The
Wedderburn Family - 1 jamaica - England - South africa - Australia - new zealand |
|
see high res. photo of van approx 1895 (85K) |
More information? Peter Garwood |
Research on the Wedderburn family began on the basis of the following information from family sources:
The Wedderburn family was known to have been involved in scalemaking for many generations. A considerable amount of information was already known: Jabez Wedderburn (1866-1936) was the founder of Wedderburn Scales, Australia, in 1896. His father and namesake, also a scalemaker, had a business in the High Street, Peckham, London.
There were other branches of the family who started businesses of their own in Australia and G A Wedderburn and Co still operate from their premises in Southampton, England, as scalemakers. We were supplied with the marriage certificate of Jabez (William) Wedderburn and Ruth Smith, father of Jabez who emigrated to Australia, dated I July 1866 and this showed that Jabez senior was the son of an earlier Jabez, also a scalemaker. We also had the death certificate of Jabez William Wedderburn senior (10 December 1915); a press article on the Southampton firm; and various other notes, photographs and correspondence.
We began our work in directories of London to establish the addresses of the Wedderburn businesses in Peckham and Islington. We found the following listed;
Islington Directory 1855
List of Residents: W T Wedderburn 4 Grange Cottages, Canonbury Park West
Surrey Directory 1862
Commercial: Robert Wedderburn Scalemaker, Katherine Place, Commercial Road, Peckham
London Post Office Directory 1862
Commercial: Jabez Wedderburn Scalemaker, 22 Rufford's bldgs, Islington
We now turned to census returns. Decennial census
returns were instituted in
England and Wales in 1801, with personal returns given from 1841 onwards; from
1851 onwards the precise age and birthplace is given for each member of the
household. The latest return currently open to public inspection is that of
1891. We found Robert Wedderburn, the man listed in the
Surrey directory, in
Commercial Road in 1861:
Peckham,
Camberwell
PRO RG 9 382 ED7fol 145r
Entry 37 Crown Wharf, Commercial Road
born
Robert Wedderburn
Head mar
30
Master Scale Maker
Surrey Bermondsey
Martha
do
Wife
35
Gloucs
Cheltenham
Robert
E do
Son
6
Scholar
Surrey Southwark
Martha
do
Dau
10 do
do
Emily do
Dau
8
do
do
Frederick
Son
2
Bermondsey
We had been sent a transcription of the 1881 census
return for Robert and
Census
3 April 1881
Peckham,
Camberwell
PRO RG II 681 ED6fol 43v
Entry 93: 108 Commercial Road, Peckham
Robt
Wedderburn
Head mar
51
Scale Maker
Bermondsey
Surrey
Martha
do
Wife mar
55
Cheltenham
Martha
T do
Dau un
30
assists mother
Southwark do
Fredk
do
Son un
22
baker
Bermondsey
do
Walter H do
Son
17
compositor
Peckham
do
Herbert G do Son
15
scale maker
do
Kate E
do
Dau
13
scholar
do
The three eldest children were born in Southwark. The
1851 census returns of
Census
30 March 1851
St
Saviour, Christchurch, Southwark
PRO HO 107 1558 ED3fol 23 lr
Entry 130 15 Redcross Street, St Saviour, Southwark
James
Piggot
Head mar
51
Drayman
Huntingdon
Ann
do
Wife mar
52
Norfolk
Robert
Wedderburn
Visitor mar
21
scalemaker
Bermondsey Surrey
Martha
do
wife mar
25
Cheltenham
Glos
Martha
do
dau
2 months
Southwark
Surrey
We now knew that Robert was born in Bermondsey in about
1831. At this stage
We were fortunate in that we found not only Robert's
baptism at Bermondsey
Spitalfields Christ Church
Original
Registers
Baptisms
1822, 1824
29 Dee 1822 Sophia Phebe dau of Jabez and Sophia
Clarkson Wedderburn of ?Garr
7
Nov 1824 James William son of Jabez and Sophia Clarkson Wedderburn of Fort
Finsbury
St Luke, Old Street
Original
Registers
Baptisms
1822
22 Dee 1822 Mary Ann dau of Jabez and Sophia
Wedderburn of Great Arthur Street
Bermondsey, St Olave
Original
Registers
Baptisms
1827
29 Apr 1827 Jabez son of Jabez and Sophia
Clarkson Wedderburn of Joiner Street
Southwark, St Saviour
Original
Registers
Baptisms
1829
13 Dee 1829 Elizabeth dau of Jabez and Sophia
Clarkson Surrage Wedderburn
Bermondsey, St Mary
Magdalene
Original
Registers
Baptisms
1832
6 May 1832 Robert Cooper son of Jabez and Sophia
Wedderburn of West Street
This shows how very mobile the family was between 1820
and 1832. There was
Hackney,
St John
Original
Registers
Baptisms
1802
13 Aug 1802 Sophia Clarkson (illegitimate) dau of
James Clarkson & Phoebe
We did not find the marriage of Jabez and Sophia on the
IGL We also consulted
We now knew that Robert (Cooper) Wedderburn, scalemaker,
was the son of
Census
7 April 1861
Islington
East
PRO RG 9 148 fol 126r
Entry 33: 22 High Street
born
Jabez
Wedderburn
Head mar 34
scale maker
Scotland
Harriet
do
Wife mar
35
Norfolk
Brandon
Jabez
do
Son
12
scholar
London
Golden Lane
Harriet
do
Son
10
do
do
Robert
do
Dau
8
do
do
George
do
Son
5
do
do
James
do
Son
3
Islington
Frederick
do
Son
1
do
This Jabez was born in about 1827, of the right age to
be the brother of Robert
Registration District St Luke Middlesex
Sub-district
White Cross Street
County
of Middlesex
13 May 1849
Jabez William [son of] Jabez Wedderburn Scale Maker [of]
We then made a search for Jabez and Harriet's marriage.
Brides and grooms
St John's Church, St John Waterloo
County
of Surrey
27
Dec 1846
Jabez Wedderburn [of] full [age] Bachelor Scale Maker [of] Thomas
&
Banns
Witnesses:
T Willy, M A Willy
This confirmed that Jabez, husband of Harriet, was the
son of Jabez Wedderburn,
The baptism of Jabez Wedderburn, husband of Sophia,
does not appear on the
Records of Apprenticeship Enrolments
Corporation of London Record Office
March 1811
Jabez
Wedderburn son of Robert of Long Acre Apprentice of Wm Lewis Nicholl
We also searched the index to freedom papers, as Jabez
might have become a
As this was a suitable apprenticeship for a scalemaker
and as the name and age
Registration District Southampton
Sub-district
Southampton Western
County
of Southampton
9 Feb 1917 at Grosvenor House Nursing Home
George
Alexander Wedderburn 60 years
Scale
Maker (Master) of 12 Bernard Street
Informant:
F W V Wedderburn, son, of 12 Bernard Street, Southampton
This put his date of birth as 1856/7 and made it very
likely that he was the
At this point research had to come to a halt. We have
established that the family
Sources Consulted
Civil Registration
General
Register Office, St Catherine's House, London
Birth Jabez (William) Wedderburn 1849
Marriage Jabez Wedderburn & Harriet Bassom 1846
Death
George Alexander Wedderburn 1917
Census Returns
Public
Record Office, London
1861 Census Peckham: Commercial Road
1851
Census Southwark (surname indexed): 15 Redcross Street, St Saviour
1861
Census Islington: High Street
1851
Census Islington: (surname indexed): 23 Goulden Terrace
1881
Census Peckham: Commercial Road
1851
Census Bermondsey: West Street & surrounding enumeration district
1841
Census Bermondsey: West Street & surrounding enumeration district
Parish Registers
Spitalfields Christ Church
Original Registers Baptisms
1822, 1824
Fmsbury
St Luke, Old Street
Original Registers Baptisms
1822
Bermondsey,
St Olave
Original Registers Baptisms
1827
Southwark,
St Saviour
Original Registers Baptisms
1829
Bermondsey,
St Mary Magdalene
Original Registers Baptisms
1832
Miscellaneous
International
Genealogical Index (1992): London/Middlesex, Surrey sections
Islington
Directory 1847, 1852, 1855
Surrey
Directory 1862
Essex,
Herts, Kent, Middx, Surrey & Sussex Directory 1845, 1851, 1855
London
Post Office Directory 1852,1862, 1851
Pallet
Marriage Index (Jabez Wedderburn/Sophia Clarkson or Surrage)
Corporation
of London Apprenticeship Enrolments 1786-1843
Scottish Records
Index to births & baptisms (whole of Scotland) 1820 - 1830 (birth of
Jabez Wedderburn)
Index
to births & baptisms (whole of Scotland) 1775-1805 (birth of Jabez
Wedderburn)
Index
to proclamations & marriages (whole of Scotland) 1800-1825 (marriage of
Jabez/Sophia
Wedderburn)