Person:Ellen Thomas (10)

Ellen Thomas was born on 4th December 1865 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, daughter of Ann Thomas, formerly Whittingham, and her husband William Thomas, a labourer. The family lived in the Frankwell area of Shrewsbury at the time of her baptism three weeks later. The 1871 census finds Ellen living with her parents and younger brother at 1 Bynner Cottages in Shrewsbury.

Some time between 1871 and 1879, Ellen's father died. In 1879 her mother married a mason named Thomas Caldwell, who thus became Ellen's stepfather. Ann and Thomas Caldwell married at Tilstock, near Whitchurch, and appear there in the 1881 census with Ellen's younger brother. Ellen by this time had left home and was working as a general servant for a grocer and baker in Whitchurch.

Ellen had two sons in the 1880s in Whitchurch: Tom Caldwell Thomas (presumably named after her stepfather) in 1882, and Albert William Thomas in 1883.

On 31st December 1890 Ellen was married in Liverpool to a dock labourer and cattle drover named William Francis Kelly, from Birkenhead. They returned to Birkenhead, living near William's family. William acted as stepfather to Ellen's two sons, but they appear not to have had any more children. William died in 1910. They had been married for 19 years.

Ellen appears in the 1911 census as a widow, living with a boarder, Arthur Mitchell. Ellen and Arthur married shortly after the census at St Paul's Church in Tranmere. They were married for just over 20 years, until Arthur's death in 1931.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Ellen was living at 17 Henry Street, Birkehead, and working as a street news vendor.

Ellen died in 1949, aged 85.

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

   b. Ellen THOMAS, December Quarter 1865, Shrewsbury Registration District, Volume 6a, page 631

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Parish Registers of Shrewsbury St George.

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Saint George, Shrewsbury in the County of Salop in the Year 1865
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   168	1865 Dec[embe]r 24th	Ellen D[aughte]r of	William & Ann	Thomas	Frankwell	Labourer	J. Harding

   This baptism has been linked to the Ellen Thomas who married William Kelly on the basis that her marriage certificate names her father as a labourer named William Thomas, whilst in the censuses after her married Ellen consistently claimed to have been born around 1865 in Shrewsbury. In the 1939 Register the adult Ellen gave her date of birth as 4 Dec 1865, shortly before this baptism.

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 2773; Folio 9; Page 11, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 1 Bynner Cottages, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
   William Thomas, head, married, male, 49 [1821/2], Railway Labourer, b. Shrewsbury, Salop
   Ann Thomas, wife, married, female, 32 [1838/9], b. Madeley, Salop
   Ellen Thomas, daughter, female, 5 [1865/5], Scholar, b. Shrewsbury, Salop
   William Thomas, son, male, 1mo [1871], b. Shrewsbury, Salop
   George Butcher, lodger, unmarried, male, 22 [1848/9], Labourer, b. Ludlow, Salop

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 2670; Folio 56; Page 18, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: High Street, Whitchurch, Shropshire
   William Venables, head, married, male, 43 [1837/8], Grocer & Baker, b. Whitchurch, Salop
   Sarah Venables, wife, married, female, 39 [1841/2], b. Audlem, Cheshire
   Samuel H. Venables, son, unmarried, male, 19 [1861/2], Grocer's Assistant, b. Whitchhurch, Salop
   Thomas B. Venables, son, unmarried, male, 15 [1865/6], Grocer's Assitant, b. Whitchurch, Salop
   Edwin M. Venables, son, male, 10 [1870/1], Scholar, b. Whitchurch, Salop
   Lucy E. Venables, daughter, female, 3 [1877/8], b. Whitchurch, Salop
   Joseph L. Venables, son, male, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Whitchurch, Salop
   Sarah Hughes, mother, widow, female, 60 [1820/1], b. Whitchurch, Salop
   Ellen Thomas, servant, unmarried, female, 15 [1865/6], Gen Serv, b. Whitchurch, Salop

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 2880; Folio 83; Page 56, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 8 Eldon Place, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   1 room occupied
   William F. Kelly, head, married, male, 28 [1862/3], Cattle Drover, employed, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Ellen Kelly, wife, married, female, 25 [1865/6], b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire
   Tom Caldwell Thomas, stepson, male, 9 [1881/2], Scholar, b. Whitchurch, Shropshire
   Albert Thomas, stepson, male 7 [1883/4], Scholar, b. Whitchurch, Shropshire

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 3388; Folio 164; Page 19, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 42 Somerville Street, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   3 rooms occupied
   William Kelly, head, married, male, 38 [1862/3], General Labourer, worker, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Ellen Kelly, wife, married, female, 35 [1865/6], b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire
   Thomas Kelly, son, single, male, 19 [1881/2], Day Gateman, worker, b. Whitchurch, Shropshire
   Albert Kelly, son, single, male, 17 [1883/4], Hydraulic Strip?, worker, b. Whitchurch, Shropshire

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 22026; Schedule 31, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 105 Well Lane, Higher Tranmere, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   4 rooms occupied
   Ellen Kelly, head, female, 45 [1865/6], widow, married 21 years, 3 children, 2 still living, Laundress - Laundry, worker, b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire
   Aurthr [sic] W. Mitchell, boarder, male, 43 [1867/8], widower, married 18 years, 0 children, Platers Labourer - Ship building yard, worker, b. Portsmouth, Hampshire

8. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register.

   Address: 17 Henry Street, Birkenhead
   Mitchell Ellen, female, b. 4 Dec 1865, widow, Street news vendor

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

   d. Ellen MITCHELL, December Quarter 1949, Birkenhead Registration District, Vol. 10a, page 106, aged 85 [1863/4]