London Traveller Sites

[honey-roma88]

Sorry for posting so much lately, I'm just discovering all new things at the moment so I'm on a bit of a roll. 

I was wondering if anyone had any family in West London.

I have family from the Old Pye Street/St. Anns Street area (nicknamed The Devil's Acre - bloody cheek! ) in Westminster St. John the Evangelist.

" The area around Old Pye Street became known in Victorian times as the Devil’s Acre, with half the population estimated to be criminals. Here pubs acted as meeting places and receiving houses for stolen goods and the district was virtually a no-go area for the police." Victorian Walks http://www.london-footprints.co.uk/wkvictoriaadd.htm

Half my family came from here but they part of the good half obviously.

I know that Romanies and other travellers settled in the Notting Hill slums (the potteries & piggeries) and many of my family settled in Walmer Road and the surrounding areas.
http://worley.org.uk/NOTTING%20DALE.htm

Just wondering if anyone else had family from around these areas. I know there are Coopers on Old Pye Street just from memory. My family were mainly hawkers, pedlars, labourers (bricklaying mainly), masons, general dealers, salt/bird/dog dealers and chair caners. Their names were Vincent, Morgan, Munday, Jones, Smith etc but I am interested in any names who were living in the same area not just my family.

[An65]

Riley Boss lived at the Potteries - and reputedly died there in 1850 after getting rather ill cutting his hand skinning a rabbit.

[honey-roma88]

Riley Boss lived at the Potteries - and reputedly died there in 1850 after getting rather ill cutting his hand skinning a rabbit.

That sounds like a terrible death...I looked up Riley but couldn't find him in Kensington in 1841. Must have been elsewhere and then he went and died before 1851. Is the Boss name a varient of the name Boswell?

[An65]

Riley Boss' real name was James Heron/Hearn.

He and his wives travelled Yorkshire/Lincs and East Anglia, but moved down to London not long before he died.

Boss is a variant of Boswell, and also a variant of Hearn/Heron. Another variant of the latter family is the surname Young. Just to confuse everyone.

[honey-roma88]

Riley Boss' real name was James Heron/Hearn.

He and his wives travelled Yorkshire/Lincs and East Anglia, but moved down to London not long before he died.

Boss is a variant of Boswell, and also a variant of Hearn/Heron. Another variant of the latter family is the surname Young. Just to confuse everyone.

Changing names is the bane of my genealogy life. I'm sure half the time my family is "missing" from the census or records it was just they were using a different name.

I have a great, great grandfather who for some reason used his sister middle name as a surname...

Riley Boss is a great name though, I might change my name to that. Sounds very imposing, you wouldn't mess with him. 

[An65]

I think most of the Rom would have agreed with that. They didnt mess with him either.

you might find these two pages interesting:

http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Romano/00000039.htm
(about the Potteries)

http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Romano/00000041.htm
(About Riley Boss)

His two wives, as recorded there, were Shuri and Lura. They were actually Shorensy/Susan Smith who was called Yoki Shuri (Lucky Shuri).  His other wife was Lucy Boswell.

He also had a third wife, Charlotte Hammond, but she ran off with Zacky Lee.

[honey-roma88]

I think most of the Rom would have agreed with that. They didnt mess with him either.

you might find these two pages interesting:

http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Romano/00000039.htm
(about the Potteries)

http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Romano/00000041.htm
(About Riley Boss)

His two wives, as recorded there, were Shuri and Lura. They were actually Shorensy/Susan Smith who was called Yoki Shuri (Lucky Shuri).  His other wife was Lucy Boswell.

He also had a third wife, Charlotte Hammond, but she ran off with Zacky Lee.

Thank you

He must have made quite an impression on people if so much is known about him from so long ago.

[mc8]

Charles Booth clearly thought the area was rough too!
http://booth.lse.ac.uk/notebooks/b360/jpg/249.html

monique

[Dh0458]

hello,
i was born  in Notting dale , the potteries as it was known years ago.. what information do you want ?