I’d hit a family history brick
wall and then this little snippet turned up.
"Mother of German
extract family name changed by poll from Schmidt" -30/6/76 Grace
Gadsby
Great Auntie Grace had written
this comment when relating some of the family details to her niece, Airdrie
shortly before she died.
She was referring her mother, Selina
Smith born 1869 in England. Selina had married Thomas Gadsby and had
immigrated with her 9 children to Sydney in 1912. Selina and Thomas were my great grandparents.
Prior to arriving in Australia they had lived with their children in a not so
salubrious, poor immigrant part of London. Having previously researched the
names and occupations of their neighbours in the 1911 census I was not really
surprised that there might have been “some German extract”.
My brick wall had stemmed from
the fact that I couldn't trace her parents, known to be Julia Baker b 1834 to 1914 and
George Smith b 1832 to 1915 before 1861. Certain knowledge that one or both of them were
part German immigrants gave me something else to go on and the motivation to
look for them more closely.
After all what was Selina's
background? Did she have siblings? Had she appeared in earlier census documents
prior to her marriage?
Bit by bit the picture of the
family fell into place.
In 1871 the family is found with
father, George a gas lighter living with his wife Julia and four of their
children
Julia 10
George 9
Thomas 6
Selina 1.
The three latter children were
born in Marylebone Middlesex. Interestingly Julia's place of birth is listed as
Brewers Green which is near Westminster in London.
Ten years earlier in the 1861
census her parents and older sister Julia appear in the census living at 17
Great Titchfield Street. George is a horsehair weaver aged 29, Julia is 28 and
little Julia is 11 months old. Both parents are identified as born in Islington
Middlesex and Julia in Shoreditch.
This allowed the family to be
found in 1881. The two older girls had obviously left home, George and Thomas
were working and two more siblings had come along Louisa 9 and William 6.
Everyone was listed as having been born in London except George Snr a general
labourer was listed as being born in Islington.
In 1881 young Julia was a servant
living at Finsbury market and working for the Gripson family. Mr Gripson was a
catering provider. Selina was most likely boarding away as a Scholar, companion
or servant as there are several likely suspects.
So far... everyone born in
England and not much to suggest a foreign background.
George's change of occupation to
painter in the 1891 census could have certainly thrown us off the scent
particularly with the comment in his place of birth as “unknown"! However,
various marriages of his children at this time confirmed that this lamplighter/painter/decorator
was one and the same man.
So far...
everyone born in England and not much to suggest a foreign background.
1911 census document gave so much
information and enabled the eventual confirmation of his and Julia's deaths and
details of the children. This is the first census completed personally by the
occupant. Filled out by 80 year old George or more likely 79 year old Julia (as
she is literate) the document bears the confusion of the elderly when it is
incorrectly filled out in several places. Still at age 80 this is the first
time George has been more specific about his place of birth claiming to be
British and born at Ward's Place Islington which was known as a Poorhouse
around the time of his birth.
From this information
I deduced:
- · George (still alive) had married Lydia Eaton and lived around the Bethnal Green/ Barking area of Essex with their 10 children.
- · Selina (still alive) had married Thomas Gadsby and had 13 children.
- · Julia (deceased) had married with two children but was deceased by 1887.
- · Louisa (still alive) had married a German – John Christian Steinle and had 10 children.
- · William (still alive) had an unknown spouse and family
- · Thomas and two other unknown siblings deceased
Thus we have the
family tree for the Smith Family. A fuller version of the extended family is
included in the Strutt and Pierpoint 2010 tree on Ancestry.com
I feel chuffed this
whole process has resulted in Selina's siblings and their extended family
branches have been reunited on a single tree.
By now this
tree is looking healthier and full of Ancestry “hint” leaves. We have a
clear picture of Selina’s parents and siblings for the first time. It’s incredible
that all this has come about from the mistakes made by George and Julia in the
1911 census. Amazingly when Aunty Grace’s letter resurfaces and is passed to me
in 2013 and this tantalising mystery gets me looking through the records again
but with the added emphasis on the “foreign” side of things. Still nothing can
be found before the 1861- no marriage of George and Julia, no birth of little
Julia, no previous definitive 1841 or 1851 census for either George or Julia or
corresponding births.
Could they indeed
have emigrated, changed their name, adopted British places of births and
carried on as British citizens from 1861?
I am my father's
daughter- obsession and lateral thinking run in the family. Keep digging
Robyn!! Try more angles.
Working backwards
through the births, baptisms and marriages there are so many George Smith's and
almost as many George Schmitz on the German ancestry. I do find a young Julia
Baker in the early days living with two siblings. Perhaps she was orphaned and
may not be the German I am looking for. There are too many George, Thomas and
William Smiths to make any definitive determinations of their births either as
Smith or Schmidt. Selina, Louisa and Julia should be an easier find as they are
not such common names or so you might think.
We know Selina and
older brother Thomas are baptised as Smith in 1869. I look for all sorts of
combinations of Smith and a follow-up the hints on Ancestry, following up
possibilities from earlier census and revisit other research sites to start
removing bricks from that wall. Remember this has been annoying me for years.
Every six months or so I revisit this part of the tree.
Perhaps Julia the
orphan has married George Schmidt. Finally a chance search on Family Search
website throws up a Julia Smith nee Baker marrying not a Schmidt but a Greedus
in 1859. I follow up excitedly.
 |
| This marriage of George Greedus and Julia Smith nee Baker in 1859 looks like a good fit |
George Greedus is a
Horsehair Weaver. His father was William Greedus and his grandparents, Issac
and Hannah look a likely ethnic fit-a family of horsehair weaver's and
manufacturers with German sounding names. He appaears in the 1841and1851 census. Add to that- a Julia Greedus born in
Shoreditch,1860. The penny drops George Smith married to my Julia with daughter
Julia 11 months in the 1861 census is a horsehair manufacturer!!! What are the
chances? Is the family below the Greedus family.
 |
| 1861 census - George and the two Julias have changed their name! |
The marriage
certificate Julia Baker nee Smith has signed upon her marriage to George
Greedus has Julia signing her own name. A marriage certificate signed a few
years earlier showing a Julia Baker marrying Samuel Smith's also has a
signature and the “Julia's” are remarkably similar and both have a father
Thomas.
 |
| Julia’s signature when married to Samuel |
 | |||||
| Julia’s signature when married to George-Similar formation of “i “and “a” |
 |
| This is possibly Julia’s writing in 1911 –still some similarities but 50 + years later |
There is a
discrepancy between the professions of the father, Thomas, in the marriage
certificates but I’m guessing he has retired from the Cold Stream Guards and
changed employment. The short lived marriage to the gun maker, Samuel Smith
leaves Julia a widow and in 1859 she marries George Greedus. Julia Greedus is
born in Shoreditch in 1960. Could they have changed their name from Greedus to
Smith by the time of the 1861 census when their little Julia Smith is listed as
11 months old?
I think I've
smashed my brick wall.
Aunty Grace you might be onto
something even if you have lead me a merry chase. You knew your mother was
Selina Smith and you could be forgiven for mistakenly thinking they had changed
their name from Schmidt to Smith. I think I've smashed my brick wall.
My theory is that Julia Smith nee Baker, a widow
married George Greedus and had a child, Julia Greedus. For whatever reason they
changed their name by the 1861 census and from then on were known as Julia and
George Smith and little Julia was known as Julia Smith.
Now for some background to the
Greedus family and the plight of the weavers. The Greedus family appear to have
been silk weavers initially. Given they lived in Spitalfields more likely they
were Huguenots (Protestants).The bulk of Huguenot émigrés relocated to
Protestant nations such as England. settling in Spitalfields, London, where
they re-established their trade.
The Huguenot weavers brought
skills and technology previously unavailable to the British silk industry which
then blossomed. While silk-weaving became popular in Coventry, Nuneaton and
other parts of England the industry remained centred in Spitalfields where our
Greedus family hails from. Many family descendants stayed in the area.
Greedus is a rare surname. Issac
Greedus, George’s grandfather b 1753 appears to be the patriarch of the Greedus
family in the area but could well have had several siblings. Many were employed
as silk weavers or in Horse hair manufacture in Shoreditch/Spitalfields area up
to the 1860s. Horsehair fabrics are woven with tail hair from live horses and
cotton or silk warps. Horsehair fabrics are sought for their lustre, durability
and care properties and are mainly used for upholstery and interiors.
Incidentally the Gadsby family
(Selina married into the Gadsbys) were silk ribbon weavers from the town of
Nuneaton and later Coventry.
The silk weaving industry began
to decline from the 1830s to about the time of George and Julia’s marriage in
1859. Changes to legislation regarding tariffs came in about 1860. Hence George
who was also a horse hair weaver by this time had a change of profession to
lamp lighter, painter and decorator. Peter Jardine who has been researching
Greedus relations for some time said he has a number of Greedus people who just
disappear which could well indicate name changes to something less
indentifiable as Huegonet. I rest my case.
Cheers Robyn
Selina’s Great Granddaughter July
2015
