The Gadsbys meet the Thurlows of West Ham Essex

Sometimes I get side-tracked – blame Ancestry hints.

Its not all about adding more relatives to trees and DNA searches. I do love a good side story and old photos. Recently I hit the jackpot.

This old photo popped up on a hint.

Thomas, John, Alexander, Charles, Robert (l-r top) Henry, harriett and William Thurlow (Bottom)

I’d been looking for the Thurlow extended family for a while not because they were related but because this is a story of a ship board romance, friendships and other ramifications. The Thurlows were long term friends of the Gadsbys in Sydney beginning when my lot came to Australia in 1912. Their lives were entwined in many ways. 

1911 census

This story begins back in London where the Thurlow family appears in the 1911 census. Harriett Anne Thurlow nee Jack was a widow living in 123 Meath Row West Ham Essex with three of her sons. William 33, Alexander 22 and Robert 21.

Son Henry 31, a farmer and his wife Annie Lillian had already married and lived with their daughter Emma Lillian in nearby Plaistow. Son John 27 had already left for Australia arriving in 1910 to work as an Electric Wireman with his wife Ellen nee Race and their infant son John aged 11 months.

The 1911 census gives a good snapshot of families. The Gadsbys (my grandmother ‘s relatives) were living in Canning Town, London having moved from Stratford with 9 of their children. By all reports it was wet, cold and gloomy and not much later one of their infant twins died before they could heed the advice of doctors to "get out of London". At the time many were moving to Australia or Canada to escape the depressing landscape of London and to take advantage of job opportunities in these two developing countries.

There was also talk of them leaving because of the threat of war in Europe. The Gadsby’s three oldest boys ended up being WWI enlistees as it turned out. This threat may have been a consideration for the Thurlows also.

Alexander, Robert and Henry Thurlow and family planned to leave for Australia in 1912. By the time tickets were purchased for their unassisted passage on the Zealandia in 1912 another of the Thurlow brothers had left for Sydney. Charles Thurlow and Emily Agnes Nee Cardew had arrived on the Norseman in November 1911 with an 11months old baby daughter.  A son Charles John Henry was born in Balmain in 1912.

So, the Thurlows and the Gadsbys met on the Zealandia. Records are sketchy as to how the patriarch Thomas Gadsby and his two older boys arrived in Australia but mother Selina, her 5 daughters Selina (Lena), Maude, Julia, Catherine and Grace and son William set off to travel across the world to finally arrive in Sydney on 15/11/1912.

Spending weeks on the sea, the families formed friendships over meals and strolling on the deck. They no doubt discussed their plans, their knowledge of Sydney and aspirations for a bright sunny future.  Henry’s daughter Emma was the right age to spend time with Catherine, Julia, Grace and Maude Gadsby and fuss over baby William. 

As it turned out Selina (Lena) became very friendly with the dapper Alexander (Alec) Thurlow.  A small problem was that she had left a fiancé, Ben back in London.  

Selina and Thomas Gadsby settled in Newtown.  They completed their family with the birth of another daughter, a 14th child Edith, in January 1914. However, Selina became increasingly anxious about the friendship of Alec and Lena and called for Lena’s fiancé to make haste to Australia. Soon Ben arrived and as the situation unfolded it was Selena senior who ran off with Ben and left her daughter Lena to house keep for her father, feed the little ones, and mind the baby.  Sons Harold and John had enlisted and were off to war.

Thomas Thurlow 29 with Mary Ann nee Hall and their infant daughter had since arrived in Sydney in October 1914 on the Thermisticles.  Finally, William came to Australia in 1921 on the Demothenes with his mother Harriet Anne Thurlow

There are early records showing Thomas and Charles in the laundry business and so too with Alec. Having married Lena in 1918 Alec began trading as the Hygienic Towel Supply Association in Bligh Street Sydney. The following article from SMH 25/ 9/35 tells of his increase in assets and his trouble with the Taxation Department.

In the case of Alexander Thurlow, trading

as Hygiene Towel Supply Association, Bligh

Street, Mr. J. Rook, Taxation Department

prosecuting officer, said the allegation was

that Thurlow attempted to evade assessment

for taxation. Thurlow had never lodged re-

turns until requested by the department to

do so, when returns for 1922-34 were sup-

plied. The taxation payable in respect of those

years was: State, £316; Federal, £395; un-

employment relief, £164. The defendant's

assets, he said, had increased from nil in 1921

to £5953 in 1935. Thurlow, In all, was fined

£200, and ordered to pay £330 to the de-

partment.

Seems he is too busy making money to lodge a return.  It is not known whether his brothers were in business with him or whether the towel laundering business was a booming opportunity in the early part of 20th century Sydney.  

Later Lena and Alec opened the Snow White Towel and Linen Service. This was also a very successful business allowing them to buy their own home which they willingly shared with Alec’s brother William who never married and various other relatives at various times. There was a critical  housing shortage after the war and I know my uncle and cousins were recipients of their generosity Other relatives Bet and Marge cousins of my mother worked with Lena and Alec‘s business. Despite their generosity and good fortune, the couple remained childless.  She had plenty of practice as over her life Lena was responsible for bringing up a couple of young relatives who had single parents who needed to work.

Another newspaper article refers to Alec suing (and then withdrawing) for a debt from his brother-in-law Harold Jacob. Always the businessman it seems.

 

Julia, Jillian, Lena and Airdrie c 1953

This photo of Lena in the scarf with my grandmother Julia and two of Julia‘s grandchildren shows Lena’s sense of fun and  generous heart. Sadly Lena died of a heart condition not long after this photo was taken in 1954 and Alec died of throat cancer after retiring in 1962.

William had remained unmarried. He lived with Charles and then with Alec and Lena at 10 Morton Street Lakemba. Upon Alec’s death their house was left to his brother Will much to the displeasure of Lena’s sisters who were a bunch of early feminists.

Is this Alec and Thomas Gadsby?

Here’s a shot of Alec and another at outside the house at Lakemba. I like to think it is Alec and his father in law, my great grandfather Thomas Gadsby. Although my mother thought it was him, another Gadsby relative insists it’s one of Alec’ brothers.  However, nearly 90-year-old John Hudson Thurlow has made the call that it is definitely not a Thurlow.  It’s a fairly battered sepia picture from Julia’s family album and it’s been well handled. More evidence I guess that it’s great grandad.

So, what of the extended Thurlow family?? Robert died in 1932 I believe he was a rather sickly man He’s shown as groomsmen to Alec in Lena and Alec’s wedding photo in 1918. Thomas died in 1942 only months before his mother Harriet who was aged 87. Charles died in 1949 in Paddington. Henry died about eight years later in 1957 at Peakhurst. John died a few years later in 1960 at Auburn. William Robert Thurlow the oldest and the last remaining son died in 1971.

 

Maude G, Robert T, Alec, Lena, Selina G, John G and Julia G 1918

The Gadsbys have been written about in other blog stories. just click on the tags.

We tried hard to find some Thurlows when we had the hundred-year reunion of the Gadsby ‘s arrival in Australia in 2012. Although many had fond memories of times with Lena, Alec and his brothers we had very little information about what had become of them until a great great grandson caught the addiction and put the photo of the seven boys and their mother on his Ancestry tree. After seeing the hint, I made contact and Max and his charming family. We exchanged some details, facts and photos and it’s looking promising for a Thurlow or 2 to attend our next reunion. Please get in touch. kanahookarob@yahoo.com.au

Thomas Baker 1799- From Pearl Button Maker to Sergeant in the Coldstream Guards

Yea….. still chipping away at a brick wall. Thomas Baker 1799- was my 3x Great Grandfather. Do you know how many soldiers were named Thomas Baker? When you only have a name and don’t have any date of birth, death marriage or census finding this army sergeant was in my wildest dreams. I even had conflicting information about his profession. Was he a pearl button maker or a Sergeant in the Coldstream Guards?

It was so worth the monthly subscription to Ancestry’s Fold 3 collection  at $7:95 per month to get UK Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service records- all 21 pages of them which span from his attestation in 1818  where he was described as a pearl button maker to discharge as a Sergeant in 1838 due to medical reasons. My clues were Thomas Baker, father of Julia Baker was a Sergeant of the Coldstream Guards. This was in the marriage certificate for Julia and George Greedus marriage in 1859.  From this it was gleaned that Julia was previously married to a Samuel Smith where they lived in Warwickshire.

The records for the first marriage show Julia’s father was a pearl button maker. See my previous story George and Julia Smith Where did you appear from? where I ascertained by handwriting analysis that Julia and George had also changed their name after marriage to Julia’s previous married name of Smith.  Still another mystery as to why. It was always going to be a tricky brick wall to bash down. I’ll give myself extra brownie points for finding his record embedded in another record for a Thomas Baker who was a Sergeant Major in the Coldstream Guards!!!

I was lucky his profession added at attestation was a pearl button maker and went on to be nominated in his occupation at discharge. I’ve been looking at him for years. 

So, let’s re-trace the steps.

Thomas was a pearl button maker. Pearl buttons were made out of mother of pearl shell from the South Pacific. About 8000 people worked in this cottage home based industry. This specialist industry was based in Birmingham and the highly skilled craftsmen made these expensive luxuries mainly worn by men!

Pearl Buttons displayed at Birmingham Museum

Coldstreamers were traditionally recruited from the south west and north east of England. Thomas’ records show that he was born in the parish of Birmingham near Birmingham, Warwickshire. Thomas joined the Coldstream Guards in 1818. He attested in Liverpool on 8/5/1818 aged 18. That puts his birth in 1799 or 1800.  It is possible he is the son of Ann and Thomas Baker who baptised a child at Birmingham St Martin on 30/7/1799.

Thomas, soldier number 337 signed up for unlimited service.  In all he served 21 years 17 days as a private, Corporal (promoted after nearly 5 years) and Sergeant. He was promoted to Sergeant in May 1827.

The Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards 1670 is one of the five Regiments who normally provide the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. The Foot Guards have two roles in the British Army. First and foremost, they are highly trained infantry soldiers who carry out operational duties worldwide. Thomas’ duties were entirely in UK. In addition to their combat role the Guards train for Public Duties where they take part State and Royal ceremonial events.

He may have been posted at Wellington Barracks next to Buckingham Palace, Victoria Barracks in Windsor or  Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich. It is the oldest continuously serving Regiment in the British Army with the motto “second to none” The Coldstream Guards can be distinguished at the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace  by the red plume on the right of the bearkskin hat. Their scarlet uniform has buttons spaced in pairs with a garter star on the collars and rose on the shoulders.  

Now I’m chipping away at finding his daughter’s baptism and who he married and any other details if his life past the army. If there’s anyone out there I’m waiting for hints now.

Description of Thomas from his Army records

He was discharged as a consequence of a cough and impaired constitution – a disease he contracted in service. Upon discharge the Regimental Board was of the opinion that “his conduct had been of a good and efficient soldier, seldom in hospital, trustworthy and sober. His disease was not attributed to neglect, design, vice or intemperance.”  His records also give a description of my 3x great grandfather. He was 5’8 ¼” with brown hair and hazel eyes

Thomas’ total service was in the UK.  I have a feeling that this means Thomas spent his time in the Footguards around Buckingham Palace at Westminster. Certainly, Julia was born at Brewers Green, Westminster around 1834 and I have a likely marriage to Ann Maloney at Westminster in 1832 and another child Thomas born 1839 at Marylebone with a mother Maloney. All this is open to further investigation or luck! It’s all a bit frustrating as its just before Statutory registrations came into play.

After leaving the army in 1839 he initially lives in London. His record shows him moving to Tring in January 1841. I’ve been told Tring is a town north west of London. After such promising information from the Army records, he doesn’t show up on a 1841 or 1851 census.

 

Is this Thomas' children in care in 1841?

Upon discharge his daughter Julia Baker would’ve been around seven. I have a possibility for her in the 1841 census living with two possible siblings with a lady from Walthamstow, Essex who appears to be caring for them. Has Thomas who has left the army lost his wife?? He is in bad health and his children are being cared for? There are lots of possibilities. 

Julia in Handsworth 1951

In 1852 his daughter Julia aged 17 is living in Duddeston, Warwickshire and marries a local man Samuel Smith, 25-year-old gas maker from Bordesley. Her father is listed as a pearl button maker (no mention as to him being deceased). Working back to the 1851 census Julia appears as a 16-year-old servant from London working for the Horne family in Handsworth. Just a stone’s throw away from where her future husband lives. 

Samuel and Julia's wedding

Bordesley is 1.7 km from Handsworth

With Julia living in Bordesley with her husband does Thomas return to his childhood roots. There is a possible death of man named Thomas Baker at Bordesley in 1855 who was also born in 1799 making him the same age as our Thomas.  Could be our Thomas- more investigation needed.

Julia’s marriage to Samuel smith was short lived as he passed away and next, we find widow Julia Smith marrying George Greedus in 1859 in London.  Her father is a Sergeant in the Coldstream Guards. Still no mention as to whether he is deceased. Julia and George’s life with their children and change of name to Smith can be traced until their deaths in early 1910s.

Marriage of George and Julia

Nothing is known of what became of Thomas, a wife or any siblings Julia might have had. The second marriage certificate in 1959 for Julia Baker which indicates that her father was at Coldstream Guard does not indicate that he is deceased.Just as there were plenty of Thomas Bakers in the army there were many living in both Warwickshire and London with marriages to boot. Lots of options to work through.

However I found a Thomas Baker deceased on 24th of March 1942 and buried at Berkhamstead Hertsfordshire. This is about 6 miles from Tring. The age at death ties in with someone born 1799. Another possibility is a 1855 death at Stratford Rd Bermondsey near where Julia and Samuel were living. This also ties in with a 1799 birth. Watch this space as I order death certificates and explore further.

Hint of the Day:

Army records are able to be found in a couple of places.  Some are part of the Ancestry membership, while I have also trawled Find My Past for records. Others which I suspect were previously available on Ancestry are now available in a membership called Fold 3. You can take out a monthly subscription for $7.95.  There is a trial which is free for one week if you can speed research and sometimes free days. I suggest saving up your searches until it is worthwhile taking a subscription or ask a friend on the genealogy Facebook page to look up a record for you. The Military records are always a bit hit and miss and overwhelming if you have a common name such as Baker or Kerr and not much else to go on.

Stalking the Family Bibles for clues.

Several months back a 5th cousin showed me her mother’s family Bible.  The Bible was large and beautifully bound. It has a leather and timber cover. Included in the Bible is a records section with  coloured, gold embossed pages. This section was for recording births deaths and marriages.

Allan family bible has been handed down over the years

It is a real heirloom passed down from the original recipient of the Bible to her daughters, granddaughters etc over several generations. It records a line of the family of Allan descendants from the famous cricketer Francis Erskine Allan AKA Bowler of the Century 1849-1917

.

At a brief glance, it has at least 4  generations and as the family expanded with added generations of babies it became more unwieldy with backs of pages used and writing getting tighter.

....and all the descendants

I guess it also used to store more than names over the years. It would seem logical that the Bible would have become a receptacle used to slip in newspaper clippings, obituaries, funeral cards, actual documents, letters, cards, pressed flowers or even handwritten jottings.



Recently I was emailed some more simple notes recorded in a less regal family Bible of the Smith family of Bethnal Green.  Much less grandiose but nonetheless important these bore information on my great grandmother‘s brother, his wife and their children.

George Smith m Lydia Eaton

George and Lydia's family recorded at the front of the bible

 I’m grateful that a distant relative took the time to scan and share and even more grateful of the tradition of recording the family tree in the family Bible.



I’ve two other “Bible stories”. One is about a book passed down from my great grandfather Thomas Gadsby. It is “A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship” by William Gadsby printed in 1874 by a J Gadsby.  All that was known originally was that it was a gift to Thomas Gadsby in 1911 upon his departure from England to Australia. It’s a bit water damaged and has no family histories but it was a cause for further research.  Yes indeed William Gadsby was a famous Minister and prolific hymn writer 1773-1844. His hymns are still sung today.   Research has shown that it was his son John who published it.  William’s my 4^th great uncle so he was Thomas’ great Uncle. Whether this was a family heirloom or just a practical gift it is in safe hands with a succession plan complete with relevant stories about it’s importance.

This Hymn book came to Australia in 1912

The oldest living granddaughter  has custody and its future has been secured

This cherished hymn book  enriches our family story

Another bible found amongst my father’s things belonged to his Aunt Jessie. It had a message “from cousin Tom 1911”.  She had a brother Tom but who was this cousin?  Further research found Jessie, a young widow living with half first cousin Thomas and his mother in the 1911 Census just before she left for Australia. So it ended up being a rather helpful inscription.



 Lately I’ve seen some genealogy Facebook posts where people have bought up Bibles with family trees found in op shops and bookstores and advertised them to try and restore them with their original family. Who can resist a quick search on Ancestry to find a current tree? Whether it is intentional or not it’s such a crime to throw away this incredible record. It probably says more about today's value of owning a Bible. How generous of these folk to buy the unwanted books and use all of their research skills and genealogical know how to find a new family home for these treasures.



The Old Testament tells us that “you should not covet your neighbour's goods”. I will admit to some serious family history envy. I’d sure like my own copy to have and to cherish. Oh well after years of research my tree is too large to fit in my Bicentennial Edition of the Good News Bible.


Hint of the Day:  Items to be saved should be identified and perhaps "gifted" to the most likely eventual custodian of the family records.

Girls Own Annual

I found a book relegated to the garage -- well it wasn't really the garage it should have been Mum's studio. Now it was just a storage shed. Sadly she didn't get time to retire and paint before she died twenty years ago. The shed was not the ideal storage place because it was built next to an old creek bed. Every now and then the land returned to its former purpose during one in twenty year flood events. The building sustained these deluges two or three times before I retrieved my mother's things.

Two rickety old shelves held the excess household books. Mum had ensured that her childhood treasures and her old favourites were elevated. Somehow her treasures became mixed with objects cast out of the house in the latest exercise in discarding excess furniture. In reality this should have been a comfy, sunny studio housing a daybed -- a place to potter and paint. Twenty years after Mum had died it had become a repository for everything that Dad had collected plus his office archives, surplus lamps, paintings suitcases, trunks and other "stuff"

When cleaning out the shed lots of this useful stuff found its way to the dump bin, op shops or auction sales. In deciding what to keep there were rash moments of "Chuck it" or discussions about whether to  "give it away" or  "could be worth something". Cleaning out that shed took weeks.

It was old and obviously well loved, ravaged by moisture and lack of care, It was a dog-eared and repaired relic I should think I would never read it and it was totally unsaleable. The Girl's Own Annual won out. This 800 page dilapidated book from my mother's shelves came home with me and only later did I work why it is so important for me to keep….

 

Girls Own Annual   “was an important and positive influence on generations of girls and women, and a vital outlet for women's writing and ideas, for more than three-quarters of a century". E Honor Ward

 

A bit of research and the book was much older than my mother –so it wasn’t hers. It was then the penny dropped. “The Girls Own Annual” volume XXX was printed in 1909/1910. Finally I had a relic of the Gadsby family’s travels from England. This book came out to Australia with my great grandmother Selina and her girls 100 years ago. I can just imagine them pawing over this large finely bound green hardcover publication with gilt lettering during the 6 week journey to Australia .

The Girl’s Own Paper and Women’s Magazine was strewn with illustrated pages of paintings and drawings both in colour and black and white. There were pages of women’s fashions of the day- Edwardian dresses the girls would have had packed in their trunks ready to wear in “the colonies”.  There were stories of the times, photos of royalty, plants and gardens-not unlike current Women’s magazines only much more sensible.  It included plenty of tips on etiquette, ideas and patterns for crafts and all manner of commonsense subjects such as “Possibilities with Lemons” “Suggestions for School-girl’s Dresses”, “Ideas for Towel Ends. It may answer to “rare book” but it will never be described as “in excellent condition” or even “good” on E-bay but to me it’s priceless! 

DON'T LET ME NEAR YOUR FRANGIPANI TREE

 

Lately, I've been obsessed with growing frangipani trees. It runs in the family.

Every time we visited my grandfather at 35 Park Avenue my mother pinched another "cutting" from the tree. I'm amazed it grew any bigger. Alas, Mum's cuttings never grew because of the frosts.

I take or steal cuttings from all over Australia as a souvenir of my holidays in tropical sunny parts. It’s really an attempt to recapture my childhood memories of my Mum pinching bits at my Grandfather James's house and other memories that entails.

That piece of frangipani represents ice cream spiders made with homemade ice cream and Long and Barden's lemonade, which James lovingly served us at each visit. It reminds me of the Golden Rough that we bought with a sixpence Dad gave us so he could have a peaceful time with his father. It reminds me of coarse buffalo grass and the garden my Nanny used to tend. And it brings back memories of the piano and the crockery box that housed my grandparent’s photos. My brother and I would ram all the family photos into the piano keys. 

These household treasures would bounce up and down as we "played music".

I'm looking at those photos now, not surprisingly a little worse for wear. Here's my Nanny proudly holding her first granddaughter -- me -- in front of a much smaller version of the frangipani tree sixty something years ago.  Nanny's looking adoringly at me in a rather lairy printed Sunday best dress as we posed for photos in my long white christening gown. Sadly, as a 3 month old I'm not even looking at her or the tree with any sort of interest.  

A while ago a friend emailed me a picture of the old home at 35 Park Avenue. Oh ..the frangipani has survived. I'm already checking if there are any bits hanging over the fence so I can grow a bit of that tree once and for all! 

Above: The tree fully grown

Years later the tree seems to have been relocated to the side of the front yard as shown in the photos taken by Joan Lawrence below.