East London Pluckroses
Origins
John Pluckrose and Hannah Rounding head this tree. This information came to me in a private communication from Derek James who provided me with the date of their marriage and the date of birth of their son, Thomas. I do not know Derek's source.
The 1841 census records that John was a shoemaker, a common occupation for the Saffron Walden and Littlebury Pluckroses and Plucks. So it is feasible that John is PL74 (Tree2) eldest son of Thomas Pluck and Ann Westley who was born in Littlebury in 1766. Stephen Pluck (PL8) was a cordwainer and a John Pluck was apprenticed to him in 1779. John was probably his nephew - his age, 13, is about right for apprenticeship. John seems to have disappeared from Littlebury. The 1841 census records John's age at 75, which fits exactly a birth in 1766, however, ages in this census were usually rounded down to the nearest 5 years. He was born in the county of Essex.
The main problem with this assignment is that the Littlebury Pluckroses mostly became Plucks around 50 years earlier, the last survivor in this line being Stephen Pluckrose (PL84 - Tree 1) who died in 1730. Of course, we have only the official records to rely on. The neighbours and officialdom might have called them Plucks, however, they may have thought of themselves as Pluckroses.
Other possibilities are: John Pluckrose who was christened in Gilstone in 1761, and John Pluckrose who was christened in Bassingbourne in 1771. The latter is probably a little young to have married in 1787, unless his christening was delayed. Candidates 2 and 3 need to be checked out to see if they remained in their parishes of birth.
Generation 2
Thomas had an elder brother, John, born in 1794. He is known only from the 1841 and 1851 censuses, where he is living with Thomas, unmarried, and working as a coal whipper (unloading coal from ships in baskets).
Further generations
I am reasonably confident about the rest of the tree which has been compiled from parish records, information from Derek James and BMD and census records.
Points of interest
- James John Pluckrose (PL1347) had an unconventional marriage. His had two children by his first wife, Catherine Papera in 1857 and 1861. He then had further children by Catherine Norton in 1867, 1874, 1876, 1879 and 1889. He married Catherine Norton in 1878 soon after the death of his first wife in the Walworth Infirmary from TB.
- in 1911 James John Pluckrose (PL1409) shot and killed his wife after an argument. You can read about this in the History section.
Detailed Notes
PL No |
Surname |
Forenames |
Notes |
| 1482 | BEASLEY | Lilian Doora | Known from Philip Pluckrose's website. Migrated to Colorado. |
| 1361 | CHAPMAN | Rebecca | Maiden name known from son's birth certificate |
| 1352 | CONSTANTINE | Ethel Louisa | Known from GRO marriage |
| 1479 | MAASEN | Wilhelmina Josephina | Known from Philip Pluckrose's website |
| 1383 | PLUCKROSE | Alexander David William | From PP's website and confirmed by GRO index (Alexander William). |
| 1391 | PLUCKROSE | Alexander David William | Migrated to Colorado |
| 1387 | PLUCKROSE | Charles W | Charles, born 1928, mentioned on PP's website. Confirmed by GRO index. |
| 1367 | PLUCKROSE | Edward St Clair | Philip thinks he married in 1900 (but no further detail). There is a marriage in the GRO index that fits this theory: Q1 1900, Edward PLUCKROSE, Poplar RD, 1c, 729. I can't find him in the 1901 census. |
| 1365 | PLUCKROSE | Emma Rebecca | Her birth certificate records that her mother is Catherine Pluckrose, formerly Norton, even though John's wife, Catherine Papera, is still alive. |
| 1386 | PLUCKROSE | Eric J | Eric, born 1922 on PP's website. Confirmed by GRO index. |
| 1385 | PLUCKROSE | George F | Known from the GRO index. A George (no dates) mentioned by PP's website. |
| 1351 | PLUCKROSE | Henry John Thomas | Migrated to Australia with his son Henry Mark. |
| 1389 | PLUCKROSE | Henry Mark Thomas | Migrated to Australia with his parents. |
| 1348 | PLUCKROSE | Henry Thomas | Mother shown as Catherine Pluckrose, formerly Norton, even though John's wife, Catherine Papera, is still alive. There is scope for confusion here. There were two Henry Thomas Pluckroses born in 1876: Q1 1876 Pancras, 1b, 19 Q4 1876 Stepney, 1c, 445 . . . probably our Henry T there is a death ... Henry T Pluckrose Q4 1962, Christchurch, 6b, 273, aged 86 . . . who could be either in the absence of a certificate. |
| 1409 | PLUCKROSE | James John | GRO births searched 1851-60 for other births in Brighton, but nothing found. GRO marriages searched 1848 - 1853 for a marriage in Brighton, but nothing found. Family not found in 1861 census. Family not found in 1881 census (including a search for any Pluckroses born in Brighton). |
| 1377 | PLUCKROSE | James Joseph Charles | The 1861 census records that he was born in Shadwell ca 1858. This is the reason for choosing the GRO index entry for Bethnal Green Q4 1857 (they were married in Lambeth in May 1857). There is another possible GRO index entry: James Francis, Lambeth 1d, 231 in Q4 1858. This is a whole year later - so James should be recorded in the 1861 census as 2 rather than 3 years old. On balance, I prefer the earlier record which has the right birthplace and and the right age even though Lambeth is the parish of their marriage. |
| 1417 | PLUCKROSE | Jane | She is Phill Herold's grandmother. |
| 1456 | PLUCKROSE | John | John and Hannah are in the 1841 census of Chingford (75&70) John is a shoemaker. |
| 1478 | PLUCKROSE | John | Known only from the 1841 and 1851 censuses where he is living with his brother - unmarried. |
| 1381 | PLUCKROSE | John Charles F | Known from the GRO index. A John, no dates, mentioned on PP's website. |
| 1384 | PLUCKROSE | Leslie Thomas Norton | Known from PP's website and confirmed by GRO index. |
| 1737 | PLUCKROSE | Rebecca | Known from 1871 census. |
| 1612 | PLUCKROSE | Sarah Ann | No other information yet. |
| 1382 | PLUCKROSE | Stanley | Known only from the GRO index |
| 1360 | PLUCKROSE | Thomas | A lot of people seem to believe that Thomas is the son of John Pluckrose and Hannah Rounding. I have not yet been able to find any confirmation of this. The 1841 census shows (in a VERY poor quality image): HO107/697 St George in the East, Tower Hamlets Thos Pluckrose 40 coal porter? N PL1360 Rebecca Pluckrose 40 N PL1361 Thomas Pluckrose 14 a b ? Y ? Lucy Pluckrose 15 h s ? Y PL1487 James Pluckrose 13m Y PL1347 John Pluckrose 45 coal porter ? Y PL1478 John is Thomas' elder brother who reappears in the 1851 census. Lucy is previously unknown. |
| 1413 | PLUCKROSE | Thomas | Thomas and Edward's births don't appear in the indexes in the Deptford district as recorded in the 1901 census. However there are two registrations in the Strood RD: Thomas in Q3 1893 and Edward in Q3 1895. There are no other Pluckrose registrations in this RD so this looks a likely attribution. Appears as Thomas B in the GRO marriage index. |
| 1421 | PLUCKROSE | Thomas Jesse | 1841 census has a Thomas Pluckrose living with what appear to be his parents, Thomas and Rebecca. His age is difficult to decipher: it could be 17 (b 1824) or it could be 14 (b 1827). There is no other Thomas in the family. |
| 1472 | PLUCKROSE | Thomas Jesse | Thomas isn't in the 1861 census. The death recorded Q2 1859 in West Ham RD could be his (it is the only candidate) but another Thomas, aged 5, is recorded in this census. Subsequent censuses confirm the second Thomas's age and birth in Poplar. Perhaps the death was not rgistered or it missed the indexing process. |
| 1379 | SUTHERLAND | Annie | A certificate is needed to confirm that Q2 1910, Lambeth RD, 1d, 129 is the correct death record. There is a slight complication in that Annie's death is recorded in Q2 1910 and Stanley's birth in Q3 1910. However, deaths tend to be registered soon after the event (a certificate is needed for the burial to take place), whereas birth registrations are often delayed. If both events occurred towards the end of March this could explain the anomaly. Henry Thomas remarried in April 1912. |
| 1410 | WALKER | Charlotte | The family story has it that she was actually shot accidentally by her son Edward and his father took the blame. There doesn't seem to be any confirmatory evidence for this story (source: Phill Herold). The story also says that he is the Edward Pluckrose killed in April 1915 and commemorated on the Ypres (Menis Gate) memorial. However the CWGC website says that this Edward was born in Strood. The GRO index confirms Q3 1895 Strood RD, 2a, 569. This is about the right time, but Strood is some way from Deptford (which is the birthplace recorded in the 1901 census). Not out of the question, however, since no other birth index record has been found. |
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Henry Pluckrose and Derek James for information that helped me compile this tree.
