Person:George Moles (1)

George Moles was baptised on 2nd March 1866 at Hitchin in Hertfordshire. He was the son of a midwife called Fanny Moles, formerly Worbey, and her husband Thomas Moles, a mole and rat catcher. The family lived at The Riddy, a small group of cottages which stood a little way to the south-east of the town of Hitchin, surrounded by fields. The 1871 census finds George living with his parents and siblings at The Riddy.

By 1881 the family had moved to Ippollitts Folly, in the parish of St Ippolyts, immediately south of Hitchin. George was working as an agricultural labourer by this time.

On 11th September 1886, George married Eliza Hoffman at Hitchin. He signed his marriage certificate as 'George Moles', although he would later sign the 1911 census as 'George Moules' - the spelling was clearly not fixed. George and Eliza went on to have four sons together between 1887 and 1893. The first two boys were born in Hitchin: Thomas George in 1887 and Jim in 1889. The family then left Hitchin and moved about thirty miles south to the New Southgate area in Middlesex, in the rapidly expanding outer suburbs of London.^[9] They appear in the 1891 census living at 86 Stanhope Road in New Southgate. George was working as a railway labourer. Their younger two sons were both born in the New Southgate area: Frederick in 1891 and Percy John in 1893.

Back in St Ippolyts, George's father died in 1895.

The 1901 census George, Eliza and their children living at 2 York Terrace on Palmers Green Road in Southgate, and by 1911 they had settled at 34 Palmers Road in New Southgate, which appears to have been their home for the rest of their lives. George was working as a general labourer in the building trade by this time.

George's youngest son, Percy, was killed in action during the First World War. He died on 18th August 1916 at the Somme in France, aged 22. George's son Jim also died as a young man - he died just after the war in 1919, aged thirty.

George's mother died in 1922 in Hitchin.

George died in 1929, aged 63. He died in the Edmonton district, which included Southgate at that time. Eliza survived him by nearly 23 years.

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

   b. George MOULES, March Quarter 1866, Hitchin Registration District, Volume 3a, page 285

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Registers of St Mary's Church, Hitchin. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Hitchin in the County of Hertford in the Year 1866
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   3851	March 2	George	Thomas & Fanny	Mole	Riddy	Lab[oure]r	John Pardoe, Curate

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 1368; Folio 88; Page 23, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 1 The Riddy Mow, Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Thomas Moule, head, married, male, 33 [1837/8], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Willian, Hertfordshire
   Fany Moule, wife, married, female, 29 [1841/2], Straw Platter, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Herbert Moule, son, male, 7 [1863/4], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   George Moule, son, male, 5 [1865/6], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   John Moule, son, male, 2 [1868/9], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Annie M. Moule, daughter, female, 2mos [1871], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Emma Worbey, sister, unmarried, female, 20 [1850/1], Straw platter, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Clara Worbey, niece, female, 10mos [1870], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire

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 1420; Folio 62; Page 8, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Ippollitts Folly, Ippollitts, Hertfordshire
   Thomas Moules, head, married, male, 42 [1838/9], Agr[icultura]l Lab[oure]r (Mole & Rat Catcher), b. Willian, Hertfordshire
   Fanny Moules, wife, married, female, 39 [1841/2], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Herbert Moules, son, unmarried, male, 17 [1863/4], Agri[cultural] Lab[oure]r, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   George Moules, son, unmarried, male, 15 [1865/6], Agri[cultural] Lab[oure]r, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   John Moules, son, male, 13 [1867/8], Scholar, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Annie M. Moules, daughter, female, 10 [1870/1], Scholar, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   James Moules, son, male, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Ernest Moules, son, male, 5 [1875/6], Scholar, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Julia Moules, daughter, female, 3 [1877/8], Scholar, b. Ippollitts, Hertfordshire

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 1058; Folio 73; Page 37, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 86 Stanhope Road, New Southgate, Friern Barnet, Middlesex
   3 rooms occupied
   George Moles, head, married, male, 25 [1865/6], Laborer Railway, employed, b. Hertford
   Lizzie Moles, wife, married, female, 24 [1866/7], b. Hertford
   Thomas Moles, son, male, 4 [1886/7], b. Hertford
   James Moles, son, male, 2 [1888/9], b. Hertford

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 1267, Folio 70; Page 28, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 2 York Terrace, Palmers Green Road, Southgate, Middlesex
   George Moles, head, married, male, 35 [1865/6], General Labourer, worker, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Eliza Moles, wife, married, female, 34 [1866/7], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Tom Moles, son, single, male, 14 [1886/7], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   James Moles, son, single, male, 12 [1888/9], b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Fred Moles, son, single, male, 9 [1891/2], b. New Southgate, Middlesex
   Percy Moles, son, single, male, 7 [1893/4], b. New Southgate, Middlesex
   Rose Taylor, niece, single, female, 19 [1881/2], Laundress, worker, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Alice Chapman, lodger, single, female, 20 [1880/1], Laundress, worker, b. New Southgate, Middlesex
   Sam Sharman, boarder, single, male, 20 [1880/1], General Labourer, worker, b. Finchley, Middlesex

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 7403; Schedule 38, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 34 Palmers Road, New Southgate, Southgate, Middlesex
   3 rooms occupied
   George Moules, head, male, 45 [1865/6], married, General Labourer - Builder, worker, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Eliza Moules, wife, female, 44 [1866/7], married 24 years, 4 children born to marriage, 4 children still living, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Thomas Moules, son, male, 24 [1886/7], single, Carman for Compactor - Builders, worker, b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire
   Fred Moules, son, male, 19 [1891/2], single, Painter's Labourer - Decorator, worker, b. New Southgate, Middlesex
   Percy Moules, son, male, 17 [1893/4], single, Junior Assistant at shop, worker, b. New Southgate, Middlesex
   James Greenstock, boarder, male, 50 [1860/1], single, Coal Porter - Coal merchant, worker, b. Redburn [sic], Hertfordshire
   [Form signed by "George Moules" - he had clearly changed his mind on the spelling of the surname since his marriage.]

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

   d. George MOULES, September Quarter 1929, Edmonton Registration District, Volume 3a, page 592, aged 63 [1865/6]

9. ↑ New Southgate straddled the parishes of Friern Barnet and Edmonton when Eliza and George first moved there - they appear to have lived in the Friern Barnet part of New Southgate.