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b.1874? –d.1924
Researching James’s story
There is a question mark against this man’s birth year, for reasons which I will explain.
The only background information we had to go on was from his medical notes: he was aged 28 in April 1902; married; a tailor’s porter; address 28 Ames Street; chargeable to Bethnal Green Union; in the asylum system since January 1901.
Our first stop on the research trail was to check that address in the 1901 Census. There we found a wife Lizzie (24), and two children Lizzie (3) and James (1), all born in Bethnal Green.
A check of the GRO index for the children’s births suggested that Lizzie’s maiden name was Hall, and that the children’s ages had been transposed in the census. James junior was born in 1897, and Elizabeth (Lizzie junior) was born in 1900. This was confirmed by their baptism records, and their parents were confirmed as James and Elizabeth Martin of 28 Ames Street.
Next we searched for a marriage record, and we located the marriage of James Martin and Elizabeth Hall at St James the Less, Bethnal Green in June 1897. James’s age was stated to be 24, occupation porter, and his father was named as Joseph Martin, a cutter.
Then we located James in the 1901 Census as an inmate in Bethnal House, whence he had been sent from Bethnal Green Workhouse in January 1901. This gave his age as 27, and his birthplace as Whitechapel.
So far, all the information suggested that James was born circa 1872-74 in Whitechapel.
We also found a militia attestation from April 1892 for a James Martin aged 19 born Shoreditch with a very similar signature to the one on the marriage record:
Confusingly there is also a militia attestation for a Frederick Martin aged 18 in February 1892 with a very similar signature:
We’ll come back to talk about Frederick Martin later in this story.
But this is where things got complicated. There is only one Joseph Martin, cutter, in the London censuses prior to 1881. He was a lucifer box cutter in Whitechapel in the 1861 Census, and a scale board cutter in 1871 and 1881. He did have a son James, but he was born in 1867. He also had a son Frederick born in 1871 (of whom more later).
So did James:
- pretend to be Fred when joining the militia in February 1892? There is no record of this man attending any training or camps.
- understate his age by 6 years when joining a different militia unit in April 1892? Again, there is no record of attendance at training or camps.
- understate his age by 6 years when marrying Elizabeth Hall in 1897?
Perhaps we have landed on the wrong James Martin; but there don’t seem to be any other likely candidates.
Mania
We can say with certainty that James Martin, husband of Elizabeth Hall and father of two children, was admitted to Bethnal Green Workhouse on 2 January 1901, and found to be of unsound mind. Two days later he was taken to Bethnal House asylum, and the following year he was moved to the Epsom Asylum cluster, where he was to remain for the rest of his life.
The earliest report we have found so far on his mental state is from 1909:
Dementia Paranoia. He is dull, weak minded, & cannot orientate as to time, & takes little interest in his surroundings. He has visual & auditory hallucinations & sleeps badly. He is somewhat degenerate looking in appearance. His memory is much impaired. Fair health & moderate condition.
James died at Horton from diabetes mellitus on 14th July 1924 and was buried on the 18th in plot 646b. He was aged 50 according to the hospital record.
What happened to his wife and children?
In the 1911 Census, James’ widow Elizabeth and his two children James and Elizabeth were living with a Frederick Martin, aged 41, born Bethnal Green. Frederick and Elizabeth were still together in the 1921 Census, and birth records show that they had five children together between 1904 and 1912.
Was Frederick a relative, perhaps the young brother of James?
When James’s children were married (James junior in 1918 and Elizabeth in 1919), they both named Frederick Martin as their father.
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