By Christine Swan
It has taken rather a lot of research to find out as much as I have about my great, great grandmother Mary Ann Dighton. She was born in about 1842 before her mother, Ann, married Daniel Crudgington and in the same year that he had married Jane Vincent. Mary Ann wasn’t baptised until 1853, in St Matthias church, Bethnal Green. This was a year before the birth of her sister (possibly half-sister), Elena Ann. Birth registration became law in 1837 although it is estimated that 15% of births were not registered at all. The law was strengthened in 1874 with penalties for non-registration leading to more reliable records after this date. I think it was fair to say that things were complicated in the Crudgington household!
Mary Dighton (Dyton) in the 1851 census
The 1851 census appears to show Mary Ann living with her mother and aunt in Fleet St having reverted to her mother’s maiden name of Dighton. This may seem implausible although, this pattern of changing surname was repeated with my great grandfather too so it does seem to be a family trait. I have already assumed that her mother Ann had spent some time living away from Daniel who was frequently incarcerated and leading a violent and criminal life.
Mary’s baptism record of 1853 at St Matthias church, Bethnal Green. The birth date would make Mary Ann legitimate but, in fact, she was born in 1842.
However, Ann returned to Daniel and Mary Ann’s baptism record of 1853, shows the family living at 12 Princes Street, Bethnal Green, which is now part of Chambord St.
Victorian Street Life in London 1877 LSE Library, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
I stumbled across a news story from 1857 that appeared to feature Mary Ann. Under the name of Mary Ann Crutchington, aged twelve, was arrested for wounding a boy, Charles Scolthorpe, also twelve, with a carving knife. She was selling cats’ meat and he, ginger beer. Mary Ann seems to have wheeled a barrow nearby to Charles in Pitfield Street. For devilment, she tipped over the bucket of water that he used to wash glasses. Charles collected more water which Mary Ann appears to have assumed he intended to throw at her. There is no mention of words exchanged but I can’t imagine that this incident was conducted in silence. Children being children, I can imagine that they traded a few insults before Mary Ann threw the carving knife, catching Charles in the back of the head above his neck. It seems to have been a fairly serious wound which resulted in her being remanded into custody. She appeared before the court in Worship St and during the trial, Mary Ann’s violent and criminal family were mentioned. This alone would lead me to make the association between these events and the characters, as well as the unusual surname of her stepfather (possibly biological father).
Mary Ann Brown (nee Dighton) in 1861
Although I have been unable to locate a marriage record, in the 1861 census, it appears that Mary Ann had married a William Brown and was living with her parents in Bath St with their baby son, also William. At this point, Mary Ann would have been 19 years old. William Brown senior is described as a lodger. You might be wondering if my hunches are long shots, especially with a commonly encountered surname such as Brown, however, dear reader, if you read my first post on the family grave, I have been able to connect names and relationships using my finely-tuned problem-solving skills developed through years of computer programming. I’m not always right but hunches become validated by other discoveries and if they are wrong, that usually comes to light too. Mary Ann and William had a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1863. As Daniel and Ann’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Brown was living with them during the 1881 census. This type of triangulation has been invaluable in verifying the identities of people in my family as well as my good fortune in being able to ask my aged parents before they passed away. Their memories were so helpful in fitting all of the pieces together and my hobby became theirs in later years.
Mary Ann Dighton marries William English 1868
Mary Ann married again in 1868 after, presumably, the death of William Brown. It’s so tricky to wade through thousands of records for a common name. On the marriage record she calls herself Mary Deighton, a spinster. Why did she revert to using her maiden name? Perhaps the relationship with William Brown broke down and she informally separated from him. As mentioned in a previous post, divorce was only for the most wealthy in society so she wouldn’t have had this as an option. Most people outside of my family may consider this to be a different person entirely because surely nobody would lie on their marriage certificate, would they? Errr, yes. I did a little digging around in regards to bigamy. Although it was indeed an offence, the fact that I have been unable to locate a marriage record between William Brown and Mary Ann Dighton, or different spelling thereof, may be because they were in fact not married at all. If this is the case, Mary Ann was indeed a spinster at the time of her marriage in 1868 and therefore telling the truth.
24 Curtain Road – a listed building. Photograph taken April 2023
On this occasion, Mary Ann married William English, a bachelor, in St James, Shoreditch on 8th September, 1868. She was aged 26 and he aged 25. I’m not sure of the truth of Mary’s stated father who is John Deighton deceased. His occupation is bone-boiler which, by all accounts, was a pretty awful job. I find it hard to believe that Mary would have lied about his occupation but I can’t be certain that John was her biological father. I have tried to check all records, including unindexed workhouse volumes, but no John Deighton of Curtain Road appears. Mary’s own role as a fancy trimming maker fits with the Victorian occupation of completing piece work and the Dighton family trade of silk weaving. She gives her address as 24 Curtain Road which incidentally, and unusually for my research, is a building still standing today. Surrounded by looming modern blocks and a hip-hop karaoke bar at the end of the road, 24, together with 26, are Grade II listed by Historic England. It doesn’t quite fit into hipster Shoreditch and I wanted to go over, tap it on the shoulder and say: “Are you OK?”
Mary Ann English nee Dighton in 1871
In 1871, the English family were living at 18 Henrietta St, Bethnal Green, just down from the Cordwainer’s Arms. The family consisted of William and Mary Ann, eldest son William, David (my great grandfather), and youngest son, John, who was presumably the legitimate son of William English. Two visitors were also recorded as being at the property although their names are not familiar to my family tree. Ages indicate that both William and David were born before the couple married. William junior appeared to retain the surname of English throughout his later life although I believe that he was Mary Ann’s first son, born William Brown. It is interesting that he chose to keep his new surname because my great grandfather did not. Mary Ann’s daughter, Elizabeth, was not living with the family.
Mary Ann English nee Dighton death certificate 1878
Tragically, Mary Ann died on 6th May 1878 aged just 36. Her death certificate states that she died of phthisis which is an archaic term for tuberculosis. This terrible disease was often associated with poor living conditions and poverty. It decimated my family including two of Mary Ann’s children. She had only been married for ten years when she died with three children living at home plus Elizabeth living away, possibly in service. The English family were living at 28 Frampton Park Road when Mary Ann died. Her death appears to have had a massive effect on the family. William English couldn’t, or had no inclination to provide a home long-term for Mary Ann’s children previous to their marriage, which resulted in my great grandfather being sent to a workhouse where he remained on and off for the majority of the next decade.
Image showing the association between tuberculosis and living conditions By Cristóbal Rojas – Obra de arte, Pintura de Cristóbal Rojas (1857–1890) Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas- Venezuela. – 150 Pinturas Antológicas. Juan Calzadilla. Fundación Museos Nacionales, Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas, 2012, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2566264
William English employed a general servant, who he later married. My great grandfather, David Dighton, was still living in Frampton Park Road in 1881 but, in the census record, but, although older than John, he is listed below him in the census which is sometimes a sign of a “wife’s son”. In this census, he was recorded not as David English. Indeed, even school records show that change from 1879 to 1880 but with the same address and step father’s name. This fractured family, with the loss of the maternal figure, would never be the same again. It was as if the glue had failed and they fell apart.
David Dighton in 1881
Further reading
Cook, B. (2013) A reflection on sickness and poverty in London in the late 19th century [online] Available at: https://www.londoncatalyst.org.uk/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/LondonCatalystMofLpovertyessay2013-doc.pdf [Accessed: 9th April 2023]
Nineteenth century – the beginning of women’s rights? [online] Available at: https://www.superprof.co.uk/blog/womens-rights-uk-19th-century/#:~:text=Despite%20having%20a%20woman%20as,children%20and%20nurturing%20their%20family. [Accessed: 9th April 2023]
Awful Rigours and Wretched Pay 