Rampton of Worting Family Chart no. 25

	Alfred RAMPTON		Elizabeth COLES
	bapt. 26 Feb 1851 at St Mary the Less Lambeth SRY		b. circa 1856 in Lambeth SRY
			m. 1877 Bethnal Green RD MDX
	Plasterer Bricklayer's Labourer (1891) Plasterer's Labourer (1901)

Their Children

Annie Elizabeth	Thomas John	Esther Jane	Arthur Charles	Alfred Charles	Florence Mary	Sarah Jane	Alice Maud	William John	William [A ?]
born circa 1878 at Lambeth, SRY	born 1879 at Battersea, SRY	born circa 1881 at Battersea, SRY	born circa 1882 at Battersea, SRY	born 8 Feb 1882 at Battersea, SRY	born circa 1885 at Battersea, SRY	bapt. 15 Apr 1887 at All Saints Lambeth SRY	bapt. 21 Sep 1888 at All Saints Lambeth SRY	born circa 1890 at Clapham, SRY	born circa 1896 at Battersea, SRY
	m. Sarah Jane BURT 1877 Bethnal Green RD MDX [FreeBMD]		m. Mabel Florence BALLAM 2 Jun 1912 at Portsmouth, HAM			m. Francis William RODD 8 Nov 1908 at All Saints Battersea, SRY
	d. 1949 Lambeth RD SRY, aged 70	d. 1883 Wandsworth, aged 2		d. 20 Feb 1883 Battersea, aged 1			d. 1889 Lambeth RD SRY, aged 0		d. 13 Oct 1916 in France bur. Aveluy Communal Cemetery Extension L.53

Additional Information

In 1881, Arthur and his young family were living at 43 Acre Street Battersea, Wandsworth in Surrey. Only a few doors away lived brother George and his family.

When Alfred Charles was born they were living in New Road Clapham, but a year later, in February 1883 when little Alfred Charles died, they were living at 43 Sterndale Road Battersea.

There are several mysteries here, first with Arthur Charles, and then with William J. The child in the 1891 census born circa 1882 is definitely Arthur, and many years later he pops up in the Royal Navy, serving aboard HMS Europa just before the First World War. He married and settled his family down in Portsmouth, and was always known as Arthur; but when he obtained his birth certificate in 1949, he discovered that not only was his name really Alfred, but he was two years older than he had believed. To add to the confusion, his marriage certificate states that his father was named Charles, and was a Naval Pensioner. So was father Alfred really Alfred Charles? Did the authorities get it wrong and send him the birth certificate for little Alfred Charles who died a year later? Nevertheless, when he died, the death certificate read Alfred Charles.

William J born 1890 is also a mystery; the GRO search website definitely has a William John born 1890 Wandsworth mother COLE(S); they also have William born 1896 Wandsworth mother COLE(S). The boy William listed in the 1901 census for the school in Penge (see below) says he was born circa 1896 in Battersea; the fact that he is in the same place as Jane and Florence is too much of a coincidence if he were not their brother, but it seems unlikely that the year of birth would be 6 years out. Moreover, the authorities have 2 Williams born 6 years apart to the same mother in the same area, but no record of the death of William J in the intervening years. William born 1896 Battersea fits a soldier killed in WW1, William Alfred RAMPTON, Royal Fusiliers; I am tempted conclude that William John died, they named their next son William Alfred, and he died in 1916 aged 20, but as yet I have no proof whatsoever.

By 1891, they had moved to 16 Rashleigh Street Clapham. In 1901, however, Alfred and Elizabeth were living alone in Streatham. Given the young ages of some of their children, I found this rather odd. However, I believe I may have located them, although why the youngest ones appear to be living away from home I have no idea. I have been unable to locate any of this family, other than Thomas, in the 1911 census; this is odd, since neither Alfred and Elizabeth appear to have died between 1901 and 1911, and I cannot find that Florence Married in that time either.

Thomas seems to have joined the army, and was a Private in the East Surrey Regiment stationed in Lambeth.
Arthur may have moved to Devon and was working as a cattleman in the parish of Sutcombe.
Florence appears to be working as an Infants Attendant in Penge at the same school as Jane and William were pupils.
Jane and William are also living in Penge; both are described as Scholar, and they are both in the same establishment, the North Surrey District School in Anerley Road. Could they have been sent away to boarding school? And why was Florence working there also?

I am indebted to Ken Thurley for some of the additional information on this family, and to Pauline Gale who supplied me with Jane Rampton's Marriage Certificate and the story of Arthur Charles, R.N.

Family Group Identifiers

Family: WORTING1
Family Group: worting025