My Great x3 Half Uncle Thomas (1851 - 1907) was a shoemaker, and an elder half brother of my Great Great Grandfather Walter Boobier (1871 - 1924).
Thomas was born in Jul/Aug/Sep 1851, in Tiverton, to William Boobier (about 25), a stone mason, and Emma Boobier (nee Kimmings) (about 24), a laundress.
Thomas was baptised on New Year's Day 1853, in Tiverton
Thomas was the second of eight children (six sons and two daughters):
- William Edwin Kimmings 1850 - 1851 (14 months)
- Thomas Philip 1851 -
- William Donald 1854 - 1855 (13 months)
- Emma 'Grace' Grace 1855 -
- Edwin John 1858 -
- William Edwin 1861 -
- Lucy Janet/Jeanette 1863 - 1863 (0 - 3 months)
- George Albert 1864 -
In Oct/Nov/Dec, when Thomas was only a few months old at most, his older brother William, himself only fourteen months old, sadly passed away.
In May 1855, when Thomas was three years old, his younger brother - also called William - passed away, aged about thirteen months. He was buried on 17th May 1855, in St Peter in Tiverton.
Thomas's family were a close one. As shown on the 1861 Census, his next door neighbours were his aunt and grandmother, both widowed and both called Mary, with cousin Sarah (daughter of Uncle Edward Boobier). Also staying with Thomas and his family is another cousin Mary Ann (another daughter of Uncle Edward Boobier).
1861 Census:
In Jan/Feb/Mar 1863, when Thomas was eleven, his baby sister, Lucy, passed away, aged zero to three months, in Tiverton.
In January 1867, when Thomas was fourteen, his mother Emma passed away, aged about forty. She was buried on 24th January 1867 in Exeter. Thomas's father remarried the next year. William (about 41) married Jane Mutter (about 30) in May/June 1868.
Thomas had four younger half brothers:
- Robert 1869 -
- Walter 1871 -
- Alfred 1873 -
- Frederick 1874 -
Whilst his father and younger siblings moved to Exeter in the 1860's, Thomas and his sister Grace stayed behind in Tiverton. They lived with their Aunt Mary Ann Jess, a grocer and shopkeeper.
1871 Census:
At some point in the 1870's, Thomas, a young shoemaker, moved to the big city of Bristol.
The 1881 Census shows him living with and working for the Beake/Ackland family, headed by widow Mary, shoe-shop owner.
1881 Census:
In 1884, Thomas's employer Mary Beake and her son Albert were accused of stealing boots, to then sell in her shop.
Albert pleaded guilty due to hard times.
Mary, on the other hand, pleaded not guilty. The soles in a cupboard and boots in her bed, she claimed she purchased off a man called Lewis; she was not aware they had been stolen from Messrs Derham Brothers. The jury found her not guilty.
From the Western Daily Press of 18th April 1884:
The 1891 Census, shows Thomas still living with the Ackland family on St George's Road, Bristol.
1891 Census:
Sometime in the 1890's, Thomas moved with the Ackland family to their new home of 15 Chatterton Square, Bristol.
1901:
On 20th July 1907, Thomas passed away, aged fifty-five, in Bristol. He was buried in Ridgeway Park Cemetery.
