Person:Susannah Moss (2)

Childhood

Susannah Priscilla Moss was born on 12th August 1865 in the parish of Caddington, daughter of a bonnet sewer called Bethia Moss, formerly King, and her husband William Moss, an agricultural labourer. She was baptised there at the parish church of All Saints three weeks later. She was probably named after both her grandmothers, Susannah Puddephatt and Susan Dean, who were both alive at the time of her birth, although her maternal grandmother Susan Dean died just eleven days after Susannah Priscilla's birth. Her maternal grandfather James King was also alive at the time of her birth.

Caddington parish at that time straddled the counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Although the parish church was in Bedfordshire, Susannah was born in the Hertfordshire part of the parish and probably at Tipple Hill, which is given as the family's abode on her baptism entry and is a lane and farm in the hamlet of Aley Green in the Hertfordshire part of Caddington.

William Moss and Bethia King had married just over six months before Susannah's birth at Caddington. William had been married before and had three surviving children from his first marriage. After Susannah, William and Bethia went on to have another eight children. The 1871 census finds Susannah living with her parents and siblings at Aley Green. In 1881, Susannah's parents were still living at Aley Green, but she had moved into the neighbouring town of Luton, where she was working as a general servant for a licensed victualler named Mary Ann Stone in Bute Street in the centre of the town.

Adulthood

Susannah Priscilla, unknown date.

Susannah and Thomas had eleven children together between 1885 and 1906, although one died young in 1897, aged two. The 1891 census finds the family living with Susannah's parents, who had left Aley Green and moved into Luton, where the family lived at 146 Chapel Street. Chapel Street is the main road leading from Luton to Caddington, and the section of Chapel Street the family lived on was also known as Farley Hill.^[12] At the time of the 1891 census Susannah was working as a hat sewer. Susannah's surviving grandparents both died in the mid 1890s in the Caddington area - her maternal grandfather James King in 1895 and her paternal grandmother Susannah Puddephatt in 1896.

In 1901 the family was still at Chapel Street. Susannah's name is given as 'Suey', which is presumably how she was known. Susannah's eldest son married in 1903, and Susannah's first grandchild was born in 1905.

Susannah's mother Bethia died on 4th December 1906 at 138 Farley Hill (also known as 138 Chapel Street), aged 70. Susannah gave birth to her youngest child the next day.

By the time of the 1911 census Susannah and Thomas and their children had moved just around the corner to 29 South Road in Luton. Her father William at the time of the census was living at Chapel Street with her her sister Bethia's family; he died just four days after the 1911 census, aged 74. In 1916 Thomas Lewis died at home at 29 South Road. During the First World War at least two of Susannah's sons served in the army: William and Percy. Both came home, but William had a serious leg injury from where a shell had exploded beside him. Percy did not live long after his return home - he appears to have returned home in late 1917 but he died at home in November 1918, a couple of days before the armistice which ended the war, aged 26.

Susannah remained at 29 South Road for the rest of her life, living with a number of her children. At the outbreak of the Second World War she was living there with her daughter Ethel, son Arthur and daughter Susannah, none of whom had married.

Susannah's eldest son, Thomas, died in 1941. In 1945 she lost both her daughter Ethel in the January and her son Arthur in the November.

Susannah had eighteen grandchildren, all born in her lifetime, although five of them died young. She also saw great-grandchildren (from 1927) and indeed great-great grandchildren (from 1944) born in her lifetime.

Susannah died at home at 29 South Road on 21st November 1950, aged 85. She was buried at the General Cemetery on Rothesay Road in Luton.

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

   REGISTRATION DISTRICT REGISTRATION DISTRICT Luton
   1865 BIRTH in the Sub-District of Luton in the Counties of Beds & Herts
   No.	When and where born	Name, if any	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden name of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   365	Twelfth August 1865 Caddington Herts	Susanna Priscilla	Girl	William Moss	Bethiar Moss formerly King	Farm Laborer	X The mark of Bethiar Moss Mother Caddington Herts	Twenty fifth August 1865	Charles Maffey, Registrar

   This birth record and the baptism record below have been linked to the adult Susannah Priscilla who lived with Thomas Lewis on the basis of the 1891 census in which Susannah and Thomas were living with her parents William and 'Bertha' (the name 'Bethia' was particularly prone to spelling variations). Moreover, in each of the three censuses in which Susannah appears as an adult living with Thomas Lewis she consistently gave her age pointing to a date of birth in 1865 or 1866, and her place of birth as either the parish of Caddington or the hamlet of Aley Green - and the 'Tipple Hill' given as the family's abode on her baptism record is a lane and farm at Aley Green in the parish of Caddington.

   
2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Caddington Parish Registers. (Bedford: Bedfordshire Record Office).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Caddington in the County of Bedford 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
   1112	Sept[ember] 3	Susannah Priscilla	William & Bethia	Moss	Tipple Hill	Labourer	Tho[ma]s Prescott, Vicar

   
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 1568; Folio 28; Page 15, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Aley Green (listed immediately after "The Boot"), Caddington, Hertfordshire
   William Moss, head, married, male, 33 [1837/8], Lab, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Bethia Moss, wife, married, female, 34 [1836/7], Sewer, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   James Moss, son, male, 8 [1862/3], Scholar, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Susan Moss, daughter, female, 5 [1865/6], Scholar, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Alberta Moss, daughter, female, 3 [1867/8], Scholar, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Maude Moss, daughter, female, 1 [1869/70], b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Ellen Moss, daughter, female, 8mo [1870], b. Caddington, 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 1649; Folio 7; Page 8, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Bute Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Mary Ann Stone, head, widow, female, 64 [1816/7], Licensed Victualler, b. Napp, Somerset
   Susanna P. Moss, servant, unmarried, female, 16 [1864/5], General Servant, b. Caddington, 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 1274; Folio 59; Page 38, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 146 Chapel Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Five or more rooms occupied
   William Moss, head, married, male, 53 [1837/8], Agricultural Laborer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Bertha Moss, wife, married, female, 55 [1835/6], employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Susanah Moss, daughter, single, female, 25 [1865/6], Hat Sewer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Alice M. Moss, daughter, single, female, 21 [1869/70], Hat Sewer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Ellen S. Moss, daughter, single, female, 20 [1870/1], Hat Sewer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Walter B. Moss, son, male, 18 [1872/3], General Laborer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Prince L. Moss, son, male, 16 [1874/5], Agricultural Laborer, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   William A. Moss, son, male, 14 [1876/7], Errand Boy, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Bethia Moss, daughter, female, 12 [1878/9], Scholar, employed, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Lewis, stepson, married, male, 34 [1856/7], Rag & Bone Collector, employed, b. Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Lewis, grandson, male, 5 [1885/6], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Arthur Lewis, grandson, male, 4 [1886/7], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Ethel Bert Lewis, grandson [sic], female, 3 [1887/8], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Harry Lewis, grandson, male, 1 [1889/90], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

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 1514; Folio 82; Page 28, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 148 Chapel Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Lewis, head, married, male, 50 [1850/1], Marine Store Dealer, own account, working at home, b. Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire
   Suey Lewis, wife, married, female, 35 [1865/6], b. Aley Green, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Lewis, son, single, male, 15 [1885/6], Straw Hat Blocker, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Arthur Lewis, son, single, male, 14 [1886/7], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Ethel Lewis, daughter, single, female, 13 [1887/8], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Lenny Lewis, son, single, male, 11 [1889/90], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Percy Lewis, son, single, male, 8 [1892/3], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Willie Lewis, son, single, male, 4 [1896/7], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Suie Lewis, daughter, single, female, 1 [1899/1900], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

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 9012; Schedule 53, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 29 South Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Five rooms occupied
   Tho[ma]s Lewis, head, male, 53 [1857/8], married, 12 children born alive, 10 children still living, Collector - Rags & Bones, own account, at home, b. Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire
   Suey Moss, female, 45 [1865/6], single, House worker, worker, b. Aley Green, Hertfordshire
   Arther Lewis Moss, male, 24 [1886/7], single, Labourer, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Ethel Lewis Moss, female, 23 [1887/8], single, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Harry Lewis Moss, male, 21 [1889/90], single, Basket Maker - Mat Baskets, employer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Percy Lewis Moss, male, 19 [1891/2], single, Labourer - Iron Foundry, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Lewis Moss, male, 14 [1896/7], Straw Hat Trade - straw hat manufacturing, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Suey Lewis Moss, female, 11 [1899/1900], School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Bethia Lewis Moss, female, 9 [1901/2], School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Reubin Lewis Moss, male, 7 [1903/4], School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Alfe Lewis Moss, male, 4 [1906/7], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

8. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Luton Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   29 South Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Lewis, Ethel, female, b. 21 Feb 1888, single, incapacitated
   Lewis, Arthur B., male, b. 31 Dec 1887, single, Firewood Seller
   Lewis, Susanah P., female, b. 21 Jan 1900, single, Domestic duties unpaid
   Moss, Susanah P., female, b. 12 Aug 1865, single, Domestic duties unpaid

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

   Registration District Luton
   1950 DEATH in the Sub-district of Luton in the County of Bedford
   No.	When and where died	Name and surname	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   283	Twenty-first November 1950 29 South Road, Luton U.D.	Susanah Priscilla LEWIS otherwise MOSS	Female	85 years	Spinster, Daughter of Joseph Moss, Farm Labourer (deceased.)	Myocardial degeneration due to arterio-sclerosis of the coronary arteries. Certified by John Henry Hoare Coroner for the County of Bedford (South District) After Post Mortem without Inquest.	A. Lewis Son 18 Drayton Road, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire	Twenty-second November 1950	Herman Chalkley Registrar

   Susannah's youngest son Alfred was informant for the death, and clearly was confused as to his grandfather's name - but as his grandfather had died when Alfred was only four years old perhaps the confusion is understandable.

10. ↑ Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Cemetery Registers of General Cemetery, Rothesay Road, 1854-1964 (Bedfordshire Family History Society).

    Surname: Lewis
    Given name: Susanah Priscilla
    Age: 85
    Grave ID: 1064B
    Class: 3 new
    Date: 24 Nov 1950

11. ↑ Luton News, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 2, Thursday 30 Nov 1950.

    DEATHS
    LEWIS.-Nov. 21, at 29 South-rd., Luton. Susanna Priscilla Lewis, aged 85.

12. ↑ The street has subsequently been renamed such that only the part nearest the town centre is still called Chapel Street, whilst most of it, including the stretch the Moss and Lewis family lived on, is now officially called Farley Hill.