JAMES (1856-1914) and AMELIA SIMPSON (1857-1933)

Henry SIMPSON was always known as HARRY and was the second son of JAMES and AMELIA SIMPSON. 

The 1901 Census shows the family living at 355 Walkley Lane Sheffield (Nether Hallam), PRO Ref RG13/4343 Page No 4 entry 29

No entry was made for James' occupation but the address is the location of a club called the La Plata and so it must be assumed that James and Amelia were the stewards, managers (or even owners) of the club. 

355 Walkley Lane Sheffield - Photograph taken February 2007

The 1901 information ties in with the entry twenty years earlier in the 1881 Census which shows James's occupation as a barman. Craven Street was, and still is, in the Netherthorpe, district of Sheffield.

No 4 Craven Street Sheffield

FHL Film 1342123 PRO Ref RG11 Piece Folio 4647/62 Page Number 27 

For a few years I made very little progress on investigating this side of my wife's family, but in March 2008 I received further information that enabled me to make significant progress. The first piece of information was this entry in the FreeBMD Indexes

Birth Registered in June 1858 quarter FIDDLER Amelia - Ecclesall Bierlow Volume 9C page 229  

but far more importantly was the information I received from a descendent of JAMES and AMELIA and it concerned their respective parents HENRY and SARAH SIMPSON and SAMUEL and AMELIA FIDLER.

The 1911 Census contains the following information

Name Amelia Simpson
Relationship to Head of Household Wife
Condition / Years Married Married / 31 Years
Total Children Born Alive 10 Children Still Living 5
Children Who Have Died 5
Gender Female Age 52 Estimated Year of Birth 1859
Occupation Wife Employed No
Working at Home Yes
Place of Birth Sheffield Yorkshire
Enumerator Information
Address 164 Langsett Road Sheffield Parish Ecclesall Town Sheffield
Type of Building Public House Number of Rooms 12 Rooms
Inhabited Yes
Reference RG14PN27714 RG78PN1587 RD509 SD1 ED14 SN261 Administrative County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Registration District Ecclesall Bierlow Registration Sub District Ecclesall North Enumeration District 14 

164 Langsett Road Sheffield is or rather was known as the CUTHBERT BANK public house. It finally closed a couple of years ago, but the building remains

As for James and Amelia, they were both buried in St Mary's C of E Cemetery in Walkley, Sheffield. The burial registers give the following information

[Name/date of burial/address or place where death occurred/age/ceremony by]

Grave reference B320

SIMPSON James 30 Jul 1895 355 Walkley Lane 9
SIMPSON James 7 Dec 1914 355 Walkley Lane  56 T.M. Archer
SIMPSON Sarah 18 Apr 1886 "Hillsbro',Taplin Rd" 2½ Thomas Smith

Grave Reference B350

[Name/date of burial/address or place where death occurred/age/ceremony by]

SIMPSON Amelia 27 Mar 1933 355 Walkley Lane 72 Guy TS Cook

The information revealed two children that I was unaware of - JAMES and SARAH SIMPSON. Sarah would have been the eldest child, born in late 1883.(GRO REF Ecclesall Bierlow Volume 9C Page310). Her death is registered in the June quarter of 1886 (GRO REF Wortley Volume 9C Page 148). She was just two years of age when she died. Her brother JAMES was born in the same year as she died (GRO REF Wortley Volume 9C Page 265). His death was registered nine years later in the September quarter of 1895 (GRO REF Ecclesall Bierlow Volume 9C Page310).

However in September 2008, I obtained the following information from the Baptismal Registers for St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton, Sheffield

Simpson, Fred (of Taplin Rd, born --).
Baptised March 21, 1888, by H. A. Goodwin at St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton, Sheffield
Parents name(s) are Amelia & James (Manager).

Simpson, Henry (of Taplin Rd, born --).
Baptised January 15, 1890, by H A Goodwin at St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton.
Parents name(s) are Amelia & James (Manager).

Simpson, James (of Taplin Rd, born --).
Baptised June 30, 1886, by H.A. Goodwin at St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton.
arents name(s) are Amelia & James (Manager).

Simpson, Alice (of 355 Walkley Lane, born --).
Baptised December 14, 1892, by H A Goodwin at St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton.
Parents name(s) are Amelia & James (Manager).

Simpson, Charles (of 355 Walkley Lane, born --).
Baptised February 3, 1895, by H A Goodwin at St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton.
Parents name(s) are Amelia & James (Manager).

Simpson, Samuel (of 355 Walkley Lane, born --).
Baptised October 20, 1897, by H.A.Goodwin at St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton.
Parents name(s) are Amelia & James (Manager).

I or no-one else in the family had ever heard of SAMUEL and so I checked and found the following entry in the FREE BMD Index

Births December 1897 Simpson Samuel Ecclesall Bierlow Vol.9c Page 367

but to date I have been unable to establish SAMUEL's fate. He did not appear with the family on the 1901 Census. The inference is that he died sometime between the baptism in 1897 and the 1901 Census but until I receive solid evidence it will have to remain open. And remain open it did until I accessed the 1911 Census and found him living with his family at 164 Langsett Road Sheffield as a 13 year old scholar. I revisited the 1901 Census and then found SAMUEL on the following sheet following that of his family

Name Samuel Simpson Relation to Head of Family Son Age Last Birthday 3 Sex Male Profession or Occupation Juvenile Employment Status Condition as to Marriage Where Born Yorkshire Sheffield Address 355 Walkley Lane Civil Parish Nether Hallam Rural District Town or Village or Hamlet Sheffield Ecclesiastical Parish Owlerton St John The Baptist Parliamentary Borough or Division Hallam County Borough, Municipal Borough or Urban District Sheffield Administrative County Sheffield Ward of Municipal Borough or Urban District Nether Hallam.

This is now becoming something of a mystery! Just why does no-one know about SAMUEL

Incidentally the other point to arise from the registers is that it looks as though the family moved from Taplin Road to Walkley Lane sometime between 1890 and 1892

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This page was last updated on 10/05/11 10:31