Week 13: My ancestor was a tailor

[Jill on the A272]

Week 13: Tailor



This is an opportunity to showcase a tailor from your family tree, you might want to offer a short biography and speak about their work eg
Name
Birth location/date
Family background
Where you've found them on the census
Their workplace/employer
Any tips on researching this occupation?

[Nest week: Framework knitter/seamer]

[Lin Fisher]

I have 2 Tailors that I know of.

Francis Ripley is my 5 x G Grandfather. baptised on 17 March 1750 at All Saints Church Hough on the Hill, Lincs. Parents were Francis and Jane.
He married Hannah Fern on 22 November 1774 at St Andrews Church Kegworth, Leicestershire. They had 7 children in Kegworth.
In 1794 he had an apprentice John D Billings.
Frances died October 1819 and is buried in St Andrews, Kegworth.

Next on is the son also Francis Ripley.
Francis was baptised on 28th July 1775 at St Andrews Kegworth.
The banns were read out for him to marry Mary Roberts. The first bann was read then written on week 2 were 'Mary Roberts forbid it' This was 1798.
He then went on to marry Catherine Barrington on 23rd October 1800 at St Andrews Kegworth. Unfortunately she died in 1804 and the couple were childless.
He then married Frances Tredewell on 27 Oct 1804 at St Andrews again. Their children all born at Hough on the Hill.
He is on the 1841 census in Tinsley in Yorkshire where he died on 12 June 1841 of inflammation of the bowels. Registered by John Ripley my 3 x G Grandfather.

[Lin Fisher]

Jill, just seen next weeks, I have so many I will have to start making a list now!!

[Jill on the A272]

Mine will be like that when we get to weavers

[Jill on the A272]

My Atkinson family tailored in Barnoldswick, Yorkshire (now in Lancashire) for 127 years. According to a newspaper article on the retirement of Joseph Percy Atkinson when he retired from his tailors & outfitters in 1952 his ancestor William Atkinson was a tailor (his 2x great grandfather and my 6x great grandfather though the paper wrongly calls him grandfather) who would spend 3 months at Lord Ribblesdale's at Gisburn Hall tailoring for him and his staff.

The article says Percy's uncle Roger Atkinson opened a tailor's shop in Barnoldswick in 1825 (the paper got it wrong again, Roger was his great grandfather and my 5x and son of William mentioned above). My 4x great grandfather Thomas Atkinson (1802-1878) took over in 1827 and his two sons Broughton Atkinson and William Parkinson Atkinson followed him into tailoring, while the daughters (my 3x great grandmother Rachel and her sisters) became weavers.

William Parkinson Atkinson had seven sons who worked in the tailoring and outfitting business. William Parkinson Atkinson also wrote a history of Barnoldswick (Old Barlick) which includes many personal recollections and talks a little on tailoring style, the introduction of the fly front trouser replacing the fall front, a brief fashion for tight sleeves to the elbow which then flared out and were lined in red on men's coats in the 1860s, the demise of plaid shawls in favour of overcoats and the type of fabric used, and boys of up to 12 who wore trousers which attached to jackets by four buttons.

WP Atkinson also mentions his father tailoring out at farmhouses, and his elder brother Broughton Atkinson tailoring on a cart in a parade of different trades to celebrate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The full text of Old Barlick has been transcribed by Stanley Graham and is available here

[Caroline]

John Reed, tailor, was my 3x great grandfather. Where he came from originally, I have no idea. Reed/Read/Reid is not an uncommon name. And the 1841 says that he was born out of county - there are a couple of possibilities of roughly the same age baptised in Hampshire - if only he had made it to 1851!

Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index:
Place: Chichester St. Pancras, West Sussex, Date: 16 Jun 1810:
Subject: John REED
Spouse: Ann FOLKIT, botp
Extra Information: Witness wits: M IRELAND Jn SCALE

Pigot's Directory 1823 for Sussex.
John Reed, Tailor. of Chichester.

John died of pulmonary consumption in 1845 and was buried on the 6th October.

Chichester From St Peter's Register: John Reed of West St aged 61 buried 6th Oct 1845


John-Reed-death-cert-1845-small.jpg
I sometimes have lunch at Carluccio's which is next door to St Pancras church and stop for coffee at St Peter's which is now a pub near my bus stop!
https://sussexparishchurches.org/chu...ter-the-great/

John and Ann had ten children of whom 9 survived to adulthood. Their oldest son, John, also became a tailor in North Street. Next son, Frederick, became a hairdresser in South Street. Eliza, Louisa and Ann were milliners or dressmakers.

My direct ancestor Charles was the youngest - only 11 years old when his father died, he was a grocer's assistant in 1851 and after his mother died he went to Pancras in Middlesex and became a tobacconist/cigar merchant, later going bankrupt. Two of the girls and Fred all gradually joined up with Charles and his family in London and they all died there.

John Reed the younger tailor stayed in Chichester until his death in 1884 and his daughter Sarah Fanny became a schoolmistress of Central Infants School in Chichester eventually becoming headteacher there.


I had originally followed the wrong parents/baptism for "my" John Reed. However, as more records came online, I realised that there was another one of the same age who was baptised in Chichester who was a plumber/glazier and was still around in Bognor after "my" John Reed died. This John has many more records available which established they were two different people. Unfortunately the people who just copy trees and online info have taken my dodgy thoughts and reproduced them ……. mea culpa! Of course they may be connected, but I've found no links to them as yet.

[Katarzyna]

Jill on the A272 How fascinating - love the detail you've given on the menswear - who knew!
Caroline I guess a lot of us have done that early on. Makes you feel guilty but if one just copies without checking it's not your fault.

[Lin Fisher]

Found another tailor.

John Harrison baptised 27 Apr 1793 in Brotton Yorkshire, married Hannah Jackson on 19 Mar 1825 in Loftus Yorks. He is my 3 x G Grandfather.

[jenoco]

My 7x great grandfather, John Daniells, who was born circa 1649, was a tailor in Imber, Wiltshire. Imber was a small village on Salisbury Plain, about five miles from Warminster, and it was taken over by the army in 1943. From records I have found, it looks as if the population never exceeded 500.

What I know about John Daniells comes from his will. He and his wife, Mary, had five known sons – John, Christopher, Walter, Robert and Joseph (my 6x great grandfather). His eldest son John is the only one whose occupation is mentioned in his father’s will, being a tailor in London – he was left ten shillings, and John’s son, another John, was left 40 shillings to be given to him at age of 21. Second son Christopher and his son (another John) were left the same amounts. Of the remaining three sons, Robert was left three pounds, and Walter and Joseph the sum of five pounds each. John the elder’s house, household goods and remaining assets, including his recently purchased property, he left to his dear wife, Mary.

Mary, who died in 1712, left small amounts to her three eldest sons and the remainder of her estate to the two youngest.

[Jill on the A272]

Moses Collins of tailor of Chithurst in Sussex, my 9x great grandfather, was born in Linchmere, Sussex in 1586, he made his nuncupative will on 20 Aug 1640 and was buried three days later but it did not go to probate until 1648, while the civil war was still happening. His wife Maudline having died, probate was granted to his son John. I'm descended fro the son William mentioned in the will, below is my transcript, with assistance with the Latin transcript and translation from FTF member Elizabeth Lamb and Rosie Ansell of the Sussex Family History Group. The will can be seen on Ancestry here

Memorandum That upon Wensday the nynteenth day of August
Anno Domini one thousand six hundred and forty Moses Collins of Chithurst in
the County of Sussex Taylor being sick of bodie but of perfect mynde and memory
did make and declare his will Nuncupative in manner and forme in effect as following
Imprimis he gave to his wife Maudlin Collins all his lands to hold and admon the
same during her natural life And after her decease hee gave all his sayd lands
being Leased lands to his sonne John Collins during the Continuance of his Lease
hereof Item he gave more to his sayd sonne John Collins the summe of five
pounds of lawfull money of England Item he gave to his sonne William
Collins the summe of twenty pounds of lawfull money of England Item he
gave to his daughter Katherine Collins the summe of twenty pounds of like
money Item he gave to his daughter Maudlin Collins Twenty pounds of
like money All the remaynder of his goods he gave to his wife Maudlin
Collins and this his will he declared in the presence of Richard Price Clerke
William Parker and John Bettesworth and of this his will he made his
sayd wife Maudlin Collins his Executrix in witness whereof wee the sayd
William Parker and John Bettesworth have hereunto sett our hands this nyne
and twentieth day of August one thousand six hundred and forty

Secundo die Mensis Julii Anno Domini Millesimo sexcentismo quadra
gesimo octavo Emanavit Commissio Johanni Collins filio naturali et legitime
dicti defuncti habentis dum vixit et mortis sua tempore bona Jura sive Credita
in diversis dioceses sive Jurisdictionibus Ad Administrandum bona Jura et Credita dicti
defuncti iuxta tenorum et effectum testamenti predicti eoquod Magdalena
Collins Relicta dicti defuncti et Executrix in eodem testamento nominat antequam
onus execucionis testamenti predicti in se acceptasset ab hac luce etiam migravit
de bene et fideliter Administrando eadem vigore Commissionis in ea parte
als emanat Jurate

[The second day of July one thousand six hundred and forty-eight AD a commission was granted to John Collins natural and legitimate son of the said deceased while he lived and at the time of his death had goods, rights and credits in different dioceses and jurisdictions To administer the goods rights and credits of the said deceased according to the tenor and effect of the aforesaid will because Magdalena Collins relict of the said deceased and executrix named in this will, died before she took upon herself the execution of this will, [John Collins] having sworn well and faithfully to administer the same by virtue of a commission previously issue in this regard]

[Jill on the A272]

Richard Harland, my husband's 8x great grandfather was a tailor in Lindfield, Sussex. Born in 1625, he is described as a tailor at his marriage during the Commonwealth on 22nd June 1655 at Lindfield to Susan Luxford daughter of George Luxford of Keymer. He also gets a mention in the diary of Rev Giles Moore of Horsted Keynes (the next parish) on 10th May 1666 when he made a cassock for 5 shillings and a waistcoat for 1s 3d. He also accompanied Moore to Lewes (about 13 miles away) and hired his horse to him. Once there, they dined at The Star and he also mended the Rev Moore's cloak, cape, cassock and stockings.

Richard's son, another Richard Harland (husband's 7x g grandfather) was also a tailor, born and baptised on 26th Dec 1659 in Lindfield, he billed the overseer of the poor for frocks, coats and waistcoats commissioned by them for the poor. He is mentioned as a tailor in a year's lease in 1723 for land adjoining the road and churchyard, and in 1730 took an apprentice, George Ottaway of Horsted Keynes. He paid 9s Window Tax for his 14 windows in 1748. He died intestate in 1768 and administration was granted to one of his sons, John.

This Richard also had a son Richard Harland (husband's 6x ggf) who became a tailor, he is called tailor of Lindfield at his marriage in 1753 at Charlton in Kent to Charity Bishop and was a tailor in Butt Lane, Deptford when his first child Sarah was baptised there, though returned to Lindfield. There is a record for a Richard Harland playing cricket for Lindfield in 1758, though this may have been his father. Cricket is still played on the Common. His brother Henry was also a tailor. Neither of Richard's sons were tailors, but became drapers.

[Lin Fisher]

John Harrison was baptised on 27th Apr 1793 at Brotton Yorkshire. He married Hannah Jackson in 1821 in Loftus Yorkshire. His occupation on his children's baptisms was a Tailor. He dies in 1829 in Loftus. He was my 3 x Great Grandfather.

Johnson Brown was baptised 10 Aug 1768 in Snaith. Married Mary Taylor in 1789 at Aimyn Chapel Yorkshire. On Mary's death certificate she is described as Mary wife of Johnson a Tailor. He was my 4 x Great Grandfather. His Grandson was also called Johnson and he moved to Worksop Nottinghamshire and married my 2 x Great Grandmother.

William Hammond was my 8 x Great Grandfather. He was married by License to Rosamund Jackson in 1689. The License said he was born in 1670 and was a clothe merchant. There are apprentice papers that say he had an apprentice in 1720 called Jabez Carter and he was a tailor.

[Paulc]

Tailoring was something that my Butterworth family were deeply invovled with, so let me introduce my 2 x Great-Grandmother Emily Butterworth.

Emily was born on 12th February 1852, the sixth of nine children born to Charles Richard Butterworth and Elizabeth Arnott. At the time of her birth her father’s occupation was a Tailor and the family home was 40 Church Road, St. Georges in the East in Tower Hamlets in London.

The origins of the Butterworth line are from the Cotton Mills of Lancashire, more of that later, and we can presume that Charles Richard Butterworth saw an opportunity to better himself and the lives of his family, by breaking away from the Mills of the North, journeying South, to ply his trade as a Tailor in London, which at the time was the major capital for the clothing industry. The majority of today’s made to measure clothing is produced in factories, only a very small number of gentleman truly dress in bespoke clothing, made to measure by a Tailor. Whereas 200 years ago every single garment was made by hand, which created a whole Industry of its own and London was at the heart of it.

(Emily Butterworth’s Birth Certificate)

The family lived in the heart of the ‘East End’ of London in Stepney, but I have been unable to find any baptism records for Emily in the parish records for St. Georges in the East in Stepney or Christ Church in Watney Street. The six first children were all baptised in either St. Georges in the East Church or the Christ Church in Watney Street. I have checked the original entries for both these parishes online, but there does not appear to be an entry for Emily. It’s also worth noting that there are no baptisms recorded for the four youngest children. There could be a reasonable explanation for this, maybe they had lost their way with the church or maybe because of Civil Registration they no longer felt the need to also baptise the younger children? Something that we can only speculate about, rather than say with any certainty.

There was never a recognisable settlement called St George-in-the-East, but the parish name provided a useful identity for the formerly anonymous area north of the London docks. The central thoroughfare was Cable Street, so called for its ropeyards and connections to the Royal Docks. With the construction of the Commercial Road and the arrival of the railways and heavy industry to the East End, St George-in-the-East became a densely populated and extremely poor parish over the course of the 19th century. Houses were cramped and living conditions poor and the Butterworth and Dodd families moved numerous times, as was the norm in those days, all within a very small condensed area, probably all within one or two square miles.



Flanked by Whitechapel Road and Commercial Road, these narrow streets were full of terraced houses, with limited or no backyards, with row upon row of houses crammed into such small areas, each street immediately backing onto the next one. Living conditions were cramped, squalid and pretty miserable, but that’s the only life that these families knew and there was a toughness and resilience of these East London families to just get on with life. Many of my extended family would have lived in the nearby streets and houses of Poplar and most likely these families would have known each other, went to school together, socialised together and worked together.





(A Typical East End Street)



(Two typical children growing up in the East End of London)

The 1861 Census shows Emily and her family still living at the same address of 40, Church Road in St. Georges in the East, living at the family home are her father, Charles Butterworth who is recorded as a Master Tailor along with her mother Elizabeth Butterworth as well as her siblings, Clara, Emma, Robert, Mary Ann, Alfred, Alice and James. The two oldest girls, Clara and Emma are following her father’s footsteps and are recorded as seamstresses. Tailoring was clearly a family business, but where do the origins of this trade lie, for the Butterworth family? Maybe we will find some clues later.

1861 Census



(Class: RG 9; Piece: 279; Folio: 12; Page: 26; GSU roll: 542605)

Prior to the 1871 census, Emily gave birth to a daughter out of wedlock, named Emily Dodd Butterworth. Emily was born on 22nd July 1870 and the assumption within the family has been that the father of Emily Dodd Butterworth was in fact Henry James Dodd who she marries five years later.



(Birth Certificate of Emily Dodd Butterworth with no father’s name mentioned)

The family moved to 51, Oxford Street in Whitehapel between the 1861 and 1871 Census, this was in fact shown as the families place of residence a year earlier on Emily Dodd Butterworth’s birth certificate. The 1871 census shows Emily now aged 19 as a Tailoress and all the residents of a working age, living at the family home, are recorded as working within the same industry as Tailors, Tailoresses or Cutters. At home with Emily are her parents Charles and Elizabeth and siblings Robert, Mary, Alfred and the young Emily Dodd Butterworth.



(Oxford Street)

1871 Census



(Class: RG10; Piece: 520; Folio: 71; Page: 25; GSU roll: 823383)

Strangely it took another five years before Henry James Dodd and Emily Butterworth were to marry and they were aged 25 and 23 at the time. They were married on 17th October 1875 at St. Thomas Parish Church, Stepney, London. Emily was living at 81, Sydney Street in Stepney at the time. Just over 30 years later Sidney Street was to become a famous historical landmark in the history of the Country due to the Sidney Street siege, which involved a certain young Winston Churchill.



(Sidney Street Siege)

The history and story behind the Sidney Street Siege can be found on the link below:

Sidney Street Siege





(London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: p93/tms/030)



(Emily Butterworth and Henry James Dodd Marriage Certificate)

In 1881 the family have moved again, all within a close proximity of the East End of London, the family can be found at 41 Martha Street, St George in the East, London. Emily and her husband Henry are at home with their children, Julia aged 5, Alice aged 3 and Henry Junior aged just 10 months. A noticeable absentee is their child born out of wedlock, Emily Dodd Butterworth. In 1881 Emily Dodd Butterworth is living with her Great Aunt, Mary Blow (her Maternal Grandmother, Elizabeth’s younger Sister). She is also absent from the 1891 family census as well and this leads me to suspect that she was in fact, brought up by her Great Aunt and not by her mother. Emily and Henry went on to have a total of six children, Emily Dodd Butterworth born out of wedlock in 1870 followed by Julia born 1876, Alice born 2 years after in 1878, Henry born in 1880, Harriett Susannah born in 1887 and finally Godfrey born in 1878. Sadly Elizabeth lost her son Henry, at the age of 6 on 29th September 1886.





1881 Census



(Class: RG11; Piece: 454; Folio: 126; Page: 8; GSU roll: 1341099)

Another move for the family by the time of the 1891 Census, again all around the East End of London and the Docklands, which is a prime location for Henry, given his Marine based work. The Family home is 5, Richardson Street, Mile End London and recorded at home alongside Emily and Henry are their children Julia aged 15, Alice aged 13 and Godfrey aged 2.

1891 Census



(The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Class: RG12; Piece: 302; Folio: 86; Page: 19)

The Family have moved again by the time of the 1901 Census, again within the few miles of the East End of London, this time they are counted at 21, Anthony Street, St. Georges in the East, London. Living at home are his Wife Emily and youngest son, Godfrey, aged 12.

1901 Census

(Class: RG13; Piece: 312; Folio: 41; Page: 12)

By the time of the 1911 census Emily and her Family have moved back to Poplar and they are living at 33, Kerbey Street, Poplar, London, Henry is listed as a Ship’s Weigher Overside at the Port Of London Authority, an organisation I know only too well myself, as my first job after school was working for a Marine Engineering Company. A Weighman is someone who weighs the cargo of a ship or it could have been weighing the vessel – perhaps by water displacement. The term overside could mean that the ship was still afloat, in the docks, whilst the cargo was weighed. The children had all flown the family nest, which left just Emily and Henry living at home.



(Kerbey Street)

1911 Census


(The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911)
Between 1918-1920, Henry and Emily can be found in the Electoral Registers for Poplar at the following address: 33, Kerbey Street

1918 Electoral Register

1919 Electoral Register

1920 Electoral Register

(London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Electoral Registers)



(Cawdor Street and Kerbey Street, Poplar)



Emily sadly died on 7th April 1920 aged 68 the cause of death was Carcinoma of the rectum, at the time she was still living at 33, Kerbey Street in Poplar and the informant at her death was her husband Henry of the same address.



Emily was buried on 14th April 1920 at Tower Hamlets Cemetery, plot number R1652.



Her mourning card states that Emily was 68 years at the time of her death and she was buried in Tower Hamlet Cemetery in Bow – Grave 1652R. The record above confirms the information found on the mourning card.

But that isn’t the end of Emily’ story or indeed the Butterworth story.

We finish with a family legend, as told by my cousin Eleanor:

“Your ancestors, the Butterworths, owned cotton mills in Lancashire, the mills were passed down the family.
Your 3 x Great-grandfather Butterworth was the next in line to inherit the mills and the money (the family was quite rich), but he refused to travel to Lancashire because he was afraid of highway men. In the end the
mills were sold to Coates. A 3 x Great Aunt was so annoyed she burnt all the birth and marriage certificates so that no one knew she was related to him.”

Below are a few images of what would have been a typical Lancashire Mill and somewhere that the Butterworths would have worked or even possibly owned if family folklore is true.







So is there any truth in this story? Or is someone spinning me a yarn?

By breaking this folklore down into a series of questions, I can at least point to the likelihood or probability of there being any truth in the story.

Is it true that our Butterworth ancestors were mainly from the north? Looking at the census returns for 1841, I was able to breakdown by County the locations of people with the surname Butterworth:

Lancashire: 5420 Yorkshire: 910 Cheshire 215 London: 263, all other counties had less than 50.

Is it likely that our Butterworth ancestors worked in cotton mills? A quick scan through the census records on ancestry, looking through the professions of the Butterworth’s of Lancashire, the majority worked in the cotton industry and the rest worked in agriculture. Although there is nothing scientific attached to this, the overall feeling is that if your name was Butterworth and you lived in Lancashire, the chances are that you worked at a Cotton Mill or worked the land.

Is it true that owners were rich? The cotton industry was certainly a wealthy industry for the Mill owners themselves The workers lived and worked in very poor conditions and it was an industry that was well known for abusing workers. To be wealthy you would have to own a mill or be involved in the manufacture and industrialisation of mills.

Did the Butterworth Family own mills? There are numerous references to Butterworths owning mills in Lancashire in newspapers, here are just a couple of examples:

15th September 1849 – Preston Chronicle – Preston, Lancashire, England



31st January 1835 – Preston Chronicle – Preston, Lancashire, England



However, these articles do not necessarily refer to my direct ancestors and there is a lot more to explore here before we can stake any claim to owning any mills.

Is it possible that my 3 x great grandfather would have inherited cotton mills? The 3 x great grandfather mentioned in the story was Charles Richard Butterworth, Emily’s father. We already know that he was a tailor and was born in St Georges in the East, so if he were due to inherit he would have had to have relocated over 200 miles away. However, we know that his father, James Butterworth, was a shop keeper (stated on Charles’ marriage certificate). We do not know for a fact that James was born in Middlesex, however this is extremely likely. There is a possibility that the story is correct, or it’s at least based on some elements of the truth, but that it actually refers to the generation before. With so few Butterworths in Middlesex in 1841 it is likely James was the first of the family to arrive, and possible that he came from the north. Charles grandfather may have been the one to hand the mill down the family, all supposition and conjecture of course.

The part of the story that refers to the burning of certificates does appear to be a strange reaction, what possible motive would my 3 x Great Aunt have to burn the certificates? Getting rid of the certificates does not rid someone of the family connection, particularly in a time when people were unable to read and write and wouldn’t have given much credence the existence of a certificate. As a point of reference, I do actually have a copy of Charles’ unburnt marriage certificate, he wouldn’t have had a birth certificate as he was born before Civil Registration began in 1837. So this is probably the hardest part of the story to reach any kind of a logical conclusion.

So where do I believe that the origins of this family story were weaved??? The family legend is most likely to have started here with Emily Butterworth, but if there is no substance to the story, what are the alternatives? The truth is beginning to loom that this tale was spun (puns intended) by William Tom Wootton, Emily’s son-in-law and my great-grandfather, who I know was a great story teller! However, there are too many coincidences to dismiss this story altogether. It is interesting that “Granny Wootton” belonged to the Coates Cotton Company.

So what is my own take on this family legend? I believe that the story has been confused over the years, as is the norm with these family folklores, and it wasn’t the certificates that were burnt, but the mill itself (see the story from the Preston Chronicle above). This event would have happened when Charles was 17 years old and would have prevented the mills (and possibly the wealth) being passed down the family………..but that’s a whole different story!!

[Lin Fisher]

William Bates born in 1821 Loughborough Leicestershire. He married Jane Dumelow in 1838 Nottingham. Was a tailor then and also on his daughter Lucy's marriage certificate. He died in 1906 Nottingham still a tailor.

[Jill on the A272]

Richard Harland, my husband's 8x great grandfather was a tailor in Lindfield, Sussex. Born in 1625, he is described as a tailor at his marriage during the Commonwealth on 22nd June 1655 at Lindfield to Susan Luxford daughter of George Luxford of Keymer. He also gets a mention in the diary of Rev Giles Moore of Horsted Keynes (the next parish) on 10th May 1666 when he made a cassock for 5 shillings and a waistcoat for 1s 3d. He also accompanied Moore to Lewes (about 13 miles away) and hired his horse to him. Once there, they dined at The Star and he also mended the Rev Moore's cloak, cape, cassock and stockings.

I've just seen the parish register for Richard & Susan's marriage, it was not in the church but at a house called Kenwards in Lindfield (still there, now known as Kenwards Farm) by Major Oglander. An Act of Parliament of 1653 gave Justices of the Peace authority to perform marriages. We walked out past the house last year as a public footpath runs nearby.

[julite]

My great grandfather, Thomas Lunn, was a tailor. He spent his whole life in Uttoxeter. The only information I have is based on bmd records and census details. His father, William Lun was also a tailor in Uttoxeter. I have no idea whether his birth father was a tailor - or who he was. Sadly, their needle skills failed to reach down to me.

[Jill on the A272]

Harry Somersall was a tailor in Horsham, Sussex in the reign of Elizabeth the first and was my husband's 13x great grandfather. He is described as a tailor on the baptism of one of his sons in 1573.

He married in 1557 and appears in the parish register twice on 1556 as godfather to Henry Fuller and Alys Myles. He had eleven children between 1558 and 1576 with his wife Agnes, and died in 1594, the parish register says he was "an aged man". His will (under the name Henry Somsall) names three sons and four daughters as well as some infant grandchildren (who were left various pieces of pewter.)

[Anne in Carlisle]

Wow! How lucky to get records so far back. So far, all mine have petered out at the Civil War and even wills are too vague or too common a name to be sure they relate to my people.
I do have plenty of tailors though!
Anne

[Jill on the A272]

Anne in Carlisle I have made several breakthroughs since Ancestry put Sussex wills online, there is a web of wills that confirm relationships which have been invaluable. There is one for an unrelated person in 1550 which mentions a tenant of a property in Horsham, Thomas Somersall a tailor who is a potential father of Henry though this is only conjecture.