Amelia Smith was baptised on 31st January 1869 at St James' Church, Handsworth. Her parents were given as John and Cornelia Smith; her father's occupation was basket maker and their address was Deadmore Lane, Handsworth (since renamed Rookery Road). Her birth does not appear to have been registered, nor were any siblings baptised in the same church.
At the age of 18 Amelia married William Lines on 28th March 1887 in Handsworth. They both claimed to be 19 and Amelia's name appears as Camelia in the records. No children are known from this short-lived marriage.
On 16th May 1889 Amelia Smith, spinster, married Reuben Potter at Bedford Register Office. Both were of Pilcroft St, Bedford. He was a horse dealer and gave his age as 36, a widower. She was a licensed hawker and gave her age as 23. In fact she was only 20 and therefore under age, so parental consent was a legal requirement. His age was even more misadvised (to use Register Office terminology). He was actually 46 years old and had a daughter the same age as Amelia. Their witnesses do not seem to be family members.
They had three known children: Reuben, (b.1894), Nehemiah (b.1896) and Eliza (b.1897).
Reuben took his mother's name of Smith. He worked initially for a blacksmith and later as a haulier's carter. He joined the Territorial Army reserves on November 1914 and was transferred to an ASC (Army Service Corps) unit. Shortly thereafter, however, he was discharged on medical grounds on account of his frequent epileptic fits. He married Elizabeth Hand early in 1914 and was the father of Reuben Smith detailed in our introduction.
Nehemiah kept his father's name of Potter. He was christened in June 1896 at St Mary's, Handsworth, the family address being given as "Gipsy encampment, Queen's Head Lane". (This is about half a mile north of Black Patch, see "A Gypsy Way of Life".) Nehemiah worked initially as a shoemaker but by 1916 was a carter. He joined up in January 1916, saying he was 21 years and 3 months old - in fact he was only 19. He had an appalling time, being wounded in action, suffering trench foot on several occasions, experiencing gas poisoning and eventually being killed in action in September 1918 in Northern France.
Eliza has not been traced and we do not know which surname she used. She appears with her mother as Smith in the 1901 census; however a 3 year-old Eliza Potter is also enumerated as the grandaughter of John and Caroline Smith, a large and well documented Black Patch family. This confirms her connection to this family and establishes her mother Amelia Smith as one of their eleven known children and a grand daughter of Gypsy Queen Sentenia (Henty) Smith, mentioned in the Gypsy way of life section. (I am indebted to researcher and author Josephine Tombs for her help in confirming this link. This huge family is detailed in her book "The Family Tree of Woodfine Smith")
It is thought that Reuben Potter senior probably died in Camberwell in 1917; a formal divorce is unlikely.
On 18th November 1899, at St James' Church, Handsworth, Amelia married by licence one Harry Worrall a 28 year old labourer. She was of full age, claimed to be single and gave her surname as Lines. Her father, however, was John Smith, Dealer and her witnesses were Emma Smith and Corlinia Smith. Only Harry Worrall signed the register; the others made their mark, so we'll never know whether "Corlinia" was a muddled "Cornelia" or "Caroline" or was indeed the name spoken. It does seem that Amelia was back on home ground and had family around her for this marriage. Their address was Anne Rd, Handsworth, again a very short distance from Black Patch. The marriage by licence is unexpected, not least because it cost more than having banns called. It is more discreet, however, so it was safer if your first husband might still be around - and safer still if you used a different surname too.
In 1901, Amelia Worrall and her family were listed by the census enumerator who approached the four caravans in Yew Tree Road, Aston. She was marked as married, but Harry was elsewhere. "Emilia" is alone with children Reuben aged 8, Nehemiah aged 5, Eliza aged 4 and young Harry, 11 months old. Her occupation was hawker of brushes.
By 1911, the family was settled in the three rooms of 137 Heneage St., Birmingham and everyone was at home, though this time they all had the surname Smith, and Amelia at 38 had aged only 8 years since 1901. Harry was a labourer at a chemical works and Reuben at 17 was a blacksmith working for a shipping firm (think chains and anchors). Nehemiah aged 16 was a shoemaker. The new addition to the family since 1901 was a daughter Elida, aged 5 - see the section on Who was Elida? for more about her.
By 1922 Amelia Worrall was living at 137 Dudddeston Mill Road, where she and Harry are listed on electoral rolls right through the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925 she and Harry had William Hands (sic) living with them too. His sister Elizabeth Hand was married to her son Reuben, who lived next door at number 135 Dudddeston Mill Road. Amelia's grandson Reuben junior was born at this address along with his siblings.
Amelia Worrall lived there until 1950, by which time she was on her own. She died in 1951 aged 82.