A Family Historian’s Nightmare

I’ve traced my Commons/Common line for a hundred years in Tower Hamlets from Albert Edward Common (Why Chris Locke?) to the marriage of John Common and Mary Oldfield on 27th July 1806 at St John of Wapping Parish Church.¹ By various pieces of evidence I have identified the groom as John Common baptised 30 Aug 1779 at St Helen’s Longhorsley Northumberland.²

The Ruins of St Helen's Church, Longhorsley, photographed by Sue Law 27th June 2019

In 2009 I ordered the FHL film covering the Longhorsley registers. Using these I was able to track the Common line back to the marriage of William Common and Isabel Robson on 9th June 1719.³ During this time the family married into other local families, especially the Robsons, Hills and Prudlocks.

Unfortunately on page 2 of the first register is written:

“This oldest Register, belonging to this Parish was falling to Pieces for want of attention & was given by the Vicar abt 1761 to an illiterate Parish Clerk to revew. The Clerk copied only such names as he himself could decypher & burnt the Original Register imagining it of no use which is the reason of this being so imperfect.

The above is from the report of several responsible Persons who remember the circumstance inserted by me March 8, 1803,
Richd. Oliphant, Curate.”

Just to make things worse the extant Bishop’s transcripts for Longhorsley only start in 1769.⁴

One fairly solid brick wall, though I think I may be lucky with the Commons, as the records seem to indicate that William was the first Common to move to Longhorsley.

A Common family headstone in St Helen's graveyard, photographed by Sue Law 27th June 2019

  Sources

1. St John of Wapping (Wapping, Middlesex, England), "London Metropolitan Archives P93/JN2/018, Register of Marriages 1803-1812," page 38, marriage of John Common & Mary Oldfield, 27 Jul 1806; LMA microfilms X089/160, London Metropolitan Archives, London.
2. St Helen (Longhorsley, Northumberland, England), "Northumberland Archives EP 145/1, General Register 1667-1670; 1695-1723," page 46, baptism of John Common, 30 Aug 1779; FHL microfilm 252593, item 1.
3. St Helen (Longhorsley, Northumberland, England), "Northumberland Archives EP 145/1, General Register 1667-1670; 1695-1723," FHL microfilm 252593
4. Holdings of Bishop’s Transcripts from St Helen’s Longhorsley, Durham University Library Special Collections Catalogue GB-0033-DDR/EA, Durham Diocesan Records: episcopal administration,  (http://reed.dur.ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=ark/32150_s1gf06g2666.xml#DDR-EA-PBT-2-t, Accessed 21st February 2020)

The Family of Edward and Louisa Orange

One of the first challenges I came across in my research was the identity of one of my great-great-great-grandmothers on my mother’s side. There is also confusion about the number and names of the children she had.

On the birth certificate of my great-grandfather (Thomas Walter Pillar, born 21st August 1876) his parents are identified as Thomas Walter Pillar and Susan nee Orange.¹ Walter Piller and Susan Orange were married in St Thomas’s Church, Bethnal Green on 29 May 1876 with Susan being a 20-year-old spinster, the daughter of Edward Orange.² Thank goodness for the censuses, because official documentation for “Susan Orange” prior to her marriage doesn’t exist. Thank goodness also that there was only one Edward Orange of the right age in Tower Hamlets at that time. While happy to chat to the Census taker, the relationship of Edward and his wife to religious institutions was non-existent and their relationship to the Register Office was intermittent and unreliable.

Edward appears in all the censuses from 1841 to 1891.³ Until 1861 he is living with his parent(s). In 1861 he is living at 7 Turk Street, Bethnal Green, with a wife, Louisa (age 34, born Bethnal Green) and four daughters: Martha (age 8), Susan (age 6), Ann (age 3) and Eliza (age 4 months) all born Bethnal Green.⁴ In 1871 he is living at 11 Old Nichol Street, Bethnal Green with Louisa (age 45, born Bethnal Green) and five children: Martha (age 17), Susan (age 16), Eliza (age 11), Thomas (age 5) and Caroline (age 2) all born Bethnal Green.⁵ So we have 6 children over the 2 censuses: Martha (~1854); Susan (~1855); Ann (~1858); Eliza (1860); Thomas (~1856); and Caroline (~1869) with Ann disappearing before 1871.

Louisa Orange wife of Edward Orange died on 3rd March 1878, the informant for the registration of death being her daughter, Susan Piller.⁶ This tells us we have the right Edward Orange and that his wife’s name was Louisa in 1861, 1871 and 1878. But was it the same Louisa for all that period?

There is no marriage registered for Edward Orange and a Louisa between 1851 and 1878. There are no missing entries because I’ve searched the Tower Hamlets index (when it was on line) and the Tower Hamlet parish registers. Tower Hamlets Register Office were really nice. When you found a possible birth entry in their index, you could email them and they would tell you the given name of the father. This way I found four birth registrations: Ann (19th June 1854, 7 Virginia Row); Eliza (5th March 1856, 7 Virginia Row); Eliza (6th December 1860, Workhouse); and Edward John (8th January 1864, 7 Turk Street).⁷ The parents names were Edward Orange and Louisa née Goodman. This gives me a name for the woman living with Edward as his wife and that it is the same woman between at least 1854 and 1863, but only one of the children match the names and ages given in the census. A search for deaths, turns up Ann (died 17th August 1863, age 5, at 7 Turk Street) which fits nicely with the 1861 census data, but not with the 1854 birth certificate.⁸ It also turns up another Eliza (died 1st October 1860, age 7, at 7 Turk Street).⁹ This Eliza would have been born in 1852-3 and is too old for the 1856 Eliza. Given the lack of a marriage, registration under the surname “Goodman” is possible, but there are no relevant index entries.

Birth Certificate for Eliza Orange issued by Tower Hamlets Register Office

One other bit of evidence is relevant. In the admission records for Turin St School is an entry for Thomas Orange son of Edward, born 6th February 1865.¹⁰

A search of cemetery records finds matching entries for the Ann (1863) and Eliza (1860) deaths in Victoria Park Cemetery, plus a burial for Elizabeth Louisa Orange, age 9, of 7 Turk Street on 2nd July 1858.¹¹ Given that “Old Virginia Row” and “Turk Street” were interchangeable names for the same thoroughfare, this must be another child from the Orange-Goodman household.¹² The age would give a birth date of 1848-9, while Edward was still residing with his mother. I postulate that this may be a child from a former, undissolved marriage of Louisa’s. I can find neither Louisa nor the child in the 1851 census, but the existence of such a marriage would explain why Edward and Louisa never married. Cohabiting out of wedlock was condemned by the churches but you could live with that. Bigamy was a criminal offence which carried a jail sentence. Why were they so erratic in registering births and deaths? We’ll probably never know, but at least they talked to the census takers.

So trying to make some sort of coherent picture of the records, it appears that Edward and Louisa probably had seven children:

1. Eliza, born about 1853, died 1st October 1860
2. Ann/Martha, born 19th June 1854
3. Eliza/Susan, born 5th March 1856, married Walter Pillar, 29th May 1876,
4. Ann, born about 1858, died 17th August 1863
5. Eliza, born 6th December 1860
6. Edward/Thomas John, born 8th January 1864 or 6th February 1865
7. Caroline, born about 1868

Louisa appears in the 1841 census, age 14 and living with Thomas and Mary Goo(d)man.¹³ She was born on the 26th February 1827 in Bethnal Green and baptized in St Matthew’s on the 18th March 1827.¹⁴ Her parents were not born in Middlesex, but the tracking down of the Goodmans is another tale.

I'm still trying to convince myself that I've got this right and enter it all into my family tree.

Sources

1. England, birth certificate for Thomas Walter Pillar, born 21 Aug 1876; Bethnal Green registration district, Town sub-district. Photocopy of original in possession of Jennifer Commons
2. England and Wales, marriage certificate for Walter Piller and Susan Orange, married 29 May 1876; citing 1c/695/280, Jun quarter 1876, Bethnal Green registration district; General Register Office, Southport. Original courtesy of Jennifer Commons
3. 1841 census of England, Middlesex, Bethnal Green, folio 5, page 2, Thomas Orange; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations, Ancestry Australia (https://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 23 Apr 2006); citing PRO HO 107/694/6; 1851 census of England, Middlesex, Bethnal Green, folio 259, page 29, Susan Orange; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 27 Mar 2006); citing PRO HO 107/1539.
4. 1861 census of England, Middlesex, Bethnal Green, folio 125, page 10, Edward Orange; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 4 Feb 2006); citing PRO RG 9/263.
5. 1871 census of England, Middlesex, Bethnal Green, folio 23, page 40, Edward Orange; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Unlimited Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 28 Mar 2006); citing PRO RG 10/474.
6. England and Wales, death certificate for Louisa Orange, died 3 Mar 1878; citing 1c/207/138, Mar quarter 1878, Bethnal Green registration district, Town sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
7. England, birth certificate for Ann Orange, born 19 Jun 1854; Bethnal Green registration district, Hackney Road sub-district; England, birth certificate for Eliza Orange, born 5 Mar 1856; Bethnal Green registration district, Hackney Road sub-district; England and Wales, birth certificate for Eliza Orange, born 6 Dec 1860; citing 1c/282/33, Dec quarter 1860, Bethnal Green registration district, Green sub-district; General Register Office, Southport; England, birth certificate for Edward John Orange, born 8 Jan 1864; Bethnal Green registration district, Town sub-district.
8. England and Wales, death certificate for Ann Orange, died 17 Aug 1863; citing 1c/233/488, Sep quarter 1863, Bethnal Green registration district, Town sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
9. England and Wales, death certificate for Eliza Orange, died 1 Oct 1860; citing 1c/210/177, Dec quarter 1860, Bethnal Green registration district, Town sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
10. Turin Street School, Bethnal Green, "Admission and Discharge Register for Boys," p. London Metropolitan Archives LCC/EO/DIV05/TUR/AD/001, Admisson and Discharge Register for Boys, Admission #367, Thomas Orange; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Unlimited Company, "London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911," Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 9 Feb 2013).
11. Victoria Park Cemetery “Register of Burials at Victoria Park Cemetery 1857-59", The National Archives RG8/Piece 44_2, Burial of Elizabeth Louisa Orange, 2 Jul 1858, The Genealogist, “Non-Parochial BMDs, 1581-1970" (https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk, Accessed 12 Dec 2008); Victoria Park Cemetery “Register of Burials at Victoria Park Cemetery 1860-63", The National Archives RG8/Piece 45, Burial of Eliza Orange, 11 Oct 1860, The Genealogist, “Non-Parochial BMDs, 1581-1970" (https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk, Accessed 12 Dec 2008); Victoria Park Cemetery “Register of Burials at Victoria Park Cemetery 1863-66", The National Archives RG8/Piece 46, Burial of Ann Orange, 22 Aug 1863, The Genealogist, “Non-Parochial BMDs, 1581-1970" (https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk, Accessed 12 Dec 2008);
12. "Bethnal Green: The West, Shoreditch Side, Spitalfields, and the Nichol," in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11, Stepney, Bethnal Green, ed. T F T Baker (London: Victoria County History, 1998), 103-109. British History Online, accessed February 16, 2020, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol11/pp103-109.
13. 1841 census of England, Middlesex, Bethnal Green, folio 8, page 10, Thomas Goodman; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations, Ancestry Australia (https://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 9 Nov 2007); citing PRO HO 107/694/5.
14. St Matthew (Bethnal Green, Middlesex, England), "London Metropolitan Archive P72/MTW/019, Register of Baptisms Vol 14 1825-28," page 142, baptism of Louisa Goodman, 18 Mar 1827; FHL microfilm 855,941, item 3.

Why Chris Locke?

When my father was a teenager in Brighton (Sussex, England) people who found out who he was used to say "Oh! Chris Locke's son." Dad couldn't understand this because his father's name was Christopher Henry Common(s). The reason goes back to his grandfather's childhood.

Albert Edward Common was born on the 11th August 1877 at 76 Cornwall Street, St George in the East, London. He was the fourth son and sixth (and last) child of Henry John Common & Jemima Hummerston. Part of Cornwall Street still exists, but the area was a slum and when it was badly damaged during WWII it gave the local councils an excuse to clear it. Henry John had various occupations during his life, but at the time of Albert's birth he declared that he was a "general dealer". From what I have read this is a rag-and-bone man (think "Steptoe and Son").¹

Albert was baptised on 2nd September 1877 in St George in the East Parish Church.²

St George in the East Parish Church

By 6th April 1881 the family had moved to an even poorer location - Albert Street, Shadwell - and their second daughter (Jane Elizabeth) had died.³ In 1887, when Albert turned 10, his mother died.⁴ Albert was the only child too young to be thrown on his own resources. (His next eldest sibling, James, was 17.) The next census (5th April 1891) shows the family had split up. Henry John was living on his own at 83 Cornwall Street.⁵ Albert was living with his sister Fanny or Frances (born 25th February 1865).⁶

On 2nd August 1891 Frances married Christopher William Locke in St George in the East Parish Church.⁷ Aha!! The couple's child, Frances Sophia, was born on 19 May 1892 in St George in the East.⁸ By 1901 the family had moved to Worthing, Sussex and Christopher was a fish dealer.⁹

On 3 Dec 1900 Albert married Elizabeth Jane Shadbolt in Christchurch, Spitalfields.¹⁰ This was six months after the birth of their first child (Albert James George) but, hey, even a bride-groom-two-witnesses marriage cost money.¹¹ On 31st March 1901 they are living at 7 Mary Street, the same address as Elizabeth's parents (James & Elizabeth Shadbolt).¹² Their next two children were also born at this address (Christopher Henry, 25th July 1902, Charles James, 18th July 1904).¹³

Elizabeth's father, James Shadbolt, died on 27th June 1904 and the couple's next child (Leonard Arthur, 11th November 1906) was born back in the old Common stomping ground, Cornwall Street.¹⁴ Further tragedy struck - Leonard Arthur died on 28th April 1908 and it was probably around this time that Elizabeth's mother was committed to the "Metropolitan Asylum for Pauper Imbeciles" at Leavesden, Hertfordshire.¹⁵

The couple fled London, and Henry Edward was born at 97 Church Street, Brighton on 10th March 1909 with Albert listed as a "Fishmonger's Assistant".¹⁶ Who was he assistant to? Well by 1911 Christopher Locke is a fish dealer in Brighton.¹⁷ Church Street is a street full of shops and it is possible that Albert and Elizabeth were living above Christopher's shop. The next three children are all born at 97 Church Street.¹⁸

World War I started in 1914 and in 1916 Albert was conscripted.¹⁹ After various transfers he ended up in a battalion of the Cheshire Regiment stationed in Salonika.²⁰ Like so many servicemen in that region he contracted malaria, was transferred to a service battalion and probably spent the rest of the war oscillating between field hospital and road building.²¹ He survived the war, but died on 21st August 1920, probably due to recurrent malaria.²² He is buried in a Commonwealth War Grave in Brighton General Cemetery and his name appears on the Brighton Cenotaph (see photograph).²³

The Brighton Cenotaph, photographed by suelaw1954, 11th July 2016

Dad's father worked in the fish business on and off and owned his own fish and chip shops at times.²⁴ It is probable that when young he worked for his uncle, Chris Locke. Having the same given name, he could have been referred to by his uncle's surname. One family story proved possible.

1. England and Wales, birth certificate for Albert Edward Common, born 11 Aug 1877; citing 1c/386/470, Sep quarter 1877, St George in the East registration district, Saint Paul sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
2. St George (St George in the East, Middlesex, England), Parish Registers, "London Metropolitan Archives P93/GEO/027 Register of baptisms,"  page 43, baptism of Albert Edward Commons, 2 Sep 1877; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Unlimited Company, Ancestry Australia (https://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 21 Sep 2009)
3.  1881 census of England, London, Shadwell, folio 128, page 28, Henry Commons; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 10 Jan 2006); citing PRO RG 11/460; England and Wales, death certificate for Jane Elizabeth Common, died 7 Mar 1877; citing 1c/292/332, Mar quarter 1877, Saint George in the East registration district, Saint Paul sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
4. England and Wales, death certificate for Jemima Commons, died 17 Jan 1887; citing 1c/230/493, Mar quarter 1887, Whitechapel registration district, Whitechapel Church sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
5. 1891 census of England, London, St George in the East, folio 109, page 30, Henry Common; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 28 Apr 2006); citing PRO RG 12/287
6. 1891 census of England, London, St George in the East, folio 100, page 12, Frances Common; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 10 Jan 2006); citing PRO RG 12/287
7. St George (St George in the East, Middlesex, England), Parish Registers, "London Metropolitan Archives P93/GEO/065 Register of marriages,"  page 151, marriage of Christopher William Locke & Frances Common, 2 Aug 1891; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Unlimited Company, Ancestry Australia (https://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 22 Sep 2009)
8. St George (St George in the East, Middlesex, England), Parish Registers, "London Metropolitan Archives P93/GEO/030, Register of baptisms,"  page 271, baptism of Frances Sophia Locke, 12 Jun 1892; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Unlimited Company, Ancestry Australia (https://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 12 Jul 2010)
9. 1901 census of England, Sussex, Worthing, folio 20, page 32, Christopher Locke; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 2 Jul 2006); citing PRO RG 13/959
10. England and Wales, marriage certificate for Albert Edward Commons and Elizabeth Jane Shadbolt, married 3 Dec 1900; citing 1c/460/436, Dec quarter 1900, Whitechapel registration district; General Register Office, Southport
11. England and Wales, birth certificate for Albert James George Commons, born 11 Jun 1900; citing 1c/319/87 (?), Sep quarter 1900, St George-in-the-East registration district, Saint Georges North sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
12. 1901 census of England, London, St George in the East, folio 166, page 50, Albert E. Commons; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 10 Jan 2006); citing PRO RG 13/309; 1901 census of England, London, St George in the East, folio 166, page 49, James Shadbolt; digital images, Ancestry Information Operations Company, Ancestry Australia (http://www.ancestry.com.au/ : accessed 20 Jan 2006); citing PRO RG 13/309
13. England and Wales, birth certificate for Christopher Henry Commons, born 25 Jul 1902; citing 1c/844/20, Sep quarter 1902, St George in the East registration district, St George & St John sub-district; General Register Office, Southport; England and Wales, birth certificate for Charles James Commons, born 18 Jul 1904; citing 1c/327/431, Sep quarter 1904, St George-in-the-East registration district, St George and St John sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
14. England and Wales, death certificate for James Shadbolt, died 27 Jun 1904; citing 1c/214/66, Jun quarter 1904, St George in the East registration district, St George and St John sub-district; General Register Office, Southport; England and Wales, birth certificate for Leonard Arthur Commons, born 11 Nov 1906; citing 1c/292/311, Mar quarter 1907, St. George-in-the-East registration district, St George and St John sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
15. England and Wales, death certificate for Leonard Arthur Commons, died 28 Apr 1908; citing 1c/180/428, Jun quarter 1908, ST. GEORGE-IN-THE-EAST registration district, St George & St John sub-district; General Register Office, Southport; 1911 census of England, Hertfordshire, Kings Langley, Elizabeth Shadbolt; digital images, Brightsolid Online Publishing Ltd, Find My Past (http://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed 28 Jan 2009); citing  RG 78, RG 14 PN 7739, registration district (RD) 140, sub district (SD) 4, enumeration district (ED) 7, schedule number (SN) 9999
16. England and Wales, birth certificate for Henry Edward Commons, born 3 May 1909; citing 2b/210/312, Jun quarter 1909, Brighton registration district, West Brighton sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
17. 1911 census of England, Sussex, 7 Cheltenham Place Brighton, C. W. Locke; digital images, Brightsolid Online Publishing Ltd, Find My Past (http://www.findmypast.com.au/ : accessed 27 Jan 2009); citing  RG 78 PN 227, RG 14 PN 5137, registration district (RD) 79, sub district (SD) 2, enumeration district (ED) 17, schedule number (SN) 369
18. England and Wales, birth certificate for Leslie Common, born 2 Jul 1910; citing 2b/205/214, Sep quarter 1910, Brighton registration district, West Brighton sub-district; General Register Office, Southport; England and Wales, birth certificate for Frances Elizabeth Commons, born 21 Apr 1912; citing 2b/409/69, Jun quarter 1912, Brighton registration district, West Brighton sub-district; General Register Office, Southport; England and Wales, birth certificate for Mabel Isabel Commons, born 17 Aug 1914; citing 2b/397/162, Sep quarter 1914, Brighton registration district, West Brighton sub-district; General Register Office, Southport
19. After Albert's call up, Elizabeth wrote to the army to get her under-age son (Albert James George) discharged. This happened in July 1916. Albert James George Commons Service Record, Soldiers’ Documents from Pension Claims, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, WO364, 'British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920', Ancestry, Accessed 1st December 2008
20. suelaw1954 to Various, forum thread on Albert Edward Commons, Great War Forum, 'Soldiers and their Units', https://www.greatwarforum.org/, Accessed 3rd December 2008
21. Martin Marix Evans, Forgotten Battlefronts of the First World War, The History Press, Stroud, 2003
22. England and Wales, death certificate for Albert Edward Commons, died 21 Aug 1920; citing 2b/219/408, Sep quarter 1920, Brighton registration district, East Brighton sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
23. Commonwealth War Graves Commission database, Commonwealth War Graves Commission (http://www.cwgc.org/ : accessed 2 Sep 2006), A. E. Commons
24. Patricia Commons, numerous conversations over many years to author