Railways and Genealogy

When researching my 3xgreat-grandparents, Walter Thomas Piller and Susanna Davies, I hit a problem. Walter and Susanna married in Great Yarmouth and had two short-lived children there, the second of whom was buried in August 1851.^1-5 In August 1852 they had a child, Betsey and in August 1853 a son, Walter, both born in Shoreditch.^6,7 Walter grew up to become my 2xgreat-grandfather, but Betsey seemed to just vanish. The solution lay in the railways.

Railways had a major impact on the development of modern Britain.⁸ Towns which missed out on a route slowly degenerated into villages and formerly remote villages grew into towns. In other locations (such as Amersham) development steadily migrated to a nearby station, leaving the ancient village hanging loose.

With their capacity for both bulk freight and mass human transport, railways significantly reduced both travel times and travel costs while increasing availability. Before the railways, most travel for lower income families was by foot, cart or canal, all at pretty much walking pace (5-7 kph).⁹ Only the wealthy could afford coaches (private, stage or mail) which travelled at about twice the speed (8-14 kph). The frequency with which these services were publicly offered would only be, at most, a few times per week. The early trains frequently travelled at 30-50 kph and often provided several services per day.^{8 (p118),10} After 1844 all new railway companies were required to provide low cost travel at 1d per mile. The existing companies rapidly followed suit as these low cost services provided access to a new, mass market and were extremely profitable.^{8 (p89)} Offering affordability and speed, railways were a key facilitator of migration within the UK.

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Coventry was a town which needed transport. Surrounded by a major coalfield and with industries developing, Coventry welcomed developments in transport systems.¹¹ Major road improvements began in the early eighteenth century, with turnpike trusts steadily being set up to convert bridle ways to carriage ways. Canal development begain in 1768 connecting the Bedworth coalfield to Coventry and by 1790 the Coventry Canal provided connections to canals reaching Liverpool and the Thames. Coventry station was built in 1838 as a stop on the London (Euston) to Birmingham railway.^11,12 By 1843 trains were taking 4-5 hrs for the 150 kilometre trip from London to Coventry, with ~8 services per day.¹⁰ This was quicker, more convenient and much cheaper than a stage coach (~10 hours), and also much quicker than by canal (~36 hours over several days).⁹

My 4xgreat-grandparents, Catherine Randal and Edward Butler, married in 1822 at Foleshill, north-east of Coventry.¹³ Edward died in 1826 leaving one child (James born 1823) and Catherine remarried to Henry Fletcher in 1827, again at Foleshill.^14,15,16 Their first three children - Henry (1828), Hannah (1831) and Jonas Henry (1832) - were all born near Foleshill but the last two children - George Henry (1834) and Charles Henry (1837) - were born at Tower Hamlets, east of the City of London.^17-21,24 The move from Foleshill to Tower Hamlets in about 1833 would most conveniently have been made by canal.

In 1840 Henry Fletcher died in Tower Hamlets.²² In the 1841 census Catherine was still living in Tower Hamlets, but by 1851 she was back in the Coventry area with Jonas Henry and George Henry where she remarried in 1856.^23-25 By this time the trip could have made by railway.

Her eldest son (my ancestor), James Butler lived in Tower Hamlets until his death in 1867 but his eldest daughter, Louisa, was staying with her half-uncle, Jonas Henry Fletcher, in the Coventry area in 1861 returning to London by 1871.^26,27,28

Catherine’s second son, Henry Fletcher, also stayed in Tower Hamlets for the rest of his life, but her two youngest surviving sons (Jonas Henry and George Henry) having moved back to the Coventry area with their mother in 1851 married in the area and had families there.^29,24,30 During this time Louisa, daughter of James Butler, visited Jonas Henry. However, Jonas Henry and George Henry, with their families, were back in Tower Hamlets by 1871.^31,32

It is doubtful whether this hopping back and forth, especially of entire families, could have happened were it not for the existence of the railway.

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Norfolk had been a relatively isolated area of England for centuries, cut off from the rest of the country by the fens. In addition there was only one (short) canal built in the North-east of the county, so that travel was limited to the rivers and the roads.^33,34,35 The Norwich Thorpe to Great Yarmouth railway line opened in 1844, greatly reducing travel time between the two towns.³⁶ In 1845 Norwich Thorpe was connected to the Shoreditch (Bishopsgate) terminus in London.³⁶ This would have greatly simplified travel from the Norfolk coast to London with a single change of train at Norwich. A faster route from Norwich to Shoreditch (Liverpool Street) via Ipswich was opened in 1851.³⁶ By 1859 London could be reached from Great Yarmouth in eight hours.³⁷

It turns out that Betsey, third child of Walter and Susanna, while born and baptised at Shoreditch, was buried at Great Yarmouth in March 1853 (no death registration found).³⁸ Then in August 1853 their fourth (and first surviving) child was born at Shoreditch.⁷ The family seems to have settled down in Tower Hamlets after this. I have very little doubt that most of the family’s travelling between Yarmouth and the East End of London was done by rail and undoubtedly they made many more trips for which we have no evidence.

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It is difficult to see the amount of travelling to and fro between place of origin and London shown above occurring without the railways and the existence of the railways needs to be taken into account when searching for sources. When people vanish in the mid nineteenth century, check when nearby stations were built and where the rail lines could take people. It took me a long time to find Betsey Piller’s death simply because it didn’t occur to me to look for a death outside London once the family had initially moved there!

Sources

1. Marriage of Walter Thomas Piller and Susannah Davis, married 11 January 1845; citing 13/612/421, Mar quarter 1845, Great Yarmouth registration district; General Register Office, Southport.
2. Birth of Job Jackman Piller, born 8 November 1846; citing XIII/356/56, Dec quarter 1846, Great Yarmouth registration district, Great Yarmouth sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
3. Death of Job Piller, died 30 January 1847; citing 13/309/100, Mar quarter 1847, Great Yarmouth registration district, Northern Great Yarmouth sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
4. Birth of Ellen Susanna Piller, born 3 August 1851; citing XIII/383/368, Sep quarter 1851, Great Yarmouth registration district, Great Yarmouth sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
5. Death of Ellen Susanna Piller, died 28 August 1851; citing XIII/260/330, Sep quarter 1851, Great Yarmouth registration district, Northern Great Yarmouth sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
6. Baptism of Betsey Peller, baptised 30 July 1852, St James Parish Register, Shoreditch, Middlesex, Page 185, No. 1474, Ancestry Australia, accessed 31 Oct 2009.
7. Birth of Walter Peller, born 1 August 1853; citing 1c/119/227, Sep quarter 1853, Shoreditch registration district, Shoreditch sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
8. Wolmar, Christian, Fire and Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain, Atlantic Books, London, 2009.
9. Every Woman Dreams…, ‘Traveling by Coach During the Regency, an Overview’, https://reginajeffers.blog/2020/02/17/traveling-by-coach-during-the-regency/, accessed 27 Aug 2021.
10. Bradshaw's Monthly Railway and Steam Navigation Guide (XVI), ‘London and Birmingham’, Bradshaw’s Railway Information Office, London, 1843, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bradshaw%27s_Monthly_Railway_and_Steam_Navigation_Guide_(XVI)/London_and_Birmingham.
11. Victoria County History, Warwickshire, Volume 8, ‘Coventry Communications’, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol8/pp34-39, accessed 28 Aug 2021.
12. WarwickshireRailways.com, ‘Coventry’, https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/coventry.htm, accessed 27 Aug 2021.
13. Marriage of Edward Butler and Catharine Randle, married 18 February 1822, St Laurence’s Church Parish Register, Foleshill, Warwickshire, England, Page 138, No. 412.
14. Burial of Edward Butler buried 28 July 1826, St Laurence’s Church Parish Register, Foleshill, Warwickshire, England, Page 136, No. 1085, FHL microfilm 559237.
15. Baptism of James Buttler baptised 25 August 1822, St Laurence’s Church Parish Register, Foleshill, Warwickshire, England, Page 143, No. 1137, FHL microfilm 559233.
16. Marriage of Henry Fletcher and Catharine Butler, married 10 June 1827, St Laurence’s Church Parish Register, Foleshill, Warwickshire, England, Page 39, No. 115.
17. Baptism of Henry Fletcher baptised 17 February 1828, St Laurence’s Church Parish Register, Foleshill, Warwickshire, England, Page 30, No. 238, FHL microfilm 559233.
18. Baptism of Hannah Fletcher baptised 27 February 1831, St Laurence’s Church Parish Register, Foleshill, Warwickshire, England, Page 81, No. 646, FHL microfilm 559233.
19. Baptism of Jonas Henry Fletcher baptised 12 Apr 1840, St Leonard’s Church Parish Register, Shoreditch, Middlesex, England, Page 52, No. 1209, Ancestry Australia, accessed 20 Nov 2011.
20. Baptism of George Henry Fletcher baptised 3 August 1834, Christ Church Parish Register, Spitalfields, Middlesex, England, Page 227, No. 1809.
21. Baptism of Charles Henry Fletcher baptised 5 November 1837, Christ Church Parish Register, Spitalfields, Middlesex, England, Page 110, No. 873.
22. Death of Henry Fletcher, died 26 Dec 1840; citing 2/439/3, Dec quarter 1840, Whitechapel Union registration district, Spitalfields sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
23. Census record for Catherine Fletcher, aged 37, Quaker Street, Spitalfields, Middlesex, 1841 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, HO107/710/3/24, UK Census Collection, Ancestry Australia, accessed 15 Sep 2008.
24. Census record for Katherine Fletcher, aged 46, Brick Kiln Lane, Great Heath, Warwickshire, 1851 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, HO107/2066/282, UK Census Collection, Ancestry Australia, accessed 15 Sep 2008.
25. Marriage of Charles Yardley and Catharine Fletcher, married 29 January 1856, citing 6d/366/268, Mar quarter 1856, Coventry registration district; General Register Office, Southport.
26. Death of James Butler, died 26 October 1867, citing 1c/225/288, Dec quarter 1867, Bethnal Green registration district, Town sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
27. Census record for James Fletcher, aged 30, Stoney Stanton Road, Great Heath, Warwickshire, 1861 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, RG9/2197/84, UK Census Collection, Ancestry Australia, accessed 24 Sep 2008.
28. Census record for Fanny Fletcher, aged 60, 5 Edward Court, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, 1871 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, RG 10/492/144, UK Census Collection, Ancestry Australia, accessed 20 Aug 2006.
29. Death of Henry Fletcher, died 29 September 1887, citing 1c/145/492, Dec quarter 1887, Bethnal Green registration district, Green sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.
30. Census record for George Fletcher, aged 26, Brick Kiln Lane, Great Heath, Warwickshire, 1861 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, RG9/2197/61, UK Census Collection, Ancestry Australia, accessed 25 Sep 2008.
31. Census record for Jonas Fletcher, aged 38, 4 William Street, Limehouse, Middlesex, 1871 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, RG10/550/10, UK Census Collection, Ancestry Australia, accessed 24 Sep 2008.
32. Census record for George Fletcher, aged 36, 67 Canal Road, Hoxton, Middlesex, 1871 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, RG10/463/48, UK Census Collection, Ancestry Australia, accessed 25 Sep 2008.
33. Pen and Pension, ‘Traffic on Georgian Roads in Norfolk’, https://penandpension.com/2016/01/12/traffic-on-georgian-roads-in-norfolk/, accessed 30 Aug 2021.
34. North Norfolk U3A, ‘07 Travel by Stagecoach during the Georgian and Regency era’, https://www.northnorfolku3a.org.uk/activities/recent-activities/483-7-travel-by-stagecoach-during-the-georgian-and-regency-era, accessed 30 Aug 2021.
35. Waterways of Endland and Wales, ‘1830-1830 sheet 5’, https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/history/1830/sheet05.htm, 30 Aug 2021.
36. LNER, ‘History of the GER’s Constituent Company’, https://www.lner.info/co/GER/prehistory.php, 30 Aug 2021.
37. Bradshaw’s General Railway and Steam Navigation Guide for Great Britain and Ireland: Issue 306, Bradshaw’s Railway Information Office, London, 1859, https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=HSApAAAAYAAJ&rdid=book-HSApAAAAYAAJ&rdot=1.
38. Burial of Betsey Piller, buried 27 March 1853, St Nicholas Parish Register, Great Yarmouth Norfolk, Page 137, No. 1090, digitised FHL Microfilm 1526460, FamilySearch.org, accessed 24 Jun 2010.