13 - The Booth Family
Frederick (25) and Hannah (29) Booth were a recently bereaved couple living at household number 13 on Romiley Road. They married on the 14th October 1866 at Heaton Norris.
Frederick's parents were Edward Booth, a mechanic, and Sarah Wood. However, Frederick and his sister Nancy were not brought up with Edward and Sarah, instead living with Sarah's parents Edward and Elizabeth who were in their 60s in 1851. Edward Wood was still caring for his grandson in 1861 at the age of 72.
Hannah was born Hannah Maria Fallows in Manchester. Her family moved to Butterhouse Green in Bredbury where her father was a wire card maker and later became the manager of the wireworks.
Frederick and Hannah lived in one of the terraced houses of Robinson's Row and Frederick was a hatter at the factory. In 1870 Frederick and Hannah had their first child, Ernest Fallows Booth, but he died in infancy. They went on to have 2 more children Fanny, and Alfred.
Also living with the couple in 1871 was Joseph Kirby, a 21 year old school master from Nuneaton. This was somewhat ironic as the Booths were summoned to court in 1885 for 14 offences against the Education Act for not sending their children to school. Frederick failed to attend any of the summonses and Hannah claimed that Fanny had not been in for so long due to sickness. They were fined 5 shillings plus costs.
Fanny worked at the wireworks with her grandfather before marrying a hatter named Alban Rowlands. Alban later found work as a railway porter and the couple moved into a house on Holehouse Fold. Just a few years later Alban is listed as living in Hyde and Fanny moved back in with her mother Hannah, who by then was widowed.
Frederick Booth had worked for a long time at Robinson's Hatworks but then in 1894 he was "seized with illness" whilst at work and died of "apoplexy" at the age of 48. Apoplexy was a word that meant a stroke or brain haemorrhage.
By 1911 Hannah, Fanny and Alfred lived in a 3 roomed home at 2 Holehouse Fold, with Fanny working at a laundry and Alfred working as an auxiliary postman. Hannah died a year later aged 70.
Alfred served in the Royal Fusiliers and the Labour Corps during the First World War. He returned to 2 Holehouse Fold where he lived with his sister. However, in 1921 he was recorded in the census as living at Thornton, Lancashire where he worked as a general labourer for the council and boarded with a widowed woman and her children.
Fanny died in Stockport in 1935. After Fanny's death Alfred lived at "Bungalow No1 The Fields" Bredbury Green, along with a widowed retired boilermaker. He continued to work as a labourer for the council.