Person:Henry Smith (321)

Henry Smith's origins are unclear. He claimed to have been born at Chelsea in Middlesex around 1826 and that his father was a shoemaker called George Smith. However, Henry's first confirmed sighting is not until 1855, when he married at the Register Office in Luton. His wife was a widow called Zilpha Hemmings, formerly Kempson, who seems to have used the forenames Sophia and Elizabeth interchangeably rather than the unusual name with which she had been baptised; she married as Sophia Hemmings. She had five children from her first marriage, to whom Henry became stepfather. Henry and Zilpha do not appear to have had any further children together. Although Henry and Zilpha married in Luton, at the time of their marriage both lived in the neighbouring town of Dunstable.

Henry worked as a marine store (junk shop) dealer. Through 1856 he placed several advertisements in the Dunstable Chronicle, giving his address as Back Street in Dunstable. This appears to have been the name given at the time to the short street just off the crossroads at the centre of Dunstable which links High Street South with West Street. It was also known as Ashton Street, and is now known as Middle Row.

The 1861 census finds Henry and Zilpha (on this occasion calling herself Elizabeth) at Ashton Street.

Zilpha's daughter Mary (who had married a chimney sweep called James Bryant) died in 1864, aged 22. She left a young son, also called James Bryant, who came to live with Henry and Zilpha.

Zilpha died in 1866 (as Sophia), aged 48.

Both the 1871 and 1881 censuses find Henry and his step-grandson James Bryant living at 14 Ashton Street.

James Bryant died as a young man of 26 years old in 1886. Henry died in 1888, when he was probably in his early sixties.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 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 1011; Folio 66; Page 37, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Ashton Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Henry Smith, head, married, male, 32 [1828/9], Rag Merchant, b. Chelsea, Middlesex
   Elizabeth Smith, wife, married, female, 38 [1822/3], b. Totternhoe, Bedfordshire

2. ↑ 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 1567; Folio 91; Page 32, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 14 Ashton Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Henry Smith, head, widower, male, 44 [1826/7], Marine Store Dealer, b. Chelsea, Middlesex
   James Briant, grandson, male, 10 [1860/1], b. Dunstable, Bedfordshire

3. ↑ 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 1646; Folio 25; Page 3, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 14 Ashton Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Henry Smith, head, widower, male, 54 [1826/7], General Dealer, b. Chelsea, Middlesex
   James Briant, grandson, unmarried, male, 21 [1859/60], General Dealer, b. Dunstable, Bedfordshire

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

   d. Henry SMITH, June Quarter 1888, Luton Registration District, Volume 3b, page 243, aged 65 [1822/3]

5.   Dunstable Chronicle, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 1, 23 Aug 1856.

   HENRY SMITH,
   MARINE STORE DEALER,
   BACK STREET, DUNSTABLE,
   BEGS to inform the Inhabitants of Dunstable and the surrounding Neighbourhood that he buys Left off Clothes, Boots, Shoes, Old Copper, Brass, Lead, Pewter, Cast Iron, Wrought Iron, Bones, Broken Glass, Wine Bottles, Doctor's Bottles, White and all sorts of Colored Rags, Roping, Cording, Sacking, Backing, Old Books, Waste Paper, Old Pictures, Furniture, Old Coins, Old Whalebone Umbrellas, and all sorts of Kitchen Utensils. LUMBER ROOMS CLEARED.-The best Price given for the above-mentioned Articles.
   Families waited upon at their own Residences, and all Goods paid for before they are taken away.
   Observe!!-H. SMITH, Back Street, Dunstable.

   Similar advertisements were placed in the Dunstable Chronicle several times during 1856.