Elizabeth Emma Dixon & Henry Wilkinson
Elizabeth Emma Dixon born 16 June 1849 at the family home of Victoria Terrace in Harrow-on-the-Hill. She was baptised in St Mary's church.
Elizabeth married Henry Wilkinson an engineer of 7 St John St Clerkenwell on 30 Dec 1878 at St Mark, Myddelton Square, Islington. Henry was from the son of William and Hannah Wilkinson. How they met from such two different places is a mystery. Perhaps Henry came to London for business and then met Elizabeth who was living at 7 Wingate Street, Clerkenwell.
By the 1881 census Henry and Elizabeth Emma were living at 17 Clerkenwell Green. Henry was listed as employing 2 boys and 2 men. They have a general servant Alice Smith aged 17 b Harrow on the Hill. But up in Edgebaston, daughter Winfred aged 8 is living with John and Elizabeth Wilkinson at 107 Gough Road. Also in the house is Ann Wilkinson, his mother-in-law aged 72; Phylls Pedley, an aunt aged 60 a spinster. More reserach needed here.
This is a very bad picture of Elizabeth with one of her children.... but at least it is a picture.
Calamity struck when Henry died. We have no idea how he died but it was in 1890. So, with a large family and no income, Aunt Cissy moved back to be within range of the rest of the bliss/Dixon/Wilkinson families. She moved to 10 Greenford Road and then 12 Totnes Terrace, Wembley.
She became a nurse and by 1891 and by 1901, she had a real houseful with kids Henry, Samuel, Walter, Albert and Dora at home. But there were more....she had three Bliss nieces as well - Matilda, Adeline and Edith Bliss (children of her sister. Sadly her daughters Louisa and Dora had been given to a relative - John Wilkinson, a strict Quaker living in the north.
Aunt Cissy continued to survive and see her children grow up. Two of her sons went to Australia - Walter James and Albert Edward.
Aunt Cissy lived through the desperate times of World War One but died during the great depression in June 1929 aged 80.
The known children of Elizabeth and Henry Wilkinson were:
Elizabeth Ann Wilkinson bap 17 Mar 1874 . She looked after her aging moher as well as acting as mum to her siblings when her dad died. She married late in life after her mother's death to Thomas John Hughes in the family church in Harrow in the autumn of 1924. At the time she lived in Croydon, but Tom was a Harrowvian. She died in July 1930 in Harrow. When she died, her husband married again.
Zillah Hannah Wilkinson bap17 May 1875 in Clerkenwell the 3rd child of Henry Wilkinson and Elizabeth Emma Dixon. Her mum came to be be known as Aunt Cis. For the first few years of her life, things were pretty good. Her dad was earning good money as an engineer and employed two men and two boys. She was acquiring new brothers and sisters and the family lived in a nice part of Clerkenwell at 17 Clerkenwell Green. But calamity struck and he dad died (research has not revealed whether he got sick or had an accident at work. The upshot was that here was a big family, left with no income.
Zillah's uncle John was a strict Quaker and lived up in Lancashire. He and his wife took in some of the girls - Dora, and Louisa (Louie). Another brother, Henry was farmed out to a family called Pillar - may or may not have been a relative. More research required for the other family members.
But Zillah grew up and we find that in 1901, aged 21, she was working in domestic service as a servant at the North London Hotel. The licensee was Jesse and Emily Hill and they had a staff of 10. The hotel was located at 33 High Street, Willesden.
The rest of the information about the family comes from the letters that Dora sent to her cousin Sid (Sidney Dixon) in NZ in 1957. I have copied them and inserted them here:
"Zillah, who was in Africa, died last year 80 years old. She leaves a daughter in law and one grandson. She had three children and lost them all. Jack, her elder son, married an English girl, but sad to say he was taken ill and died suddenly at the age of 35 so that leaves our family very small after all. Zillah's daughter-in-law and grandson in Johannesburg - I do not hear very often, in fact. from the last letter she told me she had moved to a small flat 5 Dawn Heights, Grant Avenue, Norwood, Johannesburg. Her name is Mary Miller.
If I write her, will mention I have given you her address but we know so little about them, Zilla did not write newsy letters but Mary tells me she has a good job and is able to send Barry to the high school. She mentioned in her letter she was having a long holiday in June and wished she could come and see me but while Barry was at school it would take too much money. I have only seen a snap of him that zilla sent me. She is an English girl I believe she is about 40 now. Barry was his grandma's pet he must miss her.'
Armed with that information I found a record from the Transvaal Province, South Africa Estates Death Notice Index that lists a Zillah Hanna Hamilton-Miller with a death date of 1956.
Further research on the surname of Hamilton-Miller revealed a couple of people with a surname Hamilton-Miller. Linkedin gave us:
Val Hamilton-Miller (Legal Secretary at Coetzee Spoelstra & van Zyl Inc; Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Lara Hamilton-Miller, Senior Client Relations Manager at Sanlam Employee Benefits, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Candice Hamilton-Miller
I've written to all three via Facebook and/or the companies that they work for. After some initial contact there has been no more contact - I guess life is busy for them, whilst I have retired!
Winifred Alice Wilkinson bap 11 Feb 1878 d 25 June 1950. After her father died she was brought up by John Wilkinson ad his wife Elizabeth. We find her living at 107 Gough Road, Edgbaston in 1881 aged 8. In 1939 she is living at 90 St Bernado's Road, Solihull with her maid. She died 15 Jul 1950 and is buried in Lodge Hill Cemetery, Birmingham.
Henry Alfred Wilkinson bap 31 May 1878 d abt 1915, became a plasterer. In 1891, like so many other siblings, he had been farmed out to the home of Alfred Charles Pillar and his wife Ann Alice. I don't know of they were related as he is listed as a visitor. But Ann Alice was born in Annesley, so I believe that she was Henry's aunt. Alfred was a builders manager and young Henry trained as a plasterer. Henry was back home in the bosom of his family in 1901 and by 1911 was married and living in Prittlewell, Essex. His wife was Helen Gertrude Pendreigh bc 1889 in Paddington. He died 24 Apr 1938 in Rochford, Essex. They had a child:
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John Henry Wilkinson b 6 Jun 1912 bap 18 Aug in St John the Baptist Southend. Like his father he became a plasterer. In 1939 he and his mother lived in 4 Ashburton Road, Southend-on-Sea. He married June Francis Maynard in July 1940 in Southend. She was born 16 Jun 1922 in Rochford. John died at 1 Mill Lane Gaston Green, Bishops Stortford, Essex on 25 Sep1980. his estate was valued at £66448. June died 17 Jul 2004. Not sure they had any children.
John Williamson Wilkinson b 16 Feb 1881 d Jun 1883 (I think)
Samuel Charles Wilkinson bap18 Dec 1880, bricklayer d 1915 Rochford, Essex
Walter James Wilkinson bc 1884, bricklayer
Albert Wilkinson bc 1889 Clerkenwell
Adeline Edith Dora Wilkinson Although christened with the Dixon family name of Adeline, she was always known as Dora. Dora was born 14 Jan 1891 in Clerkenwell. For the first few years of her life, things were pretty good. Her dad was earning good money as an engineer and employed two men and two boys. She was acquiring new brothers and sisters and the family lived in a nice part of Clerkenwell at 17 Clerkenwell Green. But calamity struck and her dad died (research has not revealed whether he got sick or had an accident at work). The upshot was that there was a big family, left with no income.
Dora's uncle John was a strict Quaker and lived up in Lancashire. He and his wife took in Louisa (Louie). Another brother, Henry was farmed out to a family called Pillar - may or may not have been a relative. More research required for the other family members. Dora was only 2 onths old when her mum relocated from Clerkenwell back to the family home of Harrow-on-the Hill and we find what's left of the family at 10 Greenford Road, Harrow. Besides her mum, Cis, there is Samuel aged 10 and Albert aged 2. We don't know how Cis was managing money wise, but in 1901 she described herself as a nurse monthly sick. And at this time she must have been happy to have most of her kids back home at 12 Totnes Terrace in Wembley. Dora had 4 elder brothers to look after her. The house also had three of the Bliss kids there as well - Mathilda, Adeline and Edith.
In 1911 Dora has moved out of home and is boarding in 3 Nora Terrace West Street Harrow. she is working as a shop assistant in a sweet shop.
Then world war breaks out. We hear nothing from Dora until she married John J Carpenter. They were married in Hammersmith in 1917. John was a soldier and was born 11 October 1892. At the time of their marriage, Dora was living at Stamford Brook and John was at Queen Street Hammersmith. John's parents were George and Florence and they lived at 20 Merivale Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill. George was a commercial traveller.
Dora spent many years living in Harrow and would have known many of the people that I have been researching. John worked in the leather trade, like his father. Dora had joined the Nursing Auxiliary Service. The 1939 register gives their address as 2 Butler Road, Harrow.
John died and in one of her letters she said that he didn't leave her well provided for. Dora moved to Westcliffe on Sea in Essex and she lived there in the 1950s.
Dora died 24 Dec 1969 at 91 Westbourne Grove, Westcliffe on Sea. Her estate was valued at £7745.
