Table of Contents
This family group is one of the most extensive in my family history, and so to aid readability it is split across eight parts.
G5: Mary Ann Copus (1848-1876) and Esther Copus (1850-1870)
Unusually, we are considering the histories of these two sisters together given the intertwined nature of their lives.
Birth: Mary Ann Copus was born in Ireland during 1846. She was the fifth child of William and Mary. Her father was an English soldier stationed there with the Royal Artillery. They soon moved back to England to live in Woolwich. Esther was born there during 1850.
Marriage (1): Esther married George Watts on 26 September 1867 at St Mary Magdalene Church in Woolwich. Esther was just 16 years old and was likely pregnant at the time, while George was 22.
Spouse history: George had been born in Woolwich in around 1845.
Children: (1) George in 1868, (2) Esther in 1869.
Deaths: Esther died in 1870 when aged just 20 and was buried at Linthorpe Cemetery on 30 October.
Marriage (2): following Esther’s death, Mary began a relationship with George, and they were married within a year. The service took place at St Hilda’s Church on 1 May 1871.
Deaths: Mary died on 13 July 1876, aged just 28. She was buried at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cemetery.
Residences: Esther and George moved to Middlesbrough in 1869, following her sisters Elizabeth and Jane and their husbands (who were father and son) had had moved a couple of years earlier. Her mother and other siblings, including Mary, would soon follow.
By 1871, newlyweds Mary and George lived together on Grange Street, a short cul-de-sac of terraced houses in industrial north of the town. After her death George showed a continued close bond with his former wives’ family. In 1881 he lived next door to their older sister Jane and two along from another sister, Emily, and in 1891 next door to a third sister, Elizabeth.
- Mary: Ann Street, Woolwich (1851); Rush Grove, Woolwich (1852); 5 Rush Grove Street, Woolwich (1856-1867); 1 Grange Street, Middlesbrough (1871)
- Esther: Ann Street, Woolwich (1851); Rush Grove, Woolwich (1852); 5 Rush Grove Street, Woolwich (1856-1867); 17 Waterman’s Fields, Woolwich (1868);
- George: 17 Waterman’s Fields, Woolwich (1867-1868); 1 Grange Street, Middlesbrough (1871); 42 High Denmark Street, Middlesbrough (1881); 101 Grange Road West, Middlesbrough (1891); 1 Victoria Terrace, Middlesbrough (1901-1911); 9 Victoria Road, Middlesbrough (1921)
Occupations: George was a labourer who at times worked as a block maker and an engine fitter at an ironworks. By 1901 he had a complete change of occupation and becoming a self-employed furniture dealer. Mary was a servant.
Notes: George married for a third time in 1877, to Hannah Smith, with whom he had three more children (James, Charles and Henry). George died in 1928 when aged 83 and was buried in Linthorpe Cemetery on 14 June.
G4: George William Watts (1868-1947)
Birth: George William Watts was born in Woolwich on 28 June 1868, nine months after the marriage of his parents George and Esther.
Christening: on 16 August 1868 at St Mary Magdalene Church in Woolwich.
Marriage: to Louisa Grayson during 1887 in Middlesbrough. They were both aged 18.
Spouse history: Louisa had been born in Middlesbrough during 1869, the fourth child of Thomas Grayson and Elizabeth Waddle. She was christened at St Hilda’s Church during July. In 1871 the family had a terraced house on Dock Street close to the shipyards where her father worked as an iron shipwright. By 1881 they had moved to nearby School Croft, close to a large chemical works.
Children: (1) George in 1887, (2) Elizabeth in 1889, (3) Anthony in 1891, (4) John in 1893, (5) Florence in 1896, (6) Albert in 1899, (7) Edith in 1901, (8) Edward in 1904, (9) Earnest in 1910. Sadly, Elizabeth died in childhood.
Residences: the newlyweds lived on Brunswick Street, a narrow road adjacent to the railway station, but by 1904 had moved the short distance to Mount Street, before finally settling on Richardson Street.
- George: 1 Grange Street (1871); 42 High Denmark Street (1881); 10 Brunswick Street (1889-1901); 51 Mount Street (1904); 16 Richardson Street (1911-1939) – all in Middlesbrough.
- Louisa: 37 Dock Street (1871); 22 School Croft (1881); 10 Brunswick Street (1889-1901); 51 Mount Street (1904); 16 Richardson Street (1911-1935) – all in Middlesbrough.
Occupations: George initially worked in the shipyards before becoming a wringing machine repairer by 1901, a job he would hold for the next 40 years. In the early 20th century doing your laundry at home was a time-consuming and physically demanding job. As most homes had no hot running water, water had to be first heated on the stove. The weekly wash was then put into a tub with the hot water and soap. To help remove dirt, the laundry was either scrubbed using a washboard or agitated in the hot soapy water with a ‘dolly’ or stick. After the initial wash, the clothing and bedding would be repeatedly rinsed and rolled through a wringer (also known as a mangle) to get rid of the dirty water. Once rinsed and mangled, the damp laundry was hung up to dry. It appears that George’s job was to repair those valuable mangles, either those used at home or the industrial variants used in laundries.
Deaths: Louisa died on 20 August 1935 when aged 66 and was buried in Linthorpe Cemetery. George died on 11 March 1947 when aged 78. He was buried alongside his wife.
G3: George Thomas Watts (1887-?)
Birth: George Thomas Watts was born in Middlesbrough during 1887. He was the first child of newlyweds George and Louisa.
Christening: on 25 September 1887 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Residences: 23-year-old George had left home by the time of the 1911 census, when he was a boarder in the home of Herbert and Sarah Avery and their four children in a relatively new terraced house on Harford Street in the Ayresome suburb.
- 10 Brunswick Street, Middlesbrough (1889-1901); 18 Harford Street, Middlesbrough (1911)
Occupations: in 1911 George was an apprentice ship plater in one of the nearby shipyards.
Notes: it’s possible that he married Elsie B. Marshall in 1912, but further confirmation is needed.
G3: Elizabeth Hannah Watts (1889-1894)
Birth: Elizabeth Hannah Watts was born in Middlesbrough during 1889. She was the second child of George and Louisa.
Christening: on 1 September 1889 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Residences: 10 Brunswick Street, Middlesbrough (1889-1891).
Death: Elizabeth died aged 5 and was buried at Linthorpe Cemetery on 29 October 1894.
G3: Anthony Henry Watts (1891-1991)
Birth: Anthony Henry Watts was born in Middlesbrough on 8 August 1891. He was the third child of George and Louisa.
Christening: on 16 August 1891 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Marriage: to Bertha Everett Sheldon during 1914 in Middlesbrough. He was aged 22 and she was 20.
Spouse history: Bertha had been born in Thornaby-on-Tees on 26 September 1893 to bricklayer John Sheldon and his wife Mary Elizabeth – and was the youngest of their children by quite some way. She was christened a few weeks later at St Luke’s Church, not far from the family home on Walker Street. They later moved literally moved around the corner to Gilmore Street, and then on to Primrose Terrace.
Children: (1) Olga in 1916, (2) Dennis in 1920, (3) Barry in 1930.
Residences: in 1921 the family lived on Haddon Street. They later moved out to Redcar on the Yorkshire coast and by 1937 had a house on Thrush Road, close to the racecourse, where they lived for the next three decades.
- Anthony: 10 Brunswick Street, Middlesbrough (1891-1901); 51 Mount Street, Middlesbrough (1904); 16 Richardson Street, Middlesbrough (1911); 9 Haddon Street, Middlesbrough (1921); 41 Turner Street, Redcar (1934-1936), 63 Thrush Road, Redcar (1937-1969)
- Bertha: 3 Walker Street, Thornaby-on-Tees (1893); 5 Gilmore Street, Thornaby-on-Tees (1901); 24 Primrose Terrace, Thornaby-on-Tees (1911); 9 Haddon Street, Middlesbrough (1921); 41 Turner Street, Redcar (1934-1936), 63 Thrush Road, Redcar (1937-1969)
Occupations: in 1911 when he was aged 19, Anthony worked as a crane driver in a moulding shop. This was the section of an iron or steelworks where the molten metal was poured into a mould to produce cast metal products. This allowed for the mass production of complex and detailed shapes. By 1921 he was an engineer for the Furness Shipbuilding Company on Haverton Hill, an 85-acre site on the north bank of the Tees opposite Middlesbrough. This was a new shipyard that had only recently been built. After moving out to Redcar, Anthony worked as a machinist in the iron and steel industry.
Deaths: Bertha died aged 90 and was buried in Linthorpe Cemetery on 10 November 1983. Anthony survived her for eight years and died in the summer of 1991 when aged 99.
G2: Olga Lydia Watts (1916-1995)
Birth: Olga Lydia Watts was born in Middlesbrough on 23 April 1916. She was the first child of Anthony and Bertha.
Marriage: to Douglas Bond Somerville Thompson during 1936 in Guisborough. She was aged 19 and he was 23.
Spouse history: Douglas had been born in Middlesbrough on 15 November 1912 to Paul S. Thompson and Eliza Bond. In 1921 the family lived on Ruby Street in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, where his mother was a milliner shopkeeper. There is no mention of his father.
Children: unknown.
Divorce: the couple appeared to divorce in the late 1950s as Douglas married Hilary Mary Maddison in 1960. However, it’s possible that the couple re-married in 1982.
Residences: in 1935 Douglas lodged with the Pilkington family in their large home called ‘Beechwood’ on Victoria Terrace. After their marriage the couple moved to ‘Oakwood’ on Marton Moor in the village of Nunthorpe. They lived here for two years before moving to the similarly named Marton Road in Middlesbrough. Post-war they moved back to Saltburn where they lived in a large Victorian villa on leafy Albion Terrace. Olga continued to live there for a few years after their divorce.
- Olga: 9 Haddon Street, Middlesbrough (1921); ‘Oakwood’, Marton Moor, Nunthorpe (1937-1938); 206 Marton Road, Middlesbrough (1939); Hawthorne House, Albion Terrace, Saltburn by the Sea (1948-1963).
- Douglas: 52 Ruby Street, Saltburn by the Sea (1921); Beechwood, Victoria Terrace, Saltburn by the Sea (1935-1936); ‘Oakwood’, Marton Moor, Nunthorpe (1937-1938); 206 Marton Road, Middlesbrough (1939); Hawthorne House, Albion Terrace, Saltburn by the Sea (1948-1959); 9 Abdale Avenue, Middlesbrough (1992).
Occupation: by 1939 Douglas was a motor mechanic and a garage proprietor, probably in the garage adjacent to his home. He was also a part-time ambulance driver with the ARP.
Deaths: Olga died in April 1995 when aged 79.
Notes: Douglas died on 20 August 1992 when aged 79.
G2: Dennis Watts (1920-?)
Birth: Dennis Watts was born in Middlesbrough on 2 June 1920. He was the second child of Anthony and Bertha.
Occupations: by 1939 Dennis had followed in his father’s footsteps and was an apprentice turner in the iron and steel industry.
Residences: Dennis lived at home with his parents until the late 1940s.
- 9 Haddon Street, Middlesbrough (1921); 63 Thrush Road, Redcar (1939-1948)
Notes: it’s possible that he married Joyce Penketh in 1949, which coincides with him leaving home, but due to the commonality of his name more evidence is required. He likely died in 2010.
G3: John Charles Watts (1893-?)
Birth: John Charles Watts was born in Middlesbrough during 1893. He was the fourth child of George and Louisa.
Christening: on 19 December 1893 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Occupations: John was aged 17 when the 1911 census was taken and worked as a barman in a pub.
Residences: 10 Brunswick Street (1893-1901); 51 Mount Street (1904); 16 Richardson Street (1911) – all in Middlesbrough.
Notes: it’s likely that he married an Ada Gravelle in 1932 and died in 1976, but due to the commonality of his name more evidence is required.
G3: Florence Louisa Watts (1896-?)
Birth: Florence Louisa Watts was born in Middlesbrough during 1896. She was the fifth child of George and Louisa.
Christening: on 16 February 1896 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Residences: 10 Brunswick Street (1896-1901); 51 Mount Street (1904); 16 Richardson Street (1911) – all in Middlesbrough.
Notes: it’s likely that she married James Watts in 1917, but due to the commonality of her name more evidence is required.
G3: Albert William Watts (1899-1966)
Birth: Albert William Watts was born in Middlesbrough on 14 May 1899. He was the sixth child of George and Louisa.
Christening: on 28 May 1899 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Marriage: to Hannah Mora Morley on 3 June 1922 in Middlesbrough. He was aged 23 and she was 21.
Spouse history: Douglas had been born on 28 November 1900 in the village of Stokesley, eight miles south of Middlesbrough, and was the fourth and penultimate child of George William Morley and Elizabeth Jane Appleton. When the census was taken the following year, the family lived in a cottage in the nearby village of Hemlington where her father worked as a farm labourer. They moved back to Stokesley over the next decade where the 1911 census captured them living on a road called Beck Side. There is no sign of her father, yet her mother is not recorded as a widow.
Children: (1) Dorothy in 1922, (2) Albert in 1924.
Military service: Albert joined the army in June 1918 when aged 19, serving with the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry with service number 68032. He was transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps in May 1919 as a driver and given the service number 385115. He was discharged in April 1920 after less than two years of service. At the age of 26, Albert enlisted into the Territorial Force of the Royal Tank Corps on 11 February 1926 for a period of four years, receiving service number 545895.
Occupations: Albert was an electric welder in a foundry. This was a crucial role in joining metal components using electrical currents to generate heat. In a foundry setting, welding was often employed to assemble or repair metal structures, components, or castings.
Residences: in 1939 the family lived in a terraced house on Buxton Street, which would be there home well into the 1960s.
- Albert: 10 Brunswick Street (1899-1901); 51 Mount Street (1904); 16 Richardson Street (1911); 65 Buxton Street (1939-1966) – all in Middlesbrough.
- Hannah Mona Morley: Beck Side, Stokesley (1911); 65 Buxton Street, Middlesbrough (1939-1967)
Deaths: Albert died in Middlesbrough during 1966 when aged 67. Hannah died a year later on 22 July 1967 when aged 66.
Notes: on the 1911 census he was cited as ‘William Albert’ rather than ‘Albert William’.
G2: Dorothy Winifred Watts (1922-1991)
Birth: Dorothy Winifred Watts was born in Middlesbrough on 21 December 1922. She was the first child of Albert and Hannah.
Marriage: to Jeffrey Wright on 4 September 1943 in the small village of Scalford in Leicestershire. She was aged 20 and she was 22.
Spouse history: Jeffrey had been born in Scalford on 21 December 1920 to James Eaton Wright and Elizabeth Ellen Marsden. He was christened in March. It was a large family and Jeffrey was the sixth of an eventual nine children. They lived in a house on Chapel Street, while his father was a carter in the nearby brickyards of Lion Brick and Tile Co.
Children: two.
Occupations: in 1939 when she was aged 16, Dorothy worked as a grocery shop assistant. She still had this job when she was married, while Jeffrey was a farmer, however the certificate also shows that both were serving in the armed forces in the army and WRAF respectively.
Residences: they moved to the Derbyshire village of Kirk Hallam later in life.
- Dorothy: 65 Buxton Street, Middlesbrough (1939-1943); 69 Wirksworth Road, Kirk Hallam (1991)
- Jeffrey: Chapel St, Scalford (1921); Cumberland Lodge, Scalford (1943)
Deaths: Dorothy died in Kirk Hallam on 18 March 1991 when aged 68. Jeffrey survived her for five years and died there on 27 March 1996 when aged 75.
G2: Albert Watts (1924-2003)
Birth: Albert Watts was born in Stokesley on 18 October 1924. He was the second child of Albert and Hannah.
Occupations: in 1939 Albert worked an errand boy for an ironmonger. In 1967 he was a process engineer.
Residences: 65 Buxton Street, Middlesbrough (1939).
Death: in Middlesbrough during April 2003 when aged 78.
G3: Edith Lilian Watts (1901-1987)
Birth: Edith Lilian Watts was born in Middlesbrough on 24 July 1901. She was the seventh child of George and Louisa.
Christening: on 15 August 1901 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Marriage: to John Thomas Iseton during the summer of 1920 in Middlesbrough. She was aged 18 and he was 22.
Spouse history: John had been born in West Cornforth in Durham on 10 August 1897, the eldest son of newlyweds George Iseton and Jane Molyneux. By 1901 the young family had moved south to the Middlesbrough area where his father found work as a dock labourer. They lived in the nearby industrialised enclave Cargo Fleet in a terraced house on Tyne Street. John was registered at Princess Street Primary School in 1904. By 1911 they had moved to the small town of South Bank, about 3 miles from Middlesbrough, which had grown up around a steel works on the Tees. His father was a metal carrier in a blast furnace and the lived in a typical terraced house on Pym Street.
Children: (1) John in 1923, (2) Eric in 1929, (3) Peter in 1934.
Residences: in 1939 the family had a large terraced house on Endsleigh Drive on a new housing estate in the Acklam suburb.
- Edith: 10 Brunswick Street (1901); 51 Mount Street (1904); 16 Richardson Street (1911); 12 Endsleigh Drive (1939) – all in Middlesbrough.
- John: 5 Tyne Street (1901-1904); 2 Pym Street, South Bank (1911); 12 Endsleigh Drive (1939)
Occupations: John was a shipyard plater – a skilled trade whose primary duties involved measuring and cutting the plates of steel that formed a ship’s hull. These plates would be rolled to form the various contours required to form the hull, and either riveted or welded together.
Deaths: John died in Cleveland during 1980 when aged 83. Edith survived him for seven years and died there during 1987 when aged 86.
G2: John George Iseton (1923-2003)
Birth: John George Iseton was born in Middlesbrough on 14 April 1923. He was the first child of John and Edith. He as commonly known by his middle name.
Marriage: to Mildred Ann Wright during 1945 in Middlesbrough. He was aged 21 and she was 20.
Spouse history Mildred had been born in Middlesbrough on 3 January 1924 to Richard Norfolk Wright and Mary Elena Clare. In 1939 the family lived in a semi-detached house on Manton Avenue in Acklam. 15-year-old Mildred was a shop worker, while her father worked in steel rolling.
Children: a boy in 1948.
Occupations: by September 1939, 16-year-old George had followed in his father’s footsteps and become an apprentice shipyard plater.
Residences: later in life the couple moved out to Redcar where they had a bungalow on Laburnum Road, part of a 1920s housing estate.
- John: 12 Endsleigh Drive, Middlesbrough (1939); 322 Laburnum Road, Redcar (2003)
- Mildred: 14 Manton Avenue, Middlesbrough (1939)
Deaths: Mildred died in Middlesbrough on 6 October 2002 when aged 78, with John following on 3 September 2003 when aged 80.
G2: Eric William Iseton (1929-2016)
Birth: Eric William Iseton was born in Middlesbrough on 3 May 1929. He was the second child of John and Edith.
Marriage: to Norma Green during 1958 in Middlesbrough. He was aged 28 and she was 22.
Children: two girls born in 1962 and 1963.
Residences: from at least 2002 the couple lived in a bungalow on an estate in the suburb of Coulby Newham.
- Eric: 12 Endsleigh Drive, Middlesbrough (1939); 103 Fox Howe, Coulby Newham (2002-2014)
- Norma: 103 Fox Howe, Coulby Newham (2002-2011)
Deaths: Norma died in Middlesbrough on 31 January 2011 when aged 75. Eric survived her for five years and died on 15 January 2016, being cremated at Teesside Crematorium.
G3: Edward Stanley Watts (1904-?)
Birth: Edward Stanley Watts was born in Middlesbrough during 1904. He was the eighth child of George and Louisa.
Christening: on 31 July 1904 at St Hilda’s Church on Market Place.
Occupation: despite being only 16-years-old when the 1921 census was taken, Edward worked as a corrugated sheet labourer in the rolling mills of Dorman Long.
Residences: 51 Mount Street, Middlesbrough (1904); 16 Richardson Street, Middlesbrough (1911-1921)
Notes: it’s possible that he married Doris Reynolds in 1921 and died in 1963, but due to the commonality of his name further confirmation is required.
G3: Ernest Frank Watts (1910-?)
Birth: Ernest Frank Watts was born in Middlesbrough during 1910. He was the ninth child of George and Louisa.
Residences: 16 Richardson Street, Middlesbrough (1911-1921)
Notes: both the 1911 and 1921 censuses clearly put his year of birth as 1910. However, there is no other record of him. The 1939 census has an Ernest F. Watts born in Middlesbrough on 2 September 1908, with matching death record, but curiously there is no birth registration for him either.
G4: Esther Elizabeth Watts (1869-?)
Birth: Esther Elizabeth Watts was born in Middlesbrough during 1869. She was the second child of George and Esther.
Residences: 1 Grange Street, Middlesbrough (1871); 42 High Denmark Street, Middlesbrough (1881)
Nothing further is known.
