Person:George Smith (528)

George Smith was baptised on 14th April 1850 at Wing in Rutland, son of Angelina Smith, formerly Knight, and her husband John Smith, a road labourer. George appears in the 1851 census living with his parents in Wing. In 1861 George was visiting the family of Edward and Mary Winterton at nearby Empingham - it seems likely that Mary Winterton was his aunt, as her maiden name was Knight and, like George's mother, Mary was from Tixover.

The 1871 census finds George working as a workhouse porter at the Stamford Union Workhouse, which was just outside the boundaries of the town of Stamford, being in the parish of Stamford Baron in Northamptonshire. Later that year, on 23rd October 1871, George married Sophia Cox. She had been working as a cook at a house in Stamford, which is presumably where they met, but they married at Glaston in Rutland, just south of George's native village of Wing.

Shortly after their marriage, George and Sophia moved to Sileby in Leicestershire, where they went on to have four daughters between 1872 and 1882. The 1881 census finds the family living at Back Lane there with George working as a general labourer.

During 1883, three of George and Sophia's four daughters died. Their eldest daughter died aged ten in the June, and their youngest two daughters were buried twelve days apart in the November, one aged seven, one aged sixteen months.

The 1891 census finds George and Sophia and their surviving daughter living at Rookery in Sileby. They also had a two-year old girl from the nearby town of Loughborough living with them, who was also living with them in both the 1901 and 1911 censuses - perhaps they had effectively adopted her, after having lost three of their own children.

By 1901, George and Sophia were living at Cemetery Road in Sileby. They were still there in 1911, when they also had a grandson living with them.

It would appear that Sophia died in 1920, aged 75. George appears to have survived her by two years, dying in 1922, aged 72.

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

   b. George SMITH, June Quarter 1850, Uppingham Registration District, Volume 15, page 761, mother's maiden name Knight

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Wing (Rutland). Bishop's transcripts for Wing, 1707-1850. (Northampton: Northamptonshire Record Office).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Wing in the County of Rutland in the Year 1850
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   331	April 14	George	John & Angelina	Smith	Wing	Labourer	Charles Boys, Rector

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 2093; Folio 405; Page 15, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Wing, Rutland
   John Smith, head, married, female, 24 [1826/7], Road Labourer, b. Lyndon, Rutland
   Angelina Smith, wife, married, female, 24 [1826/7], b. Tixover, Rutland
   George Smith, son, male, 1 [1849/50], b. Wing, Rutland

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.)
   Class RG9; Piece 2305; Folio 87; Page 22, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Empingham, Rutland
   Edward Winterton, head, married, male, 35 [1825/6], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Empingham, Rutland
   Mary Winterton, wife, married, female, 37 [1823/4], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer] Wife, b. Tixover, Rutland
   Edwin Winterton, son, male, 9 [1851/2], Scholar, b. Empingham, Rutland
   Martha Winterton, daughter, female, 7 [1853/4], Scholar, b. Empingham, Rutland
   Mary A. Winterton, daughter, female, 5 [1855/6], Scholar, b. Empingham, Rutland
   Emeline Winterton, daughter, female, 3 [1857/8], Scholar, b. Empingham, Rutland
   Edith Winterton, son, male, 1 [1859/60], b. Empingham, Rutland
   George Smith, visitor, unmarried, male, 12 [1848/9], Scholar, b. Wing, Rutland

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 3309; Folio 77; Page 1, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Stamford Union Workhouse, Stamford Baron, Northamptonshire
   [Many staff and inmates, including:]
   Smith, George, Porter, Workhouse Porter, unmarried, male, 22 [1848/9], Porter, b. Wing, Rutland

6. ↑ 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 3150; Folio 121; Page 28, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Back Lane, Sileby, Leicestershire
   George Smith, head, married, male, 33 [1847/8], General Labourer, b. Wing, Rutland
   Sophia Smith, wife, married, female, 36 [1844/5], House Wife, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Mary Angelina Smith, daughter, female, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Sileby, Leicestershire
   Georgenar [sic] Sophia Smith, daughter, female, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. Sileby, Leicestershire
   Florence Loveday Smith, daughter, female, 4 [1876/7], Scholar, b. Sileby, Leicestershire

7. ↑ 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 2519; Folio 106; Page 21, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Rookery, Sileby, Leicestershire
   4 rooms occupied
   George Smith, head, married, male, 43 [1847/8], General Laborer, employed, b. "Rutland - Wing Co"
   Sophia Smith, wife, married, female, 46 [1844/5], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Georgina S. Smith, daughter, single, female, 16 [1874/5], Shoe Machinist, employed, b. Sileby, Leicestershire
   Ethel C.L. Hewitt, boarder, female, 2 [1888/9], b. Loughborough, Leicestershire

8. ↑ 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 2980; Folio 125; Page 40, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Cemetery Road, Sileby, Leicestershire
   George Smith, head, married, male, 52 [1848/9], General Labourer, worker, b. Wing, Rutland
   Sophia Smith, wife, married, female, 55 [1845/6], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Ethel C.L. Hewitt, boarder, single, female, 12 [1888/9], b. Loughborough, Leicestershire

9. ↑ 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 19141; Schedule 282, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: Cemetery Road, Sileby, Leicestershire
   6 rooms occupied
   George Smith, head, male, 63 [1847/8], married, General Labourer, b. Wing
   Sophia Smith, wife, female, 67 [1843/4], b. Barnack
   Arthur Cramp, grandson, male, 9 [1901/2], b. Belgrave, Leicester
   Ethel Hewitt, boarder, female, 22 [1888/9], single, b. Loughborough

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

    Four plausible deaths in the Barrow upon Soar district (which covered Sileby), of which the 1922 death seems most likely as the only one where the age given was correct:
    
    d. George SMITH, September Quarter 1915, Barrow upon Soar Registration District, Volume 7a, page 144, aged 71 [1843/4]
    
    d. George SMITH, March Quarter 1919, Barrow upon Soar Registration District, Volume 7a, page 244, aged 67 [1851/2]
    
    d. George SMITH, December Quarter 1922, Barrow upon Soar Registration District, Volume 7a, page 164, aged 72 [1849/50]
    
    d. George SMITH, December Quarter 1924, Barrow upon Soar Registration District, Volume 7a, page 180, aged 71 [1852/3]