Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Family history

I knew nothing of my family history until I undertook to study it for myself. Mum's ancestors lived in Deptford and Greenwich. One of our lines, the Robinsons, were shipwrights until the Deptford docks closed in 1869. One ancestor became a blacksmith, while others transferred to Woolwich to work the docks there. I told the tale of my ancestor James Robinson, who was robbed on Boxing Day 1839. He lived in Copperas Lane, Deptford, which later changed its name to Bronze St. The family also lived in Church St.
In the 1890s, Charles Booth walked the streets of London and described what he saw, and produced a colour-coded poverty map of London. Needless to say, my people weren't exactly millionaires. I attach Booth's description of Bronze St and Church St at the time my family lived in the area.

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