Martha Baynes Eldridge b. 1819

Martha Baynes Eldridge

Timeline

Ancestry Synopsis

When Martha Baynes Eldridge was born on 7 March 1819 in Salcombe, Devon, her father, Richard, was 23, and her mother, Martha, was 21. She married Thomas Scott on 15 May 1844 in Bethnal Green, Middlesex. They had seven children in 14 years. She died on 19 September 1898 in Maldon, Essex, having lived a long life of 79 years.

Baptism

There are two possible baptism records for Martha, one in Devon and the other in Bethnal Green. Further research required.

Well, following the discovery in the 1851 census that Martha was born in Devon, it suggests that is where the baptism record may be found. There is a Martha Baines Eldridge, Birth date 7^th March 1819, with a place of abode of Salcombe Devon, baptised in Salcombe to parents Richard and Martha Eldridge, and Richard stated as a Mariner. The spelling of the second name does not match with an i instead of a y, but should that discount this record. 

The other interesting record is for Martha Baynes Eldridge, Baptised on 09 Mar 1819, in Bethnal Green, of father Richard Eldridge. However, no mother's name is recorded nor the father's profession.

Salcombe is only 7 miles from Torcross where Richard, her brother lived when he was baptised on the 12th October 1817 in the parish church of Stokenham, in Devon. 

The proximity in time and place to her brother's baptism and the family abode, together with the later information on place of birth, not in this county 1841 Census, and Born in Devonshire, 1851 Census suggest to me that the Devon person is the correct one despite the variation in the spelling of the second name. The link to Bethnal Green appears to be later in the storyline.

Marriage

Marriage of Matha Baynes Eldridge and Thomas Scott at Saint Matthew's Church, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, England

Martha Baynes Eldridge married Thomas Scott on 15^th May 1844. They are both of full age which suggests that they were born before 1823, which is correct for Martha. There appears to be a side affidavit which has been obscured.

He is a bachelor, a Cheesemonger residing at 1 Devonshire Buildings, presumably in Bethnal Green, and she is a spinster, residing at 13 Westover Street. Research suggests that this has also been known as Temple Street. Thomas's father is recorded as Joseph Scott, a shopkeeper. Martha's father is Richard Eldridge, a Custom House Officer. The name and profession correlate with other sources.

The witnesses are Richard Eldridge and Mary Ann Nicholas. It is not clear if this is Richard Eldridge the father or the brother. If it is the brother, he later married Mary Ann Nicholas, in 1846. The signatures on the two documents are not dissimilar.

Bethnal Green was new in 1844. Below is a extract from British History Online

The centre: principal estates 1 Turney, 2 Saffron Close, 3 Willett, 4 Great Haresmarsh, 5 Acres Land, 6 Burgoyn 7 Sebright, 8 Markham, 9 Thickness, 10 JarvisIn 1788 much of Willetts (George and Gravel fields) south of Bethnal Green Road was divided into lots, most of which were leased for 99 years to John May Evans, a Surrey builder, and William Timmins, a local brickmaker. They immediately built along the main road, including Shepherd's Place or Row, and in the streets running south from it, named from the estate's owners: White, Thomas, and Charles streets. Houses 'in the back ground' were probably in the narrow street parallel with Bethnal Green Road, called White's or Thomas Passage or Granby's Row. Abbey Street, at the west end of the development, existed as Benal Abbey Street in 1788. Part of the land was still a brickfield in 1803.

In 1794 Samuel Scott, owner of Thickness estate, had a house in a brickfield opposite a house in the Jewish burial ground at the southern end of the district, next to Ducking Pond Lane. Three houses had been built there by 1801 when he had leased ground to Isaac Bird, coachmaster of Whitechapel. By 1809, when he was 'builder' or 'brickmaster', Bird had built along North Street (formerly Ducking Pond Lane) and on a new side road, Pleasant Row.

Building began on Jarvis's, the estate to the east, in 1812 when two parallel streets were planned to run the length of the estate from Three Colts Lane: Hinton Street, to join the northern part of Collingwood Street, and Tapp Street to the west. Westover (Temple) Street was to link them in the middle of the estate. Sir George Ivison Tapps in 1812 agreed with Edward Bumford, engraver of Islington, for building south of Temple Street and thereafter granted several leases to Bumford and his brother (or son) John, who started from the south with Somerford Street and Trafalgar Place. Their sublessees William Miller and Richard Leavitt were the builders in Somerford Street. Building had reached Temple Street by 1826 and there were nearly 100 houses on the estate by 1836 although half of it, east of Hinton Street, was still open.

In 1818 Bumford agreed with the Pope family for ground to the west, where he built Winchester (or Market) Street as an extension from Hare Street and Carlisle, Great Manchester, Nottingham, and Arundel (or Albion) streets running south from it. In 1825 the Popes agreed to grant the rest of the estate (Great Haresmarsh) to the south and west, Bumford to spend £7,000 on 56 houses with frontages of 14-21 ft. Artillery (or Anglesea) Street was 'new intended' in 1826. The southern and eastern parts of the estate were leased to George Selby, who in 1828-9 was involved with Edward Bumford, by then a 'surveyor', in leasing houses in Albion, Anglesea, Wellington (the southern extension of Nottingham Street), and Selby (at the southern border) streets. The whole area was called Waterloo Town.

The map of the Principal Estates is not dated but it may be 1843, before the railways cut the area in half.

The above map, an OS 25" from the National Library of Scotland collection was revised in 1893. The blue marker is the approximate location of Westover Street (Temple Street), the residence of Martha Baynes Eldridge according to her Marriage Record. The home did not last very long before being cut down, almost before the plaster had dried, to make way for the Great Eastern Railway, well probably it's predecessor, Eastern Counties Railway.

The OS map has been rotated such that North is towards the left so that it approximately aligns with the orientation of the Principal Estates Map, Tent Street is shown on both maps, which aids correlation. The normal north to the Top of the page can be found on the National Library of Scotland Map. The map on the link can also show current mapping. Tent Street is still there, as is Wilmot Street. The street if not the original homes.

Census and Voters