Update of the Past NEWS ........ 19th May 1900

 

Catch up on the full story of last weeks NEWS.............
 

*Archibald Sims –

Archibald was the young lad who was severely reprimanded after he was caught stealing eggs from Mr Woodhead at Clowne nr Chesterfield.

Archibald was the son of George and Hannah Sims and was born in Whittington a nearby village.  The family lived at Crown Yard, Whittington on the 1891 census and Archibald was one of a very large brood of children –

Francis aged 18 years

John aged 14 years

Edith aged 12 years

Charles aged 11 years

Miriam aged 9 years

George aged 7 years

Bertram aged 4 years

Archibald aged 2 years

Nelly aged 2 months

The house must have been full to the rafters with children.  Their father George was 45 years old and worked as a coal miner along with Francis his eldest son.  Another son John had begun his colliery career as a pony driver.  George was not from the area, he was born in Whinthorpe, Nottinghamshire. 

By 1901 the family have moved to Clowne, they are living at aptly named Pit Row where the miners of the area lived together in their row of terraced houses.  The family has shrunk though, so there would have been more room for the Sims family.  Only three of the sons are still living with their parents; George aged 18 years, Bertram aged 14 years and Archibald aged 12 years.  Notably the youngest daughter Nelly is not living with them.  There is a death for a 1 year old "Nellie" Sims in 1893 so it looks like this may well have been poor little Nellie.

In 1911 Archibald is still living at home with his parents and one brother; Bertram.  The boys are both working as coal miner hewers.  Their father George is documented as being 59 years old which doesn’t tally with previous census returns.  From this census we are also told that George and Hannah have been married 19 years, they have born a grand total of 19 children, but sadly only 9 are still living, they had lost 10 children.  Hannah must have had enough on her plate in May 1900 without young Archibald getting in to trouble, but I haven’t found any other mention of him on the wrong side of the law so hopefully he learnt his lesson. 

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*Priscilla Thompson –

Priscilla was the mother who allegedly assaulted a girl who was in an argument with her daughter Lily. 

In 1891 Priscilla is married and living on Durrant Road in the centre of Chesterfield with her husband Albert Thompson and their children; Lillie aged 6 years, May aged 5 years, Oliver aged 3 years ad baby George A aged 3 months.

The family set up seems to have changed by 1901 because Priscilla is still recorded as married but is living along with all her children with 47 year old Tom Brassington.  She is employed or at least documented as a servant to Tom.  He is a coal miner below ground.    

Ten years further on and things are again changed; Priscilla is still recorded as married but now lives as a servant with a Robert Brassington and her youngest son George.  They live in Sheffield now at 284 Shirland Lane.  Robert is a coal miner hewer, is this the same man as she lived with 10 years earlier? Possibly, he was unmarried and it looks like Priscilla followed him, maybe as his “wife”.

So what happened to Albert Thompson?  There is a death registered for an Albert Thompson in 1902 but why would Priscilla still class herself as married? Had the pair parted before and thus she was unaware that he had died?  Or was the death for another Albert Thompson?

 

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Update of the PAST NEWS.... 7th February 1857

Catch up on the full story of last weeks NEWS...........

*The sewing machine –

 

 

An actual patent for a model of a sewing machine was first issued to English man named Thomas Saint in 1790.  He had developed the idea for use in sewing leather and canvas and it is not known whether an actual machine was ever built.  Thomas was a cabinet maker by trade and his skill was shown in the way he used his knowledge to design the sewing machine.

Over the next decade numerous sewing machines were built all around the world; Austrian tailor was able to produce an actual working machine in 1814.  In America Elias Howe was the first to patent a working machine in 1845 which caught the eye of Isaac Marritt Singer.  Back in England, many years later in 1874 a man named William Newton Wilson found the patent of Thomas’s machine and with slight amendments to the looper, he built his own machine. 

Over the years ahead the machine was adapted and improved until it became more able to undertake various different types of stitches including crochet and even stitching button holes.  Just a year earlier than the sewing machine was being shown to the locals of Chesterfield the four main companies who each manufactured sewing machine came together as one; the sewing machine combination was formed on 10^th March 1856.  The companies were Singer, Howe, Wheeler and Wilson and Grover and Baker.  The combination meant that the men would pool their patents as previously there had been much suing for stealing ideas.  From 1856 to 1877 any other manufacturer had to pay a fee of $15 per machine and obtain a licence.

To read more –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewing_machine

http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/sewing_machine.htm

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/123481

 

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*The happy couple –

 

Martha Manknell and Leonard Worrall married on 1^st February 1857 at the Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield.

 

Leonard was born in Chesterfield in 1835, the son of Stephen and Mary Agnes Worrall who lived on Newbold Road.  Stephen was a watchman in 1851.  Leonard was baptised at St Marys and All Saints Parish Church in Chesterfield on 7^th March 1835.

 

At the young age of 16 years old Leonard obviously had artistic talent as on the 1851 census he was described as a “painter composition”.  By 1861 and after only 4 years of marriage Leonard and Martha have 4 children; Alfred aged 3 years, Mary E aged 2 years, William Joseph aged 1 year and baby Herbert Foster aged just 1 month at the time of the census.  The family live at Lievesley Yard off of Portland Street and Leonard is employed as a printer.

 

Move on 10 years to 1871 and Leonard and his family have moved away from Chesterfield to nearby Sheffield.  They are living at 3 Montfort Street at Brightside Bierlow and Leonard is employed as a printer compositor.  They have 3 more children; Alice aged 5 years, Leonard aged 1 year and Agnes a new-born at less than 1 month old. 

 

The family still live in Sheffield in 1881 at 45-47 Fitzalen Street at Brightside Bierlow.  May be the printing business was not earning a decent living, but now Leonard runs a grocery and provisions shop as well as being a printer compositor.

 

Leonard died on 28^th October 1890.  His address at the time was 31 and 33 Fitzalan Street and he was described as a “compositor and provision dealer”.  He left a personal estate of £181 7s 3d to his widow Martha.  Leonard was buried at Burngreave Cemetery on 2^nd November 1890, grave number 82, section P1 (1)

 

Martha remained running the grocers shop on Fitzalen Street until at least 1901.  In 1911 Martha has retired and is living with her widowed daughter Agnes at 56 Bressingham Road, West Brightside, Sheffield.  She died a few years later in 1914 aged 78 years old.

 

(1)http://www.sheffieldindexers.com/BurialIndex.html

 

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