G2 Grandparents

Daniel Chiswick

Daniel Chiswick was born in about 1827 in Poplar. He was the youngest son of Samuel Jervis Chiswick (1777-1839). He came from a long line of coopers and was to take up the same trade. His grandfather was Samuel Chiswick (1740-1790). Although he lived to a good age of 76 Daniel continued to live in the East End of London and circumstances seem to have got increasingly tough. Continue reading →
Last updated on 19 July 2019 by JJ Morgan

Emma Clifton

Emma Clifton was baptized in Oldbury on 24 Nov 1824. Her father was Edmund Clifton, a farmer, and her mother was Susannah Horton. She appears to have been the seventh of eight sisters. Continue reading →
Last updated on 4 November 2017 by JJ Morgan

Frances Anne Dimmack

Frances Anne Dimmack was the only surviving child of Edward Bagnall Dimmack, a wealthy iron founder. She was born in Bilston in 1834 and baptised at the Independent church in Oxford Street, Bilston. In 1854, she married Henry John Marten an acquaintance of her father, who was eventually to become his full business partner. In her short life she had seven children before dying at the age of 28, twelve days after giving birth to her youngest child, Frank. Continue reading →
Last updated on 31 March 2018 by JJ Morgan

William Downing, Smethwick Maltster, 1821-1901

William Downing was born on 19 Apr 1821, the eldest surviving son of George and Elizabeth Downing. He took up the family trade of maltster in the West Midlands and was to oversee the expansion of the business from his birth place in Smethwick to take in concerns down the Severn in Gloucester under his sons. Continue reading →
Last updated on 29 December 2023 by JJ Morgan

Walter Showell

Walter Showell, the Oldbury brewer, was born on 26 September 1832. He was baptized in St Martin’s Birmingham on 25 Oct 1832. He undoubtedly had a difficult childhood. His father, also Walter Showell, died when he was only three in 1835. His mother, Eliza Ann Breakspear, remarried in 1840. Continue reading →
Last updated on 4 July 2023 by JJ Morgan

Charles Palmer

Charles Palmer was baptized in Stoke Damerel on 16 Aug 1818. He was the eldest child of Nathaniel Palmer, a blacksmith, and served in the Royal Navy all his life, receiving a pension right up until his death at the age of 88. He married Mary Ann Ash Tingcombe on 2 Aug 1837 and they had five surviving children. Continue reading →
Last updated on 1 October 2017 by JJ Morgan

Richard Evans

Richard Evans was born on 26 Aug 1797 probably in The Red Lion Inn in Wolverhampton. He was baptised at St Peter’s Collegiate Church in Wolverhampton on 27 September 1800. We have a glass rummer monogrammed ‘RE’ that dates from his childhood or even christening. Continue reading →
Last updated on 30 January 2024 by JJ Morgan

Henry John Marten

Henry Marten was born in Plaistow on 3 Feb 1827, the second eldest son of Robert Giles Marten. His father and grandfather both died in 1839 when he was only twelve. He was educated at a private school in Margate, Kent. He seems to have gained a rapid career start, being appointed chief Water Engineer for Wolverhampton at the tender age of 19. Continue reading →
Last updated on 1 March 2024 by JJ Morgan