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I've traced my Middleton ancestry back to my 3 x Great Grandfather, William Middleton (c1809-1872), a London Coachman, who was born in the parish of St. George Hanover Square, London, according to the 1851 census, although his parents are currently unknown. William married Harriet Cobb (of Ashby St. Mary, Norfolk) at St. Mary, Marylebone, London on 15th July 1833. At the time of their marriage, William was resident at Devonshire House in Piccadilly, the London home of the Duke of Devonshire.
In the 1840's and 50's, William and Harriet resided, with their growing family, at 44 Little Cadogan Place, Chelsea, mews accomodation at the rear of the grander Cadogan Place, where presumably William's employer lived with the finer folk.
William and Harriet had 10 children, including my 2 x Great Grandfather Arthur (1845-1909).
By the 1861 Census, the family were at 9 Caroline Place, Chelsea. Caroline Place was a "row of dwellings of the most basic description...built in 1820-22" (British History Online) and no. 9 appeared in an article in the West Middlesex Advertiser and Family Journal on 20th April 1867 relating to a dispute over cholera prevention measures undertaken by the Chelsea vestry due to an outbreak of the disease in the Metropolis. The property owner was "summoned for drainage works to a large number of houses (including no. 9), some of which were found to be in a most pestilent and fearful condition, the closets being over-flooded, the water tanks in a state approaching putrefaction, the drains choked up, and in one instance the yard several inches thick with soil, which had become deposited there in consequence of the drain being choked up".
In 1870 Harriet and her daughter Harriet were witnessess at the trial of Walter Miller for the murder of Elias Huelin of 15 Paulton's Square, Chelsea. The Proceedings of the Old Bailey).
William died in 1872 and Harriet in 1886. Both were buried in the Old Brompton Cemetery, Fulham.
My 2 x Great Grandfather was William and Harriet's 7th child, Arthur Middleton, born 1845 in Chelsea. Arthur followed in his father's footsteps as a Coachman in Chelsea. He married Henrietta Mary Kentleton on 25th December 1869 at St. Simon, Chelsea, London. Arthur and Henrietta had 9 children, including my Great Grandfather George Edwin (1881-1944). Henrietta died in 1900 and Arthur in 1909, both in Fulham, London.
My Great Grandfather was Arthur and Henrietta's 7th child, George Edwin Middleton, born on 4th February 1881 in Chelsea. George married Ellen Louise Mckain in 1901 in Chelsea, London. They had 5 children, including my Grandmother, Henrietta Mary (1905-1985).
In the 1911 Census, George and Ellen were recorded at 48 Slaidburn Street, Chelsea and in 1921 at 4 Sotheron Road, Fulham with their children including my paternal grandmother Henrietta Mary.
George served in the Machine Gun Corps in World War I and there is an entry for him in the National Roll of the Great War ": He volunteered for duty in August 1914 and during his service on the Eastern Front, which lasted nearly 4 years, saw much service in Egypt, Syria and Palestine, and was severely wounded. He holds the 1914-15 Star, General Service and Victory medals, and was demobilised in January 1919."
On the eve of the 2nd World War, in the 1939 Register, Ellen was recorded at Wyfold Road, Fulham, while George was in Yeovil, Somerset, possibly working as a painter/decorator for the defence industry. George died in Chelsea in 1944 and Ellen a quarter of a century later in 1969.
My paternal grandmother, Henrietta Mary Middleton, was born on 16th November, 1905, in Fulham, London.
Henrietta married my Grandfather, Arthur William Mayhew, on 11th May 1924 at St. Luke's, Chelsea, London. They had 9 children, the 2nd of whom was my father Reginald George (1926-1977).
