Ellen Smiles (1852-1929)

Ellen Smiles was the twin sister of my great grandmother Margaret Taylor nee Smiles (1852-1917). Ellen and Margaret were born on September 5^th 1852 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Their parents were Jane Smiles and Alexander Maddison, who were not married.

The 1861 census shows William Smiles (aged 78, a cowkeeper), his unmarried daughters Jane (38, a housekeeper) and Mary (28) plus Jane’s daughters Margaret (7) and Ellen (7) living at 3 Liverpool Court, Newcastle.

Ellen married Joseph Scragg on December 20^th 1875 at St Andrew’s, Newcastle. She was aged 23. He was aged 31, a soldier in the Royal Artillery. He originated from Prestbury in Cheshire. They went on to have five children, namely William Joseph (born 1876 in Newcastle), Samuel (born 1878 in Weedon, Northants), Thomas (born 1880 in Aldershot), Jemima (born 1882 in Trowbridge) and May (born 1884 in Macclesfield). The birth places of the first four children probably reflect the location of army barracks where Joseph was sent to. The 1881 census shows Ellen and her family living at the Royal Artillery Barracks, Aldershot.

Ellen Scragg nee Smiles, one of her children (William Joseph?) and her husband Joseph c1879 (photo supplied by Rosslyn Hughes).

Joseph Scragg was an Army pensioner and general labourer in 1885 when he died in Macclesfield aged 41, as a result of a thoracic aneurism. Ellen married John James Williams, another soldier, in 1886. She was 33, he was about 32 and came from Manchester. They had three children, John James (born 1887 in Colchester), Albert Edward (born 1890 in Whittingdon, Staffordshire) and Ellen (born 1896 in Newcastle).

The 1891 census shows Ellen, her husband John (a Private in the Infantry) and seven children living at Whittingdon Barracks, Staffordshire. By 1901, the family were living at 6 Douglas Terrace, Westgate, Newcastle. John had left the Army and was a builder’s labourer. In 1911, Ellen was living at 3 Neville Court, Newcastle (in 3 rooms) with her husband John (a labourer) her son William Joseph Scraggs (34, an insurance agent), daughter Ellen Williams (14) and grandchildren Lily Pretoria (11) and Margaret Scraggs (8), who were William’s children, their mother Hannah having died in 1908.

Ellen died in 1929 aged 76 in Newcastle.

Samuel Taylor (1892-1952)

Samuel Taylor was a younger brother of my grandfather William Taylor (1890-1972). This profile of Samuel’s life was written with the help of Amanda Butler, who is a great grand-daughter of Samuel and is one of the matches from my Ancestry DNA test.

Samuel was born on April 24^th 1892 in Charlton, Greenwich. He was one of 12 children (8 boys and 4 girls) born to George Taylor (1849-1903) and his wife Margaret nee Smiles (1852-1917). George had left the British Army (he was a Bombardier in the Royal Artillery) in 1886 and the family set up home in West Street, Charlton, a road with poor quality housing.

The 1901 census shows Samuel living at 7 West Street, Charlton. The household consisted of George (aged 50, a labourer local board), Margaret (47), George (24, a covering machinist), Jane (19, a covering machinist), Charles (16, a covering machinist), Margaret (14, a daily servant), William (10), Samuel (9) and May (6). The house that Samuel and his family lived in no longer exists, but I have a map which indicates that it was fairly small. As 8 people lived there in 1901, it must have been crowded !

Samuel’s father George died in 1903. In 1909, Samuel, aged 17, joined the Territorial Army. His attestation form (on the website Findmypast) gives his address as 7 West Street, Charlton and his occupation as a labourer at Royal Arsenal (which was nearby in Woolwich). His height was 5 foot 2 inches, chest (expanded) 32.5 inches. He was passed fit to join the army and was assigned to the 8^th London (Howitzer) Brigade. As a territorial soldier, Samuel received some initial training and 2 weeks of training each year. He was not in the army full time. He was discharged in 1913, having served the 4 years he signed on for. His discharge papers say that he was not wounded and did not take part in any campaigns during his service. They give his next of kin as his mother Margaret, 7 West Street, Charlton. She married Morris Samuels in 1911.

The 1911 census shows the inhabitants of 7 West Street to be Morris Samuels (62, a ships storekeeper’s labourer), Margaret Samuels (56), Charles (26), William (20) and Samuel (18) Taylor, all ammunition labourers (Charles at Vickers and Maxim, William and Samuel at Woolwich Arsenal).

Samuel (like other men of his age) fought in the 1914-18 World War. If he didn’t volunteer to join, he would have been conscripted into the armed forces (conscription was introduced in 1916). I can’t find a WW1 service record for him, but it may well be one of many that were destroyed by fire during the blitz in WW2.

Samuel’s mother Margaret died in 1917. That year, Samuel, aged 24, married Elizabeth Alice Taylor in Greenwich. She was born in Greenwich, aged 25, a daughter of Robert Taylor (a gas works labourer) and his wife Caroline. Samuel and Elizabeth had a son, Ronald Samuel Joseph in 1923 and another son, Edward Robert in 1926, both born in Greenwich.

The 1921 census shows Samuel, aged 29, a moulder working for Siemens Brothers in Woolwich and Elizabeth, aged 29, occupation "home duties", living at 22 Combedale Road, London SE10. The house (in Greenwich, near Westcombe Park train station) still exists, it is a mid terrace property on three floors. Samuel and Elizabeth occupied 3 rooms and presumably occupied one floor of the house.

Samuel Taylor c 1923, from a wedding photo

(the woman next to him is probably his wife Elizabeth).

The birth certificate of Ronald shows that Samuel and his wife were living at 5 Weetman Street in 1923. Samuel’s occupation is given as “engineer fitter and turner”. Electoral registers from 1924 to 1933 show Samuel and Elizabeth living at 5 Weetman Street, Greenwich. This road no longer exists but was on the western side of the Greenwich Peninsula, near the Blackwall Tunnel approach road.

By 1939, Samuel and his family were living in Croydon. The 1939 Register shows them living at 27 Croydon Grove, about 1 mile NW of central Croydon. The family consisted of Samuel (an ebonite moulder) and Elizabeth with their sons Ronald (a poster writer) and Edward (at school). Ebonite is a type of hard rubber.

Elizabeth died in 1946 aged 54 at The General Hospital, Croydon. Probate records give her address as 28 Croydon Grove. Administration (indicating that she did not leave a will) of her estate was granted to her husband Samuel, a painter, and her son Ronald, a private in the army. She left £5,030 12s 8d, which is equivalent to about £520,000 now, when calculated in relation to average wages.

Samuel died on July 17th 1952 aged 60 at Purley Cottage Hospital, Croydon. His death certificate says that he died from bronchopneumonia, but that the underlying cause was tuberculosis (a bacterial infection) in his left hip joint. It gives his address as 28 Croydon Grove and his occupation as “builder and decorator on own account.”

Samuel's will (made in 1946) appointed his sons Ronald and Edward as his executors. It left his gold dress ring to his son Edward. The two sons were left equal shares of the rest of his estate. Probate was granted to Ronald, a storekeeper and Edward, a fitter. The value of his estate was £1,519 18s 9d (equivalent to about £160,000 now).