Hi Nigelo
A little late to the party but I was alerted to this thread by a friend and thought I'd jump in.
My name is John Campbell Purdie. My great grandfather, Edward John Purdie was Edwin's nephew. Although I don't have a daily role in E J Purdie & Son Ltd I am still very much involved. I worked out of our Lancaster Road EN4 8 AP site for almost 20 years.
I too have heard of the Hugenot link and at some point should live to know more.
I'll be reading through this thread later next week. Just to add I still own a couple of my great grandfather's apprentice pieces: a coffee and a tea pot.
Looking forward to making contact with anyone with a similar interest.
Best
John Purdie
Just to tidy things up a little:
1 - Frank Sidney Purdie was born in 1871 (registered Shoreditcch RD, Dec qtr), not 1881.
2 - It is correct that Edwin and Ann had 13 children. By the 1911 census only 7 were still living. Of the 8 previously recorded here, the eldest (Ernest William) died in 1891. The other 5 deceased were all very young:
Herbert George - 1867-1870
Augustus James - 1868-1870 (these two deaths recorded on the same index page, so presumably died together)
Constance Emeline Maria Annie - 1879-1880
Winifred Adeline - Mar 1882-Dec 1882
Edwin Thomas - 1863-1865.
My first wife was indirectly related, via Edwin Charles' sister Emma Maria, so I have researched quite a lot of the family.
Edwin was a well respected silversmith. His work still crops up regularly at auctions.
The firm of Purdie Dished Ends Ltd (http://www.purdie.co.uk) who used to be industrial silver finishers, but have now branched out to a wider range of metalwork. was started by Edwin's nephew Edward John Purdie in 1918. Sadly there are no longer Purdies involved in that business.
I've only been able to get the Purdie line back to James (1764-1814), though there is a baptism for a James (father: Robert) in 1760 that might be him. It has been suggested the origins may be Huguenot ("Perdue"), but I've seen no firm evidence of this.
Show Posts
