My British Ancestors

My mother’s name was Elsie Merina Shorthose.  Her parents were Arthur Edward Shorthose and Lily Way and I only met them once during a trip to England in 1963.

 Arthur and Lily, ca. 1955

Even in his old age, Arthur stood very tall, well over six feet.  Lily, on the other hand, was barely over five feet.  Lily and Arthur lived at 36 Blackthorn Road, Burton-Upon-Trent, Stapenhill, Staffs, England.  As a young boy I wrote letters to my grandparents and that address is etched into my memory even though I didn’t understand what all the words related to until much later.  36 Blackthorn Road is part of a government housing project in a section of the town of Burton-Upon-Trent called Stapenhill.  Burton-Upon-Trent is located in the Shire (county) of Stafford on the Trent River.

Arthur was on disability most of his life due to his experiences on the “Western Front” during WWI.  He was used to being waited on and Lily was the perfect match for him.  When I met them in 1963, they were both in their late seventies and Arthur was stooped,  using a cane, and appeared fully his age, Lily still had a little of the devil in her demeanor, and a twinkle in her eye even though she was two years older than Arthur.  She waited on her beloved husband hand and foot.  Arthur enjoyed his glass of Bass Stout every night before bedtime.  Burton-Upon-Trent is the home of the Bass Brewing Company which was established there in 1777.  Many of the family ancestors worked at the brewery.

Lily Way’s lineage can be traced back to the matriarch of the family and my great, great grandmother, Susanna (Stone) Way.  Susanna was born in 1818 in the town of Poole, county of Dorset, in England.  In the 1841 census she is living on Lagland Street in the town of Poole with her mother and father and eight brothers and sisters.  Susanna’s father, William Stone, is a “Labourer” and Susanna is a “Dress Maker.”  The only brother old enough to work, 15 year old John, is a “Mariner.”  That the town of Poole was home to a busy seaport is evidenced in the census records of the time.  Every page lists Sailors, Ropemakers, Fishermen, Mariners, Carpenters, and Riggers, as occupations, along with an assortment of Lamplighters, Cordwainers, Day Servants, Charwomen, Dress Makers and Chimney Sweeps.  Many of the husbands and men are listed “at sea.”

In England as in the United States, the census is taken every ten years, but unlike the U.S. census, the British census is taken in years ending with “1” such as 1841, 1851, 1861 etc.  Also, the British census is taken on one particular night, and not collected over a period of months as is done in the United States.  In the U.S. census, it is not unusual to find a son or daughter named after the father or mother, but in the British census it is almost a universal rule.  If there is a son, he is almost always named after the father, and the same applies for daughters and mothers.

Susanna’s husband, Peter Way, first appears in the records when he is married to Susanna sometime during the last three months of 1841.  He must have been “at sea” during the census of June 6, 1841 since he cannot be found listed there.  As luck would have it, he also missed the 1851 census for the same reason and by 1861, Susanna is listed as a widow.  We never find Peter in any census records, and only know of him by his marriage records to Susanna, and Baptismal records of his daughter, Sarah.  Susanna’s youngest children were born in 1857, so it is safe to assume that Peter lived, at least, until 1856, but that is all we know about him so far. 

In the 1851 census, Susanna is still living on Lagland Street in the “Tailors Building.” With her three daughters, 8 year old Eliza, 5 year old Susan, and a 5 month old baby, Sarah T.  She is listed as a “mariners wife whose husband is “at sea,” and Eliza is attending school.  Susanna’s brother-in-law, Thomas Way is living with his wife Elizabeth and their 6 children, less than a mile away on “Stokes Alley.”  Even though Peter is missing in most of the records of the time, the growth of the family indicates the “mariner” spent a lot of time at home during the years between censuses.

By the next census in 1861, Susanna is still on Lagland Street with Eliza, Susan, and Sarah, but now she has 8 year old Louisa, 7 year old Merina, and twins Henry James and Robert Thomas who are 3 years old.  Susanna is now listed as a widow, and a “Charwoman” and her 18 year old daughter Eliza is working as a “domestic.”  A “Charwoman” is a British term for a person who cleans homes.  15 year old Susan is working as a “tailoress” and the remaining children, except for the twins are in school.  My mother’s name is Elsie “Merina” and I have always wondered where that unusual spelling came from.  Now I know, it was Susanna’s daughter!

By the next census, in 1871, the family is beginning to disperse.  Susanna has moved out and is living with the Beaumont family on Towngate Street, just a quarter of a mile away from the family home on Lagland Street.  She is 52 years old and working as a “monthly nurse” for the Beaumont’s baby daughter.  Susanna’s 21 year old daughter Sarah is working on the Locke farm as housemaid and 25 year old Susan is nowhere to be found.  At the family home on Lagland Street, we find that 17 year old Merina is now “Head of household” and taking care of her 13 year old twin brothers, Henry James and Robert Thomas.  Also living with them is Merina’s older sister Eliza and Eliza’s two children, 2 year old Frederick William and 1 year old Arthur A.

In 1868, Eliza married William Wade.  William was also a “mariner” born in London and  both of Eliza and William’s children were born in London.  It may sound strange, at first, to find a mariner living so far from the coast, but in the early days, London was accessible by sea via the Thames River.  William must have sailed out of London to the town of Poole where he met Eliza, whereupon he married her and took her to London.  In the census of 1871, Merina is listed as a “Brush Drawer” while twin brothers Henry and Robert are “Errand boys.”  Notes for Eliza say that she is the wife of a ships carpenter, and that he is “at sea,” which explains why she is living with her sister Merina.

By 1881, most of the family has fled the town of Poole.  Susanna is a 64 year old “annuitant” living back at Lagland Street with her 23 year old son Robert who is a “Carpenter.”  The other twin, Henry James has left his hometown of Poole and moved to a town in the Midlands called Burton-Upon-Trent.  We have not been able to locate Henry James in the 1881 census, but since Henry’s future wife Emma Foss is still residing with her parents in the 1881 census, and Henry & Emma’s first child, George Henry, was born in January of 1883, it is a safe assumption that 23 year old Henry James arrived in Burton-Upon-Trent around 1880.  Soon after his arrival, Henry James met and married 23 year old Emma Foss from the nearby community of Derby.

By 1891, Susanna is still living with her son Robert who has now taken a wife in the person of 28 year old Sarah Ellen, and they have two children, 1 year old Merina Maude, and 2 month old Arthur Clemont Way.  Susanna passed away just a couple of years later in October of 1893.  Arthur Clemont is destined to emigrate to the United States in 1909 at the age of 18 where he met his wife, Grace Alice.  Arthur and Grace lived in New Haven, Connecticut, and in 1915 had a daughter who they named Grace.

Henry James and Emma are listed in the 1891 census; he as a “Railway Signalman.”  They have three children by this time, George Henry who is 8 years old, Lily (my grandmother) who is 6, and Sydney who is 3.  They are also taking care of Emma’s mother, Emma (Gilbert) Foss who is 67 years old, born in Derby, and listed as a widow.

In the following census of 1901, Emma’s mother is no longer with the family.  Henry and Emma have had another child, Arthur, who was born in 1892 and Emma herself is listed as a widow, Henry having died in a railroad accident in December of 1892.  Eighteen year old son George is a “postman,” and his 13 year old brother Sydney is a “Barber’s Assistant.”  Emma and her daughter Lily are classified as Charity “office cleaners,” and 9 year old Arthur is in school.

In 1891, Lily’s future husband, 4 year old Arthur Edward Shorthose is living in Burton-Upon-Trent with his 35 year old father John H., his 32 year old mother Elizabeth, and his three siblings, John W. (9), Annie E. (6), and Francis H. Shorthose who is only 7 months old.