The mysterious origins of George Taylor (1849-1903)

My grandfather was William Taylor (1890-1972). His father was George Taylor, the subject of this article. I have several records giving information about George’s life after his marriage in 1877, but can find nothing about his life before then.

George married Margaret Smiles on February 21^st 1877 at Newcastle Registry Office. George is shown as aged 27, a bachelor. He was a Driver in the Royal Artillery and his address was Newcastle Barracks. His father is shown as Daniel Taylor, an innkeeper. I can’t find George in the 1881 census. He was probably was serving in India when the census was compiled (his daughter Harriett Jane was born there in December 1881). If so, he wouldn’t have been recorded in the census.

George left the army in 1886. The 1891 census shows George and his family living in West Street, Charlton. He is listed as aged 41, a labourer. The writing of his place of birth is unclear but seems to be Kelvedon (or Kelberdon), Essex.

In 1901 George and his family were still in West Street, Charlton. The census shows that George was aged 50, a local board labourer. His place of birth is again unclear – it could be Kelvedon (or perhaps Kesherdon or Heshidon), Essex.

George died on 29 August 1903. His age is shown as 54 in the death record index. There is a separate article on this blog describing the circumstances of his death.

His marriage certificate and the 1891 census indicate that George was born in 1849 or 1850. The 1901 census indicates 1850 or 1851. His death record indicates 1848 or 1849.  So his actual date of birth seems to be sometime between 1848 and 1851, probably 1849 or 1850.

The 1891 and 1901 censuses say that George was born in Essex. The place of birth appears to be Kelvedon (Kelberdon, Kesherdon and Heshidon don’t exist). Kelvedon was in the Witham Registration District when George was born. Unfortunately, FreeBMD shows no George Taylor births in Witham between 1848 and 1851 (or indeed between 1845 and 1855).

I have been unable to find George with his father Daniel in the 1851, 1861 or 1871 census. I have also been unable to find George's army record.

It is quite possible that the father’s name given on George’s marriage certificate is fictional. Perhaps George was born to an unmarried mother. If so, he probably didn’t know who his father was. He may have made up a name and occupation for the marriage certificate to avoid embarrassment. This was quite commonly done and no checks were made.

If anyone can help solve this mystery, please let me know.   

Cissy (Cissie) Amelia Barker nee Cornwell (1901-82)

The following item was kindly supplied by Karen, who I made contact with as a result of our Ancestry DNA test results showing a partial match. Cissy was a grand-daughter of George Cornwell (1840-1912), who was a brother of my ancestor Jane Wilkins nee Cornwell (1851-1934). Karen writes:

“My grandmother Cissy Amelia Cornwell was born on the 7^th December 1901 at Constance Road Workhouse East Dulwich. Her mother Emma Amelia Cornwell was admitted to the workhouse on the 2^nd of December. It states in the records that Emma was admitted from the parish of Camberwell. On Cissy’s birth certificate it gives Emma’s occupation as sewing machinist and her address of 108 Lower Park Road. The name of Cissy’s father is not given, indicating that Emma was not married to him. The birth was registered on the 21^st December 1901.  Cissy was baptised on the 21^st December 1901 in the parish of Camberwell.

There had always been rumours in the family that Cissy was ‘adopted’ by Alfred Sampson, the gatekeeper at the workhouse. On the 1901 census Alfred Sampson is shown as the gate porter at Camberwell infirmary. Alfred and his wife Harriet took Cissy in. At this time, child adoption was an informal procedure (it had no legal status in England until 1926). Alfred and Harriet had two of their own children, a son Norman and a daughter Lilian who were 13 and 11 when Cissy moved in with them. We are not sure whether the Sampsons might have been paid to look after Cissy. On the 1901 census Harriet Sampson is shown as living at 43 Fenham Road, Peckham with Norman and Lilian.

Emma Cornwell discharged herself from the workhouse on the 28th December 1901 at her own request, leaving Cissy behind. The next record I found for Emma was a marriage entry on December 25th 1904 at St Andrew’s Peckham in Camberwell. She married Harold John Scott an upholsterer aged 22. Emma gave her age as 25 (she was in fact 32). Emma’s address was 21 Fenham Road, which is interesting, as The Sampsons were living at number 43 in 1901. The witnesses at the marriage were Emma’s parents George and Louisa Cornwell. Emma and Harold had 3 children, Harold John Scott 1905-1990, Roma Sybil Scott 1907-2003 and Netta Irene Scott 1909-1998.

In the 1911 census Cissy (now showing as Cissie which is how my nan always spelt her name) is living with Alfred, Harriet, Norman and Lilian Sampson and Alfred’s brother Ernest at 24 Calverley Grove in Upper Holloway. Cissie, aged 9, is shown as an adopted child. Alfred, aged 50, was a motor car cleaner at a motor repair works. He was very kind to her and Cissie thought the world of him. Cissie had no interest in who her birth parents were.

We’re not sure what school Cissie attended but she had learnt to play the violin and had earned her life saving badge. Cissie knew she was born in a workhouse and had a real fear of ending up in an institution again.  

Her first job was as an apprentice dressmaker at Liberty’s of London. She started by picking up the pins from the floor for the dressmakers and became a very accomplished dressmaker and embroiderer. Cissie was often required to deliver dresses to clients. We presume she worked at Liberty’s until she married in 1924.

Cissie as a young woman

Cissie married George Henry Barker on September 21^st 1924 at the Parish Church Albany Street, St Pancras. She was aged 22, he was 25, a motor mechanic. George and Cissie met as they lived at the same address, 66 William Street, St Pancras with their families. The earliest electoral register that I can find showing the families living there is 1921.

George and Cissie Barker

Cissie and George’s only child, a daughter, was born in 1933 in St Pancras. The 1939 Register shows them living at 6 Frideswide Place in St Pancras. George was a motor mechanic and driver and Cissie’s occupation is listed as unpaid domestic duties.  

The family later moved to East London, where the family lived during WW2. They were ‘bombed out’ several times, which is the main reason there are so few photographs of them. Before one particularly bad raid, they went to stay at the house of Austin Reed, who my grandfather worked for. When they returned to their property, it had gone. Their daughter was evacuated to Bedfordshire. In 1944 Cissie joined her daughter and took Alfred Sampson, who was by then completely blind, with her. He died there in 1944, aged 83. That was when my mum first found out that Cissie was adopted, as the rest of the family said it wasn’t fair that Cissie had to pay towards the funeral costs for Alfred as she was adopted.

Cissie and George were not well off and lived in a series of properties, usually consisting of a couple of rooms with outside lavatory, an oven on the landing and no washing facilities. Bathing consisted of a weekly trip to the public baths. My mum remembers the horrors of bed bugs!

One of my favourite memories of my nan, and it’s only a simple one, is when she used to stay with us at the weekends. Every Sunday morning she’d bring us tea and biscuits in bed. A luxury I still enjoy! She enjoyed watching the wrestling on a Saturday and listening to music. Nan had a lot of patience with me. She tried to teach my very left-handed self to crochet, not an easy task as I did most of it backwards! Nan took me to see The Sound of Music when it came out. We enjoyed it so much that we sat through it again (when cinemas allowed you to do this). As nan lost her sight in the advanced stages of glaucoma, one of her greatest pleasures was listening to talking books. She never wanted to be a burden to anyone. She was lovely.

Cissie and George lived in London until his death in 1967 aged 68. Cissie then moved to Hayes in Middlesex to be closer to her family. She continued to work well into her 70s in the restaurant at the local cottage hospital.

Cissie died in hospital on the 12^th April 1982 aged 80. A good age for someone who had a tough beginning. She was cremated at Breakspear Crematorium in Ruislip.”

George Cornwell (1840-1912)

George Cornwell was a brother of my great grandmother Jane Wilkins nee Cornwell (1851-1934). He was born in 1840 in Kelvedon, a village in Essex, and baptised there on 27 September 1840. He was the second child of George Cornwell (1817-1907) and his wife Elizabeth nee Frankling (1818-89) who married in 1838 in Kelvedon and went on to have 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls). At least 3 of these children died young.

The census in April 1841 lists George Cornwell, an agricultural labourer aged 25 in Kelvedon living with his wife Elizabeth (24) and their children Charles (3) and George (1).

The 1851 census shows George and Elizabeth Cornwell living in Kelvedon with their children Charles (aged 12), George (10), Elizabeth (8), and Henry (3).

In 1861, George and Elizabeth are listed at High St, Kelvedon with their children George (now aged 20 and a blacksmith), Henry (12), Jane (9) Rebecca (6) and William (2).

George Cornwell junior moved to London sometime between 1861 and 1865. On July 1^st 1865 he married Louisa Charlotte Hoppet at Christ Church, St Pancras. He was aged 25 and a farrier (a blacksmith who fits shoes to horses). She was aged 24 (born 1841 in Marylebone), a daughter of Israel Hoppett, a labourer, and his wife Charlotte Jubilee nee Polley.

George and Louisa went on to have seven children namely Louisa Jane (born 1866 in Marylebone), Rebecca Charlotte (born 1868 in Marylebone), Elizabeth Jubilee (born 1870 in Marylebone, died 1871), Emma Amelia (born 1872 in Marylebone), Mary Elizabeth (born 1875 in Marylebone, died 1876), Elizabeth (born 1879 in Camberwell) and George Henry (born 1882 in Camberwell).

The 1871 census shows George Cornwell, aged 30, a cellarman, living at 157 Cleveland Street, Marylebone with his wife Louisa (29) and children Louisa (4), Rebecca (2) and Elizabeth (7 months). A cellarman is a person who works in a cellar where wine or beer is stored.

George and his family seem to have moved from Marylebone (in North East London) to Camberwell (in South East London) sometime between 1875 and 1879. The 1881 census lists George as a drayman, aged 40, living at 5 Bedford Cottages, Bedford Street, Camberwell. Also at this address was George’s wife Louisa (aged 39) with his daughters Emma (7) and Elizabeth (1). A drayman is someone who drives a dray, a large flat cart with four wheels, pulled by horses. It was often used to deliver beer.

The census in 1891 lists George, aged 50, a carman (a driver of a cart) living at 63 Waghorn Street in Camberwell with his wife Louisa (50) plus children Elizabeth (10) and George (8).

Charles Booth (1840-1916), undertook an Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London, between 1886 and 1903. It contained information on housing conditions in London. Waghorn Street was surveyed in 1899. The notebook entry says Waghorn Street. 2 story, 6 to 8 rooms. Some let at 14 shillings per week. 2 families, labouring people. Houses badly kept. Trade notices in windows. A few shops at south end. Booth produced maps of London where each road was colour coded according to the people who lived there. There were 7 categories ranging from Lowest class. Vicious, semi-criminal (black) to Upper-middle and upper classes. Wealthy (yellow). Waghorn Street was classified as Mixed. Some comfortable others poor (purple), which was the fourth of the seven classifications. The current 63 Waghorn Street is a 2 storey house which looks like it was built before 1891 and seems to be the property that George and his family lived in.

In 1901 George was living at 108 Lower Park Road in Camberwell. He is listed as aged 60, a carman employed by an iron foundry. Also in the household were his wife Louisa (60) and son George Henry (19, a tin plate worker).

George’s father died in 1907. George was left a quarter share of his father’s estate of £121 15s 1d (equivalent to about £47,000 now).

In 1911 George (aged 70, a general carman out of employment) and Louisa (69) were living at 37 Fenham Road, Peckham. The census return says that they occupied 3 rooms, had been married for 46 years and had 7 children, of which 4 were alive and 3 were dead.

George died in 1912 aged 71. He was buried on 12 April 1912 in a cemetery in Southwark. His wife died in 1913 aged 72.