William James WEBB

1860 -

• Name	William James WEBB
  Birth	1860	4, Newcastle Place, Stepney, Middlesex   [1]
  Baptism	19 Aug 1860	St. Thomas, West Arbour St., Stepney, Middlesex   [1]
  Gender	Male
  1861 Census	4, Popes Hill, Shadwell, Middlesex   [2]
  	At 1861 Census, he is 8m
  1881 Census	19a, Pundersons Gardens, Bethnal Green, Middlesex   [3]
  	At 1881 Census, he is 21, occ "Horse Keeper"
  1891 Census	23, Buckhurst St., Bethnal Green, Middlesex   [4]
  	At 1891 Census, he is 30, occ "Horse Feeder"
  1901 Census	31, Pott St., Bethnal Green, Middlesex   [5]
  	At 1901 Census, he is 40, occ "Horsekeeper"
  1911 Census	8, Pott Street, Bethnal Green, Middlesex   [6]
  	At 1911 Census, he is 50, occ "Horse Keeper" (for a "railway company")
  1921 Census	At 1921 Census, he is 60y 11m, occ "Horsekeeper"  [7]
  Person ID	I158	Webb
  Last Modified	9 Mar 2025

  
  

  Father	William James WEBB,   b. 1839, 27, Austin St., Bethnal Green, Middlesex
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Sarah Elizabeth STEVENSON,   b. Abt 1841, Shadwell, Middlesex
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	5 Oct 1857	St. George in the East, Tower Hamlets   [8]
  Notes	After 1861 the story of William and Sarah becomes less clear. In the 1871 Census, Sarah is married to Alfred, a joiner from Suffolk, living in West Ham. This clearly is the right Sarah as her mother is there too. But in 1881 Alfred appears back in Suffolk, unmarried, with his Aunt and Uncle. There is no complete evidence for Sarah anywhere after 1871, in Census or in BMD indices, but it might be presumed that she had died and Alfred then went back to his roots. I can find no record of Sarah WEBB (or STEVENSON) marrying Alfred WEBB. Slightly less likely is that they were not living together in 1871, Alfred was just lodging, and for convenience went in as head, or that this was his property and Sarah and some of her children, and her mother, were lodging with Alfred. Robert(2), Susannah(1 wk), are also there but without the birth certificates do not know who their father is. I have not found Robert or Susannah later than this but they are with none of the possible parents in 1881. Lastly, there is a Sarah WEBB who died in Shoreditch Jan qtr 1870. This means that Alfred just reported her (by mistake, or for simplicity or public perception?), but she was not actually alive. William meanwhile appears in 1881 and 1891 Censuses, in 1981 as widowed, with Harriet HALL (married) as a housekeeper. There are likely children, James(1y 8m) and Emma(3m), born to Harriet and William, so again they either married or were treated as such. The key indicator here is that William is a Fish Porter, so I am fairly sure we have the right person, given age, place of birth and children. Church records have John George born to William and Harriet 10/12/1882 (bapt 2/10/1888), then James Walter and Harry Charles, twins born 28/7/1879 (bapt 21/9/1879) to William and Harriet. James and John appear in School lists in 1892 (living at 24, Elstead St., father a fish porter), but there is no Harry. Then in 1891 William is married to Emma. Again there is no BMD evidence for Harriet's marriage or death (there is no Harriet Hall in death indices), nor for any marriage to Emma. Perhaps most likely is that Emma and Harriet are the same person and that one of the names (probably Harriet) was written down incorrectly. There is possible death evidence for both Emma (Lewisham Q1 1898, aged 42, which matches the Census) and William (Southwark Q4 1895 aged 55, giving DOB of 1840, which is close enough).
  Family ID	F57	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Jane MARSHALL,   b. 1 Nov 1860, Bethnal Green, Middlesex
  Marriage	13 Oct 1879	Parish Church, Bethnal Green, Middlesex   [9]
  Notes	They had 6 children, based on 1911 Census, all listed at 1901 viz:- Clara, 16 Charlotte, 15 Ellen, 13 Florence, 8 Jane, 5 William, 2
  Family ID	F177	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	9 Mar 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Baptism - 19 Aug 1860 - St. Thomas, West Arbour St., Stepney, Middlesex  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  There are too many options to establish death, but it seems fairly clear he was not in the 1939 Register, and therefore died between 1921 and 1939. The most likely (but by no means certain) death is therefore 1934 in London City.

  
  

• Sources

  [S252] Baptism register :- St Thomas, Stepney (1860). [S256] 1861 Census :- 4, Popes Hill, Shadwell, Middlesex. [S412] 1881 Census :- 19a, Pundersons Gardens, Bethnal Green, Middlesex. [S2883] 1891 Census :- 23, Buckhurst St., Bethnal Green, Middlesex. [S411] 1901 Census :- 31, Pott St., Bethnal Green, Middlesex. [S410] 1911 Census :- 8, Pott Street, Bethnal Green, Middlesex. [S2809] 1921 Census :- Crecent House, Cartwright Street, Whitechapel. [S250] Marriage register entry :- William James Webb - Sarah Elizabeth Stevenson (1857). [S409] Marriage register entry :- William J Webb - Jane Marshall (1879).