Spouse:
Marriage:
12 May 1872 (age 20)
St Jude's Church12
Address: Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Samuel could have been either the groom's father or brother - the latter is more likely. Martha was the bride's younger sister. The couple's parents and siblings probably attended the wedding but who else was there is not known.
Census for household:
3 Apr 1881 (age 29)
St John Hackney, London13
Address: 1 Hertford Road
The household consisted of George, his wife Caroline and their children George (age 7), Alfred (age 5), William (age 3) and Caroline (age 11 months). They shared the house with another family of 6. The size of the house is unknown.
Census for household:
5 Apr 1891 (age 39)
Shoreditch, London8
Address: 4 Wickham Street
The household consisted of George, his wife Caroline and their children George (age 17), Alfred (age 15), William (age 13) and Caroline (age 10). The family lived in 3 rooms and shared the house with another family of 8 who also has 3 rooms. The conditions must have been very cramped.
Census for household:
31 Mar 1901 (age 49)
Shoreditch, London9
Address: 85 Phillip Street
The household consisted of George, his wife Caroline, and their children George (age 27), Alfred (age 25), William (age 23) and Caroline (age 20). The family lived in 3 rooms sharing the house with a widow of 72 and her son of 39 who lived in 1 room. All the family were working which is indicative of how poor wages were.
Census for household:
2 Apr 1911 (age 59)
St John at Hackney10
Address: 23 Holly Street, Dalston N.E.
The household consisted of George, his wife Caroline, their children Alfred and Caroline Mabey, and Caroline's children Rose (age 7) and Minnie (age 5).
Census for household:
19 Jun 1921 (age 69)
Dalston, London14
Address: 22 Holly Street, Dalston, E 8
The household consisted of George, his wife Caroline and their son Alfred who is still unmarried and living at home. They have three rooms and share the house with 2 other families - one of 5 and the other of 2. George is no longer working and his handwriting (signature) is shaky. Judging from the remainder of the writing the form was probably completed by his son Alfred.
General Register Office, Civil Registration Index (England & Wales) for Birth of Caroline Ann Thornton, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: Births 1852 Q1 Bethnal Green, Vol. 1c, Page 304; Name. Cit. Date: Q1 1852. General Register Office. Call Number: Births Jun-Mar 1852.
Parish Register for Baptism of Caroline Thornton, St Bartholomew, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, 25 July 1861, London Metropolitan Archives.
1861 Census for Household of Thomas Thornton in Bethnal Green, London, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: RG9/256, Folio 89, Page 34, Schedule 217; Name, age and place of birth. Cit. Date: 7 April 1861. National Archives. Call Number: RG10/502.
General Register Office, Civil Registration Index (England & Wales) for Birth of Caroline Ann Thornton, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: Births 1852 Q1 Bethnal Green, Vol. 1c, Page 304; Cit. Date: Q1 1852. General Register Office. Call Number: Births Jun-Mar 1852.
1881 Census for Household of Thomas Dowell in Shoreditch, London, (Ancestry website). Custom Id: RG11/399, Folio 22, Page 32, Schedule 174; Rebekah Dowell age 19. Occupation Chair Carver. National Archives. Call Number: RG11/399.
Map of Shoreditch in 1893: Introduction, Area: Shoreditch, Sheet: London Sheet 51, (Alan Godfrey Maps, 1893). The furniture trade was centred on Curtain Road in Shoreditch, and extended into Finsbury and Bethnal Green. It employed about 15,000 people – cabinet makers, upholsterers, french polishers, carvers and gilders, and of course sawyers. Nearly all the workshops were small, employing from four to 25 men, and they were highly specialised: one would make dining chairs, another small tables, and a third bookcases.
1871 United Kingdom census, 2 New Street, Bethnal Green, London, RG10/502, head of household: Thomas Thornton, National Archives.
1891 England, Wales & Scotland census, 4 Wickham Street, Shoreditch, London, RG12/249, Folio 189, Pages 27 & 28, Schedule 203, head of household: George Gregory, London Metropolitan Archives.
1901 England, Wales & Scotland census, 85 Phillip Street, Shoreditch, London, RG13/278, Folio 11, Page 13, Schedule 83, head of household: George Gregory, National Archives.
1911 England, Wales & Scotland census, 23 Holly Street, Dalston N.E., St John at Hackney, RG14/1123, head of household: George Gregory, National Archives.
England and Wales Death Registration Index, Caroline A Gregory, Q4 1925, Hackney, Vol. 1b, Page 525, General Register Office.
Parish Register for Marriage of George Gregory and Caroline Thornton, St Jude, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, 12 May 1872, London Metropolitan Archives.
1881 England, Wales & Scotland census, 1 Hertford Road, St John Hackney, Middlesex, RG11/295, Folio 87, Page 13, Schedule 687, head of household: George Gregory, National Archives.
1921 England, Wales & Scotland census, 22 Holly Street, Dalston, E 8, Dalston, London, head of household: George Gregory, National Archives.