JWS A Family Remembers

Dear Mr. Sunter,

Further to your telephone call to this Office today I have established that a William Sunter, born 1917, son of Charles and Emma, was admitted to Stockton Union Children’s Homes in January 1921.  As discussed over the telephone, if you require any further searches of our holdings for the Homes and Stockton Poor Law Union, you will need to use our research service (see attached details and application form) and supply proof of your relationship to William Sunter.

In the event that you make use of the research service it would be useful to know if William had any siblings.

Yours sincerely,

County Archivist

Papers relating to individuals are confidential for 100 years.  I have therefore sent proof of my relationship and the relevant fee to enable one of the archive’s researchers to find the information I would be asking for.

Both the birth and death certificates for Lofty’s mother Emma arrived today, and, as ever there is some sadness.

First the good news…

The birth certificate shows that Emma was born on 16th August 1893 to John William Marsh and Jane Marsh (formerly Spencer). John William Marsh was a Pit Sinker and the family was living at Hickleton Main Cottages, Thurnscoe.

Hickleton Main was a colliery and the cottages were provided for its workers:

Victorian Countryside, by G. E. Mingay – Google Books

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jil6nzqbZz8C&pg=RA2-PA360&lpg=RA2-PA360&dq=Hickleton+Main+Cottages&source=bl&ots=oJi1qm1fRV&sig=plarNIYJXvoeo1GwUl7NbYgVC84&hl=en&ei=gd9FSuKCCNqrjAfDx9D8AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1

The birth certificate gives confirmation that Emma’s mother’s maiden name was Spencer.

The death certificate adds to the evidence that Emma became institutionalised.

Her death was recorded as taking place at Winterton Hospital, Sedgefield, Durham on 16th January 1978. Loft is given as the informant.

Winterton Hospital appears to have been an asylum. There is no indication of how long she had been in the institution.

In the nineteen seventies, when Lofty was researching his own family history, he asked me to drive him up to see his rediscovered mother.

We tried to go up on a Winter’s morning, but we had to turn back because of fog on the motorway (my first experience of motorway madness). The radio was broadcasting that Graham Hill, the racing driver had died in a plane crash the day before. So this must have been 30th November 1975 (I wonder why I was off school?). The visit was rescheduled for early the following year.

I remember sitting in a bay window, the light behind me, when they wheeled in Emma. Lofty gave her a hug and looked towards me with tears in his eyes – clearly moved.

The nurse said to Emma “here’s your son Emma”. Her response was “Billy? Is it Billy?” and, sadly, that was about the extent of the conversation.

Lofty was stoic on the way home and explained that when his father disappeared she had been put in a workhouse and had never really left institutions in one form or another.

On Emma’s death the state, having stolen her life, having pushed her from one institution to another, having placed Lofty in a children’s home at the age of 3, sent him the bill for the funeral.

And here it is.  The 1911 Census entry for 14 West Row Stockton on Tees.

Whatever did we do before Google?  Now a Google Search confirms that Unicorn Yard and West Row were in the same place.  Google Earth shows that the location of this, and John’s birthplace in Brunswick Street are very close to each other.

Things to note:

1. The head of the household and lodging house keeper is John William Marsh.  His wife is Jane Marsh.  They have been married for 26 years and are aged 45 and 40 respectively.  These are my great grandparents.
2. Living with John and Jane are their surving two children (out of five) both daughters – Amy Dawson (25) and Emma Marsh (17).  Amy is an out of work servant.  She has been married for 6 years and has had three children, one of which has died.
3. There are 20 residents listed in the household – eight of whom are unemployed.  The list of trades seems to confirm the type of grim property it was.
4. The first of the boarders listed is Charles Sunter.  Can it be mere coincidence that he is first listed?  More likely there is already a relationship between Emma and Charles leading the family to list first.  Charles is a ‘fireman locomotive’, although out of work at the time of the census.  He is 29 years old and born in Howden Le Wear, County Durham.
5. Emma and Charles are my Grandparents.
6. The information suggests that John William Sunter is named after his grandfather, John William Marsh.

Lofty was born at 62 Brunwick Street Stockton on Tees.  Google Earth shows that the street is still there and, unsurprisingly, it looks like a very industrialised area.

Jane Marsh, who registered Lofty’s birth lived at Unicorn Yard.  There is no record of this on Google Earth, however, near Brunswick Street you can see Blue Post Yard, Ship Inn Yard and Hambletonian Yard.  Could it be that Unicorn Yard was near here?

A simple Google Search throws up this comment which describes a pretty tough area with homes in multiple occupation – as many as 30 in some cases.  Picturestockton.co.uk has a picture of the yard c1900, which,it says lead to “..Black Bull Yard. This yard leads from the High Street between the Unicorn Inn and Doggarts shop, down towards the river.”

Born 19th November 1917 to Emma Sunter (formerley Marsh) and Charles Sunter.  Charles’ occupation is listed on the birth certificate as “Stoker R.N. H.M.S. Mars. No. 1517 (Labourer at Engineering works).  Place of Birth is listed as 62 Brunswick Street, Stockton on Tees.

The birth was registered by Jane Marsh of 3 Unicorn Yard, High Street, Stockton on Tees.