Charles Smith, Rebecca Salter and Esther Salter

Great Yarmouth St. Nicholas Minster
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Adrian S Pye - geograph.org.uk/p/5816819

Charles Smith (b. 1762) of the parish of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Mariner, married Rebecca Salter daughter of Farrow Salter and Esther Mason, at what is now the church of St. Nicholas Minster, Great Yarmouth, on 9 Sep 1783. 

Charles and Rebecca Smith had three daughters, all baptised at Great Yarmouth, St Nicholas with St Peter, St John, St Andrew, St James, St Paul & St Luke:

1. Rebecca Smith b. 19 May 1785, bap. 24 May 1785
2. Margaret Smith b. 15 Aug 1786, bap. 20 Aug 1786
3. Esther Salter Smith b. 20 Feb 1789, bap. 4 Mar 1789. Buried 24 Oct 1790

However, Rebecca Salter Smith, wife of Charles Smith died aged 27 and was buried at Great Yarmouth, St Nicholas, on 27 Apr 1790.

Charles Smith then married Esther Salter, also daughter of Farrow Salter and Esther Mason, on 1 Nov 1791, at St Marylebone Parish Church, Marylebone Road, London. (Not the current St Marylebone Parish Church, but the 3rd church, opened in 1742, where Lord Byron was baptised in 1788; Admiral Horatio Nelson was a worshipper there and his daughter Horatia was baptised there. This is also the church where diplomat Sir William Hamilton married Emma Hart, later Nelson's lover. The old church closed in 1926, but was not demolished until 1949, following WWII bomb damage. Its site, Old Church Garden, is now a Garden of Rest, created in 1951.) Charles Smith was marrying his late wife's sister. This was forbidden under ecclesiastical law (but not illegal until the Marriage Act in 1835). However, in 1791, the marriage between a widower and his wife’s sister, was valid but voidable. It could be voided or annulled if successfully challenged by any interested party. Perhaps there was less chance of them being challenged in London.

I've found records for four children to Charles and Esther Smith:

1. Charles Smith b. 19 Aug 1793, bap. 22 Aug 1793 at St. Nicholas, now Great Yarmouth Minster. Died, at 5, and was buried on 22 Aug 1798.
2. Ann Smith b. 29 Mar 1801, bap. 24 Apr 1801 at Saint Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, London.
3. Christiana Smith b. 1 Jan 1803, bap. 28 Jan 1803 at Saint Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey. Died, aged 4, and was buried on 7 Nov 1806 at Southwark, St John, the Parish Church of Horsleydown, Horsleydown, Surrey, described as being 'from the Parish of St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey'.
4. Mary Smith b. 10 Dec 1805, bap. 2 Feb 1806 at Saint Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey.

St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, being such a large church, seems to have been a very busy place in the 1790s. There were, for example, several lads called Charles Smith baptised there in 1793, but enormous thanks to the clerks there, who had clearly foreseen the potential for confusion and listed the mother's full name, with maiden name, on all the baptisms, as well as specifying that detail on the 1798 burial.

There are no records of further children baptised to this couple in Great Yarmouth, nor in Bermondsey that I can find. That's not to say there weren't any. It's clear they were still in the parish of St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey at least until 1806, but I'm less confident of being able to follow their story further.

Charles Smith will inevitably be more difficult to pin down. That I've got this far with a Smith is close to miraculous. It was only by working down the children of William Arthur Sawyer and Ann Smith (they named their first Ann Salter Sawyer, so I was sure that Salter was Ann's mother's maiden name), that revealed the aunt, Ann's sister, Mary Smith, who, in turn, named her father on her marriage in 1856 as Charles Smith that then allowed me to find the girls' baptisms with common parents and that led to finding the marriage. This is a lesson in why it's a huge mistake to concentrate only on direct ancestors: they may be hiding in collateral lines. 

William Arthur Sawyer and Ann Smith

Beach, Gorleston-on-Sea
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © PAUL FARMER - geograph.org.uk/p/6203072

William Arthur Sawyer (b. 18 Nov 1798, bap. 20 Nov 1798 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk), son of John Sawyer and Charlotte Manning, married Ann Smith, daughter of Charles Smith and Esther Salter, on 29 Jun 1822 at St Andrew's Church, Gorleston, Suffolk (now Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk).

There are records for five children:

1. Ann Salter Sawyer bap. 15 Jun 1825 at The Minster Church of St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
2. Henrietta Mary Sawyer bap. 15 Sep 1828 at The Minster Church of St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
3. Jane Sawyer b. 19 Jul 1832, bap. 22 Jul 1832 at The Minster Church of St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. 
4. William Arthur Sawyer b. 10 Aug 1835, bap. 13 Sep 1835 at The Minster Church of St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
5. Margaret Manning Sawyer, b. 1840 D Quarter in GREAT YARMOUTH Vol 13 Page 329 (mother's name SMITH), bap. 20 Apr 1851 in Great Yarmouth.

On the baptisms William Sawyer's occupation is listed as Cordwainer, which makes the distinction that he was a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather, as opposed to a cobbler who just repairs them. On Jane and William Arthur's baptisms, their denomination, curiously, is listed as Primitive Methodist and that these are the records of NORFOLK: Yarmouth Tabernacle (Prim. Methodist): Births & Baptisms, but on the originals, it is clearly written that the baptisms were at St Nicholas. 

Also on Jane's baptism, her mother is listed as 'Ann Sawyer, otherwise Salter', the latter used as a middle name for eldest child, Ann. We know from the marriage record and from the registration of Margaret's birth that her maiden name was Smith. As we see, Salter was Ann Smith's mother's maiden name.

In 1841, William Sawyer (35) was living in George Street, Great Yarmouth, with wife Ann (35), Ann (15), Henrietta (10), Jane (8), William (6) and Margaret (0).

In 1851, William Sawyer (50), Shoe Maker, and Ann Sawyer (50), birthplace London, were living at 100, Row, St Georges Ward, [Great] Yarmouth, Norfolk, England with Henrietta (22), Jane (18), William (15) and Margaret (10).

Henrietta Sawyer died, age estimated to 22, in 1852 S Quarter in KINGSTON UPON HULL Volume 09D Page 165. This is useful to pin down the timeframe during which the family had must have relocated to Hull.

William Arthur Sawyer died in 1858 D Quarter in SCULCOATES Volume 09D Page 104 and was buried, on 24 Nov 1858 at All Saints Church, Sculcoates. 

In 1861, Ann Sawyer (50) - ten years out - widow, was boarding with her son-in-law, George Holland and eldest daughter, Ann, at 5, Kings Square, Sculcoates. Jane Sawyer (28) was living in Market Place, Kendal, Westmorland with her widowed Aunt (her mother's sister) Mary Taylor, assisting in her grocery business.

In 1871, Ann Sawyer (70) widow, was living with her youngest daughter, Margaret M Wall (30) Widow, School Mistress, at Lumpers Row (School House), Dawley, Madeley, Shropshire. Jane Sawyer (34ish) was still at Market Place House, Kendal, Westmorland with her Aunt, now remarried, Mary Archer.

Ann Sawyer wasn't with any of the immediate family anywhere in 1881, so I'm fairly sure she died in the interim decade. There is a death of an Ann Sawyer, of the right age 75 in 1876, in Warwick, Warwickshire (Q4 Vol 6D Page 299). This is relatively close to the midlands area she was living in with her youngest daughter and my research didn't find any corresponding local woman whose death it could have been instead, so I think it reasonable to believe this may be her.

In 1881, Jane Sawyer (48) Retired grocer was living with her younger sister, Margaret M Wall at School House, Sedgwick, Kendal, Westmorland.

In 1891, Jane Sawyer (58) Living on own means, was staying with her older sister, Ann Salter Holland, in Convent Lane, Holy Trinity and St Mary, Hull. 

In 1901, Jane Sawyer (68) from Yarmouth, Norfolk, was living at Bindless Lodge, Milnthorpe, Kendal, Westmorland.

In 1911, still at Bindloss Cottage Homes (Bindloss Cottages, Milnthorpe, an Almshouse Charity), Milnthorpe, Westmorland, was Jane Smith Sawyer (78) from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, listed as 'Occupant of bindloss homes', along with Marion Lamb (64) and Mary Ann Ashburner (55), both listed as Nurse attendant. 

Jane Smith Marianne Sawyer died, aged 79, in 1912 J Quarter in KENDAL Volume 10B Page 787. She certainly didn't have those ever increasing second names (obviously, Smith was her mother's maiden name) at baptism, but adding them has proven very useful in locating and confirming the record of her death.

Mary Smith, William Taylor and George Archer

Cafe corner of Market Place, Kendal
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Alexander P Kapp - geograph.org.uk/p/1760160

Mary Smith was Aunt to the daughters of William Arthur Sawyer and Ann Smith, so we may reasonably assume she was Ann Smith's sister. Baptism records show that both girls are the daughters of Charles Smith and Esther Salter.

In 1841, there is a Jane Smith (37), along with a Mary Smith (34) both described as Scholastic - of or concerning schools and education - residing at St Paul Terrace, Islington, London. In the household also were Maria [surname unreadable] (35) also a Scholastic; Johanna Morgan (17) Female Servant; Mary Crafts (15), Elizabeth Bailey (11), Sarah Bailey (9), Emily Lidington (8) and Isabel Smith (7). Presumably this was a private girls' school and most of those latter girls were the pupils. If this is the right Mary Smith, it seems quite conceivable that Jane Smith, could also have been Ann and Mary's sister, but I've not found a baptism to confirm this. With a name like Smith, it's equally possible that she was no relation whatsoever.

In 1851, Mary Smith (44) School Mistress, from Bermondsey, Surrey, was living at Coathow, Kendal, Westmorland. (The Grasmere parish register has a burial for 30 May 1802, 'William Udale of Coathow Loughrigg a pauper'. Source.) So, taking a wild guess, Coathow may be a house, farm or place close to Loughrigg Fell.

William Taylor, widower, son of Thomas Taylor, married Mary Smith, in Kendal, Westmorland on 1 Jun 1856. On the record of the marriage, Mary's father is listed as Charles Smith. There was a William Taylor bap. 6 Mar 1796, whose parents were Thomas and Jane Taylor, who could possibly be the chap.

By 1861, Mary Taylor (56) Widow, Flour dealer was living at Market Place, Kendal, Westmorland, with Jane Sawyer (28) Niece (her sister Ann's daughter), Assistant and William Taylor (8) Grandson - her late husband's grandson - from Grasmere, Westmorland. This lad may provide the clue to discover more about his grandfather, however, there was a death of a William Taylor of the right age, 63, in 1860 M Quarter in KENDAL Volume 10B Page 430, which probably relates.

In the 4th quarter of 1861, Mary Taylor married George Archer, also in Kendal.

Prior to this marriage, George Archer, Widower, Brewer from Underbarrow, Westmorland, in 1851, had been a servant in the household of Innkeeper, Thomas Walne in Strickland Gate, Kendal, Westmorland, and in 1861, was Brewer in the employ of William Slee, Inn keeper at the Seven Stars Inn, Stricklandgate (since demolished to make way for a shopping centre).

So in 1871, George Archer (67) Flour dealer was living at Market Place House, Kendal, Westmorland, with Mary Archer (60) and Jane Sawyer (34) Niece.

George Archer died, at 70, in 1874 M Quarter in KENDAL Vol 10B Page 498.

In 1881, Mary Archer (74) Widow, Retired grocer, along with Jane Sawyer (48) Retired grocer, were staying with Margaret M Wall (40) School Mistress at School House, Sedgwick, Kendal, Westmorland. Mary Archer was also Margaret's aunt and Jane was Margaret's elder sister. The record states that Mary Archer was deaf.

Mary Archer died, at 78 (Volume 10B Page 415) and was buried on 17 Aug 1885.

William Smith and Ivy Tummon

Welwyn Park Avenue, Hull
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ian S - geograph.org.uk/p/6809621

Ivy Tummon (b. 17 Oct 1904), daughter of Tom Tummon and Bertha Ainsworth, first cousin of Fanny Tummon, married William Smith (b. 27 Nov 1900) in Sculcoates, in 1923. William Smith's mother's maiden name was ... wait for it ... Smith! Whether William was born illegitimately, whether his parents were cousins, or whether this is just a coincidence, it's near impossible to discover. 

William and Ivy may have had several children, of those I believe belong:

1. Ivy Smith b. 1924 Q1 in Sculcoates (Vol 9D Page 389)
2. William Smith b. 1929 Q1 in Sculcoates (Vol 9D Page 348), died in the same quarter of 1929 (Vol 9D Page 352)
3. William T Smith b. 1931 Q2 in Sculcoates (Vol 9D Page 361)

In 1939, William Smith, General Labourer and Ivy Smith were living at 204 Welwyn Park Avenue, Kingston Upon Hull. There are then four currently closed records in the household, which could potentially relate to children. Two of these could be Ivy and William T, but I cannot identify further children that would fit, unless some of those that I've attributed to Clarence and Fanny Smith, actually belong to this couple. Equally, these or the closed entries in that other household could relate to visiting kids from elsewhere in the family, lodgers, or anyone.

It hasn't been possible to identify William or Ivy's deaths.

Clarence Smith and Fanny Tummon

York Road, Hull
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ian S - geograph.org.uk/p/6820533

Fanny Tummon (b. 25 Jan 1907), daughter of George Tummon and Fanny Elwick, married at 16 to Clarence Smith, in Hull in 1923. Sadly, there are more than a few people, around the right age, called Clarence Smith to be certain which.

Potentially Clarence and Fanny had eight children:

1. Gladys Smith b. 15 Jun 1924 in Sculcoates (Vol: 9d Page: 226)
2. George Smith b. 1925 in Hull (Vol: 9d Page: 439) 
3. Irene Smith b. 1928 in Hull (Vol: 9d Page: 437) 
4. Clarence Smith b. 6 Apr 1930 in Hull (Vol: 9d Page: 452) 
5. Dorothy Irene Smith b. 1932 in Hull (Vol: 9d Page: 447) 
6. Ethel Smith b. 1934 Sculcoates (Vol: 9d Page: 154)
7. James Smith b. 11 Jun 1936 (Vol 9D Page 171) 
8. Mary E Smith b. 1938 in Hull (Vol: 9d Page: 289) 

In 1939, listed as Frances (Fanny) Smith, was living at 105 York Road, Hull, with eight other people, whom I assume were her children and included Gladys Smith, Glove machinist; two closed entries who I assume are George and Irene; Clarence Smith, At School; then two further closed records, who could be Dorothy and Ethel; James Smith, Under School Age and finally another closed record, which would fit Mary. Although Fanny is listed as married, Clarence is not listed in the household, so there are no further clues to his age, etc., to narrow him down.

Obviously, there are numerous assumptions here, but the GRO records for this time don't currently confirm the mother's maiden name and it wouldn't help anyway, as Fanny's first cousin, Ivy Tummon (daughter of Fanny's father, George Tummon's elder brother, Tom) had married a William Smith in the same year 1923, so separating the children to the right couples has been mostly guesswork.

Frances Smith, but of the right birth date, died, aged 76, in Hull in 1983.

Without knowing more about Clarence, I cannot identify his death.