THE MUDDLE FAMILIES

THE LINEAGE & HISTORY OF THE MUDDLE FAMILIES OF THE WORLD

INCLUDING VARIANTS MUDDEL, MUDDELL, MUDLE & MODDLE

 

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THE KENT MUDDLE FAMILIES

THE HARRIETSHAM MUDDLES

 

Introduction

Andrew & Isabella Muddle’s Family

Richard & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

John & Rebecca Muddle’s Family

Arthur & Bridget Muddle’s Family

William & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

Edward & Ann/Alice Muddle’s Family

James & Ann Muddle’s Family

Nicholas & Susannah Muddle’s Family

Stephen & Eliz:/Eleanor Muddle’s Family

James & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

William & Christian Muddle’s Family

James & Susannah Muddle’s Family

William & Ann/Sarah/Jane Muddle’s Family

John & Mary Jane Muddle’s Family

Arthur & Elizabeth Muddle’s Family

Edward & Mary Muddle’s Family

Index of Family Members

Charts

 

 

James & Elizabeth Muddle's Family

 

Chart of James & Elizabeth Muddle's Family

 

James Muddle married Elizabeth Batchelor at the Church of St Peter in Aylesford, Kent on 7 October 1742. They lived at Gillingham in Kent where they had eight children born between 1744 and 1764; this included twin daughters who died soon after birth and their eldest child who died when about 8 months old.

After his marriage James continued working at Chatham Naval Dockyard as both a Labourer and a Watchman earning, per quarter, about £6 as a Labourer, as he was now working more overtime as a Labourer than he had done before he married, and £2 5s as a Watchman. His pay for the 4th quarter of 1763 was recorded as being paid to his wife Elizabeth and he had not worked quite as often during that quarter, so possibly he had been ill.[1] Then from 14 October 1764 there was a change and the jobs of Labourers and Watchmen were combined; they were listed under Labourers but as being on half pay as Watchmen; their pay was now 16½d per day with any overtime paid at the 13d rate for Labourers, and the average pay James was now getting dropped back to about £6. Then on the 20 March 1771 Labourers stopped being on half pay as watchmen and their rate of pay went back to 13d per day.

During the 1st quarter of 1774 James was recorded as working 61 days and 8 nights (a night being 5 hours overtime for which a day's pay was given) and he was recorded in the pay books as having died on 6 March, which was a Sunday, but there were not 61 working days (they worked a 6 day week Monday to Saturday) in that quarter up until Saturday 5 March but this is the correct number up to Saturday 12 March, so it has been assumed that James died on Sunday 13 March 1774, at the age of 54, and this is more in agreement with him being buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 17 March 1774. Burial 4 days after death being about normal at this time, and it looks as if the clerk filling in the pay book took the date of the wrong Sunday. The pay book also records that his pay of £3 14s 9d due for that quarter was paid to his widow Elizabeth. James had been working right up to the time of his death so it must have been fairly sudden, and as it was on a Sunday it would not have been an accident at work unless he was working overtime on that Sunday; it seems more likely that it was something like a heart attack.[2]

Two years after James’ death Elizabeth married Joseph Gilbert at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 13 June 1776 by licence. It would have been Joseph who paid £18 in 1778 to have his stepson William Muddle apprenticed to shipwright Daniel Adams of Chatham. Joseph was described as being a carpenter of Gillingham when he was the bondsman for the marriage license of his stepson William Muddle in 1787. He was also a witness at the marriages of his stepson John Muddle and step-grandson James Muddle at the Church of All Saints in Frindsbury in 1788 and 1798.

 

Their children were:

Mary 1744-1745  James 1746-1789  Mary 1748-1748  Sarah 1748-1748

Sarah 1752-1827 John 1756-1797  Mary 1759-?  William 1764-1831

 

 

James and Elizabeth’s eldest child was Mary Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham, Kent on 12 September 1744. This baptism was also recorded in the register of the Church of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham. Mary died when she was only 8 months old and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 9 May 1745.

 

James and Elizabeth’s second child was James Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 10 April 1746, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham, Kent on 27 April 1746. This baptism was also recorded in the register of the Church of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham.

When James was 14½ years old his father, who was working at Chatham Naval Dockyard as a Labourer and Watchman, paid £18 to have him apprenticed to master House Carpenter John Southerden at Chatham Naval Dockyard for 7 years by an indenture dated 4 February 1761.[3] This is different to the route taken by most boys who started at the dockyard at the age of 11 or 12 as Ocham Boys; progressed to Quarter Boys and then became apprentices at the age of 14 without the need for a registered apprenticeship indenture. The registration of his apprenticeship states that the apprenticeship was to start at the date of the indenture, but James completed his apprenticeship on 14 December 1767 suggesting that it actually started on 15 December 1760; this unfortunately cannot be check as the Dockyard Pay Books for 1760 have not survived, but James is shown in the 1761 Pay Book as working a full 1st quarter so he had almost certainly started before that, i.e. on 15 December 1760.

James earned 12d per day at the start of his apprenticeship; this became 13d in 1762, 15d in 1763 and at the end of his apprenticeship it was 21d, and during his apprenticeship this was paid to his master John Southerden. James started working at the Chatham Naval Dockyard as a qualified House Carpenter on 15 December 1767 at 22d per day, the standard rate for a House Carpenter.[4] A House Carpenter at the dockyard was essentially the same as one in civilian life that is he was involved in the manufacture and maintenance of all the wooden parts of buildings and other structures within the dockyard, though some of these structures may have been fairly specialised, such as dry-docks.

Seventeen months after qualifying as a House Carpenter and with a secure job at the dockyard James, at the age of 23, married Sarah Burch, who was about 21, at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 8 May 1769. They first lived at Gillingham where they had two children born in 1771 and 1773, they then moved to Chatham where they had three more children born between 1775 and 1779. In 1776 their then two youngest children died within 3 weeks of each other, at the ages of 3 and 1.

When details of all the workers at Chatham Dockyard were recorded in early 1779 it was stated that James, aged 33, had then completed eleven years as a house carpenter at the dockyard and his character as a workman was described as good.[5] During the 1st quarter of 1779 James worked 76 days, 2 nights and 60 tides for which he was paid £11 0s 4d with 2s 7d lodging allowance.[6] It's not certain how long the standard working day was, but it was probably 10 hours, a night was a period of 5 hours overtime for which a day's pay was received, and a tide was a period of 1½ hours overtime for which a house carpenter received 6d.[7]

Four years after the birth of their last child they were living at Chatham when Sarah died, at the age of 35, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 4 December 1783. Five years later James was living at Gillingham when he died on Monday 23 March 1789, at the age of 43, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on Friday 27 March 1789. The Dockyard Pay Book for the 1st quarter of 1789, which recorded the date of James' death, also shows that he worked 69 days that quarter, which means he must have worked right up to the time of his death, which must have been sudden like his father's. The dockyard Pay Books record that James' wages for the quarter he died and the previous quarter, which were not paid until 13 April 1789, where paid to his brother-in-law William Whitehead, who was stated to be the guardian of James' surviving children, who were now orphans.[8]

 

 

James and Sarah’s eldest child was James Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 7 July 1771. On 1 April 1783, when he was 11½ years old, James started work at Chatham Naval Dockyard as an Ocham Boy, working six days per week for which he was paid 6d per day. This was where his father worked as a House Carpenter and where his grandfather had also worked. Ocham Boys carried ocham (oakum), which was the unpicked fibres of old rope, and hot pitch to the caulkers, who used it to seal the joints of a wooden ship. James worked as an Ocham Boy for just over 2 years, his last day being 8 July 1785.[9]

James, at the age of 14, now become an apprentice House Carpenter at the dockyard. An indenture dated 20 August 1785 recorded that James' father paid £12 to Matthew Spray, a leading man House Carpenter at the dockyard, to take his son as an apprentice for 7 years from 8 July 1785, and on 24 August 1785 Matthew Spray paid 6 shillings tax on this.[10] James' pay had now doubled to 12d per day, though it was paid to his master. James was in the middle of his apprenticeship and now on 16d per day when he became an orphan on 23 March 1789, at the age of 17, when his father died, his mother having died back in 1783, and together with his other surviving siblings he went to live with his father's sister Mary and her husband William Whitehead, who became their guardians. James, with his pay having increased to 21d per day, completed his apprenticeship on 13 February 1792, just on 5 months short of a full 7 years.[11] No record has been found of James working at the dockyard as a qualified House Carpenter so he presumably either became a carpenter in a civilian business or a Ship's Carpenter in either the Royal Navy or Merchant Navy.

When he was 26 years old James married Elizabeth Woodlow, who was about 22, at the Church of All Saints in Frindsbury, Kent on 21 January 1798. They lived at Chatham, Kent where they had five children born between 1806 and 1814, the first of whom died in early 1809 when only 3 years old. At the baptism of their last child in June 1814 James was described as being a carpenter. Then four months after this baptism they were living at Chatham when James died at the age of 43, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 6 October 1814. His death was reported in the 1 November 1814 edition of The Monthly Magazine; or, British Register. James was described as a broker and undertaker of Chatham when administration of his estate, which was valued at under £800, was granted to Elizabeth by the Consistory Court of Rochester on 17 October 1814.[12]

In the census of 30 March 1851 Elizabeth was living with the family of her daughter Frances Romcke at 10 Chepstow Place in Camberwell, Surrey. Elizabeth died at 10 Chepstow Place on 4 January 1854, at the age of 78, from chronic disease of the brain. Her name on her death certificate was Elizabeth Ann Muddle and she was described as the widow of an upholsterer; her death was registered by her son-in-law Frederick Hermann Romcke of 10 Chepstow Place. Elizabeth was buried in West Norwood Cemetery in Lambeth on 11 January 1854 in grave number 3715-85 that was owned by Frederick Hermann Romcke. Her burial record stated that she had been living at County Terrace, Camberwell New Road.

 

 

James and Elizabeth’s eldest child was James Woodlow Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 9 March 1806. James died at Chatham when he was just on 3 years old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 29 January 1809.

 

James and Elizabeth’s second child was Elizabeth Ann Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 25 December 1807. When she was 43 years old Elizabeth married Gideon Lawley, who was about 47, at the Church of St James in Westminster, London on 7 December 1850 by license. The license issued by the Faculty Office on 2 December 1850 described Gideon as a bachelor of St James, Westminster and Elizabeth as a spinster of St Giles, Camberwell. As Elizabeth’s sister Frances Romcke was one of the witnesses at the marriage and lived at Camberwell it seems likely that Elizabeth had been living with her sister’s family. On the marriage certificate Gideon gave his occupation as wine merchant and his address as Oxford Street, so it seems likely that he was a partner in Lawley & Pocock, wine merchants of 371A Oxford Street that were listed in trade directories of the time.

In the census of 30 March 1851 Gideon and Elizabeth were living at 10 Queens Row in Chiswick, Middlesex. Eight years later Gideon died, when he was about 56 years old, his death being registered in Poplar registration district in London during the 3rd quarter of 1859. Then in the census of 7 April 1861 Elizabeth was a visitor at the home of merchant William Hargrave at Meadow Bank Road in Ecclesall Bierlow, Yorkshire. William Hargrave like Elizabeth’s late husband Gideon had been born in Sheffield, Yorkshire. In the census of 2 April 1871 Elizabeth was living alone in part of 2 Hempton Terrace, Sheen Lane, Mortlake, Surrey, and she was an annuitant. Two years later Elizabeth died at the age of 65, her death being registered in Richmond registration district in Surrey, which included Mortlake, during the 4th quarter of 1873.

 

 

James and Elizabeth’s third child was Matilda Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 14 October 1810. When she was 19 years old Matilda married Richard Clarricoats at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 14 April 1830.

 

James and Elizabeth’s fourth child was Susan Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 11 October 1812. In 1830, when she was 17 years old, Susan had an illegitimate son at Chatham, who died when only 2 months old. Then when she was 24 years old Susan married 28-year-old Thomas Nalton at the Church of St Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London on 13 March 1837. Thomas was the son of Thomas and Frances Nalton; he had been born at Birdsall in Yorkshire and baptised at Birdsall Church on 8 January 1809. Thomas and Susan had at least seven children; their first child was born at Islington in London in 1834 before they were married, the second at Kensington in London in 1837, the third at Pimlico in London in 1843 and the other four at Bradford in Yorkshire between 1845 and 1853.

In the census of 30 March 1851 they were living at 17 Victoria Street in Bradford with their then three youngest children, and Thomas was a tailor and draper employing 12 men. They had 13-year-old Janie Preston as a live-in house servant. Then in the census of 7 April 1861 they were living at 4 Salem Street in Bradford with six of their children, and Thomas was a tailor employing 6 men. Living with them was Susan’s nephew, 24-year-old Frederick Romcke, and also their married daughter Frances Saville with her husband and two children. In the census of 2 April 1871 they were living at 77 North Parade in Bradford with three of their now adult children, and Thomas was still a tailor. They had 24-year-old Elizabeth Ward as a live-in general servant. Then in the census of 3 April 1881 Thomas was living at 141 North Parade in Bradford with two of his spinster daughters, while Susan was away stay with the family of her daughter Hannah Lincey at 17 Farcliffe Terrace in Bradford. At 141 North Parade they had German merchant Louise Fortheim as a boarder and 23-year-old Ellen Graig as a live-in servant.

Thomas died at the age of 73, his death being registered in Bradford registration district during the 2nd quarter of 1882. Shortly afterwards Susan died at the age of 70, her death being registered in Bradford registration district during the 3rd quarter of 1882.

 

 

Susan’s illegitimate son was George Woodlow Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 7 May 1830. George died when he was only 2 months old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 24 June 1830.

 

Thomas and Susan’s eldest child (Susan’s second) was Frances Nalton who was born at Islington in London in about 1834. In the census of 7 April 1861 Frances, at the age of 26, was married and together with her husband and her two children was living with her parents at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, Yorkshire.

 

Thomas and Susan’s second child (Susan’s third) was Matilda Nalton who was born at Kensington in London in about 1837. In the census of 7 April 1861 Matilda, at the age of 23, was working as a dressmaker and living with her parents at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, Yorkshire. Then in the census of 2 April 1871 Matilda, now aged 33, was working as a dressmaker and living with her parents at 77 North Parade in Bradford. In the census of 3 April 1881 Matilda, still unmarried at the age of 43, was living with her parents at 141 North Parade in Bradford and continuing to work as a dressmaker.

 

Thomas and Susan’s third child (Susan’s fourth) was Hannah Nalton who was born at Pimlico in London in about 1843. In the census of 7 April 1861 Hannah, at the age of 17, was a professor of music and living with her parents at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, Yorkshire.

 

Thomas and Susan’s fourth child (Susan’s fifth) was Louisa Nalton who was born at Bradford in Yorkshire and her birth registered during the 3rd quarter of 1845. In the census of 30 March 1851 Louisa, at the age of 5, was living with her parents at 17 Victoria Street in Bradford, and she was going to school. Then in the census of 7 April 1861 Louisa, now aged 15, was living with her parents at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, and still going to school.

 

Thomas and Susan’s fifth child (Susan’s sixth) was Sophia Nalton who was born at Bradford in Yorkshire and her birth registered during the 2nd quarter of 1849. In the census of 30 March 1851 Sophia, at the age of 1, was living with her parents at 17 Victoria Street in Bradford. Then in the census of 7 April 1861 Sophia, now aged 11, was living with her parents at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, and she was going to school. In the census of 2 April 1871 Sophia, at the age of 21, was living with her parents at 77 North Parade in Bradford. Then in the census of 3 April 1881 Sophia, still unmarried at the age of 31, was living with her parents at 141 North Parade in Bradford and she still had no occupation.

 

Thomas and Susan’s sixth child (Susan’s seventh) was Emily Nalton who was born at Bradford in Yorkshire during March 1851. In the census of 30 March 1851 Emily, at the age of 12 days, was living with her parents at 17 Victoria Street in Bradford. Then in the census of 7 April 1861 Emily, now aged 10, was living with her parents at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, and she was going to school.

 

Thomas and Susan’s seventh child (Susan’s eighth) was Thomas Edwin Nalton who was born at Bradford in Yorkshire and his birth registered during the 1st quarter of 1853. In the census of 7 April 1861 Thomas, at the age of 8, was living with his parents at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, and he was going to school. Then in the census of 2 April 1871 Thomas, now aged 18, was working as a stuff warehouseman and living with his parents at 77 North Parade in Bradford.

 

 

James and Elizabeth’s fifth child was Frances Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 5 June 1814. When she was 27 years old Frances married Frederick Hermann Romcke at the Church of St Mary in Lambeth, London on 23 December 1841 by license. The license issued by the Faculty Office on 22 December 1841 described Frederick as a bachelor of St Dunstan in the East and Frances as a spinster of St Mary, Lambeth. Frederick was a merchant who had been born in Germany in about 1805. Frederick and Frances had six children; the first three were born in Lambeth between 1836 and 1842 and the other three at Camberwell between 1843 and 1847. Their first two children had been born before their marriage. In the census of 30 March 1851 they were living at 19 Chepstow Place in Camberwell with their six children, and Frederick was a general merchant. They had Frances’ widowed mother, Elizabeth Muddle, living with them and they had two live-in female servants. Frances’ mother was still living with them when she died on 4 January 1854. The grave plot that she was buried in at West Norwood Cemetery was owned by Frederick and his address as grave owner was given as County Terrace, Camberwell New Road.

 

 

 

Frederick and Frances’ eldest child was Frederick Romcke who had been born at Lambeth in London in about 1836. In the census of 30 March 1851 Frederick, at the age of 14, was living with his parents at 19 Chepstow Place in Camberwell, London, and he was going to school. Then in the census of 7 March 1861 Frederick, now aged 24, was working as a builder’s clerk and living with the family of his mother’s sister Susan Nalton at 4 Salem Street in Bradford, Yorkshire.

 

Frederick and Frances’ second child was Frances Elizabeth Romcke who had been born at Lambeth in London and her birth registered during the 2nd quarter of 1841. In the census of 30 March 1851 Frances, at the age of 10, was living with her parents at 19 Chepstow Place in Camberwell, London, and she was going to school.

 

Frederick and Frances’ third child was Sophia Romcke who had been born at Lambeth in London and her birth registered during the 3rd quarter of 1842. In the census of 30 March 1851 Sophia, at the age of 8, was living with her parents at 19 Chepstow Place in Camberwell, London, and she was going to school.

 

Frederick and Frances’ fourth child was Charles Hermann Romcke who had been born at Camberwell in London and his birth registered during the 2nd quarter of 1844. In the census of 30 March 1851 Charles, at the age of 7, was living with his parents at 19 Chepstow Place in Camberwell, and he was going to school.

 

Frederick and Frances’ fifth child was Elizabeth Ann Romcke who had been born at Camberwell in London in about 1846. In the census of 30 March 1851 Elizabeth, at the age of 4, was living with her parents at 19 Chepstow Place in Camberwell.

 

Frederick and Frances’ sixth child was Robert Romcke who had been born at Camberwell in London in about 1847. In the census of 30 March 1851 Robert, at the age of 3, was living with his parents at 19 Chepstow Place in Camberwell.

 

 

James and Sarah’s second child was George Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 22 August 1773. George died when only 3 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 17 September 1776.

 

James and Sarah’s third child was John Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 16 July 1775. John died when only a year old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 7 October 1776.

 

James and Sarah’s fourth child was John Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 8 October 1777. John became an orphan on 23 March 1789, at the age of 11, when his father died, his mother having died back in 1783, and together with his other surviving siblings he went to live with his father's sister Mary and her husband William Whitehead, who became their guardians.

Then 6 months later, on 30 September 1789, when he was 12 years old, John started work at Chatham Naval Dockyard as an Ocham Boy, working six days per week for which he was paid 6d per day. Ocham Boys carried ocham (oakum), which was the unpicked fibres of old rope, and hot pitch to the caulkers, who used it to seal the joints of a wooden ship. John worked as an Ocham Boy for nearly 2 years, his last day being 25 September 1791. His pay for his last quarter as an Ocham Boy was paid to his uncle William Muddle, who was working at the dockyard as a shipwright.[13]

It seems that a career in the dockyard was not for John, as it had been for his father and grandfather, and John was not at the dockyard to receive his last quarter's pay, which was normally paid well after the end of the quarter, because, at just on 14 years old, £21 had been paid to have him apprenticed to tailor George Cutbush of Maidstone for 7 years from 16 September 1791, by an indenture dated 24 September 1791.[14] John never completed his apprenticeship, possibly because of illness, and he was living at Gillingham when he died at the age of 19, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 25 June 1797.

 

James and Sarah’s fifth child was Mary Ann Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 28 November 1779. Mary Ann became an orphan on 23 March 1789, at the age of 9, when her father died, her mother having died back in 1783, and together with her other surviving siblings she went to live with his father's sister Mary and her husband William Whitehead, who became their guardians.

Then when she was 19 years old Mary Ann married bachelor Philip English, who was about 26, at the Parish Church of St Mary in Minster on the Isle of Thanet, Kent on 10 June 1799 and they were both then residing in that parish. They lived at Chatham where they had six children born between 1801 and 1818. Philip was recorded as being a sawyer at the baptisms of his last two children in 1813 and 1818.

Their daughter Mary Ann died at Chatham in mid-September 1818 and then two weeks later Philip died at Chatham, at the age of 45, and was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 2 October 1818. At the baptism of his last child just two weeks later he was recorded as being deceased, though he had lived just long enough to have seen it born on 19 September.

 

 

Philip and Mary Ann’s eldest child was Philip James English who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 23 August 1801. No burial record has been found for Philip but he had probably died by 1804 when his parents named their second son James and then in 1806 their third son Philip.

 

Philip and Mary Ann’s second child was James English who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 19 February 1804.

 

Philip and Mary Ann’s third child was Philip Edward English who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 2 March 1806. Philip died at Chatham, at the age of 13 (not 14 as given on his burial record), and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 1 August 1819.

 

Philip and Mary Ann’s fourth child was Mary Ann English who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 5 June 1808. Mary Ann died at Chatham, at the age of 10, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 16 September 1818.

 

Philip and Mary Ann’s fifth child was Matilda Jane English who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 30 May 1813.

 

Philip and Mary Ann’s sixth child was Martha Ann English who was born at Chatham in Kent on 19 September 1818 and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 16 October 1818.

 

 

James and Elizabeth’s third child, one of twins, was Mary Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham, Kent on 21 August 1748 at the same time as her twin sister. This baptism was also recorded in the register of the Church of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham. Mary and her twin sister only lived for about a month and they were buried together in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 18 September 1748.

 

James and Elizabeth’s fourth child, one of twins, was Sarah Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham, Kent on 21 August 1748 at the same time as her twin sister. This baptism was also recorded in the register of the Church of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham. Sarah and her twin sister only lived for about a month and they were buried together in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 18 September 1748.

 

James and Elizabeth’s fifth child was Sarah Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent and baptised at the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 12 April 1752. Sarah was living at nearby Chatham when, at the age of 24, she married Nathaniel Wheeler, who was from Gillingham, at the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 25 August 1776. They lived at Chatham where they had eight children born between 1777 and 1796. Sarah died at Chatham, at the age of 75, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin at Chatham on 14 October 1827.

 

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s eldest child was Nathaniel Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 13 April 1777.

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s second child was Sarah Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 13 December 1778.

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s third child was Mary Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 17 December 1780.

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s fourth child was William Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 22 December 1782.

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s fifh child was James Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 30 January 1785.

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s sixth child was Ann Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 15 July 1787.

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s seventh child was John Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 6 December 1789.

 

Nathaniel and Sarah’s eighth child was Rebecca Wheeler who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 27 November 1796.

 

 

James and Elizabeth’s sixth child was John Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 22 August 1756.

On the 28 June 1780 John, at the age of 23, started work at Chatham Naval Dockyard as a Scavelman on pay of 15d per day. A scavelman was someone who kept waterways and ditches clear of debris and in the dockyard this was specifically someone who kept dry docks clear of the mud that was washed in from the river when the docks were flooded; the floors, drains, conduits etc. of a dry dock had to be kept clear. During the 1st quarter of 1785 John worked 75½ days, 28 nights and 17 tides for which his pay was £6 15s 0d. It's not certain how long the standard working day was, but it was probably 10 hours, a night was a period of 5 hours overtime for which a day's pay was received, and a tide was a period of 1½ hours overtime for which a Scavelman received 4d.

When he was 31 years old John married Ann Wheeler at the Church of All Saints in Frindsbury, Kent on 13 May 1788. They had four children; the first born in about 1787 before they were married, and the other three were born at Chatham, Kent between 1789 and early 1795. In October 1795 they were living at Gillingham when their third child died at the age of 3.

During the period of the Napoleonic Wars the Scavelmen, like all the other dockyard workers, worked very long hours but had dramatically enlarged wage packets. For instance during the 1st quarter of 1793 John worked 77 days 102½ nights and 164 tides for which his wages were £13 19s 2d. John died on Monday 4 December 1797, at the age of 41, and the dockyard pay book shows that John was still working long hours right up to his death, suggesting that his death was either the result of an accident or something sudden like a heart attack. During the last quarter John worked, the 4th quarter of 1797, he worked 55 days 104 nights and 69 tides. John's pay for this quarter and the previous one was paid to his brother William, who was a shipwright at the dockyard, for his wife Ann, who was administrator of his estate.[15]

John was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on Friday 8 December 1797. John's death two and three-quarter years after the birth of his last child left his wife Ann to bring up their three young sons, aged 10, 8 and 2. John died intestate and he was described as a Scavelman of Chatham when administration of his estate was granted to his wife Ann by the Archdeaconry Court of Rochester on 27 December 1797.[16]. Seven years after John’s death Ann married bachelor William Hichcock at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gillingham on 1 January 1805.

 

Their children were:

John 1787-?  William 1789-1859  George 1792-1795  Thomas 1795-1856

 

 

John and Ann’s eldest child was John Muddle who was born in about 1787, probably in the area of Chatham in Kent, before his parents married. No baptism has been found for John, but as his daughter gave his occupation as upholsterer when she married, which is the same as the occupation of John and Ann’s sons William and Thomas, and John married in Westminster as William and Thomas did, it has been assumed that he must also be John and Ann’s son. John's father died in late 1797, when John was 10 years old, leaving his mother with three young sons to bring up.

When he was 27 years old John, now spelling his name Muddell, married Harriot Mussell at the Church of St Clement Danes in Westminster, London on 25 July 1814. They had one child born at Chatham in Kent, possibly just before they married. It’s thought that both John and Harriot had died before the start of civil registration in 1837.

 

 

John and Harriot’s only known child was Matilda Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent in about 1813. When she was about 25 years old Matilda married Richard Lenoy, who was about 34, at Charlton Parish Church in Lewisham, Kent on 30 August 1838. Richard was then a Corporal in the Royal Marines and the son of William Lenoy who had been a Private in the Royal Artillery.

In the census of 6 June 1841 Matilda was working as a charwoman and lodging with the family of labourer Thomas Butcher at Warwick Street in Woolwich, Kent, Richard was presumably away serving with the Royal Marines. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Richard and Matilda were living at 1 Queen Street in Rochester, Kent; Richard was a Greenwich Pensioner so he had been discharged from the Royal Marines. In the census of 7 April 1861 Matilda was living at 1 Douglas Close, Walnut Tree Road, Greenwich, Kent and she described herself as the wife of a sick attendant at Greenwich Hospital.

Richard died at the age of 66, his death being registered in Medway registration district in Kent during the 3rd quarter of 1870. In the census of 2 April 1871 Matilda was working as a seamstress and lodging with the family of mariner Charles Langley at Gravel Walk in Rochester. Soon after the census Matilda died at the age of 58, her death being registered in Medway registration district during the 2nd quarter of 1871.

 

 

 

John and Ann’s second child was William Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 1 March 1789. William's father died in late 1797, when William was 8 years old, leaving his mother with three young sons to bring up.

Six years after his father's death, on 6 July 1803, when he was 14 years old, William, now spelling his surname Muddell, was apprenticed for seven years to George Simson, who was Citizen (Freeman) of the City of London and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Upholders of London, for the token sum of one penny.[17] This token payment suggests that William and his brothers had probably been supported by payments from the Overseers of the Poor of Gillingham and that it was these Overseers of the Poor that had placed William out as an apprentice. It seems that William must have received some education because he signed his name on the apprentice indenture in a confident and clear hand. After completing his apprenticeship in 1810, when he was 21 years old, William was living at 19 St Pauls Churchyard when he was granted admission as a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Upholders of London.[18] Upholder is an archaic word for Upholsterer and was a term used for those that not only made and sold upholstered goods but were also cabinet makers, undertakers, soft furnishers, auctioneers and valuers. Becoming a freeman of this livery company would have enabled William to also become a Citizen (Freeman) of the City of London, which later documents show he certainly did, and enable him to trade within the City of London.

 

 

When he was 25 years old William married Mary Ann Greig at the Church of St Anne in Soho, Westminster, London on 13 November 1814. They are not thought to have had any children.

William was described as a gentleman living at 2 Little Carter Lane, which was constructed of brick, when he took out a fire insurance policy with the Sun Fire Office on 14 February 1816 for £300 on his household goods and other personal effects at that address for which he initially paid 7s 6d.[19] William was a gentleman living at 10 Bow Lane, Cheapside, which was constructed of brick and timber, when he took another Sun Fire Office policy on 30 April 1823 for £300 on his household goods and other personal effects at that address for which he initially paid 10s.[20]

It seems that William let his 10 Bow Lane address be used, presumably for a fee, by people placing adverts in newspapers, who didn't want to use their own address. The 8 June 1826 edition of The Morning Post carried an advertisement for a servant to wait on young ladies where letters were to be addressed to S.H. at Mr Muddell's, 10 Bow Lane, Cheapside.

Featherbedds and Flock Bedds. The Early History of the Worshipful Company of Upholders of the City of London by J F Houston records that William Muddell was called to the Livery of the Worshipful Company of Upholders of the City of London on 2 October 1827. William was an upholsterer and cabinet maker living at 10 Bow Lane when he took a further Sun Fire Office policy on 11 October 1827 for £300 on his household goods and other personal effects at that address and in addition £250 for his stock, utensils and goods at that address where no cabinet making work was done for which he initially paid 18s 6d.[21]

William was described as a Citizen and Upholder of London, when by an indenture dated 1 July 1828 he took Robert Bull, son of William Bull of Chelmsford in Essex, as an apprentice for seven years, for which William was paid £60, a very different sum to the one penny that had been paid for William's own apprenticeship.[22]

William was an upholsterer living at 10 Bow Lane when he took another Sun Fire Office policy on and 8 October 1829 for £300 for his stock, utensils and goods, including live stock, at his warehouse and stables at Bull Wharf Lane, Upper Thames Street, which was constructed of brick and timber, for which he initially paid 7s 6d.[23]

It was either William or his brother Thomas who was the upholsterer named Muddell, who was named in a report from the Insolvent Debtors Court in The Times of 23 April 1831, as having sold £140 of furniture to William Slater at the beginning of 1831, and had then arrested Slater in February for non-payment and had him sent to prison.

William Muddell was an upholsterer and cabinet maker living at 6 Little St Thomas Apostle, which was constructed of brick, when he took out a Sun Fire Office policy on 15 June 1831 for £370 on his household goods and other personal effects at that address and in addition £230 for his stock, utensils and goods at that address where no cabinet making work was done. This policy was also for £100 for his stock, utensils and goods at his warehouse at 10 Bow Lane that was constructed of brick and timber and £100 for his live stock in stables and carthouse at Cousin Lane, Upper Thames Street (later changed to adjoining Mr Salt's Stable Yard, Moor Lane), which was constructed of brick and timber, for all this he initially paid £1 1s.[24] Also on the same day William, together with Elizabeth Swale of Mildenhall, Suffolk, took out a Sun Fire Office policy for £800 on his dwelling house and workshops at 6 Little St Thomas Apostle where no cabinet making work was done, for which they initially paid 16s.[25] On 7 December 1831 John Brenton esquire of 18 York Street, Portman Square took out a Sun Fire Office policy for £1000 to cover his household goods, wearing apparel, printed books, plate, pictures, prints, china and glass stored in the warehouse at Bow Lane of upholsterer Muddell, who lived at 6 Little St Thomas Apostle.[26]

An advert in The Times of 20 July 1832 for a house for let at Upper Stamford Street requested that those interested contact W Muddell and Co at 6 St Thomas Apostle, Queen Street, Cheapside for particulars and cards to view.

William was an upholsterer and cabinet maker living at 6 Little St Thomas Apostle when he took out a Sun Fire Office policy on 25 July 1833 for £370 on his household goods and other personal effects at that address and in addition £230 for his stock, utensils and goods at that address where no cabinet making work was done. This policy was also for £100 for his stock, utensils and goods at his warehouse at 10 Bow Lane and £100 for his stock and utensils, including livestock, in stables and carthouse adjoining Mr Salt’s Stable Yard, Moor Lane, which was constructed of brick and timber, for all this he initially paid £1 3s.[27]

Then on 20 August 1833 William and Thomas Muddell, gentlemen, of 6 Little St Thomas Apostle, Queen Street took out a Sun Fire Office policy for £300 on two adjoining houses at Gillingham in Kent that were in private tenure and were constructed of timber and tile.[28] The Post Office London Directory for 1833 and 1834 both listed William Muddell as an upholsterer etc. of 6 Little Thomas Apostle. The West Kent Poll Books for 1835 and 1837, which recorded the electors for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of Kent, both listed William Muddle of Little St Thomas Apostle as one of the electors, which means that to qualify to vote William must have owned freehold property to at least the value of 40 shillings' annual rental within the Western Division of Kent, probably the property at Gillingham he had taken out a fire insurance policy for in 1833.

William was an upholsterer and cabinet maker living at 6 Little St Thomas Apostle when he took out a Sun Fire Office policy on 26 August 1835 for £390 on his household goods and other personal effects at that address and in addition £290 for his stock, utensils and goods at that address where no cabinet making work was done. This policy was also for £220 for his stock, utensils and goods at his warehouse at 10 Bow Lane where no cabinet makers work was done, for all this he initially paid £1 14s.[29]

It seems likely that William had some business connection with his cousin John Muddell, the son of his father’s brother William, who was recorded as being an upholsterer in 1834 while living at Hoxton, London, and then as wine and spirit merchant at 14 Bow Lane in 1836. And it is possible that the above mention Sun Fire Office policy taken out on 7 December 1831 by John Brenton on Bow Lane refers to premises occupied by this John Muddell rather than William.

An advert in The Times of 13 July 1836 requesting applications for the position of scullery maid at a hotel in a fashionable watering place requested applicants to apply to Mr Wm Muddle of St Thomas Apostle, Queen Street, Cheapside.

A Collection of the Public General Statutes passed in the First and Second Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria, 1837-1838 recorded that the 31 July 1838 Act to appoint additional Commissioners for executing the Acts granting a Land Tax and Duties on Personal Estates, Offices and Pensions, had William Muddell of Little St Thomas Apostle listed as a Land Tax Commissioner for the City of London.

The Post Office London Directory of 1839 listed William Muddell as both an upholsterer etc. of 6 Little St Thomas Apostle, and also as an ale and stout merchant of 9 & 23 Little St Thomas Apostle. It also listed him as a common councilman of cordwainer ward of the City of London. The 1839 edition of Pigot & Co.'s Directory of London listed William Muddell as a cabinet maker, upholsterer and undertaker of 6 Little St Thomas Apostle and as an ale and stout merchant of 9 St Thomas Apostle. The Post Office London Directory of 1841 listed William Muddell as both an upholsterer etc. of 6 Little St Thomas Apostle, and also as an ale and stout merchant of 23 Little St Thomas Apostle. This directory also listed William Muddell as the Deputy Common Councilman for Cordwainer Ward of the City of London, for the year commencing 21 December 1840. The Royal Kalendar: and Court and City Register, for England, Scotland, Ireland, and Colonies of 1841 listed William Muddell, upholder, as a common councilman of cordwainer ward of the City of London. The Returns respecting the Sewerage of the Metropolis &c. of August 1841 in the Sessional Papers of the House of Commons recorded that William Muddell, Deputy of Cordwainer Ward, had been made one of the Commissioners of Sewers of the City of London and the Liberties thereof, to put into execution the several Acts of Parliament regarding London's sewers. The November 1841 edition of The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal reported that William Muddell was one of the authors of a report into Smoke Nuisance in Large Towns that was presented to the Court of Common Council held at the Guildhall in London on 14 October 1841.

In the census of 6 June 1841 William and Mary Ann were living at St Thomas Apostle, William was an upholder (upholsterer) and they had 23-year-old Henrietta Jenkins as a live-in servant.

The 1842 edition of Robson's London Directory listed Wm Muddle as an upholsterer and cabinet maker of 10 Bow Lane and 6 Little St Thomas Apostle, and also as a wine, spirit, ale and porter merchant of 23 Little St Thomas Apostle. The directory also recorded that William Muddell of 6 Little St Thomas Apostle had been elected Deputy Common Councilman for Cordwainer Ward of the City of London on 21 December 1841.

Perry’s Bankrupt and Insolvent Gazette of 1 May 1842 recorded that William Muddell, upholsterer of Little St Thomas Apostle, was the petitioning creditor at the bankruptcy proceedings against Henry Edlin, hotel and tavern keeper, and dealer and chapman, of Gloucester Hotel, Brighton, Sussex that were held at Brighton Town Hall.

The 25 December 1844 edition of The Morning Chronicle reported on a robbery at William's home on the night of 13 December 1844:

EXTENSIVE BURGLARY IN THE CITY. - Last night information was received at the various metropolitan police stations of an extensive robbery of plate and jewellery having taken place at the house of Mr. Muddell, No. 6 Little St. Thomas Apostle, Queen-street, Cheapside, the house having been broken into during the absence of the family on the night of the 13th instant. A reward of £30 is offered for the apprehension of the thieves.

The Post Office London Directory for 1846 and 1848 listed William Muddell as an upholsterer etc. of 6 Little Thomas Apostle; as a wine and beer merchant of 23 Little St Thomas Apostle; and as the proprietor of Burton Coffee House and Tavern at Freeman’s Court, Cheapside. It seems likely that William became the proprietor of Burton Coffee House and Tavern after his cousin John Muddell, who had been the proprietor, was made bankrupt in late 1842, and is another business link between William and John.

The West Kent Poll Book for 1847 listed William Muddle of Little St Thomas Apostle as one of the electors, which means William must have still owned freehold property within the Western Division of Kent to qualify to vote. Featherbedds and Flock Bedds. The Early History of the Worshipful Company of Upholders of the City of London by J F Houston records that William Muddell of 6 Little St Thomas Apostle was an Assistant on the Court List of 1848 of the Court of Assistants and that he had been called to the Livery on 2 October 1827 and elected to the court on 12 April 1847. The Royal Kalendar: and Court and City Register, for England, Scotland, Ireland, and Colonies of 1849 listed William Muddell, upholder, as a common councilman of cordwainer ward of the City of London.

In the census of 30 March 1851 William and Mary Ann were living at The Hyde, Edgware Road, Hendon, Middlesex, and William, at the age of 62, was a retired upholder. They had two live-in servants, 26-year-old Jane Tilley and 18-year-old Ursula Wilson, and they had 3-year-old Thomas Burton and 2-year-old William Burton as visitors. The Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties for 1855 listed William Muddell as living at The Hyde, Hendon.

William died at The Hyde on 17 March 1859, at the age of 70, from softening of the brain and paralysis that he had suffered from for 17 days, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary in Church End, Hendon on 24 March 1859. On his death certificate William was described as a master upholsterer, but from the above records it can be seen that this was just his main business and he had several other business interests, particularly the supply of alcoholic drinks, and as a substantial businessman he became involved in the administration of the City of London.

In the census of 7 April 1861 Mary Ann was continuing to live at The Hyde and she had 64-year-old widow Caroline Burton as a boarder, who it is thought may have been Mary Ann’s sister or other close relative, as a Caroline Greig married Thomas Burton at the Church of St Anne in Soho (the same church that Mary Ann married at) on 9 June 1822. Further it is thought that there must be a connection here with Burton Coffee House and Tavern at Freeman’s Court, Cheapside. In this census Mary Ann had two live-in servants, 21-year-old Elizabeth Rutherford and 18-year-old Elizabeth Ollington, and she had 3-year-old Elizabeth Burton and 1-year-old Mary Burton as visitors.

Mary Ann died at Rose Cottage, The Hyde on 13 October 1870 from old age; her age on her death certificate and burial record was given as 77, but it is thought more likely to be about 73 as her age had been creeping up over the three censuses that she had been recorded in. She was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary in Church End, Hendon on 19 October 1870. Administration of Mary Ann's will, which valued her effects at under £200, was granted to her niece Caroline Finney of Lee, Kent by the Principal Probate Registry in London on 8 December 1870.

 

 

John and Ann’s third child was George Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 27 May 1792. George died at Gillingham in Kent when he was only 3 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary Magdalene at Gillingham on 11 October 1795.

 

John and Ann’s fourth child was Thomas Muddle who was born at Chatham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 15 March 1795. Thomas' father died in late 1797, when Thomas was 2 years old, leaving his mother with three young sons to bring up.

Thomas, at the age of 27 and now spelling his name Muddell, married Elizabeth Sims at the Church of St Anne in Soho, Westminster, London on 12 May 1822. They had three children while they were living in Little Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London and Thomas was working as an upholsterer; the first was born in 1823 and then twins born in 1826.

Thomas was an upholsterer when on 15 April 1824 he took out a Sun Fire Office insurance policy for £180 on his household goods, wearing apparel, printed books and plate in his dwelling house at 2 Little Russell Street, Bloomsbury that was constructed of brick and where no cabinet work was done or stored. This policy was also for £20 for his china and glass and £100 for his stock and utensils.[30]

A list of staff of the Home Establishment of the East India Company at Christmas 1827 records Thomas Muddell, who received £100 from the Company Cash Fee Fund, under Surveyors of Private Trade.[31]

It was either Thomas or his brother William who was the upholsterer named Muddell, who was named in a report from the Insolvent Debtors Court in The Times of 23 April 1831, as having sold £140 of furniture to William Slater at the beginning of 1831, and had then arrested Slater in February for non-payment and had him sent to prison.

On 20 August 1833 William and Thomas Muddell, gentlemen, of 6 Little St Thomas Apostle, Queen Street took out a Sun Fire Office policy for £300 on two adjoining houses at Gillingham in Kent that were in private tenure and were constructed of timber and tile.[32] The West Kent Poll Books for 1835 and 1837, which recorded the electors for Knights of the Shire (Members of Parliament) to represent the Western Division of Kent, both listed Thomas Muddle of Stepney Green, London as one of the electors, which means that to qualify to vote Thomas must have owned freehold property to at least the value of 40 shillings' annual rental within the Western Division of Kent, probably the property at Gillingham he had taken out a fire insurance policy for in 1833./p>

On 13 December 1836 Thomas Muddell, gentleman, took out a Sun Fire Office policy for £260 on his household goods, wearing apparel, printed books and plate in his dwelling house at 3 Mount Road, East Road, City Road that was constructed of brick. This policy also included £10 for his pictures and prints with their frames and glass, and £30 for his china and glass.[33]

The House of Commons Sessional Paper Home accounts of The East India Company, 1st May 1835 listed Mr Thomas Muddle, a Surveyor of Cargo & Private Trade, aged 39, with 9 years' service and a salary and emoluments of £190, being paid compensation in the form of a gratuity of £760 as a reduced officer or servant of the company. So it looks as if Thomas worked for the East India Company as a Surveyor of Private Trade from about 1826 to 1835. Private Trade was presumably trade between England and India not carried by the East India Company.

Elizabeth died at the age of 39 and she was buried in the Churchyard of St James at Bushey near Watford in Hertfordshire on 13 February 1837.

Thomas was described as an upholsterer of 3 Mount Row, East Road, City Road when Thomas Wells, gentleman of 22 Cotton Street, All Saints, Poplar made his will on 6 June 1838. In this will, which was proved on 11 September 1838, Thomas Muddell was made one of the two executors and trustees of the will, which left property in trust for children and grandchildren of Thomas Wells.[34] This Thomas Wells had worked for the East India Company as a Surveyor of Private Trade at the same time as Thomas Muddell had, so it seems likely that it was through their work that these two men had come to knew each other

In the census of 6 June 1841 Thomas and his daughter Mary Ann were living at Aldermary Churchyard, Cheapside, London; Thomas was an upholsterer and they had 30-year-old Eliza Wellman as a live-in servant.

In an indenture dated 26 January 1843 Thomas Muddell, a victualler of the Crown and Anchor public house at Ship Dock in Greenwich, purchased a seven-year lease on the Crown and Anchor, which was to run from 25 December 1842, from auctioneer Thomas Fry of Chiswell Street, Middlesex and solicitor George Fry of Greenwich with the consent and direction of Henry Whistler a gentleman of Chiswell Street and his wife Rosetta. For this lease Thomas Muddell paid Thomas and George Fry £100 together with a yearly rent of £100 that was to be paid in equal quarterly payments on the normal days of payment, the 25 March, 24 June, 29 September and 25 December, with the only allowable deduction being the Landlord's or Property Tax, with Thomas paying the Land Tax and any other charges. Thomas was to maintain the property at his own cost except for damage caused by fire. Thomas and George Fry were to insure the premises for £1100 against damage by fire with the premiums being paid to them by Thomas Muddell as additional rent. For this they undertook to repair or rebuild any fire damage and suspend payment of rent by Thomas while he was unable to live or operate his trade there. The only trade Thomas was allowed to operate on these premises was that of Licensed Victualler and Beer Retailer for which he was to apply for and obtain an annual a licence from the Justices of the Peace and he was not to do anything that would cause the licence to be suspended.

Then two years later an 1845 Parliamentary Bill, Bills Public 1845 8 Vict. c. 22, entitled A Bill to enable the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital to widen and improve Fisher-lane in Greenwich, and for other Purposes listed in the schedule of properties to be purchased for the widening of Fisher Lane the house and premises known as the Crown and Anchor public house in the Ship Dock that was owned by Thomas and George Fry and leased and occupied by Thomas Muddell. This resulted in an indenture dated 28 May 1846 in which Thomas Muddell assigned the remaining portion, 3½ years, of his seven-year lease to the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital for £450.[35]

 

 

Then the following year the West Kent Poll Book for 1847 listed Thomas Muddell of the Crown and Anchor, Ship Dock, Greenwich as one of the electors. This means that Thomas must have still owned freehold property within the Western Division of Kent to qualify to vote, but did he stay on at the Crown and Anchor for a year or so after selling the lease or was his residential information in the Poll Book simply out of date? But whenever he finally left the Crown and Anchor Thomas gave up being a publican and returned to his old trade of upholsterer.

The Post Office London Directory of 1851 lists Thomas Muddell as an upholsterer of 1 Bell Yard, Doctors' Commons, London, the address his daughter Mary Ann gave when she married in April 1850 so Thomas was almost certainly living there by then. In the census of 30 March 1851 Thomas was lodging with widow Susannah Rider at 22 Ashton Street in Poplar, London; he was still an upholsterer and probably still had his business at Bell Yard but had probably found lodgings after his daughter Mary Ann married so that he had someone to look after him.

Thomas died at 16 St Thomas Street in Islington, London on 21 September 1856, at the age of 61 (not 62 as given on his death certificate), from phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis with progressive wasting of the body) that he had suffered from for years. He was described as independent on his death certificate, so he had presumably retired and was living off his investments.

 

 

Thomas and Elizabeth’s eldest child was Mary Ann Muddell who was born at Little Russell Street in Bloomsbury, London on 1 April 1823, and baptised at the Church of St George in Bloomsbury on 3 May 1823. In the census of 6 June 1841 Mary Ann, at the age of 18, was working as a milliner and living with her widowed father at Aldermary Churchyard, Cheapside, London.

When she was 27 years old Mary Ann married widower John Elliot at the Church of St Gregory by St Pauls in the City of London on 18 April 1850. Both gave their residence as Bell Yard, which was probably where Mary Ann had been living with her father. John was a farmer and the son of farmer William Elliott. The witnesses to the marriage were Mary Ann’s father Thomas and her sister Jane. In the census of 30 March 1851 John and Mary Ann were living at East Milton near Gravesend in Kent, where John was a farmer of 149 acres and employing four labourers; and they had Mary Ann’s sister Jane Muddle living with them. John and Mary Ann had two children born in 1852 and 1856 while they were living at East Milton.

In the Kelly’s Directory of 1859 John was listed as a farmer at East Milton, but then in the Kelly’s Directory of 1867 John was listed as a farmer at Denton near Gravesend. Mary Ann’s sister Jane Muddle had probably still been living with them when she died at Denton in 1865. In the census of 2 April 1871 John and Mary Ann were living at Denton House in Denton with their two children and John was now a farmer of 290 acres and employing nine men and a boy. They had 23-year-old Elizabeth Trimmel as a live-in general servant. In the Kelly’s Directory of 1874 John was listed as living at Denton Hall; probably the same place as Denton House.

By the time of the census of 3 April 1881 John had retired from farming and with Mary Ann he was living at Leyland Croft in Milton, and they had 21-year-old Elizabeth Baker as a live-in general servant. Mary Ann died on 4 February 1885, at the age of 61, and she was buried in the grave of her sister Jane Muddle in the Churchyard of St Mary at Chalk near Gravesend. In the census of 5 April 1891 John was still living at Leyland Croft; he now had three live-in servants, 27-year-old housekeeper Elizabeth Crocker, 24-year-old housemaid Matilda Crocker, and 49-year-old nurse Margaret Boyde. Just a month later John died on 7 May 1891, at the age of 83, and he was buried in the grave of his wife and sister-in-law in the Churchyard of St Mary at Chalk near Gravesend. Their grave is marked by an inscribed headstone.

 

 

John and Mary Ann’s eldest child was Justus Elliott who was born at East Milton near Gravesend in Kent and baptised at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Milton by Gravesend on 28 April 1852. In the census of 2 April 1871 Justus, at the age of 19, was living with his parents at Denton House in Denton near Gravesend, and he was working with his father on the farm.

 

John and Mary Ann’s second child was Ellen Elliott who was born at East Milton near Gravesend in Kent and baptised at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Milton by Gravesend on 13 July 1856. In the census of 2 April 1871 Ellen, at the age of 14, was living with her parents at Denton House in Denton near Gravesend, and she was going to school.

 

 

Thomas and Elizabeth’s second child, one of twins, was William Muddell who was born at Little Russell Street in Bloomsbury, London on 20 April 1826, and baptised at the Church of St George in Bloomsbury on 23 May 1826. In the census of 30 March 1851 William, at the age of 24, was working as an upholsterer and living with the family of widow Mary Emarton at 36 Gloucester Street in Finsbury, London. William never married. He was still an upholsterer when he died at 13 New North Street, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London on 11 March 1853, at the age of 26 (not quite 27 as given on his death certificate), from phthisis pulmonalis. So William, like his father, died of pulmonary tuberculosis with progressive wasting of the body.

 

Thomas and Elizabeth’s third child, one of twins, was Jane Muddell who was born at Little Russell Street in Bloomsbury, London on 20 April 1826, and baptised at the Church of St George in Bloomsbury on 23 May 1826. Jane was a witness at the marriage of her sister Mary Ann in 1850. Then in the census of 30 March 1851 Jane, at the age of 24, was living with her sister Mary Ann and her husband John Elliott on their farm at East Milton near Gravesend in Kent. Jane never married. She died at Denton near Gravesend on 9 March 1865, at the age of 38, from enteritis (inflammation of the small intestine) and cancer of the stomach. She was probably still living with the family her sister Mary Ann Elliott as they were recorded living at Denton in 1867. Jane was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary at Chalk near Gravesend in a grave that was later used for her sister Mary Ann Elliott and her husband John Elliott, and is marked by an inscribed headstone.

 

 

 

James and Elizabeth’s seventh child was Mary Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent on 17 April 1759, and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham, Kent on 29 April 1759. When she was 23 years old Mary married 23-year-old William Trattler Whitehead at the Church of All Saints in Frindsbury, Kent on 19 October 1782. William was the son of John and Sarah Whitehead and he had been baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 4 November 1759. When Mary's brother James, who worked as a House Carpenter at Chatham Naval Dockyard, died in early 1789 it left his three surviving children orphans, and the dockyard pay books record that the wages still owing to James at his death were paid to William Whitehead as the guardian of these children.

 

James and Elizabeth’s eighth child was William Muddle who was born at Gillingham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham, Kent on 1 July 1764.

It was probably William's stepfather, Joseph Gilbert, who paid £18 to have William, at the age of 13, apprenticed to Daniel Adams, a Quarterman Shipwright of Chatham Dockyard, from 26 January 1778, for a term of 7 years, by an indenture dated 19 March 1778.[36] This is different to the route taken by most boys who started at the dockyard at the age of 11 or 12 as Ocham Boys; progressed to Quarter Boys and then became apprentices (known as servants in the dockyard) at the age of 14 without the need for a registered apprenticeship indenture. When William started at the dockyard his pay was 14d per day that was paid to his master, Daniel Adams. William's pay increased steadily during his apprenticeship until at the completion of his 7 years on 25 January 1785 he was on 24d per day that was still paid to his master. The following day, 26 January 1785, William, at the age of 20, started work at the dockyard as a qualified Shipwright on 25d per day, the standard rate for a shipwright.[37]

Two years after becoming a qualified shipwright William, at the age of 22, married Christian Barrett at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chatham on 29 May 1787 by licence. The licence issued by the Archdeaconry of Rochester on 26 May 1787 described William as a 22-year-old bachelor and shipwright of Gillingham and Christian as a 22-year-old spinster of Chatham. See the section headed ‘William & Christian Muddle’s Family’ for the rest of their lives and details of their family.


[1] TNA ADM 42/40-55 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Ordinary, Watchmen 1741-64 &

      TNA ADM 42/188-210 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extrardinary, Labourers 1741-64.

[2] TNA ADM 42/210-220 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Ordinary, Labourers 1764-74.

[3] TNA IR 1/22 spread 182, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[4] TNA ADM 42/207-213 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, House Carpenters 1761-67.

[5] TNA ADM 106/2975 page 48, Chatham Dockyard Artificers' Description Books, 1779.

[6] TNA ADM 42/225 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, House Carpenters 1779.

[7] James D Crawshaw The History of Chatham Dockyard Vol.II pp.3/36-37

[8] TNA ADM 42/234-235 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, House Carpenters 1788-89.

[9] TNA ADM 42/229-231 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Ocham Boys 1783-85.

[10] TNA IR 1/63 spread 138, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[11] TNA ADM 42/231-238 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, House Carpenters 1785-92.

[12] CKS DRb/Pa31 Vol 7, Admon of James Muddle granted by Consistory Court of Rochester.

[13] TNA ADM 42/235-237 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Ocham Boys 1789-91.

[14] TNA IR 1/35 spread 56, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[15] TNA ADM 42/226-243 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Scavelmen 1780-97.

[16] CKS DRa/Pa5 Admon of John Muddle granted by Archdeaconry Court of Rochester.

[17] LMA COL/CHD/FR/02/1353-1359 Freedom of the City of London Admission Papers.

[18] GL Fo Pam 10135, Book Freedom Admissions to the Upholders Company of London 1804-1923.

[19] LMA MS 11936/468/915638 Sun Fire Office policy.

[20] LMA MS 11936/494/1003880 Sun Fire Office policy.

[21] LMA MS 11936/513/1065913 Sun Fire Office policy.

[22] LMA COL/CHD/FR/02/1713-1719 Freedom of the City of London Admission Papers.

[23] LMA MS 11936/517/1096901 Sun Fire Office policy.

[24] LMA MS 11936/530/1125271 Sun Fire Office policy.

[25] LMA MS 11936/530/1125272 Sun Fire Office policy.

[26] LMA MS 11936/531/1133280 Sun Fire Office policy.

[27] LMA MS 11936/536/1157698 Sun Fire Office policy.

[28] LMA MS 11936/536/1160147 Sun Fire Office policy.

[29] LMA MS 11936/549/1204113 Sun Fire Office policy.

[30] LMA MS 11936/499/1016348 Sun Fire Office policy.

[31] BL L/AG/30/2/2 East India Company list of staff of the Home Establishment, Christmas 1827.

[32] LMA MS 11936/536/1160147 Sun Fire Office policy.

[33] LMA MS 11936/556/1238534 Sun Fire Office policy.

[34] TNA PROB 11/1901 Will of Thomas Wells proved by Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

[35] TNA ADM 75/137 Greenwich Hospital Deeds, Ship Dock, Muddell.

[36] TNA IR 1/29 spread 187, Board of Stamps: Apprenticeship Books.

[37] TNA ADM 42/224-231 Admiralty Yard Books, Chatham Extraordinary, Shipwrights 1778-85.

 

Copyright © Derek Miller 2009-2016

Last updated 13 August 2016

 

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