Person:David Smith (175)

David Smith was born on 28th November 1866 at Luton in Bedfordshire, son of a charwoman called Mary Ann Smith, formerly Cain, and her husband William Smith, a labourer. David appears to have been the youngest of the couple's nine children, and with the two children before him having both died young there was quite a pronounced gap between David and his surviving older siblings. The 1871 census finds the family living at Tower Hill, which was a courtyard of cottages on the west side of the road later called Manchester Street in the centre of Luton.

In 1878, when David was eleven years old, his mother died. The 1881 census finds David working as a labourer and living with his father William at 15 Tower Hill.

In 1886, aged 19, David married a girl called Edith Sophia Sykes, who was from Deddington in Oxfordshire, and appears to have been known by her middle name. Sophia and David had a son, Alfred, in Luton in 1888. Their second son, George Albert, was born in Deddington in 1890, but after that they returned to Luton.

The family appears in the 1891 census living at 'Why Ax Ye', which was a much photographed picturesque thatched cottage on Park Street just outside the built up area as it then was. David was working as a farm servant at this time. David and Sophia had a daughter, Alice Maud in 1893, although she died when she was only two years old.

By 1901 the family was living at 30 Park Road West in Luton, and David was a horse keeper. In 1911 the family was living at 46 Cambridge Street, co-incidentally next door to David's niece Elizabeth Kempson and her family (Elizabeth was David's sister Sarah's daughter). David and Sophia stayed at 46 Cambridge Street until about 1934, when they moved a few doors down to 38 Cambridge Street.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, David and Sophia were living at 38 Cambridge Street, and David was described as a retired horse keeper.

David died in hospital in Luton on 22nd August 1941, aged 74. Sophia survived him by just under ten years.

1. ↑ Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. David SMITH, December Quarter 1866, Luton Registration District, Volume 3b, page 417, mother's maiden name Cain

2. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast).

   ch. 15 Jan 1867, St Mary, Luton, Bedfordshire: David son of William & Mary Ann Smith

   Needs to be confirmed at Bedfordshire Archives.

3. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 1570; Folio 43, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Tower Hill, Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Smith, head, married, male, 50 [1820/1], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Mary Smith, wife, married, female, 48 [1822/3], Washerwoman, b. Whitwell, Hertfordshire
   James Smith, son, unmarried, male, 18 [1852/3], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   David Smith, son, unmarried, male, 4 [1866/7], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

4. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 1648; Folio 105; Page 18, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 15 Tower Hill, Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Smith, head, widower, male, 61 [1819/20], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   David Smith, son, male, 16 [1864/5], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

5. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1273; Folio 4; Page 1, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Why Ax Ye, Luton, Bedfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   David Smith, head, married, male, 24 [1866/7], Farm Servant, employed, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Edith S. Smith, wife, married, female, 24 [1866/7], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Alfred Smith, son, male, 3 [1887/8], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   George A. Smith, son, male, 8m [1890], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Susan Sykes, visitor, single, female, 17 [1873/4], General Servant Domestic, employed, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire

6. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 1516; Folio 149; Page 19, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 30 Park Rd West, Luton, Bedfordshire
   5 or more rooms occupied
   David Smith, head, married, male, 34 [1866/7], Horsekeeper, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Sophie Smith, wife, married, female, 34 [1866/7], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Alfred Smith, son, single, male, 13 [1887/8], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   George A. Smith, son, single, male, 10 [1890/1], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire

7. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), (formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 8995; Schedule 231, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 46 Cambridge Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   5 rooms occupied
   David Smith, head, male, 44 [1866/7], married 24 years, 3 children born alive, 2 still living, Horse keeper - Borough Council - worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Edith Sophia Smith, wife, female, 44 [1866/7], married, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   George Albert Smith, son, male, 20 [1890/1], single, Warehouseman - Straw Plait Merchant - worker, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Arthur Cecil Buck, boarder, male, 20 [1890/1], single, Marine Engineer - Marine Engineers - worker, b. Outsorn, South Africa

8. ↑ ^8.0 8.1 General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Luton Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   38 Cambridge Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Smith, David / male / 28 Nov 1866 / married / Horse Keeper Retired
   Smith, Sophia / female / 3 Sep 1866 / married / Unpaid domestic duties

9. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. David SMITH, September Quarter 1941, Luton Registration District, Volume 3b, page 815, aged 74 [1866/7]

10. ↑ England. National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1858 onwards. (Ancestry.com).

    1941
    SMITH David of 38 Cambridge-street Luton Bedfordshire died 22 August 1941 at 11a Dunstable-road Luton Probate Llandudno 29 September to Sophia Smith widow. Effects £396 13s. 6d.

    11a Dunstable Road was the address given to St Mary's Hospital, which had previously been the Luton Union Workhouse - to avoid the stigma of the workhouse it had become customary to use a street address rather than name the institution, a practice which continued even after the buildings ceased to be the workhouse.