Person:John Meekins (3)

John Meakins was born on 21st October 1837 at 8 Mint Square in Southwark, in the southern suburbs of London. He was the son of Hannah Meakins, formerly Goodge, and her husband John Meakins, a labourer. Young John had several siblings, but he appears to have been the only one to survive to adulthood. John appears in the 1841 census living with his parents at Mint Square.

John’s mother died in December 1845, when John was eight years old.

The 1851 census finds John living with his father at 7 Fox’s Court, off Kent Street (later renamed Tabard Street).

On 28th May 1860, aged 22, John married Ann Walter at Holy Trinity Church in Newington. At the time of their marriage they were both described as living at Violet Place, which was off Globe Street in Newington. They then moved to 4 Fox’s Buildings (adjoining Fox’s Court), where Ann gave birth to twin sons, John and Henry, on 20th August 1860, less than three months after their marriage.

John’s father died in November 1860.

The 1861 census returns for Fox’s Buildings are known to be lost but it seems likely John, Ann and the twins were there as they were living there in 1860 and 1871 and have not been found elsewhere in the 1861 census.

Late in 1862, Ann had a daughter, Mary Ann. Shortly after Mary Ann’s birth, one of the twins, John, died aged 2 of hydrocephalus. In 1865 Ann had another son and called him John, but he too died as a baby just under a year old. In 1866 Ann had a daughter Hannah.

Ann had daughter called Ellen in 1870. The 1871 census finds John, Ann and their four surviving children at 5 Fox’s Buildings, along with Ann’s sister, Matilda Walter. John was working as a general dealer. On their children’s baptism records John was variously described as a costermonger, hawker of fruit, labourer and general dealer. Ann also worked as a hawker.

Ann had another son called John (their third son called John) in 1872.

John’s daughter Ellen died in 1874, aged 4. Finally, Ann had a son James William in 1875, but he too was to die as a baby. By summer 1876, John and Ann had had eight children, but four of them had died.

John died from phthisis (tuberculosis) on 2nd February 1880 at Guy’s Hospital in Southwark. He was 42 years old. Ann survived him by ten years and remarried in 1881. John’s first grandchild was born just three months after his death.

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

   REGISTRATION DISTRICT St George the Martyr Southwark
   1837. BIRTH in the Sub-district of Boro[ugh] Road St George the Martyr in the County of Surrey
   No.	When and where born	Name, if any	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden name of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   171	October 21st 5 o'Clock Morning 8 Mint Square, St George the Martyr	John	Boy	John Mekins	Hannah Mekins formerly Goodge	Labourer	Hannah Mekins her X mark Mother 8 Mint Square, St George the Martyr	December 1st	James Bedrock[?], Registrar

   Mint Square is labelled on a 1792 map (Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, the Borough of Southwark and parts adjoining, shewing every house, Richard Horwood, 1792). It was at the crossroads of King Street (later renamed Caleb Street) and Queen Street (which roughly followed the line of modern Quilp Street). Much of the area around Mint Square was demolished in the 1880s to make way for Marshalsea Road.

   
2. ↑ England. 1841 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 HO107; Piece 1084; Book 9; Folio 11; Page 16, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Mint Square, St George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   John Mekins, male, 30 [1806-11], Labourer, not born in county
   Hannah Mekins, female, 30 [1806-11], not born in county
   John Mekins, male, 4 [1836/7], born in county

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1563; Folio 156; Page 27, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: 7 Foxes Court, St George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   John Meeking, head, married, male, 42 [1808/9], Labourer, b. St George Southwark
   John Meeking, son, unmarried, male, 13 [1837/8], b. St George Southwark
   Elizabeth Lawrence, visitor, widow, female, 50 [1800/1], Hawker, b. Dartford, Kent

4.   England. 1861 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.).

   The family has not been found in the 1861 census. According to the National Archives Discovery Catalogue, census piece RG9/327 covering the Kent Road Sub-District of Southwark St George the Martyr parish is known to be missing pages 5-6 and 9-39 from the book covering enumeration district 4. The description of enumeration district 4 at the start of the book lists “Foxes Buildings and Foxes Court” among the streets that were covered. As they are not listed in the surviving pages of that book, they must have been recorded on the pages that are lost. As the family was living at Fox’s Buildings in 1860 when their sons Henry and John were born and was still there in the 1871 census, it is considered reasonably likely that they were there in 1861 but their census return is lost.

5. ↑ 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 598; Folio 117; Page 37, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 5 Foxes Buildings, St George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   John Meakins, head, married, male, 33 [1837/8], General Dealer, b. Mint St[reet] Boro[ugh]
   Ann Meakins, wife, married, female, 29 [1841/2], Hawker, b. Boro[ugh]
   Henry Meakins, son, male, 10 [1860/1], Scholar, b. Kent St[reet]
   Mary A. Meakins, daughter, female, 8 [1862/3], Scholar, b. Kent St[reet]
   Hanah Meakins, daughter, female, 4 [1866/7], b. Kent St[reet]
   Ellen Meakins, daughter, female, 1 [1869/70], b. Kent St[reet]
   Matilda Walters, sister, female, 17 [1853/4], Hawker, b. Kent St[reet]

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

   Superintendent Registrar's District Saint Olave Southwark / Registrar's District St Olave
   1880. DEATHS in the District of St Olave in the County of Surrey
   No.	When and where died	Name and surname	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   321	Second February 1880 Guys Hospital	John Meakins	Male	42 years [1837/8]	General Dealer	Phthisis P.M. Certified by Frederick William Tavy M.D.	H.H. Carritt Inmate (Sister of Ward) Guys Hospital, Southwark	Fourth February 1880	Thomas Dally, Registrar