Catherine (or Caroline) HOOKINS Tree A

Some people are difficult to follow in Family History because their names change. Sometimes this is because of bad handwriting in records or because the transcribers have made an error. So you get mis-spellings of names (and our surname bears particular evidence of that!). Also because of the problems of illiteracy in the earlier days of records sometimes details are mis-heard and entered incorrectly unknown to the provider of the information as they were unable to verify it in its written form.

Brompton Ralph Parish Church

Catherine SLADE married James HOOKINS a Shoemaker, on 12 April 1860 at the Parish Church in Brompton Ralph and the marriage was witnessed by a John SLADE (who could be an older brother of Caatherine) and Jane HOOKINS who presumably is James' younger sister of that name.

Brompton Ralph Parish Church

However Catherine seems to have been born as Caroline SLADE in 1839 in Elworthy, Somerset and the 1841 Census informs us that she is the daughter of James SLADE, a carpenter, and his wife Sophia where she is living at Cross Gate in Elworthy with her parents and 5 siblings, one of whom is 5 year old Charles. Caroline is the youngest at 1 as is detailed as "Carline".
By 1851 Catherine, as she was now, was living with just her brother Charles in Brompton Ralph. Charles appears to be only 14 (although Census transcribers have recorded it as 44!) and is a Gatekeeper but is also recorded as the Head of this "family unit". Catherine's mother, now it seems aged 53, is living at Bicknoller with John SLADE and his family, and presumably he is the brother present at Catherine's marriage.
By 1861, now married, James and Catherine are living in Brompton Ralph with their 1 year old daughter Louisa (later found to be Mary Louisa!!). 10 years later they are living at Parks, Brompton Ralph. Catherine is now described as a Dressmaker and she and James have added Adelaide Caroline to their family. Sadly in addition they had also had a son Francis James who was born in February 1870 but died 8 months later.
In the 1881 Census their address is described as Parks Cottage. Catherine remains as a Dressmaker and she and James have now added Mabel to their family who is living with them and her elder sister Adelaide. Mary Louisa is by this time a Servant in Williton.
Catherine changes to Caroline for the 1891 Census, still a Dressmaker and still at Park Cottage with James and the 2 remaining youngest children. She is still Caroline when they appear in the 1901 Census a short distance away from Parks Cottage as James is now not only a Shoemaker but also the Innkeeper at The Carpenter's Arms. With James and Caroline is their married daughter, now Mary Louisa WILLIAMS, and there is also a Servant living with them.

177 Hambrough Road Southall

A year later James died aged 69 and was buried in Brompton Ralph churchyard beside the church it which they had married 43 years before. So by the time of the 1911 Census Caroline was living with her married daughter, now Mabel Annie COPPEN at 177 Hambrough Road, Southall. Mabel was an Assistant to a Professor of Chemistry at Imperial College of Science & Technology.



                                                         
Catherine seems to have continued to live in London because this is where she died, recorded as Caroline, in 1924 in Uxbridge.