Person:John Meekins (5)

John Meakins was born around 1810, son of Mary Meakins, formerly Simkins, and her husband John Meakins, a labourer. No birth or baptism record has been found for John, and he gave conflicting information on where he had been born. His parents were both from Bedfordshire, where they had been living in the area around Woburn and Eversholt in the early 1800s, but later settled in Southwark in the southern suburbs of London. John later seems to have been unsure as to whether he was born after they moved to Southwark or not.

John’s first confirmed sighting is on 10th December 1833, when he married Hannah Goodge at the church of St John Horsleydown in the borough of Southwark. One of the witnesses to their marriage was a Daniel Brittan Berry, who had married John’s sister Mary the previous day.

John and Hannah had a son called John in 1837, at which time they were living at 8 Mint Square in Southwark. Mint Square was at the crossroads of King Street (later renamed Caleb Street) and Queen Street (roughly on the line of modern Quilp Street).

In 1840 they had a son called Alfred, but he died when only nine weeks old.

The 1841 census finds Hannah, John and their son John living at Mint Square, with John working as a labourer. Later that year they had a daughter called Sarah.

In 1844 Hannah and John had a daughter called Mary. She died in August 1845, when only sixteen months old.

Hannah died just a few months after her daughter. She had been suffering with hematemesis for nearly two years and phthisis (tuberculosis) for nine months. She died on 17th December 1845 at 8 Queen Street in Southwark. She was said to be thirty years old. John was described as a hawker on her death certificate.

In August 1849, John’s father died. Around the same time, John’s daughter Sarah died, aged eight. John was therefore left with only one surviving child.

The 1851 census finds John and his son living at 7 Fox’s Court, off Kent Street in Southwark, about a quarter of a mile south-east of Mint Square. His mother and sister Mary were living nearby at Harrow Street, close to Mint Square.

On 19th March 1860, John married again. His second wife was Jane Sell and they married at the parish church of St George the Martyr in Southwark. They had been neighbours for some years, both living in Fox’s Court or the neighbouring Fox’s Buildings.

John’s mother died in June 1860 at Fox's Buildings.

Five months later, and less than nine months after marrying Jane, John died of bronchitis. He died on 30th November 1860 at 11 Fox’s Buildings. He was said to be 49 years old. He was buried at the City of London Cemetery at Little Ilford, to the east of London. Jane survived him by nearly fourteen years.

John's signature from his second marriage in 1860.

1. ↑ 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

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 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

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

   REGISTRATION DISTRICT ST GEORGE SOUTHWARK
   1860 DEATH in the Sub-district of Kent Road 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
   73	Thirtieth November 1860 11 Foxes Buildings	John Meakin	male	49 years [1810/11]	General Laborer	Chronic Bronchitis Certified	X The mark of Ann Meakin present at death 11 Foxes Buildings, Southwark	Fifth December 1860	F.C. Fitch, Registrar

   The Ann Meakin who acted as informant for John's death was presumably his daughter-in-law.

   
4. ↑ City of London Cemetery, Little Ilford, Essex: Cemetery Registers (Corporation of London).

   General Register of Interments in The City of London Cemetery, Little Ilford.
   No. 15904
   Date of Burial: 1860 Dec[embe]r 9th
   Name of Person Buried: John Meakin
   Description, Avocation, and Parochial Residence, of Person Buried: Kent Street, Southwark
   Sex: male
   Age: 50 years [1809/10]
   District in which the Death is registered: Kent Road, Surrey
   From what Parish removed: St George
   Situation of Grave: Square 21, Number 7194
   No. of Grant: 15386
   Description of Interment: 2nd Class Common interment
   Consecrated or Unconsecrated Ground: Consecrated
   If Pauper – The Union: [blank]
   Ceremony performed by: C.J.F. Taylor
   Remarks: John C. Stacey, Registrar

5. ↑ Although no birth or baptism record has been found for this John, his parents have been identified as John Meakins and Mary Simkins on the basis that:
   a. this John’s second marriage in 1860 named his father as John; and
   b. through Mary Berry (née Meakins), who acted as one of the witnesses to both this John’s first marriage and this John’s son John’s marriage. Mary was also the informant for her father’s death in 1849. Mary Berry appears in the 1841 census in the same house on King Street in Southwark as John Meakins (senior) and his wife Mary, and that house was listed just four houses after the one where this John Meakins was living on Mint Square.
   It therefore seems reasonable to conclude that Mary Berry and this John Meakins were brother and sister. Mary gave both Woburn and Eversholt in Bedfordshire as her place of birth. John Meakins and Mary Simkins had married at Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire in 1799, then had children baptised at both Woburn and Eversholt in the years between 1800 and 1812.
   The John the subject of this page gave conflicting information on where he was born; in 1841 he said he was not born in Surrey, yet in 1851 he gave his place of birth as the parish of St George the Martyr, Southwark, which was in Surrey and the same parish he had been living in in 1841. John’s age given in the 1851 census suggests he was born around 1808/9, whilst that given when he died suggests he was born around 1810/11.