There is something of a mystery about my great grandmother’s childhood. It proved to be a challenging research task, complicated by the need to distinguish three generations of Matilda’s, the birth of three illegitimate children, two possible questionable, unverified marriages and changing surnames of the children from Such to Williams to Simpson.
My great grandmother Matilda
My great grandmother Matilda was born in 1849 in Aston, Birmingham, (England) the youngest of three daughters - Barbara born in 1842 and Fanny born in 1844, All three were listed on their baptismal register under the name of their mother Matilda Such, with the note that she was a “single woman” against the entry for Barbara.
Baby Matilda’s baptismal entry of February 7th, 1849 names her parents as William and Matilda, but with the surname Such. Yet her birth certificate states her father to be William Williams, a commercial traveller, with their address given as 46 Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, a heavily industrialized part of the city. Another puzzle - no marriage certificate has been traced for a Matilda Such and William Williams.
The family proved difficult to trace in the 1851 census but the three children, aged 9, 7 and 2 were eventually found in Aston, Birmingham, each described as “a nurse child i.e. fostered with the Middleton family - but this time with the surname Williams. Was this to keep their mother distanced from any scandal, as Matilda senior’s father William Such was a respected business man in Birmingham, a jeweller and later book agent?
But where was the children's mother, Matilda in 1851? She was traced to the home of her father William Such, a 68 year old widower, along with her sister Emma. Matilda was described as an unmarried daughter, aged 34 and a Professor of Music – a somewhat grand title one suspects for a music teacher.
The 1861 census entry was something of a surprise. The children were back with their mother. But Matilda Such was now described as a widow and a dressmaker, and, together with her daughters, was now listed with the surname Simpson - young Matilda, a 12 year’ old scholar, Fanny at 17, learning to be a dressmaker, and Barbara a 19 year old school mistress - all living on Gates Street, Wolverhampton.
But again no record has been found for a Such-Simpson marriage.
A possible clue - a William Simpson, aged 45 died in 1857 in Wolverhampton and young Matilda named a William Simpson as her father on her 1871 marriage certificate. There were a number of William Simpsons born c.1812 in Staffordshire who could have fitted the bill, but a great deal of research is needed to follow this line of research.
The 1871 census saw my great grandmother, 22 year old Matilda Simpson a cook with the Holyoak Family, at no. 45 Kinver High Street, 5 miles from Wolverhsmpton, with head Thomas a general medical practioner, his wife, his eldest son, also a doctor and second son a medical student. Making up the household was a second domestic servant.
Living alone on the same street at no. 48 was Matilda’s mother, under the name of Simpson, a widow aged 55, described as a governess at a day school or school mistress.
In that same year of 1871,
young Matilda married my great grandfather John Matthews, an insurance agent.
The entry for their marriage was recorded in the famiy bible - but gives no clues as to Matilda's maiden name.
My great grandmother, Matilda Matthews, nee Such/Williams/Simpson, born in 1849, lived to the age of 81, with her death on 9th July 1929 recorded in the "Wolverhampton Express & Star".
Matthews
On July 9th at 4, Wood Street, Lanesfield.
Matilda Widow of the late John Matthews
In her 81st year.
At rest
Part Two of Matilda's story will feature her marriage to John, a prominent member, as choir master of the local Methodist church, and the birth of their ten children, including my grandmother - Mary Barbara Matthews.
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Postscript: Given that I have no documentary proof of the marriage of Matilda's mother to William Williams, nor William Simpson, I have amended my family tree to Father Unknown for young Matilda - and added a summary of this post under Stories.
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Acknowledgements to my fellow Matthews descendants for their contributions to this post.
- Nicky & Jenny
- Linda & Mike
- Midland Ancestor Article: March 2017 - The History of Matilda Bloomer Such Matilda by Mike Charles.
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