Mary Ann Whiting 1870-1947?

Parents: William Whiting and Elizabeth Jacobs (1,2)
Born: 5th August 1870 in Withersfield (1,7)
Baptised: 25th December 1872 at St Mary's Church, Withersfield (2)
Married: John Everett Thompson, 26, batchelor, machinist of 8 St Stephens Road, Enfield Wash, son of Henry Everett Thompson, bricklayer, on 25th May 1896 at St James' Church, Enfield. Witnessed by James William Brown and Thomas Redburn.(3,4)
Children: Ethel Emma Thompson b.1902
Died: 3rd Quarter of 1947 in Edmonton district? (8)

Bio: Mary Ann was born in Withersfield in 1870 and baptised along with her brother George on Christmas day 1872.

We see her first on the 1871 census, living in Withersfield with her parents William, a labourer, Elizabeth and siblings John, Susan, Samuel, Sarah, and George.

She stays at home for the next census, where she is at school and still living in Withersfield with her parents and siblings.

Again, on the 1891 census she is to be found living at home with her now widowed mother and siblings Caroline, George, Charles and William. She is working as a hair brush weaver.

She was to meet John Everitt Thompson, a machinist, and they were married in 1896.

John was also from Withersfield, so she would likely have known him and his family from childhood. His parents were Henry Everett Thompson and Eliza Webb.

At some point around this time Mary Ann moved down to London. As her older sister Sarah was a lodging house keeper in the City, this may well have influenced her decision.

At the time she was married she is shown to be living a 8 St Stephens Road, Enfield Wash

On the 1901 census, Mary Ann is shown visiting her sisters lodging house at 62 Albert Street, Regents Park. Also visiting is Edith Darkin, 15, who was the illegitimate daughter of their sister Susan who had since married Fred Darkin.

The 1911 census finds Mary Ann and John have relocated to Waltham Cross, and are living at Primrose Villa, Gilbert Street. John is a gun machinist working at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield. They now have a daughter, Ethel Emma, who was born in 1902 in Withersfield. The implication is that John and Mary Ann returned to live in Withersfield at some point after the 1901 census, but Ethel Emma's birth is registered in Edmonton, so it is likely the couple returned here shortly after. Mary Ann had three other children who had died before the latter census.

Daughter Ethel Emma Thompson married a fitter, Henry Alfred Seymour Revell on 27th January 1923 at St George's Church, Waltham Cross.

Her father is confirmed as John Thompson, and is said to be a filer at R.S.A.F (Royal Small Arms Factory). He is a witness to the marriage, and the home address given by Ethel is also the household of her parents; 46 Rotherfield Road, Enfield. (5,6)

The 1939 Register shows John and Mary Ann living at 46 Rotherfield Road, Enfield, with Peter Revell, 15, a greengrocers shop assistant who is presumably their grandson. John is shown to be a retired capstan lathe hand.(7)

Electoral Registers reveal John and Mary Ann lived at 46 Rotherfield Road, Enfield, certainly from 1920 until 1946 which is the last year that Mary Ann appears at this address. The implication is that she died in 1946/7 and could be the Mary A L Thompson whose death is recorded in the Edmonton district in 1947 at the age of 76(8). John remained at 46 Rotherfield Road up until 1954, but it is not clear exactly when he died.

Sources:

(1) Birth Register. 3rd Quarter 1870, Risbridge District, Volume 4a Page 414
(2) Suffolk Records Office, Bury St Edmunds, Parish Registers of St Mary's Church, Withersfield. Fiche 653/4/3
(3) Marriage Register. 2nd Quarter 1896, Edmonton District, Volume 3a Page 514
(4) London Metropolitan Archives, Saint James, Enfield Highway, Register of marriages, DRO/054, Item 020.
(5) London Metropolitan Archives; St George, Enfield, London, England; Register of marriages: DRO/192/A/02/003.
(6) London Electoral Registers, 1832-1965, Enfield, Polling District F. 46 Rotherfield Road. Ancestry.co.uk
(7) 1939 Register, Ref: RG101/0753E/013/19, www.findmypast.co.uk
(8) Death Register. 3rd Quarter 1947, Edmonton District, Volume 5e Page 217