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b.1856-d.1902
When I saw the name Emily Smith was next on my list, my heart sank, but after sending off for her death certificate my hopes were raised, well, just a little bit.
Death Certificate
Emily was recorded as being the 46-year-old widow of Mr [unknown] Smith of 58 Grange Walk, Bermondsey. Other than stating that she had died in Horton Asylum on 14th July 1902 from Acute miliary tuberculosis, there was little else to go on other than she was born around 1856.
Electoral Registers Evidence
However, the London Electoral Registers confirmed that she had been living at this address from 1895 to 1900. Also living there at this time was a non-paying lodger, John William Smith. It’s unclear whether he was a relative of Emily’s as I have not been able to find them together on the censuses either side of these dates.
- 1895 – Emily listed as living at number 58 Grange Walk. Recorded as a paying lodger, John William Smith had a furnished bedroom and the use of the sitting room while another lodger, Samuel Holland, had two unfurnished rooms on the first floor. Both paid 5 shillings a week to live there.
- 1896 – Emily listed as living at number 58 Grange Walk. Recorded as a non-paying lodger, John William Smith had a furnished bedroom and the use of the sitting room. No other lodger listed.
- 1897 – Emily listed as living at number 58 Grange Walk. Recorded as a non-paying lodger, John William Smith had a furnished bedroom and the use of the sitting room while a lodger, James William Brooks, paid 5 shillings per week for two unfurnished rooms on the first floor.
- 1898 + 1899 – Emily listed as living at number 58 Grange Walk. John William Smith and James William Brooks had the same living arrangements as before, but both were recorded as being non-paying lodgers.
- 1900 – Emily listed for number 58 Grange Walk. No lodging record for John William Smith has been found.
There are two possible entries on the 1901 census that might have been Emily:
- “E. Smith”, was recorded as a 46-year-old married female patient in the London County Lunatic Asylum, Cane Hill, Coulsdon, Surrey.
- “E. Smith”, was recorded as a 46-year-old married female patient in the Peckham House Lunatic Asylum, Camberwell, Surrey.
However, both say she is married and we know that our Emily was widowed at some point, so this might not be her.
Admission to Horton
The only other record found for Emily after this was her entry in the Lunacy Patients Admission Registers where it was recorded that she had been admitted as a pauper into Horton Asylum on 19th March 1902.
As her death certificate shows, she died there four months later.
Emily was buried in grave 30 in the Horton Estate Cemetery on 18th July 1902.
Author’s Note:
The 1901 census shows that living at number 58 Grange Walk was a John Smith, who had born in 1855 in Dudley, Staffordshire, and was working as a bricklayer.
His wife Mary had been born in 1858 in Birmingham.
They had three children: Mary, aged 18, a packer, and William, aged 17, and Thomas, aged 15, who were both working as printers. All three children had been born in Walsall, Staffordshire.
The family was reportedly living in 4 rooms while another couple from Scotland and their three-month-old daughter, lived in 2 other rooms. The 1902 and 1903 London Electoral Registers both record John Smith as still living at number 58. Whether they were related to Emily or John William Smith is unknown.
