Table of Contents
G7: James Seaman (1811-?) and Matilda Shepherd (1811-90)
Birth: James Seaman was born during 1811 in Gorleston-on-Sea, just across the River Yare from Great Yarmouth. Nothing is known of his early life.
Marriage: to Matilda Shepherd on 30 August 1831. They were both aged about 20.
Spouse history: Matilda was born in Great Yarmouth during 1811, but like her husband nothing is known of her early life.
Children: (1) Susan in 1833, (2) James in 1836, (3) George in 1839, (4) John in 1842, (5) Mary in 1843, (6) William in 1846, (7) Robert in 1850, (8) Catherine in 1851, (9) Elizabeth in 1854, (10) Edith in 1860. Tragically, the five youngest children didn’t survive infancy.
Occupations: James initially worked as a labourer, but by 1836 had become a fisherman, an occupation he would keep for the rest of his life. After his death Matilda became a charwomen – essentially a house cleaner, usually on a part-time basis for several different employers.
Residences: in 1851 the family lived on South Denes Road, a quiet area on the western edge of the peninsula. By 1861 they had moved to the nearby Whitesides Buildings. By the time that the next census was taken in 1871, 61-year-old Matilda had been widowed and lived with her daughter Susan, also a widow, in the unique Rows.
In 1881, 71-year-old Matilda lodged with several others in the house of Harrier Arnold on Middlegate Street, the long road that cut through the centre of the Rows.
- James: South Denes Road (1851); 5 Whitesides Building (1861)
- Matilda: South Denes Road (1851); 5 Whitesides Building (1861); 7, Row 129 (1871); 80 Middlegate Street (1881); South Quay (1890)
Deaths: James died at some point before the 1871 census. Matilda died in a house on South Quay, probably that of her son George, when aged 80 and was buried on 16 December 1890.
Notes: there is a merchant seaman record for a James Seaman born in Gorleston in 1809, and in 1848 lived in Yarmouth. This gives a date of birth and possible links to baptism records, but due to the commonality of the name further confirmation is required.
G6: Susan Matilda Seaman (1833-1877)
Birth: Susan Matilda Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1833. She was the first child of James and Matilda.
Christening: on 13 September 1833 as Susanna Seaman.
Marriage (1): to William Best on 13 July 1862 at St Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth. She was aged 29 and he was 24. Her father was peculiarly cited as ‘Joseph’ on the certificate, but not on the banns.
Marriage (2): to widower Charles Bernard on 13 January 1874, at St Nicholas Church once again. They were both aged 41.
Children: None
Residences: newlyweds Susan and William lived together on Gaol Street, the long road that cut through the centre of the Rows that later became Middlegate Street. The marriage was not a long one, and by 1871 the widowed Susan – still only 38 – lived with her mother. After marrying Charles in 1874, the couple lived together on Row 123.
- Susan: South Denes Road (1851); Gaol Street (1862); 7, Row 129 (1871); Row 123 (1874) – all in Great Yarmouth
- William: Gaol Street (1862)
- Charles: Row 123 (1874)
Occupations: in 1851 17-year-old Susan worked as a straw bonnet maker. After the death of her first husband she worked as a charwoman. Both of her husbands were fishermen.
Deaths: William died before 1871. Susan died in the workhouse in 1877 when aged 43. She was buried in Yarmouth New Cemetery on 12 June. Charles possibly died in January 1884.
Notes: Susan is missing from the 1861 census.
G6: James John Seaman (1836-1915)
Birth: James John Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1836. He was the second child of James and Matilda.
Christening: on 17 August 1836.
Marriage: to Rhoda Gates on 21 July 1859 at St Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth. He was aged 23 and she was a year younger.
Spouse history: Rhoda had been born in 1837, the fifth child of labourer William Gates and his wife Sarah. She was christened on 22 May. When captured on the 1841 census, the family lived on the very first of the Rows in the north of the town, although these houses were described at the time as hovels and demolished in the 1860s.
Children: (1) James in 1862, (2) George in 1864, (3) Rhoda in 1868, (4) Matilda in 1873, (5) Mary in 1875, (6) Sarah in 1878. George didn’t survive infancy. The 1911 census records that they had 13 children, so there are another 7 still to be identified.
Residences: at the time of their marriage James lived on South Quay, the pleasant tree-lined road that ran alongside the eastern bank of the River Yare, although he gave his parent’s address at the reading of the banns. Rhoda lived with her parents.
The family moved between different Rows over the next two decades, including the narrow and gloomy Row 43, built over at the east end with lofty houses on each side. By 1911 the 75-year-old widower James lived alone on Row 136 (otherwise known as 118 Middlegate Street), which would be his home until his death four years later.
- James: South Denes Road (1851); South Quay (1859); Row 5 (1865); 3 Wades Corner (1871); Row 43 (1881); Row 44 (1881-1882); Row 120 (1887-1890); 15, Row 125 (1891-1899); 113 Middlegate Street (1901); 3A, Row 136 (1911-1915) – all in Great Yarmouth
- Rhoda: Row 1 (1841-1859); 15, Row 1 (1861); Row 5 (1865); 3 Wades Corner (1871); Row 43 (1881); Row 44 (1881-1882); Row 120 (1887-1890); 15, Row 125 (1891-1899); 113 Middlegate Street (1901) – all in Great Yarmouth
Occupations: despite being only aged 14 in 1851, James worked as a coal porter. Following in his father’s footsteps, James soon transitioned to a life at sea and became a mariner, most likely a fisherman. On the night of the 1861 census he was at sea onboard the smack William Mary, one of the traditional fishing boats widely used off the coast of Britain throughout the 19th century. He held the junior rank of Able Seaman. James had given up the sea by 1901 to become a general labourer.
Deaths: Rhoda died in the workhouse during 1910 when aged 72 and was buried in Caister Borough Cemetery on 6 October. James died in Yarmouth Infirmary when aged 76 and was buried in Yarmouth Cemetery on 4 March 1915.
G5: James Samuel Seaman (1862-?)
Birth: James Samuel Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 18 September 1862. He was the first child of James and Rhoda.
Christening: on 16 November 1862.
Residences: 3 Wades Corner, Great Yarmouth (1871)
G5: George Seaman (1864-1865)
Birth: George Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on Christmas Eve 1864. He was the second child of James and Rhoda.
Christening: on 5 February 1865.
Residences: Row 5, Great Yarmouth (1865)
Death: he died within when just a few weeks old and was buried on 19 March.
G5: Rhoda Maria Seaman (1868-1940)
Birth: Rhoda Maria Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 19 October 1868. She was the third child of James and Rhoda.
Christening: likely on 28 September 1881 at the age of 12. The name on the baptism record is Rose but given that the parents are the same and there is no record of a twin for Rhoda in the birth indexes, or indeed any other record of a Rose, we assume that she was simply misnamed.
Marriage: to John Edward Harvey on 24 October 1887 at St Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth. She was aged 19 and he a year older.
Spouse history: John had been born in Limehouse in east London during 1867 to labourer Alfred Harvey and Elizabeth Realf. In 1871 they lived on Taylor’s Place, a wide cul-de-sac of terraced houses in the north of Stepney.
Children: none
Occupations: John was a fisherman. We know that in 1892 he was a seaman onboard the SS Moxon. By 1911 43-year-old John had given up life as a fisherman to work as a dock labourer.
Residences: the couple initially lived with Rhoda’s parents. Sometime over the next few years the couple made the move north to the small town and port of Goole on the River Ouse. As it was some 45 miles from the North Sea it was locally known as ‘the Port in Green Fields’, and at this time rivalled Hull, with ferry services to Europe and the world alongside local services. In 1891 the couple lived in a terraced house on Back South Street on the small peninsula between the docks and the estuaries.
By 1900 they had moved a mile north to another terraced house on West Street, which would be their home for life. They were joined by Rhoda’s younger sister Mary and her one-year-old daughter Nora. It is possible that after falling pregnant, and without the support of the father, Mary was taken in by her elder sister and husband who were themselves childless.
From about 1920, after John’s early death a few years earlier, Rhoda began to share her home with William New, a steam boilerman for the Ouse Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and originally from Charlton. He was likely her partner and the two lived together for the next two decades. Sister Mary returned in 1937 and the sisters lived together for the rest of Rhoda’s life. William continued to live with Mary after Rhoda’s death.
- Rhoda: 3 Wades Corner, Great Yarmouth (1871); Row 44, Great Yarmouth (1881); Row 120, Great Yarmouth (1887); 42 Back South Street, Goole (1891-1897); 24 West Street, Goole (1900-1940)
- John: 2 Taylor’s Place, Limehouse (1871); Row 120, Great Yarmouth (1887); 42 Back South Street, Goole (1891-1897); 24 West Street, Goole (1900-1913)
Deaths: John died in 1913 when aged 46. Rhoda survived him for many years and died in 1940 when aged 71.
Notes: the enumerator of the 1871 census noted her as being 2 months old when she was actually 2 years old.
In August 1892 John saved the life of Thomas Rippon, a junior shipbroker and reportedly well-known townsman, who had attempted suicide by jumping into the river. For his heroics, he was awarded the bronze medal and certificate of the Royal Humane Society. The presentation was made at Goole courthouse on 4 November in front of a large crowd. In December he was awarded the Silver Medal and framed diploma for conspicuous heroism by the proprietors of ‘Answers’ at a crowded Sailors’ Welcome.
The family were again in the news in 1897 when they featured in an article in the Hull Daily Mail:
TROUBLE AMONG RELATIONS: At the County-court yesterday, John Naylor sued John Harvey, of Back South-street for £4 14s 6d for goods supplied. Plaintiff is defendant’s uncle, and his cause was that when defendant and his wife came to Goole, he supplied him with various articles at cost price. Mrs Harvey said plaintiff had been telling people that he had given them the goods. Her husband, however, had paid all except 18s, and on witness producing a bill from the plaintiff to that effect, his Honour gave judgment for 18s.
This argument between the families must have been rumbling on for some time since John and Rhoda moved to Goole at least six years previously.
G5: Matilda Elizabeth Seaman (1873-?)
Birth: Matilda Elizabeth Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 29 September 1873. She was the fourth child of James and Rhoda.
Christening: on 25 June 1882 alongside younger sister Florence.
Residences: in 1891 he lived with her cousin Susan Copus and family on Paget Road in the south of Woolwich.
- Row 44, Great Yarmouth (1881-1882); 21 Paget Road, Woolwich (1891)
Notes: she is curiously absent from the 1881 census.
G5: Mary Ann Seaman (1875-1951)
Birth: Mary Ann Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 20 December 1875. She was the fifth child of James and Rhoda.
Christening: on 25 June 1882 alongside older sister Matilda. It is interesting to note that she was christened as ‘Florence Mary‘, but there is no other record of this name being used either before or after.
Children: (1) Nora in 1899. Mary’ daughter was born out of wedlock and we do not know who the father was.
Residences: when the 1891 census was taken, 15-year-old Mary lived with her uncle George and his wife Sarah at their home on South Quay. By 1901, Mary and young daughter Nora had moved up to Goole to live with elder sister Rhoda, and as detailed above they became a close family.
By 1921 she lived on Jefferson Street – the home of 57-year-old coal dealer John Hill and his two sons Jack and Fred. Mary was recorded as their housekeeper and lived there until at least 1934. By 1937 she had returned to live with her sister and long-term partner William New – continuing to live with him after Rhoda’s death.
- Mary: Row 43, Great Yarmouth (1881); Row 44, Great Yarmouth (1881-1882); 36 South Quay, Great Yarmouth (1891); 24 West Street, Goole (1901-1911); 68 Jefferson Street, Goole (1921-1934); 24 West Street, Goole (1937-1951)
Occupations: despite only being aged 15 in 1891, Mary worked as a milliner – someone who made hats. In 1911 she was a domestic servant.
Death: Mary died in 1940 when aged 75.
G4: Nora Harvey Seaman (1899-1977)
Birth: Nora Harvey Seaman was born in Goole on 18 October 1899. She was an only child, and the identity of her father is not known.
Marriage: to Colin Grunwell on 30 April 1923 at Goole Register Office. They were both aged 23.
Spouse history: Nora had been born in Eastwood on the edge of Rotherham on 28 February 1900, the youngest of seven children born to James William Grunwell and Jane Seaton. He was christened a few weeks later at St Stephen’s Church. The family lived about a mile away on Doncaster Road which overlooked fields to the south. His father was a general labourer, and specifically a ‘shunter’. They moved north to Goole after 1911.
Children: (1) Derrick in 1926.
Residences: the couple both still lived at home with their parents in 1921. Their first home together was on Gordon Street, a terraced house close to the train station. In 1928 they moved a few streets to live next door to Colin’s retired parents. This was their home for almost 20 years until in 1947 they moved to another house on the same street. They appeared to move to Filey in the 1960s or 1970s.
- Nora: 24 West Street, Goole (1901-1923); 57 Gordon Street, Goole (1924-1927); 20 Henry Street, Goole (1928-1946); 2A Henry Street, Goole (1947-1961); 7 Leyburn Place, Filey (1977)
- Colin: 288 Doncaster Road, Rotherham (1900-1911); 22 Henry Street, Goole (1915-1923); 57 Gordon Street, Goole (1924-1927); 20 Henry Street, Goole (1928-1946); 2A Henry Street, Goole (1947-1961); 7 Leyburn Place, Filey (1977-1980)
Occupations: in 1921 Colin worked as a grocer’s assistant for the Co-Op. He progressed in this career and by 1939 was a retail dairy manager.
Military service: Colin served with the Hussars during the war (service number 43995) and was awarded a pension thereafter.
Deaths: Nora died that same year when aged 77. Colin survived her for three years and died at home on 6 December 1980 when aged 80.
Notes: Nora is not present on the 1921 census. Colin was involved in a rather embarrassing road accident in September 1946 that was reported in the Hull Daily Mail:
DROVE INTO BACK OF SCHOOL BUS: Stated to have driven his car into the back of a stationary bus, Colin Grunwell, Goole, was fined £7, and had his licence endorsed at Goole, for driving without due care. Elsie Jackson, ‘bus driver’, said that on September 3 she stopped at the Grammar School gates in Boothferry-rd, Goole, and a passenger alighted. As she was about to drive off, she heard a crash, and found that Grunwell had run into the back. He would not give his name and address. Grunwell said that the bus driver gave no signal and as a result of breaking hard he skidded.
G3: Derrick Grunwell (1926-2015)
Birth: Derrick Grunwell was born in Goole during 1926. He was the only child of Colin and Nora.
Marriage: to Betty Muriel Raeside during 1959 in St Asaph, Wales. He was aged 33 and she was 31.
Spouse history: Betty had been born in Salford during 1928 to Robert Grunwell and Ethel Collins.
Children: (1) a girl in 1960, (2) a boy in 1962.
Residences: Derrick lived at home until 1950 when he was aged 24. After their marriage the couple moved to the capital and lived in a semi-detached house on Eversley Crescent in Ruislip. Later in life they moved to Filey where from 2002 they lived next to a holiday resort by the sea.
Deaths: Derrick died in Filey on 25 July 2015 when aged 88.
G5: Sarah Ann Seaman (1878-1927)
Birth: Sarah Ann Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1878. She was the sixth child of James and Rhoda.
Marriage: to Alfred Albert Linaker during 1917. She was aged 39 and he was two years younger. Unusually for the time, the couple had actually lived together since 1909. The census in 1911 recorded Alfred as a boarder, but baby Alfred Seaman (7 months) suggested that they were a couple.
Spouse history: Alfred had been born in Great Yarmouth on 19 May 1879, one of the five children of William Linaker and Winifred Moore. He was christened at St Nicholas in February 1880, at which time the family lived in the Greenwoods Building on Louise Road in the centre of town. His father was a ship caulker, a skilled job that involved using materials such as oakum and tar to make the hulls and decks of new ships watertight and leak-free and restoring older hulls prior to an extended voyage. He was dead by the time of the next census. The moved around a few different houses in the Rows, including one in 1901 that his future father-in-law would later live in.
Children: (1) Alfred in 1910, (2) Mary in 1915.
Occupations: In 1901 Alfred worked as a bricklayer’s labourer, but soon give this up to work in a fish curing works, possibly as a horse driver. He returned to the fish curing trade after wartime service in the Navy, and when captured in the 1921 census worked as a herring hanger for a Mr Bruce, a fish curer on Market Road.
Military service: Alfred enlisted into the Royal Navy on 9 January 1915 and was given service number DA3138. He was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall with blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He had a scar on his left forefinger and another on his forehead. His service record is a little unclear, but he seemed to spend his war service serving on auxiliary ships. He was discharged in April 1919 and awarded the 1914-15 Star, Victory Medal, and British War Medal.
Residences: between 1909 and 1911 the couple lived on Row 129, later moving to Row 133 and Row 134.
- Sarah: Row 43 (1881); Row 44 (1881-1882); Row 120 (1887-1890); 15 Row 125 (1891); 33 Row 129 (1909-1911); 11 Row 133 (1911); 9 Row 134 (1920-1927) – all in Great Yarmouth
- Alfred: Greenwoods Building, Louise Road (1880-1881); 5 Row 117 (1891); 3A Row 136 (1901); 33 Row 129 (1909-1911); 11 Row 133 (1911); 9 Row 134 (1920-1927); 5 Dickens Avenue (1939) – all in Great Yarmouth
Deaths: Sarah died in the General Hospital when aged just 49 and was buried in Caister Burial Ground on 4 January 1928. Alfred died in St Nicholas Hospital, Great Yarmouth during 1962 when aged 83. He was also buried at Caister.
Notes: Sarah is missing from the 1901 census. Alfred married Alice Read just a year after Sarah’s death. In 1939 they lived with Alice’s four children on Dickens Avenue.
G4: Alfred Albert Seaman (1910-1951)
Birth: Alfred Albert Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 3 September 1910. He was the first child of Sarah and likely Alfred Linaker. The couple were unmarried but had lived together since before he was born. Although the 1921 census records Alfred with the surname Linaker, this is the only record of him doing so.
Marriage: to Olive May Skeet during 1932. He was aged 29 and she was two years younger.
Spouse history: Olive had been born in Great Yarmouth on 16 March 1911, the first child of Alfred Lewis Skeet and Violet Beatrice Holt. When the census was taken a few weeks later, Olive and her mother were staying with her maternal grandmother on Dolman Square in the Cobholm suburb on the opposite side of the River Yare. It is possible that her father was a fisherman and away at sea. During the war he enlisted into the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment (service number G5631) and was killed in action on 23 July 1916. In 1921 the widow and her two children lived on Irongate Square.
Children: (1) Ronald 1932, (2) a girl in 1935, (3) a boy in 1945, (4) a girl in 1950.
Residences: on the outbreak of war in September 1939, the family lived in a large three-storey house on King Street, which they shared with Florence Waterson and her son Reginald, and a Hilda Marshall. It is possible that the building was subdivided into flats. They moved to Bury St Edmunds before the end of the war.
- Alfred: 11 Row 133 (1910-1911); 59 King Street (1939); 29 Dene Side (1951) – all in Great Yarmouth
- Olive: 6 Dolman Square (1911); Irongate Square (1921); 59 King Street (1939) – all in Great Yarmouth
Occupations: Alfred was a general labourer.
Military service: it’s likely that in 1940 Alfred enlisted into the Royal Artillery, being given service number 1642318. He was discharged on 2 July 1941 under Paragraph 390(XVIII)A of the King’s Regulations, which states that his services were no longer required. This seems unusual in wartime, especially as Alfred was only aged 30.
Deaths: Alfred died at 29 Dene Side in Great Yarmouth during 1951 when aged 41 and was buried at Caiter Burial Ground. Olive survived him for just eight years and died at Gorleston Hospital in 1959 when aged 48. She was buried on 25 June.
G4: Mary Adline Linaker (1915-?)
Birth: Mary Adline Linaker was born in Great Yarmouth during 1915. She was the second child of Alfred and Sarah.
Residences: 9, Row 134, Great Yarmouth (1920-1921)
G6: George Seaman (1839-1922)
Birth: George Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 24 February 1839. He was the third child of James and Matilda.
Christening: on 15 April 1839.
Marriage: to Sarah Ann Westgate on 7 April 1861 at St Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth. He was aged 22 and she was a year younger.
Spouse history: Sarah had been born on 13 December 1839 to labourer John Westgate and Charlotte and was christened seven days later. The family lived in various houses in the Rows.
Children: (1) George in 1869, who sadly died within a few months.
Occupations: despite his young age when the 1851 census was taken, 11-year-old George worked as an errand boy. A decade later and he had become a ship’s fireman, shovelling coal to keep the engines churning. After a brief period as a publican, George became a shrimper, using various types of nets or pots to catch shrimp from the sea. Even in his seventies, the 1901 census found him still plying this trade.
Residences: the newlyweds settled on South Quay, a pleasant street bordering the River Yare, and remained there for the next thirty years. After Sarah’s death the following censuses documented him living with widowed housekeepers, Martha Hazell and then Rebecca Barber, suggesting a need for companionship in his later years.
- George: South Denes Road (1851); Trinity Place (1861); 28 Row 54 (1861); South Quay (1869); 36 South Quay (1891); 16 Row 124 (1901); 26A Row 129 (1911-1921) – all in Great Yarmouth
- Sarah: Row 66 (1841); 28 Row 54 (1851-1861); South Quay (1869); 36 South Quay (1891); South Quay (1899) – all in Great Yarmouth
Deaths: Sarah died on 2 October 1899 when aged 60 and was buried soon afterwards. Unusually, she left her estate of £54 to Adeline Layton, spinster, rather than to her husband. George died in early 1922 when aged 82.
Notes: the couple were married on the day the census was taken, with it capturing the happy couple together on their wedding night. Curiously in the 1871 census there was a George Seaman of the right age boarding on Row 91 who was a fireman on a steam tug. It’s not certain that this is the same person, nor why he would be living separately to his wife.
G5: George Edmund Seaman (1869)
Birth: George Edmund Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 19 July 1869. He was the first child of George and Sarah.
Christening: on 22 September 1869.
Residences: South Quay, Great Yarmouth (1869)
Death: George died aged 3 months and was buried at Preston’s Yard South Quay on 3 October.
G6: John Seaman (1842-?)
Birth: John Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth on 19 March 1842. He was the fourth child of James and Matilda.
Christening: on 8 April 1842.
G6: Mary Seaman (1843-?) and Benjamin Stevens (1846-?)
Mary’s history is explored in the Stevens line.
G6: William Seaman (1846-1849)
Birth: William Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1846. He was the sixth child of James and Matilda.
Death: he died aged 3 and was buried on 12 October 1849.
G6: Robert Seaman (1850)
Birth: Robert Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1850. He was the seventh child of James and Matilda.
Death: he died within a few weeks and was buried on 31 January 1851.
G6: Catherine Seaman (1851)
Birth: Catherine Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1851. She was the eighth child of James and Matilda.
Death: she died within a few weeks and was buried on 17 December 1851.
G6: Elizabeth Seaman (1854-?)
Birth: Elizabeth Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1854. She was the ninth child of James and Matilda.
Notes: she is not included on the 1861 census and there is a death record for an Elizabeth Seaman in 1857, although an age is not given.
G6: Edith Eliza Seaman (1860)
Birth: Edith Eliza Seaman was born in Great Yarmouth during 1860. She was the tenth child of James and Matilda.
Notes: The GRO index clearly shows that the mother’s maiden name was Shepherd, but there is a baptism record that cites her parents as John, a chemist, and Mary. This child likely died aged 5 months and was buried on 2 August.
See also
