Thomas Almond 1829 & Elizabeth Markham 1830

Thomas Almond
~Sawyer & Tanner of Great Easton & Leicester
&
Elizabeth Markham
~Dress Maker of Wilbarston & Leicester

THOMAS ALMOND born 1829 in Great Easton, Leicestershire &

ELIZABETH MARKHAM born in 1830 Wilbarston, Northamptonshire

Thomas Almond was born in 1829 in Great Easton, Leicestershire, the son of Amos and Jane Almond. He was baptised on the 5th April 1829 in Great Easton, this is a small village in the Harborough District of Leicestershire, close to the county border of Northamptonshire and Rutland. Like many families at the time he moved with his parents to the city of Leicester so his father could seek employment. In 1841 he is living in Junior Street, Leicester with his parents and four sisters, he is aged just twelve. Thomas became a Sawyer by trade, this is a wood worker involved in sawing wood.

His future wife Elizabeth Markham was born in Wilbarston. She was born in 1830, being baptised on the 19th September 1830, daughter of Mark Markham and Ann Harbutt. Wilbarston is just over the county border in Northamptonshire around five miles from Great Easton. The Almond family employed Elizabeth as a live in servant where she met their son Thomas.

Thomas married Elizabeth Markham on the 9th June 1851 in the parish church of All Saints, Leicester. You can see All Saints church on the picture above. They were living together in 1851 in Vauxhall Street, Leicester, these were considered to be among the poorest housing in the city, the housing in these areas have long been demolished because of their poor, dirty and cramped conditions. Although Leicester faired better then some British cities for the number of people per household, some inner city streets still had some poor housing right up to the 1930s when much of Leicester's worst housing was cleared. The Irish who flooded over after the potato famine in 1845-46 probably were living in some of the worst conditions, people of all ages and sexes cramped together in the lodging houses in the city. These pockets of Irish immigrants became notorious for sickness and poverty. Crime and racial tensions produced gang-fighting with the locals and between themselves.

Thomas & Elizabeth had four children, you can see these in the 1861 Census, named Emma, Mary, Ellen and Joseph. There seems to be a trend of the Almond men not living with their families or being a little irresponsible, wifes or grandparents seem to be left to look after the children. Maybe they were just so poor they struggled to provide for a family. Certainly Thomas becomes separated from his wife and children sometime between 1861 and 1871.

In 1871 Thomas was lodging without his family at 11 Causeway Lane, Leicester, In the 1871 Census his age is noted incorrectly, but i still believe this is Thomas, he is labouring in a wood-yard, his youngest children Joseph and Ellen have been taken in by their grandfather Amos.

In 1881 Thomas is lodging in East Bond Street and working as a Tanner, a person who tans or cures animal hides into leather. This was a smelly and unpleasant job because not only would they be dealing with the decaying smell of the animal hides but also the ammonia produced from the urine used in the process. This occupation is even mentioned in the bible as being the lowest of the low. References to the occupation of a tanner are found in Acts 9:43; 10:6,32. The Jews looked upon tanning as an undesirable occupation as it was accompanied with unpleasant odours and unattractive sights.

The job of producing leather from the animal hides could be a long process. The tanner received the animal hides and would usually put the owner’s mark at one end. Then the hide was then cleaned and to soften the hide the tanner would hit it with a mace. The hide then went through the process called liming, he would leave the hide in the liming solution made with lime and sulphide for days until the unwanted hair became loose. The tanner then flipped over the hide and scraped off any flesh with a fleshing knife. The tanner would then soak the animal hide in ooze, this was made of ground-up bark and water and it stopped hides from rotting. In the final process the tanner washed and stretched the leather, making sure it was brown and smooth for the craftsmen to take and produce the leather goods such as shoes.

Thomas appears to have various spells in Leicester workhouse. He is first admitted on the 8th May 1890 due to illness, he is noted as a Sawyer and living in the All Saints Parish, aged 60, he discharges himself on the 9th August 1890. He next enters the workhouse on the 22nd Feb 1894, still noted as a Sawyer but in the parish of St Margarets, age 66. He is discharged on the 14th March 1895 by his own request. On the next visit he is admitted on the 25th January 1897 due to illness, still noted as a Sawyer and now aged 71. Discharged on the 10th June 1897 by his own request. There are possible visits to the workhouse in 1898 & 1899, I have found the discharge dates but not the matching admission dates, there is also another Thomas Almond in the Leicester workhouse around the same time which complicates the picture, he was a Collier who is in Leicester workhouse on the 14th July 1897. The last record I definitely know of for my Thomas is an admission on the 9th July 1900 due to illness and is aged 73, I am not sure if he now stays in permanently until his demise in 1905 as I do not see another discharge record.

Over the next few years there are few records that definitely show where Elizabeth is, who disappears until her death was registered in 1897. Thomas appears to have spent his last years in and out of the workhouse as detailed above. Elizabeth died on the 23rd March 1897, age 66 and Thomas died on the 26th of July 1905 in the workhouse at Leicester, aged 71. You will note how ages fluctuate over the different records taken, a common issue and problem for the family historian !

Elizabeth was buried on the 27th March 1897 at Welford Road Cemetery. Her son Joseph spent his last days in the Leicester Asylum and had died two days before Elizabeth on the 21st March, difficult to know whether Elizabeth was aware of this or if this affected her illness. She is buried on the same row as Joseph at Welford Road Cemetery but they are placed in a different common graves.

Thomas Almond is buried in a different cemetery entirely, he is buried at Gilroes Cemetery as it is a later date. He died aged 71 in the workhouse and was buried on the 28th July 1905. Gilroes opened in 1902 and took over as Leicester's main burial place and crematorium and has more than 130,000 burials currently. The older Welford Road site was opened in 1849 and is still in use today for families who own existing plots, It is more than 12 hectares in size with around 10,000 headstones and 35,000 graves. The Welford Road site affectively stopped being a site for new burials when the existing plots were bought by the Polish population who were now living in the Britain after the war.

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THOMAS ALMOND born 1829 in Great Easton, Leicestershire

Baptism. Thomas Almond, 5 April 1829, Great Easton, Leicestershire

Son of Amos & Jane Almond

Father - Labourer

Census 1841. Thomas Almond Age 12

Address - Junior Street, Leicester

Parish - All Saints

Living With Amos Almond(35) - Ag Lab

& Jane Almond(40), Mary(20), Eliza(15), Emily(6) & Maria(1)

All born in Leicestershire.

Census 1851. Thomas Almond Age 22

Born - Great Easton

Address - Vauxhall Street, Leicester

Parish - All Saints

Living With Father Amos Almond (46)

Mother Jane Almond (42)

Sister's Eliza Almond (24) & Maria Almond (11)

Future Wife Elizabeth Markham (20)

Married. 9 June 1851 Thomas Almond Age 22. Sawyer

Residence - Vauxhall Street, Leicester

Father - Amos Almond. Labourer

to Elizabeth Markham Age 21

Residence - Vauxhall Street, Leicester

Spouse's Father - Mark Markham. Shoe Maker

in the Parish Church of All Saints, Leicester

Signed by Thomas Almond and marked by Elizabeth Markham

Presence of - Signed by William Markham & Marked by Elizabeth Almond

Baptism. Daughter. Emily Almond, 9 Sept 1853, Vauxhall Street, Leic.

Son of Thomas & Elizabeth Almond

Father - Sawyer

Noted on Son Joseph's Birth Certificate 27th December 1858.

9 Vauxhall Street, Leicester.

Father - Thomas Almond. Occupation - Sawyer.

Mother - Elizabeth Almond formally Markham.

Registered Thirtieth December 1858.

Marked by Elizabeth Mother.

Census 1861. Thomas Almond - Head. Age 32. Profession - Sawyer.

Born - Great Easton

Address - 28 Northumberland Street, Leicester

Parish - St Margaret

Living With Wife - Elizabeth Almond Age 30

Profession - Dress Maker.

Born - Wilbarston, Northamptonshire

Daughters Emma Almond (8) - Scholar. Born - Leicester

Mary J Almond (6) - Scholar. Born - Loughborough

Ellen Almond (4). Born - Leicester

Son Joseph Almond (2). Born - Leicester

Border Amtrose Hayfield (60) - Hosiery Spinner. Born - Leicester.

Noted on Son's Marriage Certificate -3 April 1877

in the Parish Church of St Martin.

Thomas Almond. Occupation - Sawyer

Census 1871 Thomas Almond. Lodger. Age 32.

Profession - Labourer (Woodyard). Born - Great Easton.

Address - 11 Causeway Lane, Leicester

Parish - All Saints

Lodging With James Burdett & Family.

Census 1881. Thomas Almond. Lodger. Age 50. Profession - Tanner.

Born - Great Easton

Address - 31 East Bond Street, Leicester

Parish - All Saints

Lodging With Samuel Barnes & Family.

Workhouse Records

- Admissions 17358 08-May-1890 Sawyer All Saints Age 60

Church of England illness

G/12/60/6

- Discharged 18021 09-August-1890 Left - Own Request

G/12/60/6

Workhouse Records

- Admissions 24577 22-Feb-1894 Sawyer St Margarets Age 66

Church of England None

G/12/60/7

- Discharged 26956 14-March-1895 Left - Own Request

G/12/60/8

Workhouse Records

- Admissions 31657 25-Jan-1897 Sawyer Leicester Age 71

Church of England Reason illness

G/12/60/9

- Discharged 32466 10-Jun-1897 Left - Own Request

G/12/60/9

Workhouse Records

- Discharged 35611 25-Jul-1898 Thomas Almond Own Request

G/12/60/10

- Discharged 38159 04-Jul-1899 Thomas Almond Own Request

G/12/60/11

Workhouse Records

- Admissions 40840 09-Jul-1900 Thomas Almond Sawyer

Leicester Age 73 Church of England Reason illness

G/12/60/12

Thomas Almond Died 26 July 1905. Age 71 years

Registration District : Leicester

Sub-District : North East Leicester

Where : The Workhouse Infirmary, Leicester

Occupation : Formerly Sawyer of Leicester

Cause : Senile Decay

Informant : F Lambert, Master, the Workhouse, Leicester

Registered : 27 July 1905.

Buried. 28 July 1905 Gilroes Cemetery. Thomas Almond. Age 71.

Abode - Workhouse Leicester

Section:Z Burial No:982 Folio:243 Number:2449

Children of THOMAS ALMOND and ELIZABETH MARKHAM are:

i. EMILY (EMMA) ALMOND

b Abt 1853, Leicester

bap 9 Sept 1853, Leicester

ii. MARY J ALMOND

b Abt 1855, Loughborough, Leics

iii. ELLEN ALMOND

b Jul - Sep 1856, Leicester

m John Facer 17 May 1875 St Pauls, Leicester

d Jul - Sep 1887, Leicester. Ellen Facer

iv. JOSEPH ALMOND

b 27 December 1858, Leicester

m 3 Apr 1877 to Sarah Ann Screaton. St Martins, Leicester

d 26 March 1897, Leicester

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ELIZABETH MARKHAM born 1830 in Wilbarston, Northamptonshire

Baptism. Elizabeth Markham, 19 Sep 1830, Wilbarston

Son of Mark & Ann Markham

Father - Shoemaker

Census 1841. Elizabeth Markham - Age 11

Address - Wilbarston North, Northamptonshire

Hundred - Corby

Living With Mark Markham (55) - Shoem

Mary Markham (20)

Joseph Markham (15) - Butcher

Mary Markham (65)

Census 1851. Elizabeth Markham - Age 20

Born - Wilbarston, Northamptonshire

Address - Vauxhall Street, Leicester

Parish - All Saints

Living With Future Husband Thomas Almond (22)

Thomas's Father Amos Almond (46) & Mother Mary Almond (42)

Thomas's Sister's Eliza Almond (24) & Maria Almond (11)

Married. 9 June 1851 Thomas Almond Age 22. Sawyer

Residence - Vauxhall Street, Leicester

Father - Amos Almond. Labourer

to Elizabeth Markham Age 21

Residence - Vauxhall Street, Leicester

Spouse's Father - Mark Markham. Shoe Maker

in the Parish Church of All Saints, Leicester

Signed by Thomas Almond and marked by Elizabeth Markham

Presence of - Signed by William Markham & Marked by Elizabeth Almond

Baptism. Daughter. Emily Almond, 9 Sept 1853, Vauxhall Street, Leic.

Son of Thomas & Elizabeth Almond

Father - Sawyer

Noted on Son Joseph's Birth Certificate 27th December 1858.

9 Vauxhall Street, Leicester.

Father - Thomas Almond. Occupation - Sawyer.

Mother - Elizabeth Almond formally Markham.

Registered Thirtieth December 1858.

Marked by Elizabeth Mother.

Census 1861. Elizabeth Almond - Age 30. Profession - Dress Maker.

Born - Wilbarston, Northamptonshire

Address - 28 Northumberland Street, Leicester

Parish - St Margaret

Living With Husband Thomas Almond (32) - Head.

Profession - Sawyer. Born - Great Easton

Daughters Emma Almond (8) - Scholar. Born - Leicester

Mary J Almond (6) - Scholar. Born - Loughborough

Ellen Almond (4). Born - Leicester

Son Joseph Almond (2). Born - Leicester

Border Amtrose Hayfield (60) - Hosiery Spinner. Born - Leicester.

Elizabeth Almond Died 23 March 1897. Age 66

Registration District : Leicester

Sub-District : South Leicester

Where : 27 Regent Road, Leicester

Occupation : Wife of Thomas Almond Sawyer

Cause : Pneumonia Bronchitis

Informant :Emily Bannal, Niece, Present at the Death,

9 Albion Hill, Leicester

Registered : 24 March 1897.

Buried. 27 March 1897 Welford Road Cemetery.

Elizabeth Almond. Age 66.

Abode - Regent Road Leicester

Burial No:39749 Plot:2465 Section:cN Consecrated.

Children of THOMAS ALMOND and ELIZABETH MARKHAM are:

i. EMILY (EMMA) ALMOND

b Abt 1853, Leicester

bap 9 Sept 1853, Leicester

ii. MARY J ALMOND

b Abt 1855, Loughborough, Leics

iii. ELLEN ALMOND

b Jul - Sep 1856, Leicester

m John Facer 17 May 1875 St Pauls, Leicester

d Jul - Sep 1887, Leicester. Ellen Facer

iv. JOSEPH ALMOND

b 27 December 1858, Leicester

m 3 Apr 1877 to Sarah Ann Screaton. St Martins, Leicester

d 26 March 1897, Leicester

Go to associated images - Thomas Almond (1829) & Elizabeth Markham (1830)

Go to Thomas & Elizabeth's Son - Joseph Almond (1858) & Sarah Ann Screaton (1859)

Go to Thomas's Parents - Amos Almond (1806) and Jane Bennet (1799)

Go to Elizabeth's Parents - Mark Markham (1796) & Ann Harbutt (1794)

Go to the Almond descendants home page