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Brentford Families - Pearce & Mitchell

The master spreadsheet used as the backbone for this site has 40 references to the name Pearce. Two descendants of one branch of the family are Joanne Tansley & Trevor Mitchell: both descended from Richard Pearce born around 1792. But are the other High Street Pearces related? Taking the information from Joanne & Trevor and adding details from censuses and other sources it is possible to build up Pearce family units which shared the same location and / or occupation.

For a pictorial view of the Pearce family tree see Trevor's web site.

Below are some suggestions as to ways in which the units may be linked. To prove the links will require the purchase of certificates and, not surprisingly as it is a common surname, some of the Pearces appear to be unrelated.

Two Richard Pearces associated with the Royal Tar, no. 3

Richard Pearce (c 1792 - 1874): born Norwood; married Elizabeth Clifford at Hanwell on 10 Nov 1817; Elizabeth Clifford was born c 1794 Chiswick, and she died between 1861/71 - there is a death in 1866 of an Elizabeth Pearce in Brentford, aged 70; Richard Pearce was a waterman at no. 3 High Street in 1841 (it is not clear whether no. 3 was a beer house at this stage); waterman and beer seller at no. 3 in 1851; beer shop keeper at no, 3 in 1861; still at the Royal Tar in 1871 'retired waterman'; a Richard Pearce death was registered in Brentford, April/June 1874 aged 80; children included:

• Richard Pearce (c 1818 - 1895): born in Brentford; married Elizabeth Earle (c 1820 Brentford) in Norwood in 1839: the marriage certificate provided by Joanne Tansley names Richard's father as Richard Pearce, waterman and it is assumed he is the son of the above RP - there is a 14 year gap between Richard and the next known child Sophia, born 1832, but other children may have been born between 1818 and 1832 who were no longer at home in 1841; Richard Pearce junior was a waterman at Burgess Wharf, Brentford in 1841; lighterman just off the High Street in 1851; lighterman at 13 Caroline Place Old Brentford in 1861; Trevor Mitchell writes 'Did you realise that Richard Pearce pulled off a remarkable double. In the 1871 census he is off Tower Bridge onboard the 'Mary', and at the same time at home in Caroline Place with Elizabeth!'; in 1881 he was possibly the Master on the 'Mary Ann' at North Aylesford in Kent (his borth place was simply recorded as ' London Middlesex'; he was living with his daughter & son in law (Brooks) at 4 Lateward Road in 1891; children (all born in Brentford) include:
  • George Clifford Pearce (c 1839 - 1895): at home in 1851; married Ann Maria Littleboy (c 1841 Brentford) in Brentford, 1862; beerhouse keeper at no. 307 in 1871, lighterman at 307 in 1881, beerhouse keeper at 307 in 1891; his wife was running the Alexandra Inn at this address in 1901; children (all born in Brentford) included:
    • George Pearce (c 1863)
    • Elizabeth Pearce (c 1865)
    • John Pearce (c 1866): lighterman, Netley Road in 1891 & 1901; two children survived to 1901, John & Jane; wife Jane
    • Richard Pearce (c 1868): master waterman and lighterman on the 'Alexandra' (NB the same name as his parents' beerhouse) in Kent in 1891
    • Annie Pearce (1870)
    • William Pearce (c 1872): possibly (age and birthplace fit) the waterman and lighterman who lived on Half Acre in 1901, with wife Charlotte and two children aged 9 and 3
    • Alfred Pearce (c 1873): a mate on the 'Alexandra' in Kent, with his brother Richard, in 1891; the 1901 census shows an Alfred Pearce, 'waterman on river', aged 27, living at 10 Albany Road, Brentford with his wife Mary Ann & children; this could be the Alfred Pearce who was 'a lighterman who worked as a foreman in the Brentford Dock and was a known entertainer' (Q60); see (Q61) for a photo of Alfred Pearce the entertainer; his son Alfred George Clifford Pearce (1896 - 1917) is commemorated on the WW1 Memorial which stood outside St Lawrence church
    • Ada Pearce (c 1878)
    • Henry Pearce (1880)
    • Thomas Pearce (c 1882): waterman in 1901, living with his widowed mother at no. 307
    • Albert Pearce (c 1885)
  • Richard Pearce (1841): at home in 1851
  • Charles Pearce (c 1845 - ): possibly married Priscilla Sellers, see below
  • Elizabeth Pearce (c 1847 - ): married William Brooks, a lighterman; lived at 21 Catherine Street, Bromley in 1871, returned to Brentford by 1881; William Brooks was running the Royal Tar in 1881
  • Sarah Pearce (c 1849): not at home in the 1851 census
  • Lucy Pearce (c 1850)
  • Priscilla Pearce (1854): married John Mitchell in 1870, Poplar registration district; John was born in Marlow, Bucks c 1845; the couple settled in Bromley and were living there with Priscilla's elder sister, Elizabeth Brooks, in 1871; both husbands were lightermen; by 1881 the Mitchells had returned to Brentford and were living at 2 Eaton Place; in 1891 at Retort Alley; John Mitchell was a lighterman in 1881 & 1891; children included:
    • Ellen Mitchell (c 1873): born in Bromley
    • George William Mitchell (c 1875): born in Bromley, married Sarah Jane Snelling
    • John Clifford Mitchell (1877): born in Bromley; Trevor Mitchell notes that John named his son John Clifford Mitchell, so the name Clifford, from JCM senior's maternal grandmother Elizabeth Clifford, was handed down the family; JCM senior married Elizabeth Snelling (so two Mitchell brothers married two Snelling sisters: see details of the Snelling family
    • Bertie Mitchell (1888): born in Brentford
  • Jane Pearce (c 1859): was living at the Royal Tar in 1881
• Sophia Pearce (c 1832): not found in the 1851 census
• Mary Ann Pearce (c 1834 - 1866): married Edward Marriner, a waterman, in Kensington in 1851; children include Elizabeth & Mary Ann Marriner, who appear in the 1871 censuses as nieces of Isaac & Priscilla Beese (nee Pearce)
• James Pearce (c 1837): at home in 1851 and 1861 - a waterman
• Priscilla Pearce (1840): married Isaac Beese in the Kensington registration district in 1864; by 1871 they had moved into the Royal Tar and Isaac was a 'beer seller' and a small note 'boiler...'; two nieces of Isaac were living at the Royal Tar in 1871: Elizabeth & Mary Ann Marriner, aged 14 & 11; children of Isaac & Priscilla included:
  • Priscilla Beese (c 1869)

Other Pearces who ran pubs/beer houses

Sarah Pearce (c 1790) was the publican at the Red Lion at no. 197 in 1839, 1841 and 1845: gone by 1851. She was 50 in 1841 (ie aged 50 to 54 as ages were rounded down). Isaac Pearce was the publican of the Red Lion in 1826 and he left a PCC will in 1835, presumably Sarah was his widow. Sarah was not born in Middlesex.

Robert Pearce (c 1803/4): born Brentford, married Mary (), licenced victualler & waterman who ran the Half Moon and Seven Stars at no. 25 until 1861; a Robert Pearce death was registered in Brentford in 1862; children included:

• William Clark Pearce (c 1833/4): pupil teacher in 1851
• Robert Pearce (c 1836/7)
• Sarah Pearce (C 1838/9): at home in 1861
• Mary Ann Amelia Pearce (C 1843/4): at home in 1861
• Edwin John Pearce (C 1846/7)

Pearces who were lightermen/watermen (and potters)

He could be a son of Richard Pearce born c 1818, particularly as Richard Pearce had a son Charles born at the right time living with him in 1851. However there is a small chance that the Charles described below was the son of a younger brother. A search of ancestry.co.uk for any Charles born ca 1845 in Brentford brings up the Charles Pearce son of Thomas & Eliza (see below). I have not been able to find Charles in the 1861 census so far, he was not recorded at home with his parents, but at the age of 16 would have been working, possibly as an apprentice.

His marriage certificate or birth certificate should help tie him into the rest of teh Pearce family.

Charles Pearce (c 1845/6 Brentford) lived at Paradise Row in 1871 (waterman), 2 High Street near the Royal Tar, home of other Pearces, in 1881, 62 Distillery Road in 1891 and 37 Lateward Road in 1901 (lighterman); there are five deaths of Charles Pearces born 1845/7 in Brentford in the 1890s / early 1900s. Possibly a son of Richard Pearce born c 1818 and linked to George Clifford Pearce by the name 'Clifford', which Charles gave to his third son. He married Priscilla Sellers (c 1848/9, Brentford) in Brentford, 1868, children included:

• Priscilla Pearce (1869- ): married Thomas John Greenrod at Kensington in 1889; the Greenrods were potters in Brentford
• Samuel Pearce (c 1874/5): a Richard Samuel Pearce birth was registered in Brentford in July/Sep 1874; potter in 1891
• Charles Clifford Pearce (1876 - 1877) birth and death registrations may be of another child of Charles senior
• William Pearce (c 1876/7): William George Pearce and William James Pearce births registered in Brentford in 1877; potter in 1891 and 1901
• John Clifford Pearce (1880): recorded as 'Clifford' in 1891 & 1901; labourer in barge yard in 1901; married in Brentford in 1904
• Robert Pearce (c 1883/4): recorded as 'Albert' in 1891; labourer in barge yard in 1901
• Elizabeth Pearce (c 1886/7): at home in 1901

The 1901 census entry for Albany Road shows a Joseph Pearce (c 1855/6, Boxmoor, Herts), a steam tug engine driver at no. 6, two doors away from Alfred Pearce, a waterman at no. 10. Joseph appears to be unrelated to Alfred. The 1901 census shows he had four children born in Brentford: Charles, Florence, Ada and Richard. His wife was Lucy (possibly Lucy Selina Wood: there is a marriage reference shared by JP and LSW in Brentford in 1884).

Pearces who were fruiterers

• Caroline Pearce (c 1817/20)
• Robert (? not clear in 1841) Pearce (c 1825/6)
• Sarah Pearce (c 1827 Chiswick): at home in 1851
• Emma Pearce (c 1829/30)
• James Edward Pearce (ca 1830/1): not at home in 1841; born Brentford, father's assistant in 1851; running the fruiterer's business in 1871; married Sarah Russell Berrie in Brentford, 1859; reference on the A2A web site of the conveyance of a messuage and 2 cottages (built by Wm. Carter) at "Three Households" Chalfont St. Giles. and 10p of land in 1863 to James Edward Pearce of New Brentford, Middx., orange merchant; had moved away by 1881; children born in New Brentford included:
  • Mary Mount Pearce (c 1860/1): married in St Giles, London, 1882
  • James Pearce (c 1862/3)
  • Florence Berrie Pearce (c 1863/4): married in Fulham in 1887
• William Pearce (c 1837/8): born Brentford; brother to head in 1861
• Louisa Pearce (c 1839/40): born Brentford, at home aged 21 in 1861
• Amelia Pearce (1840/1): 6 months old in the 1841 census; aged '8' in 1851 so possibly not the Amelia whose birth was registered in 1841; a 'Mary Ann Amelia Pearce' birth was registered in Brentford in Jan/March 1844
• Selina Pearce (c 1844/5): best match birth registration in Brentford was in Jan/March 1840; at home, aged 17, in 1861; at home aged 24 in 1871

Pearces born Chiswick

Richard Pearce (ca 1838/9 - 1901+): possibly a waterman aged 27 in Chiswick in 1861 (his wife is 'Ann' whereas it is 'Mary' in later censuses - however a child Richard age 2 and the occupation fit); waterman aged 34, New North Road, 1871; waterman aged 49 in 1881 at 44 Distillery Road; lighterman (1891 aged 52) and pensioner (1901 aged 65) at 43 Pottery Road Brentford, wife Mary Ann (or 'Maria' - 1871) (1841/2 - 1901+) born Brentford; children included:

• Richard Pearce (c 1860 - 1901+): waterman, at home in 1871 & 1901; may have been taken to court in 1883
• John Pearce (c 1862 - 1881+): waterman in 1881; at home in 1871 & 1881
• Edward Pearce (c 1867 - 1891+): labourer 1891; at home in 1871 & 1891 but not in 1881
• Emily Pearce (c 1874 - 1891+): at home in 1881 & 1891
• Albert Pearce (c 1878 - 1901+): general labourer 1901; at home 1881, 1891, 1901
• Lillie (Lily 1881)Pearce (1880 - 1891+): at home in 1891
• Samuel Pearce (c 1882 - 1901+): as Albert in 1901

Thomas Pearce, watchmaker from Cornwall

Thomas Pearce was married Mary Ann and had at least two sons born in Brentford:

• Edward Nathaniel Pearce (c 1872 - ): at home in 1881; he married Emma and in 1901 was a civil engineer living at 34 Boston Park Road, Brentford
• Hugh George Pearce (1878 - ); at home in 1881 and 1891; in 1901 he was an engineer, boarding in Dawley Shropshire

Pearces who were confectioners

John Pearce born about 1814/5 in Ealing (as Old Brentford was part of Ealing parish he may have been born in Old Brentford) married Ann (from Gloucestershire) and was a confectioner at no. 237 in 1839, 1841 and 1851. He had moved away to Marylebone by 1861. Catherine Pearce, sister of John, born about 1813/4 was living with the family in 1851. The name varied between Pearse and Pearce. No children recorded in the censuses.

Thomas Pearce, gas / baskets

• Richard Pearce (c 1834)
• Henry Pearce (c 1836): basket maker in 1851
• Eliza Pearce (c 1838): basket maker in 1851
• William Pearce (c 1840): basket maker in 1851
• Mary Pearce (c 1844): basket maker in 1851 (at the age of 7); at home in 1861
• Charles Pearce (c 1846): at home in 1861
• James Pearce (c 1848)
• George Pearce (c 1850): at home in 1861

Richard Pearce, on trial at the Old Bailey 1883

The trial took place in 1883, when Richard Pearce was 23. To see the trial transcipt access the Old Bailey Online web site (a link is included in Web Links) and search using surname 'Pearce', Given Name 'Richard' and '1883' in the 'Time Period' From and To.

The full trial text shows the couple had three children and that Kate Pearce had been adopted by Robert Bee as a child. The 1871 census shows a Kate Wright living with Robert Bee and his family: Robert Bee was a newsagent who lived at Garden Cottages, near Albany Place in 1871. Kate was described as Robert's wife's sister and she was 8 at the time.

Robert Bee's wife was recorded as Elizabeth in 1871, she was 30. A Robert Bee and Elizabeth Susan Dudley share the same marriage reference in the West London Registration District in 1868 and this seems likely to be the record of their marriage.

Robert's wife Elizabeth and Kate were both of St Luke, London according to the 1871 census. Having a different surname leaves the relationship between Elizabeth Dudley and Kate Wright unclear - a loose end.

Returning to the alleged offender, a search for the marriage between Richard Pearce and Kate using FreeBMD showed several local marriages in the period 1878 - 1883 of Richard Pearces. The one that looks most likely to be that of the couple took place in the April/June quarter of 1881 in Brentford Registration District: Richard William Pearce and Kate Elizabeth Wright share the same marriage reference.

The 1881 census took place on the 3rd April 1881 so would Kate and Richard have already married by the census? Unlikely but not impossible, A married Kate Pearce, aged 21 and born in London, was visiting Blane (or Blanche?) Harley in Mount Pleasant, Brentford at the time of the census, with her twin daughters aged 10 months, Blane (or Blanche?) and Sarah Pearce. This could be a very recently married Kate, or Kate assuming her married name in anticipation perhaps.

I have not found the birth registrations of her twin daughters in Brentford - another loose end.

If Kate was not married by April 3rd, then the best match in Brentford for a Kate Wright in the 1881 census is a 15 year old servant who lived with the Smith family on Hamilton Road.

As to Richard Pearce: a 19 year old Richard Pearce born simply 'Middlesex' - as was the rest of the household - was a servant at the Marquis of Granby in 1881. However the alleged wife thrower could have been working on the canal or river by 1881 and may have been recorded inaccurately or missed. Searches for the tug 'Eleanor' (where he was working at the time of the alleged offence) did not find him (and did you stay overnight on a tug? I'm not sure).

What happened after the trial? Richard Pearce was found 'not guilty' but the marriage may have broken down. I have not been able to trace either Richard or Kate Pearce in the 1891 census.

Robert Bee, Kate's adoptive father, had two adopted daughters aged 9 living with him in 1891: Pauline and Nellie Bee, born Brentford. Were these daughters of Kate & Richard that he had taken in? I have not been able to trace the birth registrations of the two girls in Brentford - another loose end.

In 1901 a Richard Pearce, waterman, aged 41 and married (but no sign of a wife) was living with his parents in Pottery Road, Brentford. This appears a good candidate for the Richard Pearce taken to court: if so he was the son of Richard Pearce above.