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Clayton Family |
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Early origins
of the Clayton family Much of this document contains
a history of my grandmother’s family, the Claytons. The Clayton family is
known to have lived around the Ladywood and Newtown areas of Birmingham
throughout the last half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century.
It appears that the Clayton
family originated from Shrewsbury in the early 1800s and came to Birmingham
via Wolverhampton and nearby Willenhall over a period of a few decades. Information supplied to me in
October 2005 from a fellow researcher named Albert Clayton who resides in
Catherine Field in Australia has pinpointed the family of g-g-g-grandfather,
Thomas Clayton, in the 1851 census, living at Back of John Street, Willenhall.
Thomas Clayton was a wood screw maker, aged 35 who was born in Shrewsbury,
Salop. His wife Hannah was also aged 35 and was from Tettenhall in
Staffordshire (now Wolverhampton). They had three children listed: Mary A
aged 16 , Thomas aged 9 and William aged 6, all born in Wolverhampton. Albert Clayton also sent me
details of another record for the same family in the 1841 census, this time
living in Wolverhampton. This time Thomas is listed as a 25 year old screw
maker born outside of Staffordshire. His wife is Hannah, aged 25, also born
outside of Staffordshire and their only child is Mary A who is aged 9. We
should note here that in the 1841 census adult ages were rounded down to the
nearest 0 or 5. So Thomas and Hannah could have been aged anywhere between 25 and 29. One further record in
connection with this couple is their marriage certificate. Thomas Clayton
married Hannah Worthington on 2nd
February 1841 at St George’s church in Wolverhampton. Thomas was of full age,
he was a bachelor and a labourer of St Georges district. His father was
William Clayton, a labourer. Hannah Worthington was also of full age, a
spinster of St Georges district
and her father was Joseph Worthington, a shoe maker. Witnesses were William
Worthington and Caroline Maron and the vicar was W A Newman. My
Grandmother’s family Having established these very
early origins of the Clayton line dating back to g-g-g-g-grandfather William
Clayton who lived in Shrewsbury in the mid to late 1700s, I will now come
back to more recent generations and to the place where my own research started,
to my grand mother Florence Millington, nee. Clayton. Florence Margaret Clayton was
born on 3rd August 1899 at 20 Lennox Street in Newtown, Birmingham. Her
parents were William Clayton (whose full name was Henry William Clayton) and
Mary Helen Clayton (nee. Finn). The family lived in the back streets of Newtown
and Ladywood during the latter part of
the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. William and Mary had seven
children during their long marriage, including my grandmother, Florence. The other children were George,
Anne, William J (Bill), Thomas, Harold and Frederick. The oldest of these
children was Bill born in 1892, next was George born in 1895, Harold born in
1897, Florence in 1899, Annie in 1901 and Thomas and Frederick born after
1901. William Clayton married Mary
Finn at St Vincent's RC church on Ashted Row in Duddeston on 18th April 1892.
According to their marriage certificate, William was 23 and he stated that
his occupation was a Steel Turner. Mary Finn was 20 years old and the couple
both resided at 1 Coleman Street, Duddeston. William's father was Thomas
Clayton, a blacksmith, whilst Mary's father was Thomas Finn and he was a
building laborer. The witnesses to the marriage were Thomas and Mary Finn. As
we shall learn later, Mary Helen's mother, Bridget Finn (nee.Flynn) had died
before this date, so my speculation is that the witness Mary Finn was
actually Mary Helen's cousin. It is interesting to note that
there wasn't a Clayton recorded as a witness on the marriage certificate. The 1891 Census, taken the
year before William and Mary got married, does not show them registered at 1
Coleman Street. This indicates that they must have moved in to this property
just prior to their wedding. Where did
Henry William Clayton originate from? Henry William Clayton was born
on 20th March 1869 in Devonshire Street, near All Saints Hospital in Winson
Green (which used to be known as the City Lunatic Asylum). His mother was
Emma Clayton (nee. Brookes), the daughter of a Hockley jeweler and his father
was Thomas Clayton, an iron bedstead maker. Thomas and Emma had been
married for five years before Henry William was born. They married on 16th
May 1864 at St George's Church in Newtown. When they married, Thomas declared
his age to be 23 whilst Emma Brookes was 20, meaning that they were born in 1841
and 1844 respectively. According to the 1881 census however, their recorded
ages would have put their births in 1837 and 1838. I have no explanation as
to why they said they were younger on their marriage certificate (or the
converse). Other information on the
marriage certificate of Thomas and Emma tells us that Thomas's father was
also named Thomas Clayton and that he was a screw manufacturer. Thomas lived
at Cregoe Street in Lee Bank whilst Emma came from back 102 Brearley Street
West. Emma's father was Samuel Brookes, a jeweler. Whilst Thomas signed the
marriage certificate with a flourishing signature, Emma was unable to write
and instead she put her humble cross. The marriage of Thomas and
Emma in 1864 took place three years after the birth of a first born son,
Thomas, and one year after the birth of a daughter, Mary E (who was known as
Aunt Pem in later years). This calculation is based upon the ages of the 2 oldest
children given in the 1881 Census although new evidence suggests that Mary E
may have been born in 1866. Another point of interest is
the five year gap between Thomas and Emma's marriage, and the birth of the
3rd child, Henry William. Following the birth of Henry William in 1869,
Thomas and Emma had four more children, all boys. Samuel was born in 1871,
then Frederick born at Back of 17 Witton Street (off Garrisons Lane,
Bordesley) on 28th October 1873, Alfred, born on 18th April 1877 at Brook
Tavern Court, Lennox Street and finally a boy named Francis (aka Frank) born
in Aston in 1881. According to the 1881 Census,
the Clayton family lived at 74 Fordrough Road in Aston. Thomas was listed as
a 44 year old blacksmith and his place of birth given as Wolverhampton.
Emma's age was given as 43 and her place of birth Birmingham. All 6 of their
children were registered in the census, the oldest being Thomas aged 20, a
twine maker, born in Birmingham. Mary E was registered as an 18 year old
corset maker, born in Birmingham. The four younger boys were 'scholars',
their ages listed as 14, 12, 8 and 6. There is an inaccuracy in the ages of
William and Samuel who should actually have been 12 and 10, not 14 and 12. The 1891
Census There is a record of the
Clayton family in the 1891 Census, living at 118 New John Street (St
Stephen’s Ward). In this record the father of the family is named John
Clayton (as opposed to Thomas) but other than this anomaly, the other seven
family members listed are all consistent with information we have about them
elsewhere in this family history document. The Census lists the family as
follows: John Clayton aged 50
(therefore born 1841) is Head of the family. He is a Blacksmith and
originates from Wolverhampton. His wife Emma Clayton is 48,
she has no profession and was born in Birmingham in 1843. The first child listed is
Alfred, aged 13, an errand boy born in Birmingham (b.1878). Next is Frank, also listed as
a son, aged 10 born in Birmingham (1881). Frank is a scholar. Then comes Emma Jeenes aged
24, a press worker born in Birmingham in 1867. Emma is listed as a
daughter-in-law to the Head of the family, although this is definitely an
error as we know that Emma Jeenes was the lady later known as aunty Pem, so
she was their daughter. Next there is a two year old
boy named George Jeenes. George is the grandson of the Head of the household.
Born in Birmingham in 1889. We know this was Pem’s son. The final two members of the
Clayton household in 1891 were Samuel and Betsy Brookes, who we know were the
parents of Thomas’s wife Emma (nee. Brookes). Samuel is 70 in 1891, born in
Birmingham in 1821 and described as ’living on own means’. Betsy is 73 in
1891 (born Birmingham in 1818). Note that there are no
references here to the three older
Clayton sons, Thomas, Henry William (my great grandfather) or Fred. The 1891 Census is the last
record I have of the family prior to Henry William's marriage to Mary Helen
Finn just one year later in Nechells. I have subsequently learnt that
Thomas Clayton may have actually
originated from Willenhall, near Wolverhampton. The 1901
Census The 1901 census records the
family of Thomas and Emma Clayton living at 73 Mount Street in the parish of
St Clement in the East Division of Birmingham. Thomas stated that he was 59,
a blacksmith born in Wolverhampton. His wife Emma Clayton was 56 at the time
of the census. What is interesting about the
1901 census is the occurrence of new names in the Clayton family. Also
recorded in the household at 73 Mount Street were: Francis Clayton aged 21, a
bricklayers labourer born in Birmingham and recorded as the son of Thomas and
Emma. Samuel Clayton, another son
born in Birmingham, aged 9. Frederick Geenes, a grandson born in Birmingham,
aged 14. Francis Clayton, another grandson born in Birmingham, aged 3. It seemed strange that no one
in the family recalled the son Francis, who would therefore have been great
-granddad Clayton’s younger brother. Especially as there are such clear
memories of his other brothers, Alf, Fred and Samuel. Albert Clayton, the grandson
of Alf, has recently
mentioned to me that his grandfather had a brother named Frank who may
have gone to the Klondyke with Alfred and Frederick around this time. There
is no sign of either Fred or Alf in the 1901 census in the UK. I believe that there must be
an error in the recording of the other son Samuel, aged 9, in this census. We
already know that great granddad’s brother Samuel was born much earlier, he
is recorded in the 1881 census and there is a birth index record for his
birth in 1871, which would make him about 30 years old in 1901. We know that Samuel did not
die early, because my father Geoff remembers seeing him at granddad Clayton’s
funeral many years later - so it is extremely unlikely that Thomas and Emma
would name two of their sons Samuel. We can therefore speculate that the 9
year old Samuel recorded in the 1901 census was therefore a grandson, not a
son. Could he have been the son of Samuel senior who was in prison at the
time of the census? The other two boys named in
the 1901 census, Frederick Geenes and Francis Clayton were also new names in
my own research. However, new information has recently thrown light on who,
at least one of these children might have been. It should be noted here that
Mount Street was also the address given by Alfred Clayton on his marriage
certificate in 1899. Anecdotal
evidence about William's brothers and
his sister Pem In December 2002, I made new
links with other people researching the Clayton family tree through the
Virtual Brum website. These included Julie Brindley in Burntwood, Staffs and
Ralph Edwards in Winnipeg, Canada, who are both descendants of great granddad
Clayton’s older sister, Mary Emma. Also Carole Graham in Leicester, who is
descended from another Emma Clayton who was the sister of great granddad
Clayton’s father, Thomas. In June 2005 I made contact
with yet another Clayton descendant living in a far off land, this time
Albert Clayton who lives in Australia. I have already referred to Albert at
the start of this document as being the person who has traced the Claytons to
Shrewsbury. Albert is the grandson of Alf, Henry William’s brother. I am
indebted to all of these people, as well as my father’s cousins in
Birmingham, including Bill, Dennis and Sheila who have all contributed
information and stories in the next few pages. Prior to the fascinating new
evidence about these sides of the Clayton family, I had limited recorded
information concerning the family of Emma Brookes and Thomas Clayton, or the
origins of either the Claytons in Willenhall or the Brookes family of Hockley. There has been quite strong
anecdotal evidence passed down from members of my father's generation about
their grandfather's brothers and his sister (Henry William Clayton was
my father's grandfather,
making Thomas his great grandfather). The Clayton family are
remembered as being very musical. William's brother Frederick was both an
accomplished cornet and piano player, whilst the youngest brother Alf was
also a brilliant pianist who played the piano in the early cinemas, providing
background music to the old silent movies. Many members of the family recall
both Fred and Alf coming around to their brother's home in Garbett Street,
Ladywood to play on their sister-in-law Mary's piano. My father Geoff recalls
Alf playing a melody called Over The
Waves whilst his cousin Bill recalls him playing The Blue Danube. Bill told me that Alf worked for the Moss
Empires theatre. Geoff Millington recalls Grand
Uncle Fred being a smartly dressed man who wore a black suit and a bowler
hat, often to be found sat at the piano. As I understand it through family
anecdote, Fred apparently married a lady referred to as Aunty May, who was
the mother of Emily Wayne, who in turn married George Clayton, the son of
Henry William Clayton. I believe this could have been Fred’s second marriage.
My aunty Kath referred to Fred having two daughters named Anna and Sylvia who
were, like their father, talented pianists. She also told me that these girls
once saw a ghostly regiment of phantom soldiers passing through their house
and wrote a letter about their experience to the Birmingham Evening Mail. My father’s cousin Bill
Clayton mentioned other daughters of May and Fred by the names of Hilda and
Miriam, also a son possibly named Fred. Sylvia lived to a very old age and
Bill Clayton believes she died in about 2003, leaving a daughter named Joan
Chambers who lives in the Weoley Castle area. Bill elaborated on the family
tree and how it relates to his mother Emily Wayne and her mother May, who
both became Claytons: “Fred Clayton was actually my
mother’s step father. Her real father died of pneumonia. May was born in
London near West Ham, her father was a Jew. The family did have a Jewish name but they changed it to Philips,
as Jewish people were inclined to do back then. May’s family had businesses down Summer Lane”. Another memory of Aunt May,
this one from my dad’s brother Bill Millington, recalled her living with one
of her daughters in Garbett Street, presumably a widow following Fred
Clayton’s death. For many years the family are also recalled living in a
cottage close to St Peter’s RC Church near Broad Street. William's brother Samuel, who
was his closest brother in age, is recalled as being "the black sheep of
the family". Samuel had apparently done time in prison where he had
mastered the skill of rolling his own cigarettes. There is one theory that
Samuel may have emigrated to the United States. There is a record for a Samuel
Clayton residing in H.M. Prison Birmingham in the 1901 census. This Samuel
Clayton is 31 years old and is a prisoner along with 559 others in the
institution. His trade is given as a painter. I have been informed that there
is also a record for a Frederick Clayton in prison in the 1891 census, which
would link to a story in the family that brother Fred also went to prison as
a young man. William's sister, Mary E, who
was six years his senior, became known as Aunty Pem (probably a shortened
version of her middle name Emma or Emily). It is suggested that William did
not like his big sister Pem, some describing the relationship as frosty to
say the least. My father's sister Kathleen told me: "Granddad didn’t get on
with his sister Pem. If he heard her coming through the front door he would
leave by the back door." Aunty Pem lived in the
Nechells area of Birmingham and is recalled by many people as being an
eccentric old dear who told people's fortunes from their tea leaves. As an
old lady Pem was a frequent visitor to the Millington family home in Monument
Road, Ladywood in the 1940s, where she would tell fortunes to relatives and
friends by appointment. My father, Geoff Millington
recalled: "Aunty Pem had an uncanny
gift of predicting the future. I remember that she once foretold that Doris
who worked at the pork butchers in Ladywood, would soon become pregnant. Most
people smiled at this prediction because, whilst Doris was a good looking
woman and financially sound, she was a confirmed spinster in her late
thirties with no prospects of either
marriage or romance. But a few weeks later a married fellow from round the
corner put poor Doris in the family way and Pem's prediction came true". My father's sister Nance
Bourne has added further information about the family and remembered Alf
playing the piano round at granny's: "Granddad didn't get on
with any of his brothers, except Alf, the piano player. He'd only have Alf in the house for a drink
and Alf'd start up on Granny's piano. It used to fill the whole house up, he
was gifted musically. But he didn't get on
with his sister Pem who told the fortunes, he'd say "Oh
no, here she comes". Granny used to say "you shouldn't be so cruel
to her" but he'd be off out the back if she ever came down the street.
She was a wanderer was Pem, she wandered around". Coming
soon to this website — More about the Clayton family of old Ladywood plus
other local families from Newtown, Hockley, Ladywood, Aston & Lee Bank: Adderley Chiswell Edwards Finn Flynn Jeenes / Geenes Millington O’Hagan Payne |
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