Who Do You Think You Are - Twiggy 9th Oct

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Tonight on BBC1 at 9 p.m. Last in series.

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Episode synopsis:

Twiggy, real name Lesley Hornby, was born in 1949 and grew up in Neasden, a suburb of London. Her father came from Lancashire. Her maternal grandfather died when she was about 4, and her maternal grandmother died before she was born. Twiggy lives in West London and has one daughter, Carly.

Twiggy went to see her sister Shirley, who is 15 years older than her and has some old family photographs. Shirley said that their maternal grandmother's name was Alice and that she died when Shirley was quite young.

Twiggy ordered her mother Nellie Lydia Reeman's birth certificate which showed that she was born on the 10th Aug 1909, the daughter of Alfred Robert Reeman and Alice Reeman nee Meadows.


Twiggy met a genealogist who showed her the 1891 census entry for Alice Meadows at 1 Bridge Street, Willesden, Middlesex, living in two rooms with her parents William Meadows and Elizabeth and the other children: Alexander, Samuel, Grace, Lucy, Henry and Frederick. Alice was the second oldest child. William's occupation was slater. The genealogist couldn't find the family together on the 1901 census but she found Henry listed as Harry Meadows age 13, inmate in a home for homeless boys in Horton Kirby, Kent.

Twiggy went to Horton Kirby to see where the boys' home used to be. A local historian showed her the founding minutes of the home, and told her that boys were admitted when they were under the age of 10, and that there would have been about 300 boys there at any one time.

Twiggy was shown a story in the Middlesex Courier from 1896 which said that Samuel Meadows of Kilburn was charged with begging. The case was dismissed. Twiggy met an historian in Hampstead who showed her the Religious Creed Register of 1892 of the workhouse of St John's, Hampstead, which listed Grace, Lucy, Frederick and Harry Meadows, with Grace at 11 being the "informant". The workhouse Admission Register showed their mother to be Elizabeth Meadows of Loveridge Road. The workhouse records showed that Frederick was sent to the Northwestern Fever Hospital on the 18th Jul 1894 and that he died later that year, whilst Elizabeth was admitted to the workhouse on the 11th Oct 1894, and again on the 18th Feb 1898. She died in the workhouse on the 6th Jun 1898, the records showing her nearest relative as husband William, who had deserted her.

Twiggy was then shown the minutes of the Board of Guardians from 1892 where a reward of 40 shillings was offered for the apprehension of William Meadows for deserting his four youngest children, who went into the workhouse.

Twiggy went to Hampstead's Burgh House Museum where she was shown court records. In 1893 William Meadows was sentenced to 1 month with hard labour as an "idle and disorderly" person, and then in 1898 to 3 months with hard labour as a "rogue and vagabond" for refusing to maintain his wife. Twiggy was shown William's death certificate from 1905 showing that he died in Kensington Town sub-district, abode Marylebone workhouse. The cause of death was a strangulated hernia and peritonitis.

Twiggy was then shown an entry in the Old Bailey Calendar of Prisoners from 1862 concerning William's mother Grace Meadows who was sentenced to 6 months in the House of Correction for "uttering counterfeit coins". Twiggy met a crime expert at the British Museum who showed her some real and some counterfeit coins of that period. He also showed her the sessions papers from the Old Bailey trial, which said that Grace was given a good character, and that the jury recommended mercy for her because of her family - she and her husband William Meadows senior had five other children as well as William junior: Grace junior, James, Elizabeth, Sarah and Lucy.


Twiggy met another researcher at Clerkenwell Green, in the building which used to be the court house. He showed her a report from Lloyds Weekly London Newspaper dated 12th Jul 1874 headed "Mother and daughter stealing banknotes": Grace age 50 and daughter Lucy age 14 were accused of stealing three £20 notes, one £5 note and £6 in gold from Lucy's employer Charles Pragnell. One of the notes was found to have been paid into the Bank of England and was traced back to Grace Meadows who had used it to pay taxes. Grace said that Lucy was not involved in the theft. As Grace had several previous convictions, she was sentenced to two years with hard labour.

Twiggy went to Hackney to meet a local historian who showed her the 1881 census entry for Grace at Dalston Road, Hackney, using her maiden name of Gillies, with children Sarah, John and Robert, and a boarder David Cracket, a policeman. In 1891 Grace and Robert were at Bretton Road, Hackney, with a grandchild Maud Crackett.

Twiggy was then shown a report in the Western Gazette of 20th Aug 1891 saying that Grace Gillies, age 69, died in a great crush at the opening day of a great clearance sale at 333 Mare Street, Hackney. Twiggy visited the shop and found that it is now a branch of Iceland.

[Nell]

I really enjoyed this, although it did seem Twiggy had a script to ask all the questions the archivists had ready answers for!

It was nice to have a family full of poverty and thieves, which I could relate to, rather than those celebs who are descended from God!

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OH and I were rather sceptical about the "romance" between Grace's boarder David Cracket and her daughter Sarah, who Twiggy said fell in love and got married, then had a child. We were thinking it more likely that they had a fling, Sarah got pregnant, and they had to get married. Well, their marriage was registered Jan-Mar 1882 and their first child Florence Catherine's birth was registered Jul-Sep of that year, so I think our version may be closer to the truth!

[Olde Crone]

Didn't hold my attention at all and I was irritated by her constant "Ahhh" every time anything remotely unjolly was mentioned.

OC

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I enjoyed it and I liked the fact that Twiggy was seen doing some of her own research rather than having a family tree handed to her. But she didn't actually find out much about her grandmother Alice, did she? Just about Alice's family.

Oh, I thought it was unfair of them to say that the surname Meadows was mistranscribed as Meadow in the 1891 census index as it definitely says Meadow on the image:
1891 census on ancestry

Alice is 12 on that census, so she was born about 1878-9. There is an Alice M Reeman death Jan-Mar 1947 Willesden district, age 69, which could be her. (Shirley was born in 1934 so would have been 12 when Alice died if that is the right death.) She married Alfred Robert Reeman in 1899 in Hampstead district.

Alfred's army papers are on ancestry but I shall leave them for tomorrow!
army papers on ancestry

[Guinevere]

Proper genealogy in this one.

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Here is William Meadows on the 1901 census, in Pentonville Prison:
1901 census on ancestry

[Shona]

Albert Reeman's Army service records show that he enlisted in 1916 and served with the Royal Engineers.

Wife, Alice Meadows, named as next of kin. They had married on 22 may 1899 at St James Church, Hampstead.

Three children are named:

1 Alice Amelia Jessie Reeman, born 22 April 1904 in Hendon.
2 Nellie Lydia Reeman, born 10 August 1909, Greenwich.
3 Alfred Robert Alexander Reeman, born 7 May 1911, Hammersmith.

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Here is the marriage of William Meadows (senior) and Grace Gillies 7 Jun 1846 at St John, Hoxton:
London Marriages on ancestry

William is a paper stainer, and his father is Samuel Meadows (deceased), an exciseman, while Grace's father is Robert Gillies, a draper.

And this looks to be William junior's marriage to Elizabeth, as his occupation is slater and his father is William Meadows, house decorator:
London marriages
Elizabeth's maiden name is Austin, daughter of George Austin, a cooper. Marriage 22 Dec 1867 at Holy Trinity, Mile End Old Town.