CHAPTER V - WEST HAM, MIDDLESEX
(Note - due to the illegal activities of some people to "identity theft" I have removed the locational information after West Ham, my apologies)

Thomas James Ridpath was born in Mill Row, West Ham, (District Abbey). Little is known of his childhood but at the age of twenty he married Rhoda Birchell (sometimes spelt Burchell) and their residence at the time of the marriage was given as 1 Tent Street. The Registration District was Bethnal Green. At that time his 'Rank or Profession', labourer. At the birth of his first child, Charles Fredrick in 1879 he was a bricklayer. For between 1861 - 1871 census the family had moved to the coast. This was because the railway had been built to the coast and between 1850-1900 the town was the fastest growing in the UK. So he would have been able to find work for his growing family. At the time of his yougest son Arthur George's wedding he was described as a Carpenter. At some time over this period he was known to have been in business on his own account as a jobbing builder. His wife Rhoda described only as spinster died on 4 September 1891 at the age of 40, and Thomas James survived her by thirty years. Thomas James moved and sometime after 1879 lived in a small terraced house at 12 Ewert Street. He died in 1920 having had six children in all. These were Thomas James, Louisa Elizabeth, Charles Fredrick (my Gt. Grandfather), Archer John, William Henry, and Arthur George. It is interesting to note how Thomas James named his own children after some of his brothers and sisters.

Thomas James Jr. was born 25 September 1873. He was a farrier in the 'British' Indian Army for many years. During that time he became the Army welterweight boxing champion. He came home to England at some unknown date and moved into a house not far from his father's old house in Ewart Street.

Louisa Elizabeth was born 29 December 1876. She was the only daughter of Thomas James and much cherished by her youngest brother Arthur George who never knew his mother. She married into the name of Lawrence and had three son, namely Sydney Kimberley (the latter name because his father had served in the South African 'Boar War), John and Thomas.

Charles Fredrick, born 19 September 1879 was a deep voiced man with a strong perhaps abrasive nature. In 1902 he married Beatrice Grace Holden. They had eight children and he was a builder's drayman at one stage and is understood to have been able to put a horse on its knees by a blow to its head with his bare fist, should it misbehave.

Archer John was born 26 February 1884. He was a soldier at the time of the Great War (1914-18) but he lost a leg through enemy action. This became gangrenous and he died from his wounds. His grave is to be found at the top of Bear Road, on the left side, opposite the crematorium, amongst those of his comrades in arms. He died on 23 May 1918.

William Henry, born 31 December 1885 worked as a draper's assistant at A. Polkinghorn's, York Place and London Road. He was reputed to have been 'overly thrifty' and was nicknamed 'brassy' as a consequence. He died of cancer.

Arthur George Ridpath was the youngest child of Thomas James and Rhoda. His mother died when he was two years of age and the remainder of the family brought him up; but in particular by his sister.

Addendum

Compiled by HERBERT.A.L. Ridpath

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"It might be of some interest to those who follow if I record the events that occurred as I attempted to establish the connection between the coast Ridpaths and those in the History commissioned by Ernest Guy Ridpath.

My initial research was conducted at St. Catherines House, London, the present home of the General Register Office. It was relatively easy although time consuming to discover that my own great-great-grandfather's name was Thomas Jones Ridpath. I discovered this from the wedding certificate of my great-grandfather, John Ridpath, who was married in 1849; but because the London records only go back to 1837, I was unable to discover anything further about Thomas Jones Ridpath.

One of the incomplete lines of the tree provided by Ernest showed, at its end, the marriage of James Ridpath to Susannah Jones. Since present day, Ridpaths do not bear the name 'Jones', it was clear that Thomas Jones Ridpath had been given Jones as a second christian name and this led me to the idea that he might have been the son of James and Susannah (Jones).

One Saturday in November 1980, I traveled to Waltham Abbey, where James and Susannah were said to have been married, in order to obtain from the Church notice board the name of the Vicar or other persons with whom I could correspond, with a view to obtaining permission to view the Church records. On arrival I found the Church open and went inside to see a lay person disappear through a arched door to the left of the alter. After knocking I entered the room and introduced myself to the gentle man inside who turned out to be the Verger, Mr. Eric Higgs. I explained to him the purpose of my visit and to my great astonishment and pleasure he said, "what year did you say", and turning as he spoke opened an old wall cupboard and proceeded to take down the appropriate record. About an hour later I had found both the record of the marriage of James and Susannah and the record of baptism of their son Thomas Jones. My jubilation at having connected "us" to a line going back to the year 1200 seemed to be shared by the Verger. I asked him if there was a charge and when he replied in the negative I offered to put something in the Church box. I though £5 would be appropriate.

I spent the next ten minutes looking at the Church before making my way to the front door and the 'box' where the Verger rejoined me. He said "I am glad I caught you before you left because I knew the name meant something to me". With that he produced an old leather-bound book and on opening the front cover I saw the signature of Ann Ridpath and the words, "her book May 21th 18..". The year is indistinct and could be either 1811, 1814, or 1824. For two reasons I favor 1811 because this date seems to have been overwritten by other numbers and because I later discovered that she was the sister of Thomas Jones and baptized on 19 October, 1796, thus making her 15 years old at the time of signing her name.

The way in which she had signed her name several times throughout the book and the subject of the book, indicate a young lady. The book was entitled "Useful Instructions For These Evil Times", and copies of some pages are attached.

I was not to know at that moment that the Verger was to retire one month later but when I discovered it I thought what an incredible piece of luck that I should choose to visit Waltham Abbey approximately one month before the one person who had knowledge of the book's connection retired and, after approximately 170 years of the book's existence. Through subsequent correspondence with the Church authorities, the book passed into my possession for the sum of ten pounds.

I now felt the need to expand my knowledge of the Waltham Abbey Ridpaths and made an appointment with the Rev'd K.H.Pillar, M.A. (Vicar) to re-attended the Church for further study.

I re-entered the Church on 1 December 1980 and seeing the Vicar talking to a youngish woman I approached. He guessed who I was and indicated so by addressing me before I could introduce myself. He introduced me to the lady, Miss Dinah Dean, and explained that the Verger had retired and that Miss Dean was acting as the Church clerk in a temporary capacity. Miss Dean ushered me into the room I had visited before and as she followed me in she exclaimed, "I suppose you have come to research Thomas Jones Ridpath". I said that I had and said that I supposed that the Verger had told her. I was very surprised when she said "no" and I enquired how she had known. She told me that she was a member of the local historical society and that they were knocking two old houses into one at the top of Sun Street and that the name of Thomas Jones Ridpath had been found scratched into the inner surface of two parallel partitions (one covering the other). The purpose of "conversion" was to provide the town with a museum and through I have not yet visited it, the piece of plaster bearing Thomas Jones' signature should be found there as it has been preserved and photographed. The signature would have been inscribed during the period 1799 to 1804/5, during which period 41 Sun Street was rented by Thomas Jones' Uncle George. Thus, Thomas Jones would have been between the age of 8 and 13 when he scratched his name into the "Twentieth Century". Once again I seemed to have had an incredible piece of luck. The signature had been residing there for 180 years and was discovered coincidentally with my arrival in Waltham Abbey and conversion of the buildings. These two events could easily have been decades apart to the family's loss."

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I have been lucky enough to have been to the Waltham Abbey house (see photographs) and found the grave of Mary Ann (see photographs). In 2001 we went on holiday to The Borders, visiting Redpath, Greenlaw and Berwick-upon-Tweed (see photographs). We are going up to The Borders again in August 2004 to visit the NAS as I have some information as why Joseph Redpath might have had to sale the estates and move to London.

Mary Ann Grout named one of her sons after her brother and this names contunes to be used to this day.

TO BE CONTINUED.....................................

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