Henry James ELSOM
Name Henry James ELSOM
Born 10 Jul 1857 23 Warner Place, Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Census 1 Apr 1861 13 Goswell Street, St Luke, Middlesex
Living 14 Feb 1886 30 Knapp Road, Bow, Middlesex
Occupation 14 Feb 1886
Railway Signalman
He joined the NLR as a porter on 21 Feb 1884 on 18s a week. Prior to this he had been a soldier, probably explaining why nothing has been found for the 1871 and 1881 censuses [RAIL 529/134/437 Folio 143] (he was not living with his mother at the time of these censuses). He was made a watchman (first step in becoming a signalman) on 21s a week on 8 Oct 1885. He retired as a signalman mid-1922 with a Good Conduct Retiring Allowance of 21s 8d per week (this allowance was a third of weekly wage). 30 Knapp Road, Bromley, was where his mother was lived at one time. Source: Peter Bloomfield
Living 17 Apr 1889 10 Mostyn Road, Bromley St Leonard, Middlesex
(also known as) 17 Apr 1889
Henry Charles James Elson
Occupation 17 Apr 1889
Signalman
Census 1 Apr 1891 12 Eleanor Street, Bromley St Leonard, London
Living 14 Jan 1892 Bromley St Leonard, London
Occupation 14 Jan 1892
Census 1 Apr 1901 35 Salmen Road, West Ham, Essex
Birthplace recorded as Hackney.
Railway Signalman (Railway Company)
Census 1 Apr 1911 35 Salmen Road, Plaistow, Essex
Henry James Elsom & family
Occupation 24 Sep 1916
21 Feb 1884. Porter. Age 26.*[RAIL 529/131/362 Folio 77.]
Porter. New appt. Pay 18s. [RAIL 529/52 4 Mar 1884, Loco ComMin 5392.]
25 Feb 1885. Fined 6d for being absent from his post.*
8 Oct 1885. Porter, Dalston, to Watchman, Devons Road. Pay18s to 21s. [RAIL 529/52, 3 Nov 1885, Loco,etc, Cttee Min 5988.] 8 Oct 1885. [RAIL410/1831, E.]
23 Mar 1886. Watchman, Devons Road, to signalman BroadStreet No 1. Pay 21s.*
7 Apr 1886. Signalman, Broad Street No 1, to Mildmay Park.Pay 21s to 23s. [RAIL 529/53 5 May 1886, Loco Com Min 6168.]
1 Jan 1887. Cautioned as to his future working (two trainsin one section).*
4 Mar 1888. Signalman, Mildmay Park, to Dunloe Street. Pay23s to 24s. [RAIL 529/54 11 Apr 1888, Loco Com Min 6887.]
2 Aug 1892. Signalman, Dunloe Street, to Shoreditch. Pay 24sto 25s. [RAIL 529/56 5 Oct 1892, Loco Com Min 8596.]
5 Nov 1892. Seen and cautioned for quarrelling withSignalman Brown at Dunloe Street.*
24 May 1897. Wages increased to 27s (Board Min 5448).*
18 Jul 1898. Cautioned for causing 2 minute delay to apassenger train (9.16 am ex-Poplar).*
27 Feb 1901. Signalman, Shoreditch, to Western Junction. Pay27s to 29s 6d. [RAIL 529/60 2 May 1901, Loco Com Min 11381.]
18 Nov 1904. Seen by Traffic Superintendent and suspendedthree days with loss of pay for allowing two trains into one section.
10 Jan 1908. Signalman, Western Junction to Barnsbury. Pay29s 6d to 30s. [RAIL 529/64, 5 Mar 1908, Loco Com Min 13555.]
Signalman, Canonbury. Age 65, service 38 years, rate of pay67s 6d, "B" Rate 65s. per week. Granted a Good Conduct Retiring Allowance of21s 8d per week. [RAIL 529/34, 29 Jun 1922 Board Min 9523.]
Source: Peter Bloomfield
Witness 3 Dec 1921 Parish Church, St Andrew, Plaistow, Essex
Sidney Elsom & Florence May Ennever
Occupation 3 Dec 1921
Signalman N.L.R.
Census 1939 83 Edinburgh Road, West Ham, Essex
Railway Signalman (Retired)
Died 26 Jun 1942 Orsett Lodge, Orsett, Essex
Probate 20 Jul 1942 Llandudno, Carnarvonshire, Wales
Probate granted to Sidney Elsom
Henry Elsom
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar
Henry Elsom was born on 10 July1857 at 23 Warner Place Bethnal Green, where his parents were living when theymarried on 10 May 1857. His father, Henry, was a porter on the Eastern CountiesRailway. His mother Elizabeth Jane, née Lapidge, had two cousins, John andWilliam who worked on the NLR. His birth certificate shows his name as HenryJames Elsom, this appears the only time that James has been recorded, and wasthe name of his paternal grandfather.
He joined the NLR as a porter on21 February 1884 on 18s a week. Prior to this he had been a solider. On 8October 1885, from a porter at Dalston, he started off on what was to becomehis career as a signalman and was promoted to watchman at Devons Road on 21s aweek.
It was at this point that on the14 February 1886 he married Miss Lydia Patten, a painter's daughter, in theparish church of St Stephen, Bow. They had six children, one of whom died inchildhood.
His first box as a signalman wasBroad Street No 1. From there he progressed up the scale including MildmayPark, Dunloe Street, Shoreditch, Western Junction, and Barnsbury. His last boxwas Canonbury.
During his thirty-eight years'service he received the usual punishments for the usual signalmen's offences:two trains in one section (the first time in 1887 cautioned, second time in1904 seen by the Traffic Superintendent and suspended three days with loss ofpay); and in 1898 cautioned for causing a delay of two minutes to the 9.16 exPoplar passenger train. On the 5 November 1892, however, as the signalman inthe Shoreditch cabin, he was cautioned for committing a rare, if not unique,offence of quarrelling with Signalman Brown at Dunloe Street, the next cabin upthe road. The author has tried to trace this Brown to no avail: he has fifty-twoBrowns listed, nine are shown as signalman but only one admits to having workedthe Dunloe Street box, but that was sixteen years later.
In mid-1922 he retired, agedsixty-five, with a Good Conduct Retiring Allowance of £1 1s 8d per week.
[He died on . His wifepredeceased him/died during the winter of 1938/39.]
Person ID I1351 1. Essex Ennevers
Father Henry ELSOM, Born: 1834/5, Heydon, Essex , Died: 1864, Bethnal Green District, Middlesex (Age 29 years)
Mother Elizabeth Jane LAPIDGE, Born: 1834/5, Homerton, Middlesex , Died: 1904, West Ham District, Essex (Age 69 years)
Married 10 May 1857 Parish Church, St Thomas, Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Family (spouse) Lydia Maria PATTEN, Born: 1862, Halstead, Essex , Died: 1939, West Ham District, Essex (Age 77 years)
Married 14 Feb 1886 Parish Church, St Stephen, Bow, Middlesex
1. Henry Charles James ELSOM, Born: 26 Mar 1889, Bow, London , Died: Yes, date unknown
2. Ada Amelia ELSOM, Born: 14 Dec 1891, Died: 1896, West Ham District, Essex (Age 4 years)
3. Arthur ELSOM, Born: Abt May 1894, Plaistow, Essex , Died: Yes, date unknown
4. Bertha ELSOM, Born: 10 May 1896, 35 Salmen Road, West Ham, Essex , Died: 15 Nov 1966, 87 Lichfield Road, East Ham, London (Age 70 years)
5. Sidney ELSOM, Born: 13 Jan 1898, Plaistow, Essex , Died: 1983, Brentwood District, Essex (Age 84 years)
6. Frederick ELSOM, Born: 1903/4, Plaistow, Essex , Died: Yes, date unknown
Family ID F434 Family Group Sheet | Family Chart
Born - 10 Jul 1857 - 23 Warner Place, Bethnal Green, Middlesex
Census - 1 Apr 1861 - 13 Goswell Street, St Luke, Middlesex
Living - 14 Feb 1886 - 30 Knapp Road, Bow, Middlesex
Married - 14 Feb 1886 - Parish Church, St Stephen, Bow, Middlesex
Living - 17 Apr 1889 - 10 Mostyn Road, Bromley St Leonard, Middlesex
Census - 1 Apr 1891 - 12 Eleanor Street, Bromley St Leonard, London
Living - 14 Jan 1892 - Bromley St Leonard, London
Census - 1 Apr 1901 - 35 Salmen Road, West Ham, Essex
Census - 1 Apr 1911 - 35 Salmen Road, Plaistow, Essex
Witness - Sidney Elsom & Florence May Ennever - 3 Dec 1921 - Parish Church, St Andrew, Plaistow, Essex
Died - 26 Jun 1942 - Orsett Lodge, Orsett, Essex
Probate - Probate granted to Sidney Elsom - 20 Jul 1942 - Llandudno, Carnarvonshire, Wales
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