Eleanor Barton (1833-1865) & John Harrison (1828-1899)
----------Susie Harrison----------Joanna Inkster----------Isabelle Bane----------Mary Seagrove----------Maria Harrison----------Eleanor Barton & John Harrison
My great great great granny Eleanor's life was overall a sad one, a tragedy, though no doubt peppered with delights too, the romance with a bargeman John Harrison, love of children borne, Greenwich parklands scenery and Thames riverside. But fortune was too not often kind and though one would hope Eleanor's life would lead to better times this would not be. She spent most of her childhood days in a London orphanage and as a young lady died far too young from tuberculosis. This was a story familiar to many in such times, when poverty had it's grip on most of the people and illnesses ravaged. Having named one of my daughters Eleanor before I realised this to be the name of an ancestress I do have a special feel for this young lady who knew such hard times.
Eleanor Caroline Barton was born October 10th 1833, of the astrology sign Libra, at Greenwich, London, to Philip and Hannah Barton, her father being a Greenwich pensioner and her mother being a nurse at the Greenwich Seamen's Hospital which her husband had retired into. It was at their local church, St Alphege, that Hannah was baptised at nearly 3 weeks old. Eleanor was the last child of 11 children, her father being 57 already by the time she was born and her mother 39. Philips family could not stay in the hospital with him and lived nearby on Roan Street.
1833 30th October baptism born 10th October, parents are Philip Barton, pensioner of Roan Street, and Anne his wife
St Alphege was the very church that King Henry VIII was baptised in back in 1491, although the church had been rebuilt since then after having collapsed in a storm in 1710.
Eleanor's parents were from the heart of old London, which was where most of her brothers and sisters had been born. Her father had fought at the battle of Trafalgar and had plenty of adventures as a sailor on the high sea's, all before he met and married Eleanor's mother, Hannah Bunney, after which he worked as a brass founder, up until the time he retired into the Greenwich Hospital, a grand institution of quite some renown where old and wounded sailors were welcomed and given good care. Life was fine for the first four years of Eleanor's life. Her father Philip would leave the hospital daily to eat with his family and keep contact with his children, there being an allowance for their food from the hospital authorities.
In looking at Eleanor's astrology chart I see a beautiful person, both physically and in her nature. She prides herself in her beauty and likes to look good, she is intuitive, she works hard, is loyal and loving and follows duty as well as her own ideals. She is creative and is ever open to new ideas. She defends those who are faced with unjust situations and in general takes care of others, whether humans or animals. Freedom is very important to her, but also she will make sacrifices for the greater good. She prefers to see the good in people and be non-judgmental. She will argue though where she feels this is needed, for which her tongue may be sharp. She is religious, ordered and moderate, not one to go to extremes. She is true to herself and stands up for what she believes. Her lifes journey is about finding stability and security. If she does not have peace and serenity then she is anxious. Her mind is good and quick and understandings come as if from nowhere which turn out to be true. She is optimistic, with positive energy, and this attracts others to her. When life defeats her then she thinks herself unworthy. Religion lifts her out of this and is important in her life. She likes hugs from others and a show of love, and is a warm person. Her ideals are high for which inevitably sometimes the world will disappoint her.
Life was at first fine. But then in in January of 1837 Eleanor's father died. And with her mother now having to work hard to keep the family going, Eleanor was sent away to a sailors children's orphanage in Whitechapel. Her brothers who could do this or that work were able to stay at home in Greenwich with their mother. Eleanor, still three years old, was so young to be separated from mother and family. At the orphanage there was food for her, clothing, and basic needs met. Hannah must have thought this better for her daughter's survival and future. But it was nonetheless a tragic situation. It was in the orphanage that Eleanor first encountered the dreaded tuberculosis, one of the girls there dying from it, a malady which would one day lead to her own future demise.
The Sailor's Female Orphanage Home, which took in girls from 3 to 15 years of age, was in Whitechapel in London at 66 Great Prescott Street. The stated aim of the orphanage was to 'rescue from depravity, and the greatest state of indigency, children of British seamen who have perished in their country, and to maintain, clothe, educate, and suitably prepare them as servants'. Such a home was indeed a good source for the wealthy class to find their servants.
Once Eleanor had become used to this new life all would not have been so bad, not at all. Eleanor was taught to read and write, which was rare for people in those times. The children also sang songs together and were taught the arts of homemaking, to prepare them really for serving rich families when they moved on from there. Every year there were charitable meetings for the orphanage, the Queen herself being one of the patronesses.
Once Eleanor had become used to this new life all would not have been so bad, not at all. Eleanor was taught to read and write, which was rare for people in those times. The children also sang songs together and were taught the arts of homemaking, to prepare them really for serving rich families when they moved on from there. Every year there were charitable meetings for the orphanage, the Queen herself being one of the patronesses.
On May 29th of 1839, when Eleanor was five years of age, the girls all attended a meeting held on their behalf at the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill. The object of the orphanage, as it was presented to those people who crowded the coffee house, was to clothe, maintain, educate and suitably prepare these girls, who were the destitute female orphans of sailors, as servants. The girls had a clean and healthy appearance, it was observed, which would indicate great maternal care, reflecting great credit on the superintendent Mrs Orton. The children stood on the platform and sang a moving song together for their audience 'Oh where is the guide of my infant years?' which had been written by one of the orphans. And more words were said about how the orphanage had rescued these girls from their unhappy and perilous situation. There were at this time 25 children in the orphanage. Many rich ladies and gentlemen from religious communities liked to visit them and would approve of the scriptural knowledge they were taught.
After the summer, a sale of fancy goods was held at the Crosby Hall to raise money for the orphanage, and all children, now 28 in number, were again there. Their neat appearance impressed all who came.
After the summer, a sale of fancy goods was held at the Crosby Hall to raise money for the orphanage, and all children, now 28 in number, were again there. Their neat appearance impressed all who came.
At the annual meeting of 1839, again held in the London Coffee House, it was reported that three of the girls had been 'provided with excellent situations' (working for rich families) and that there were at this time 25 orphans in the home.
We have heard already that the orphan girls sang the song 'Oh where is the guide of my infant years', and there was another song they would perform 'Gloria Patri', which they sang at a fundraising meeting in March of 1840 at the ancient banqueting hall in Crosby Square, Bishopsgate Street, to 100 people, mostly ladies, who also joined in. The venerable hall had been tastefully decorated and the orphan girls, 25 in number, sang from the gallery where they were admired and gained much sympathy, as the visitors sat at five long tables drinking tea and coffee. The orphanage was reputed to be a 'very excellent institution'. A collection at the doors amounted to £80, exclusive to an extra £50 that the Queen herself, being patroness, donated.
The next annual meeting, in May of 1841, was held at the London Tavern on Bishopsgate Street with the usual reading of a report on the welfare of the girls, who were now 23 in number. All girls had been clothed, maintained and instructed on housekeeping skills. In the past year two girls had found situations as servants, one new girl had arrived, and sad to say, one girl had died from tuberculosis. Not only the present orphans came to the meeting, but also 30 servant girls who once had lived in the orphanage and who now, due to good conduct, had found decent situations.
By the time of the 1841 census in June, Eleanor, now aged 7 is seen under her middle name of Caroline. This name she would prefer to be called in most documents of her life, possibly out of early affection for one of the young inspiring governesses, Caroline Mills.
1841 Census Goodmans Fields, Whitechapel, London
Sailors Female Orphan Home
Great Prescott Street
Caroline Barton, age 7
Other orphans:
Mary Rule, 11; Sarah Fletcher, 9; Isabella Ladlis, 10; Jane Merriott, 8; Phoebe Lyes, 10; Elizabeth Connor, 9; Dinah Astin, 9; Emily Easton, 8; Emma Rowe, 9: Agnes Carr, 8; Catherine Brown, 7; Ann Griffith, 9; Lidia Win, 7; Mary Wilkinson, 9; Susanna Gobert, 9; Margaret Connor, 12; Sarah Wolcott, 11; Martha Ludley, 13; Mary Ann Small, 12; Rebecca Bayfield, 13; Eliza Smith, 13; Sarah Forsyth, 13
Governess was Emma Cheasey, 30, assisted by Caroline Mills, 20
Sailors Female Orphan Home
Great Prescott Street
Caroline Barton, age 7
Other orphans:
Mary Rule, 11; Sarah Fletcher, 9; Isabella Ladlis, 10; Jane Merriott, 8; Phoebe Lyes, 10; Elizabeth Connor, 9; Dinah Astin, 9; Emily Easton, 8; Emma Rowe, 9: Agnes Carr, 8; Catherine Brown, 7; Ann Griffith, 9; Lidia Win, 7; Mary Wilkinson, 9; Susanna Gobert, 9; Margaret Connor, 12; Sarah Wolcott, 11; Martha Ludley, 13; Mary Ann Small, 12; Rebecca Bayfield, 13; Eliza Smith, 13; Sarah Forsyth, 13
Governess was Emma Cheasey, 30, assisted by Caroline Mills, 20
Kelly's directory for 1842 gives a snapshot of the area in the midst of which the orphanage was located. Prescott Street was then occupied exclusively by small businesses: several academies, a professor of Hebrew, gun-makers including James Holland & Son, a blacking manufacturer, a cigar merchant, a wholesale jeweller, watchmaker, tea-dealer, a surgeon and a Russia merchant.
At the annual meeting of 1842, held at the London Tavern, it was revealed that one other child had died, four had left to be domestic servants, and 20 orphans now remained in the home. The habit to report annual meetings in the newspapers now ended so we know little more of activities for the rest of Eleanor's stay at the orphanage.
By the age of 18 Eleanor Caroline had left the orphanage and taken up service work for a genteel middle class family, that which she had been trained so well for. She worked for a land agent, Daniel Norton, his wife, Ann, and daughter 20 year old Mary Ann, at Crown Lane in Norwood, along with two other servant girls, Esther Bate and Sarah Pearce. The house was a short stroll from Streatham Common.
Eleanor was soon enough being romanced by a young bargeman, John Harrison, who was five years older than her and worked on the river Thames. John William was also from Greenwich and he too had a mariner for a father. Eleanor gave up service to move in with him at Collier's Rents in Southwark and was soon pregnant by him, upon which he took the honourable step of marrying her.
John William Harrison was born on 25th March, the astrology sign of ¨Pisces, in 1828 in Greenwich, son of John Harrison and Maria née Tumber, his father being a mariner and their home being in Bell Street. Who were the Harrison grandparents, well, that is not so clear, but the Tumber grandparents I know were Joseph Tumber, a fisherman of Greenwich, and his wife Mary née Dobson, and the Tumber great-grandparents were James Tumber, an ostler, and his wife Mary.
So back to John Harrison, who was baptised privately at St Alphege church on 18th April. Private baptisms were traditionally given to sickly or vulnerable children thought to be at risk for not surviving. Quick baptisms would ensure they went to heaven. Private baptisms were done at home or in the vestry (the office of the church), not as was the proper considered way publicly in the church. Private baptisms were free and therefore easier for the poor. Among the general people there does seem to have been a preference for private baptisms, despite this being discouraged by the church, who only considered this apt for the most ill of children, those in a really dangerous state of health. The Harrison children had so far been vulnerable, John being in effect an only son for a while, as two sisters older than him had already died before he was born. Out of all his seven brothers and sisters only John William and one other, Maria Ann, managed to survive into adulthood.
So back to John Harrison, who was baptised privately at St Alphege church on 18th April. Private baptisms were traditionally given to sickly or vulnerable children thought to be at risk for not surviving. Quick baptisms would ensure they went to heaven. Private baptisms were done at home or in the vestry (the office of the church), not as was the proper considered way publicly in the church. Private baptisms were free and therefore easier for the poor. Among the general people there does seem to have been a preference for private baptisms, despite this being discouraged by the church, who only considered this apt for the most ill of children, those in a really dangerous state of health. The Harrison children had so far been vulnerable, John being in effect an only son for a while, as two sisters older than him had already died before he was born. Out of all his seven brothers and sisters only John William and one other, Maria Ann, managed to survive into adulthood.
Bell Street was but one of many residences in John's childhood, the first move away from there being to Roan Street (by the age of 2), then Church Row (by the age of 5), then back to Roan Street (by the age of 8), Bridge Street (aged 10) and 3 Vicarage Court on Church Street (at age of 12). All these moves were in but the same area of Greenwich, around the church of St Alphege where the family had all their baptisms, marriages and burials. John William is shown as a 12 year old in the 1841 Census, living at 3 Vicarage Court with his parents John and Maria, his father employed as a mariner, and his sister Maria, aged 11. Next door, also in Vicarage Court, lived the St Alphege church vicar, William Soames. This vicar was a charitable man with a reputation for kindness, giving out tickets for bread, meat, soup and coal. No doubt, being poor neighbours this would have been to the Harrison families benefit. The poverty in Greenwich was so very huge and the vicar did his best to stem it. He would have been a kind neighbour.
As a career, John William would depend upon the Thames river as had his father John Harrison senior, who was firstly a mariner and then a fisherman. John William tried many types of work; he was a fisherman, a bargeman, a raftsman, a fishmonger and costermonger (a fishmonger is defined as one who sells fish from a shop where as a costermonger sells on the roads), besides also being for a while a greengrocer. The first employment we find him in is as a fishmonger at the Greenwich market, working for a Mr Mitchell, at the age of 21. We know this because he and a fellow fishmonger got into trouble together for attacking a policeman on their road, Roan Street, an incident which got them into the papers. The two lads both lived in Roan Street and fishmongering was one of John William's life skills
1849 - John William Harrison is recorded in the West Kent Guardian. George Martin and William Harrison, in the employment of Mr Mitchell, fishmonger, Greenwich Market, were charged with assaulting 248 R (a policeman) in Roan Street on Saturday night and tearing his coat. Fined 10 shillings for the assault and 3 shillings damages. Mr Mitchell attended to give a good character of his servants.
(John William did sometimes just use the name William, this differentiating him from his father John Harrison, and after his fathers death would usually be simply a John)
1851 - By the time of the 1851 Census the family was living at 8 Church Passage:
John Harrison, age 50, fish seller, and his wife Maria, age 54
John Harrison Junior (John William), son, age 23, fish seller costermonger (seller of his fish on the street)
John Harrison, age 50, fish seller, and his wife Maria, age 54
John Harrison Junior (John William), son, age 23, fish seller costermonger (seller of his fish on the street)
1852 - Just one year on, and as we have seen, John William moved away from Greenwich to Southwark, still by the Thames river, on which he now worked as a bargeman. He lived at Colliers Rents with his girlfriend, Eleanor Caroline Barton, and as for his parents, they had moved back to Roan Street. In this same area of Southwark, at the church of St George the Martyr, John William and Eleanor Caroline took their marriage vows.
It was on June 7th 1852 that Eleanor and John married one another at the church of St George the Martyr, but walking distance from where they lived. Eleanor was by this time three months pregnant. John, having had no education, did the mark of a cross for his name, whereas Eleanor with her orphanage education could sign for herself. Witnesses to the marriage were friends Henry Heath, a Southwark lad, and his young wife Caroline Heath, a Lewisham girl. The borough gaol, midway between the Collier's Rents and the church, located behind the north wall of the churchyard, was where Charles Dickens's father had once been imprisoned for debt.
Marriage on 7 Jun 1852 at St George the Martyr, Southwark
John William Harrison, age 24, bargeman, resident at Collier's Rents, father is John Harrison, a mariner
Ellen Caroline Barton, age 20, resident of Collier's Rents, father is Philip Barton, a mariner
John William Harrison, age 24, bargeman, resident at Collier's Rents, father is John Harrison, a mariner
Ellen Caroline Barton, age 20, resident of Collier's Rents, father is Philip Barton, a mariner
In their new family life the couple moved back to Greenwich where they had both been born, moving in with John William's parents, John and Maria, at 8 Church Passage in Greenwich. Church Passage is now known as St Alphege Passage, the name of the church it ran along the side of, forming a link between Church Street and Roan Street.The Harrison family had their own little fish selling business going, from catching fish in the Thames to selling their catch on the streets and at market. It was at Church Passage in December that their first child was born, a daughter who was named after her mother, Eleanor Caroline. John William's profession, listed on his first child's baptism record, was that of fishmonger, within nine years of which he had begun running his own grocery shop.
Moving back to Greenwich for the first time since her infant years was a chance at last for Eleanor to reconnect with her mother, Hannah, who was living on the Royal Hill, all her children having left home, and who was still working as a nurse at the Greenwich Seamen's Hospital. Not that really there could have been much happiness all round as bad health was plaguing the family and one by one Hannah's sons were dying. I don't know the cause, but suspect, as it would soon be for Eleanor too, that tuberculosis was the cause. The only surviving child of Hannah's, as far as I can see, was son Joseph who emigrated to Australia. Even Hannah's second and third husbands, George Tanner and Edward Doughty, failed to survive for long.
Moving back to Greenwich for the first time since her infant years was a chance at last for Eleanor to reconnect with her mother, Hannah, who was living on the Royal Hill, all her children having left home, and who was still working as a nurse at the Greenwich Seamen's Hospital. Not that really there could have been much happiness all round as bad health was plaguing the family and one by one Hannah's sons were dying. I don't know the cause, but suspect, as it would soon be for Eleanor too, that tuberculosis was the cause. The only surviving child of Hannah's, as far as I can see, was son Joseph who emigrated to Australia. Even Hannah's second and third husbands, George Tanner and Edward Doughty, failed to survive for long.
At that time in Greenwich they were two fairs held annually, at Easter and at Whitsun. Greenwich Parkin those fairs was the scene of every variety of joyous hilarity, from 'Kiss in the ring', 'Drop the handkerchief' and other games, to an exciting rush and tumble down the hill. The Fair was considered to be the great Saturnalia of the lower classes. After a gradual decline over many years it was finally 'put down' in 1856. The park remained a favourite resort of the London millions though, being a place of happiness and beauty. There was always much of interest to see there: shopmen in strange imitations of aristocratic attire, the London gamin with the luxury of a cheap cigar or penny pie, the well to do tradesman with his wife in the gayest of shawls and his daughter in the most modish of bonnets, coquettish nursemaids with trains of children, a limping pensioner or two, a soldier with his wife or sweetheart on his arm, the invariable Hindu with a tray of suspicious looking comestibles, vendors of fruits, nuts and ginger beer, adventurous speculators with 'Aunt Sally' as their main attraction, foreign sailors rolling out strange oaths, English seamen, jovial, good tempered and frolicsome, and the scientific entrepreneurs who offer you their telescopes at the moderate charge of one penny.
By the summer of 1854 Eleanor and John had moved into their own rental at Billingsgate Street and there their son William John, named after his father, was born, John still being at this time a fishmonger.
This child would not survive for long.
Nor did the next child survive long either, a daughter Maria, named after her paternal grandmother, born in the summer of 1854 while the family was living by the marketplace at 3 Vine Court. John was by now doing some kind of labouring work.
Nor did the next child survive long either, a daughter Maria, named after her paternal grandmother, born in the summer of 1854 while the family was living by the marketplace at 3 Vine Court. John was by now doing some kind of labouring work.
In 1856 John's only surviving sister, Maria Ann Harrison, made a good marriage for herself, marrying an inland revenue officer, Augustus Macclellan.
From one home to another, this was often the way of the poor, never staying in one house for long, their next home being at 1 Woolwich Road. It was there in the autumn of 1857 their next child was born, a strong survivor this time, named Philip John after both grandfathers.
By the spring of 1860, when their next daughter Maria Anna (my ancestress) was born the family was living at 7 Hog Lane off the Old Woolwich Road, and here it was that they ran their fruit and vegetable shop. This had brought them some measure of prosperity and status by which they could even employ a servant girl, a local teenage girl called Ellen Messer, daughter of a waterside labourer. Ellen's mother had died three years previously and Eleanor may have taken the girl on out of sympathy, knowing herself what it was like to be an orphan.
By the spring of 1860, when their next daughter Maria Anna (my ancestress) was born the family was living at 7 Hog Lane off the Old Woolwich Road, and here it was that they ran their fruit and vegetable shop. This had brought them some measure of prosperity and status by which they could even employ a servant girl, a local teenage girl called Ellen Messer, daughter of a waterside labourer. Ellen's mother had died three years previously and Eleanor may have taken the girl on out of sympathy, knowing herself what it was like to be an orphan.
1861 Census Greenwich, London
7 Hog Lane, Old Woolwich Road
(situated right at the end of the lane beside an unoccupied house)
William Harrison, age 34, greengrocer, born Greenwich
Caroline Harrison, wife, age 26, born Greenwich
Children:
Caroline, 7; Philip, 3; Maria, 11 months
Servant girl:
Ellen Messer, age 15, born Greenwich
7 Hog Lane, Old Woolwich Road
(situated right at the end of the lane beside an unoccupied house)
William Harrison, age 34, greengrocer, born Greenwich
Caroline Harrison, wife, age 26, born Greenwich
Children:
Caroline, 7; Philip, 3; Maria, 11 months
Servant girl:
Ellen Messer, age 15, born Greenwich
There were only seven houses on Hog Lane and I have looked at who all these neighbours were, the locals the Harrison's would have sold to and engaged with and the children their own children would have played with. 6 was empty. At number 5 lived Sarah Mattison, a 45 year old charwoman, locally born, with her children Alice, 20, Rosa, 17, Charles, 14 who worked as a brickmaker, Jane, 12, and Eliza, 10. Sarah's husband, Mr Mattison, who has been described as a 'low impudent fellow' had an official complaint made of him twelve years previously for allowing an accumulation of filth to exist on his premises at Hog Lane, principally consisting of vegetable refuse from the market, decayed fish and even the emptying of privies, all of which he constantly mixed together to make manure. This was considered to be a danger to health for his neighbours. At number 4 lived a 32 year old shoemaker Michael Kenny and his wife Betsy, age 38, both from Ireland, with two lodgers, Irish Joanna Bowing, age 33, a garden woman, and Harriet Lousance, a 57 year old pensioners wife from Lambeth. The other two houses are written separately in the census and have repeated the numbers 5 and 6, but must really be 1 and 2. At one of these houses lived a 88 year old general dealer called Arthur Ward from Woolwich, with his Greenwich born wife 47 year old Maria, and their children Elizabeth, 18, Eliza, 13, James, 7, Ellen, 5; and Edward, 3. The other house has a 48 year old London labourer called Richard Coombes and his 48 year old wife Mary Ann who is a local shopkeeper, running a chandlers shop, and a daughter in law, Mary A Banff, age 20, a son in law William, aged 16, who is a pupil teacher and son in law Henry, age 15, who is a shop boy (maybe helping out the Harrison's). Mother in law Ann Clinker, also lives there and is aged 80 and is a widow, born in London . This lane is not be confused with Hog Lane in Woolwich which was known for its poor boarding houses.
Fortunes fell, and why I do not know, but some time during the passing of a year and a half the shop was abandoned and John returned to his job of raftsman. In the summer of 1852 the family was living at Bennett Street where a son, George William, was born, not to survive, and the next son two years later, born in winter, was the third one to get the name William. They had by now moved now to East Street. 1864 December 20th a son is born, named William ( I do think that at least two of the earlier children had died by now) and in 1865 on June 2nd the baby was baptised. Parents William John and Caroline Harrison. Address is East Street and Williams occupation has been given simply as labourer.
1865 was a tragic year, for around the time of the latest baby's birth at the end of 1864, in the heart of winter, Eleanor became very ill. For this it appears that they delayed their babies baptism, hoping she would get better, but she did not. A doctor diagnosed Eleanor as having 'phthisis', which was the medical name at that time for tuberculosis.
Also known as consumption or the great white plague, the tuberculosis epidemic across Europe started in the 17th century and lasted for 200 years. It targeted people in the flower of their youth, both rich and poor alike. Curiously, artistic types even romanticised the white pallor of those ladies who wasted away as being attractive and a symptom of spiritual purity. Fashionable ladies whitened their faces to get the same look and Lord Byron even stated 'I would like to die from consumption'.
The word phthisis comes from Greece, where way back in the time of Hippocrates it was the most common illness of the time. Hippocrates observed that it typically infected people between the ages of 18 and 35 and was invariably fatal. Galen defined phthisis as ulceration of the lungs, thorax or throat, accompanied by coughing, fever and consumption of the body by pus.
During the illness they moved to 2 Crown Court and William found work as a waterman. Baby William was baptised in the summer, when the consumption was getting it's deadly hold more and more upon her. For nine months Eleanor wasted away from this fatal and all too common malady.
Also known as consumption or the great white plague, the tuberculosis epidemic across Europe started in the 17th century and lasted for 200 years. It targeted people in the flower of their youth, both rich and poor alike. Curiously, artistic types even romanticised the white pallor of those ladies who wasted away as being attractive and a symptom of spiritual purity. Fashionable ladies whitened their faces to get the same look and Lord Byron even stated 'I would like to die from consumption'.
The word phthisis comes from Greece, where way back in the time of Hippocrates it was the most common illness of the time. Hippocrates observed that it typically infected people between the ages of 18 and 35 and was invariably fatal. Galen defined phthisis as ulceration of the lungs, thorax or throat, accompanied by coughing, fever and consumption of the body by pus.
During the illness they moved to 2 Crown Court and William found work as a waterman. Baby William was baptised in the summer, when the consumption was getting it's deadly hold more and more upon her. For nine months Eleanor wasted away from this fatal and all too common malady.
On September 26th 1865, two weeks before Eleanor would have turned 34, she died, her neighbour, Mary Ann Ballard, being by her bedside as she passed away.
Eleanor Caroline Harrison of 2 Crown Court, Greenwich, age 33, wife of William Harrison a waterman, died of phthisis 9 months certified, present at the death is Mary Ann Ballard of 1 Crown Court
During five weeks of a special report which included the the time Eleanor died, which was up till the 30th September, details are given of the types of death locally and the numbers involved. Here we learn that within this time scale 28 people altogether died in Greenwich from tuberculosis. This was the main cause of death from disease at this time.
John, who was left with at least two surviving young children to raise alone, coped dreadfully with the loss of his beloved wife. He made bad choices, committed crime, ended up in prison, then the workhouse and lost his mind. John had at least a recurring state of some kind of mental instability, maybe as a response to deaths of his Eleanor and too many of their children. My guess is that John had this condition for some time, sometimes appearing psychotic and sometimes totally normal, which would be an explanation for why he would do well in his trades only for all to collapse, for which he he would revert to being a labourer or raftsman. There are more clues to this later, in workhouse records. His daughter, Maria, my ancestress, was only 5 when her mother Eleanor died and was in the workhouse by the age of 11. Without Eleanor everything simply fell apart. And it does seem that for all her pregnancies only two of her children, Philip and Maria Anna, made it to adulthood.
By 1871 John was back to being a labourer, working in the building trade and residing in a boarding house of many men, and so where one has to ask were his children? The house was run by James Brown, a general dealer, and his wife Ann, he a Londoner and she Irish.
1871 Census Greenwich
(census taken on 2nd April)
5 Roan Street
John Harrison, widower, age 43, bricklayer, born Greenwich
By 1871 John was back to being a labourer, working in the building trade and residing in a boarding house of many men, and so where one has to ask were his children? The house was run by James Brown, a general dealer, and his wife Ann, he a Londoner and she Irish.
1871 Census Greenwich
(census taken on 2nd April)
5 Roan Street
John Harrison, widower, age 43, bricklayer, born Greenwich
When I looked to see where may have been the children, I discovered that young Maria was in and out of both the workhouse and the Sutton Boarding school for pauper children, this being during the years of 1871 into 1872. This began on account of her father being put in prison at some time around the end of April on a sentence of 6 months. So it was that John's daughter Maria was in a destitute state, with not even grandparents around to look after her, Johns father having died of dropsy in 1867 and his mother of heart attack in 1868.
I needed to see if I could find out why John William was put into prison. And I had to do quite some research before I found a report in relation to this. It was in 1871, on the evening of March 27th, that John in his capacity still as a waterman or bargeman, crossed the Thames from Greenwich to the Blackwall Shipping yard on the Isle of Dogs, whereupon he began loading his barge with iron which he had noticed to be unguarded at the Samuda wharf at Blackwall. Half a ton he got into his barge before he was spotted by a man who he set to wrestling with in order to escape. As it is reported, he tried to throw the fellow in the water and would have succeeded if not for another person spotting the fracas. The iron belonged to the Samuda ship builders and this was their wharf. John was given six months hard labour in prison, hence his daughter Maria, my great great grandmother, having to go in the workhouse at the age of 11, with no one to look after her.
East London Observer Saturday 1st April 1871
Robbing Mr Samuda
John Harrison, a bargeman, was brought before Mr Lushington, charged with stealing half a tonne of iron from the premises of Mr Samuda; MP, shipbuilder in Blackwall. On Monday evening, Banks, a timekeeper in the service of Mr Samuda, saw the prisoner on his employers wharf loading a boat with iron. Banks jumped onto the boat, when the prisoner seized him and made an attempt to throw him into the river, in which he would have succeeded had there not been timely assistance. There was half a tonne of iron in the boat, which the prisoner had removed from a stack of iron on Mr Samuda's wharf. The prisoner had a rod of iron in his hand when Banks entered the boat. Henry Permaine saw the prisoner and Banks struggling in the boat. The prisoner was trying to throw Banks into the water. The prisoner pleaded guilty to the charge and Mr Lushington convicted him of larceny and said there was no doubt of his guilt. He had not only committed a very audacious robbery, but acted most savagely in endeavouring to drown a man who was doing his duty. He sentenced the prisoner to six months hard labour.
Robbing Mr Samuda
John Harrison, a bargeman, was brought before Mr Lushington, charged with stealing half a tonne of iron from the premises of Mr Samuda; MP, shipbuilder in Blackwall. On Monday evening, Banks, a timekeeper in the service of Mr Samuda, saw the prisoner on his employers wharf loading a boat with iron. Banks jumped onto the boat, when the prisoner seized him and made an attempt to throw him into the river, in which he would have succeeded had there not been timely assistance. There was half a tonne of iron in the boat, which the prisoner had removed from a stack of iron on Mr Samuda's wharf. The prisoner had a rod of iron in his hand when Banks entered the boat. Henry Permaine saw the prisoner and Banks struggling in the boat. The prisoner was trying to throw Banks into the water. The prisoner pleaded guilty to the charge and Mr Lushington convicted him of larceny and said there was no doubt of his guilt. He had not only committed a very audacious robbery, but acted most savagely in endeavouring to drown a man who was doing his duty. He sentenced the prisoner to six months hard labour.
When John William came out of prison, he himself was destitute and was admitted into the Greenwich workhouse too, there being reunited with his daughter Maria.
1872 - John Harrison, age 43, a labourer, admitted into the Greenwich workhouse on January 5th at quarter to five on a Friday afternoon, brought in by Mrs White, and maybe relocated from another workhouse - the West Street Union (though this is hard to read).
1872 - John Harrison, age 43, a labourer, admitted into the Greenwich workhouse on January 5th at quarter to five on a Friday afternoon, brought in by Mrs White, and maybe relocated from another workhouse - the West Street Union (though this is hard to read).
Just over a month later John left the workhouse, along with his daughter Maria:
1872 February 19th at quarter to 11 on a Monday morning John Harrison, aged 44, and Maria Harrison, aged 12, together were discharged from the Greenwich Union workhouse.
1872 February 19th at quarter to 11 on a Monday morning John Harrison, aged 44, and Maria Harrison, aged 12, together were discharged from the Greenwich Union workhouse.
By the winter of 1874 John was living at Jubilee Terrace and was working as a dredger. In December he was prosecuted for yet another crime, having been caught with suspected stolen wood. He maintained his innocence and that he'd simply found the wood in his work of dredging in the river Thames. But on account of his former theft being known of and his attempt at that time to throw a man in the river his word was not taken on trust. For this he was sent back to gaol and his young daughter Maria was left alone yet again.
Newspaper details:
John Harrison, dredger man of Jubilee Court, Greenwich, was charged with stealing a balk of timber, 24 ft long. Police constable Lawes saw John and two other men on the river shore with the timber which they placed on a barrow and took to a timber dealer who bought it for 13 shillings. A workman from Dudgeon's ship building yard said the timber was similar to what had been left on his employers premises from the launch of a ram. John said he found the timber and helped the son of the man who bought the timer to cut it up into three pieces. PC 80 of the Thames Division said in 1871 John was sentenced to six months imprisonment for stealing iron from Samuda's on the north side of the river and upon being captured he tried to throw a man into the dock. John was sentenced to six weeks hard labour.
Newspaper details:
John Harrison, dredger man of Jubilee Court, Greenwich, was charged with stealing a balk of timber, 24 ft long. Police constable Lawes saw John and two other men on the river shore with the timber which they placed on a barrow and took to a timber dealer who bought it for 13 shillings. A workman from Dudgeon's ship building yard said the timber was similar to what had been left on his employers premises from the launch of a ram. John said he found the timber and helped the son of the man who bought the timer to cut it up into three pieces. PC 80 of the Thames Division said in 1871 John was sentenced to six months imprisonment for stealing iron from Samuda's on the north side of the river and upon being captured he tried to throw a man into the dock. John was sentenced to six weeks hard labour.
In 1876 John was himself the victim of a minor crime, the time of which he was working as a waterman and living at St James's Place, Roan Street. Esther Benjamin of 4 Munyards Row, Roan Street, a neighbour who was one for the drink and who was a habitual thief stole Johns coat and some of his money amounting to 2 shillings. She also stole 8 shillings from a woman named Keziah Dutton of 7 Deptford Green, with whom she had been drinking some days before.
In 1879 , by the time of Maria's marriage in 1879 to her Irish fiancée Thomas Seagrove, who was a fisherman, John was also back to working as a fisherman.
In the census of 1881 John is seen to be lodging with the Sweeney family at 4 East Lane, Greenwich
William Harrison, age 53, working as a labourer, born in Greenwich.
Thomas Sweeney, age 43, plasterer, born in London, and his wife Mary Ann, age 43, formerly weaveress, born in Mile End, and their children who are all born in Bethnal Green: Robert, 16, printer compositor, Mary Ann, 14, dressmaker, Charles, 13, Elizabeth, 10, Lucy, 8, Frederick William, 3,
Henry Murrant was another lodger, age 24, baker, born Dublin, Ireland
William Harrison, age 53, working as a labourer, born in Greenwich.
Thomas Sweeney, age 43, plasterer, born in London, and his wife Mary Ann, age 43, formerly weaveress, born in Mile End, and their children who are all born in Bethnal Green: Robert, 16, printer compositor, Mary Ann, 14, dressmaker, Charles, 13, Elizabeth, 10, Lucy, 8, Frederick William, 3,
Henry Murrant was another lodger, age 24, baker, born Dublin, Ireland
East Street was the location of the Roan School for Boys. And of local pubs the one John may have liked to have a drink or two at would maybe be the one which was at that time on East Street called The Man In The Moon. Of other local pubs there was on Greenwich market The Cricketers and on the Old Woolwich Road there was the Star And Garter.
John was back to getting in trouble with the law. In the summer of 1882 a charge of unlawful possession was made against him, the time of which he was still lodging at 4 East Street, being by now aged 55. Having been found to be in possession of eight corn sacks while in Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, he was remanded for inquiries. There is no report of how this went but he was not imprisoned so must have got away with this.
In 1886 John had his boat stolen and smashed up by three young men, as reported in the Kentish Mercury of Firday 22nd October. James Connor, age 22, stole the boat, along with two of his friends. They took it from where it was moored at High Bridge, East Greenwich. John later found his boat broken up in a cellar at Woolwich. He was working as a lighterman at the time and his boat would have been vital to his livelihood. His address by now as at 23 Smiths Rents, in East Greenwich (although was it really as elsewhere his address was said to be still at East Street). He gave the value of his boat as 25 shillings. Having remanded James Connor, the prosecutor, Mr Balguy, remarked derogatively that he would not like to go on the river in a mere 25 shilling boat. In another article one of the other thieves are named as Daniel Linihan, age 30, a labourer of Old King Street, Deptford, and a Mr Sullivan (Henry age 21). A witness saw the three men get into the boat at High Bridge, opposite the Conservative Club, and saw them row down the river. Daniel admitted this but said he used to sometimes borrow a boat from John so thought it no harm to take the boat for a row. They rowed it to Woolwich, got drunk and left it there. When he heard the police were inquiring about him, Daniel gave himself up. It is stated that the boat was found smashed up. James Connor and Henry Sullivan were imprisoned for two months each, the value of Johns boat by this time being given as £1 5s. Mention is made that the oars (the skulls) belonged to William Webb, who also lived in Greenwich.
There are various reports on all this. One says 'James Connor, 22, of Mill Lane, Deptford, was charged with others concerned with stealing a boat, value 25 shilling, lying off High Bridge, East Greenwich; further with stealing a pair of sculls, value 5s, belonging to William Webb of Queen Street, East Greenwich. Mr Balguy asked John Harrison if he took people on the river in a 25 shilling boat. John Harrison replied "Yes sir, sometimes we have to take them in a 5 shilling boat. He has taken my living from me and broken up the boat."'
There are various reports on all this. One says 'James Connor, 22, of Mill Lane, Deptford, was charged with others concerned with stealing a boat, value 25 shilling, lying off High Bridge, East Greenwich; further with stealing a pair of sculls, value 5s, belonging to William Webb of Queen Street, East Greenwich. Mr Balguy asked John Harrison if he took people on the river in a 25 shilling boat. John Harrison replied "Yes sir, sometimes we have to take them in a 5 shilling boat. He has taken my living from me and broken up the boat."'
All appears to have been well for ten years and then we see John William being admitted into the workhouse again:
1891 February 15th at 5 o'clock on a Friday afternoon John Harrison, age 62, was admitted into he workhouse, his reason of seeking relief being that he is destitute. He is recorded as being a labourer of no home, and that his daughter is Mrs Seagrove of 7 Marlsborough Street.
The very next morning, at 10 o'clock, John Harrison was discharged from the workhouse, but not into freedom, but into an entirely different situation. All was not well, for George was struggling with his mental issues. As I discovered, he was sent from the workhouse to Barming Heath which was the psychiatric hospital for the people of Kent. Interestingly, Barming Heath was where the word 'barmy' originated, just as 'doolally' had from the soldiers of the British Raj when they were sent to Deolali in Maharashtra.
1891 February 15th at 5 o'clock on a Friday afternoon John Harrison, age 62, was admitted into he workhouse, his reason of seeking relief being that he is destitute. He is recorded as being a labourer of no home, and that his daughter is Mrs Seagrove of 7 Marlsborough Street.
The very next morning, at 10 o'clock, John Harrison was discharged from the workhouse, but not into freedom, but into an entirely different situation. All was not well, for George was struggling with his mental issues. As I discovered, he was sent from the workhouse to Barming Heath which was the psychiatric hospital for the people of Kent. Interestingly, Barming Heath was where the word 'barmy' originated, just as 'doolally' had from the soldiers of the British Raj when they were sent to Deolali in Maharashtra.
According to the dates, John would have been just over two weeks in the mental hospital after which he was readmitted into the Greenwich workhouse:
1891 March 3rd at 8am on a Thursday morning
John William Harrison, watchman (as a watchman John William would have been guarding the streets at night), from Barming Heath, age 62, of Greenwich, church of England, destitute.
1891 March 3rd at 8am on a Thursday morning
John William Harrison, watchman (as a watchman John William would have been guarding the streets at night), from Barming Heath, age 62, of Greenwich, church of England, destitute.
A month later, on April 5th, the 1891 census took place, revealing that John William was still in the workhouse, and that he was unwell, being in the actual workhouse infirmary. The infirmary was just behind the workhouse and was where all the sick people of the workhouse were sent. It was in this census that John was actually described for the first time as being an 'imbecile'.
1891 Census Greenwich
Greenwich Union Infirmary
John William Harrison, age 62, inmate, retired waterside labourer, imbecile, born Greenwich
1891 Census Greenwich
Greenwich Union Infirmary
John William Harrison, age 62, inmate, retired waterside labourer, imbecile, born Greenwich
In 1892, a year onwards, it was the same story of being moved between the workhouse and infirmary, as it was recorded that on May 28th at midday John William Harrison was moved from the workhouse into the infirmary. For a long time he remained in the infirmary until on September 29th at 9 o'clock on a Thursday morning, John Harrison was moved from the infirmary into the workhouse:
John William Harrison, a labourer by calling, age 64, of church of England religion, admitted into the Greenwich Union workhouse by the master, from the infirmary.
Apparently, when in London, the Greenwich Union Infirmary records can be looked up at the London Metropolitan Archives. So maybe I can find out why he was in and out of the infirmary and also it would be most interesting to find some way to access his Barming Heath psychiatric hospital information.
John seemed ok again for some years, finding himself a place to live at 1 Earl Street and going back to his work of a waterman.
But then just as his dear Eleanor had declined from a terrible illness so did John now have his own decline with a carcinoma developing upon his tongue. It was for this that he had to resort to the workhouse again.
John William Harrison, a labourer by calling, age 64, of church of England religion, admitted into the Greenwich Union workhouse by the master, from the infirmary.
Apparently, when in London, the Greenwich Union Infirmary records can be looked up at the London Metropolitan Archives. So maybe I can find out why he was in and out of the infirmary and also it would be most interesting to find some way to access his Barming Heath psychiatric hospital information.
John seemed ok again for some years, finding himself a place to live at 1 Earl Street and going back to his work of a waterman.
But then just as his dear Eleanor had declined from a terrible illness so did John now have his own decline with a carcinoma developing upon his tongue. It was for this that he had to resort to the workhouse again.
1899 Death Certificate, 22nd August
John William Harrison, age 71, of 1 Earl Street, Greenwich, a waterman
Carcinoma of tongue exhaustion
Presesnt at the death was Emma Harrison, daughter in law, of 28 Earlswood Street
(Emma is the wife of John's son Philip)
John William Harrison, age 71, of 1 Earl Street, Greenwich, a waterman
Carcinoma of tongue exhaustion
Presesnt at the death was Emma Harrison, daughter in law, of 28 Earlswood Street
(Emma is the wife of John's son Philip)