Person:Thomas Reynolds (48)

Thomas Knowles Reynolds was baptised on 21st November 1788 at Eccleshall in Staffordshire, son of Margaret Reynolds, formerly Knowles, and her husband William Reynolds. At the time of Thomas’s baptism the family lived at Rue Barn, a farming hamlet a couple of miles south-west of the town. The family appears to have moved away from Eccleshall when Thomas was still very young; there are no further sightings of them there, and as an adult Thomas gave his place of birth as Birmingham, thirty miles south of Eccleshall. It is not clear when Thomas’s father died.

By 1808 Thomas had settled in the town of Warwick. On 18th January 1808, aged nineteen, Thomas married Elizabeth Dyke at St Mary’s church in Warwick. She was eight years his senior. One of the witnesses to their marriage was a Margaret Reynolds, who was presumably Thomas’s mother.

Thomas and Elizabeth appear to have had five children. Their first known child, Harriet Matilda Caroline Reynolds (who never used her two middle names) was baptised on Christmas Day in 1811, nearly four years after Elizabeth and Thomas married. Their next child was a son, baptised on Christmas Day 1813, whom they named William Dyke Reynolds after Elizabeth’s late father. At the time of William’s baptism the family was living at Coten End on the eastern side of Warwick, and Thomas was working as a draper.

In 1816 Thomas and Elizabeth had a daughter named Caroline. At the time of Caroline’s baptism Thomas was described as a weaver, and the family was living at The Butts, slightly closer to the centre of town. They did not stay there long, returning to Coten End the following year. Sadly Caroline died when she was about sixteen months old, being buried in 1817.

Their next child was a daughter named Jesse Matilda, baptised in 1818, followed by a daughter named Elizabeth in 1820. Jesse’s baptism described Thomas simply as a labourer, whilst Elizabeth’s baptism called Thomas a sawyer. Clearly Thomas tried his hand at a variety of trades. Both Jesse and Elizabeth’s baptisms record the family as living at Coten End.

In 1834 Thomas's eldest daughter Harriet was married to a mason named John Bastock. Five years later Thomas's daughter Elizabeth married John Bastock’s brother William Bastock, a plasterer.

Thomas’s mother died in 1835 in Warwick. Her last abode was given as Coten End, indicating that towards the end of her life she lived either with Thomas or in the same street as him.

By 1836 Thomas had left Coten End and moved to Commercial Buildings on Saltisford, the main road out of Warwick to the north-west. In that year there was a dispute about who was entitled to vote in the town and Thomas was one of the people whose right to vote was questioned. It was held that he did qualify to vote.

In 1840 Thomas’s daughter Jesse married a boatman named Henry Stain.

The 1841 census finds Elizabeth living at Commercial Buildings on Saltisford. Thomas was not at home on census night.

In 1842 Thomas was involved again in voter registration disputes, objecting on behalf of the Liberal party to the inclusion of various people in the electoral roll.

In 1847 Thomas’s only son, William, died as a young man of 33 years old.

The 1851 and 1861 censuses both find Thomas and Elizabeth living at Commercial Buildings. In 1851 they had their daughter Jesse and her children living with them, following the death of Jesse’s husband Henry Stain. Jesse remarried in 1854, but her son Thomas was still living with Thomas and Elizabeth at Commercial Buildings in 1861.

Thomas died early in 1863, being buried on 6th February 1863 at St Mary’s church in Warwick. He was 74. Elizabeth only outlived him by about five months.

1. ↑ [[Source:Eccleshall, Staffordshire: Parish Registers (Staffordshire County Council, Stafford)|Eccleshall, Staffordshire: Parish Registers (Staffordshire County Council, Stafford)]].

   Nov[ember] 1788 / 21st Bapt[ised] Thomas Knowles Reynolds Son of W[illia]m & Margaret Reynolds. Rue Barn

   The link between the Thomas Knowles Reynolds who lived in Warwick and this baptism is largely based on the unusual middle name and the fact that the Eccleshall baptism is at about the right time. One of the witnesses to Thomas's marriage was a Margaret Reynolds, and this baptism suggests she was his mother. However, there is counter-evidence in that Thomas gave his birthplace as Birmingham. The family does not appear to have had any other children baptised in Eccleshall after Thomas, nor are then any obvious burials for them there, so it possible that they moved away when he was still very young.

2. ↑ 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 2073; Folio 311; Page 10, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Commercial Buildings, Saltisford, Warwick, Warwickshire
   Thomas K. Reynolds, head, married, male, 66 [1784/5], Labourer Gen[era]l, b. Birmingham, Warwickshire
   Elizabeth Reynolds, wife, married, female, 77 [1773/4], b. Warwick, Warwickshire
   Jessey Stain, daughter, widow, female, 30 [1820/1], Labourers widow, b. Warwick, Warwickshire
   Thomas Stain, grandson, male, 10 [1840/1], Scholar, b. Warwick, Warwickshire
   Ellen Stain, granddaughter, female, 2 mo [1850/1], b. Warwick, Warwickshire

3. ↑ 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 2225; Folio 78; Page 6, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Commercial B[uil]d[ings], Saltisford, Warwick (St Mary), Warwickshire
   Tho[ma]s Knowles Reynolds, head, married, male, 73 [1787/8], Labourer Messenger, b. Warwick Birming[ha]m
   Elizabeth Reynolds, wife, married, female, 89 [1771/2], b. Warwick St Nicholas
   Thomas Stain, grandson, unmarried, male, 20 [1840/1], b. Warwick St Mary

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

   d. Thomas Knowles REYNOLDS, March Quarter 1863, Warwick Registration District, Volume, 6d, page 373, aged 77 [1785/6]

5. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish registers of St Mary, Warwick, 1538-1928. (Warwick: Warwickshire County Record Office).

   BURIALS in the Parish of St Mary Warwick in the County of Warwick in the Year 1863
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   694	Thomas Noles Reynolds	Saltsford	February 6	78	A. Boudier

6.   Leamington Spa Courier, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 3, 29 Oct 1836.

   WARWICK BOROUGH REGISTRATION COURT, 1836…
   NISI PRIUS COURT.
   Before J. HILDYARD, Esq.
   The revision of St. Mary’s list of voters was resumed this morning at half-past ten.
   VOTES ALLOWED… Thomas Knowles Reynolds, Commercial Buildings…

7.   Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 2, 22 Oct 1842.

   WARWICK BOROUGH REGISTRATION COURT
   The revision of the list of persons entitled to vote in the election of Members of Parliament, took place in the Grand Jury Room of the County-hall, in this borough, on Thursday and yesterday… Mr. W.F. Patterson appeared in behalf of the objections made by the Conservative party; and Mr. Thomas Collins supported the objections and claims in the Liberal interest…
   The second argument arose upon the objections signed by Thomas Knowles Reynolds, on behalf of the Liberal party. It appeared that the objector had given a general authority to W. Timms to sign his name to such objections as he thought proper, but that he could not identify any individual objection. Mr. Patterson argued that such an objection was clearly informal; and Mr. Collins withdrew his opposition in consequence…