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William James Bone was born around 1837-41 in (almost certainly) St. Pancras, Middlesex. His father was Henry (1) Bone but his mother's identity is not yet known.
The 1851 Census possibly finds him - aged "11" and named simply "James Bone" - and his father as inmates of St. Pancras Workhouse. The Henry Bone listed there was aged "53", married, occupied as a coach trimmer and born in Holloway. This Henry may have died later in 1851 [Death Index: St. Pancras 1 231, 1851 (Dec)].
He has not been found in the 1861 Census.
He married as "William James" to Elizabeth Mary Batchelder on September 22nd 1861. The marriage certificate [Marriage Index: Pancras 1b 192, 1861 (Sept)] describes him as a bootmaker whose father Henry (1) was deceased, and describes Elizabeth's father Thomas Batchelder as also deceased. One of the witnesses was a Mary Ann Bone whose connection is unknown. She may have been the person of that name whose GRO death reference is [Death Index: Pancras 1b 132, 1916 (March)] - this person, who died aged 92, was born around 1824 and so perhaps was an unmarried older sister or an aunt of William James.
Elizabeth Mary was born in Westminster in 1841 [Birth Index: Westminster 1 410, 1841 (June)]. Her father had married Elizabeth Aris [Marriage Index: St. Pancras 1 281, 1839 (Sept)] at the Old Church in St. Pancras on July 7th 1839 [IGI: Batch M047932]. The 1841 Census finds her aged "5 weeks" living with her parents at 81, York Street in St. Margaret Westminster where Thomas was occupied as a plasterer. The 1851 Census finds the family living at 2, Pump Court in St. Margaret Westminster where Thomas, aged "35" and born in Westminster, was still occupied as a plasterer. Thomas may have died in 1852 with his surname indexed by the GRO as "Bachelor" [Death Index: Westminster 1a 171, 1852 (Sept)]. The 1861 Census finds Elizabeth Mary at age "20" occupied as a domestic servant in the household of a chemist and druggist Charles B. Phillipson at 116, Tottenham Court Road, St. Pancras.
In 1867, when his son Thomas Henry was born, William James and his family were living at 1, Hadley Street South in Kentish Town. He was then occupied as a railway shunter.
The 1871 Census finds the family living at 29, Stanhope Street, just west of today's Euston Station, with William James occupied as a railway porter.
Elizabeth Mary died aged "31" in 1872 [Death Index: Pancras 1b 11, 1872 (June)].
William James subsequently remarried to a much younger woman named Elizabeth Francis [Marriage Index: Pancras 1b 162, 1878 (June)]. She was born on April 20th 1854 [Birth Index: Pancras 1b 93, 1854 (June)] to parents Samuel William Francis and Alicia, and was christened at St. Peter's church in St. Pancras on August 20th 1854 [IGI: Batch C042591]. The 1871 Census finds her aged "16" living in the household of a solicitor Charles Frederick Hird at 84, Delancey Street, St. Pancras where she was occupied as a housemaid.
The 1881 Census finds them living at 6, Haverstock Place, to the west of Kentish Town, named simply as "James" aged "40" and "Eliza" aged "26". He was now occupied as a railway lamp trimmer. With them were his two youngest sons from his first marriage and an infant daughter Emily by his second.
Elizabeth may have died within the following decade. She may have been the "Eliza Bone" who died aged "33" in 1888 [Death Index: Pancras 1b 102, 1888 (Sept)].
The 1891 Census finds him - again as "James" - at age "53" and widowed, lodging at 21, Peckwater Street in Kentish Town, St. Pancras and described as a railway porter. The record gives his birthplace as Woolwich, but this may be an enumerator's error as many persons above and below him in the schedule have birthplace St. Pancras. Or, he - or whoever supplied the details - may have confused the birthplace with that of his son William James (2) whose birthplace is given as Woolwich in the 1871 Census.
In 1894 he was described as a railway porter on Thomas Henry's marriage certificate, which misnames him "James William Bone".
The 1901 Census finds him - again as "James" - at age "63" and widowed, living at 204, Arlington Road in the Camden Town district of St. Pancras and described as a railway carman.
His grand-daughter Maud Ethel Bone stated that he had lived with her family from her early childhood up to the time her father died in 1915.
He may have died as "James" aged "80" in 1916 [Death Index: Wandsworth 1d 581, 1916 (March)].
His great-grand-daughter Hazel Edith possessed a studio photograph showing him in middle age sitting on a chaise-longue. It had been among various possessions returned to her mother from Australia in 1954 after the death there of her father Harold Edward (1) Bone, and was accompanied by William James' original marriage certificate.
The 1881 Census appears to find William James (2) as "James" aged "17" living in the "Castle and Falcon Hotel" at 5, Aldersgate Street, Aldersgate in London where he was occupied as a knife porter. The 1891 Census appears to find him as "James" aged "26" living at the "Tolland Hotel" in Freshwater, Isle of Wight where he was occupied as a porter. He apparently never married. He may have died as "William James" aged "35" in 1901 [Death Index: Lambeth 1d 244, 1901 (March)].
Henry Frederick married Jane Sarah Varley in 1890 [Marriage Index: Pancras 1b 142, 1890 (Sept)]. She was born in 1869 [Birth Index: Pancras 1b 114, 1869 (Sept)]. The 1891 Census finds them living at 81, Pancras Square in St. Pancras. He was occupied as a fitter in an iron foundry. The 1901 Census finds them with three children - "Henry", "Ada" and "Bertie" - living at 22, Queen's Road in Wood Green. He was now occupied as a blacksmith. His first child was Henry George [Birth Index: Pancras 1b 72, 1891 (Sept)], whilst the other two were probably Ada Agnes [Birth Index: Pancras 1b 106, 1894 (June)] and Albert Charles [Birth Index: Islington 1b 288, 1896 (Dec)]. Henry George served as a lance serjeant in the Border Regiment 2nd Battalion with service number 10049 and was killed in action aged "25" in the Great War on July 14th 1916. He is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial Cemetery in France with grave/memorial reference "Pier and Face 6A and 7C" [Commonwealth War Graves Commission database]. The latter source describes him as the son of Henry and Jane Sarah Bone of 22, Queen's Road in Bowes Park, London.
Emily has not been found in any source after 1881.