Genealogy Chat

This may be relevent to a few of you Eastenders.... A site called the Charles Booth Online Archive. Google 'survey of stepney'. I lost days trawling through his hand written surveys of Stepney, Whitechapel etc of 1880s. Fascinating.

Just to say I have read all the postings on this thread now, and also the one about 1871 London. I don't think the East End has ever been considered posh - its always been a melting pot for immigrants and the fact that so many people have been crammed into a small area has made for poor living conditions, disease etc. I read a book called 'The Houndsditch Murders & the Siege of Sidney Street' by Donald Rumbelow, which is about a series of crimes in the early 1900s. Absolutely fascinating, well-researched and lots of detail about anarchists and poor people living in Whitechapel/Stepney & surrounding areas. nell

Just found the site! www.victorianlondon.org Do have a look if you had ancestors in London then. It makes you weep - and wonder how on earth they managed to exist and in turn give life to us!

I cant remember where I got it now but if you google Charles Dickens London or something, I have added to my tree an awful description of Ratcliffe, Stepney. Charles Dickens wrote several essays about life in the East End - blows your mind - how on earth did they live at all, let alone have a dozen kids in tow.

Helen, have you read Jan Nickless's thread re 1871 london life. There is a Charles Street mentioned in that and posh it most definitely isnt!! I had rellies from Charles St and it shocked me to read it. Marilyn

why is that bad??? Is it a slum??

Hi Helen Just had a look on royal mail, there are 3 no.2 Charles Streets as follows. W1j5DB - in Mayfair, E16 2BY in the docks in the East End, SW13 0NZ - by the river at Barnes. Don't know if any of them help. Trudy

Hi Nell On London addresses I find the royal mail site quite useful(www.royalmail.com). Most streets, even about 85% of those from the 1871 census, still exist, so if you have an address, it will find the postcode and then you can look it up exactly on something like multimap. Good hunting!!!!! Trudy

Nell, the people at Tower Hamlets Archives (who cover all this rough areas!) are absolutely brilliant. Why dont you email them with your query? I have had so much from them. They found my GGFx2 on the 1851 before I even knew the 1851 existed and then they sent me a roll for a school in 1900 in Mile End where one of my ancestors was a caretaker - all freebies. Just have a go, Im sure they will have all the maps and stuff there.

:-P Viv blows a raspberry at Shelli!!!!! Viv

thought I had your mail addy but it's Vivs I have ... am always confusing you two LOL

Nell Using Zoe's info, I searched for Greenfield Street ( only 3 three of them!! ) and I have found one on my 1862 map that is at right angles to a Charles Street. It is just north of the Commerical Road. So seems like the right area???????? do you want the details? Shelli

Gosh, thanks everyone for your input. He was born in 1894. I just want to locate the place (if it exists, even if its been renamed) on a map. Please don't go to any more trouble, I will see if I can find out more on the internet. Of course by 1901 they'd moved to Southwark, and in 1891 they were living in Poplar [his parents, that is, he wasn't born then]. nell

Nell what yr was he born ? or have u said and I've missed it ? On 1862 map there is oer 50 Charles Streets in London!!!

Hi Nell In the 1870s, virtually all the roads called George street, Henry Street, Robert Street etc etc etc had their names changed. If you get hold of a Godfrey Map for 1870 and compare it with one for say 1893, you'll see all the changes. This must have been to save the sanity of the postmen. I'm off to the FRC tomorrow. If you're still stuck by ten oclock tonight, let me know and I'll make a list of the Charles Streets in the area at the nearest census date. Be warned, it may be a long one!

I did what I always do in times of trouble - googled. I found an old (1827) map which shows Charles Street running parallel to and north of Mile End Road, nearly into Bethnal Green. nell

:-( Cherie Thank you so much for looking. These blinky certs - why don't they put in something useful like 'next door to the pub and opposite the park' or something! nell

Hi Nell, Just looked in my current London A-Z and can't find a Charles St nearer to Mile End than the one you mention. I also checked a website that gives the names of lost London streets which have been renamed and couldn't see a Mile End Charles Street on that. Also, looked on the Gendocs website which lists: Charles St, St Augustine, Mile End Old Town Charles St, St Peter Mile End Old Town Charles St, St Thomas Mile End Olt Town Don't know if this helps. Regards Cherie

I've just got my husband's maternal grandfather's birth cert. It says he was born in 'Charles Street'. Registration district Mile End Old Town, subdistrict Mile End Old Town Western. *************UPDATE*************UPDATE*********** It's worse than I thought! I found this reference by googling 'corner of Charles Street (later Baker's Row, now Vallance Road) '. Vallance Road, which I think is properly Bethnal Green, is where the Krays were born!!! My husband has always gone on about how his family were posher than mine, etc and I find this! nell

SEE BELOW FOR UPDATE!