William Allen (bef. 1829 - abt. 1906)

Born before 5 Nov 1829 in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Dutton) Allen — married 3 Apr 1856 in St. Bartholomew, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Descendants

Died about 1906 after about age 76 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Younger Years

William Allen was born in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England.

William Allen was baptised on 5 November 1829 in Daventry, Northamptonshire.^[1] His parents were Thomas Allen and Elizabeth Moorby. His father was a horse keeper and later a coach keeper, and it was probably with his father that William learnt his own trade as a coachman. His childhood was probably in Daventry which was a coaching town, so had a constant traffic of coaches and horses.

William cannot be found on the 1841 census, neither can his father, but his mother was staying with her brother, Edmund, in Handsworth (Staffordshire), on the outskirts of Birmingham, with William's younger sister (image). At the age of about 11 William was probably with his father and perhaps beginning to learn his trade. Despite no census being found, members of the family were moving towards the Birmingham area.

Five Ways Tavern

Thomas Pinner Trade Directory, 1849.

William was recorded on two censuses in 1851. One census was at home with his parents on Wheeleys Road, Edgbaston. On the other William was working as a servant for Thomas Pinner, an 'Inn Keeper and Car Proprietor' at 1 Ladywood Lane in Birmingham, not far from his parent's house. Number 1 Ladywood Lane was the Five Ways Tavern which was on the Five Ways junction at the corner of Broad Street and Ladywood Lane.^[2] Thomas Pinner had run the Five Ways Tavern since at least 1841, and the Pinner and Allen families remained associated for several decades.^[3] In fact, the Pinner's had lived in Daventry in from the early 1800s, so they may have known each other in Daventry too.^[4]

Five Ways showing the Five Ways Tavern, c. 1890s. The central street is Broad Street and the Five Ways Tavern (now demolished) is the smaller building central left.

Thomas Pinner ran a Coventry and Birmingham stage coach called 'Little Wonder', probably named after the 'Wonder' stage coach which had run between London and Shrewsbury on the same road.^[5] With William Allen working for Pinner, he possibly worked the same route.

Marriage and Children

On 3 April 1856 William Allen married Ann Dutton at St. Bartholomew's in Edgbaston, near where he and his family lived. Both he and Ann were described as of Edgbaston, and Ann had been previously working as a cook for a house in Edgbaston nearby (1851 census). The witnesses were Thomas Warden and Elizabeth Dutton, the latter possibly being Ann's sister. The couple had three known children, all baptised as St. Thomas's on Bath Row:

• Mary Elizabeth Allen was born on 9 July 1857 on Wheeleys Lane.^[6][7]
• William Allen was born on 6 May 1860, also on Wheeley's Lane.^[8][9] William later worked as a postman and married Ellen Sabell.
• Ann Eliza Allen was baptised on 21 October 1866 and of Great Colmore Street.^[10][11]

1860s

On the 1861 census William and his family were still on Wheeleys Lane, living at 2 Cale's Cottages (sometimes spelt Kale's) next door to William's parents at number 1. His father, Thomas, was a car proprietor and John Pinner, brother to Thomas Pinner, was also a car proprietor on Wheeleys Lane at a similar time.^[12]

1870s and 1880s

On the 1871 and 1881 censuses William Allen and his family lived at Provident Place, a court of houses behind Ladywood Lane, and at the front of the court lived John Pinner. Pinner was described as a retired car proprietor, but this again shows the connection between the families.

Later Years

After their children had grown up and left home, William and Ann moved further out into Birmingham's suburbs, and were living on Fern Terrace, off the Alcester Road in Moseley in 1891. William was still described as a coachman, and within Fern Terrace, which contained nine houses, were three other occupants who were coachmen or cab drivers: Joseph Webb (40), George Mills (42), and Alfred J. Sheppard (32). Further research is needed to find out if a property attached was a coaching inn.

Ann, William's wife, passed away between 1891 and 1901 as William appeared on the 1901 census as a widower. He was living on the Stratford Road, and although his smudged profession looks like it says 'Living on [Own Means]' he was residing with a car proprietor called Thomas Staines, so perhaps still working despite now being 71.

William had been born at the height of the coaching trade, in Daventry which was highly dependant on through trade along one of the primary coaching routes, the London to Holyhead road. His youth in Daventry would have seen dozens of horses and carriages passing through every day. The first railways opened before William was 10, and the impact on his father's trade probably influenced the move from Daventry to Birmingham. William still possibly worked parts of the London to Holyhead road for Thomas (and perhaps John) Pinner, but between Birmingham and Coventry. Although it is uncertain, in later life William probably worked locally as there was still a market for horse-drawn coaches in getting people around busy towns, like Birmingham.

Only one possible death record is found for William, dating Jul-Sep 1906 in Birmingham, aged 77 [c. 1829 birth], but the certificate would need to be ordered to be certain.^[13]

Sources

Censuses

1851 CENSUS: 1 Ladywood Lane, Birmingham, Warwickshire (image [1]).^[14]

Thomas PINNER (Head M 51/57) Inn Keeper and Car Proprietor employing 12 men, Dodford Northamptonshire.

Maria SMITH (Housekeeper W 51/57) --, South Lincolnshire.

Mary PURFORD (Servant U 26) Serv., Ludlow Shropshire.

Maria FLEMMING (Servant U 25) Serv., Stourbridge Worcestershire.

William ALLEN (Serv U 21) Servant, Daventry, Northamptonshire.

William was also included at home on Wheeleys Road with his parents as a car driver (image [2].

1861 CENSUS: 2 Cale's Cottages (back of 35) Wheeleys Lane, Birmingham, Warwickshire (image [3]).^[15]

William ALLEN (Head M 31) Cabman, Daventry Northamptonshire.

Ann ALLEN (Wife M 33) --, Northfield Worcestershire.

Mary Elizabeth ALLEN (Dau 3) --, Birmingham Warwickshire.

William ALLEN (11 months) --, Birmingham Warwickshire.

--1 Cale's Cottages (back of 35) Wheeleys Lane, Birmingham, Warwickshire.

Thomas ALLEN (Head M 62/68) Car Proprietor, Henley in Arden Warwickshire.

Elizabeth ALLEN (Wife M 66) --, Priors Marston Northamptonshire.

1871 CENSUS: Provident Place (court 4) 6 house, Ladywood Lane, Birmingham, Warwickshire (image [4]).^[16]

William ALLEN (Head M 41) Coachman, Daventry Northamptonshire.

Ann ALLEN (Wife M 43) --, Northfield Worcestershire.

Mary E. ALLEN (Dau 13) --, Birmingham Warwickshire.

William ALLEN (Son 10) --, Birmingham Warwickshire.

1881 CENSUS: 5 Provident Place Ladywood Road, Birmingham, Warwickshire (image [5]).^[17]

William Allen (Head M 51) Coachman Domestic Serv., Daventry Northamptonshire.

Ann Allen (Wife M 53) --, Northfield Worcestershire.

Mary E. Allen (Dau U 23) Shop Assistant, Birmingham Warwickshire.

William Allen (Son 20) Letter Sorter G. P. O., Birmingham Warwickshire.

// next page //

Ann E. Allen (Dau U 14) Shop Assistant, Birmingham Warwickshire.

1891 CENSUS: 2 Fern Terrace, Alcester Road, Moseley, Kings Norton, Worcestershire.^[18]

William ALLEN (Head M 61) Coachman, Daventry Northamptonshire.

Ann ALLEN (Wife M 63) --, Northfield Worcestershire.

Fern Terrace contained 9 houses and three other occupants were coachmen or cab drivers: Joseph WEBB (40), George MILLS (42), and Alfred J. SHEPPARD (32).

1901 CENSUS: B71 Stratford Road, Aston, Birmingham, Warwickshire.^[19]

Thomas STAINES (Head M 45) Car Proprietor, Brisorton Worcestershire.

Sarah Ann STAINES (Head M 47) --, Harangel Radnorshire.

William ALLEN (Boarder W 71) Living on [?scribbled over], Daventry Northamptonshire.

Elizabeth JENKINS (Boarder W 67) ditto, Snetston on Ashbonine Northamptonshire.

References

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N1XF-DM9 : 21 March 2020), William Allen, 1829.
2. ↑ History and general directory of the borough of Birmingham (White, Francis, & Co., 1849), p. 232.
3. ↑ Thomas PINNER described as a 'livery stable keeper, car proprietor, & vict[ualler] in 'Pigot's Directory of Birmingham and its environs (J. Pigot, 1841), p. 54.
4. ↑ Profiles of Thomas PINNER and John PINNER.
5. ↑ Charles G. Harper, 'From London to Birmingham', The Holyhead Road (London: Chapman & Hall, 1902), I, p. 292, at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58671/58671-h/58671-h.htm; Harry Hanson, The Coaching Life (Manchester University Press, 1983), p. 184.
6. ↑ England & Wales Births 1837-2006, Mary Elizabeth ALLEN, Quarter 3, Year 1857, Birmingham, Volume 6D, Page 45, mother's maiden name DUTTON (transcribed at Find My Past).
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NPB4-HR2 : 19 March 2020), Mary Elizabeth Allen, 1857; detail: Mary Elizabeth ALLEN was born 9 July 1857 and baptised 26 July 1857 at St. Thomas, Birmingham of William & Ann of Wheeleys Lane. William was a Coachman.
8. ↑ England & Wales Births 1837-2006, William ALLEN, Quarter 2, Year 1860, Birmingham, Volume 6D, Page 69, mother's maiden name DUTTON (transcribed at Find My Past).
9. ↑ St. Thomas parish records, baptisms, Library of Birmingham; detail: William ALLEN was born 6 May 1860 and baptised 27 May 1860 at St. Thomas, Birmingham of William & Ann of Wheeleys Lane. William was a Coachman.
10. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NPBW-ZV3 : 19 March 2020), Ann Eliza Allen, 21 Oct 1866, to William & Ann of Great Colmore Street, father a Cabman.
11. ↑ England & Wales Births 1837-2006, Ann E ALLEN, 1866 Q 3, Birmingham, Volume 6D, Page 75, mother's maiden name (transcribed on Find My Past) DUTTON.
12. ↑ Dix's General and Commercial Directory of the Borough of Birmingham (1858).
13. ↑ England & Wales Deaths 1837-2007, Volume 6D, Page 92.
14. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGBD-679 : 12 September 2019), Thomas Pinner, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England; citing Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, p. 13, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
15. ↑ 1861 Census of England and Wales, Class: RG 9; Piece: 2137; Folio: 14; Page: 21; GSU roll: 542924.
16. ↑ 1871 Census of England and Wales.
17. ↑ 1881 Census of England and Wales.
18. ↑ 1891 Census of England and Wales.
19. ↑ 1901 Census of England and Wales, Class: RG13; Piece: 2859; Folio: 74; Page: 38.