10.    ALFRED JAMES ANDREW JOLIN and SARAH SIMPSON and Simpsons undertakers

 

Alfred James Andrew Jolin was my great-grandfather. He was the middle child of Francis Jolin and Maria Budge's nine children - The 1850s move to London's East End.htm He was born at 9.30 am on 8 April 1855 at the family home at 52 Great Union Road in St Helier. He was baptised when he was eight years old in a joint baptism with his younger sister and brother, Robenia and James, at St Dunstan's in Stepney, London, on 10 June 1863.

 

Alfred was married on 6 August 1883 at Christ Church, Hackney, when he was aged 28, to Sarah Ann/Wade Simpson. Sarah was the daughter of Henry Wade Simpson and Mary Ann Elizabeth Dackombe. She had been born on 1 February 1867 at 134 East Street, Walworth Newington in South London.

 

Sarah's father for many years worked as a boot maker and owned a premises with his son, Aquilla Simpson. Sometime around 1890 Henry and Aquilla gave up boot making and changed to undertaking. Over the next few years Aquilla built up the business so that it became one of the largest undertaking concerns in East London. In 1920 Aquilla was advertising the business at two addresses in the Post Office London Directory: at 241 East Street and 101 Elsted Street, both Walworth, SE17.

 

Aquilla is said to have been fairly wealthy and had an interest in breeding horses. He is said to have had a special breed of pure black 'dancing' horses who were a feature of his funeral processions. He is also said to have visited Epsom racecourse regularly where he was known as 'Dr Quill' in the days before proper veterinary surgeons. The business was eventually sold to the Chappells chain in 1973 when the then owner, another Aquilla Simpson, retired.

At the time of his marriage to Sarah Simpson, Alfred was working as a brushmaker in a brushworks and was living at Ashgrove in Hackney. He and Sarah had ten children:

 

1. FRANCIS- born in 1884, Frank worked as a French polisher of coffins at the workshop of his uncle, Aquilla Simpson. He married in 1911 in Southwark, and died in 1954 in Lambeth, aged 70.

2. ESMARALDA - born in 1885 in Poplar, the births registrar had difficulty with her name and registered her as Zed Mezelda! She died the following year.

3. ALFRED HENRY - born in 1887 in Poplar, he was married twice. His first wife was Alice Mole whom he married in 1911 in Camberwell, London. Alice died in 1928 aged 40. Alfred and Alice had five children:

1. CATHERINE/KATHLEEN - born in 1912 in Southwark, London, she married Sydney Wilkinson in Camberwell in 1934.

2. LOUISE - she was born in Camberwell in 1914 but died the same year.

3. ALFRED FRANCIS - born in 1915 in Southwark, he was married twice like his father. His first wife, Annie Dawkins, died with their one year old son Anthony Albert Charles Jolin on Wednesday 18th September 1940 in the London blitz. They were living at 56 Bromfeld Road. Four years later in 1944 Alfred married Esther Margaret Murray. Alfred and Esther had four children:

       NORMA - born in 1946 in Paddington, she married Geoffrey Rudd in 1966.

       SANDRA - born in 1948, she married Thomas Skinner in 1978.

       GAYNA - born in 1950, she married David Juneman in 1968.

       MILTON - born in 1960 in Wandsworth.

4. BLANCHE - born in 1917 in Camberwell, she died the following year.

5. ARTHUR - born in 1923 in Camberwell, he married Rosina Smith in 1958 in Paddington.

Like his elder brother Frank, Alfred Henry also worked for his uncle, Aquilla Simpson. Alfred constructed the coffins and made his mother's coffin himself when she died in 1921. Alfred remarried in 1934. He married Catherine Filippa in Camberwell. Alfred and Catherine moved to Southend where Alfred died in 1958, aged 71, and Catherine died in 1970, aged 81.

 

4. LILIAN - born in 1890 in Poplar, she married F. R. Bishop, a builder. They had one daughter. Lilian died in 1981 in north Wales, aged 91, her husband had died back in 1956, aged 65.

5. JAMES THOMAS WEST - named after his father's brother who had died two years before, James was born in 1892 in Poplar, but he himself died the following year when just one year old.

6. JOHN AQUILLA (Jack) - named after his mother's brother, Aquilla Simpson, he was born 1 February 1894 in Maidstone. He married Florence Evans in 1921 in Camberwell. They had four children:

1. CYRIL JOHN - born in 1922 in Brentford, he was unmarried and died on Monday 28th July 1941 whilst serving as Flight Sergeant 552490 50 Sdn, Royal Air Force. He is commemorated at the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey which was specifically built to commemorate airmen who were lost during the Second World War and have no known graves.

2. CLIFFORD GORDON - born in 1926 in Camberwell, he married Joan Waghorn in 1947 in Dartford. Their two children were: CLIFFORD DAVID (born in 1948, married to Marion Parsons in 1970) and SUSAN JANET (born in 1950, married to Zia Uten Ahmed in 1975). The Jolin surname continues with Clifford David's son CHRISTOPHER JAMES, born in 1978.

3. JOYCE VIVIENNE - born in 1928 in Romford, married an American, Tony Iannacio.

4. JOHN - born in 1945 in Dartford, he married Florence (Bunty) Marsh in 1965 in Hemel Hempstead. Their son, DAVID JOHN, was born in 1972.

John Aquilla (Jack), who owned his own transport business, lived for many years in Hemel Hempstead where he died 2 March 1976, aged 82. His wife, who had been born on 28 May 1899, died in 1986,also in Hemel Hempstead.

 

7. DANIEL PHILIP - was my grandfather and was born 2 January 1896 when the family were living at 77 Lefevre Road, Bow, London. At this time his father Alfred was again working as a brushmaker. Daniel was married on 11 October 1920 at the Registry Office in Camberwell to Amy Frances Wells, the daughter of William Charles Wells, a labourer, and Mary Jane Josey. At the time of his marriage Daniel was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. He later worked as a lorry driver for the rest of his working life, until he was injured in an accident. Daniel and Amy had four sons:

1. DANIEL - Denny was born 18 July 1920 in Camberwell, and he married Emily Scott in 1941 in Leicester. They had three children:

       PATRICIA - born in 1941 in Camberwell, she married Edward Whitewood.

       EILEEN - born in 1944, she married Philip Prosser in 1944.

       DENNIS - born in 1950, he married Marion Smithson in 1971. The Jolin name continues with their three children: DANIEL LAWRENCE (born in 1974), WILLIAM ROBERT(born in 1979),and LUCY CHARLOTTE (born 1979).

Denny worked in the Civil Service. He died of lung cancer on 4 May 1974,just four months after his father had died.

2. FRANCIS - born in 1923 in Camberwell, he married Pauline Tedman in 1949. Frank was originally in the Royal Marines and for a time he served on the famous battle- ship HMS Belfast which is now a tourist attraction in London. For most of his life he worked for the Post Office. Frank and Pauline had three children:

       LINDA - born in 1950, she married Derek Maxwell in 1970.

       ROSALIND - born in 1953, she married Eamon Magee in 1981.

       ALAN - born in 1964, he married Stephanie Nelson in 1988. The Jolin name continues with their son, ZACHARY LEWIS born 1990.

3. FREDERICK - born in 1930 he died in a tragic accident when he was just three months old when he fell onto a fire.

4. RONALD - my father, born 26 August 1932 in Camberwell. He married Caroline Mary Bone on 21 February 1953 in Camberwell. I was born 2 November 1955 and married Ronald Adrian Parnell on 14 August 1976. The Jolin name ends with me but the blood line continues with our two daughters, Clare Caroline and Anna Louise. My father worked for many years as an inspector at the Kodak photographic factory in Stevenage. After the Kodak site was demolished he worked as a security guard at a Tesco's warehouse.

 

My grandfather Daniel died in January 1974, aged 78, at Guy's Hospital in London. My grandmother Amy remarried three years later and married Ernest Seymour when she was 80 years old and died on New Year’s Day 1985 at Lewisham Hospital, London.

 

8. JAMES ANDREW - born in 1898 in Poplar, he married Elizabeth Bright in 1921 in Camberwell. They had two children: IRIS, born in 1922 who married William Harnet in 1942, and ERIC JAMES, born 1923. James Andrew worked for Great Western Rail. He died in 1933, aged 35, possibly as a result of an accident at work.

His son, Eric James, married Iris Lillian Dear in 1943 in Camberwell. Eric and Iris had three children:

1. EILEEN JEANNE - born in 1944 in hackney, married Leonard James Chapple in 1966.

2. ERIC COLIN - born in 1946, he married Teresa Hooper in 1971. Their four boys continue the Jolin name:

       MICHAEL ROY - born in 1973

       ROBERT JAMES - born in 1975

       DANIEL PAUL - born in 1976

       CHRISTOPHER MARK - born in 1979

3. CHRISTOPHER ANDREW - born in 1950, he married Pamela Jean Benfell in 1975. Their three children continue the Jolin name:

       ANNE VICTORIA - born in 1977

       HEATHER JANE - born in 1979

       MARK ANDREW - born in 1982

 

9. BLANCHE VICTORIA - born in 1900 in Poplar, she married Alfred Elliott in 1921 in Camberwell. She died around 1977 in Ealing, London.

10. ETHEL MARIA - born in 1902 in Hackney, she married Stanley Pope in 1927 in Camberwell. She died in 1981 in Romford, aged 79.

 

Sarah Ann Simpson/Jolin died in 1921, aged 55, in Camberwell. Her funeral was arranged by her brother, Aquilla Simpson, and her son, Alfred, made her coffin himself. Alfred, snr, died in 1929, aged 74, in Camberwell. Alfred is said to have been a great supporter of the then Liberal party and helped to organise political meetings where he would make speeches.

 

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