Northampton Mercury 1881 22 October. Daventry – County Magistrates, Oct. 18th. Before Captain Stopford. – Elizabeth Thompson, wife of a boatman, was remanded to the 26th inst., on a charge of stealing a florin on the 17th, the money of John Thompson, of Buckby; she was admitted to bail.
Northampton Mercury 1881 29 October. Elizabeth Thompson was charged with stealing a florin from a till in the shop of John Thompson, in the parish of Norton, on the 17th October. Mr Leake for the prosecution and Mr Roche for the defence. Elizabeth, wife of the prosecutor, said her husband kept a public house, a grocer’s, and a butcher’s shop, by the side of the canal at Norton Locks. The tap was at one end of the premises, then came the grocer’s shop, and further still the butcher’s shop. From any one the other two were visible. In consequence of something that occurred PC White marked two florins, one shilling, and one sixpence, which were all put in the till in the grocer’s shop. On the following day the prisoner went into the tap room,, and witness, who was in the butcher’s shop, saw her open a drawer and take something out and put it into her pocket. Prisoner then went into the grocer’s shop and asked for half a pound of butter. Witness’s niece served the butter and while she went to the bar for change the prisoner took the florin. Witness, who had watched her all the time, then accused her and demanded the florin. Prisoner at first denied that she had it, but afterwards gave it up. It was marked, and was the one produced. PC White deposed as to marking the coins, and identified the one produced. He saw the prisoner and charged her, when she said she was sorry she took the money. Sarah Thomas was present when her aunt accused the prisoner, who at first said she had not the money but afterwards gave it up. The prisoner elected the summary jurisdiction of the Court. Mr Roche said there was no denying the facts, but he urged several considerations for leniency, and called Mr Holland and Mr York, who both gave the prisoner a good character. A fine of 40s was imposed.
So who do we have here? The accused is Elizabeth Thompson, wife of a boatman. The person making the accusation is John Thompson, publican of the New Inn at Norton Locks, and his wife, also named Elizabeth. (there is no known connection between these Thompson families.) Sarah Thomas is the niece of the latter Elizabeth, at the New Inn. Mr Holland is William, wharfinger, living at Top Lock on the 1881 Census, a close neighbour of John and Elizabeth Thompson. Mr York is either Thomas, a labourer, or William, brewers clerk, both living at Long Buckby Wharf on the 1881 Census. Most likely it is William – as an educated and literate man, his character reference would hold more weight with the Court.
Elizabeth Thompson, wife of a boatman. Not very specific, and lots of potential women to choose from. However, by using the details in this newspaper report, I’ve narrowed it down to a likely suspect. It is stated that a previous occurrence had caused PC White to mark several coins and place them in the till at the New Inn. So this was an ongoing thing, not a one-off. That suggests a regular customer, not a boatwoman popping in as her boat passed through the locks. The two character witnesses are local men who had to have known Elizabeth well, further suggesting that she lived locally. The 1881 Census shows William Yorke, Thomas Yorke, and William Holland all living close to the New Inn. It also shows Elizabeth Thompson, her boatman husband Edward, and their children living in a cottage situated between Ryehill Farm and the Gate Inn. At that time there was a row of cottages between the canal and Watling Street, close to the New Inn and Top Lock, visible as a thick black line on the map below.
‘Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland’ OS Map Northamptonshire Sheet XXXVI.SE 1883-1884, published 1884.It is my belief that the accused and charged Elizabeth Thompson is indeed the wife of Edward Thompson, boatman, and living at the Wharf at the time. She was born Elizabeth Clamp in 1840 at Potter Green, Warwickshire. Her parents were Thomas Clamp, a miner, and Esther Porter. The family are at Potters Green for the 1841 Census and at Wolverhampton in 1851. Elizabeth is a general servant at the Jolly Collier pub in Sowe on the 1861 Census which is probably where she met Edward Thompson as he was passing through on his boat.
Edward and Elizabeth married on 24 April 1861 in St Mary’s Church, Walsgrave on Sowe. Their witnesses were David Smith and Sarah Sexton. After their marriage, Elizabeth joined Edward on his boat, working on the Grand Junction Canal. They are recorded at Buckby Wharf on the 1871 Census, onboard boat “Thomas” with their first four children. By 1877 they had settled into a cottage at the Wharf, or at least Elizabeth and the children had. Edward is recorded there on every census but he was still a boatman. They had 9 children in total, the last 3 being born at the Wharf rather than on the boat.
In October 1881, at the time of the offence, Elizabeth was at home with 6 of her children, one was in domestic service elsewhere, one with family, and the youngest hadn’t been born yet. It is unclear what the “considerations for leniency” might have been – it could be as simple as she was struggling to survive and feed the family on the money Edward brought home, it certainly wouldn’t have been an easy task. It does seem that they may have been struggling, as all the girls were sent off to domestic service in their teens and the 2 boys became boatmen in their teens. Another possible reason for leniency may be that there were pregnancy losses or stillbirths – there is a 6 year gap between the youngest child’s birth and the next youngest. There are no recorded births for Edward and Elizabeth during this time period, and she was 46 years old when she gave birth for the last time in 1886, a surprise menopause baby possibly. (this birth is registered with Elizabeth’s maiden name of Clamp and is very unlikely to be a cover-up for an illegitimate child of one of her daughters. That did indeed happen, and the child grew up with his mother.)
If Elizabeth was struggling for money, the fine imposed on her really didn’t help matters. She was charged with stealing a florin, a 2 shilling coin. The newspaper states she was fined 40 shillings, equivalent to 6 days wages for a skilled tradesman. I was hoping that was an editorial error, but a different newspaper gives the same amount of 40 shillings. That seems a disproportionate fine, especially for someone who did not have a previous record for theft. There is no further mention of either Elizabeth or Edward in the newspapers regarding this so they must have paid it off somehow.
Edward inherited money from his father John Thompson (1798-1882) when the probate of his estate was settled at the beginning of 1883, and came off the boats to work as a coal carter at the Wharf. Edward died in March 1899 and Elizabeth moved to a cottage next to the Crown and Anchor pub, living on her own means. In 1911 she was staying with their son John in Brentford, Middlesex, but came back to the Wharf where she lived with their grandson Albert John Thompson until her death in 1928.
Elizabeth and Edward’s children:
Sarah Jane b1863 Wyken, married James Austin and Frederick Wright, death unknown.
Esther Ann b1864 Warwickshire, married Ebenezer Starmer, died June 1895 Buckby Wharf.
Elizabeth b1867 Blisworth, married John Kent, died 1925 Leicester.
John b1869 Goldshill, married Mary Smith, died 23 April 1952 Ilfracombe.
Selina b1871 Bugbrooke, married Henry Marshall, died Feb 1915 Leamington.
Edward b1874 Middlesex, married Mary Wiggins, died 1923 Foleshill.
Annie b 20 Oct 1877 Buckby Wharf, married William Sturman, died 1962 Coventry.
Catherine b 9 Nov 1879 Buckby Wharf, married Arthur Harmer, died 1948 Islington.
Ida b 9 Jan 1886 Buckby Wharf, married William Sharpe, died 27 Jan 1973 Coventry.
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