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Thomas is named on my
great-great-grandmother's birth certificate as her
father, and this is probably correct. However, her
mother, Caroline Thompson, married Thomas's elder brother
William in Stoke Damarel, Devon, in 1837. I don't so far
know what happened next, but in 1841 Caroline is in the
Devonport workhouse with her three year old daughter.
William Bowles is nowhere to be found. A tremendous story has been passed on to me
by a Bowles family researcher that Caroline, while
pregnant with the child who would go on to be my
great-great-grandmother, walked with her infant daughter
from Plymouth to Kent to find her husband's family,
probably in 1843. That year, Mary Ann Bowles birth
certificate records her father's name as Thomas
Bowles. Given that Caroline had no reason to lie, this is
probably correct. At the next census, Thomas is living
with his mother in Faversham, while Caroline is a few
streets away in the Faversham workhouse with four
children. Interestingly, Caroline notified her condition
as Married rather than Widow (this
question was not asked in 1841, but Caroline already had
her married name).
By 1861, Thomas Bowles is living
with Caroline and her children, someof whom are claimed
as his, but he is described as her brother-in-law, which
is likely to be technically correct. Caroline notifies
her condition as Married, suggesting that
Thomas's brother William was still alive - however, after
Thomas died in 1870, Caroline described herself as a
widow. Did William also die between the 1861 and 1871
censuses? Or was it simply that Thomas and Caroline had
lived as man and wife, and now that relationship had come
to an end?
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1841
census:
There
is no definite sighting of Thomas on the
1841 census. He may be the 20 year old
living as a lodger in the Warte household
at Elm Lane, Hadlow, Kent. The page is here.
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1843: Thomas's
daughter, my great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Bowles was
born on the 1st November at the Mall, Preston,
Kent. Preston is a suburb of the town of
Faversham, and the Mall connects the centre of Faversham
with the London to Canterbury road. Her mother was given
as Caroline Bowls formerly Thompson and her father was
given as Thomas Bowls (recorded as Bowles on later census
and other data). Caroline's place of residence was given
as simply 'Preston'. The birth was registered on the 14th
November.
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1851
census:
Thomas
was twenty-nine years old at the time of
the 1851 census. He was recorded as
Thomas Bowls, and was living at North
Lane, Faversham, Kent.
Thomas
gave his occupation as labourer.
He was recorded as unmarried, and was
living in the household of his mother
Mary Bowls, a widow. Mary Bowls was 61.
Also
in the household was the 14 year old
Edward Bowls, recorded as the grandson of
Mary Bowls, and a visitor, Edward Fox,
aged 5.
Thomas
was born in Faversham, Kent,
as was his brother Edward. Mary was born
in Eastling, Kent. Edward Fox was born in
Clerkenwell, Middlesex. The entry is here.
Thomas's
common-law wife was shown as a pauper
in the Faversham Union
Workhouse, Faversham, Kent.
Caroline's age is recorded as forty-six
(this is wrong - Caroline was
thirty-six). She reported her condition
as Married, but there is no sign
of her husband.
Unfortunately,
the 1851 census institutional forms do
not show the relationship of people to
each other, and so we can only assume
that the children listed with Caroline,
sharing her surname, are her children.
There are four of them. Angelina was 13
(is this the Frances recorded in 1841 -
her registered name at birth was Angelina
Frances), Deborah was 12 (but she was
actually 2) my great-great-grandmother
Mary Ann was 8 and Susannah was 6.
Curiously, Mary Ann and Susannah are
listed before Angelina and Deborah. Could
this be because they had different
fathers?
Caroline
is shown as being born at Devonport,
Devon, as was Angelina
(Frances?). Mary Ann, Susannah and
Deborah were born in Faversham, Kent. The
transcript for their entry is here and you can view the
original census page here.
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