Hallo Sheila
My great-grandfather brought up his family in Bilston, and I have found it difficult to gather information about them, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to come across this thread! I live south of London, and have not yet even visited the Black Country.
This is what I know.
Eugene Owen SMITH (later referred to as simply Owen Smith), a Roman Catholic, emigrated to Staffordshire from Lahard, County Cavan, Ireland at the age of 22 in 1853, so he was born in 1831. He was appointed to the Staffordshire Police.
He married Selina NAYLOR, from Sedgley, in the Catholic chapel in Oxford Street, Bilston, on 19th January 1858, when they were both about 26 years old.
Owen was promoted to segeant in 1861, and in that year's census was living in the Police Station, 3 Mount Pleasant Road, Bilston. In 1871 the family is living in West Bromwich, and in 1881 they are back in Bilston, at 5 Vine Street. I believe in fact they were in Bilston from 1874 until at least 1882, when Owen died at home at the age of 50 from peritonitis.
Working from the censuses, the family of Owen and Selina SMITH was:
Elizabeth Annie Smith, born 1859, dressmaker.
John Thomas Smith, born in Bilston on 3rd June 1860. He married Ruth Williams in Sedgley on 23rd May 1881. Iron shingler.
Eugene Samuel Smith, born 1862 in Wolverhampton. He married Elizabeth Helen GILES in the parish church of Bilston on 5th March 1893. The address for both of them was Mountford Lane, Bilston. Eugene may have been known as Sam, and his occupation is given as clothier. In the 1891 census Elizabeth is down as as boot machinist. She died in 1899, and Eugene subsequently married Florence BROWN in Wolverhampton.
Joseph Henry SMITH, born 1864, iron shingler.
Mary Selina SMITH, born 1866.
Agnes SMITH, born 1870.
Francis Clement SMITH, my grandfather, born 28th March 1874 in Bilston. Francis enlisted in the North Staffordshire Regiment in 1893, and served a term of 12 years as a private, seeing service in the Sudan and in India. His occupation is given variously as confectioner, chef/baker or ship's cook. He re-enlisted on 20th September 1914 in Valcartier, near Quebec, as a Canadian Dragoon, and was invalided out after being wounded at Ploegh Street in 1915. He never returned to Bilston, as far as I know. His marriage and family life was not a success, and he committed suicide in London in 1932.
I have practically no oral history of Francis Clement Smith, other than that his mother-in-law said it was "not worth taking the time to bury him". I should be very grateful if anyone can help me fill out these bare facts.
Best wishes
Beetle.
