Person:John Thompson (322)

John William Thompson was born on 22nd July 1838 at Southwark in the southern suburbs of London. He was the son of Elizabeth Thompson, formerly Golledge, and her husband Samuel Thompson. Both John’s parents worked in brush making, with Elizabeth described as a brush drawer and Samuel as a brush maker.

The 1841 and 1851 censuses both find John living with his parents and siblings at Fox’s Buildings, a narrow street in the parish of St George the Martyr in Southwark. The street was accessed through an archway between shops on Kent Street, which was part of the Old Kent Road.

On 9th November 1859, aged 21, John married Susan Chandler at St Mary’s Church in Newington. John was described as a hawker at the time of their marriage. John and Susan went on to have five children between 1863 and 1872, although three of them died young. Only their son John (born 1867) and daughter Elizabeth (born 1869) survived infancy.

The 1871 census finds John, Susan and their children living at 4 Fox’s Court, off Fox’s Buildings, with John working as a general dealer and Susan working as a charwoman.

Susan died in 1880. She was said to be 43 years old. The 1881 census finds John and his two surviving children living at Fox’s Court.

On 22nd August 1881, aged 43, John married again. His second wife was a widow called Ann Meakins, formerly Walter, and they married at St Mary’s Church in Lambeth. They had been neighbours at Fox’s Buildings for some years, Ann having lived there with her first husband since the 1860s.

Ann died in December 1890, aged 51.

The 1891 census finds John living alone at 14 Fox’s Buildings. He later moved to live with his son John and his family at 42 Westcott Street, about a quarter of a mile south-east of Fox’s Buildings.

On 26th June 1895 John was admitted to the Southwark St George the Martyr Workhouse on Mint Street. It is likely he was unwell when admitted as he died there two days later, on 28th June 1895, aged 56. He was buried at the Manor Park Cemetery in East Ham.

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

   b. John William THOMPSON, September Quarter 1838, St George the Martyr Southwark Registration District, Volume 4, page 117, mother’s maiden name Golledge

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Southwark, Surrey: Parish Registers of St George the Martyr, Southwark (London Metropolitan Archives, London).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Saint George the Martyr Southwark in the County of Surrey in the Year 1840
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   2215 Born July 22 1838	1840 January 26th	John William Son of	Samuel & Elizabeth	Thompson	Foxes Buildings, Kent Street	Brush Maker	Geo[rge] Weight, Curate

   Baptised same day as brother Samuel (born 1836).

3. ↑ 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 1085; Book 3; Folio 33; Page 18, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Foxes Buildings, St George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   Samuel Thompson, male, 34 [1806/7], Brush Maker, born in county
   Elizabeth Thompson, female, 33 [1807/8], born in county
   Henry Thompson, male, 6 [1834/5], born in county
   Samuel Thompson, male, 4 [1836/7], born in county
   John Thompson, male, 2 [1838/9], born in county
   George Thompson, male, 8 months [1840], born in county

4. ↑ 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 158; Page 30, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: 5 Foxes Buildings, St George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   Samuel Thompson, head, married, male, 39 [1811/12], Brush Maker, b. Shoreditch, Middlesex
   Elizabeth Thompson, wife, married, female, 37 [1813/14], Brush Drawer, b. Shoreditch, Middlesex
   John Thompson, son, unmarried, male, 12 [1838/9], b. St Georges, Surrey
   George Thompson, son, unmarried, male, 10 [1840/1], b. St Georges, Surrey
   Jane Thompson, daughter, unmarried, female, 2 [1848/9], b. St Georges, Surrey
   Emma Thompson, daughter, unmarried, female, 4m [1850], b. Bethnal Green, Middlesex

5.   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.).

   The family has not been found in the 1861 census. According to the National Archives Discovery Catalogue, census piece RG9/327 covering the Kent Road Sub-District of Southwark St George the Martyr parish is known to be missing pages 5-6 and 9-39 from the book covering enumeration district 4. The description of enumeration district 4 at the start of the book lists “Foxes Buildings and Foxes Court” among the streets that were covered. As they are not listed in the surviving pages of that book, they must have been recorded on the pages that are lost. As John was living at Fox’s Buildings in the 1851 and 1871 censuses, it is considered reasonably likely that he was also living there in 1861 but the census return is lost.

6. ↑ 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 598; Folio 118; Page 40, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 4 Foxes Court, St George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   John Thompson, head, married, male, 30 [1840/1], General Dealer, b. Surrey
   Susan Thompson, wife, married, female, 29 [1841/2], Charwoman, b. Surrey
   John Thompson, son, male, 5 [1865/6], b. Surrey
   Elizabeth Thompson, daughter, female, 6mths [1870], b. Surrey

7. ↑ 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 521; Folio 133; Page 39, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: [torn] Foxes Court, St George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   John Thompson, head, widower, male, 42 [1838/9], General [torn]
   John Thompson, son, male, 15 [1865/6] [torn]
   Elizabeth Thompson, daughter, female, 12 [1868/9] [torn]

   Image badly faded and original page torn – some data completely missing.

8. ↑ 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 344; Folio 87; Page 59, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 14 Foxes Buildings, St George the Martyr, Southwark, London
   1 room occupied
   John Thompson, head, single, male, 60 [1830/1], Gen[era]l Dealer, neither employer nor employed, b. Southwark, London

9. ↑ Various Boards of Guardians. Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930. (London: London Metropolitan Archives).
   Summary table of information drawn from Admission, Discharge and Creed registers.
   

   Admitted	Discharged	Workhouse	Notes
   26 Jun 1895	Died 28 Jun 1895	Southwark St George the Martyr Workhouse, Mint Street	John Thompson, hawker, widower, 61 [1833/4], admitted from St George the Martyr Southwark parish 26th June 1895. Dead 28th June 1895.

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

    d. John THOMPSON, September Quarter 1895, St Saviour Southwark Registration District, Volume 1d, page 29, aged 61 [1833/4]

11. ↑ Manor Park Cemetery, East Ham: Burials register (Deceased Online).

    1895
    No. 136961
    Date: July 4
    Name: Thompson, John
    Age: 61 y[ea]rs
    Late Abode: 42 Westcott Street, Bermondsey S.E.
    Where Buried: Square 78, Grave 98
    Date of Certificate of Death: July 1

    Westcott Street was off Tabard Street, near Law Street, about a quarter of a mile south-east of Fox’s Buildings. It was in the parish of St George the Martyr, Southwark, but right on the border with the parish of Bermondsey. John’s son John and his family lived there, appearing there in the 1901 census a few years later. John’s granddaughter Cornelia Ellen’s baptism of 28th March 1897 also gives her address as 42 Westcott Street.