1841, 1851 Census Lookup - Atkinson

[Scott Thompson]

Thomas James Atkinson was baptized at All Saints Poplar on Nov 5th 1817. His father is listed as Thomas Atkinson, a Shipwright and his mother was named Anna. By 1841 Thomas James had left the nest. I know this is a long shot but is there any way of finding this couple in 1841 or possibly 1851?
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Scott
 

[Meliora]

Hello, Scott,

The only thing I have managed to find is an entry for Ann Atkinson, 1841 & '51 in Wapping Workhouse.

HO107/715  bk 6  folio 3  page 2
Wapping District Workhouse  Wapping

Ann Atkinson  age 45    ..?.. Mangler  born in county Y

HO107/1550  folio 124  page 2
Wapping Distict Workouse  Wapping

Ann Atkinson  pauper  age 55  Washing  born Mile End, Middsx

There is a death that might fit.

Death
Thomas Isaac Atkinson
Mar ¼  1840   Poplar  2  246

How sad, 10 years in a workhouse

Meliora

[Scott Thompson]

Thank you very much for that. It would seem strange that although her husband and son were shipwrights  she should be so destitute after her husbands death. I have heard the name of Thomas Isaac Atkinson before so that helps. I guess I will need to get the death certs next.
What is a mangler (sounds like a sci-fi creature)?
Scott

[Meliora]

Hello, Scott,

How will we ever know just the ins & outs of the cirumstances why our ancestors ended up in the workhouse. ?   She obviously worked towards her keep as her occupation is shown as "washing" in the 1851 census, the 1841 census occupation had a word before mangler that I could not decipher.   A mangle was a large contraption two big wooden rollers mounted on axis on a frame with a large handle for turning the rollers.   Wet washing was fed tho' these rollers to squezze out excess water prior to hanging up to dry.  Believe me those mangles were hard, back breaking work.   I remember these still being used when I was a small child in the 1930s, they were superceded by lighter rubber roller ones called a wringer.  That was my job, winding away after my Mum hauled the wet wash out of the copper where it had been boiled, then scrubbed down on a washboard before being rinsed.  Woe betide if you got your fingers in the way.  Happy days. 

Have a look at this, you will see what I mean.

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-1193679-victorian-mangle.html

Meliora

[Bryant]

Hello Scott

A man of the seventies?
Meliora..........the games up! I remember the rubber ones 

Thomas James Atkinson..........do you know the witnesses at his marriage? he could have been 20 years younger than a sibling or twenty years older?
whom did he marry and when?

I gather you know of no other siblings?

their are a couple christianed at St Paul, Deptford
John in 1807
William in 1809
both with parents Thomas & Hannah

However......the surname is not unusual and neither are the known christian names!

Bryant

[Scott Thompson]

Dear Meliora
I had a look at that link. The thing truly looks like a sadistic instrument of torture. I doubt I will ever complain about the washing again!
I have set up the topic  Atkinsons of Poplar on the London Board which goes into greater detail.
Thomas James Atkinson married Sarah Wren (of the Wolisingham Wrens and distantly related to Sir Christopher) on December 17th 1840. The witnesses were Benjamin Wren and Thomas Appleby. Sadly I know very little about his family and nothing of any other siblings. Once Thomas James left for the north and Thomas Senior had died I would have thought that some other sibling or family member would have helped out Anna, so it may be that Thomas was an only child.
Scott

[Bryant]

Scott

Is that Wolsingham as in Weardale, Durham?

Iv'e just had a look on freebmd............they married in Stockton R.D.......border of Co Durham & North Riding of Yorkshire and I was thinking they married in Middx for some reason!

Benjamin Wren aged 20 is living at home with his parents in the 1841 census........in Stockton

AND SO ARE ALL THE ATKINSONS  INCLUDING YOURS OR SO IT SEEMS........HOWEVER IT MEANS THAT WHEN THOMAS MARRIED SARAH THEY ARE MINORS AND HE HAS NO CONNECTION TO LONDON!.......WHAT DID THE MARRIAGE CERT SAY?

1841
14 SQUARE SOUTH SIDE, STOCKTON
HANNAH ATKINSON   63  WASHERWOMAN    NO
JAMES         "             17 CARPENTER AP        YES
JOHN          "              20           "                    YES
\
ANN CLEMENT            67  MIDWIFE               YES
\\
15 SQUARE SOUTH SIDE, STOCKTON
JOHN ATKINSON   65   SAIL CLOTH WEAVER   YES
SARAH       "          51                                       YES
MARY         "          27       F.S                           YES
CHRISTOPHER "    21  SAIL CLOTH WEAVER     YES
THOMAS     "         18  TAILOR AP                      YES
SARAH        "         15                                        YES
JOSEPH      "           9 MONTHS                          YES
---------------
*1841 rule applies ie 15-19=15

THOMAS ATKINSON married HANNAH FORTON (born West Rounton, Yorkshire) at ST THOMAS CHURCH, STOCKTON on the 27th Nov 1804

Now...........you have to prove what you see is correct!
My interpretation is that Thomas aged 18 is married to Sarah aged 15 (15-19=15) and Joseph the 9 month old child is theirs?

How did you arrive at.........

Thomas James Atkinson was baptized at All Saints Poplar on Nov 5th 1817. His father is listed as Thomas Atkinson, a Shipwright and his mother was named Anna. By 1841 Thomas James had left the nest. I know this is a long shot but is there any way of finding this couple in 1841 or possibly 1851?
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Scott
 

Bryant

[Scott Thompson]

Thank you for that burst of enthusiasm!
And to be honest the Atkinsons have been a thorny issue.
What I know for sure is that George Henry Atkinson was my great great grandfather. He was born in Pembroke Dock, Wales in 1851. There was a rumour circulated in my family that Sir Christopher Wren was a distant relative.
One of the Rootchatters had done census searches for me and found that George Henry had parents called Thomas, born about 1817 in Poplar, London and was a shipwright. George's mother was Sarah and she was born about 1820 in Shelton, Yorks. I then obtained the marriage cert of Thomas and Sarah Atkinson (married in Stockton) from Teeside Valley Indexes and it states that his father was a shipwright named Thomas and her father was a miller named William Wren. I have also been in contact with Ian Hall who has done extensive work on the Wren Family and he verifies that a Sarah Wren married a Thomas Atkinson. Her father was indeed a miller named William.
Putting this all together I came to the conclusion that I must be on the right track, but there is this other family, as you have highlighted, that still lurks as a possibility. I find it hard to believe sometimes that a Londoner like Thomas moved around - from the East End of London to Hartlepool to Pembroke Docks and back to London. It would seem more likely that my Atkinsons came from Stockton, but who can be sure.
The next logical step is to get George Henry's birth cert to be certain.
Scott

[Meliora]

Hello, Scott,

This feels familiar but I cannot find having sent it you before, my apologies if I have.

1851 census
HO107/2476  folio 407  page 5
17, Lewis St.  Pembroke Dock

Thomas Atkinson  head  age 34  Shipwright P D Yd. b  Poplar
Sarah   wife  age 31  b Yorks  Shelton
William Thomas  son  ag 9  b  Stockton Durham
Edwin  son  age 6   b   ditto
Mary  dau  age 3     b  Pembroke Dock
Sarah  dau  age 1   b  ditto

No George so he must have been born after the census.

Birth
George Henry  Atkinson
Sept. ¼  1851  Pembroke  26  759

With regard to moving around, he was a shipwright, perhaps a specialist in his trade which meant he may have moved around to wherever he was best employed.  I couldn't understand why a rellie of mine moved around in the middle of the 1800s, the penny dropped when I found he was employed by the blossoming railways, the same with families of builders & gas fittters, they moved from central London to the suburbs being built.

Look at this site, Lewis St is mentioned

http://www.pembrokedock.org/h_houses.htm

and this one

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/inpictures/pages/pembrokedock.shtml

It looks like P D yd in the census is Pembroke Dock Yard

Cheers

Meliora