Masons of Whitechapel

[lizdb]

A slight aside - but did you know Robert George jnr (bn 1819) had a third marriage?

7 July 1862 Charlton St Thomas
Robert George Mason 42 widower gunsmith of St Thomas Woolwich , father Robert George mason gunsmith
To
Frances Margaret Jones 28 spinster  of St Thomas Woolwich, father Jomathan Jones , cooper
Witnesses Jonathan Jones amd Sarah Jones

She appears to be sister of second Wife, Amelia Holloway Jones.

[lizdb]

Here is sister, Alice (Allis) 's marriage

13 Oct 1845, Limehouse St Annes
Moses Charles Sharp full age, bachelor, gunmaker, of Limehouse, father Thomas Sharp ,dead
Alice Mason , full age, spinster, of Limehouse, father Robert George Mason, dead
Witnesses Robert George Mason and Sarah Harris

And brother Joseph's marriage
5 Nov 1854, Limehouse St Anne
Joseph Mason full age, bachelor, gunmaker, of Commercial Rd, father Robert Mason gunmaker
To
Anne Harley Evans full age spinster of Commercial Rd, father Thonas Evans, cooper
Witnesses Michael Harley and Ann Williams(made mark)

[lizdb]

I gave you Robert George's chr on 1819, Aldgate.
The younger siblings were all chr in Whitechapel St Mary

Edward 30 Oct 1822 (bn 23 Sep) son of Robert and Mary, gunmaker, of Castle Alley
Joseph 25 May 1825 (bn 19 Feb) son of Robert and Mary, gunmaker, of Castle Alley
Alice 20 October 1826 (bn 2 Oct) dtr of Robert and Mary, gunsmith of Castle Alley.

So - for Robert senior (father to this lot) it seems you need to look for a burial, probably in Whitechapel St Mary,  or next choice would be Limehouse St Annes (but may be neither) between 1826 (chr of last child) and 1845 (declared dead on Alice's marriage)

[lizdb]

Hmmmm . . . I wonder?

There is a burial at St Mary's Whitechapel, 20 May 1827, of a Robert William Mason, age 54 , of Castle Alley.
now that is the addrress on the christenings the previous years.

Possibly -
Either this should read Robert George, and this is his death. Meaning he had his children later in life, possibly Mary being a second wife, or he just married later in life to a younger woman
Or
This is a different Robert, possibly even Robert George's father, who was living with them in Castle Alley. In which case, whereis Robert George's death?
Need to keep an open mind on this for the time being

[lizdb]

The plot thickens .. .

Marriage
Whitechapel St Mary
17 Oct 1811
Robert William Mason, widower of this parish to Mary Gains spinster of this parish

The jury is still out as to which generation this person is.

I was thinking at first it was the father of the children Rob, jos, alice, Ed, , and that because he died when they were babies they just got his middle name wrong.
But I see that at Rob jnrs chr, he did use the middle name George.

So I am now wondering if indeed this is Robt Georges father - and that he also  married a Mary (for his second+ marriage

[wingtuns20]

Thats really interesting! I noticed a Robert William Mason but was unsure how they fitted in. See if i can find out any other info! I am sure the father must of been in the gun trade also, it appears there was a large gun factory in that area.

[lizdb]

Beware, there is another Robert William around, (shoreditch area if I remember rightly) that I came across in passing. Nothing to do with guns and not linked as far as I can see.
Plenty of Masons about.

You might find looking in old directories useful to see if any are in there. Might help sort out the generations!

Father might not have been in the gun trade -someone must have been the first! Might be worth researching the gun factory to see when it opened. Though a gun smith could just work for himself ( as we saw on 1861)

[wingtuns20]

Robert, Edward, Alice and Joseph does it say they were born in London I found a Joseph and Ann (whom he married) on census stated that this one was born in Scotland. probably another Mason family?

[lizdb]

See Reply #11
Christened in Whitechapel
Same address for all the christenings, so unlikely they popped up to Scotland for a birth!

Guess there are numerous Joseph and Ann Mason couples around - not particularly unusual combination!