Table of Contents
G5: Thomas Sherlock (1855-) and Johanna Downs (1855-)
Birth: Thomas Sherlock was born during 1855 in Cork, Ireland, at which time was part of the United Kingdom. Nothing is known of his early life other than at some point before 1882 he moved across the Irish Sea and settled in London.
Marriage: to Johanna Downs during 1882 at St Saviour’s in Southwark. They were both aged aged 27.
Children: (1) John in 1882, (2) James in 1884, (3) Bridget in 1888, (4) Mary in 1894.
Residences: by 1891 the family had moved to rapidly expanding Canning Town in West Ham. Although the growing dockyards and industries offered employment, it was very deprived with many areas little more than slums. They lived in three rooms of a terraced house on Wightman Street, with the remainder occupied by the widowed Julia Melaney and her four children. They moved to Garvary Road by 1901, sharing with the widowed Alice Lyade and her two sons-in-law. In 1911 the 56-year-old widow Johanna lived with her 16-year-old daughter Mary in two rooms of another house on the same street.
- Thomas: 28 Wightman Street, Canning Town (1891); 94 Garvary Road, Canning Town (1901)
- Johanna: 28 Wightman Street, Canning Town (1891); 94 Garvary Road, Canning Town (1901); 29 Garvary Road, Canning Town (1911)
Occupations: Thomas was one of the army of dock labourers at the Royal Victoria Dock. They formed a tight-knit local community with their own distinctive cultures and slang. Most were unskilled and worked as casual labourers, assembling at certain points each morning, such as pubs, to be selected more or less at random by foremen. For these workers, it was effectively a lottery as to whether they would get work – and pay, and food – on any particular day. After his death Johanna worked as a charwoman – a house cleaner.
Death: Thomas died at some point before 1911.
G4: John Sherlock (1882-)
Birth: John Sherlock was born on 22 September 1882. He was the first child of Thomas and Johanna.
Christening: on 5 November 1882 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Battersea.
Residences: 28 Wightman Street, Canning Town (1891); 94 Garvary Road, Canning Town (1901)
Occupation: in 1901 John worked alongside his younger brother James as a labourer in one of the nearby sugar works.
Deaths: John may have died in 1908, but further confirmation is required.
Notes: the enumerator of the 1901 census noted that John was an imbecile.
G4: James Sherlock (1884-)
Birth: James Sherlock was born on 7 May 1884. He was the second child of Thomas and Johanna.
Christening: on 13 July 1884 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Battersea.
Residences: 28 Wightman Street, Canning Town (1891); 94 Garvary Road, Canning Town (1901)
Occupation: in 1901 James worked alongside his elder brother John as a labourer in one of the nearby sugar works.
G4: Bridget Agnes Sherlock (1888-)
Birth: Bridget Agnes Sherlock was born during 1888. She was the third child of Thomas and Johanna.
Residences: 28 Wightman Street, Canning Town (1891); 94 Garvary Road, Canning Town (1901)
Notes: it is possible that she married Harry A. Davis in 1915, but further confirmation is required.
G4: Mary Sherlock (1894-1969) and Albert Copus (1894-1980)
Mary’s story is picked up in the Copus line.
