Annie (1) Woodhurst


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Brief biography

The following is just a synopsis. The site author can be contacted for more detailed information.

Annie (1) Woodhurst was born in 1873 to parents Richard William (1) Woodhurst (RWW) and his second wife Matilda. Her birth certificate [Birth Index: Birmingham 6d 59, 1874 (March)] states that she was born at her parents' residence at Turner's Place, Owen Street, Birmingham on December 22nd 1873. RWW's occupation at that time is cited as dyer. In her later years Annie (1) professed not to know her precise birthdate but knew she had been born "around Christmas-time".

She was christened, together with her sisters Blanche (1) and Maude Edith, at St. Thomas, Birmingham on January 21st 1874 [IGI: Batch K041172].

The 1881 Census finds her at age 7 living with her parents and siblings at 41, Howbury Road in Camberwell, Surrey.

The 1891 Census finds her at age 17 living at 4, Stonebridge Villas, Townsend Road in South Tottenham, London. This was the home in which Matilda had settled with her third husband James Hines. The census record describes Annie (1) as a bonnet maker.

On August 6th 1894 in Hackney Parish Church she married a man named Thomas Henry Bone, the wedding being twinned with that of Maude Edith to William Ward. The marriage certificate [Marriage Index: Hackney 1b 867, 1894 (Sept)] gives Annie's age as "21" but she was actually about five months short of that. It describes her father RWW as simply "Dead" and gives her place of residence as 67, Blurton Road in Clapton. Her husband, then aged 26, is described as an engine fitter and his own father, William James Bone, as a railway porter (though the certificate reverses William James' forenames). The witnesses were her brother William (2) and Emily Sarah "Hinds".

The latter witness Emily Sarah was the daughter born in 1869 [Birth Index: Woolwich 1d 923, 1869 (March) - indexed as "Hinds"] to Joseph Hines - the brother of Matilda's third husband James Hines - and his second wife Mary Ann. The first wife Emma of Joseph, who seems almost always to have spelled his surname as "Hinds", had died at Woolwich in the last quarter of 1864. Joseph remarried a year later [Marriage Index: Poplar 1c 1314, 1865 (Dec) - indexed as "Hinds"] to Mary Ann, who was born in Bethnal Green. In the 1861 Census Mary Ann had been present in Joseph's household as a visitor, bearing the married surname Wheeler and accompanied by one young son but no husband. In 1897 Emily Sarah married Walter Kennedy [Marriage Index: West Ham 4a 259, 1897 (Dec) - indexed as "Hinds"].

The 1901 Census finds Thomas Henry living with Annie and two children in three rooms at 183, Dartmouth Park Hill, Tufnell Park in Kentish Town. He was occupied as an engineer's labourer.

The marriage must have become a troubled one, because Annie (1) began drinking heavily to the point where she had to be admitted to a hospital in Weston-super-Mare as an alcoholic. This caused the break-up of the family, besides preventing her from being able to attend her husband's funeral in 1915. Thereafter she was consistently hated and shunned by her daughters Maud Ethel (MEB) and Doris Olive. In particular, MEB remained embittered by her memories of - so she claimed - being frequently and severely beaten as a child by her mother.

In 1917 Annie (1), together with her two surviving sons and her daughter Mildred Margaret, moved to Leicester, probably to 16, Bakehouse Lane. In 1918 she married a widower George Cooper [Marriage Index: Leicester 7a 507, 1918 (March). He died aged "73" in 1924 [Death Index: Leicester 7a 273, 1924 (Dec)]. About a year later Annie (1) married a third time, to a nightwatchman named Samuel Clements [Marriage Index: Leicester 7a 675, 1925 (Dec)]. It is not known when he died, other than that he predeceased her.

In 1926 George's daughter Edith Sophia married Annie (1)'s son Harold Edward (1).

MEB paid one brief visit to her mother in Leicester around 1933 but thereafter never saw her or contacted her ever again.

By contrast, MEB's sister Mildred Margaret lived all her life with Annie (1). She often visited Blanche (1) in Essex for holidays during the 1930s, and Annie (1) may have accompanied her on some such trips in order to visit her siblings.

The 1939 England and Wales Register finds her living at 46, Swannington Road in Leicester with her daughter Mildred Margaret and presumed step-daughter Winifred A. Cooper. Annie (1) was unemployed but Mildred was occupied as a hosiery finisher.

Annie (1) died in Leicester in 1957. Her death certificate [Death Index: Leicester 3a 455, 1957 (Sept)] states that she died on September 7th 1957 at 'Hill Crest' in 2, Swain Street, although her normal home address was then 32, Wyatt Close. The informant was Mildred Margaret, of the same address, who had never married. Annie (1)'s death was caused by cerebral arteriosclerosis. Her correct age upon death was 83 although the certificate says 85 - her daughter must have just made a guess.

Her children by Thomas Henry Bone

  1. Thomas Richard Bone
  2. Maud Ethel Bone
  3. Doris Olive Bone
  4. Harold Edward (1) Bone
  5. Robert George Bone
  6. Mildred Margaret Bone

Her children by George Cooper

  1. there were none ...

Her children by Samuel Clements

  1. there were none ...