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The Workman surname is mainly found in Gloucestershire and seems to have originated there. Initially its meaning may seem obvious but workmen in the past were usually called labourers and if the name had originally been given to someone because he was a labourer we would expect the same name to have come from many parts of the country. One surname dictionary suggested that it originated in a foreign or Old English word ‘verk’ meaning ambidextrous but if this was so why was it only found in this part of the country. I have not found an explanation for the name being so localised - the only possibilities I can think of are that it was from a local dialect word, perhaps labourers were called workmen in this area, it was derived from a foreign word or name perhaps from someone coming off a ship at Bristol, or it was based on a local, long forgotten place name - but all of these are just guesses.
Our Workman family always lived at Cam and Coaley, near Dursley, back to the earliest known member, George Workman, who married Elizabeth Gabb at Coaley in 1771.
I only have basic information for the first three known generations of the Workmans which can best be given in a tree. There is also some basic information about the Cordy ancestors who married an early Workman but I haven’t checked this information and there are significant gaps in it so problems could be found with this in the future.
Charles CORDY = Bridget
b~1695 } b~1692
d 1774, 9 Aug, Cam } d/i 1779,
} 14 Sep, Cam
William Ann John = Sarah
CORDY = COX MILLARD } HIGHWAY
b~1744 } ~ 1720 } (4)(4)
m 1742, 23 Nov m 1742, 22 Apr
North Nibley, Glos } (4)
d 1779, 5 May} d 18 Jun 1781 } (4)
i Cam } i Cam } (4)(4)
George Elizabeth Charles CORDY = Sarah MILLARD
WORKMAN = GABB }
} x 1747/6 17 Mar } b~1745 (4)
} Coaley, Glos m 1768, 5 Dec, Cam (4)(4)
m 1771, 22 Apr, Coaley ________________}
} }
______}________________________________________________________________________
| } | | | |
Elizabeth Jesse WORKMAN Eleanor Hester Gabb George Jane Ann
WORKMAN = CORDY WORKMAN WORKMAN WORKMAN WORKMAN
x 1774, x 1776, 2 Aug } x 1780 x 1782 x 1786, x 1790 (4)
30 Jun Coaley } 23 May 25 Aug 31 Dec 26 Apr (all 4)
Coaley m 1798, 10 Mar Coaley Coaley Coaley Coaley
St Nicholas, Gloucester4
_________________________}_______________________________________
| | } | | |
Eliza/ David Ellis Esther George Ann/ Henry Hannah
Elizabeth = SMITH =Hannah
} | RUDGE
x 1799 x 1801 x 1803,}b1804/6 x 1807 | x 1810 x 1812
6 Feb 23 Mar 18/10,Oct} Cam 29 May | 29 Jun 31 Jul (2)
Cam } | unmarried (4 2)
m 1825, 4 Oct Cam | |
Sources: 1 =Parish Registers, 2 =Census, 4 =Genealogical Index (IGI)
[sources IGI, Trees from Harry Workman and Sue Lawn]
Of the last of these generations we begin to know a bit more. Ellis lived at The Quarry, near Cam, South Gloucestershire. George married and moved to Barton St Mary, a parish in Gloucester around Barton Street. Hannah doesn’t seem to have married but seems to have had two daughters and lived at The Quarry most of her life. I do not have any information on the other three children.
The following sections cover these children and their families, starting with the younger two, George and Hannah, as there is less information on them, and then Ellis, our branch of the family.
George was christened at Cam on the 29th of May 1807, the fourth child of Jesse and Eleanor that we know of and the next child after Ellis. He married Ann or Hannah Rudge and I know from a later census that he had a son, David, born around 1828 in Cam but I don’t know the date of the marriage so this could be a son from a previous marriage. He moved to Cheltenham where Mary Ann was born around 1840 and by 1845 he was living at Barton St Mary which is now the area around Barton Street in the centre of Gloucester. [sl]
The article on James Workman (below) mentions three cousins killed on the railway - could they have been some of George’s family?
The tree summarises the details I have on his descendants
George WORKMAN = Ann /Hannah RUDGE (2)(3)
|
x 1807, 29 May, Cam | b ~1805/6, Cam (1)(2)
|
_____________________________________|_____________________________________
| | | | |
David Mary Ann George Henry =Harriet Elizabeth ESTCOURT Alice (2)(2)(2)(3)(2)
b 1828/9 b 1840/1 b 1845/6 b 1846 | b ~1848 b 1848/9 (2)(2)
Cam Cheltenham Barton St Mary 29 Mar | Gloucester (2)(3)
______________________________________|__________________________________
| | | | | |
Ellen Annie George Florence Ernest Henry James Henry Kate S
Harriet Elizabeth William Minnie = HURCUM
b~1870 b~1872 b~1874 b~1876 | b 1875, 28 Mar b~1878 b~1881
| m 1896, 25 Dec
___________________________| d 1918/20 | d 1954, 16 Apr
| ___________________________________|_________________________________
| | | | | | | | | |
Eileen* Ellen Frank Ernest Frederick Enid Charles Clarice Rose Gladys
HURCUM HURCUM Lesley Henry = Mabel Lucille Estcourt HURCUM
=Edith/ =Gladys PEGLEY =Victor =Lily = Roy = Stan
Emily H BALDWIN | WADE WOODMAN IRISH WALLIS
b~1910 b5 Sep b6 Feb| b Aug| b1907| b1909|b1908 b23 Jun | b 6 Sep
d 1970/1 | | 12 Feb| 4 Apr|8 Jun m 1935 | m
m 1936, 7 Nov | | m 1961,3 Apr | |______
___________________| d~1980|d~1980 | d 1978|d 1978 |________ |
| ___________| _______| 28Jun|14 Feb | |
___|___ _______|______ |d W.W2 ________|___________ | |
| | | | | | | | | |
John Trevor Glynn Ivan David Nigel Marilyn Derrick Douglas Warner dau
Ann HURCUM= LAWN Clive IRISH =
b 1937, | b 1927 Swedish
12 Aug | 26 Aug doctor
m 1961, 3 Apr d 1993
__________|___________________
| |
Susan Sean Thomas Wendy
Ann - Owen HORAN Sarah
b 1971, 6 Apr | b 1971, 7 Apr b 1973, 17 Jan
_________|_________
| |
Jamie Christy Ashleigh Ann
b 1993, 21 Apr b 1995, 8 Mar
Sources - Family members except -
1 = Parish Registers/Birth/Marriage/Death Certificates
2 = Census 3 = Family [sl / other?] 4 = Genealogical Index (IGI)
* = There seems to be an error here with Eileen HURCUM being daughter of a WORKMAN
Hannah was the sixth and last child of Jesse and Eleanor as far as we know. She was christened at Cam on the 31st of July 1812 [igi] and from the census returns she lived around the Dursley and Cam area most of her life.
I have not found her in the 1841 census but in the 1851 census she is part of a household in Cam that is difficult to interpret. Usually the first entry in a house is marked as the ‘Head’ but in this case the first entry is a William Price who is described as ‘Occupier’ - whether this has a particular meaning in census returns I do not know. He was unmarried, aged 31 and described as a Mariner Journeyman - Journeyman usually means that the person was employed on a day by day basis - how this would work for someone who lived some distance in land I am not sure. Hannah is the next person listed and is described as ‘Resident’ unmarried and a Milliner aged 38. The other two people in the house were Eliza A Workman and Jane L Workman aged 9 and 6, both scholars. Once again the entry for ‘Relationship to Head of Household’ is odd presumably because William Price is not listed as the head of the household - Eliza and Jane are clearly stated to be daughters of Hannah. So Hannah was an unmarried mother, probably a stigma in those days, and living in the same household as a single man though with no way of telling whether there was any particular connection with him.
In 1861 Hannah is at Rowley in Cam which may be a house name. She is listed as Head of the household aged 49 and now a Laundress. The other person in the house is William Price again, now listed as Boarder and his occupation as Sailor. I have not found Eliza but there is a Louisa Jane Workman aged 17 who is a housemaid at a house in Long Street, Dursley. It is only a guess that this is Hannah’s younger daughter; she seems to have swapped her two names around but I have come across this with other people. The household she is in consists of 4 unmarried sisters aged between 43 and 35, who are described as Landed Proprietors, and a Cook, aged 67.
In the 1871 census Hannah is still at Rowley and is now living on her own. She is described as a housekeeper - I don’t know if this means that she looks after her own house or other peoples houses. However in 1881 we have the reverse of 20 years before. William Price is now listed as Head of the household, aged 62, still unmarried and a Mariner. Hannah now says she is 70 and is still listed as Housekeeper. Perhaps William was away working in the 1871 census. They are now living at Railway Terrace which could mean that they have moved or that the houses have been renamed.
In 1891 Hannah is once again on her own and living at Rowley where she has four rooms (some additional information that this census gives). She is described as employed but I do not have an occupation for her.
I don’t have any more information on Hannah.
Ellis was christened in Cam parish on the 18th October 1803 [igi] and he married Esther Smith (later Hester in census returns) at the same place on the 4th of October 1825 [igi] They had eight children that we know of, born between 1828 and 1847, though 2 died young, and lived at The Quarry, a hamlet about a mile west of Cam village.
Ellis WORKMAN = Esther SMITH
|
x 1803, 18/10 Oct, Cam | b 1804/6, Cam (4)(2)
m 1825, 4 Oct, Cam
Weaver, Gardener, Husbandman | (2)
|
______________________________|_________________________________
| | | | | | | |
Mary Ezra James Martha Samuel Thomas Thomas James (3)
Caroline
b 1826 b 1828 b 1833 b 1831 b 1836 b~1837 b 1843 b 1847 (2)
14 Jul 11 Jan 17 Dec (3)
Cam Cam Cam Cam Cam Cam (2)(2)(2)(2)(2)(2)
d<1841 d<1843 (2)(2)
Sources - 2 = Census 3 = Family 4 = Genealogical Index (IGI) ([ca])
In the 1841 census, Ellis is a Weaver and they have 5 children at home. They may have had a son called James who was born in 1833 who had died before this census [ca]. The youngest child in the 1841 census, Thomas, must have died within the next 2 years as another son called Thomas was born in 1843. Their last son, James was born in 1847. By the 1851 census Mary and Martha had left home but were not yet married and the four surviving boys were still at home. The two eldest boys were both agricultural labourers, Thomas, aged 8, was described as a keeper of sheep with the youngest, James aged 4, a scholar. Ellis is variously described as a Gardener and Husbandman in subsequent census returns and they continued to live at The Quarry all their lives as far as we know [5].
I do not know when the family became non-conformists - Ellis and the earlier generations had married and been christened in the Coaley and Cam parish churches. The first connection to a non-conformist church that I know of is the marriage at Dursley Tabernacle in 1855 of their eldest daughter, Mary, to Alpheus Malpass, who seems to have been a next door neighbour [5].
I only have the census returns taken every ten years from 1841, onwards to tell where people lived so during those ten year gaps the families could have moved out and back into the area. According to these census returns the Malpass family had been close neighbours of the Workmans for many years though Mary had not been in Cam at the 1851 census. In the census after their marriage, in 1861, Alpheus and Mary still lived close to her parents and very near, possibly next door to, his parents, Richard and Martha Malpass who had a daughter, Augusta, and a grand daughter at home.
By 1861 Ezra, the eldest son of Ellis and Esther, was married to Mary and living very close to his parents and the next son, Samuel, was married to Mary Ann, having a son, George, one year old and living very close to his sister Mary Malpass. The remaining two sons, Thomas and James were still at home while their daughter, Martha, was at her sisters, Mary, described as a visitor - A very close family, as they continued to be.
All the Workmans worked as gardeners or seedmen except for James who was on the railway. Richard Malpass was a weaver and Alphaus a shoe maker.
In 1863 Samuel’s wife died aged 24, a month after the death of their daughter who was 10 months old. By 1864 he had married Augusta Malpass, sister of Alpheus. [ca, 5]
At about this time Thomas Workman married Ellen Priscilla and sometime during this decade Martha married William Phelps. The last son, James, who had moved to Leicester, married Emily Morgan in 1868 sometime afterwards moving back to Gloucester making them the only family members not in the immediate vicinity at the 1871 census.
By 1871 Ellis and Hester (as she now seems to be called) are alone but with Martha and William Phelps next door or close neighbours. Not far away and still at The Quarry, Samuel and Thomas are living next door to each other with their families and close to Alpheus Malpass. His wife, Mary, was not at home in the census - I do not know where she was. His parents Richard and Martha are no longer there, presumably deceased. Ezra has taken up farming a little distance away but still in Cam parish. By 1871 a Chapel is listed very close to the Workman and Malpass households - One source says they helped found it [nc, s2] while another says that it was founded in 1703 [nc].
Soon after this (1872 or 1873) James and Emily returned to The Quarry with their small family which grew in size during the following years, one of the few changes in the 1870’s. By 1881 Ellis and Hester are living with Alpheus and Mary where Ellis, aged 77, is described as deaf and imbecile. The families have grown so that they now have fifteen grandchildren living in the area and probably others that have left home. James’s family are living at The Leases, close to Box Cottage at The Quarry and is still growing.
Ellis died at The Quarry on the 8th of August 1883, two months before his 80th birthday and was buried at Quarry Chapel. Hester continued to live with Alpheus and outlived Ellis by more than 10 years, dying on the 30th of March 1895, aged 92.
This is all I have on Ellis and Esther. The following sections cover each of their children in order of age with more information on their families and descendants.
Mary was born on the 14th of July 1826 almost exactly nine months after Ellis and Esther married. She was with her parents at the The Quarry in 1841, aged 15, but in the 1851 census she was living in Dursley - I haven’t noted down where exactly or what she was doing On the 28th of May 1855 she married Alpheus Malpass at Dursley Tabernacle. They were neighbours in the 1841 census and had presumably known each other for a long time but as she was nearly 29 and he was 29 or 30 when they married it wasn’t something that they had rushed into.
Richard MALPASS = Martha
b 1795/6 ,Cam | b 1795/7 , Cam (2)(2)(2)(2)
_____________________________________|_____________________________
| | | | |
Alpheus Mary Caroline Augusta = Samuel Tryphina William Tabitha (2)(2)(2)(2)(2)
MALPASS = WORKMAN MALPASS WORKMAN MALPASS MALPASS MALPASS
x 1824, |b 1826,14 Jul b 1827/8 b 1826/31 b 1831/6 b 1831/6 (3)
20 Jun%,Cam | Cam Cam Cam (2)(2)(2)
m 1855, 28 May
Dursley Tabernacle3
d 1904,24 Dec |d 1914, 3 Feb (3)(3)
_______|_____________________________________________________________
| | | | |
James Alpheus Charles Stephen? Elizabeth William Ellis Lydia Jane (2)(2)
MALPASS MALPASS = HILL MALPASS MALPASS MALPASS (2)(2)(3)(2)
b 1858/9 b 1861,12 Jan, Cam |b 1858,29 Sep b 1862/3 b1865/6 b1867/8 (2)(2)(3)(2)
Cam m 1886, 2 Aug, Dursley Tabernacle Cam Cam Cam (2)(2)(2)(2)
Builder |
d 1932, 20 Feb | d 1932, 4 Nov (3)(3)
i Quarry Chapel | i Quarry Chapel
|_____________________________
| | |
Percy Benjamin Blanche Mary Emily Stephen Charles (3)
ASHWORTH = MALPAS MALPAS MALPAS (3)(3)(3)
b 1885,25 May, Hereford | b 1888, 14 Mar (3)(3)
m 1909, 31 May, Dursley Tabernacle3
Engineer, Draughtsman | Teacher
Inventor, Artist |
d 1975, 30 Apr ,Dursley | d 1967, 20 Jul (3)(3)
i Quarry Chapel | i Quarry Chapel
___________________|_______________________________________________
| | | | | |
David Ruth Helen Mary Leslie Naomi Hester Benjamin
William Emily Elizabeth Donald Dorothy John
ASHWORTH ASHWORTH ASHWORTH = ASHWORTH ASHWORTH ASHWORTH ASHWORTH
|(2nd Cousin)
b 1915,19 Oct |b 1916,24 Feb (3)
| Warminster3
m 1943, 24 Dec, Quarry Chapel, Cam3
Teacher | Civil Servant
|d 1964,18 Mar, Bristol3
__________________________|_________________________________
| | |
Carol Yvonne Imogen Christine Robert Stansfield Jonquil Tamar
ASHWORTH ASHWORTH = SMALLEY ASHWORTH
b 1945, 14 Feb b 1948, 16 Feb b 1943, 25 Feb b 1951, 31 Jul
Huddersfield Wombourne, Staffs Devizes, Wilts
m 1984, Dec, Stream Road Methodist
Kingswinford, West Midlands
Sources - 1 = Parish Registers/Birth/Marriage/Death Certificates
2 = Census 3 = Family 4 = Genealogical Index (IGI)
He was a shoe maker which sounds a lowly craft to us now but it was fairly widely practiced then and he looks successful in the photograph taken of him later in life where he looks a typical smart Victorian (though with a more cheerful face than most Victorians had in photographs).
According to the various census returns they lived close to both their parents and in later years Mary’s parents lived with them, her mother probably being there for over 10 years.
Alpheus died in 1904 and Mary lived on until 1914. [ca]
Although all the sons of Alpheus and Mary seem to have moved out of the parish in the 1891 census returns the family tree shows this branch of the family continued in, or connected to, the Dursley area for a century.
Only basic information is known about Ezra. He was born in 1828 and married Mary between the 1851 and 1861 census returns. She was about 7 years younger than him and was born at Dursley; they did not have any children. He was listed as an agricultural labourer in 1851 and just labourer in 1861. In 1861 they were living very close to his parents but by 1871 they had moved to Woodend Lane in a different part of Cam parish and he had become a Farmer of 9 acres. In 1881 he was listed as being at Cam Lane and now farming 10 acres but in 1891 he was described as a market gardener at Quarry Field where he also employed other people following the same occupation as other family members in this and earlier census returns. He died on the 18th of April 1904, aged 76, and was buried at The Quarry chapel. His wife died in November 1912 at Bristol aged 79. (I have two dates for her death - the 19th and 26th of November - perhaps one is the date of death and the other of burial). [ca]
Again I have very little on their next child, Martha. She was born in 1831, was at home in 1841 and was a house servant living at Quarry Farm (63 acres), Cam, in 1851. This household was just the farmer, Stephen Robinson aged 65, his wife Hannah, 62, Martha and one of the farm labourers, aged 19 - it wasn’t unusual for unmarried workers to be living in the farm house at this time - in total the farmer employed 4 men and 2 boys.
In the 1861 census she is still single, aged 29, and is listed as a Dairy Maid. She is at her sister’s, Mary Malpass, and is described as a visitor in the ‘relationship to head of household’ column - this could have been ‘sister-in-law’ but I do not think there is necessarily any significance in describing her as a visitor instead. It could mean that it was a temporary arrangement or she may have been a permanent lodger but they didn’t describe her as a lodger because this seemed an inappropriate description for a relation.
By the 1871 census she had married William Phelps and lived next door to her parents William was a gardener and seedman and his age was given as 26 while Martha’s is given as 37. Her age in census returns becomes very inaccurate - In 1851 she was 20 and 1861 she was 29 which is possible, because the census was taken on different dates, but unlikely. In the following 10 yearly census returns her ages are given as 37, 57 and 63 which looks ridiculous - 37 should probably be 39 or 40; 57 is probably a mistake and she had said 47 but the last age has jumped up so she is now 3 years more than she should be. Perhaps in the first two she had been trying to cover up the age gap between her and her husband but this is only a guess.
In the 1881 census they are still near her relations at the Quarry and William is described as a market gardener.
The final census available to us at the moment which was taken in 1891 is difficult to interpret. Martha is on her own and lives in 3 rooms; William is not there but she is described as neither Head of the household nor Widow so I assume that he is still alive I do not know when he died but she died on the 19th of February 1912 aged 80. [ca]
Ellis and Esther may have had a son called James who was born (or possibly baptised) on the 11th of January 1833. He was not listed in the 1841 census so he presumably died young [ca]
Samuel was born in 1836 [ca] and was listed as an agricultural labourer aged 15 in the 1851 census. By the next census 10 years later he is married to Mary Ann, aged 22, who was also born in Cam, and they have a one year old son called George. They still lived at The Quarry and Samuel was still an agricultural labourer.
Early in the following year, 1862, they had a daughter called Lydia but she died 10 months later on the 24th of January 1863. This was followed by the death of Mary Ann a month later on the 26th of February 1863, aged 24. [ca]
He then married Augusta Malpass, sister of Alpheus, who was eight or nine years older than him and who he had presumably grown up with as a neighbour. They had their first child, John, in 1864 or 1865 and another son, Handel Samuel born in the spring of 1870 but dying on the 19th of August aged 4 months. [ca] They may have had other children but in the 1871 census George from the first marriage and John from the second were the only children listed and Samuel is now described as a Grocer Seedsman. (William Phelps his brother in law was also a seedman).
There was another Malpass, Emma, aged 16, in the household in 1871 who was described as Samuel’s daughter in law. This term had a different meaning in the past and could refer to someone he had legal responsibility for like an adopted daughter or step daughter. Looking back at the previous two census returns I did not find Augusta in the 1851 Dursley or Cam census and in 1861 she is unmarried, living at home with her parents, and Emma is listed as a grand daughter of her parents. It would seem that Emma is probably Augusta’s daughter though usually she would have been listed as Samuel’s step daughter if that was the case; there is a possibility that she was a niece of Augusta’s whose parents had died but in that case she would normally have been listed as niece not daughter in law. [5]
Apparently Emma, now known as Emma Workman, died on the 27th June 1877, aged 22. [ca]
In the next census, 1881, there were still only the two sons, George and John at home. I am told they had four other children though three of these died young - I do not know what happened to the other child who is not listed in either census. [ca] Once again they had another relation in the household - Elizabeth Ettle who was a niece aged 15. Since Samuel’s sisters didn’t marry an Ettle I presume that this is a child of a sister of Augusta. I failed to make a note of Samuel’s occupation from this census. [5]
In the 1891 census Samuel and their son John, who is the only child still at home, are Market Gardeners and Augusta is a Grocer. They also have a grandson in the house George H S Workman aged 6 who was born at Cam.
Augusta died on the 11th of November 1916, aged 89, and Samuel married a third time to Ginnie Virgo I am told that she was a sister of Annie Maria the wife of one of his sons but the information is unclear so I am not sure which son. There is a George Workman of the right age to be Samuel’s son and with a wife called Annie Maria at the Chapel Street Coffee Tavern in Cam in the 1891 census. This Annie Maria is 30 and was listed as born at Sarndiffith in Monmouthshire - I haven’t found this place in Monmouthshire. [ca, 5]
Samuel
WORKMAN
1.Mary 2.Augusta 3. Ginnie (2)
= Ann = MALPASS = VIRGO (2)(3)(3)
| | | m ~18163
b 1836, Cam | b 1838/9, Cam | |________________________ (2)(2)
d 1929, 13 Jan | d 1863, 26 Feb | b 1827, Cam | (3)(3)(2)
(aged 93) | (Aged 24) | d 1916, 11 Feb | (3)
____________|____________ ____________|_____________________ |
| | | | | | |
George Annie Lydia Handel Samuel John Lydia Lydia Emma (2)(3)(3)(2)(3)
WORKMAN Maria Samuel Elizabeth MALPASS (2)(3)(2)
= VIRGO? = HILL (3)(1)
| |
b 1859/60 |?b 1860/61 b1864/5| b1866/7 b 1854/5 (3)
Cam |Sarndiffith? d 1863 d 1870 Cam | d 1871 Cam (2)(2)(2)
Builder |Monmouthshire 24 Jan 19 Aug Market | 6 Mar d 1877 (3)(3)(1)
______|______ (age 10 (age 4 Gardener| (age 4 27 Jun (3)
?| |? months) months) | years) (3)
Lionel F Lydia D Lloyd Ernest
b 1885/6 b Feb/Mar b 1894, 11 Nov (2)
1891 Quarry, Cam (2)(1)
Sources - 1 = Parish Registers/Birth/Marriage/Death Certificates
2 = Census 3 = Family 4 = Genealogical Index (IGI)
The book “Mad As A Hatter” about non-conformists in Dursley has some information and pictures of family members mostly provided to the author by Nell Head. The following is from this book and other family recollections - “Samuel Workman lived at The Quarry, was also an outstanding figure both at the Tabernacle, where he can be remembered sitting near the front of the church timing the entry of the minister about to take the service, and at the Quarry Chapel where he was prominent in its affairs from its early days. In 1924 he was made a life Deacon of the Tabernacle, one of the first in the history of the church. He married three times the last time when he was 80 and lived with that wife nearly 15 years. He died in 1929 and is buried in The Quarry burial ground and there is a plaque in his memory in the Quarry Chapel. He used to walk from The Quarry to Tabernacle almost up to the time he died, and planted a tree in the garden at Elmdon, Garden City at Grandfather Workman’s Golden Wedding in 1918.
His son George who was a builder helped in the great restoration of the Tabernacle in the 1870’s and 80’s. His daughter-in-law, George’s wife Annie, is remembered for being the first lady in Cam to ride a bicycle, her appearance on a bone shaker scandalising the community.” [nc, nh, s2]
Thomas was born in 1836 or 1837 and he was the youngest child in the 1841 census but he must have died within the next 2 years as another son called Thomas was born in 1843. [5] Since there was a gap between the birth of these two sons it is possible that they had other children who died young.
Their second son called Thomas was born in 1843 [ca] and was listed as a ‘Keeper of Sheep’ aged 8 in the 1841 census. In 1851 he was a labourer and still at home. By 1861 he had started another of the growing number of Workman households at The Quarry, living next door to Samuel and very close to the Chapel. [5] He had married Ellen Priscilla Webb [ca, 1b] - she was a and couple of years older than Thomas and they had two sons Ezra aged 6 and Frederick aged 1; Thomas was an Agricultural labourer. Frederick was born on the 7th of March 1870. [1b]
They had three more children that we know of - Samuel born in 1873 or 1874, Rose in 1877 or 1878 and Emma in 1884 or 1885. [5]
I have failed to copy Thomas’s occupation from the 1881 census but in 1891 he is still listed as a labourer. He is now 48 and Ellen is 50. They have three children still at home, Frederick aged 21 and Samuel, 17, both of which are Labourers, and Emma aged 6. Rose is a General Servant aged 14 living in a house in Dursley.
Thomas died on the 13th of March 1913 aged 70 Ellen outlived him by 10 years and died in 1923 aged 82. [ca]
Their son Frederick died on the 23rd of October 1943 aged 73. [ca]
Finally James was born on the 17th of December 1847 [nc] and married Emily Morgan on the 27th of October 1868. They married at Dursley Tabernacle [2] where they probably met as Emily’s father, John Morgan, was Chapel Keeper there for 35 years [nc/f1]. She had grown up at Woodmancote just the other side of Dursley, two to three miles from The Quarry where James grew up. The marriage certificate gives their ages as 21 and 19 though he was in fact a couple of months short of his 21st birthday, presumably they had their parents permission to wed as they were under age. They were both able to sign their names which was often not the the case at this time [2]
James seems to be the only member of the family to have moved away from the area and at the time of his marriage he was a Railway Porter living at 26 (or 2b) Samuel Street, Leicester and their first child, Oliver, was born in Leicester nine months later on the 4th of July 1869. [2, 1]
Within the next couple of years they moved to Gloucester where their next two children, Harry and Louisa (Lou) were born between 1870 and 1873. After this they moved back to The Quarry where their remaining nine children were born. [hw, 5] However of the next five children born in the 1870’s four died young and were not there in the 1881 census. [hw, 5]
In 1881 they were living at 2, The Leases in The Quarry and James was a Railway Engine Fireman. By the 1891 census he had become a Railway Engine Driver and their family was now complete with the entry of their last child Ellen (Nell) aged 7 months. At this time there were seven children at home with Oliver employed as a Railway Engine Fireman, Louisa as a Dressmaker and the other four who are there all scholars Harry is not at home . [5]
By October 1904 they were living at Box Cottage as we know that Emily’s father died there then. [nc, f1]
James WORKMAN = Emily MORGAN
|
b 1847, 17 Dec, Cam | b 25 May 1849, Woodmancote
m 27 Oct 1868, Dursley1
d 1927, 27 Aug, Garden City, Cam | d 6 Nov 1936, Garden City, Cam
i Dursley Tabernacle | i Dursley Tabernacle
________________________________________|__________________________________________
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Oliver Harry Louisa Leah John Charles Arthur Amelia Annie Emma Alice Ellen
“Lou” “Emmie” “Nell”
b 1869 b 1870 b1872 b1873 b1874 b 1876 b 1877 b 1879 b1881 b 1882 b1885 b 1890
4 Jul Glos Glos Both died young Both died young Oct 7 Sep
Leicester
=Fanny =1 Susannah =Thomas =George
=Alice =Mr CROSS HODGES CLIFT =Jim PERKINS =Jim
=2.Jane WALKER WALTERS HEAD
“Ginny”
James worked at Listers (though from the article below he was probably employed by the railway) and drove the train known as the Dursley Donkey. He was a keen cricketer and I am told he was the best batsman in Listers’ cricket team with Lister junior being the best bowler. [hw]
The following report was printed in the local paper when James retired - “Call of the line - Dursley Man and Family Railway Record
“Mr James Workman of Box Cottage, Dursley, has just retired from the Midland Railway, for which company he has been engine driver on the Local Branch for a considerable period. Mr Workman’s career commenced at Derby in the year 1870, after which he served the company at Berkeley Road, Leicester & Gloucester, eventually coming to Dursley. He has 3 sons on the Midland Line, having put in 27, 22 and 21 years service and a son-in-law 14 years, making a family total of no less than 126 years.
“In addition to the foregoing, Mr Workman lost 3 first cousins, each meeting with death in the railway service. Some idea of the growth of locomotion may be gathered from the fact that when Mr Workman came to Dursley first the engine weighed 15 tons & burned 12 cwts [0.6 ton] of coal per day, but the present engine weighs 46 tons & consumes 35 cwt [1.78 ton] to 2 tons per day. Mr Workman can also give many interesting accounts of the extreme changes & growth in trade of the district” [nc] The three sons must be Oliver, Harry and Charles. Does anybody know which cousins?
The details of his joining the railway do not seem right as he was already in Leicester when he married in 1868 and it doesn’t fit with the figures in the the following report which was printed in the local paper in 1918 -
“Golden Wedding of Mr & Mrs James Workman, Cam - 50th anniversary of the marriage of James Workman, youngest son of the late Mr Ellis Workman, The Quarry to Emily Morgan, second daughter of the late John Morgan, the much respected caretaker of the Dursley Tabernacle.
“The marriage was celebrated at the Dursley Tabernacle on Oct 27th 1868 by the Pastor, the Rev Thomas Wallace. The event having fallen on a Sunday, it was kept up very quietly at their residence Elmfield, Garden City, Cam. All the members of the family were present, with the exception of the eldest son and family who were prevented owing to the illness which is now prevalent.
“Mr & Mrs Workman were the recipients of numerous gifts telegrams & letters from a large number of friends to mark the occasion.
“It will be remembered that Mr Workman had 48 years service standing to his credit in the employ of the Midland Railway Co & for 40 years was connected with our local branch line as fireman & driver. A few years he retired from the railway after a long & faithful service which the company fully recognised. The many friends of the worthy couple hope that there are many more years of happy wedded life before them.” [nc]
James died on the 27th of August 1927 aged 79 at Garden City, Cam and was buried at Dursley Tabernacle. Emily died 11 years later on the 6th of November 1938 also at Garden City [nc] Their gravestone at Dursley contains the verse “And their children shall rise up and call them blessed” in tribute. (Also remembered on the stone is Louisa Cross their daughter but I don’t know when she died). [Gravestone]
This is some information on the family of James and Emily that I have - it is very patchy and I would be grateful for any additional information. I have received most of this information from family members and I apologise if I have made mistakes in copying any of it down.
Oliver
Oliver was a train driver like his father. [ma] He married Alice Burbidge who apparently had come to Dursley by train where she saw Oliver who was working on the trains and it was love at first sight. She worked as a maid and later rose to be cook at a large house in Dursley. They married at Swindon Baptist Chapel [ma] because he was working there at the time though this was also nearer her home area of Amesbury in Wiltshire. They initially lived at Gloucester and later moved to Wellington Cottage, Chance Street, Tewkesbury. Despite being away from the Dursley area they were not out of contact with the wider family. One cousin is remembered breaking a journey between Birmingham and Dursley at Newtown station and walking to Wellington Cottage before continuing his journey though perhaps the fact that this is remembered indicates that visits were rare - I am not sure if this was one of the Malpass family or the Mabbett family (relations of James’s mother) - probably a Mabbett as some of them had moved to Birmingham.
I am told that Oliver’s basic wages were 2 Guineas a week which he gave to his wife while he kept any overtime that he earnt. Out of the money Alice received she saved enough for them to buy a house at Ashchurch in about 1930 (????name of house / address???) [hw]
Alice was an ardent teetotaller, probably because other members of her family had been heavy drinkers, but Oliver used some of his overtime money to drink a bit, possibly because he liked the music at the pub. Alice is remembered for her good cooking and her generosity to the poor and beggars, often giving them food. However one ‘tramp’ who arrived at the door received severe words about not being on the road and going back to his wife - it was apparently a brother-in-law of hers. [hw]
Eric Brown, who married Alice, used to enjoy the food when visiting. He said that you could get 2/6 or 5s meals in Tewkesbury and at the Workman’s you always got a 5s meal.
Oliver died in July 1958 and is buried at Ashchurch Church. Alice died on the 3rd of January 1962 aged 85 and was buried with her husband.
Oliver WORKMAN = Alice BURBIDGE
|
b 1869, 4 Jul, Leicester | b 1876, 5 Mar, Amesbury, Wiltshire
m Baptist Chapel, Swindon ??? date ???
d 1958, Jul | d 1962, 3 Jan, Gloucester Hospital
i Ashchurch | i Ashchurch
_______________________________________|_____________________________________
| | | | ______|_____ |
“Jack” Hilda James William Alice Eric Marion Margaret Harry = Dorothy
John = =Grace =Doris = BROWN =George | HEWINS
Charles| | | ADAMS |
| b 1902| b 1904 b 1906| b 1909,4 Jan, Tewkesbury |
b 1901 | Glos | Glos 3 Sep| | d ~1958 b 1917 |
Glos | | d 1991 Glos | | Tewkesbury|
d Mar94| ____|____ _____________|__ __|_____ _______________|____
| | | ___|___ | | | | | | | |
Douglas Jane Lance Ruth Mary Janet Jeffrey David Richard Ann Roger Philip Kathryn
= Myrtle =Sam =Janice
WINGATE
Jack died in March 1994 and as I have a brief summary of Jack’s life from his funeral I will include it here.
Jack, who was quiet like his father, got a job at a garden centre near the Cross in Tewkesbury and loved gardening all his life. He worked as a signalman around Tewkesbury and then went as a signalman to Ribblesdale Station in Yorkshire. It was here that he met and married Hilda and they had two children Douglas and Jane Elizabeth; Jane died at 6 months. After 20 years he was keen to come back to Tewkesbury though he still loved Yorkshire and went there for holidays. They lived in a farm cottage at Pamington and Jack worked at Harry’s shop in Tewkesbury to begin with and then at Pamington Farm. He became a Christian after returning to Tewkesbury and he was known for always being at church very early because he wanted to prepare himself for the service. He was the caretaker at Northway Chapel for many years.
Louisa - Lou
Louisa, known as Lou, married a Mr Cross around 1927 (so she would have been about 55). He was a widower who lived next door. [hw] They visited Spa Farm at Ashchurch where Oliver’s daughter Alice and her husband Eric Brown farmed. [family] She is remembered on her parents gravestone at Dursley but I do not know when she died or whether she was buried there.
Charles
Charles married twice. He had a son from his first marriage who continued the family connection with the railways, being a station master. His second wife was called Ginny. [hw] He died when he was in his 60’s which would have been in the later 30’s or early 40’s. [family]
He worked at Rawmarsh station, near Rotherham, and became Station Master at Edale Station in Derbyshire in 1922. He then moved back to Dursley to live at Elmsfield, which either his father or he had built after they moved from Box Cottage. He also may have been Station Master at Coaley, Cam or Dursley before he retired but this is yet to be confirmed.[John Workman, Grandson]
Annie
Annie married her second cousin Thomas Clift a relation of Annie’s Grandmother Emily Workman nee Morgan. Their daughter Norah with the help of her three sisters has been a source of a lot of family history particularly on the Morgans and related families but I do not seem to have much on her parents. Thomas died in February 1957 and Annie on the 8th of January 1965. [nc]
Emma - Emmie
Emma, known as Emmie, married Jim Walters who was related to the owner of Walters Bakery in Dursley. [hw]
Alice
Alice married George Perkins and had four children - Harold, Melody, Norah and Jim. Harold was organist at Salisbury Cathedral and Jim (or possibly a child of his) had a hotel at Bournemouth. They sold this and bought a country house hotel with another couple. [hw]
Nora married and had a son Alan Moss, who lives near Swindon. [nc, ca]
Ellen - Nell
Nell lived in Bristol and seems to have been widely known. She had continued the connection with the Malpass branch of the family and was the source of information on the family for the book on non-conformists in Dursley mentioned above, “Mad As A Hatter”. She is remembered for her lively singing at the piano.
John MILLARD = Sarah HIGHWAY
}
m 1742, 22 Apr
}
George Elizabeth Charles Sarah
WORKMAN = GABB CORDY = MILLARD
} x 1747/6 17 Mar } b~1745
} Coaley, Glos } (4)
m 1771, 22 Apr, Coaley m 1768, 5 Dec
} }
__}_____________________________________________________________________
| } } | | | |
Elizabeth Jesse WORKMAN Eleanor Hester Gabb George Jane Ann
WORKMAN = CORDY WORKMAN WORKMAN WORKMAN WORKMAN
x 1774, x 1776, 2 Aug } x 1780 x 1782 x 1786, x 1790 (4)
30 Jun Coaley } 23 May 25 Aug 31 Dec 26 Apr (all 4)
Coaley m 1798, 10 Mar Coaley Coaley Coaley Coaley
St Nicholas, Gloucester4
_______________________}______________________________________________
| | } | | |
Eliza/ David Ellis Esther George Ann/ Henry Hannah
Elizabeth = SMITH =Hannah
} | RUDGE
x 1799 x 1801 x 1803,}b1804/6 x 1807 | x 1810 x 1812
6 Feb 23 Mar 18/10,Oct} Cam 29 May | 29 Jun 31 Jul (2)
Cam } | unmarried (4 2)
m 1825, 4 Oct Cam |
Gardener }
d 1883, 8 Aug } d 1895, 30 Mar
__________________________}______________________________________
| | | | | | | |
Alpheus Mary Ezra James Martha Samuel Thomas Thomas James Emily (3)
MALPASS=Caroline = MORGAN
x 1824 | b 1826 b1828 b 1833 b 1831 b 1836 b~1837 b 1843 b 1847 | b 1849 (2)
20 Jun | 14 Jul d1904 11 Jan Sheep 17 Dec | 25 May (3)(2)
Cam | Cam i Quarry d 1912 Ag Lab/ d<1843 Keeper Cam |Woodmancote (2)
m 1855, 28 May Farmer d<1841 19 Feb Seedsman Age 8 m 27 Oct 1868, (2)
Dursley Tab. = Mary = =1.Mary Ann Labourer Dursley (3)(2)(1)
Shoe | d 1912 William =2 Augusta =Ellen d 1927,|d 1936,
Maker | 26 Nov PHELPS MALPASS Priscilla 20 Aug|6 Nov, Cam
d 1904 |d 1914, Bristol Gardener =3 Ginnie b 1840/1 Cam |
24 Dec | 3 Feb age 79 /Seedsman VIRGO d 1923 i Dursley Tab (3)
This brings the section on the descendants of Ellis and Esther (or Hester) Workman to an end. It is interesting to note the longevity of the Workmans. Ellis was almost 80 when he died and Esther was 92. Of their children who survived infancy, the average age was 80 - the youngest to die was Thomas at 70 and Samuel lived until he was 93.
That completes the information that I have on the Workman descendants and the following tree briefly summarises the branches we have covered.
George WORKMAN = Elizabeth GABB
|
| x 1747/6, Coaley, Glos4
m 1771, Coaley
_________________________________|____________________________
| | | | | |
Elizabeth Jesse Eleanor Hester Gabb George Jane Ann
WORKMAN WORKMAN = CORDY WORKMAN WORKMAN WORKMAN WORKMAN
x 1774 x 1776 | x 1780 x 1782 x 1786 x 1790 (all 4)(4)
Coaley Coaley | Coaley Coaley Coaley Coaley
m 1798
St Nicholas, Gloucester4
_________________|__________________________________________ ___________
| | | | | |
Eliza/ David Ellis Esther George Ann/Hannah Henry Hannah
Elizabeth = SMITH = RUDGE
x 1799 x1801 x 1803 |b1804/6 x 1807 |b ~1805/6 x 1810 x 1812
Cam | Cam 29 May | Cam unmarried (4 2)(2)(2)
m 1825, Cam | |
Gardener | | |________ (2)
d 1883, | d 1895, | |
_________________________| |__________________________ |
| | | | | | |
Alpheus Mary Ezra, James Emily David , Henry Harriet Alice Louisa (2)(3)(2)
MALPASS=Caroline Martha, = MORGAN Mary Ann , =ESTCOURT Eliza, (2)
x 1824 |b 1826 Samuel, b 1847|b 1849 George b 1846 | b ~1848 Jane (3)(3)(2)(3)
Cam |Cam Thomas, Cam |Woodmancote Glos? | (2)(2)
m 1855, Dursley Thomas m 1868, Dursley | (1)
Tabernacle d 1927,|d 1936, |______________ (3)
d 1904 |d 1914 Cam | Cam | (3)(3)
i Quarry Chapel i Dursley Tab |
| |_____________ |
_____|______________ ________________|______________ ________|________
| | | | | | |
Charles Elizabeth and Oliver Alice Annie Thomas Ellen Florence Ernest and
Stephen?= HILL 4 WORKMAN=BURBIDGE =CLIFT “Nell” Minnie Henry 5 (3)
MALPASS | others | | and WORKMAN=HURCUM other. (2)
| | | 9 | children
b 1861,| b 1858 b 1869,| b1876 b1891|b1874 other b~1876| b 1875 (3)
Cam | Leicester|Amesbury | children m 1896, (2)
m 1886, Dursley | Wilts m 1912, d 1918 | d 1954
Tabernacle m Swindon Baptist Chapel Cam /20 |
Builder | Train Driver| |
d 1932 | d 1932 d 1958, | d 1962 d1965|d 1957 (3)(3)
i Quarry Chapel i Ashchurch
Sources: 1 =Parish Registers, 2 =Census, 4 =Genealogical Index (IGI)
[sources IGI, Trees from Harry Workman and Sue Lawn]
There is one more direction to cover in connection with the Workmans however. The earliest Workmans on the tree are George Workman and Elizabeth nee GABB. We do not know anything about George but we are able to trace Elizabeth’s family further back.