Martin Genealogy Blog

The MARTIN family moved to 43 Engleheart Road in November 1905, when William MARTIN 1 (Charles & Emma’s son) moved with his wife Emily (née COOPER) and their first-born, William 2 (my grandfather), who was born earlier the same year.

We don’t know what prompted the move but we do know that William 1 set up a window cleaning business in Catford and, from the 1911 census record for the house, we find that W’s brother Jack (then 21) was an assistant, along with a William WELLS (also 21), both of whom lodged with W’s family.

William & Em grew their family there, with the addition of Emily (1907), Harry (born Henry, 1909) and Violet (1911). William 1 died in 1912, after falling from his ladder.

After that, we know that Em and her children remained living there and Em & W’s first son, William 2, was living there with his wife, Emily Rose BELCHEM when their first child, my Dad, William 3, was born there in 1926, and his brother, Pete, in 1932.

We understand that various cousins lived nearby in the late twenties/early 30s. William 1’s daughter, Emily, married William BROOME, and their son Clive remembers living nearby.

I’d love to know what happened to Charles & Emma’s other children. Did they remain in Lambeth? Did any, apart from Jack, move to Catford?

I’ve now got a copy of the 1911 census records for 43 Engleheart Road, Catford, which gives the following info:

• William Martin (1) (Head), 26, m 8 years, Window Cleaner (Employer), b Lambeth
• Emily Martin (Wife) 24, m 8 years, 4 children all living, b Lambeth
• William Martin (2) (son), 6, b Lambeth
• Emily Martin, (daughter), 4, b Catford
• Henry* Martin (son), 2, b Catford
• Violet Martin (daughter), 6 months, b Catford
• Jack Martin (brother), 21, single, Window Cleaner, assistant, b Lambeth
• William Wells (assistant), 21, single, Window Cleaner, assistant, b Woolwich

Jack was born John Martin and was William 1’s brother. We understand that one of William’s brothers took over the window cleaning business after W died in 1912. Looks like it was probably Jack! Would be great to find out if Jack married and who his family was.

*Henry was known as Harry. He married Grace Ingram and died 1997, Worcester Park, Surrey. He and his brother, William 2, were great mates throughout their lives.

Dad & I went to London on 18th & 19th May 2007 to try to fill in some particular gaps in our knowledge of our Martin ancestors. We went to:

1. Peabody Buildings - the one just of Stamford Street, Lambeth, where my granddad, William MARTIN, lived just after his birth, with his father, William MARTIN & mother, Emily Sarah MARTIN (nee COOPER). We took photos of the estate, which will appear on the website soon. It was built to house London’s poor but had an unexpectedly well cared for look to it now!
2. Some of the streets where our family lived:
   i. Charles Street (now Nicholson Street) had none of the original housing. Probably bombed or just redeveloped. Have taken photos of the current street.
   ii. Duke Street (now Duchy Street), had very little of the original housing. The plot of grassy parkland just East of the northern part of Duchy St is where Cory Square used to be, when granddad was born there in 1905. Have taken various photos of the area.
   iii. Goding St (no 36, to be exact!). On visiting the street, there are no houses on the south side. On the north side there are businesses underneath the railway arches. Presumably the houses were destroyed in WW2 or were pulled down at some other time. I’ve written to London Metropolitan Archives for further info.
3. Christ Church, Southwark (Blackfriars Bridge Road), where William MARTIN & Emily COOPER were married in 1903. Have taken photos of the church, though the actual building our folks got married in was bombed in 1941.
4. Family Records Office - I wanted get advice on how best to increase certainty we are looking at the correct records for Charles MARTIN & his family. A Frederick Charles Martin appears on the birth certificates of his children (William, Emma & Catherine). Clive, one of the researchers at the FRC, advised us that this was almost certainly the same person as the Charles Martin given in the census records we have (1881, 1891, 1901) and also in the marriage certificate of his son, William (1). On his advice we’ve ordered the marriage certificate for a Charles Frederick MARTIN & Emily (not Emma) RICHARDSON (Lambeth 1871). This should give us some more clues. This was my first visit to the FRC. If you haven’t been before it is excellent.
5. London Metropolitan Archives - Another first visit. On the advice of the helpful Ms Wagg, from the Peabody Trust, we found the rent record books for K Block, Peabody Buildings (Stamford Street estate) and found that our William MARTIN moved to 22 K Block with his wife, Emily, in late January 1905 (about 2 weeks after granddad was born), and left in Nov 1905, with the comment: gone to Catford. This was probably to the house at 43 Engleheart Road, Catford, that the family lived in until the early 1930s.