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James (3) was born in 1839 to parents Edward (1) Woodhurst and his wife Frances. His birth certificate [Birth Index: Poplar II 297, 1839 (June)] states that he was born in Old Ford, Bow-and-Bromley near Poplar on May 3rd 1839. His mother Frances, described as residing in Old Ford, was the informant. His father Edward's occupation is given as brick-maker. Frances' maiden name is cited as Hobbs.
It appears that James (3) was taken to Kent not long afterwards, as he was privately christened at Milton Regis - where some of his siblings had also been christened - on February 7th 1840 [Milton Parish Register]. In the register his mother is named as Frances and his father is described as a brick-maker. His father is also named there as James, but this was almost certainly an instance of a commonly-made mistake whereby the child's name was inadvertently copied into the field reserved for the father's name.
In 1841 James (3) was living with his mother Frances at Water Lane in Milton [UK Census 1841]. His age is cited there as 3 but he was actually slightly less than 2 years old, and his birthplace is wrongly given as Kent. These two inaccuracies suggest that Frances - who had been unable to sign her marriage record and was therefore probably illiterate - had not supplied the census details herself, perhaps having left the task to her teenage daughter Jane.
He died in 1842. The death certificate [Death Index: Milton 5 283, 1842 (Dec)] states that he died aged 4 at Milton (with no more specific address) on October 12th 1842, being the son of a labourer Edward Woodhurst. The cause of death was whooping cough. The informant was named as "Jane Woodhurst, sister", present at the death. Jane - who was actually his step-sister - would then have been aged almost 16, far below the age of 21 normally required of an informant. It may be that his parents were absent from Milton (perhaps back in London) and had previously left him in the care of Jane. The Registrar may have known this and been willing to accept Jane's authority to notify the death. Milton's Parish Register records his burial at age 4 on October 16th 1842, making no mention of his parents. His age was actually six months short of 4.