A hard life was awaiting Samuel Pickles when he was born 4 May 1867 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Records show that his father died of tuberculosis in 1870 when young Samuel was only three.
Samuel’s mother remarried a few years later and had several children with her new husband.
In the 1871 census, 14-year-old Samuel was shown to be working as a coal miner/hurrier. A hurrier was a child or woman employed by a collier to transport coal through small shafts. Also called a coal drawer or thruster, adults could not easily do this job because the tunnels were so small. To save money, the mine owners made these transport shafts only as large as they absolutely had to and then hired the smallest people they could find to fit into them. (For more information on Samuel's coal mining work, visit the post in Careers & Occupations.)
Samuel's step-father is missing from the 1871 census. This indicates he was away from the family. It is possible that Samuel had to take this job because his step-father was away, and Samuel was the oldest boy in the household, which meant it was his responsibility to support the family. It may also be possible that this was standard practice for boys his age who were not from privileged families.
After a youth of coal mining, on 14 July 1885, Samuel joined the Prince of Wales Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment (service # 1047). He would have turned 18 just two months earlier, and this would have been one of the few options available to a young man of his station without a father.
Samuel was only 5'4-1/2" at the time of his enlistment. He weighed 117 pounds and had a chest measurement of 33-1/2 inches. They recorded these measurements for their uniforms. Although it’s possible he was still growing, the family was known to be short so he may have remained this height for the rest of his life for all we know. His complexion was 'fresh,' his eyes were grey and his hair was brown. Apparently ‘fresh’ simply meant healthy as opposed to dull, pasty or sickly. His religious denomination was shown as Church of England. Scars on his right knee and left calf were listed under distinctive marks (perhaps a result of working in the coal mine). His character was shown as good.
Samuel’s service documents show that he served at 'home' from 10 July 1885 to 21 February 1887 (1 year and 227 days). Home could have been anywhere in England, but could also have been in Ireland as this was part of the United Kingdom at the time.
Samuel then served in India from 22 February 1887 to 9 February 1893. One battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment was sent to Mooltan, India in 1878. So when Samuel was sent in 1887, he potentially went to Mooltan. Now called Multan, it is an ancient city in the Punjab (which is now in Pakistan).
In 1889 the regiment was moved to Meean Meer (still in the Punjab), and in 1892 was in Seetapore or Sitapur, which is now in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. In 1893 the regiment was in Burma, but that may have been after Samuel returned home.
In total Samuel spent 5 years and 354 days in India, which is fascinating. So many of these young men went to India and then came home and continued their mundane lives. Samuel, for example, went back to coal mining.
He was again serving at 'home' from 10 February 1893 until 13 February 1893, which was just enough time to sort out his discharge. Then he was listed as 'res' from 14 February 1893 until 28 January 1900. This would appear to mean that he was in the reserves, and might indicate his willingness to continue in the army, but there may not have been enough work for the soldiers they had at the time. It was common to 'lay off' soldiers after a war or campaign. Samuel ended up back in Leeds, where he grew up and returned to coal mining.
On 26 December 1893, Samuel Pickles married Margaret Connell. Margaret was 23. Sam was 25 and it says he was working as a coal miner. Although he indicated he was Church of England on his army attestation, they were married in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Leeds, because Margaret was from an Irish Roman Catholic family. The church had been built only a couple of years before in 1891, so was practically new.
Samuel's bride, Margaret Connell, grew up in Leeds and spent her youth living on Brick Street, but when she married in 1893, she was living at 4 Dunns Yard in Leeds. Her family may have moved or Margaret may have been living/working in another household at the time of her marriage. Her occupation was shown to be rag sorter, which was a common job for women at the time and meant that she sorted and prepared recycled fabric, typically wool. In 1889, Margaret gave birth to a child named Mary out of wedlock. We don't know who the father was, although it's conceivable that it was Samuel and that he was away in the army when she found out she was pregnant. His service record shows he was actively serving from 1885 to 1893 and oversees for most of that time, so he may not have been the father and it was someone completely different. The child died in 1891.
Margaret gave birth to a daughter just three months after they were married, Isabel (or Isabella), born in March 1894. We don't know for sure if Samuel was the father of this child because of the late marriage, but it is possible. One indication that Samuel was the father is that he was Anglican and Margaret and her family were all Irish Catholics. It is unlikely that if they were simply finding her a husband after she got pregnant out of wedlock (for the second time) that they would have chosen an English Anglican rather that an Irish Catholic for her to marry.
Another child named Luke was born in 1896, but died in 1897. Son John was born around 1898.
On 9 January 1900, Samuel was recalled to the army. He'd had active service from 1885 until 1893 and was on reserve after that. But the Boer War began in October 1899 in South Africa. Officially known as the Second Boer War and most recently as the South African War, it lasted until May 1902.
The Boers (Dutch colonials) and the British had been in conflict for years. British subjects settled in southern Africa because of the discovery of gold. The Boers had colonized an area that they named The Transvaal Republic. The Dutch government of the colony refused to give the British residents who also lived there voting or any other rights for fear of losing power to the British, who owned significant territory in the south and east of Africa. This conflict eventually turned to full-on war between the Dutch and the British.
Samuel was called back to the Prince of Wales Own West Yorkshire Regiment in January and retrained for 66 days before being shipped off to South Africa in April 1900.
The West Yorkshire Regiment spent a significant amount of its time in South Africa during the war on garrison duty, which means they manned a garrison and did not go out into the field. But there were also several periods where they were involved in heavy fighting. Samuel had one major campaign listed on his service record: the 'Transvaal' of 1900. Records show that he was never injured during his military service.
The war ended with British victory, and the Boer forces finally surrendered on 31 May 1902. The Dutch territories were annexed and both republics were later incorporated into the new country of South Africa. Samuel appears in the Boer War Medal roll, so there is at least one medal with his name engraved on it out there.
During the 1901 census, Margaret was, of course, on her own while her husband was overseas. She was living at 6 Post Office Rd, Pontefract, Yorkshire with her two surviving children, Isabel (born as Isabella) and John. The three of them were sharing three rooms, which was a large home by lower-class standards.
Pontefract was about 30 km southeast of Leeds and had an army base, so it is possible Samuel had been in training there before he was shipped overseas, and Margaret followed him, staying near the base with other army families for when he returned home. There could have been another reason for her to move there, but if there is, we don't know what since her family was in Leeds.
Samuel came home in June 1902 and returned to coal mining. The next child we know of for sure was William in the third quarter of 1904, which could indicate a child was born and died between 1902 and 1904.
It should be noted here that in the 1911 census it shows that Margaret had a total of 11 children, five of which died before that census. So there were other children who did not survive childhood, but we don't know exactly when these children were born, except for one. On Samuel's army documents, there was a daughter Elizabeth listed, but she was crossed out with a notation "deceased 10-5-00." Records show an Elizabeth Pickles dying in Pontefract, Yorkshire in the second quarter of 1900. But the army only made records of children born to those in active service, so any other children would not have been shown on his documents. And since the surname Pickles was common in Yorkshire, the remaining missing children are currently unknown.
In 1906, another child, Sam, was born, and Kathleen was born in 1909 while the family was living at 7 Haymount Street back in Leeds. In the 1911 census the family home was still at 7 Haymount, and that same year they gave birth to another daughter, Margaret, named for her mother. In the census, Samuel was a coal miner again, and he and wife Margaret were in their 40s, but still had all their surviving children at home.
Samuel and Margaret had (at least) two more children after that census: Mary Agnes in 1913, who died in 1914, and Agnes Ivy in 1915. Since they used Agnes twice in the naming of children, it is reasonable to assume that it was a family name carried over from a previous generation and might be a clue to the name of one of Margaret’s grandmothers or aunts.
 |
| Samuel Pickles & Margaret Connell Pickles |
Samuel's bride, Margaret Connell, grew up in Leeds and spent her youth living on Brick Street, but when she married in 1893, she was living at 4 Dunns Yard in Leeds. Her family may have moved or Margaret may have been living/working in another household at the time of her marriage. Her occupation was shown to be rag sorter, which was a common job for women at the time and meant that she sorted and prepared recycled fabric, typically wool. In 1889, Margaret gave birth to a child named Mary out of wedlock. We don't know who the father was, although it's conceivable that it was Samuel and that he was away in the army when she found out she was pregnant. His service record shows he was actively serving from 1885 to 1893 and oversees for most of that time, so he may not have been the father and it was someone completely different. The child died in 1891.
Margaret gave birth to a daughter just three months after they were married, Isabel (or Isabella), born in March 1894. We don't know for sure if Samuel was the father of this child because of the late marriage, but it is possible. One indication that Samuel was the father is that he was Anglican and Margaret and her family were all Irish Catholics. It is unlikely that if they were simply finding her a husband after she got pregnant out of wedlock (for the second time) that they would have chosen an English Anglican rather that an Irish Catholic for her to marry.
Another child named Luke was born in 1896, but died in 1897. Son John was born around 1898.
On 9 January 1900, Samuel was recalled to the army. He'd had active service from 1885 until 1893 and was on reserve after that. But the Boer War began in October 1899 in South Africa. Officially known as the Second Boer War and most recently as the South African War, it lasted until May 1902.
The Boers (Dutch colonials) and the British had been in conflict for years. British subjects settled in southern Africa because of the discovery of gold. The Boers had colonized an area that they named The Transvaal Republic. The Dutch government of the colony refused to give the British residents who also lived there voting or any other rights for fear of losing power to the British, who owned significant territory in the south and east of Africa. This conflict eventually turned to full-on war between the Dutch and the British.
Samuel was called back to the Prince of Wales Own West Yorkshire Regiment in January and retrained for 66 days before being shipped off to South Africa in April 1900.
The West Yorkshire Regiment spent a significant amount of its time in South Africa during the war on garrison duty, which means they manned a garrison and did not go out into the field. But there were also several periods where they were involved in heavy fighting. Samuel had one major campaign listed on his service record: the 'Transvaal' of 1900. Records show that he was never injured during his military service.
The war ended with British victory, and the Boer forces finally surrendered on 31 May 1902. The Dutch territories were annexed and both republics were later incorporated into the new country of South Africa. Samuel appears in the Boer War Medal roll, so there is at least one medal with his name engraved on it out there.
During the 1901 census, Margaret was, of course, on her own while her husband was overseas. She was living at 6 Post Office Rd, Pontefract, Yorkshire with her two surviving children, Isabel (born as Isabella) and John. The three of them were sharing three rooms, which was a large home by lower-class standards.
Pontefract was about 30 km southeast of Leeds and had an army base, so it is possible Samuel had been in training there before he was shipped overseas, and Margaret followed him, staying near the base with other army families for when he returned home. There could have been another reason for her to move there, but if there is, we don't know what since her family was in Leeds.
Samuel came home in June 1902 and returned to coal mining. The next child we know of for sure was William in the third quarter of 1904, which could indicate a child was born and died between 1902 and 1904.
It should be noted here that in the 1911 census it shows that Margaret had a total of 11 children, five of which died before that census. So there were other children who did not survive childhood, but we don't know exactly when these children were born, except for one. On Samuel's army documents, there was a daughter Elizabeth listed, but she was crossed out with a notation "deceased 10-5-00." Records show an Elizabeth Pickles dying in Pontefract, Yorkshire in the second quarter of 1900. But the army only made records of children born to those in active service, so any other children would not have been shown on his documents. And since the surname Pickles was common in Yorkshire, the remaining missing children are currently unknown.
In 1906, another child, Sam, was born, and Kathleen was born in 1909 while the family was living at 7 Haymount Street back in Leeds. In the 1911 census the family home was still at 7 Haymount, and that same year they gave birth to another daughter, Margaret, named for her mother. In the census, Samuel was a coal miner again, and he and wife Margaret were in their 40s, but still had all their surviving children at home.
Samuel and Margaret had (at least) two more children after that census: Mary Agnes in 1913, who died in 1914, and Agnes Ivy in 1915. Since they used Agnes twice in the naming of children, it is reasonable to assume that it was a family name carried over from a previous generation and might be a clue to the name of one of Margaret’s grandmothers or aunts.
On the 1921 census, Samuel & Margaret are living at 85 Freehold Street in Leeds with son William (17), son Samuel (15), Kathleen (11) and Ivy (6). Samuel and both his sons have listed their occupations as coal miners but show that they are out of work with their last employer being the Waterloo Main Colliery in Temple Newsam, Leeds. (For more information on this, visit the post on Samuel under Careers & Occupations.)
Samuel died of chronic bronchitis/arterio sclerosis 19 February 1932 at the age of 64. His death certificate lists him as a retired Colliery Hewer and his daughter Kathleen Pickles was the informant. His place of death on the certificate was 123 Beckett Street. This address was a workhouse in 1904 but appears to have been St. James Hospital by the time he died. His residence was shown as 85 Freehold Street in Leeds.
Four years later his wife Margaret died of cerebral thrombosis. Her place of death was 3 Green Hill Road, which was also the address of a workhouse, but was St. Mary’s Hospital by then.
Margaret's residence at the time of her death was 85 Freehold Street, so she staying living in the house after her husband died. Her death certificate shows she was the widow of Samuel Pickles, a coal miner (getter). Daughter Agnes Benn was present at death. Margaret was listed as being 63, but from her birth record we know that she was actually 66. Death records were often wrong because the informants either didn't know the exact names, dates and other details of the person’s life or were too distraught to remember. Before World War II in England, few people had formal identification that authorities could use so the information on these certificates was dependent on the informant and often consisted of complete guesses.
Prepared using information available as of 17 October 2022.
Samuel died of chronic bronchitis/arterio sclerosis 19 February 1932 at the age of 64. His death certificate lists him as a retired Colliery Hewer and his daughter Kathleen Pickles was the informant. His place of death on the certificate was 123 Beckett Street. This address was a workhouse in 1904 but appears to have been St. James Hospital by the time he died. His residence was shown as 85 Freehold Street in Leeds.
Four years later his wife Margaret died of cerebral thrombosis. Her place of death was 3 Green Hill Road, which was also the address of a workhouse, but was St. Mary’s Hospital by then.
Margaret's residence at the time of her death was 85 Freehold Street, so she staying living in the house after her husband died. Her death certificate shows she was the widow of Samuel Pickles, a coal miner (getter). Daughter Agnes Benn was present at death. Margaret was listed as being 63, but from her birth record we know that she was actually 66. Death records were often wrong because the informants either didn't know the exact names, dates and other details of the person’s life or were too distraught to remember. Before World War II in England, few people had formal identification that authorities could use so the information on these certificates was dependent on the informant and often consisted of complete guesses.
Prepared using information available as of 17 October 2022.
No comments:
Post a Comment
To prevent spam, your comment must be approved before it appears. Thank-you for your patience.