Table of Contents
This family group is rather large and so to aid readability it is split across a few parts.
G8: Luke Plunkett (1799-) and Rachel Large (1797-1835) / Anne Yates (1800-)
Birth: Luke Plunkett was born in around 1799.
Marriage (1): to Rachel Large on 7 April 1814 at St Anne’s Richmond Church on Cazneau Street in central Liverpool.
Spouse history (1): Rachel had possibly been born on 22 January 1796, the daughter of Thomas Large and his wife Jane, and christened a few weeks later at St Mary’s in Prescot. This is very tenuous, however. The father of this Rachel was a cordwainer – a shoemaker who made new shoes from new leather.
Children (1): (1) Robert in 1814, (2) Thomas in 1816, (3) Luke in 1821, (4) Rachael in 1828, (5) Matthew in 1829, (6) Rachel in 1830, (7) Margaret in 1834. Rachael, Matthew, and Margaret all died in childhood.
Death: Rachel died in 1835 when aged 38 and was buried on 15 March at in St Michael’s Church on Upper Pitt Street.
Marriage (2): Luke married Anne Yates just eight months after the death of Rachel, on 8 November 1835, in the same St Anne’s Richmond Church despite this being relatively far from home.
Children (2): (1) Joseph in 1836, (2) Ann in 1837, (3) Ann in 1840. The first Ann died in infancy.
Occupations: Luke was taken on as an apprentice of the cabinet maker Thomas Dutton in Liverpool in 1808. This was a skilled occupation which allowed Luke to petition to become a Freeman in 1816 – a body of men given the freedom of the city, which came with exclusive rights to practice their trade there – and to vote. This gives us a more detailed record of him than was possible for others of his class at this time. Curiously, some records cite him as being a butcher, but there is no doubt that it is the same person.
Residences: the family didn’t have firm roots and moved homes frequently. In 1816 alone they lived on School Lane, a narrow road in the very centre of Liverpool, and then on Primrose Hill just off Great Crosshall Street. Over the next 15 years they lived on Redcross Street and Benn’s Garden amongst the warehouses and industry of Canning Dock, on Cheapside back in the Great Crosshall area, and then on Plumbe and Blundell Streets in the Baltic Triangle.
They had a period of relative stability between 1832-1841 when they lived on Simpson Street, which actually ran off Blundell Street. This was followed by another period of transition, and the family lived in another seven houses over the next two decades. They moved to Everton in 1846, which was still quite rural, and their home on Hodgson Place off Breck Road led out to open fields. As an example of the temporary nature of their accommodation, their home on Atkinson Street was sold at auction by the owner in May 1864.
- Luke: School Lane (1816); Primrose Hill (1816-1818); Redcross Street (1827-1828); 7 Benn’s Garden (1828-1829); Cheapside (1829); Blundell Street (1830); Plumbe Street (1830); 10 Simpson Street (1832-1841); 1 Cotter Street (1841); Butcher’s Place, Prince William Street (1842-1843); Tunstall Court, Soho Street (1846-1850); Hodgson Place (1851); 6 Coronation Street (1855); 4 Coronation Street (1856-1857); 10 Mansfield Street (1858-1860); 6 Atkinson Street (1861); 85 Soho Street (1862); 6 Atkinson Street (1863-1864); 113 Elias Street (1864-1867) – all in Liverpool.
- Rachel: School Lane (1816); Redcross Street (1827-1828); 7 Benn’s Garden (1828-1829); Cheapside (1829); Blundell Street (1830); 10 Simpson Street (1834-1835) – all in Liverpool.
- Anne: 10 Simpson Street (1835-1841); 1 Cotter Street (1841); Butcher’s Place, Prince William Street (1842-1843); Tunstall Court, Soho Street (1846-1850); Hodgson Place (1851); 6 Coronation Street (1855); 4 Coronation Street (1856-1857); 10 Mansfield Street (1858-1860); 6 Atkinson Street (1861); 85 Soho Street (1862); 6 Atkinson Street (1863-1864); 113 Elias Street (1864-1867); 4/4 Court, Horatio Street (1871) – all in Liverpool.
Notes: Luke evidently found himself in some financial trouble and ended up in prison as a debtor, which could explain the varying addresses and occupations. The London Gazette recorded that the Court for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors heard the ‘petitions and schedules of prisoners’ on 23 November 1829.
Deaths: Luke probably died on 29 November 1868 and was buried at Anfield Cemetery.
G7: Robert Plunkett (1814-1885) and Alice Ellen Cunningham (1812-1877)
Birth: Robert Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1814. He was the first child of newlyweds Luke and Rachel.
Christening: on 4 August 1816 at the Church of Our Lady and St Nicholas with St Anne on Chapel Street near Princes Docks.
Marriage: to Alice Ellen Cunningham on 9 September 1833 at St John the Baptist on Park Road in Toxteth. He was aged 18 and she was 20.
Spouse history: Alice had been born on 17 June 1812 to mariner Peter Cunningham and his wife Ann. She was also christened at St Nicholas’s and the family lived a mile away on Blundell Street.
Children: (1) Mary in 1833, (2) Samuel in 1839, (3) Mary in 1842, (4) Rachel in 1845, (5) Luke in 1848, (6) Robert in 1851, (7) Thomas in 1855. Only Samuel, Rachel and Robert survived childhood. Unusually their first child was born out of wedlock, and perhaps they had been waiting for Robert to turn 18.
Residences: the newlyweds moved to be close to Alice’s parents on Blundell Street and would live there for the rest of their lives. They occupied several low-quality court and terraced houses, moving between them as the road changed around them. The west side of the street was eventually demolished to make way for the expanded Wapping Goods Station. Their surviving children lived with them into adulthood, and after Alice’s death Robert took in lodgers. Interestingly, the 1881 census shows that a 47A Blundell Street had been created, with No. 45 next door occupied by Robert’s brother Thomas and wife Ann.
- Robert: School Lane (1816); Blundell Street (1833-1841); Fletcher Court, Blundell Street (1845); Blundell Street (1848); 2/8 Court, Blundell Street (1851-1855); 47 Blundell Street (1859-1881); 45 Blundell Street (1873-1876); 47 Blundell Street (1879-1885) – all in Liverpool.
- Alice: Blundell Street (1833-1841); Fletcher Court, Blundell Street (1845); Blundell Street (1848); 2/8 Court, Blundell Street (1851-1855); 47 Blundell Street (1861-1881) – all in Liverpool.
Occupations: Robert initially worked as a butcher, although he soon become a carter – driving the horse-drawn carriages used for transporting goods.
Deaths: Alice died at some point between the 1871 and 1881 censuses. Robert died at home on 4 October 1885 when aged 72 and was buried in Anfield Cemetery. He left his personal estate of £97 (£4.4k today) to his daughter Rachel.
G6: Mary Ann Plunkett (1833-1840)
Birth: Mary Ann Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1833. She was the first child of Robert and Alice.
Christening: on 29 July 1833 at St Peter’s Church in the city centre.
Residences: Blundell Street, Liverpool (1833)
Deaths: she is likely the Mary Plunkett that died on 30 March 1840 since there is no further record of her and her parents named their third child, born in 1842, Mary.
G6: Samuel Plunkett (1839-1914)
Birth: Samuel Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1839. He was the second child of Robert and Alice.
Christening: on 24 July 1839 at St Peter’s Church in the city centre.
Marriage: to Jane Lynch on 18 February 1877 at St Peter’s after a long courtship. He was aged 37 and she was 38.
Spouse history: Jane had been born to Robert Lynch in 1838 and was a young widow to someone called Roberts.
Crime: Samuel and Jane were not the most reputable of people and were in trouble with the law many times, including several spells in prison. The crimes that we know about are:
- 1859: Jane was sentenced to 6 months in prison in July for stealing a vest.
- 1860: Samuel was convicted on 25 June of malicious damage and sentenced to 7 days in prison.
- 1860: Samuel was convicted on 27 October of threatening behaviour and sentenced to 1 month.
- 1861: Jane was sentenced to 12 months in October for stealing a pair of boots.
- 1862: Samuel was convicted of assault on 5 February and sentenced to 14 days.
- 1862: Samuel was convicted of trespassing on 16 August and sentenced to 5 days.
- 1862: Samuel was convicted for stealing linsey [sic] and sentenced to 2 months.
- 1863: Samuel was acquitted on 21 March for burgling the house of Isaac Parr in Toxteth Park and stealing 16 schillings and Jane for aiding him by keeping watch.
- 1863: Samuel was convicted on 2 July 1863 of stealing a blanket from Andrew Fulton and sentenced to 9 months imprisonment.
- 1865: Samuel was accused of stealing from behind the bar of a local pub but acquitted at trial.
- 1866: Samuel was acquitted of stealing a sovereign.
- 1883: Samuel was tried for steeling the coat of Robert Plunkett, his father, but on 2 July it was deemed that there was ‘no bill’, a term that the foreman of the jury uses to indicate that the criminal charges alleged against a suspect have not been sufficiently supported by the evidence presented before it to warrant his or her criminal prosecution.
- Between 1863-1879 Samuel was also imprisoned five times for assault (14 days to 2 months), once for trespass (5 days), once for fighting (7 days), twice for assaulting a P.C. (21 days and two months), and three times for being drunk (7 and 14 days).
The criminal records show that Samuel had an alias of ‘Thomas Jones’. One of his trials was reported in the local paper:
ALLEGED ROBBERY FROM A PUBLIC HOUSE - Samuel Plunkett, a labouring man, whose address was not stated, was charged with stealing a sovereign under the following circumstances: - William Ireland, assistant to Mr Peter Walker, who keeps a public house in Simpson street [note - this ran off Blundell Street where they lived], deposed that on the previous afternoon, about four o’clock, he put two sovereigns under a tumbler glass upon a shelf behind the bar. The prisoner entered the house a little before five o’clock and went behind the bar. Witness saw him take the tumbler in one hand, and put the other under it. He pushed Plunkett away, asked him what he was doing there, and immediately afterwards missed one of the sovereigns in question. No one but the prisoner having been behind the bar since they were placed upon the shelf, witness accused him of stealing the missing sovereign, but Plunkett stoutly denied the theft. Police constable 162 was called in, and Plunkett was given into his custody. On being charged with stealing the sovereign he said to the officer ‘I did not take it.’ Subsequently he said to No.162 ‘If you’ll allow me to go home to my father, I’ll get one instead of the one that’s missing.’ Six shillings only were found in his possession when apprehended. He was committed for trial at the sessions.
Occupations: when he was not in jail, Samuel had various manual jobs. He was recorded in the 1861 census as a carter, in the 1871 census as a labourer, and in the 1881 census as a sailor – although there is no other record of him having this occupation – and in 1901 as a dock labourer.
Residences: 31-year-old Samuel still lived at home with his parents in 1871. In 1881 Samuel and Jane were cited as ‘visiting’ 12/2 Court off Norfolk Street, but it is more likely that they were boarding here. It was just a few streets south of their old home on Blundell Street. As the couple aged, they began to sporadically be admitted into the workhouse hospitals for periods of ill health, including several short spells between 1889 and 1905. Each time they gave a different address as the place they had ‘last slept’, although when the next census was taken in 1891, they were once again recorded at 12/2 Court. In 1901 the couple lived in a house on Kent Street, which must have been extremely cramped as it was shared/subdivided with six other families.
- Samuel: Blundell Street (1839-1841); Fletcher Court, Blundell Street (1845); Blundell Street (1848); 2/8 Court, Blundell Street (1851-1855); 47 Blundell Street (1859-1871); Pitt Street (1877); 12/2 Court, Norfolk Street (1881-1891); 59 Kent Street (1901); Kirkdale Home, Westminster Road (1911) – all in Liverpool.
- Jane: Pitt Street (1877); 12/2 Court, Norfolk Street (1881-1891); 59 Kent Street (1901) – all in Liverpool.
Deaths: Jane died in Highfield Infirmary, Knotty Ash, early in 1907 when aged 69. This was a hospital that specialised in the treatment of tuberculosis. She was buried in a public grave at Anfield Cemetery. In January 1911, 71-year-old Samuel was admitted to the Kirkdale Home on Westminster Road, which was a nursing home for the aged and infirm. He died there in June 1914 aged 74. He was buried on 30 June at Walton Park Cemetery.
Notes: There is a newspaper report of a namesake who was injured in an accident on 17 October 1898. This Samuel was working as a carter for Mr F. Dyke of Lord Street, delivering carpet in the Rainhill area, when his horse bolted and threw him out of the vehicle. He was found unconscious in the street with a large wound on his head, nose, and lips. He was escorted home to Sheriff Street in Everton.
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G6: Mary Ann Plunkett (1842-1847)
Birth: Mary Ann Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1842. She was the third child of Robert and Alice, and their second to be called Mary the name following the death of her sister two years earlier.
Residences: Fletcher Court, Blundell Street, Liverpool (1845)
Deaths: died of cancer on 13 June 1847 when aged just 5 and buried five days later at Wesley Methodist Church on Upper Stanhope Street.
G6: Rachel Plunkett (1845-1898) and William Fearon (1845-1884)
The descendants of Rachel are detailed in the Fearon / Plunkett group.
G6: Luke Plunkett (1848-1855)
Birth: Luke Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1848. He was the fifth child of Robert and Alice.
Christening: on 15 October 1848 at St Peter’s Church in the city centre.
Residences: Blundell Street, Liverpool (1848); 2/8 Court, Blundell Street, Liverpool (1851-1855)
Deaths: died aged just 6 and was buried at St Michael’s Church on Upper Duke Street on 2 September 1855.
G6: Robert Plunkett (1851-1863)
Birth: Robert Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1851. He was the sixth child of Robert and Alice.
Residences: 2/8 Court, Blundell Street, Liverpool (1851-1855); 47 Blundell Street, Liverpool (1861-1863)
Deaths: died when aged 12 and was buried at Walton Park Cemetery on 29 March 1863.
G6: Thomas Plunkett (1855-1929)
Birth: Thomas Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1855. He was the seventh child of Robert and Alice.
Christening: on 23 July 1855 at St Peter’s Church in the city centre.
Marriage: to Mary Ellen Orritt on 9 September 1877 at All Saints Church on Great Nelson Street. He was aged 22 and she was 25.
Spouse history: Mary had been born during 1852. She was one of the four children of Henry Orritt, a journeyman painter originally from Wellington, and his Scottish wife Margaret. In 1861 they lived in a cramped terraced house shared with three other families on Paddington near Edge Hill station. Henry died during the next decade and by 1871 her widowed mother lived with the children on nearby Chatsworth Street.
Children: (1) Thomas in 1878, (2) Henry in 1880, (3) Robert in 1882, (4) Mary in 1883, (5) Elizabeth in 1885, (6) Lydia in 1888, (7) Margaret in 1890, (8) William in 1893, (9) Alfred in 1894, (10) John in 1896. Of this brood, four did not survive into adulthood, which was about average for the time. Henry and Robert both died in July 1882 and then William and John soon after their respective births.
Residences: the newlyweds moved away from the neighbourhood of their youth to Tarleton View, a court that ran off Robsart Street in central Everton. By 1881 the family had made a significant, albeit temporary change and moved north to what was then still relatively rural Waterloo, where they lived with Mary’s 23-year-old brother John Orritt on Brighton Road close to the railway station. The following year they were back in Everton where they lived in a court off Penrhyn Street, but by 1888 were once again on Robsart Street.
By 1891 the family had moved back north, where they lived in a typical terraced house close to Seaforth station. They had taken in Thomas’s elderly 76-year-old uncle Thomas Plunkett. In 1911 Thomas lived with his daughter Elizabeth and family in Bootle.
- Thomas: 2/8 Court, Blundell Street, Liverpool (1855); 47 Blundell Street, Liverpool (1861-1871); 4/3 Court (Tarleton View), Robsart Street, Liverpool (1877); 2 Brighton Road, Waterloo (1881); 1 Court (James’ Place), Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1882-1884); 2/17 Court, Robsart Street, Liverpool (1888); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1891-1894); 17 Langton Road, Seaforth (1894); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1896-1901); 87 Linacre Lane, Bootle (1911); 15 Percy Street, Bootle (1917-1921)
- Mary: 3 Paddington, Liverpool (1861); 152 Chatsworth Street, Liverpool (1871); 4/3 Court (Tarleton View), Robsart Street, Liverpool (1877); 2 Brighton Road, Waterloo (1881); 1 Court (James’ Place), Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1882-1884); 2/17 Court, Robsart Street, Liverpool (1888); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1891-1894); 17 Langton Road, Seaforth (1894); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1896)
Occupations: Thomas began his working life as a porter – possibly a carter working with his father – but by 1878 was an engineer. The next census in 1881 recorded him as a fisherman, and the census after that as a shrimp fisherman. Following his wife’s death Thomas gave up the sea, likely so that he could spend more time at home with his five younger children. In 1901 he was described as a fruit porter, then becoming a foreman fruit selector in 1911 and a warehouseman for J.H. Goodwin fruit brokers on Victoria Street in 1921.
Deaths: Mary died in 1897, when aged just 45. Thomas likely died on 29 November 1929, aged 74.
G5: Thomas Plunkett (1878-1970)
Birth: Thomas Plunkett was born in Liverpool on 14 May 1878. He was the first child of Thomas and Mary.
Christening: on 9 June 1878 at St Peter’s Church in the city centre.
Marriage (1): to Margaret Giles on Christmas Day 1901 at St Philip’s Church in Seaforth. He was aged 23 and she was 18.
Children (1): (1) Thomas in 1903, (2) Harold in 1908, (3) Robert in 1913, (4) Alfred in 1916, (5) John in 1920.
Death: Margaret died in early 1926 when aged just 44.
Marriage (2): to the widow Emily McLoughlin (nee Deakin) during 1927 in Liverpool. He was aged 48 and she was 29.
Spouse history (2): Emily was 20 years younger than Thomas and had been born on 1 October 1898, possibly in Canada. She had married Walter McLoughlin in Liverpool during 1920, but he died just five years later.
Children (2): none.
Residences: the newlyweds initially lived on Langton Road in Seaforth, moving around the corner to another terraced house on Irving Street by 1911, where they lived in two different properties over the next few years. They moved to Bowden Street after the war – another cramped terrace to house the family of seven. When the National Register was taken in September 1939, the couple lived in a small end-terrace on Litherland Road opposite the large Linacre Gas Works in Bootle.
- Thomas: 2 Brighton Road, Waterloo (1881); 1 Court (James’ Place), Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1882-1884); 2/17 Court, Robsart Street, Liverpool (1888); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1891-1894); 17 Langton Road, Seaforth (1894); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1896-1901); 52 Langton Road, Seaforth (1903-1905); 16 Irving Street, Seaforth (1911-1914); 35 Irving Street, Seaforth (1916); 23 Bowden Street, Seaforth (1919-1921); 295 Litherland Road, Bootle (1939-1949)
- Margaret: 52 Langton Road, Seaforth (1903-1905); 16 Irving Street, Seaforth (1911-1914); 35 Irving Street, Seaforth (1916); 23 Bowden Street, Seaforth (1919-1921)
- Emily: 295 Litherland Road, Bootle (1939-1949)
Occupation: Thomas followed in his father’s footsteps and became a fisherman, shrimper, and fish hawker, being joined in the latter trade by his wife. After the war he became a dock labourer, working for the fruit brokers J.H. Goodwin, the same company as his father. On the 1939 Register 61-year-old Thomas was ‘incapacitated’ while his young second wife was the manageress of a fish and chip shop
Military service: Thomas enlisted into the army during December 1916, at which time he was a 38-year-old shopkeeper and described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 128 lbs and of good physical development with a 35-inch chest and 6/6 vision in both eyes. It was noted that he was slightly deaf in both ears though, and probably in need of a wax discharge! Likely due to his age Thomas was posted to coastal defence artillery units of the Royal Garrison Artillery, first at Portsmouth and then at Poole. He was then posted to the Labour Corps in December 1917, working the land around Preston where there were major labour shortages. He was demobilised in March 1919.
Deaths: Emily died in February 1964 when aged 66. Thomas survived her for six years and died on 20 December 1970 when aged 92.
G4: Thomas Plunkett (1903-)
Birth: Thomas Plunkett was born in Seaforth on 6 August 1903. He was the first child of Thomas and Margaret.
Christening: on 9 September 1903 at St Thomas’s Church on Church Road.
Marriage: to Alice W. Kirwin during 1933. He was aged 29 and she was 21.
Spouse history: Alice was eight years younger than Thomas and had been born in Bootle on 3 February 1911, the third child of James Kirwin and Catherine Davis. They lived on Haddock Street near the Canada Docks complex with its maze of warehouses and mills. Her father was an assistant storekeeper for the Cunard Company. He enlisted into the army in December 1914 but was almost immediately discharged due to varicose veins.
Children: three girls born between 1934 and 1949.
Occupations: when aged 17 in 1921, Thomas worked as a general labourer for Bryant & May match manufacturers – likely in their large factory in Litherland which employed over 1,000 people and made hundreds of millions of matches a year. In 1939 36-year-old Thomas was a factory boilerman.
Residences: by 1939 the family had moved north to the rapidly expanding suburb of Aintree. They lived in a semi-detached house on Sedburgh Avenue, part of a new estate featuring large gardens and a nearby train station for easy access into the city.
- Thomas: 52 Langton Road, Seaforth (1903-1905); 16 Irving Street, Seaforth (1911-1914); 35 Irving Street, Seaforth (1916); 23 Bowden Street, Seaforth (1919-1921); 13 Sedburgh Avenue, Aintree (1939-1953)
- Alice: 44 Haddock Street, Bootle (1911); 13 Sedburgh Avenue, Aintree (1939-1953)
G4: Harold Plunkett (1908-1986)
Birth: Harold Plunkett was born in Seaforth on 8 August 1908. He was the second child of Thomas and Margaret.
Marriage: to Margaret Hay during late 1934 in Bootle. He was aged 26 and she was 21.
Spouse history: Margaret had been born in Liverpool on 13 July 1912, the middle of seven children born to William Hay and Emily Dowson. She was christened at St Leonard’s Church in Bootle a few weeks later, at which time the family lived in a terraced house on nearby Armstrong Street. Her father was a carter, and when he enlisted into the army in April 1915, they lived on Verdi Street in Seaforth.
Children: two boys and a girl between 1936 and 1950. Daughter Victoria died as a baby.
Military history: Harold enjoyed a long and varied career in the Royal Navy. He joined as a 16-year-old boy in September 1924 and over the next 34 years served onboard battleships, cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers, and submarines. His war service is particularly notable. He initially served on the destroyer HMS Anthony, which was kept busy with anti-submarine patrol and convoy defence duties off the British coast and then evacuated over 3,000 men from the beaches of Dunkirk. Harold transferred to the Submarine Service in September 1942 joined the crew of the famous HMS Seraph, which undertook several clandestine insertion and extraction missions. They ferried Eisenhower’s deputy, Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, to North Africa for secret negotiations with the Vichy French and then picked up French General Henri Giraud, pretending to be an American submarine to satisfy the Anglophobe. The boat was used in the legendary Operation Mincemeat in April 1943, but Harold had by then left the crew. Harold finished his war on the destroyer HMS Racehorse, fighting the Japanese in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He continued in service post-war, spending most of his remaining career in training establishments, and became an officer in 1957 after the Navy decided to give meaningful recognition to men with extensive experience. Harold retired the next year.
Residences: the family settled in the naval town of Portsmouth.
- Harold: 16 Irving Street, Seaforth (1911-1914); 35 Irving Street, Seaforth (1916); 23 Bowden Street, Seaforth (1919-1921); 25B Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth (1939); 41 Southbourne Avenue, Portsmouth (1986)
- Margaret: 12 Armstrong Street, Bootle (1912); 18 Verdi Street, Seaforth (1915-1921); 25B Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth (1939)
Deaths: Harold died in Portsmouth on 30 July 1986, while aged 77. Margaret survived him for almost 20 years, and died in Portsmouth during May 2005, aged 92.
G3: Victoria Valerie Plunkett (1941)
Birth: Victoria Valerie Plunkett was born in Crosby in 1941. She was the second child of Harold and Margaret.
Death: died within a few months.
G4: Robert Plunkett (1913-1996)
Birth: Robert Plunkett was born in Seaforth on 21 December 1913. He was the third child of Thomas and Margaret.
Marriage: to Margaret Lloyd during 1935 in Bootle. They were both aged 21.
Children: a daughter in 1937.
Residences: in 1939, 25-year-old Robert lived with his daughter in a terraced house on Linacre Road. This was possibly a large house that had been subdivided since it was shared with several other families.
- 16 Irving Street, Seaforth (1913-1914); 35 Irving Street, Seaforth (1916); 23 Bowden Street, Seaforth (1919-1921); 40 Linacre Road, Bootle (1939)
Occupations: in 1939 Robert worked as a bread packer in a bakery.
Deaths: Margaret died very soon after the birth of their daughter, likely due to complications. Robert died in Liverpool during January 1996 and was buried alongside Margaret in Bootle Cemetery.
Notes: Robert most likely married Hilda Wadley in 1946, but further confirmation is required.
G4: Alfred Plunkett (1916-)
Birth: Alfred Plunkett was born in Seaforth on 8 October 1916. He was the fourth child of Thomas and Margaret.
Residences: 35 Irving Street, Seaforth (1916); 23 Bowden Street, Seaforth (1919-1921); 295 Litherland Road, Bootle (1949)
Emigration: Alfred sailed for Canada on 7 May 1949 aboard the old Cunard liner RMS Aquitania, bound for Halifax in Nova Scotia. He gave his occupation as police officer and stated that he intended to reside in Canada permanently.
Deaths: likely died in Florida on 22 April 1995.
G4: John Plunkett (1920-2003)
Birth: John Plunkett was born in Seaforth on 25 July 1920. He was the fifth child of Thomas and Margaret.
Occupations: in 1939, John was a self-employed fish, fruit, and potato dealer.
Residences: 23 Bowden Street, Seaforth (1920-1921); 295 Litherland Road, Bootle (1939)
Death: died in the Sefton area on 18 February 2003 when aged 82.
Notes: it’s possible that he married Jane Foster Harrison in 1943, but further confirmation is needed.
G5: Henry Plunkett (1880-1882)
Birth: Henry Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1880. He was the second child of Thomas and Mary.
Residences: 2 Brighton Road, Waterloo (1881); 1 Court (James’ Place), Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1882)
Death: died aged 2, at around the same time as his brother Robert, and they were buried together in Anfield Cemetery on 26 July 1882.
G5: Robert Plunkett (1882)
Birth: Robert Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1882. He was the third child of Thomas and Mary.
Residences: 1 Court (James’ Place), Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1882)
Death: died within the year and at around the same time as his brother Henry, and they were buried together in Anfield Cemetery on 26 July 1882.
G5: Mary Ellen Plunkett (1883-1960)
Birth: Mary Ellen Plunkett was born in Liverpool on 4 July 1883. She was the fourth child of Thomas and Mary.
Marriage: to Lawrence Smith Hamilton on 26 December 1905 at St Philip’s Church in Seaforth. She was aged 22 and he was 27.
Spouse history: Lawrence had been born in West Derby on 6 March 1878 to Charles Hamilton and Barbara Williamson. He was christened at St Peter’s Church in the city centre during July. At this time the family lived in Kirkdale. His father was a shipwright from Liverpool while his mother originally came from the Shetland Islands. In 1881 they lived in a terraced house on Aber Street close to the Bootle docks. A decade later and the family had moved north to Seaforth, where they lived on Beaumaris Street. Despite being only 13 years old, Lawrence worked as a plumber’s apprentice. Both his father and elder brother were labourers on the docks.
Military service: Lawrence enlisted into the army in January 1899 when aged 20 and was almost immediately sent to India to join the 20th Hussars. The unit fought in South Africa from November 1901, where they had frequent skirmishes with the Boers until the end of the war but suffered very few casualties. A tour of colonial duties in Egypt followed before Lawrence returned home in 1904, moving to the reserves three years later.
Lawrence was mobilised immediately on the outbreak of war with Germany and sent to France. He fought in the trenches at Ypres where he was wounded. He was discharged on 30 January 1916 at the scheduled end of his reserve service. Despite the continuing war, at this time a man who had served under a regular engagement and who had reached the normal expiry of that engagement could and would be discharged from the army.
Children: (1) Florence in 1908, (2) Lawrina in 1911, (3) Stella in 1915. Sadly, Stella died in 1919 when aged just 3.
Occupations: by 1901, 18-year-old Mary had entered service and worked as a domestic servant for the Davies family of Canterbury Road in Wallasey. The head of the family, James, was a rubber factory superintendent. After leaving the army for the first time, Lawrence became the lodgekeeper of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Bootle. He would hold this role for the next 30 years, progressing to become Head Porter.
Residences: during his time working at the hospital the family were able to live in ‘The Lodge’ on the hospital grounds on Linacre Lane.
- Mary: 1 Court (James’ Place), Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1883-1884); 2/17 Court, Robsart Street, Liverpool (1888); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1891-1894); 54 Canterbury Road, Wallasey (1901); The Lodge, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Linacre Lane, Bootle (1910-1939); 78 Cyprus Road, Bootle (1960)
- Lawrence: 20 Aber Street, Bootle (1881); 48 Beaumaris Street, Seaforth (1891); The Lodge, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Linacre Lane, Bootle (1910-1939); 51 Linkside, Bebington (1966)
Deaths: Mary died at home on 22 January 1960 when aged 76. She left her estate of £1,575 0s. 9d. to her son-in-law William McKillop. Lawrence survived her for six years and died at Clatterbridge General Hospital on the Wirral on 13 January 1966 when aged 87. He also left his estate of £3,001 to his son-in-law. The couple were buried together in Bootle Cemetery.
Notes: it’s interesting to note that when Lawrence enlisted into the army he gave his name as Lawrence Smith, and only later was the record corrected with an ‘alias’ of Lawrence Smith Hamilton. In 1921 he became a Freemason, joining the Temperance Lodge of Felicity.
G4: Florence Hamilton (1908-2000)
Birth: Florence Hamilton was born in Bootle on 14 October 1908. She was the first child of Lawrence and Mary.
Marriage: to William McKillop during 1936 at St John and St James’s Church on Monfa Road in Bootle. She was aged 27 and he was 30.
Spouse history: William had been born in Kirkdale on 1 September 1905 to William McKillop and his wife Jane. When the census was taken in 1911, William lived with his mother and brother Joseph in his maternal grandmother’s terraced house on Melrose Road overlooking Kirkdale station. His mother worked as an office cleaner in the Exchange Building.
Children: a son in 1946.
Occupations: in 1921 when he was aged 15, William worked as a clerk for the accountants Hammond, Banner & Sons on Water Street. This became his profession and he eventually progressed to become an account.
Residences: the newlyweds lived in a relatively new semi-detached house on Gainsborough Avenue on the outskirts of Maghull, which they shared with another married couple.
- Florence: The Lodge, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Linacre Lane, Bootle (1911); 39 Gainsborough Avenue, Maghull (1939)
- William: 3 Melrose Road, Liverpool (1911-1921); 39 Gainsborough Avenue, Maghull (1939)
Death: William died in Liverpool on 5 April 1991 when aged 85. Florence died aged 91 in April 2000 in Doncaster, where her son and family lived.
G4: Lawrina Hamilton (1911-)
Birth: Lawrina Hamilton was born in Bootle on 7 January 1911. She was the second child of Lawrence and Mary.
Christening: on 22 February 1911 at St John and St James’s Church on Monfa Road.
Marriage: to William H. Jones during 1935 in Bootle. She was aged 23.
Residences: The Lodge, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Linacre Lane, Bootle (1911); The Lodge, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Linacre Lane, Bootle (1939)
Deaths: it’s possible that she died in Jersey on 23 July 2002.
G4: Stella Hamilton (1915-1919)
Birth: Stella Hamilton was born in Bootle on 12 January 1915. She was the third child of Lawrence and Mary.
Christening: on 17 February 1915 at St John and St James’s Church on Monfa Road.
Residences: The Lodge, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Linacre Lane, Bootle (1915-1919)
Death: died early in 1919 when aged just 3.
G5: Elizabeth Plunkett (1886-1948)
Birth: Elizabeth Plunkett was born in Liverpool on 4 November 1886. She was the fifth child of Thomas and Mary.
Marriage: to Albert Greer Powell during 1909 at the West Derby Register Office. She was aged 22 and he was 23.
Spouse history: Albert had been born in Seaforth on 8 January 1885. Nothing is known of his early life.
Children: (1) Elizabeth in 1909, (2) Mary in 1914.
Residences: the young family lived in a terraced house on Linacre Lane overlooking a large gas works in the north of Bootle. Elizabeth’s widowed father lived with them and the extended family moved together to a typical ‘two-up two-down’ terraced house on Percy Street the north of Bootle. By 1939 they had been joined in their home by a Robert Marhsall, who was of a similar age to their daughter and perhaps a boyfriend?
- Elizabeth: 2/17 Court, Robsart Street, Liverpool (1888); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1891-1894); 17 Langton Road, Seaforth (1894); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1896-1901); 87 Linacre Lane, Bootle (1911); 15 Percy Street, Bootle (1921-1939)
- Albert: 87 Linacre Lane, Bootle (1911); 15 Percy Street, Bootle (1921-1939)
Occupations: Albert worked as a furnace tender in a tin smelting factory in 1911, but over the next decade had a bit of a career change to become a shop assistant for a boot and shoe repairer. By 1939 he was a general labourer.
Death: Elizabeth died in Liverpool during 1948 when aged 62.
G4: Elizabeth Powell (1909-1977)
first child of Albert and Elizabeth.
Marriage: to John Henry Minshall on 26 April 1941 at St Paul’s Church near Canada Dock in Kirkdale. They were both aged 31.
Spouse history: John had been born on 16 October 1909, the fourth child of John Minshall and Gertrude Smith. He was christened in November at St Leonard’s Church in Bootle, at which time the family lived just down the road in a terraced house on Blackburn Grove (later renamed Blair Street). His father worked as a coal heaver foreman.
Children: none.
Occupations: in 1939 Elizabeth was a fruit shop manager, while John meanwhile was a travelling evangelist and volunteered with the Auxiliary Fire Service.
Residences: both still lived at home at the time of their marriage.
- Elizabeth: 87 Linacre Lane, Bootle (1911); 15 Percy Street, Bootle (1921-1941)
- John: 17 Blackburn Grove, Bootle (1909); 17 Blair Street, Bootle (1911-1941)
Death: Elizabeth died in Warrington in 1977 when aged 68.
G4: Mary Lilian Powell (1914-)
Birth: Mary Lilian Powell was born in Bootle during 1914. She was the first second of Albert and Elizabeth.
Residences: 15 Percy Street, Bootle (1921)
G5: Lydia Plunkett (1888-1931)
Birth: Lydia Plunkett was born in Liverpool on 21 February 1888. She was the sixth child of Thomas and Mary.
Christening: on 14 March 1888 at St Polycarp Church on Netherfield Road North in Everton.
Marriage: to William Elderson during 1911 at the Egremont Presbyterian Church on Seabank Road in Wallasey. She was aged 22 and he was 21.
Spouse history: William was described as “a lively handsome man with a great sense of fun and humour”. He was 17 months younger than Lydia and had been born in Wallasey on 1 July 1889, one of the seven children of William Elderson and Hannah Davis. In 1891 the family lived on the main Wallasey Street, probably above his father’s bakery. A decade passed, and by 1901, 11-year-old William lived with his mother and younger brother George on South View Terrace, one of seven large properties that ran west off Stringhey Road. It is not known where his father is, but he died at some point before 1911 when 21-year-old William lived with his mother and two lodgers.
Children: (1) Lilian in 1912, (2) Eileen in 1914, (3) William in 1922, (4) Jean in 1927, (5) Colin in 1931. Lilian died as a baby.
Occupations: it’s likely that in 1911 Lydia worked as a general domestic servant for William Montgomery Stewart, a 64-year-old stocks and shares broker, and his family on Langdale Road in the affluent New Brighton area of Wallasey. William worked as a ‘van man’ for a baker before the role, resuming this role after leaving the army. In 1921 he was employed by W.Y. Hodgson & Co. in Birkenhead.
Military service: William joined the army after the outbreak of war and served with the Horse Artillery, and at its close was based in Ireland where the war of independence was commencing.
Residences: post-war the family lived in a terraced house on Warrington Street in the Tranmere suburb of Birkenhead.
- William: 3 Wallasey Street, Wallasey (1891); 14 South View Terrace, Stringhey Road, Wallasey (1901-1911); 18 Warrington Street, Birkenhead (1921); 170 Bebington Road, Birkenhead (1939)
- Lydia: 2/17 Court, Robsart Street, Liverpool (1888); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1891-1894); 17 Langton Road, Seaforth (1894); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1896-1901); 5 Langdale Road, Wallasey (1911); 18 Warrington Street, Birkenhead (1921)
Death: Lydia died in 1931 shortly after giving birth at the age of 43.
Notes: William married Hannah Elizabeth Parr (nee Cope) in 1935, a widow who had been born in Sheffield on 21 February 1886 to Benjamin Cope and his wife Emily. By September 1939 when the National Register was taken, 50-year-old William lived with children Eileen and William in a large semi-detached house on Bebington Road close to Rock Ferry. His younger daughter Jean had been evacuated to Wales, and it’s possible that Colin had been sent away too. William was a caretaker for a church and a full-time ARP Warden. William died in Birkenhead during May 1963 when aged 73, while Hannah survived him until 1974.
G4: Lilian Hannah Elderson (1912)
Birth: Lilian Hannah Elderson was born in Birkenhead during 1912. She was the first child of William and Lydia.
Deaths: she did not live long.
G4: Eileen Mildred Elderson (1914-1976)
Birth: Eileen Mildred Elderson was born in Birkenhead during 1914. She was the second child of William and Lydia.
Marriage: to George Stanley Davies Griffiths during 1942 in Birkenhead. She was aged 27 and he was 32.
Spouse history: George had been born in Birkenhead during 1909. It’s not known who his biological parents were, other than his mother’s name of ‘Davies’ as recorded on the birth register. He was adopted by George Griffiths and Annie Jane Davies, who already had four older children. He was christened at St Barnabas in Rock Ferry in April 1909. When the 1911 census was taken, 3-year-old George was captured with his adoptive mother visiting the home of her cousin Arthur Jones on Hinderton Road in Tranmere. They still lived there a decade later.
Children: unknown.
Occupations: in 1939 when she was aged 25, Eileen worked as a bookkeeper and typist for a clothing clerk.
Residences: post-war, the couple lived on Cleveland Street just behind the mass warehouses of Victoria Wharf in the Birkenhead docks.
- Eileen: 170 Bebington Road, Birkenhead (1939); 164 Cleveland Street, Birkenhead (1958)
- George: 72 Hinderton Road, Birkenhead (1911-1921); 164 Cleveland Street, Birkenhead (1958)
Deaths: George died at St Catherine’s Hospital in Birkenhead on 15 December 1958 when aged just 49. Eileen survived him for 18 years and died in Vale Royal, Cheshire, during 1976 when aged 62.
G4: William Kenneth Elderson (1922-1943)
Birth: William Kenneth Elderson was born in Birkenhead on 13 September 1922. He was the third child of William and Lydia.
Residences: 170 Bebington Road, Birkenhead (1939)
Military service: William enlisted into the RAF during the Second World War and joined Bomber Command. He trained as a Wireless Telegraphist/Air Gunner and joined No.142 Squadron in mid-July 1943, which was flying Wellington bombers from Kairouan in Tunisia. William participated in several operations over Italy over the next few weeks, attacking aerodromes around Naples, Rome and Crotone. He took off the final time on the night of 7 August to attack the German and Italian armies that were attempting to evacuate from Sicily across the Strait of Messina to the Italian mainland. William’s Wellington bomber was never seen again. In 1948 they were officially reported as having been lost at sea. William was aged 20 when killed and had been flying operations for just 21 days.
Death: William is remembered on the Malta Memorial (Panel 8, Column 2), situated just outside the main entrance to Valletta. It commemorates almost 2,300 airmen who lost their lives during the Second World War whilst flying from bases in the region and who have no known grave.
G4: Jean Mavis Elderson (1927-2006)
Birth: Jean Mavis Elderson was born in Birkenhead on 26 November 1927. She was the fourth child of William and Lydia.
Marriage: to Kenneth W. Peake during 1947 in Birkenhead. She was aged 19 and he was 23.
Spouse history: Kenneth had likely been born in Bebington on 6 June 1925, but further confirmation is required.
Children: unknown.
Residences: aged 11 on the outbreak of war in 1939, Jean was evacuated to Wales where she lived with Richard and Elizabeth Jones in a large detached house called Havelock, overlooking the sea at Criccieth on the Llyn peninsula. Another child, Gladys Walker, also lived there. Richard was a joiner and cabinet maker. Later in life Jean and Kenneth moved to Wales where they had a house in Penyffordd, Flintshire.
- Jean: Havelock, Radcliffe Road, Criccieth (1939); 1 Ferndale Close, Penyffordd (2003-2004)
- Kenneth: 1 Ferndale Close, Penyffordd (2003-2004)
Deaths: Jean died in Denbigh in Wales during August 2006 when aged 79.
G5: Margaret Hannah Plunkett (1890-)
Birth: Margaret Hannah Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1890. She was the seventh child of Thomas and Mary.
Christening: on 14 March 1888 at St Polycarp Church on Netherfield Road North in Everton.
Marriage: to Frederick Charlton on 16 July 1910 at Holy Trinity Church in Hoylake on the Wirral. She was aged 20 and he was 29.
Spouse history: based on the information on the marriage certificate, Frederick had been born in 1881 to Samuel Johnson Charlton. The 1911 census adds that he was born in Darlington, Durham.
Many online records give Frederick’s surname as Chorlton, and while that is indeed what was written on the marriage certificate by the official, Frederick signed his name Charlton, just as he stated in his own hand in the 1911 census. There is no other primary source that puts his surname as Chorlton, and there is no record of a matching birth in 1881 or any census records. Other online trees often mistakenly attribute Frederick as the son of Samuel Chorlton and Abert Amelia Stokes, but this is clearly incorrect as this Frederick was born some nine years later and still lived at home with his parents when captured on the 1911 census, while our Frederick lived with his wife.
It is likely that Frederick is the second son of Luke Johnson Charlton and Sarah Dent. I can’t explain why his father was cited as Samuel on the marriage certificate, but I suspect this is another mistake by the official. Born in Darlington in 1881, he was christened on 4 May. By 1891 the family lived on School Street and his father was a washing machine fitter. They still lived there in 1901, but there was no record of Frederick who had by now had likely enlisted into the army.
Military service: in 1911 Frederick was a soldier serving with the Royal Field Artillery, stationed at No.3 depot, likely part of the nearby Seaforth Barracks.
Children: (1) Beatrice in 1911, (2) Margaret in 1915.
Occupations: 40-year-old Frederick had left the army by 1921 and was employed as a colliery fitter for Powell Duffryn & Co.
Residences: at the time of their marriage in 1910 the couple lived in a small house on Lee Road on the edge of Hoylake. By April of the following year, they had moved back across the Mersey to a terraced house on Irving Street in Litherland, which was just a few doors up from where Margaret’s elder brother Thomas and his family lived. Boarding there with them was Margaret’s younger brother Alfred. Their two children were born in Preston and Gateshead respectively, which could be due to Frederick’s army postings. When the census was taken in 1921, the family lived in the Welsh mining village of Fleur-de-lis near Caerphilly, just to the north of Cardiff.
- Margaret: 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1891-1901); 27 Lee Road, Hoylake (1910); 23 Irving Street, Seaforth (1911); 8 Warne Street, Fleur-de-Lis (1921)
- Frederick: 27 Lee Road, Hoylake (1910); 23 Irving Street, Seaforth (1911); 8 Warne Street, Fleur-de-Lis (1921)
G4: Beatrice Charlton (1911-)
Birth: Beatrice Charlton was born in Preston during 1911. She was the first child of Frederick and Margaret.
Nothing more is known.
G4: Margaret Charlton (1915-)
Birth: Margaret Charlton was born in Gateshead during 1915. She was the second child of Frederick and Margaret.
G5: William Plunkett (1893)
Birth: William Plunkett was born in Liverpool during 1893. He was the eighth child of Thomas and Mary.
Residence: 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1893)
Death: died after just 7 weeks and was buried in Everton Cemetery on 13 May.
G5: Alfred Plunkett (1894-1917)
Birth: Alfred Plunkett was born in Liverpool on 29 August 1894. He was the ninth child of Thomas and Mary.
Christening: on 30 September 1894 at St Leonard’s Church on Peel Road.
School: Alfred first attended St Philip’s and afterwards Lander Road School.
Occupation: aged 16 in 1911, he worked as an errand boy for a greengrocer. He later worked at the Fruit Exchange (Messrs. J. and H. Goodwin, Victoria Street) where he was described as a good and cheerful worker.
Residences: in 1911 Alfred lodged with his sister Margaret on Irving Street, just around the corner from his father and a few doors up from his brother Thomas.
- 17 Langton Road, Seaforth (1894); 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1896-1901); 23 Irving Street, Seaforth (1911)
Military service: Alfred Plunkett enlisted into the Royal Marine Light Infantry in July 1912 when aged 17, joining the Plymouth Division. His service record is a little unclear, but he appeared to serve at ‘London’ from February 1914 until November 1916, which could be a place or a ship. The Sefton War Memorials Project states that he suffered shell shock and came home to be nursed at Linacre Hospital. There is no date provided, but this could have led to his dismissal in November 1916.
Alfred then joined the Royal Garrison Artillery and was soon sent to France where he was killed in action on 30 September 1917 while serving with the 160th Siege Battery. He was one of nine men killed by an enemy shell which buried them in their trench. He had arrived in the country just 12 days before.
Death: Alfred is buried at Spoilbank Cemetery, with the records mentioning a cross that was found inscribed with his details at another location, but without any remains underneath. It was likely that he was buried in the field before being reburied elsewhere. He is remembered on the Bootle Civic Memorial and the memorial at St Andrew Church in Linacre. He was awarded the Victory Medal after the war. His letters home had always been bright and cheerful.
G5: John Plunkett (1896)
Birth: William Plunkett was born in Liverpool in November or December 1896. He was the tenth child of Thomas and Mary.
Residence: 20 Langton Road, Seaforth (1896)
Death: died aged one month and was buried at Walton Park on 16 December 1896.
