The Quin Family of Southern England

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Southern England
Surname/tag: Quin

This is the story of a family with the surname Quin living in the south of England from the late 18th century to modern times.

Contents 1 Contents 1.1 Background 1.2 Our Quins' story 1.3 Other marriages within the family 1.4 Occupations 1.5 Military service 1.6 Residential addresses 1.7 Life-spans 1.8 Today's Quins 1.9 Summary 1.10 Who were the family members? 2 Sources

Contents

Background

During the 19th century, London was transformed into the world's largest city and capital of the British Empire. The population rose from over 1 million in 1801 to 5.567 million in 1891. In 1897, the population of Greater London was estimated at 6.292 million people. By the 1860s it was larger by one quarter than the world's second most populous city, Beijing, two-thirds larger than Paris, and five times larger than New York City.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the urban core of London was contained to the west by Park Lane and Hyde Park, by Marylebone Road to the north, along the south bank of the Thames at Southwark, and to the east as far as Bethnal Green and Spitalfields. At the beginning of the century, Hyde Park Corner was considered the western entrance to London; a turnpike gate was in operation there until 1825. With the population growing at an exponential rate, so too did the territory of London expand significantly: the city encompassed 122 square miles in 1851 and had grown to 693 square miles by 1896.

During this period, London became a global political, financial, and trading capital. While the city grew wealthy as Britain's holdings expanded, 19th century London was also a city of poverty, where millions lived in overcrowded and unsanitary slums. Life for the poor was immortalized by Charles Dickens in such novels as Oliver Twist.

One of the most famous events of 19th century London was the Great Exhibition of 1851. Held at The Crystal Palace, the fair attracted visitors from across the world and displayed Britain at the height of its Imperial dominance.^[1]

Our Quins' story

As is often the case in genealogy, the spelling of names is inconsistent and the surname of this family is sometimes confused with the name Quinn with the double 'n'. This story concentrates on Quin, and is limited to those records for which reliable sources have been found.

As at the 30th October 2021 this family only has 43 members born with the surname Quin. With such a small number it is not meaningful to look for trends nor clusters, so this account of the family is based on a few observations.

These Quins are all descendants of Bernard Quin (abt.1769-) who was born about 1769. We don't know where he was born but he married in Westminster, London in 1792 where the first three of his children were also born. We don't know where his wife was born. A census return tells us that he was a tailor.

Of Bernard's four children, only one married, and he was also named Bernard, Bernard Quin (abt.1814-1865), and was a tailor. This son was born some nine years after his eldest sibling, and according to a census was born in Manchester, Lancashire, but he lived in the county of Middlesex from 1841 until his death in 1865. Perhaps his father was a journeyman tailor and took his family to Manchester to get work, but we don't know.

Since 1841 our family of Quins were born in the south of England, according to our researches to date.

Other marriages within the family

Twenty-two members of the family married at an average age of 28.

The marriages took place in: Middlesex, specifically Westminster, Marylebone, Hoxton, St Pancras, Hanover Square, St Giles, Islington, Noel Park, Kensington, Hendon and Paddington,

Surrey, specifically Kingston and Croydon,

Sussex, specifically Brighton, East Preston and Worthing,

and Pembury in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Occupations

There is little evidence of occupations being followed within a family. The only exceptions are two tailors, two chauffeurs, two house painters, and one or two men working in the print industry as did their father. Twelve of the jobs were in the service industry, and others were in the production, factory and office-based sectors.

Women's jobs were:
Bookkeeper, Capmaker, Charwoman, Dress-making stock-keeper, Kitchenmaid, Ladies' hat designer, Laundry woman, Medical attendant, Nurse, Traveller (sales representative).

Men's jobs were:
Bootmaker, Carman, Carpenter, Chauffeur, Clerk, Coachman, Domestic valet, Engineer, Errand boy, Fishmonger's assistant, Foreman, Gardener, Grocer, House decorator, Masseur, Milkman, Pantry boy, Printer, Printer compositor, Printer machine assistant, Printer's assistant, Printer's layer-on, Rubber stamp mechanic, Sign and glass writer, Soldier, Tailor, Zinc plate grainer.

Military service

Our records have shown two of our Quins with military service. One enlisted in 1894 for 21 years and finished as an Acting Regimental Sergeant Major. The other was in the Royal Air Force in 1918.

Residential addresses

Our Quins seem to have rented accommodation, as evidenced by census returns often showing the same family living at different addresses in the same road, not likely if they owned the property.

Life-spans

The average life-span of the twenty-five Quins for whom we have found birth and death records is 64 years. Of these:

2 died in infancy
3 died in the 39-49 range
4 died in the 50-59 range
4 died in the 60-69 range
5 died in the 70-79 range
5 died in the 80-89 range, and
2 died in the 90-93 range.

Today's Quins

Of our Quins born in the last 100 years, our records have shown five who might still be alive. Two were living in Middlesex, two in Sussex, and one in Berkshire.

Summary

Nothing exceptional has been found in the records of this family's births, marriages, deaths, occupations, life-spans and census records. However, one member of the family was resident in a workhouse on more than one occasions. Overall they seem to have lived modestly, sometimes choosing to move from densely populated areas to places like Beckenham in Kent and to the Sussex Coast. We know nothing about their health but most did live beyond the age of sixty.

Clearly more research is necessary to get a more complete picture of the Quin family of Southern England.

Who were the family members?

Here's a list in chronological birth date order:
Bernard Quin (abt 1769 - ) Mary Isabella Quin (1792 - ) Thomas William Quin (1802 - ) Georgiana Jane Quin (1805 - 1808) Bernard Quin (abt 1814 - 1865) George Frederick Quin (1845 - 1886) Alfred Edward Quin (1847 - bef 1905) Eliza Jane Quin (1850 - 1890) Charles Henry Quin (1855 - ) Caroline Sarah (Quin) Melhuish (1872 - 1855) Alfred Bernard Quin (1873 - abt 1924) Thomas William Quin (1874 - 1938) Frederick Quin (1875 - 1942) George Frederick Quin (1875 - 1943) John Charles Quin (1876 - 1964) William Herbert Quin (1878 - ) Henry James Quin (1880 - ) Clara Rebecca (Quin) Fitzjohn (1880 - 1939) George Sydney Quin (1882 - ) Ethel Laetitia Quin (1882 - ) Bernard Alfred Quin (1884 - ) Laura Quin (abt 1885 - 1890) Ada May (Quin) Fisher (1887 - 1967) Nelly (Quin) Pickup (1889 - 1970) Jessie Quin (1895 - ) Ernest Edwin Quin (1899 - ) Letty Catherine Constance (Quin) Booker (1900 - abt 1993) Sidney Robert Quin (1903 - 1980) Elsie Minnie Quin (1904 - ) George William Quin (1904 - 1969) Violet Ellen Quin (1905 - ) John Campbell Quin (1906 - 1955) Gladys Gwendolen (Quin) Smith (1907 - abt 1987) Ernest Alfred Quin (1908 - abt 1997) Elsie May (Quin) Kember (1910 - 1983) Freda Marjorie Quin (1911 - abt 1997) Frank Quin (1913 - 2001) Gordon Frederick Quin (1915 - 1985) John Francis Ernest Quin (1935 - 2015) Diana (Quin) Moreland (abt 1943 - ) Barry Quin (abt 1949 - ) Lance Quin (1960 - ) Mark Quin (1964)

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th-century_London