BLACKLOCK in St.Pancras area

[Sue Mackay]

Seeking any details of birth, marriage and early life of Thomas BLACKLOCK. He had one son, John Andrew BLACKLOCK, born just prior to civil registration ca 1835, who predceased him. I have Thomas on the 1861-1881 censuses at 16 Georgiana Street, Camden Town, but cannot pin him down prior to that. The will index describes him as 'Thomas Blacklock, late of 16 Georgiana Street, Camden Town, gentleman, who died 22 May 1891 at 16 Georgiana Street. Proved Henry Charles Whittington, 47 Georgiana Street, foreman joiner. £7,516:5s:7d'. The bulk of his estate was left to his eldest grandson, also Thomas (actually Tom Blacklock, straight man for Wee Georgie Wood) including the leasehold house at 16 Georgiana Street, Camden Town and two freehold properties at 72 White Horse Lane, Stepney and 118 Arlington Road, Camden Town, as well as shares in the New River Company.

His monumental inscription at Highgate Cemetery reads:
In Affectionate Remembrance of Charlotte JOHNSON who died Nov.15 1879 aged 76. Also John Andrew BLACKLOCK, beloved nephew of above, died Mar 15 1880 aged 45. Also James JOHNSON, husband of above, who died Apr 12 1890 aged 81. Also Thomas BLACKLOCK, father of above John Andrew and brother to above Charlotte JOHNSON, who died May 22 1891 aged 80.

The monumental inscription proves that he was the brother of Charlotte BLACKLOCK who married James JOHNSON on 22 May 1826 in St.Pancras. He was probably also the brother of Caroline, who married William REDDING on 25 Oct 1824, Elizabeth, who married Thomas TIPPLE on 28 Nov 1830 and Mary BLACKLOCK who married Henry PARKSHER on 20 May 1827. (IGI and/or Pallot’s Marriage Index). His wife was also probably Maria JENKINS, who married a Thomas BLACKLOCK on 30 April 1832 in St.Pancras Old Church, but without finding Thomas on the 1841 or 1851 I have no means of proving that she is the right one or pinpointing when she died. (Thomas was a widower in 1861) I have looked for a likely death certificate without success - with my luck she died in childbed giving birth to John Andrew prior to civil registration!

Any ideas on how to turn circumstantial evidence into hard fact?

[Sue Mackay]

After years of searching I have finally found Thomas BLACKLOCK in 1851, thanks to Santa giving me all 31 CDs of the London 1851 census to trawl through at home.

He appears on his own at 18 Stephen Street, is described as a servant born in St.Pancras, and is the foreman to an emery cloth maker.

His census entries thus read:
1851 servant (marital status a squiggle that could be M or W or even U!!)
age 37 foreman to emery cloth maker b. Mdx. St.Pancras
1861 head widr age 48 gentleman b. Mdx. City Road
1871 head widr age 55 retired emery paper maker b. Mdx. St.Luke's
1881 head widr age 66 no occupation b. Mdx. City Road

So he aged 11 years between each census and was born in various places in Middlesex. Ah well, another piece in the jigsaw! I am off to trawl the census again for his sister Charlotte and brother-in-law James JOHNSON. My father always said that his mother told him the family were connected to Johnson's Wax. I disproved that very early on, but it may be that James JOHNSON had an emery cloth/blacking business and that is where the myth started. Does anyone know much about emery cloth manufacturing?

[Jfremont]

Congratulations. In reading about your success it gives me encouragement to continue trawling the 1851 London census for some of my family. So far no luck but in this activity, perserverence is something that is required it seems.

[Sue Mackay]

Many many thanks to Sue Seal who looked up her 1841 and sent me details of Thomas BLACKLOCK, still in Stephen Street, but this time a tailor. His son John Andrew was a sewing machine dealer who married a dressmaker, so that seems to fit. The fact that John Andrew was not with Thomas in 1841, when he would only have been about 6 years old, lead me to suppose that Thomas's wife died in childbirth and that John Andrew was brought up by an aunt (more census trawling required!). It would explain why I couldn't find a death certificate for Thomas's wife, as John Andrew was born c 1835.

Nice to have a few more leads after all these years!!

[Sue Mackay]

More trawling through the 1851 London census CDs has revealed James JOHNSON (52, retired glass paper manufacturer), born Bristol, living at 20 University Street, St.Pancras with his wife Charlotte, nee BLACKLOCK (47) born in Tower Hamlets. Charlotte is known to be Thomas's sister, so this gives me another place to try and track down the parents. Still no sign of John Andrew BLACKLOCK so will keep trawling.

[Martin Derek]

I was very pleased to see some information about Tom Blacklock, the actor, mentioned in the first message. Though the information is very scarce my family believe he is my great grandfather and would love to know more about him. My great grandmother was called Edith Annie Horne and would be grateful to find out more about her.

We knew he had a theatrical background but that's about all. I traced him to the 1891 census where it was said his home county was Middlesex and then traced him back to Marylebone in 1871 Census.

I look forward to hearing more and in the meantime, I'll keep digging!!

[Sue Mackay]

I was very pleased to see some information about Tom Blacklock, the actor, mentioned in the first message. Though the information is very scarce my family believe he is my great grandfather and would love to know more about him. My great grandmother was called Edith Annie Horne and would be grateful to find out more about her.

We knew he had a theatrical background but that's about all. I traced him to the 1891 census where it was said his home county was Middlesex and then traced him back to Marylebone in 1871 Census.

I look forward to hearing more and in the meantime, I'll keep digging!!

Hi Martin

Very glad to hear from you and I will be e-mailing you privately. I know very little about Tom Blacklock except that he married Rose McARDLE in Sept qtr 1891 in Newcastle and definitely had a son John McKenzie BLACKLOCK, born 21 March 1893 in Stafford Street, Marylebone (I have the birth certificate). According to my late father (Tom BLACKLOCK was his uncle) there was also a son Jim, who married an Emma, but I haven't been able to track him down. Have just realised that perhaps he was actually Thomas James, as the 1901 census lists two boarders at Shoreham Grammar School, Jack M. BLACKLOCK (8), born Marylebone and Tom.J. BLACKLOCK (9), born Gloucester. It's a good idea to read through one's notes regularly!! Tom BLACKLOCK the actor inherited the bulk of his grandfather's estate in May 1891, just prior to his marriage, when he was 24. I have a copy of Thomas Senior's will. I also have a photograph of Janet BLACKLOCK (Tom's mother) with Tom, Jim and Charlotte which I will send to you privately.

[Sue Mackay]

I thought I would revive this thread from my very early days on the forum so that all the information is together. Despite the fact that searching the census is so much easier these days than it was in 2005, I am still unable to find John Andrew BLACKLOCK in the 1841 or 1851 census

However, thanks to the London parish registers now on Ancestry I have discovered that John Andrew was born on 1 March 1835 and was christened on 3 May 1835 in St.George's, Bloomsbury.

I feel the marriage of Thomas BLACKLOCK to Maria JENKINS on 30 April 1832 in St.Pancras Old Church must be the right one. The St.Pancras registers show that Thomas (a tailor) and Maria were living in Park Street, Camden Town and had a daughter Caroline Elizabeth who was born on 3 Nov 1833 and died on 16 Feb 1834. They then moved, and were living at King Street, Long Acre at the time of John Andrew's baptism.

Thomas appears on his own in 1851 (HO107; Piece: 1494; Folio: 99; Page: 68), as a tailor, with an indeterminate squiggle half obliterated by the enumerator's check mark for his marital status. In 1861 and subsequent census entries he is definitely a widower. As John Andrew was not with him on any census I had presumed that Maria had died in childbed and that John Andrew had been raised by relatives. However, now that I have found John Andrew's baptism, I cannot find a corresponding burial for Maria in the same church. The only burial I can find for a Maria BLACKLOCK is in 1862 for a 46 year old (about the right age) in the infirmary of St.Pancras Workhouse I am not ruling this out, but it seems strange, as John Andrew was described as a 'householder' in 1861 and was a man of some substance. Neither were Thomas and John Andrew estranged - John Andrew died young and Thomas was named as his executor in his will and co-guardian of his children.

I just wish I could find John Andrew in 1841 and 1851 as this might help me discover what happened to Maria.

John Andrew can be found on the census as follows:
1861: RG9; Piece: 102; Folio: 28; Page: 56
1871: RG10; Piece: 151; Folio: 28; Page: 49
Died 15 March 1880 so not on further censuses.

His father Thomas is also proving problematical! The one thing I know for sure is that he was the brother of Charlotte BLACLOCK, who married James JOHNSON - he is buried with her in Highgate (along with John Andrew). I recently discovered the baptism of Charlotte in St.John's, Wapping, the son of John and Elizabeth BLACKLOCK, John being a schoolmaster. I have so far discovered the baptisms of the following children for John and Elizabeth BLACKLOCK:

Caroline b 20 Jul 1799 bap 11 Aug 1799 St.John's, Wapping (married Wm. REDDING in St.Pancras)
Mary Ann b 2 Jul 1801 bap 26 Jul 1801 St.John's, Wapping
Charlotte b 14 Jul 1803 bap 7 Aug 1803 St.John's, Wapping (married James JOHNSON in St.Pancras)
Emily Massey b 15 May 1805 Christ Church, Spitalfields (bur 25 Jun 1828 St.Pancras Old Church)
Edward Daniel Lewis b 11 Mar 1807 bap 29 Mar 1807 Christ Church, Spitalfields

The above baptisms are all clearly for children of John BLACKLOCK, School Master, and wife Elizabeth. I suspect that John BLACKLOCK is the one who was buried on 2 April 1826 in St.Pancras Old Church, aged 58.

I think that further children of John and Elizabeth may have been baptised in St.Luke's, Old Street - no father's occupation as a check:
John b 7 Aug 1809 bap 17 Sep 1809 (bur Bunhill Row aged 7 weeks)
John bap 17 Mar 1811 (this is from the IGI but I haven't yet tracked down the original - the Old Street pre 1813 registers on Ancestry are a bit confusing)

Now I think that my Thomas BLACKLOCK, father of John Andrew, was a younger sibling of the above, but I still haven't managed to locate his baptism. I thought I had - there is a baptism for a Thomas, son of John and Elizabeth, on 20 Nov 1814 in St.George's, Bloomsbury (where John Andrew was baptised), but I was suspicious because the father was described as a shoemaker, which seemed a bit of a sea change from a schoolmaster. Then I discovered a burial in St.George's, Bloomsbury for a 20 year old Thomas at the same address as was on the baptism record, so I think I can rule him out.

My Thomas was very inconsistent as to his date and place of birth:

1841 census: HO107; Piece 686; Book: 2; Civil Parish: St Pancras; County: Middlesex; Enumeration District: 2; Folio: 28; Page: 53 (aged 25, born in county)
1851 census: HO107; Piece: 1494; Folio: 99; Page: 68 (aged 37, born Mdx St.Pancras)
1861 census: RG9; Piece: 115; Folio: 122; Page: 7 (aged 48, born Mdx City Road)
1871 census: RG10; Piece: 231; Folio: 69; Page: 26 (aged 55, born St.Luke's Mdx)
1881 census: RG11; Piece: 207; Folio: 61; Page: 24 (aged 66, born Middlesex, City Road)
1891 census: RG12; Piece: 130; Folio 41; Page 19 (aged 75, born London St.Luke's)
Died 27 May 1891 aged 79

So, he could have been born any time beteen 1812 and 1816!! Until I can pin down his baptism I can't definitively place him with John and Elizabeth BLACKLOCK, so am completely stymied. A fresh pair of eyes in the London parish register index would be appreciated!

[Kerrywood]

I think that further children of John and Elizabeth may have been baptised in St.Luke's, Old Street - no father's occupation as a check:
John b 7 Aug 1809 bap 17 Sep 1809 (bur Bunhill Row aged 7 weeks)
John bap 17 Mar 1811 (this is from the IGI but I haven't yet tracked down the original - the Old Street pre 1813 registers on Ancestry are a bit confusing

Just a quick word on this and a not very helpful one, I'm afraid. It's not so much that the St Luke's registers are confusing, but that some pages are simply not there (as far as I can see).

The browsable register called (unhelpfully) Islington > Saint Luke, Old Street > 1800-1810 contains baptisms for the years leading up to 1812. The original pagination shows that 27 pages are missing between Christenings January 1810 (p. 302, image 153) and Christenings July 1812 (p. 329, image 154). Just the bit you need to check out this John.

It's possible the pages may have been misplaced and appear out of sequence, but you would have to trawl the whole register to find them, and I wouldn't bet on it.

Kerrywood

[Sue Mackay]

Thanks Kerrywood. Your findings are exactly the same as mine, so at least I am not going crazy!

It's not easy trawling through the pre 1813 stuff, but I am hoping that Thomas was actually baptised post 1813 but in a parish that has not been included as yet.