John Thompson and Mary Ann Graham

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Parents    Thomas Waugh Thompson and Mary Rule      Robert Graham and Elizabeth Dixon

John  Thompson (b 1833 Newcastle-on-Tyne, m Jane Ann Ovens 1857 Hexham, d 1896)
                                                                          m Mary Ann Graham 1861  All Saints, Newcastle-on-Tyne,)                                                                         
Jane Ann Ovens (b 1834 Hexham, d 1861 Newcastle-on-Tyne)
    Thomas Waugh Thompson (b 1858 Newcastle-on-Tyne, d 1859)
Mary Ann Graham (b 1845 St Andrews, Newcastle-on-Tyne, d aft 1901 see census below
    John  Thompson (b 1865 Newcastle-on-Tyne, m Mary Louisa Turner 1887 Newcastle-on-Tyne, d 1893 Newcastle-on-Tyne)
        Norman Thompson (b 1888 Newcastle-on-Tyne,  m Winifred Emma Farr 1918 Northcote Vic, d 1932 Thornbury Vic)
   Mary Ann Thompson  (b 1867 Newcastle-on-Tyne, d aft 1910)
   Ann Harper Thompson (b 1869 Newcastle-on-Tyne, m John Sydney Cresswell 1896 Cullercoats Northumberland,)
                                                                                       m Thomas Thompson 1815 Newcastle on Tyne)
   Isabella  Jane Thompson (b 1871 Newcastle-on-Tyne, m Henry Willsher St Johns, Newecastle upon Tyne 1896 , d 1905)
   Elizabeth  Thompson (b 1880 Newcastle-on-Tyne, d aft 1890)

John Thompson Senior's story

John was born 2nd Dec 1833, recorded as being in Newcastle on Tyne, and christened at Gateshead Durham on the 29th Dec. He is living with his widowed mother (Mary) in 1851 in Newcastle on Tyne. John was working as an Apprentice Cabinet Maker at age 16. Based on the age of the youngest child and the 1841 census, John's father probably died between 1839 and 1840.. In 1851 John's mother is widowed, and she  and two elder sisters are working as Washerwomen and John is an apprentice Cabinet Maker. In 1861 his two older sisters have left home. John at age 26 is now Cabinet Maker and widower, so he has presumably left home and returned when his wife died. John's mother is a Laundress, James is now a Clerk Hat Merchant, and Isabella is a Servant. In 1865 John married Mary Ann Graham at Newcastle on Tyne. In 1871 the family are living in Westgate, Newcastle on Tyne, and have three young children. John  is described as a Temperance Missionary and a  Local Preacher Methodist. In 1881 and 1891 John's occupation is Cabinet Maker and Mary's is blank The family is still living in Newcastle on Tyne
    In view of the strong Wooler connection of John's parents, it is interesting to find his first wife Jane Ann Ovens living in Wooler in the 1851 census with her widowed mother as a laundress. Though she was born in Hexham and married in Hexham

Gillian Wild's Sluething has helped with this page. Quoting

    In his marriage record to Mary Ann Graham, John's father was recorded as Thomas Waugh Thompson. The GRO birth record for Thomas Waugh Thompson who died aged 1 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne gives his mother's maiden name as Ovens. FreeBMD has a record for the marriage of a John Thompson and Jane Ann Ovens in Q4 1857 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

    I was able to also discover John Thompson cabinetmaker in the 1861 census just before his marriage to Mary Ann living with his mother. That census showed he was a widower. Using the family of Thompsons in the 1851 census it was possible to identify a birth just after civil registration and by looking up the birth discover that his mother's maiden name was Rule. This does explain why a Thompson was staying with a Rule family as you note on your website. This then leads back to a different couple's marriage and identifies Thomas Waugh Thompson as his father

    There is a comprehensive writeup of this family by Gillian on file
     Gillian also supplied the following link to street maps of Newcastle at the time of the Thompsons    Link

1841 Census. (Details Thomas' Page}

The family below is in the 1841 Census, though John is missing (he is in Wooler). . See Thomas

1851 Census

Middle St, Jesmond, St Andrews Newcastle on Tyne                                                  Born
Mary Thompson          Head   W     51     Washerwoman          Northumberland Wooler (abt 1799)
Mary Thompson          Dau     U      20     Washerwoman           Northumberland Wooler  (abt 1830)
CatherineThompson     Dau     U      18     Washerwoman           Newcastle on Tyne  (abt 1832)
John Thompson           Son      U      16     App Cabinet Maker   Newcastle on Tyne  (abt 1834)
JamesThompson          Son      U      13     Errand boy                 Newcastle on Tyne  (abt 1837)
IsabellaThompson        Dau     U      11     Scholar                       Newcastle on Tyne  (abt 1839)
Wooler is about 27 miles WNW of Newcastle on Tyne
Jesmond is an inner suburb of  Newcastle on Tyne

1851 Census

60 Percy St, St Andrews, Newcastle on Tyne  
Robert Graham  Head   32     Printer/compositor  - all born in the county
Elizabeth Graham  Wife    32
Mary graham Daughter   5
Thomas Graham  Son    4
Robert Graham  Son   2
Elizabeth  Graham  Daughter   7 momths

1861 Census

29 North St, Jesmond,  Newcastle on Tyne                                                                Born
Mary Thompson      Head      Widow       62    Laundress           Northumberland Wooler (abt 1799)
JohnThompson      Son        Widower     26   Cabinet Maker    Newcastle on Tyne  (abt 1834)
JamesThompson      Son         U               23   Clerk Hat merchant     Newcastle on Tyne  (abt 1837)
Isabella Thompson   Dau        U                22   Servant                Newcastle on Tyne  (abt 1838)
This does  look  like  John (snr)   Age  +  Cabinet Maker  +  Isabella repitition, see 1881

1861 Census

Spring Garden Terrace, Westgate, Newcastle on Tyne  
Robert Graham  Head   42     Printer/compositor
Elizabeth Graham  Wife    42
Mary Graham Daughter   18  Domestic Servant
Thomas Graham  Son   14    Scholar
Robert Graham  Son   12     Scholar
Elizabeth  Graham  Daughter   10    Scholar
George Graham  Son  8    Scholar
William Graham   Son 5    Scholar
Margaret Willis   29   Domestic Servant
"Spring Garden Terrace was a tenement block that incorporated a public house and engine works and overlooked Leases Park, pretty much opposite what is now the stadium in which Newcastle United play."
Gillian

1871 Census

 90-92  Stanhope St,, Westgate, Parish of St Phillips, Newcastle                            Born
John Thompson      Head       M        36   Temperance Missionary         Newcastle (abt 1834)
                                                                    Local Preacher Methodist 
Mary A Thompson  Wife       M        27                                                  Newcastle (abt 1843)
John Thompson      son                        6                                                  Newcastle (abt 1864)
Mary A Thompson    Dau                      4                                                  Newcastle (abt 1866)
Ann  H Thompson     Dau                      2                                                  Newcastle (abt 1868)
Westgate  is an inner suburb of  Newcastle on Tyne, about one and a half miles from the centre of the city

1881 Census

20 Moor St,, Westgate, parish of St Phillips, Newcastle                            Born
John Thompson       Head        M        46   Cabinet Maker         Newcastle (abt 1834)
Mary A Thompson  Wife         M        37                                   Newcastle (abt 1843)
John Thompson       son                       15  Draughtsman             Newcastle (abt 1865)
Mary A Thompson     Dau                    13  Scholar                     Newcastle (abt 1867)
Annie H? Thompson  Dau                     12  Scholar                     Newcastle (abt 1868)
Isabella J? Thompson Dau                      9  Scholar                      Newcastle (abt 1871)
Elizabeth Thompson    Dau                     1                                    Newcastle (abt 1879)
See discussion John Junior. This is the census record that connects the two John Thompson  families.

1891 Census

13 Langley St,, Westgate, Arthurs Hill, parish of St Phillips, Newcastle        Born
John Thompson      Head        M        55   Cabinet Maker         Newcastle (abt 1835)
Mary A Thompson  Wife        M        46                                   Newcastle (abt 1844)
Annie H Thompson    Dau                    21  Scholar                      Newcastle (abt 1868)
Isabella J? Thompson Dau                    19  Scholar                      Newcastle (abt 1871)
ElizabethThompson    Dau                    11                                    Newcastle (abt 1879)

1901 Census

24 Chapman St, Walker Northumberland
Henry Willsher                                       28    Barman    Aldershot, Hampshire
Isabella Willsher                                     30                    Northumberland, Newcastle
Mary Thompson                                     55  widow      Northumberland, Newcastle
Annie Creswell                                       32   daughter in law      Dressmaker, own account at home    Northumberland, Newcastle
Blanche Thompson                                   5     neice     Northumberland, Newcastle
John Creswell                                            4     nephew    Northumberland, Newcastl

Research Notes

The pieces above mesh together well, though you have to be careful when dealing with very common names such as John, Mary and Thompson
Family Search Reference LY5D-8YR.

Acknowledgements

The new work on this page follows on from contact with Gillian Wild via Ancestry. She gave us Mary Ann's maiden name (Graham) and Henry Willsher.
She also gave us access to her Ancestry tree (Graham and Govenlock Tree), with further updates
And pointed us to an excellent tree in Famiy search for the thompsons
Many thanks
If you have additions or corrections to this page, please contact us     Bones in the Belfry home page     Page last updated - 9 Nov  2006     8 Jun 2020