Customs House Officer

[thomasalbertedward]

HOOPER, WILLIAM mmn SWIFT
GRO Reference: 1861 J Quarter in ISLINGTON Volume 01B Page 223

Name: William Hooper
Gender: Male
Record Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 27 Oct 1861
Baptism Place: Islington Holy Trinity, Islington, England
Father: William Hooper
Mother: Elizabeth Hooper
Father Custom officer clerk

And that's another son, yes

[thomasalbertedward]

I think there are too many William Hoopers now?

The one to Elizabeth must be the one I found before post 30 https://www.ancestry.com/interactive..._140_142-0360? from Barbados, he too was a civil servant.

There seems to be a William gas fitter and mechanic also, married to Jessie -

but was she then with James Wilat Hooper - A William Hoopers brother.....and in 1911 she is declared as an aunt, so then would mean she was Williams wife. son of tobacconist, so maybe aunt in 1901 just not clear on census.


Wow think there is unravelling to be done.

The man you found before post 30 is a gentleman called William Lundin Hooper, who married a lady called Elizabeth Sarah Mollons - he worked for Inland Revenue and had a father called Christopher Hooper - not related to "our" Hoopers as far as I can tell - much further up the social ladder

"Our" William was both a customs officer at one time and a mechanic/gasfitter and also clerk for a gas company later in life. I'm still unravelling this morning

[thomasalbertedward]

The 1861 baptism of William Hooper s/o William (Custom Officer Clerk) & Elizabeth at post #77 also gave the address of 27 Albert Street, so we can be confident that this is the same couple.

Absolutely right

[cbcarolyn]

look forward to an update after lots of unravelling. 1891 seems to be a problem with him as a gas fitter with Jessie and with Ellen as a retired customs officer, but guess he may have been living a double life.

Just like Mrs Wilson, a recent true story that was on BBC recently!

[teasie]

Just double-checked, and the address given on the probate for the William Hooper who died 23 April 1895 with Administration to John Willats Hooper was 10 All Saint's Street, Caledonian Road, King's Cross, Middlesex.

In 1891 William Hooper, Retired Customs House Officer, was living at 10 All Saint's Street, Islington with Ellen.

Most of the addresses for William centre around the Barnsbury area of Islington, which is very close to King's Cross, so I think we can safely say that the 1895 death is him, and that he was connected to John Willats Hooper of Reading, who then married his widow, Jessie

Odd that despite having so many children, he and Jessie don't seem to have had any.

[cbcarolyn]

Jessie is down as Aunt in 1911, so wondering if they didn't marry.

Maybe he just couldn't spare the time with Jessie for children....with all his other activities

Shame these records are only viewable in person - http://discovery.nationalarchives.go...ils/r/C9972399

[cbcarolyn]

what profession has he put on the marriage to Jessie? I can't make it out?

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/1623/31280_197773-00441/3266529?

[teasie]

Jessie and John Hooper married Jul-Sep 1896, Islington, Vol 1b Page 811. The other two names on that page are Emily May Challis & Henry Tompkins, and Ive found them together in later census.

I think the occupation on the marriage to Jessie is mechanic, but it's very fuzzy.

[cbcarolyn]

Doh I am being silly - he is the sons aunt and in fact his step mother, sorry.

[cbcarolyn]

and on a bit of a tangent...I see that John married Jessies sister first....

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/1623/31280_197205-00286?

Name: Emily Elizabeth Graham
Gender: Female
Record Type: Marriage
Marriage Date: 25 Jun 1867
Marriage Place: St Mary, Islington, Islington, England
Father: William Graham
Spouse: John Willats Hooper
Register Type: Parish Register

With all that was going on - I just can't imagine what Christmas was like......

[cbcarolyn]

I thought I had seen a son

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/7619/LNDRG10_269_272-0164?

Name: Edwin G Hooper
Age: 9
Estimated birth year: abt 1862
Relation: Son
Father's name: William Hooper
Mother's name: Jessie Hooper
Gender: Male
Where born: Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England
Civil Parish: Islington St Clement
Ecclesiastical parish: St Clement
County/Island: London
Country: England
Registration district: Islington
Sub-registration district: Islington West
ED, institution, or vessel: 54
Household schedule number: 202
Piece: 269
Folio: 88
Page Number: 34
Household Members:
Name Age
William Hooper 28
Jessie Hooper 42
Edwin G Hooper 9


...Unusually not William

[thomasalbertedward]

I thought I had seen a son

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/7619/LNDRG10_269_272-0164?

Name: Edwin G Hooper
Age: 9
Estimated birth year: abt 1862
Relation: Son
Father's name: William Hooper
Mother's name: Jessie Hooper
Gender: Male
Where born: Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England
Civil Parish: Islington St Clement
Ecclesiastical parish: St Clement
County/Island: London
Country: England
Registration district: Islington
Sub-registration district: Islington West
ED, institution, or vessel: 54
Household schedule number: 202
Piece: 269
Folio: 88
Page Number: 34
Household Members:
Name Age
William Hooper 28
Jessie Hooper 42
Edwin G Hooper
...Unusually not William

Thank you for all the unravelling you have done yourself. All this help from you and the other forum members has been invaluable.

[teasie]

I thought I had seen a son

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/7619/LNDRG10_269_272-0164?

I don't think that this is William's son, as he was born c1862 whereas William & Jessie didn't marry until just before the 1871 census.

[cbcarolyn]

I couldn't decide, but worth noting. Guess the fact he is not named William might mean he isn't.

Another family name that cropped up (apart from Jessies sister being married to John before Jessie - and marrying within a month or so of her death!),

is that Mary Ann - Williams sister married a man that had her mothers maiden name in his name Wilat

Wonder how Thomas has done with charting this lot....must be a lot of lines involved!

[teasie]

Edwin married Jessie Roberts in Islington in 1886 as Edwin Graham. Address at marriage was 87 Cloudesley Road, Islington, which is where he & Jessie were living in 1881 when Jessie was shown as a widow.

I can't find a birth for him and I assume he was illegitimate, but at marriage he names his father as William Graham, Bookseller

[thomasalbertedward]

I don't think that this is William's son, as he was born c1862 whereas William & Jessie didn't marry until just before the 1871 census.

Hi, to be honest I'm not sure if he was William's son or not at this point - but it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was . In 1861/62 his defacto Caroline Townsend was pregnant with his daughter Emma who was her fourth child to William. Elizabeth Swift whom he had married bigamously in 1859 was pregnant with their son William Swift Hooper. I wouldn't be surprised if Edwin belonged to William as well - especially as he promptly deserted both Caroline and it seems Elizabeth - and probably set up house with Jessie, whilst still maintaining Ellen Thorne on the side here and there. The fact that he married Jessie - probably bigamously again - and his brother John married Jessie's sister Emily - not to mention John and Jessie getting married very hastily soon after both William and Emily had died - makes me think that there was a long-standing connection and Edwin may have been William's. It's only supposition too but Edwin was a printer by trade and when Edwin marries in 1886, he will list his father as “William Graham” and his occupation as a “book-seller “ - which looks like an amalgam of his father’s actual first name and an occupation related to Edwin’s own.

[thomasalbertedward]

I couldn't decide, but worth noting. Guess the fact he is not named William might mean he isn't.

Another family name that cropped up (apart from Jessies sister being married to John before Jessie - and marrying within a month or so of her death!),

is that Mary Ann - Williams sister married a man that had her mothers maiden name in his name Wilat

Wonder how Thomas has done with charting this lot....must be a lot of lines involved!

Hi

I think that William's sister Mary Ann married one of her cousins and the family emigrated to Victoria, Australia, but have to doublecheck that

[thomasalbertedward]

Hi everyone - autumn in the air here in Qld this morning

I'm still not having any luck finding what happened to Elizabeth Swift whom William "married" in 1859 and then their son William Swift Hooper born in Islington in 1861. There is another man called William Swift Hooper - born in 1838 and a successful estate agent - but he seems to have no connection to our lot at this point. Elizabeth Swift was from Buckinghamshire and an illiterate country girl - just like at least Caroline Townsend and Ellen Thorne.

[thomasalbertedward]

William - birth -
Name:
William Hooper
Gender:
Male
Baptism Date:
28 May 1829
Baptism Place:
Saint Giles,Reading,Berkshire,England
Father:
William Hooper
Mother:
Mary Ann Yard
FHL Film Number:
1040566

Note - father William is a tobacconist - he went bankrupt at one point - and Mary Ann Yard carried on the tobacconist business after her husband’s death in 1844. William’s grandfather John Hooper and grandmother Rebecca Skinner were also tobacconists.

On the 1841 census with parents and siblings:

Name
William Hooper
Age
12
Estimated Birth Year
abt 1829
Gender
Male
Where born
Berkshire, England
Civil parish
St Giles
Hundred
Reading Borough
County/Island
Berkshire
Country
England
Registration district
Reading
Sub-registration district
St Giles

Piece
34
Book
4
Folio
8
Page number
9
Household Members
Name Age
Name William Hooper
Age30
Name Mary Hooper
Age30
Name William Hooper
Age12
Name Mary Hooper
Age10
Name John Hooper
Age8
Name Peten Hooper
Age7
Name Martha Reading
Age30

In 1846 gets Lucy Webb pregnant? And adds to his age to marry her as they would both have been only 17. Only supposition, but did he take Lucy to London and start living a double life? The Hoopers were well-off and the Webbs were not and the marriage could well have been frowned on or forbidden. Lucy may have miscarried if pregnant, because I can’t find any subsequent birth that fits.

1851 - with mother and siblings - census says unmarried, but still may have had Lucy tucked away in London

Name
William Hooper
Age
21
Estimated Birth Year
abt 1830
Relation
Son
Mother's Name
Mary Ann Yard Hooper
Gender
Male
Where born
Reading, Berkshire, England
Civil parish
Reading St Giles
Ecclesiastical parish
St Giles
Phillimore Ecclesiastical Parish Maps
249
Town
Reading
County/Island
Berkshire
Country
England
Registration district
Reading
Sub-registration district
St Mary
ED, institution, or vessel
1l
Household schedule number
49
Piece
1692
Folio
662
Page number
10
Household Members
Name Age
Name Mary Ann Yard Hooper
Age46
Name William Hooper
Age21
Name Mary Ann Hooper
Age20
Name Peter Hooper
Age17
Name Alice Smith
Age17

No occupation given, but his mother is a “funded proprietor” so running the tobacco business and through that we assume William would have gotten contacts in the customs and excise department.

1851 - Caroline Townsend is also working as a servant in Reading.

Birth of daughter with Lucy Webb -
Rebecca Webb Hooper
10/1851 Lambeth London

Death of Rebecca Webb Hooper -
Rebecca Webb Hooper
01/1853 Lambeth London

Don't know what happened to Lucy Webb - if anyone has any suggestions on how to track her down, that would be greatly appreciated.

Around this time, begins relationship with Caroline Townsend, brings her to London and fathers Caroline Townsend Hooper who dies young, George William and Henry.

In the late 1850’s begins relationship with Ellen Thorne and fathers William Steven Thorne, later Steven Hooper. Ellen Thorne comes to London and lives under the name Ellen Bailey, as per the 1861 census. William Steven is living in Kent with his maternal grandparents.

1859 - marries a lady called Elizabeth Swift. Lists his father as William Hooper tobacconist and his own occupation as Customs House Officer. children of the marriage William is claiming to be a widower, but there are no Lucy Hooper deaths of the right age in the right time frame, so I would say that poor old Lucy has been deserted.

1861 - Living in Islington with wife Elizabeth. No occupation listed which could give the idea that he was somewhat of an itinerant visitor.



Name:
William Hooper
Age:
32
Estimated birth year:
1829
Relation:
Head
Spouse's name:
Elizabeth Hooper
Gender:
Male
Where born:
Reading
Civil Parish:
Islington
Ecclesiastical parish:
All Saints
County/Island:
Middlesex
Country:
England
Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

View image
Registration district:
Islington
Sub-registration district:
Islington West
ED, institution, or vessel:
22
Neighbors:
View others on page
Household schedule number:
225
Piece:
128
Folio:
89
Page Number:
33
Household Members:
Name
Age
William Hooper
32
Elizabeth Hooper
23

Name:
William Hooper
Gender:
Male
Record Type:
Baptism
Baptism Date:
27 Oct 1861
Baptism Place:
Islington Holy Trinity, Islington, England
Father:
William Hooper
Mother:
Elizabeth Hooper

William gives his occupation as "customs house clerk." Again don't know what happened this son William and Elizabeth Swift - any ideas would be once again greatly appreciated.

At the end of 1861, William deserts Caroline Townsend who in 1862 gives birth to daughter Emma. William is listed as a tobacconist at her workhouse baptism - since tobacco was the family business.

Around this time William also seems to have taken up with a lady called Jessie Earle Graham and there was a son Edwin born in 1862.

Also in this time frame, he seems to have lost his nice lucrative customs and excise job. He becomes a gas-man and a clerk for a gas company.

During the 1860’s he fathers Ellen and Mary Jane with Ellen Thorne and just before the 1871 census, a little girl called Alice.

In 1871, just before the census, he also marries Jessie Earle Graham. On the marriage certificate he again claims to be a widower, but can’t find any matching death record for wife Elizabeth Swift, so we can assume that she too was deserted. John Willats Hooper, William’s brother, had married Jessie’s sister Emily Elizabeth Graham in 1867 and they had three children.

1871 census - Ellen and son Stephen and daughters, Ellen, Jane and Alice are living in one residence. William is living not far away with wife Jessie and son Edwin. He lists his occupation as mechanic which we can assume has something to do with the gas company.

1872 - daughter Alice dies of smallpox. Newspaper reports of the inquest state that William is a gasman.

1874 - birth of youngest son William. He is listed as an imbecile on the 1891 census and dies aged 21. Interestingly, William’s uncle Henry Hooper died in an asylum.

1881 - William on the census with Ellen and family, occupation given as “copying clerk.” Jessie living down the road with son Edwin. She describes herself as a widow and Edwin is using the name Graham. He is a printer. Interestingly again, when Edwin marries in 1886, he will list his father as “William Graham” and his occupation as a “book-seller “ - which looks like an amalgam of his father’s actual first name and an occupation related to Edwin’s own. Can speculate that at this point there has been an estrangement between Jessie and William that was later mended.

1891 - William makes the census twice. Once with Ellen and family as a “retired customs house officer”. Again, back with Jessie, as a retired gas fitter.


1895 - William dies. His money goes to his brother John - I suppose because he wasn’t legally married to Ellen and had fallen out with his son Edwin. We suppose Jessie was taken care of by the family - perhaps a little too well, because John’s wife Emily Elizabeth died in the June quarter of 1896 and John married Jessie a few months later. They were still together on the 1911 census and until they both died.

I love how daughter Ellen described her father’s occupation as a “gentleman” when she married in 1899.

[teasie]

I really don’t think that Edwin was William’s son. If he was then surely Edwin would have used the Hooper surname, but the only time he’s referred to by that is in the 1871 census immediately after William & Jessie’s marriage, and even then I suspect it’s an enumerators error as he’s Edwin G Hooper, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the original household form said Edwin Graham and the enumerator (wrongly) added Hooper when he copied it over. In 1881 he’s plain old Edwin Graham (Edwin was the name of Jessie’s twin brother who died as an infant).